Human cytomegalovirus multiple-strain infections and viral population diversity in haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients analysed by high-throughput sequencing.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an important opportunistic pathogen in allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients. High-throughput sequencing of target-enriched libraries was performed to characterise the diversity of HCMV strains present in this high-risk group. Forty-four HCMV-DNA-positive plasma specimens (median viral input load 321 IU per library) collected at defined time points from 23 HSCT recipients within 80 days of transplantation were sequenced. The genotype distribution for 12 hypervariable HCMV genes and the number of HCMV strains present (i.e. single- vs. multiple-strain infection) were determined for 29 samples from 16 recipients. Multiple-strain infection was observed in seven of these 16 recipients, and five of these seven recipients had the donor (D)/recipient (R) HCMV-serostatus combination D + R + . A very broad range of genotypes was detected, with an intrahost composition that was generally stable over time. Multiple-strain infection was not associated with particular virological or clinical features, such as altered levels or duration of antigenaemia, development of acute graft-versus-host disease or increased mortality. In conclusion, despite relatively low viral plasma loads, a high frequency of multiple-strain HCMV infection and a high strain complexity were demonstrated in systematically collected clinical samples from this cohort early after HSCT. However, robust evaluation of the pathogenic role of intrahost viral diversity and multiple-strain infection will require studies enrolling larger numbers of recipients.

Exploring the effect of different plant lignin content and composition on ionic liquid pretreatment efficiency and enzymatic saccharification of Eucalyptus globulus L. mutants.

There are several approaches being investigated to improve the efficiency of biomass conversion into fermentable sugars, including those that engineer the feedstocks to enhance digestibility. In this study it was evaluated the impact of genotype modifications of three mutants of Eucalyptus globulus L., and of the corresponding wild type on cellulose hydrolyzability before and after ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment. Both untreated and IL-treated samples were chemically characterized and tested for cellulose hydrolizability. Results obtained indicate that genetic modifications altered wood lignin-S/G ratio. This alteration resulted in a different hydrolyzability of cellulose for untreated samples, i.e. high lignin-S/G ratio produced low glucose yield (r=-0.97; P<0.03; n=4), but did not affect glucose yield after IL pretreatment. IL pretreated samples had increased glucose yields compared to that of untreated samples due to the modification of microcrystalline cellulose I to mixtures of more hydrolysable cellulose II and amorphous cellulose, and to the partial removal of the steric impediment, or removal of the lignin "sheath" protecting cellulose, to enzymes. The efficiency of the IL pretreatment used in this study does not appear to be affected by the S/G content of the E. globulus.

Character and spatial distribution of OH/H2O on the surface of the Moon seen by M3 on Chandrayaan-1.

The search for water on the surface of the anhydrous Moon had remained an unfulfilled quest for 40 years. However, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) on Chandrayaan-1 has recently detected absorption features near 2.8 to 3.0 micrometers on the surface of the Moon. For silicate bodies, such features are typically attributed to hydroxyl- and/or water-bearing materials. On the Moon, the feature is seen as a widely distributed absorption that appears strongest at cooler high latitudes and at several fresh feldspathic craters. The general lack of correlation of this feature in sunlit M3 data with neutron spectrometer hydrogen abundance data suggests that the formation and retention of hydroxyl and water are ongoing surficial processes. Hydroxyl/water production processes may feed polar cold traps and make the lunar regolith a candidate source of volatiles for human exploration.

Linewidth measurements in the thermal infrared bands of (12)CH(3)D at planetary atmospheric temperatures.

Collision-broadened halfwidths of three lines in thenu(3) fundamental band and of four lines in the nu(6) fundamental band of (12)CH(3)D have been measured at temperatures between 123 and 295 K using the Dopplerlimited spectral resolution of a tunable diode laser spectrometer. Temperature dependence of the linewidths has been determined in self-broadening and in broadening by H(2), He, and N(2).