Filarial nematodes possess glutathione transferases (GSTs), ubiquitous enzymes with the potential to detoxify xenobiotic and endogenous substrates, and modulate the host immune system, which may aid worm infection establishment, maintenance and survival in the host. Here we have identified and characterized a σ class glycosylated GST (OoGST1), from the cattle-infective filarial nematode Onchocerca ochengi, which is homologous (99% amino acid identity) with an immunodominant GST and potential vaccine candidate from the human parasite, O. volvulus, (OvGST1b). Onchocerca ochengi native GSTs were purified using a two-step affinity chromatography approach, resolved by 2D and 1D SDS-PAGE and subjected to enzymic deglycosylation revealing the existence of at least four glycoforms. A combination of lectin-blotting and mass spectrometry (MS) analyses of the released N-glycans indicated that OoGST1 contained mainly oligomannose Man5GlcNAc2 structure, but also hybrid- and larger oligommanose-type glycans in a lower proportion. Furthermore, purified OoGST1 showed prostaglandin synthase activity as confirmed by Liquid Chromatography (LC)/MS following a coupled-enzyme assay. This is only the second reported and characterized glycosylated GST and our study highlights its potential role in host-parasite interactions and use in the study of human onchocerciasis.

Jakobshavn Isbræ, a tidewater glacier that produces some of Greenland's largest icebergs and highest speeds, reached record-high flow rates in 2012 (Joughin and others, 2014). We use terrestrial radar interferometric observations from August 2012 to characterize the events that led to record-high flow. We find that the highest speeds occurred in response to a small calving retreat, while several larger calving events produced negligible changes in glacier speed. This non-linear response to calving events suggests the terminus was close to flotation and therefore highly sensitive to terminus position. Our observations indicate that a glacier's response to calving is a consequence of two competing feedbacks: (1) an increase in strain rates that leads to dynamic thinning and faster flow, thereby promoting destabilization, and (2) an increase in flow rates that advects thick ice toward the terminus and promotes restabilization. The competition between these feedbacks depends on temporal and spatial variations in the glacier's proximity to flotation. This study highlights the importance of dynamic thinning and advective processes on tidewater glacier stability, and further suggests the latter may be limiting the current retreat due to the thick ice that occupies Jakobshavn Isbræ’s retrograde bed.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) recurrence ranges from 16% to 43% and presents significant challenges to clinicians, patients, and families. This comparative effectiveness research study aims to disseminate, implement and evaluate whether an existing intervention, consisting of decolonization and decontamination procedures, which has been determined to be effective in hospital intensive care unit settings, can be implemented by Community Health Workers (CHWs) or “promotoras” conducting home visits prevent recurrence of CA-MRSA and transmission within their households for patients presenting to primary care with SSTIs. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: In partnership with 3 Community Health Centers and 4 community hospitals in NYC, this study will recruit patients (n=278) with confirmed MRSA SSTIs and their household members. Participants are randomized to receive either a CHW/Promotora-delivered decolonization-decontamination intervention or usual care, which includes hygiene education. The highly engaged stakeholder team meets monthly to review interim results, identify areas for refinement and new research questions, and develop and implement strategies to improve participant engagement and retention. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: MRSA and MSSA were found in 19% and 21.1% of wound cultures, respectively. 59.5% with MRSA+ wound culture had one or more MRSA+ surveillance culture; 67.8% with MSSA+ wound culture had one or more MSSA+ surveillance culture. The “warm handoff” approach, developed and implemented by the stakeholder team to engage patients from their initial consent to return of lab results and scheduling of the home visits, helped improve completion of baseline home visits by 14%, from 45% to 59% of eligible participants. Home visits have demonstrated that 60% of households had at least one surface contaminated with S. aureus. Of the surfaces that tested positive in the households, nearly 20% were MRSA and 81% were MSSA; 32.5% of household members had at least one surveillance culture positive for S. aureus (MRSA: 7.7%, MSSA: 92.3%). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This study aims to understand the systems-level, patient-level, and environmental-level factors associated with SSTI recurrence and household transmission, and to examine the interactions between bacterial genotypic and clinical/phenotypic factors on decontamination, decolonization, SSTI recurrence and household transmission. This study will evaluate the barriers and facilitators of implementation of home visits by CHWs in underserved populations, and aims to strengthen the weak evidence base for implementation of strategies to reduce SSTI recurrence and household transmission.

Taylor's law (TL) originated as an empirical pattern in ecology. In many sets of samples of population density, the variance of each sample was approximately proportional to a power of the mean of that sample. In a family of nonnegative random variables, TL asserts that the population variance is proportional to a power of the population mean. TL, sometimes called fluctuation scaling, holds widely in physics, ecology, finance, demography, epidemiology, and other sciences, and characterizes many classical probability distributions and stochastic processes such as branching processes and birth-and-death processes. We demonstrate analytically for the first time that a version of TL holds for a class of distributions with infinite mean. These distributions, a subset of stable laws, and the associated TL differ qualitatively from those of light-tailed distributions. Our results employ and contribute to the methodology of Albrecher and Teugels (2006) and Albrecher et al. (2010). This work opens a new domain of investigation for generalizations of TL.

Outlet glaciers undergo rapid spatial and temporal changes in flow velocity during calving events. Observing such changes requires both high temporal and high spatial resolution methods, something now possible with terrestrial radar interferometry. While a single such radar provides line-of-sight velocity, two radars define both components of the horizontal flow field. To assess the feasibility of obtaining the two-dimensional (2-D) flow field, we deployed two terrestrial radar interferometers at Jakobshavn Isbrae, a major outlet glacier on Greenland's west coast, in the summer of 2012. Here, we develop and demonstrate a method to combine the line-of-sight velocity data from two synchronized radars to produce a 2-D velocity field from a single (3 min) interferogram. Results are compared with the more traditional feature-tracking data obtained from the same radar, averaged over a longer period. We demonstrate the potential and limitations of this new dual-radar approach for obtaining high spatial and temporal resolution 2-D velocity fields at outlet glaciers.

Hybrid breeding relies on selection of genetically unrelated and complementary parents for key traits. The objective of this study was to examine genetic variation and identify unique sorghum genotypes using phenotypic and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and to determine their relationships with combining ability and heterosis for grain yield. A total of 32 landraces and four cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines were phenotyped using 25 agro-morphological traits and genotyped with 30 polymorphic SSR markers. The landraces were crossed with four CMS lines using a line × tester mating design. The 128 hybrids, 36 parentals and four check varieties were field-evaluated using a 12 × 14 alpha lattice design with three replications. General combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and heterosis for grain yield were determined. Genetic distance estimates ranged from 0.39 to 0.60 and 0.50 to 0.79, based on phenotypic and SSR markers, respectively. Landraces 72572, 75454, 200654, 239175, 239208, 244735A and 242039B and CMS lines ICSA 743 and ICSA 756 displayed positive and significant GCA effects for grain yield. Based on the SCA effects of yield, lines were classified into three heterotic groups aligned to the different cytoplasmic systems of testers. Lines with high GCA effects rendered hybrids with highly significant SCA effects with high mid-parent heterosis (MPH) for grain yield. Both marker systems were effective in demarcating sorghum genotypes that provided desirable cross-combinations with high combining ability effects and MPH for grain yield. The selected genotypes are recommended as potential parents for sorghum hybrid breeding in moisture stress environments.

One problem of wide interest involves estimating expected crossing-times. Several tools have been developed to solve this problem beginning with the works of Wald and the theory of sequential analysis. Deriving the explicit close form solution for the expected crossing times may be difficult. In this paper, we provide a framework that can be used to estimate expected crossing times of arbitrary stochastic processes. Our key assumption is the knowledge of the average behavior of the supremum of the process. Our results include a universal sharp lower bound on the expected crossing times. Furthermore, for a wide class of time-homogeneous, Markov processes, including Bessel processes, we are able to derive an upper bound E[a(Tr)]≤2r, which implies that sup r>0|((E[a(Tr)]−r)/r)|≤1, where a(t)=E[sup tXt] with {Xt}t≥0 be a non-negative, measurable process. This inequality motivates our claim that a(t) can be viewed as a natural clock for all such processes. The cases of multidimensional processes, non-symmetric and random boundaries are handled as well. We also present applications of these bounds on renewal processes in Example 10 and other stochastic processes.

Demonstrating the equivalence of constructs is a key requirement for cross-cultural empirical research. The major purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how to assess measurement and functional equivalence or invariance using the 9-item, 3-factor Love of Money Scale (LOMS, a second-order factor model) and the 4-item, 1-factor Pay Level Satisfaction Scale (PLSS, a first-order factor model) across 29 samples in six continents (N = 5973). In step 1, we tested the configural, metric and scalar invariance of the LOMS and 17 samples achieved measurement invariance. In step 2, we applied the same procedures to the PLSS and nine samples achieved measurement invariance. Five samples (Brazil, China, South Africa, Spain and the USA) passed the measurement invariance criteria for both measures. In step 3, we found that for these two measures, common method variance was non-significant. In step 4, we tested the functional equivalence between the Love of Money Scale and Pay Level Satisfaction Scale. We achieved functional equivalence for these two scales in all five samples. The results of this study suggest the critical importance of evaluating and establishing measurement equivalence in cross-cultural studies. Suggestions for remedying measurement non-equivalence are offered.

The regions of north-eastern Ethiopia are known for their high levels of sorghum genetic diversity, and for being drought prone. For centuries, sorghum has been developed and maintained by farmers for its adaptation to the marginal and heterogeneous environment of these regions. The objective of this study was to examine the genetic diversity and population structure of 200 sorghum landraces collected from seven lowland districts, using 30 microsatellite markers sampled from all linkage groups of the sorghum genome. Both distance-based and model-based analytical approaches were used to analyse the data. The data analysis revealed that there was a large variation among all the markers under study. The values of polymorphic information content ranged from 0.26 to 0.88, with a mean value of 0.61, reflecting the high discriminating ability of the markers studied. The mean value of total gene diversity was 0.69, which partitioned 86% among the landraces and 14% within the landraces. Gene diversity among the landraces was largely due to the variation among the genotypes within the geographic origins. Landraces sampled from different collection sites appeared to cluster together, indicating the existence of a high level of gene flow among the sites of collection. This indicates that a relatively small, random collection of landraces would capture the bulk of genetic diversity in the target area. A moderately high level of genetic differentiation and a relatively low level of gene flow were observed between sorghum races and maturity groups. Given that the target area is marginal, drought prone and heterogeneous, the study of genetic diversity among sorghum landraces could serve as an important indicator of valuable alleles for drought tolerance in future sorghum improvement programmes.

Niger harbours a wealth of diversity of Africa's rice (Oryza glaberrima) and its related wild species. We therefore engaged in a collecting mission of rice species across growing regions and agrosystems in Niger. A total of 270 rice accessions were assembled, including 177 Asian rice (O. sativa) cultivars, 67 African rice landraces (O.glaberrima), 25 O. barthii and one O.longistaminata. We found most accessions (80.7%) along the Niger River and its tributary the Dallol Maouri. Many of the accessions, except those belonging to the wild O. barthii initially found around the Lake Chad region, were also collected along the Niger River. Drought, insects, birds, rice yellow mottle virus and bacterial blight were noted as major constraints on rice production. Accession naming by farmers was consistent within regions but seldom across regions. Based on the recorded agro-morphological traits, the germplasm was classified into three clusters: (1) O. longistaminata with floating African landraces and late-maturing floating Asian rice; (2) lowland O.barthii and African landraces; (3) a mixture of irrigated Asian rice with lowland accessions of both cultivated species. The phenotypic variability of the germplasm collection, as measured by the Shannon–Weaver diversity index, was relatively high (H′ = 0.69), with accessions in the irrigated agrosystem being less diverse than those in the traditional agrosystems. There was no significant difference in the magnitude of diversity between the main eco-geographical zones and between the clusters. However, some traits contributing the most to this diversity were different. This study suggested a substantial germplasm exchange between regions in Niger.

Identification of preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an essential first step in developing interventions to prevent or delay disease onset. In this study, we examine the hypothesis that deeper analyses of traditional cognitive tests may be useful in identifying subtle but potentially important learning and memory differences in asymptomatic populations that differ in risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. Subjects included 879 asymptomatic higher-risk persons (middle-aged children of parents with AD) and 355 asymptotic lower-risk persons (middle-aged children of parents without AD). All were administered the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test at baseline. Using machine learning approaches, we constructed a new measure that exploited finer differences in memory strategy than previous work focused on serial position and subjective organization. The new measure, based on stochastic gradient descent, provides a greater degree of statistical separation (p = 1.44 × 10−5) than previously observed for asymptomatic family history and non-family history groups, while controlling for apolipoprotein epsilon 4, age, gender, and education level. The results of our machine learning approach support analyzing memory strategy in detail to probe potential disease onset. Such distinct differences may be exploited in asymptomatic middle-aged persons as a potential risk factor for AD. (JINS, 2012, 18, 428–439)

The science of extra-solar planets is one of the most rapidly changing areas of astrophysics and since 1995 the number of planets known has increased by almost two orders of magnitude. A combination of ground-based surveys and dedicated space missions has resulted in 560-plus planets being detected, and over 1200 that await confirmation. NASA's Kepler mission has opened up the possibility of discovering Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around some of the 100,000 stars it is surveying during its 3 to 4-year lifetime. The new ESA's Gaia mission is expected to discover thousands of new planets around stars within 200 parsecs of the Sun. The key challenge now is moving on from discovery, important though that remains, to characterisation: what are these planets actually like, and why are they as they are?

In the past ten years, we have learned how to obtain the first spectra of exoplanets using transit transmission and emission spectroscopy. With the high stability of Spitzer, Hubble, and large ground-based telescopes the spectra of bright close-in massive planets can be obtained and species like water vapour, methane, carbon monoxide and dioxide have been detected. With transit science came the first tangible remote sensing of these planetary bodies and so one can start to extrapolate from what has been learnt from Solar System probes to what one might plan to learn about their faraway siblings. As we learn more about the atmospheres, surfaces and near-surfaces of these remote bodies, we will begin to build up a clearer picture of their construction, history and suitability for life.

The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, EChO, will be the first dedicated mission to investigate the physics and chemistry of Exoplanetary Atmospheres. By characterising spectroscopically more bodies in different environments we will take detailed planetology out of the Solar System and into the Galaxy as a whole.

EChO has now been selected by the European Space Agency to be assessed as one of four M3 mission candidates.