A novel RNA species was isolated from Bacillus subtilis, and its sequence was determined and mapped to its genetic position. This RNA was termed BS190 RNA from the length of its mature form (190 nt), and the gene encoding it is located within the aspS-yrvM intergenic region of the B. subtilis genome. Northern blotting revealed that the novel RNA species is transcribed in vegetative cells as a l...

BACKGROUND In this study, we used data from Australia's Northern Territory to assess differences in self-reported smoking prevalence between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. We also used urinary cotinine data to assess the validity of using self-reported smoking data in these populations. METHODS The Aboriginal Birth Cohort (ABC) is a prospective study of 686 Aboriginal babies b...

A new species of andromonoecious Solanum from the Australian "bush tomato clade" of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum is described. Solanum watneyi Martine & Frawley, sp. nov. is closely allied with Solanum eburneum, and is sympatric with it in parts of its range in the Northern Territory. The new species has been recognized as a variant of Solanum eburneum for decades, at times being referred to ...

We introduce here an alternative to conventional northern blotting that requires only minute amounts of RNA. This has been achieved by modification of methods currently used for the mapping of mRNA 5'-terminal ends. The terminal desoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated G-tailing, cap finder, ligation-anchored and RNA ligase-mediated approaches followed by polymerase chain reaction protocols all p...

Short RNAs derived from the cleavage of tRNA molecules are observed in most organisms. Their occurrence seems to be induced by stress conditions, but still little is known about their biogenesis and functions. We find that the recovery of tRNA fragments depends on the RNA isolation method. Using an optimized RNA extraction protocol and northern blot hybridization technique, we show that the tRN...

In Bacillus subtilis, maturation of 5S rRNA is catalyzed by an enzyme called RNase M5. We searched for potential mRNA substrates for RNase M5 by gene array technology, based on the premise that most endonucleolytic cleavages have an effect on the stability of RNA and hence on steady-state levels of expression. Only a handful of genes had significantly altered expression in rnmV mutants compared...

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza spread through the Northern Territory, Australia, during June-August 2009. We performed 2 cross-sectional serologic surveys on specimens from Northern Territory residents, with 445 specimens obtained prepandemic and 1,689 specimens postpandemic. Antibody titers were determined by hemagglutination inhibition against reference virus A/California/7/2009 on serum samp...

Non-protein-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are increasingly being recognized as having important regulatory roles. Although much recent attention has focused on tiny 22- to 25-nucleotide microRNAs, several functional ncRNAs are orders of magnitude larger in size. Examples of such macro ncRNAs include Xist and Air, which in mouse are 18 and 108 kilobases (Kb), respectively. We surveyed the 102,801 FANTOM3...

Remote tropical oceanic islands are of high conservation priority, and they are exemplified by range-restricted species with small global populations. Spatial and temporal patterns in rainfall and plant productivity may be important in driving dynamics of these species. Yet, little is known about environmental influences on population dynamics for most islands and species. Here we leveraged avi...

*Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract – This paper presents the first prototype of a new method –called Heliosat-4– for assessing solar surface irradiance. The Heliosat-4 method is based on the radiative transfer model libRadtran and benefits from advanced products derived from recent Earth Observation missions. It will provide direct and diffuse components and spectral...