Cellular and Extracellular Vesicle RNA Analysis in the Global Threat Fungus Candida auris

Candida auris , a relevant emerging human-pathogenic yeast, is the first fungus to be called a global public health threat by the WHO. This is because of its rapid spread on all inhabited continents, together with its extremely high frequency of drug and multidrug resistance.

Human Evolution in Polynesia: a Molecular Biological Study

<p>Human evolution is an extremely interesting and contentious topic that incorporates data from a wide variety of disciplines. Molecular studies are becoming increasingly important for reconstructing human history, as new techniques allow faster recovery of results, and genetic tests provide an independent test for colonisation theories that are usually based on archaeological and linguistic evidence. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is an extremely useful genetic marker that is widely used in molecular biology for establishing phylogenetic links between individuals and populations. In the current study the 3' Hypervariable Region (3' HVI) of mtDNA from human populations living in New Zealand (Aotearoa) was analysed. The HVI mtDNA diversity in the New Zealand Maori population was significantly reduced compared with Polynesian and Melanesian populations, with an extremely high frequency (~87%) of the 'Polynesian CGT motif' haplotype. Additionally, the 9-bp deletion, common in Polynesian populations, has reached fixation (100%) in the Maori samples. These results support a settlement scenario with repeated population bottlenecks. The mtDNA HVI haplotype frequencies in this study, combined with those from previous studies, were used in computer simulations to estimate the number of females required to found the current Maori population. Approximately 56 women, and an equal or greater number of men, were estimated to have been present in the founding waka. This estimate is too large to support any settlement models with a small number of founders and effectively rules out the possibility of 'accidental discovery', instead supporting a planned settlement of Aotearoa in agreement with traditional knowledge. Analysis of interdisciplinary data has allowed current theories for the origins of the Polynesians and proto-Austronesians to be consolidated by introducing a 'Synthetic Total Evidence Theory'. It is likely that once published this theory will stimulate intense discussion and debate and will continue to grow as further evidence is obtained and incorporated into this model.</p>

Human Evolution in Polynesia: a Molecular Biological Study

<p>Human evolution is an extremely interesting and contentious topic that incorporates data from a wide variety of disciplines. Molecular studies are becoming increasingly important for reconstructing human history, as new techniques allow faster recovery of results, and genetic tests provide an independent test for colonisation theories that are usually based on archaeological and linguistic evidence. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is an extremely useful genetic marker that is widely used in molecular biology for establishing phylogenetic links between individuals and populations. In the current study the 3' Hypervariable Region (3' HVI) of mtDNA from human populations living in New Zealand (Aotearoa) was analysed. The HVI mtDNA diversity in the New Zealand Maori population was significantly reduced compared with Polynesian and Melanesian populations, with an extremely high frequency (~87%) of the 'Polynesian CGT motif' haplotype. Additionally, the 9-bp deletion, common in Polynesian populations, has reached fixation (100%) in the Maori samples. These results support a settlement scenario with repeated population bottlenecks. The mtDNA HVI haplotype frequencies in this study, combined with those from previous studies, were used in computer simulations to estimate the number of females required to found the current Maori population. Approximately 56 women, and an equal or greater number of men, were estimated to have been present in the founding waka. This estimate is too large to support any settlement models with a small number of founders and effectively rules out the possibility of 'accidental discovery', instead supporting a planned settlement of Aotearoa in agreement with traditional knowledge. Analysis of interdisciplinary data has allowed current theories for the origins of the Polynesians and proto-Austronesians to be consolidated by introducing a 'Synthetic Total Evidence Theory'. It is likely that once published this theory will stimulate intense discussion and debate and will continue to grow as further evidence is obtained and incorporated into this model.</p>

Language Variation in the Book of Jeremiah and Its Cultural and Social Background

Syntactic-stylistic analysis of the linguistic variation in the book of Jeremiah points to the cultural/sociohistorical context of the different text groups. The poignant, emotional style of Jeremianic poetry (Mowinckel’s A corpus) is marked by the often extremely high frequency of short clauses, and the low incidence of subordinate clauses and noun groups (similarly in most texts in Jeremiah 30–31; 46–51). These features characterize the “lean, brisk style” of spontaneous spoken discourse/oral literature. Noun groups and subordinate clauses are highly frequent in the narrative corpus (B) and parenetic prose (C), whereas short clauses are far less frequent, as characteristic of the “intricate, elaborate style” of written texts. Where these corpora reflect the scribal desk, corpus A is close to the oral arena. Detailed analysis shows, however, that all corpora are open-ended. These considerations suggest an initial oral-written symbiosis in the prophetic performance and the commission to writing of the prophetic utterances. In the scribal milieu of the Babylonian/Persian era, a new class of religious formulators took up the prophetic tradition and reformulated it in the complex style characteristic of the scribal desk.

Definite Advantages of Utilizing Integrated Multiple Indirect Inspection (IDi) Technologies to Survey a Newly Laid 3LPE Coated Cross Country Pipeline: A Case Study

Every scientific or engineering assessment made in today’s life is with respect to a specific approach — prescriptive or performance-based. In India for a newly laid pipeline (approx. 443 Km) — there are various prescriptive regulations ascertained by OISD and PNGRB for the pipelines’ safe routine operations. In a prescriptive system, it becomes mandatory for a pipeline owner to have the most accurate coatings and Cathodic Protection (CP) data irrespective of the external soil environmental conditions. This will also require the other external aggravators such as AC interference, Railway Crossings, Temporal phenomena etc. to be taken into consideration while the survey data is being collected. Only then sufficient data is available for the Owner to make correct integrity-based decisions and step forward towards a performance-based integrity management program. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)-Rewari Kanpur Pipeline (RKPL) started the external line inspection (XLI) program as a prescriptive procedure for ascertaining the health of the in-place CP system and assess the integrity of the coating.This pipeline with length of approx. 443 Kms stretching across three (3) states of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh traverses through a truly varying surrounding soil and ambient environmental conditions. As per NACE Standard Practice SP0502, it is known that different aboveground survey tools are to be utilized by the pipeline owner for varying soil conditions. To overcome the complexity of dealing with varying environments, weather conditions (resulting in varying soil resistivity) for specific pipeline lengths to be surveyed by the various different technologies that may be applicable, HPCL-RKPL opted to deploy an integrated indirect inspection system which allows to perform the following aboveground surveys simultaneously, at the same time: DCVG, ACVG, ACCA (CAT), CIPS – AC & DC with all recorded raw logs for authenticity. Using these raw logs, HPCL-RKPL were able to ascertain few intricate concerns with the in-place CP system which would have otherwise been veiled. This was possible due to the extremely high frequency of data capture on several times per second basis. The integrated CP and Coating Integrity data also aligned and correlated very well with the historically conducted in-line inspection information. This paper shall discuss the unique findings obtained during the survey.

Examination of wood adhesive bonds via MicroCT: The influence of pre-gluing surface machining treatments for southern pine, spotted gum, and Darwin stringybark timbers

The successful manufacturing of glulam from several important Australian commercial timbers is quite challenging due to difficulties in gluing. Improvements in adhesive bond performance of spotted gum, Darwin stringybark, and southern pine timber have been achieved using alternative pre-gluing surface machining methods, e.g., face milling and sanding-post planing, when compared to conventional planing methods. In order to improve the understanding of the effects that different surface machining methods have on adhesive bond performance, this study used micro X-ray computed tomography and microscopy to assess key adhesive bond criteria. There was a considerable loss in the amount of adhesive after the wet and dry test cycles for all species. There was also an extremely high frequency of voids in the glue lines for all species, which would negatively impact bond strength and durability. Face mill prepared timber boards resulted in thicker glue lines and greater resistance to adhesion loss, compared to boards prepared via planing. For the two hardwood species, face milling also resulted in greater adhesive penetration; however, for southern pine, there were no significant differences in adhesive penetration between the three surface machining treatments. Adhesive penetration was much deeper in southern pine compared to spotted gum and Darwin stringybark.

METHODS FOR PROTECTING THE EQUIPMENT OF CELLULAR (MOBILE) CONNECTION FROM ELECTROMAGNETIC IMPACT

Under electromagnetic impact (EMI) of a sufficient level, temporary disruption of functioning, processing, transmission and storage of information in cellular equipment is possible. Possible problems of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of a mobile phone and a base station (BS) of cellular connection under the influence of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from other sources and their negative impact on functioning are considered. The energy of the HF electromagnetic field (EMF) after passing through the protective case can affect the devices of shielded radio electronic equipment (REE), therefore, the possible negative consequences of the impact of high-energy EMF on the REE are described. Possible negative consequences under certain conditions from the influence of the skin-effect, the effects of electrostatic discharge and electromagnetic pulses on electronic devices are given. It is shown that the constructional method of protecting REE from the effects of external electromagnetic factors consists in reducing the collected and transmitted EMF energy by improving the design, placement and installation of equipment. Components of some vendors for 5G systems that are resistant to external interference are given, and the possibilities for reducing the radiation level of a cell phone are noted. The necessity of an integrated approach to solving EMC problems is substantiated, which consists in the use of structural, circuitry and structural-functional methods of EMC provision. The new 5G (Fifth Generation) standard will operate at higher operating frequencies compared to previous generations. Due to the workload of the electromagnetic spectrum at frequencies below 6 GHz, 5G networks will be based on wireless radio access systems operating at frequencies of 30–100 GHz, that is, in the lower band of the extremely high frequency range EHF (Extremely High Frequency), 30–300 GHz.

METHODS FOR PROTECTING THE EQUIPMENT OF CELLULAR (MOBILE) CONNECTION FROM ELECTROMAGNETIC IMPACT

Under electromagnetic impact (EMI) of a sufficient level, temporary disruption of functioning, processing, transmission and storage of information in cellular equipment is possible. Possible problems of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of a mobile phone and a base station (BS) of cellular connection under the influence of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from other sources and their negative impact on functioning are considered. The energy of the HF electromagnetic field (EMF) after passing through the protective case can affect the devices of shielded radio electronic equipment (REE), therefore, the possible negative consequences of the impact of high-energy EMF on the REE are described. Possible negative consequences under certain conditions from the influence of the skin-effect, the effects of electrostatic discharge and electromagnetic pulses on electronic devices are given. It is shown that the constructional method of protecting REE from the effects of external electromagnetic factors consists in reducing the collected and transmitted EMF energy by improving the design, placement and installation of equipment. Components of some vendors for 5G systems that are resistant to external interference are given, and the possibilities for reducing the radiation level of a cell phone are noted. The necessity of an integrated approach to solving EMC problems is substantiated, which consists in the use of structural, circuitry and structural-functional methods of EMC provision. The new 5G (Fifth Generation) standard will operate at higher operating frequencies compared to previous generations. Due to the workload of the electromagnetic spectrum at frequencies below 6 GHz, 5G networks will be based on wireless radio access systems operating at frequencies of 30–100 GHz, that is, in the lower band of the extremely high frequency range EHF (Extremely High Frequency), 30–300 GHz.