Surface modifications of biometallic commercially pure Ti and Ti–13Nb–13Zr alloy by picosecond Nd:YAG laser

The effects of picosecond Nd:YAG laser irradiation on chemical and morphological surface characteristics of the commercially pure titanium and Ti–13 Nb–13 Zr alloy in air and argon atmospheres were studied under different laser output energy values. During the interaction of laser irradiation with the investigated materials, a part of the energy was absorbed on the target surface, influencing surface modifications.Laser beam interaction with the target surface resulted in various morphological alterations, resulting in crater formation and the presence of microcracks and hydrodynamic structures. Moreover, different chemical changes were induced on the target materials' surfaces, resulting in the titanium oxide formation in the irradiation-affected area and consequently increasing the irradiation energy absorption. Given the high energy absorption at the site of interaction, the dimensions of the surface damaged area increased. Consequently, surface roughness increased.The appearance of surface oxides also led to the increased material hardness in the surface-modified area. Observed chemical and morphological changes were pronounced after laser irradiation of the Ti–13 Nb–13 Zr alloy surface.     

Interdependence of behavioural variability and response to small stimuli in bacteria

The chemotaxis signalling network in Escherichia coli that controls the locomotion of bacteria is a classic model system for signal transduction. This pathway modulates the behaviour of flagellar motors to propel bacteria towards sources of chemical attractants. Although this system relaxes to a steady state in response to environmental changes, the signalling events within the chemotaxis network are noisy and cause large temporal variations of the motor behaviour even in the absence of stimulus. That the same signalling network governs both behavioural variability and cellular response raises the question of whether these two traits are independent. Here, we experimentally establish a fluctuation-response relationship in the chemotaxis system of living bacteria. Using this relationship, we demonstrate the possibility of inferring the cellular response from the behavioural variability measured before stimulus. In monitoring the pre- and post-stimulus switching behaviour of individual bacterial motors, we found that variability scales linearly with the response time for different functioning states of the cell. This study highlights that the fundamental relationship between fluctuation and response is not constrained to physical systems at thermodynamic equilibrium but is extensible to living cells. Such a relationship not only implies that behavioural variability and cellular response can be coupled traits, but it also provides a general framework within which we can examine how the selection of a network design shapes this interdependence.     

Predicting Systemic Risk with Entropic Indicators

This paper concentrates on quantifying the behavioral aspects of systemic risk by using a novel approach based on entropy. More specifically, we study aggregate market expectations and the predictability of systemic risk before and during the financial crisis in 2008. Two underlying signals for estimating entropic risk measures are considered: (i) skewness premium of deepest out‐of‐the‐money options; and (ii) implied volatility ratio in regard to deepest out‐of‐the‐money options. The findings confirm the predictive and contemporaneous usefulness of our entropy setting in market risk management. The degree of predictability is closely linked to both the type of entropy and the nature of the underlying signal. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fisheries: mislabelling of a depleted reef fish

Any fish species that appears to be readily available in the marketplace will create an impression among the public that there is a plentiful supply of that fish in the sea, but this may belie the true state of the fisheries' stock. Here we use molecular genetic analysis to show that some three-quarters of the fish sold in the United States as 'red snapper'--the US Food and Drug Administration's legally designated common name for Lutjanus campechanus--belong to another species. Mislabelling to this extent not only defrauds consumers but could also adversely affect estimates of stock size if it influences the reporting of catch data that are used in fisheries management.     

T-cell-expressed proprotein convertase furin is essential for maintenance of peripheral immune tolerance

Furin is one of seven proprotein convertase family members that promote proteolytic maturation of proproteins. It is induced in activated T cells and is reported to process a variety of substrates including the anti-inflammatory cytokine transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 (refs 2-4), but the non-redundant functions of furin versus other proprotein convertases in T cells are unclear. Here we show that conditional deletion of furin in T cells allowed for normal T-cell development but impaired the function of regulatory and effector T cells, which produced less TGF-beta1. Furin-deficient T regulatory (Treg) cells were less protective in a T-cell transfer colitis model and failed to induce Foxp3 in normal T cells. Additionally, furin-deficient effector cells were inherently over-active and were resistant to suppressive activity of wild-type Treg cells. Thus, our results indicate that furin is indispensable in maintaining peripheral tolerance, which is due, at least in part, to its non-redundant, essential function in regulating TGF-beta1 production. Targeting furin has emerged as a strategy in malignant and infectious disease. Our results suggest that inhibiting furin might activate immune responses, but may result in a breakdown in peripheral tolerance.     

Genome-wide association study identifies three new melanoma susceptibility loci

We report a genome-wide association study for melanoma that was conducted by the GenoMEL Consortium. Our discovery phase included 2,981 individuals with melanoma and 1,982 study-specific control individuals of European ancestry, as well as an additional 6,426 control subjects from French or British populations, all of whom were genotyped for 317,000 or 610,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Our analysis replicated previously known melanoma susceptibility loci. Seven new regions with at least one SNP with P < 10(-5) and further local imputed or genotyped support were selected for replication using two other genome-wide studies (from Australia and Texas, USA). Additional replication came from case-control series from the UK and The Netherlands. Variants at three of the seven loci replicated at P < 10(-3): an SNP in ATM (rs1801516, overall P = 3.4 × 10(-9)), an SNP in MX2 (rs45430, P = 2.9 × 10(-9)) and an SNP adjacent to CASP8 (rs13016963, P = 8.6 × 10(-10)). A fourth locus near CCND1 remains of potential interest, showing suggestive but inconclusive evidence of replication (rs1485993, overall P = 4.6 × 10(-7) under a fixed-effects model and P = 1.2 × 10(-3) under a random-effects model). These newly associated variants showed no association with nevus or pigmentation phenotypes in a large British case-control series.