A bright γ-ray flare interpreted as a giant magnetar flare in NGC 253.

Soft γ-ray repeaters exhibit bursting emission in hard X-rays and soft γ-rays. During the active phase, they emit random short (milliseconds to several seconds long), hard-X-ray bursts, with peak luminosities1 of 1036 to 1043 erg per second. Occasionally, a giant flare with an energy of around 1044 to 1046 erg is emitted2. These phenomena are thought to arise from neutron stars with extremely high magnetic fields (1014 to 1015 gauss), called magnetars1,3,4. A portion of the second-long initial pulse of a giant flare in some respects mimics short γ-ray bursts5,6, which have recently been identified as resulting from the merger of two neutron stars accompanied by gravitational-wave emission7. Two γ-ray bursts, GRB 051103 and GRB 070201, have been associated with giant flares2,8-11. Here we report observations of the γ-ray burst GRB 200415A, which we localized to a 20-square-arcmin region of the starburst galaxy NGC 253, located about 3.5 million parsecs away. The burst had a sharp, millisecond-scale hard spectrum in the initial pulse, which was followed by steady fading and softening over 0.2 seconds. The energy released (roughly 1.3 × 1046 erg) is similar to that of the superflare5,12,13 from the Galactic soft γ-ray repeater SGR 1806-20 (roughly 2.3 × 1046 erg). We argue that GRB 200415A is a giant flare from a magnetar in NGC 253.

Genome-wide re-sequencing of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium leprae Airaku-3.

Genotyping and molecular characterization of drug resistance mechanisms in Mycobacterium leprae enables disease transmission and drug resistance trends to be monitored. In the present study, we performed genome-wide analysis of Airaku-3, a multidrug-resistant strain with an unknown mechanism of resistance to rifampicin. We identified 12 unique non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including two in the transporter-encoding ctpC and ctpI genes. In addition, two SNPs were found that improve the resolution of SNP-based genotyping, particularly for Venezuelan and South East Asian strains of M. leprae.

Hydrogen mapping of the lunar south pole using the LRO neutron detector experiment LEND.

Hydrogen has been inferred to occur in enhanced concentrations within permanently shadowed regions and, hence, the coldest areas of the lunar poles. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission was designed to detect hydrogen-bearing volatiles directly. Neutron flux measurements of the Moon's south polar region from the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft were used to select the optimal impact site for LCROSS. LEND data show several regions where the epithermal neutron flux from the surface is suppressed, which is indicative of enhanced hydrogen content. These regions are not spatially coincident with permanently shadowed regions of the Moon. The LCROSS impact site inside the Cabeus crater demonstrates the highest hydrogen concentration in the lunar south polar region, corresponding to an estimated content of 0.5 to 4.0% water ice by weight, depending on the thickness of any overlying dry regolith layer. The distribution of hydrogen across the region is consistent with buried water ice from cometary impacts, hydrogen implantation from the solar wind, and/or other as yet unknown sources.

Experiment LEND of the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for high-resolution mapping of neutron emission of the Moon.

The scientific objectives of neutron mapping of the Moon are presented as 3 investigation tasks of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission. Two tasks focus on mapping hydrogen content over the entire Moon and on testing the presence of water-ice deposits at the bottom of permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. The third task corresponds to the determination of neutron contribution to the total radiation dose at an altitude of 50 km above the Moon. We show that the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) will be capable of carrying out all 3 investigations. The design concept of LEND is presented together with results of numerical simulations of the instrument's sensitivity for hydrogen detection. The sensitivity of LEND is shown to be characterized by a hydrogen detection limit of about 100 ppm for a polar reference area with a radius of 5 km. If the presence of ice deposits in polar "cold traps" is confirmed, a unique record of many millions of years of lunar history would be obtained, by which the history of lunar impacts could be discerned from the layers of water ice and dust. Future applications of a LEND-type instrument for Mars orbital observations are also discussed.

Hospital ownership, performance, and outcomes: assessing the state-of-the-science.

OBJECTIVE: This study 1) identified the research evidence; 2) assessed the state-of-the-science surrounding hospital ownership, performance, and outcomes in acute care hospitals in the United States; and 3) identified measurable components of hospital performance and outcomes for the organization, patient, and community. BACKGROUND: As the size of the nonprofit sector decreases and the size of the for-profit sector increases, hospital ownership warrants examination. Most research has focused on either ownership and performance or ownership and outcomes, rather than the potential interaction of all three variables. METHODS: A comprehensive, computerized search of the healthcare research literature yielded 69 data-based references published between 1985 and 1999. Coding sheets were developed to abstract the articles. Analysis involved synthesizing the research evidence for each of the three major variables and their components. RESULTS: Hospital ownership has an impact on hospital performance in relation to system operations; costs, prices, and financial management practices; and personnel issues. Organizational outcomes are similar among hospital ownership types in relation to increasing administrative costs and overall mediocre efficiency. Organizational outcomes differ among hospital ownership types in relation to nursing staff mix and professional satisfaction. The association of hospital ownership with patient outcomes varies depending on the dimension measured. The evidence is mixed or inconclusive regarding hospital ownership and access to care, morbidity, and mortality. The association of hospital ownership and adverse events is consistently supported. Hospital ownership status has an impact on the type and magnitude of community benefits. Differences among the three hospital ownership types are minimized in a competitive market. CONCLUSIONS: This study reinforces the position that nurse researchers need to include hospital ownership as an important structural variable in their studies of hospital-based nursing. Examining the conceptual links between ownership, performance, and outcomes requires the integration of macro-level and micro-level theory.

Evidence of linkage of familial hypoalphalipoproteinemia to a novel locus on chromosome 11q23.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) accounts for half of the 1 million deaths annually ascribed to cardiovascular disease and for almost all of the 1.5 million acute myocardial infarctions. Within families affected by early and apparently heritable CHD, dyslipidemias have a much higher prevalence than in the general population; 20%-30% of early familial CHD has been ascribed to primary hypoalphalipoproteinemia (low HDL-C). This study assesses the evidence for linkage of low HDL-C to chromosomal region 11q23 in 105 large Utah pedigrees ascertained with closely related clusters of early CHD and expanded on the basis of dyslipidemia. Linkage analysis was performed by use of 22 STRP markers in a 55-cM region of chromosome 11. Two-point analysis based on a general, dominant-phenotype model yielded LODs of 2.9 for full pedigrees and 3.5 for 167 four-generation split pedigrees. To define a localization region, model optimization was performed using the heterogeneity, multipoint LOD score (mpHLOD). This linkage defines a region on 11q23.3 that is approximately 10 cM distal to-and apparently distinct from-the ApoAI/CIII/AIV gene cluster and thus represents a putative novel localization for the low HDL-C phenotype.

BRCA1 mRNA is expressed highly during meiosis and spermiogenesis but not during mitosis of male germ cells.

The 17q-linked breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA1) is believed to function as a tumor suppressor gene (Miki et al., 1994). In this report BRCA1 RNA expression has been analysed in adult mouse tissues with detailed attention to its expression in prepuberal and adult testis. Measurements of BRCA1 mRNA levels in highly purified somatic cells of the testis and in staged germ cells showed that high level BRCA1 mRNA expression is limited to the germ cells. Within the germ cell lineage, the high level expression was detected in meiotic cells, specifically pachytene spermatocytes and in post-meiotic round spermatids. This is in contrast to premeiotic germ cells which were found to express little or no BRCA1 mRNA. These observations, considered together with recent data on the expression of BRCA1 in breast epithelium, argues against a function for BRACA1 in early progenitor cells in both tissues and cells attention instead to roles intimately associated with terminal differentiation or with final rounds of cell division.

Comparison of the positional cloning methods used to isolate the BRCA1 gene.

A critical step in positional cloning is the identification of candidate genes from a large, genetically defined region. Candidate gene isolation by hybrid selection, genomic sequencing, and direct cDNA library screening identified 45 candidate gene fragments (CGFs) from a 600 kb genomic region that contains the BRCA1 gene. These CGFs define a minimum of 15 genes, six of which are newly localized to the BRCA1 region. We present an analysis of the efficiency and the sequences generated for each of these methods. We also compare our CGF set to those reported for the BRCA1 region by three other groups, revealing a surprising lack of overlap among the sets.

A strong candidate for the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1.

A strong candidate for the 17q-linked BRCA1 gene, which influences susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer, has been identified by positional cloning methods. Probable predisposing mutations have been detected in five of eight kindreds presumed to segregate BRCA1 susceptibility alleles. The mutations include an 11-base pair deletion, a 1-base pair insertion, a stop codon, a missense substitution, and an inferred regulatory mutation. The BRCA1 gene is expressed in numerous tissues, including breast and ovary, and encodes a predicted protein of 1863 amino acids. This protein contains a zinc finger domain in its amino-terminal region, but is otherwise unrelated to previously described proteins. Identification of BRCA1 should facilitate early diagnosis of breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility in some individuals as well as a better understanding of breast cancer biology.

BRCA1 mutations in primary breast and ovarian carcinomas.

Loss of heterozygosity data from familial tumors suggest that BRCA1, a gene that confers susceptibility to ovarian and early-onset breast cancer, encodes a tumor suppressor. The BRCA1 region is also subject to allelic loss in sporadic breast and ovarian cancers, an indication that BRCA1 mutations may occur somatically in these tumors. The BRCA1 coding region was examined for mutations in primary breast and ovarian tumors that show allele loss at the BRCA1 locus. Mutations were detected in 3 of 32 breast and 1 of 12 ovarian carcinomas; all four mutations were germline alterations and occurred in early-onset cancers. These results suggest that mutation of BRCA1 may not be critical in the development of the majority of breast and ovarian cancers that arise in the absence of a mutant germline allele.

Localization of the VHR phosphatase gene and its analysis as a candidate for BRCA1.

The VH1-related human protein (VHR) gene was localized to human chromosome 17q21 in a region thought to contain the BRCA1 locus, a locus that confers susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer. VHR encodes a phosphatase with dual specificity for tyrosine and serine residues. Thus it is a plausible candidate for a tumor suppressor gene such as BRCA1. To test this possibility, the VHR coding sequence was screened in individuals with familial breast cancer and in sporadic breast tumor and breast cancer cell lines. No mutations were detected, suggesting that the VHR gene is not BRCA1.

Transcriptional activation mediated by the yeast AP-1 protein is required for normal cadmium tolerance.

The yeast YAP1 gene encodes a transcriptional regulatory protein that utilizes a basic region-leucine zipper (bZip) DNA-binding domain to recognize its cognate DNA element. A synthetic reporter gene containing a SV40 AP-1 response element (ARE) cloned upstream of a TRP5 promoter-lacZ gene fusion shows yAP-1-dependent transactivation in vivo. Recent work has shown that changes in the gene dosage of this factor can dramatically alter the ability of a cell to tolerate a host of toxic agents including cadmium, cycloheximide, and sulfometuron methyl. We have focused on the YAP1-dependent cadmium resistance as cells that lack a functional YAP1 gene are hypersensitive to this metal. Deletion mapping experiments define two domains in the carboxyl-terminal region of the yAP-1 protein that are required for normal cadmium tolerance and ARE-TRP5-lacZ expression. Single amino acid substitutions in the bZip domain of yAP-1 indicate that this region is required for normal DNA binding and in vivo function of the protein. Replacement of a non-canonical asparagine with leucine in the yAP-1 leucine zipper leads to production of a defective protein. A substitution mutation in the basic domain converts this mutant protein into a dominant negative factor. The ability of yAP-1 to act as a positive regulator of transcription is required for its biological action.

A cell cycle regulator potentially involved in genesis of many tumor types.

A putative tumor suppressor locus on the short arm of human chromosome 9 has been localized to a region of less than 40 kilobases by means of homozygous deletions in melanoma cell lines. This region contained a gene, Multiple Tumor Suppressor 1 (MTS1), that encodes a previously identified inhibitor (p16) of cyclin-dependent kinase 4. MTS1 was homozygously deleted at high frequency in cell lines derived from tumors of lung, breast, brain, bone, skin, bladder, kidney, ovary, and lymphocyte. Melanoma cell lines that carried at least one copy of MTS1 frequently carried nonsense, missense, or frameshift mutations in the gene. These findings suggest that MTS1 mutations are involved in tumor formation in a wide range of tissues.

Conserved cysteine residues of Oct-2 POU domain confer sensitivity to oxidation but are dispensable for sequence-specific DNA binding.

The POU family of proteins, including the Oct-2 transcription factor, is characterized by a highly conserved bipartite DNA binding domain containing a 'POU homeodomain', distantly related to homeodomains of other DNA binding proteins, and a 'POU specific' domain unique to this class of factors. Prompted by the finding that in vitro DNA binding by Oct-2 is reversibly inhibited by oxidation of the protein, we investigated the role of the cysteine residues in the POU domain. All POU homeodomains identified contain a cysteine in the helix 3 region presumed to contact DNA directly; many (including Oct-2) also contain a less-well conserved cysteine residue(s) in the POU specific domain. Replacement of these cysteines with serine residues rendered the DNA binding domain resistant to oxidation but did not appreciably change the binding to a canonical octamer sequence, suggesting that the conserved cysteine residues are not required for sequence-specific DNA contacts, but may be important for another function.

A Drosophila photoreceptor cell-specific protein, calphotin, binds calcium and contains a leucine zipper.

The calphotin protein, encoded by the calphotin (cap) gene, is expressed in the soma and axons of all Drosophila photoreceptor cells. It is expressed early in photo-receptor cell development, at the time when cell-type decisions are being made. Expression of calphotin is not altered by the glass mutation, which blocks photoreceptor cell development. The calphotin protein binds calcium and contains a long C-terminal leucine zipper. Potential implications of these properties are discussed.

Anti-IgM antibodies down modulate mu-enhancer activity and OTF2 levels in LPS-stimulated mouse splenic B-cells.

Stimulation of small, resting, splenic B cells with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces proliferation, differentiation to plasma cell formation, and the expression of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH). When this is combined with agents which crosslink surface Ig, differentiation and the induction of surface immunoglobulin are suppressed even though proliferation proceeds. We find that anti-mu antibodies suppresses Ig gene expression of transfected mu constructs, even if either the membrane or secretory segments have been deleted. We examined the effects of anti-mu treatment on the IgH enhancer (IgHE) attached to a heterologous test gene (CAT). Indeed the IgH enhancer alone was subject to anti-mu suppression, while the SV40 enhancer was insensitive. To determine what was responsible for suppression of enhancer function by anti-mu we examined nuclear extracts from stimulated splenic B cells for the presence of sequence-specific DNA binding activities to various sites within the enhancer. We found two specific differences--an induction in mu E5 binding activity, and a reduction in octamer transcription factor 2 (OTF2) binding activity, after anti-mu treatment. Analysis of these cells by in situ immunofluorescence with anti-OTF2 antibodies suggests that the nuclear localization of OTF2 in anti-mu treated cells may change, as well as its absolute level.