Svensson Noonan (nodesmoke42)

Metabarcoding of microbial eukaryotes (collectively known as protists) has developed tremendously in the last decade, almost solely relying on the 18S rRNA gene. As microbial eukaryotes are extremely diverse, many primers and primer pairs have been developed. Selleckchem GNE-987 To cover a relevant and representative fraction of the protist community in a given study system, an informed primer choice is necessary, as no primer pair can target all protists equally well. As such, a smart primer choice is very difficult even for experts and there are very few online resources available to list existing primers. We built a database listing 285 primers and 83 unique primer pairs that have been used for eukaryotic 18S rRNA gene metabarcoding. In silico performance of primer pairs was tested against two sequence databases PR2 version 4.12.0 for eukaryotes and a subset of silva version 132 for bacteria and archaea. We developed an R-based web application enabling browsing of the database, visualization of the taxonomic distribution of the amplified sequences with the number of mismatches, and testing any user-defined primer or primer set (https//app.pr2-primers.org). Taxonomic specificity of primer pairs, amplicon size and location of mismatches can also be determined. We identified universal primer sets that matched the largest number of sequences and analysed the specificity of some primer sets designed to target certain groups. This tool enables guided primer choices that will help a wide range of researchers to include protists as part of their investigations. While interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc), there remains a paucity of predictive markers to assess disease progression. We previously demonstrated that adipose tissue metabolism and adipokine homeostasis is dysregulated in SSc. We sought to determine the association and predictive ability of the novel adipokine C1q/TNF-Related Protein 9 (CTRP9) for SSc-ILD. We performed a retrospective longitudinal study utilizing the Northwestern Scleroderma Program Patient Registry and Biorepository. Serum levels of CTRP9 were measured in 110 SSc patients at baseline, and demographic, clinical and pulmonary function test data were collected in 12-month intervals to 48 months. Longitudinal trajectory of forced vital capacity percent predicted (FVC%) was used as a primary outcome measure. We utilized a mixed model to compare trajectories of lung function by CTRP9 groups and performed latent trajectory analysis to accommodate for heterogeneity. In cross-sectional analysis, elevated circulating CTRP9 was associated with significantly lower FVC% at baseline (72%±17 vs. 80%±18, p=0.02) and 48 months (68±19 vs. 84±18, p=0.001). In mixed model analysis, high CTRP9 was associated with worse lung function, but not with a different trajectory (p=0.23). In contrast, low CTRP9 identified patients with stability of lung disease with reasonable accuracy (sensitivity=73%). Latent trajectory analysis confirmed the association of lower CTRP9 with higher FVC%. Higher circulating CTRP9 associated with worse pulmonary function while low CTRP9 identified patients with lung disease stability over time. These findings suggest that CTRP9 may be a potential biomarker in SSc-associated ILD. Higher circulating CTRP9 associated with worse pulmonary function while low CTRP9 identified patients with lung disease stability over time. These findings suggest that CTRP9 may be a potential biomarker in SSc-associated ILD.Alkylammonium cation affinities of 64 nitrogen-containing organobases, as well as the respective proton transfer processes from the alkylammonium cations to the base, have been computed in the gas phase by using DFT methods. The guanidine bases show the highest proton transfer values (191.9-233 kJ mol-1 ) whereas the cis-2,2'-biimidazole presents the largest affinity towards the alkylamm