BioTorrents: An OA file sharing service and more
BioTorrents: A File Sharing Service
Abstract:
The transfer of scientific data has emerged as a significant challenge, as datasets continue to grow in size and demand as open access sharing increases. Current methods for file transfer do not scale well for large files and can cause long transfer times. In this study, we present BioTorrents, a website that allows open access sharing of scientific data and uses the popular BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing technology. BioTorrents allows files to be transferred rapidly due to the sharing of bandwidth across multiple institutions and provides more reliable file transfers due to the built-in error checking of the file sharing technology. BioTorrents contains multiple features, including keyword searching, category browsing, RSS feeds, torrent comments, and a discussion forum. BioTorrents is available at http://www.biotorrents.net.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Funding: This project was supported by grant DEB 0516276 from the National Science Foundation, and by funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the German Primate Center (DPZ), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant Ka 1082-8), and the Volkswagen Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Contacts:
Morgan G. I. Langille
University of California Davis
Jen Laloup
Public Library of Science
415-624-1220
Citation: Citation: Langille MGI, Eisen JA (2010) BioTorrents: A File Sharing Service for Scientific Data. PLoS ONE 5(4): e10071. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010071
PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010071
FOR A PRESS-ONLY PREVIEW OF THE FULL ARTICLE, VISIT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.plos.org/press/pone-05-04-langille.pdf
Tyrannobdella rex N. Gen. N. Sp. and the Evolutionary Origins of Mucosal Leech Infestations
Abstract:
Background: Leeches have gained a fearsome reputation by feeding externally on blood, often from human hosts. Orificial hirudiniasis is a condition in which a leech enters a body orifice, most often the nasopharyngeal region, but there are many cases of leeches infesting the eyes, urethra, vagina, or rectum. Several leech species particularly in Africa and Asia are well known for their propensity to afflict humans. Because there has not previously been any data suggesting a close relationship for such geographically disparate species, this unnerving tendency to be invasive has been regarded only as a loathsome oddity and not a unifying character for a group of related organisms.
Principal Findings: A new genus and species of leech from Peru´ was found feeding from the nasopharynx of humans. Unlike any other leech previously described, this new taxon has but a single jaw with very large teeth. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial genes using parsimony and Bayesian inference demonstrate that the new species belongs among a larger, global clade of leeches, all of which feed from the mucosal surfaces of mammals.
Conclusions: This new species, found feeding from the upper respiratory tract of humans in Peru, clarifies an expansion of the family Praobdellidae to include the new species Tyrannobdella rex n. gen. n.sp., along with others in the genera Dinobdella, Myxobdella, Praobdella and Pintobdella. Moreover, the results clarify a single evolutionary origin of a group of leeches that specializes on mucous membranes, thus, posing a distinct threat to human health.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Funding: This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation (DEB-0640463), the Stavros Niarchos fund for Expeditionary Research, a Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grant, and a CUNY Science Fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Contacts:
Mark E. Siddall
Sackler Institute of Comparative Genomics,
American Museum of Natural History
E-mail: siddall@amnh.org
Jen Laloup
Public Library of Science
415-624-1220
Citation: Phillips AJ, Arauco-Brown R, Oceguera-Figueroa A, Gomez GP, Beltra´n M, et al. (2010) Tyrannobdella rex N. Gen. N. Sp. and the Evolutionary Origins of Mucosal Leech Infestations. PLoS ONE 5(4): e10057. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010057
PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010057
FOR A PRESS-ONLY PREVIEW OF THE FULL ARTICLE, VISIT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.plos.org/press/pone-05-04-siddall.pdf
Differential Brain Activation to Angry Faces by Elite Warfighters: Neural Processing Evidence for Enhanced Threat Detection
Abstract:
Background: Little is known about the neural basis of elite performers and their optimal performance in extreme environments. The purpose of this study was to examine brain processing differences between elite war fighters and comparison subjects in brain structures that are important for emotion processing and interoception.
Methodology/Principal Findings: Navy Sea, Air, and Land Forces (SEALs) while off duty (n = 11) were compared with n = 23 healthy male volunteers while performing a simple emotion face-processing task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Irrespective of the target emotion, elite war fighters relative to comparison subjects showed relatively greater right sided insula, but attenuated left-sided insula, activation. Navy SEALs showed selectively greater activation to angry target faces relative to fearful or happy target faces bilaterally in the insula. This was not accounted for by contrasting positive versus negative emotions. Finally, these individuals also showed slower response latencies to fearful and happy target faces than did comparison subjects.
Conclusions/Significance: These findings support the hypothesis that elite war-fighters deploy greater processing resources toward potential threat-related facial expressions and reduced processing resources to non-threat-related facial expressions. Moreover, rather than expending more effort in general, elite war-fighters show more focused neural and performance tuning. In other words, greater neural processing resources are directed toward threat stimuli and processing resources are conserved when facing a non-threat stimulus situation.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Funding: This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation (DEB-0640463), the Stavros Niarchos fund for Expeditionary Research, a Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grant, and a CUNY Science Fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Contacts:
Paulus Simmons
University of California San Diego, San Diego
E-mail: mpaulus@ucsd.edu
Jen Laloup
Public Library of Science
415-624-1220
Citation: Paulus MP, Simmons AN, Fitzpatrick SN, Potterat EG, Van Orden KF, et al. (2010) Differential Brain Activation to Angry Faces by Elite Warfighters: Neural Processing Evidence for Enhanced Threat Detection. PLoS ONE 5(4): e10096. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010096
PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010096
FOR A PRESS-ONLY PREVIEW OF THE FULL ARTICLE, VISIT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.plos.org/press/pone-05-04-paulus.pdf
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