1. |
- Wells, Daniel J., et al.
(författare)
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Observations of phase changes in monoolein during high viscous injection
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. - : International Union Of Crystallography. - 0909-0495 .- 1600-5775. ; 29:3, s. 602-614
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Serial crystallography of membrane proteins often employs high-viscosity injectors (HVIs) to deliver micrometre-sized crystals to the X-ray beam. Typically, the carrier medium is a lipidic cubic phase (LCP) media, which can also be used to nucleate and grow the crystals. However, despite the fact that the LCP is widely used with HVIs, the potential impact of the injection process on the LCP structure has not been reported and hence is not yet well understood. The self-assembled structure of the LCP can be affected by pressure, dehydration and temperature changes, all of which occur during continuous flow injection. These changes to the LCP structure may in turn impact the results of X-ray diffraction measurements from membrane protein crystals. To investigate the influence of HVIs on the structure of the LCP we conducted a study of the phase changes in monoolein/water and monoolein/buffer mixtures during continuous flow injection, at both atmospheric pressure and under vacuum. The reservoir pressure in the HVI was tracked to determine if there is any correlation with the phase behaviour of the LCP. The results indicated that, even though the reservoir pressure underwent (at times) significant variation, this did not appear to correlate with observed phase changes in the sample stream or correspond to shifts in the LCP lattice parameter. During vacuum injection, there was a three-way coexistence of the gyroid cubic phase, diamond cubic phase and lamellar phase. During injection at atmospheric pressure, the coexistence of a cubic phase and lamellar phase in the monoolein/water mixtures was also observed. The degree to which the lamellar phase is formed was found to be strongly dependent on the co-flowing gas conditions used to stabilize the LCP stream. A combination of laboratory-based optical polarization microscopy and simulation studies was used to investigate these observations.
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2. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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3. |
- Moore, Keith J M, et al.
(författare)
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Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Detection of SARS-CoV-2 and Myriad Other Applications
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Biomolecular Techniques. - : Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities. - 1524-0215 .- 1943-4731. ; 32:3, s. 228-275
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- As the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic begins, it remains clear that a massive increase in the ability to test for SARS-CoV-2 infections in a myriad of settings is critical to controlling the pandemic and to preparing for future outbreaks. The current gold standard for molecular diagnostics is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but the extraordinary and unmet demand for testing in a variety of environments means that both complementary and supplementary testing solutions are still needed. This review highlights the role that loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) has had in filling this global testing need, providing a faster and easier means of testing, and what it can do for future applications, pathogens, and the preparation for future outbreaks. This review describes the current state of the art for research of LAMP-based SARS-CoV-2 testing, as well as its implications for other pathogens and testing. The authors represent the global LAMP (gLAMP) Consortium, an international research collective, which has regularly met to share their experiences on LAMP deployment and best practices; sections are devoted to all aspects of LAMP testing, including preanalytic sample processing, target amplification, and amplicon detection, then the hardware and software required for deployment are discussed, and finally, a summary of the current regulatory landscape is provided. Included as well are a series of first-person accounts of LAMP method development and deployment. The final discussion section provides the reader with a distillation of the most validated testing methods and their paths to implementation. This review also aims to provide practical information and insight for a range of audiences: for a research audience, to help accelerate research through sharing of best practices; for an implementation audience, to help get testing up and running quickly; and for a public health, clinical, and policy audience, to help convey the breadth of the effect that LAMP methods have to offer.
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4. |
- Patterson, Nick, et al.
(författare)
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Large-scale migration into Britain during the Middle to Late Bronze Age
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; , s. 588-594
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Present-day people from England and Wales harbour more ancestry derived from Early European Farmers (EEF) than people of the Early Bronze Age1. To understand this, we generated genome-wide data from 793 individuals, increasing data from the Middle to Late Bronze and Iron Age in Britain by 12-fold, and Western and Central Europe by 3.5-fold. Between 1000 and 875 BC, EEF ancestry increased in southern Britain (England and Wales) but not northern Britain (Scotland) due to incorporation of migrants who arrived at this time and over previous centuries, and who were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from France. These migrants contributed about half the ancestry of Iron Age people of England and Wales, thereby creating a plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain. These patterns are part of a broader trend of EEF ancestry becoming more similar across central and western Europe in the Middle to Late Bronze Age, coincident with archaeological evidence of intensified cultural exchange2-6. There was comparatively less gene flow from continental Europe during the Iron Age, and Britain's independent genetic trajectory is also reflected in the rise of the allele conferring lactase persistence to ~50% by this time compared to ~7% in central Europe where it rose rapidly in frequency only a millennium later. This suggests that dairy products were used in qualitatively different ways in Britain and in central Europe over this period.
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5. |
- Santangelo, James S., et al.
(författare)
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Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover
- 2022
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 375
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural dines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale.
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6. |
- Almqvist, E, et al.
(författare)
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Geographical distribution of haplotypes in Swedish families with Huntington's disease.
- 1994
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Ingår i: Human Genetics. - 0340-6717 .- 1432-1203. ; 94:2, s. 124-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study was planned to determine the number of origins of the mutation underlying Huntington's disease (HD) in Sweden. Haplotypes were constructed for 23 different HD families, using six different polymorphisms [(CCG)n, GT70, 674, BS1, E2 and 4.2], including two within the gene. In addition, extensive genealogical investigations were performed, and the geographical origin of the haplotypes was studied. Ten different haplotypes were observed suggesting multiple origins for the HD mutation in Sweden. Analysis of the two polymorphic markers within the HD gene (the CCG repeat and GT70) indicates that there are at least three origins for the HD mutation in Sweden. One of these haplotypes (7/A) accounts for 89% of the families, suggesting that the majority of the Swedish HD families are related through a single HD mutation of ancient origin. Furthermore, three of the families that were previously considered to be unrelated could be traced to a common ancestor in the 15th century, a finding that is consistent with this hypothesis.
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8. |
- Andrew, S, et al.
(författare)
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DNA analysis of distinct populations suggests multiple origins for the mutation causing Huntington disease.
- 1993
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Ingår i: Clinical Genetics. - 0009-9163 .- 1399-0004. ; 43:6, s. 286-94
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Results of association studies can be significantly biased if the ancestry of the control population is not similar to that of the affected population. One approach to overcome such a bias is to use distinct populations where controls and affected individuals are likely to be of similar descent. We have examined homogeneous populations of French, Danish and Swedish ancestry for nonrandom allelic association between Huntington disease (HD) and several markers previously shown to be in association with HD. No evidence for nonrandom allelic association between HD and these markers was shown in these populations. The demonstration of association in a United Kingdom (UK) sample of similar size, and lack of significant differences in allele frequencies between the French, Danish, Swedish and UK populations suggested that the absence of association was not predominantly a consequence of allele frequencies or sample size. To investigate further the number of potential HD chromosomes, DNA haplotypes were constructed for the Danish, French, Swedish and UK populations. The minimum of two HD haplotypes observed in each of the French, Danish and Swedish populations, compared to the one haplotype in the UK population of a similar size, is an important factor accounting for the absence of association between HD and the DNA markers in these populations. Furthermore, these data are in favour of multiple independent origins for the mutation causing HD.
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9. |
- Bhattacharya, Romit, et al.
(författare)
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Clonal Hematopoiesis Is Associated with Higher Risk of Stroke
- 2022
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Ingår i: Stroke. - 0039-2499. ; 29:2, s. 788-797
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Purpose: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is a novel age-related risk factor for cardiovascular disease-related morbidity and mortality. The association of CHIP with risk of incident ischemic stroke was reported previously in an exploratory analysis including a small number of incident stroke cases without replication and lack of stroke subphenotyping. The purpose of this study was to discover whether CHIP is a risk factor for ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Methods: We utilized plasma genome sequence data of blood DNA to identify CHIP in 78 752 individuals from 8 prospective cohorts and biobanks. We then assessed the association of CHIP and commonly mutated individual CHIP driver genes (DNMT3A, TET2, and ASXL1) with any stroke, ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke. Results: CHIP was associated with an increased risk of total stroke (hazard ratio, 1.14 [95% CI, 1.03-1.27]; P=0.01) after adjustment for age, sex, and race. We observed associations with CHIP with risk of hemorrhagic stroke (hazard ratio, 1.24 [95% CI, 1.01-1.51]; P=0.04) and with small vessel ischemic stroke subtypes. In gene-specific association results, TET2 showed the strongest association with total stroke and ischemic stroke, whereas DMNT3A and TET2 were each associated with increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Conclusions: CHIP is associated with an increased risk of stroke, particularly with hemorrhagic and small vessel ischemic stroke. Future studies clarifying the relationship between CHIP and subtypes of stroke are needed.
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10. |
- Bland-Hawthorn, Joss, et al.
(författare)
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The GALAH survey and Gaia DR2 : dissecting the stellar disc's phase space by age, action, chemistry, and location
- 2019
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 486:1, s. 1167-1191
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We use the second data releases of the European Space Agency Gaia astrometric survey and the high-resolution Galactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) spectroscopic survey to analyse the structure of our Galaxy's disc components. With GALAH, we separate the alpha-rich and alpha-poor discs (with respect to Fe), which are superposed in both position and velocity space, and examine their distributions in action space. We study the distribution of stars in the zV(z) phase plane, for both V-phi and V-R, and recover the remarkable 'phase spiral' discovered by Gaia. We identify the anticipated quadrupole signature in zV(z) of a tilted velocity ellipsoid for stars above and belowtheGalactic plane. By connecting ourwork with earlier studies, we show that the phase spiral is likely to extend well beyond the narrow solar neighbourhood cylinder in which it was found. The phase spiral is a signature of corrugated waves that propagate through the disc, and the associated non-equilibrium phase mixing. The radially asymmetric distribution of stars involved in the phase spiral reveals that the corrugation, which is mostly confined to the alpha-poor disc, grows in z-amplitude with increasing radius. We present new simulations of tidal disturbance of the Galactic disc by the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf. The effect on the zV(z) phase plane lasts greater than or similar to 2 Gyr, but a subsequent disc crossing wipes out the coherent structure. We find that the phase spiral was excited less than or similar to 0.5 Gyr ago by an object like Sgr with total mass similar to 3 x 10(10) M-circle dot (stripped down from similar to 5 x 10(10) M-circle dot when it first entered the halo) passing through the plane.
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