University of Sheffield

About: University of Sheffield is a education organization based out in Sheffield, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 41675 authors who have published 102908 publications receiving 3946383 citations. The organization is also known as: Sheffield University & shef.ac.uk.

The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 5th Edition (SCAT5): Background and rationale.

Abstract: This paper presents the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 5th Edition (SCAT5), which is the most recent revision of a sport concussion evaluation tool for use by healthcare professionals in the acute evaluation of suspected concussion. The revision of the SCAT3 (first published in 2013) culminated in the SCAT5. The revision was based on a systematic review and synthesis of current research, public input and expert panel review as part of the 5th International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Berlin in 2016. The SCAT5 is intended for use in those who are 13 years of age or older. The Child SCAT5 is a tool for those aged 5–12 years, which is discussed elsewhere.

A systematic genome-wide analysis of zebrafish protein-coding gene function

Abstract: Since the publication of the human reference genome, the identities of specific genes associated with human diseases are being discovered at a rapid rate. A central problem is that the biological activity of these genes is often unclear. Detailed investigations in model vertebrate organisms, typically mice, have been essential for understanding the activities of many orthologues of these disease-associated genes. Although gene-targeting approaches and phenotype analysis have led to a detailed understanding of nearly 6,000 protein-coding genes, this number falls considerably short of the more than 22,000 mouse protein-coding genes. Similarly, in zebrafish genetics, one-by-one gene studies using positional cloning, insertional mutagenesis, antisense morpholino oligonucleotides, targeted re-sequencing, and zinc finger and TAL endonucleases have made substantial contributions to our understanding of the biological activity of vertebrate genes, but again the number of genes studied falls well short of the more than 26,000 zebrafish protein-coding genes. Importantly, for both mice and zebrafish, none of these strategies are particularly suited to the rapid generation of knockouts in thousands of genes and the assessment of their biological activity. Here we describe an active project that aims to identify and phenotype the disruptive mutations in every zebrafish protein-coding gene, using a well-annotated zebrafish reference genome sequence, high-throughput sequencing and efficient chemical mutagenesis. So far we have identified potentially disruptive mutations in more than 38% of all known zebrafish protein-coding genes. We have developed a multi-allelic phenotyping scheme to efficiently assess the effects of each allele during embryogenesis and have analysed the phenotypic consequences of over 1,000 alleles. All mutant alleles and data are available to the community and our phenotyping scheme is adaptable to phenotypic analysis beyond embryogenesis.

Defense Priming: An Adaptive Part of Induced Resistance.

Abstract: Priming is an adaptive strategy that improves the defensive capacity of plants. This phenomenon is marked by an enhanced activation of induced defense mechanisms. Stimuli from pathogens, beneficial microbes, or arthropods, as well as chemicals and abiotic cues, can trigger the establishment of priming by acting as warning signals. Upon stimulus perception, changes may occur in the plant at the physiological, transcriptional, metabolic, and epigenetic levels. This phase is called the priming phase. Upon subsequent challenge, the plant effectively mounts a faster and/or stronger defense response that defines the postchallenge primed state and results in increased resistance and/or stress tolerance. Priming can be durable and maintained throughout the plant's life cycle and can even be transmitted to subsequent generations, therefore representing a type of plant immunological memory.

High-energy particle acceleration in the shell of a supernova remnant.

Abstract: A significant fraction of the energy density of the interstellar medium is in the form of high-energy charged particles (cosmic rays)1. The origin of these particles remains uncertain. Although it is generally accepted that the only sources capable of supplying the energy required to accelerate the bulk of Galactic cosmic rays are supernova explosions, and even though the mechanism of particle acceleration in expanding supernova remnant (SNR) shocks is thought to be well understood theoretically2,3, unequivocal evidence for the production of high-energy particles in supernova shells has proven remarkably hard to find. Here we report on observations of the SNR RX J1713.7 - 3946 (G347.3 - 0.5), which was discovered by ROSAT4 in the X-ray spectrum and later claimed as a source of high-energy γ-rays5,6 of TeV energies (1 TeV = 1012 eV). We present a TeV γ-ray image of the SNR: the spatially resolved remnant has a shell morphology similar to that seen in X-rays, which demonstrates that very-high-energy particles are accelerated there. The energy spectrum indicates efficient acceleration of charged particles to energies beyond 100 TeV, consistent with current ideas of particle acceleration in young SNR shocks.

Pathogens and insect herbivores drive rainforest plant diversity and composition

Abstract: Tropical forests are important reservoirs of biodiversity, but the processes that maintain this diversity remain poorly understood. The Janzen-Connell hypothesis suggests that specialized natural enemies such as insect herbivores and fungal pathogens maintain high diversity by elevating mortality when plant species occur at high density (negative density dependence; NDD). NDD has been detected widely in tropical forests, but the prediction that NDD caused by insects and pathogens has a community-wide role in maintaining tropical plant diversity remains untested. We show experimentally that changes in plant diversity and species composition are caused by fungal pathogens and insect herbivores. Effective plant species richness increased across the seed-to-seedling transition, corresponding to large changes in species composition. Treating seeds and young seedlings with fungicides significantly reduced the diversity of the seedling assemblage, consistent with the Janzen-Connell hypothesis. Although suppressing insect herbivores using insecticides did not alter species diversity, it greatly increased seedling recruitment and caused a marked shift in seedling species composition. Overall, seedling recruitment was significantly reduced at high conspecific seed densities and this NDD was greatest for the species that were most abundant as seeds. Suppressing fungi reduced the negative effects of density on recruitment, confirming that the diversity-enhancing effect of fungi is mediated by NDD. Our study provides an overall test of the Janzen-Connell hypothesis and demonstrates the crucial role that insects and pathogens have both in structuring tropical plant communities and in maintaining their remarkable diversity.