Precursor Region Research Articles

Association Genetics in Populus Reveal the Allelic Interactions of Pto-MIR167a and Its Targets in Wood Formation.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial regulatory roles in plant growth and development by interacting with RNA molecules, including messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs); however, the genetic networks of miRNAs and their targets influencing the phenotypes of perennial trees remain to be investigated. Here, we integrated expression profiling and association analysis of underlying physiology and expression traits to dissect the allelic variations and genetic interactions of Pto-MIR167a and its targets, sponge lncRNA ARFRL, and Pto-ARF8, in 435 unrelated individuals of Populus tomentosa. Tissue-specific expression analysis in eight tissues, including stem, leaf, root, and shoot apex, revealed negative correlations between Pto-MIR167a and lncRNA ARFRL and Pto-ARF8 (r = −0.60 and −0.61, respectively, P < 0.01), and a positive correlation between sponge lncRNA ARFRL and Pto-ARF8 (r = 0.90, P < 0.01), indicating their potential regulatory roles in tree growth and wood formation. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based association studies detected 53 significant associations (P < 0.01, Q < 0.1) representing 41 unique SNPs from the three genes and six traits, suggesting their potential roles in wood formation. Epistasis uncovered 88 pairwise interactions for 10 traits, which provided substantial evidence for genetic interactions among Pto-MIR167a, lncRNA ARFRL, and Pto-ARF8. Using gene expression-based association mapping, we also examined SNPs within the three genes that influence phenotypes by regulating the expression of Pto-ARF8. Interestingly, SNPs in the precursor region of Pto-MIR167a altered its secondary structure stability and transcription, thereby affecting the expression of its targets. In summary, we elucidated the genetic interactions between Pto-MIR167a and its targets, sponge lncRNA ARFRL, and Pto-ARF8, in tree growth and wood formation, and provide a feasible method for further investigation of multi-factor genetic networks influencing phenotypic variation in the population genetics of trees.

Identification of novel cis-regulatory elements of Eya1 in Xenopus laevis using BAC recombineering

The multifunctional Eya1 protein plays important roles during the development of cranial sensory organs and ganglia, kidneys, hypaxial muscles and several other organs in vertebrates. Eya1 is encoded by a complex locus with candidate cis-regulatory elements distributed over a 329 kbp wide genomic region in Xenopus. Consequently, very little is currently known about how expression of Eya1 is controlled by upstream regulators. Here we use a library of Xenopus tropicalis genomic sequences in bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) to analyze the genomic region surrounding the Eya1 locus for enhancer activity. We used BAC recombineering to first create GFP reporter constructs, which were analysed for enhancer activity by injection into Xenopus laevis embryos. We then used a second round of BAC recombineering to create deletion constructs of these BAC reporters to localize enhancer activity more precisely. This double recombineering approach allowed us to probe a large genomic region for enhancer activity without assumptions on sequence conservation. Using this approach we were able to identify two novel cis-regulatory regions, which direct Eya1 expression to the somites, pharyngeal pouches, the preplacodal ectoderm (the common precursor region of many cranial sensory organs and ganglia), and other ectodermal domains.

Plane blast wave propagation in air with a transverse thermal inhomogeneity

An alternate mechanism explaining the shock broadening and splitting effects observed during its propagation through an elongated region with transverse thermal inhomogeneity is described. The shock wave is generated by exploding wire technique and its propagation is captured optically using shadowgraph method. Visualizing the flow provided distinct advantage not only for obtaining detailed information on the propagation characteristics but also for validating the numerical scheme used in the analysis. Three physical features namely shock jump, precursor region and vorticity induced flow, are identified to contribute to the shock structure with the latter two being responsible for the pressure profile ‘broadening’. The physical behavior of the incident shock is also analyzed along with other factors like temperature and curvature effects.

Allelic Interactions among Pto-MIR475b and Its Four Target Genes Potentially Affect Growth and Wood Properties in Populus

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in plant growth and development, but few studies have illuminated the allelic interactions among miRNAs and their targets in perennial plants. Here, we combined analysis of expression patterns and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based association studies to explore the interactions between Pto-MIR475b and its four target genes (Pto-PPR1, Pto-PPR2, Pto-PPR3, and Pto-PPR4) in 435 unrelated individuals of Populus tomentosa. Expression patterns showed a significant negative correlation (r = -0.447 to -0.411, P < 0.01) between Pto-MIR475b and its four targets in eight tissues of P. tomentosa, suggesting that Pto-miR475b may negatively regulate the four targets. Single SNP-based association studies identified 93 significant associations (P < 0.01, Q < 0.1) representing associations of 80 unique SNPs in Pto-MIR475b and its four targets with nine traits, revealing their potential roles in tree growth and wood formation. Moreover, one common SNP in the precursor region significantly altered the secondary structure of the pre-Pto-miR475b and changed the expression level of Pto-MIR475b. Analysis of epistatic interactions identified 115 significant SNP–SNP associations (P < 0.01) representing 45 unique SNPs from Pto-MIR475b and its four targets for 10 traits, revealing that genetic interactions between Pto-MIR475b and its targets influence quantitative traits of perennial plants. Our study provided a feasible strategy to study population genetics in forest trees and enhanced our understanding of miRNAs by dissecting the allelic interactions between this miRNA and its targets in P. tomentosa.

Nonrelativistic grey Sn-transport radiative-shock solutions

We present semi-analytic radiative-shock solutions in which grey Sn-transport is used to model the radiation, and we include both constant cross sections and cross sections that depend on temperature and density. These new solutions solve for a variable Eddington factor (VEF) across the shock domain, which allows for interesting physics not seen before in radiative-shock solutions. Comparisons are made with the grey nonequilibrium-diffusion radiative-shock solutions of Lowrie and Edwards [1], which assumed that the Eddington factor is constant across the shock domain. It is our experience that the local Mach number is monotonic when producing nonequilibrium-diffusion solutions, but that this monotonicity may disappear while integrating the precursor region to produce Sn-transport solutions. For temperature- and density-dependent cross sections we show evidence of a spike in the VEF in the far upstream portion of the radiative-shock precursor. We show evidence of an adaptation zone in the precursor region, adjacent to the embedded hydrodynamic shock, as conjectured by Drake [2,3], and also confirm his expectation that the precursor temperatures adjacent to the Zel’dovich spike take values that are greater than the downstream post-shock equilibrium temperature. We also show evidence that the radiation energy density can be nonmonotonic under the Zel’dovich spike, which is indicative of anti-diffusive radiation flow as predicted by McClarren and Drake [4]. We compare the angle dependence of the radiation flow for the Sn-transport and nonequilibrium-diffusion radiation solutions, and show that there are considerable differences in the radiation flow between these models across the shock structure. Finally, we analyze the radiation flow to understand the cause of the adaptation zone, as well as the structure of the Sn-transport radiation-intensity solutions across the shock structure.

Magnetic entropy change and accurate determination of Curie temperature in single-crystalline helimagnet FeGe

Cubic helimagnet FeGe has emerged as a class of skyrmion materials near room temperature that may impact future information technology. Experimentally identifying the detailed properties of skyrmion materials enables their practical application acceleratedly. Here we study the magnetic entropy change (MEC) of single-crystalline FeGe in its precursor region and clarify its close relation to the critical exponents of a second-order phase transition in this area. The maximum MEC is found to be 2.86 J/kg · K for a 7.0 T magnetic-field change smaller than that of common magnetocaloric materials indicating the multiplicity and complexity of the magnetic structure phases in the precursor region. This result also implies that the competition among the multimagnetic phases can partly counteract the magnetic-field–driven force and establishes a stable balance. Based on the obtained MEC and the critical exponents, the exact Curie temperature of single-crystalline FeGe under zero magnetic field is confirmed to be 279.1 K, higher than the previously reported 278.2 K. This finding paves the way for reconstruction of the FeGe phase diagram in the precursor region.

On the Origin of Surface Ozone Episode in Shanghai over Yangtze River Delta during a Prolonged Heat Wave

A heat wave with temperatures over 35°C and sunny stagnant meteorological conditions occurred in Shanghai from 27 July to 5 August 2015, leading to a sustained episode of high ozone lasting 12 days. We have conducted a detailed source apportionment of surface ozone, by precursor source category and region, using a photochemical transport model. In this episode, a southwesterly wind prevailed over the Yangtze River Delta, and therefore precursors from the local Shanghai region and the region immediately to the south of Shanghai are the two major contributors (in total 90%) to ozone in Shanghai. The source apportionment reveals that local industrial sources and energy/biogenic sources in neighbouring regions are the principal causes for the high levels of ozone. By examining the contributions from individual physical and chemical processes, we show that ozone concentrations start to rise rapidly in the morning because chemical production dominates as the solar radiation increases, and while there is little removal by deposition when ozone remains low. In general, chemical production, horizontal advection and vertical diffusion contribute to increase ozone concentration during daytime, and deposition and vertical advection reduce ozone concentrations.

Nucleolin Controls Ribosome Biogenesis through Its RNA-Binding Properties

IntroductionNucleolin (NCL) is a multifunctional, proliferation-associated factor that is overexpressed in many cancers and has already been demonstrated to play a profound role in leukemogenesis (Abdelmohsen and Gorospe, 2012; Shen et al., 2014). This can be linked to an increased synthesis of ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Thus, in leukemic cells, high expression levels of NCL contribute to malignant transformation through the increase of rRNA synthesis, which is required to sustain high levels of protein synthesis. Physiologically, NCL is a highly abundant, nucleolar RNA-binding protein that is implicated in the regulation of polymerase I transcription, post-transcriptional gene regulation, and plays a central role in ribosome biogenesis (Srivastava and Pollard, 1999). To further elucidate the exact role of NCL, this study focused on the characterization of the RNA-binding properties and protein-interactions of NCL in the context of ribosome biogenesis.MethodsIn order to identify transcriptome-wide binding sites and the cellular RNA targets of NCL, PAR-CLIP (photoactivatable-ribonucleoside-enhanced crosslinking and immunoprecipitation) and RIP-Seq (RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing) analyses were carried out in HEK 293 cells. PAR-CLIP is characterized by the incorporation of 4-thiouridine into newly transcribed RNA that causes a T to C conversion in the corresponding cDNA of crosslinked RNA (Hafner et al., 2010). The RNA-binding properties and the interaction of NCL with its identified RNA targets were elucidated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays, isothermal titration calorimetry and size-exclusion chromatography. To further define the role of NCL in ribosome biogenesis and the effect on precursor rRNA levels, siRNA mediated knockdown of NCL was employed followed by RNA sequencing. Furthermore, to characterize the interaction network of NCL on a proteome-wide level, mass-spectrometry was performed.ResultsThis study focuses on the characterization of the RNA-binding properties of NCL and provides the first PAR-CLIP data set of NCL and identifies small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNA) and precursor rRNA as main targets of NCL, both of which were further confirmed by RIP-Seq analysis. Binding sites of NCL were identified in the 5'ETS (external transcribed spacer), after the first cleavage site, in ITS1 and ITS2 (internal transcribed spacer) within the precursor rRNA, indicating that NCL might play a role in the early processing steps of ribosome biogenesis within the nucleolus. Biochemical and structural binding analyses reveal that NCL interacts along the complete precursor region and shows high binding affinity to G/C/U-rich repeat sequences, which is in agreement with the nucleotide composition of the primary rRNA transcript. Moreover, we propose that siRNA mediated knockdown of NCL inhibits polymerase I transcription, which is shown by decreased expression levels of the precursor rRNA transcript. On the proteome-wide level, mass-spectrometry analysis of NCL identified several interaction partners including block of proliferation 1 (BOP1), DEAD-box RNA helicase 18 (DDX18), and 5'-3' exoribonuclease 2 (XRN2) and numerous ribosomal proteins of the small and the large ribosomal subunits including RPS24, RPL11, RPL35A, and RPL36.ConclusionThis study provides evidence that NCL is highly associated with the process of ribosome biogenesis on the proteome- and transcriptome-wide level. Therefore, NCL might serve as a promising biochemical target in the context of increased ribosome biogenesis in cancer. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Effect of pre-miRNA-1658 gene polymorphism on chicken growth and carcass traits.

ObjectivePolymorphisms occurring in the precursor region of microRNAs (miRNAs) affect the target gene and alter the biogenesis of miRNAs, resulting in phenotypic variation. The purpose of the study was to investigate the genetic effects of rs16681031 (C>G) mutation in the precursor region of gga-miR-1658 on the economic traits of the Gushi-Anka chicken F2 resource population.MethodsTo explore the effect of miR-1658 polymorphisms on chicken economic traits, the SNP was genotyped by MassArray matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. The association between the SNP and chicken body size, growth and carcass traits was determined by linear mixed models.ResultsThe SNP was not only significantly associated with body weight at the age of 6, 8, 10, 12 weeks, respectively, but also with the breadth of the chicken chest, body slanting length and pelvic breadth at 4 weeks, chest depth at 8 weeks of age, and body slanting length at 12 weeks (p<0.05), respectively.ConclusionOur data serve as a useful resource for further analysis of miRNA function, and represent a molecular genetic basis for poultry breeding.

Functional Implications of Human-Specific Changes in Great Ape microRNAs.

microRNAs are crucial post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression involved in a wide range of biological processes. Although microRNAs are highly conserved among species, the functional implications of existing lineage-specific changes and their role in determining differences between humans and other great apes have not been specifically addressed. We analyzed the recent evolutionary history of 1,595 human microRNAs by looking at their intra- and inter-species variation in great apes using high-coverage sequenced genomes of 82 individuals including gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, chimpanzees and humans. We explored the strength of purifying selection among microRNA regions and found that the seed and mature regions are under similar and stronger constraint than the precursor region. We further constructed a comprehensive catalogue of microRNA species-specific nucleotide substitutions among great apes and, for the first time, investigated the biological relevance that human-specific changes in microRNAs may have had in great ape evolution. Expression and functional analyses of four microRNAs (miR-299-3p, miR-503-3p, miR-508-3p and miR-541-3p) revealed that lineage-specific nucleotide substitutions and changes in the length of these microRNAs alter their expression as well as the repertoires of target genes and regulatory networks. We suggest that the studied molecular changes could have modified crucial microRNA functions shaping phenotypes that, ultimately, became human-specific. Our work provides a frame to study the impact that regulatory changes may have in the recent evolution of our species.

PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS OF RICE SEED STORAGE PROTEINS IN RELATION TO NUTRIENT QUALITY OF THREE DIFFERENT COMMERCIAL RICE TYPES

Seed storage proteins (SSPs) are the most important component in rice, which provides nutrient to consumers. The SSPs content and composition are among the important determinant for rice quality determination specifically for nutritional value. Multiple factors have been identified to give effect to the nutritional value of rice grain including different types of rice. The purpose of this study is to investigate the expression level of SSPs of rice and also relates the nutrient quality of rice with the variability in SSPs expression from three different types of rice commercially available in markets. The SSPs were extracted from three different types of rice; white rice, brown rice and glutinous rice of the local rice brands in markets. Bradford Assay was carried out to determine the total SSPs content and brown rice was found to have significantly higher total SSPs content (9.157± 0.4 mg/100mg seeds) compared to white rice (6.933± 0.8 mg/ 100mg seeds) and glutinous rice (5.388± 0.2 mg/ 100mg seeds). Based on the banding patterns of the SDS-PAGE, there were different level of expressions were observed between the three rice types. The different expression can be observed obviously at the glutelin precursor region and glutelin acidic subunit region and prolamin polypeptides region for each type of rice. Therefore, contribute to the different nutritional value for dietary intake.

Inception and movement of a 'subgrain boundary precursor' in ice under an applied stress, observed by X-ray synchrotron radiation Bragg imaging.

Basal slip of dislocations, the easiest deformation mechanism of ice crystals, does not allow a response to any strain state. The first steps of another mechanism, with a moving subgrain boundary precursor region, which permits accommodating the effect of an applied load, is investigated on an ice single crystal, mainly using synchrotron radiation Bragg diffraction imaging. During this process, the evolution of the local integrated intensity shows that there is both a general multiplication of dislocations within the crystal and a movement of basal dislocations towards the surface. The 'subgrain boundary precursor' region evolves towards a classical grain boundary when further deformed.

Analysis of GeV-bandγ-ray emission from supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946

RX J1713.7-3946 is the brightest shell-type Supernova remnant (SNR) of the TeV gamma-ray sky. Earlier Fermi-LAT results on low-energy gamma-ray emission suggested that, despite large uncertainties in the background determination, the spectrum is inconsistent with a hadronic origin. We update the GeV-band spectra using improved estimates for the diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission and more than doubled data volume. We further investigate the viability of hadronic emission models for RX J1713.7-3946. We produced a high-resolution map of the diffuse Galactic gamma-ray background corrected for HI self-absorption and used it in the analysis of more than 5~years worth of Fermi-LAT data. We used hydrodynamic scaling relations and a kinetic transport equation to calculate the acceleration and propagation of cosmic-rays in SNR. We then determined spectra of hadronic gamma-ray emission from RX J1713.7-3946, separately for the SNR interior and the cosmic-ray precursor region of the forward shock, and computed flux variations that would allow to test the model with observations. We find that RX J1713.7-3946 is now detected by Fermi-LAT with very high statistical significance, and the source morphology is best described by that seen in the TeV band. The measured spectrum of RX J1713.7-3946 is hard with index gamma=1.53 +/- 0.07, and the integral flux above 500 MeV is F = (5.5 +/- 1.1)e-9 photons/cm^2/s. We demonstrate that scenarios based on hadronic emission from the cosmic-ray precursor region are acceptable for RX J1713.7-3946, and we predict a secular flux increase at a few hundred GeV at the level of around 15% over 10 years, which may be detectable with the upcoming CTA observatory.

Investigation of chiral phases near helical ordering temperature in MnSi

Chiral modulation crossovers and phase transitions of MnSi in the vicinity of the long-range magnetic ordering temperature are investigated. Notable anomalies in specific heat as a function of magnetic fields that directly correspond to the speculated chiral modulations in the precursor region are observed. The magneto-thermal (H–T) phase diagram reveals the existence of repulsive, attractive, and confined skyrmion phases. Resistivity analysis suggests strong electron–magnon coupling as well as the possibility of strong electron correlations in MnSi supported by the Kadowaki–Woods ratio (), which is close to that of moderate heavy Fermion metals.

SNP in pre-miR-1666 decreases mature miRNA expression and is associated with chicken performance.

Polymorphisms in miRNA genes could potentially alter various biological processes by influencing the processing and (or) target selection of miRNAs. The rs14120863 (C > G) mutation, which we characterized in a Gushi-Anka F2 resource population, resides in the precursor region of miR-1666. Association analysis with chicken carcass and growth traits showed that the SNP was significantly associated with carcass weight, evisceration weight, breast muscle weight, leg muscle weight, and body weight at 8 weeks of age, as well as some body size indexes including shank girth, chest breadth, breast bone length, and body slanting length, in the Gushi-Anka F2 resource population. Quantitative RT-PCR results showed that miR-1666 expression levels in muscle tissues differed within various genotypes. Experiment in DF1 cells further confirmed that the SNP in miR-1666 could significantly alter mature miRNA production. Subsequently, using dual-luciferase report assay, we verified that miR-1666 could perform its function through targeting of the CBFB gene. In conclusion, the SNP in the precursor of miR-1666 could significantly reduce mature miR-1666 production. It may further affect the function of miR-1666 through the target gene CBFB, hence it is associated with chicken growth traits.

Pressure-induced inhomogeneous chiral-spin ground state in FeGe.

(57)Fe nuclear forward scattering on the chiral magnet FeGe reveals an extremely large precursor phase region above the helimagnetic ordering temperature T(C)(p) and beyond the pressure-induced quantum phase transition at 19 GPa. The decrease of the magnetic hyperfine field ⟨B(hf)⟩ with pressure is accompanied by a large increase of the width of the distribution of ⟨B(hf)⟩, indicating a strong quasistatic inhomogeneity of the magnetic states in the precursor region. Hyperfine fields of the order of 4 T (equivalent to a magnetic moment μ(Fe)≈0.4μ(B)) persist up to 28.5 GPa. No signatures of magnetic order have been found at about 31 GPa. The results, supported by ab initio calculations, suggest that chiral magnetic precursor phenomena, such as an inhomogeneous chiral-spin state, are vastly enlarged due to increasing spin fluctuations as FeGe is tuned to its quantum phase transition.

Assessment of correlation between pre-miRNA-1757 polymorphism and chicken performance traits.

Single nucleotide polymorphism in microRNAs (miRNA) may influence their target gene selection and regulation efficiency, leading to animal phenotypic variation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the miRNA-1757 gene precursor region (pre-mir-1757) on economic-related traits in chicken. Genotyping was performed using Sequenom MassArray® iPLEX GOLD System. Association analysis was performed using SPSS19.0. The data showed that the G/C polymorphism was significantly correlated with semi-evisceration weight, evisceration weight, carcass weight, body weight at 10 weeks of age, shank length at 4 weeks of age, pectoral angle at 8 weeks of age, and body slanting length and pelvis breadth at 12 weeks of age (P < 0.05), and led to the alteration of the RNA secondary structure of pre-mir-1757. Our results provide useful information for further annotation studies of miRNA function.

Sensing application in the precursor region of localized corrosion by scanning electrochemical microscopy

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) has been established as an indispensible tool in the analysis of corrosion. The aim of this article is to review the recent advances of this technique and its applications in measuring, characterizing and evaluating the precursor region of localized corrosion. The topography and redox activities of the metal/electrolyte solution interface at a local scale during the corrosion processes can thus be described in real time with high spatial resolution. In addition, relevant references from the advent of SECM integrated with other techniques to improve its resolution in investigating the precursor region during local corrosion are also presented with a special discussion on high resolution images.

Introducing transglutaminase with its precursor region into Clostridium acetobutylicum improves its tolerance to oxidative stress and solvent production

We developed a new strategy to improve the aero-tolerance of Clostridium acetobutylicum, an obligate anaerobic bacterium widely used in solvent (acetone–butanol–ethanol) production. The gene mtg which encodes microbial transglutaminase mature protein and its precursor region (pro) were cloned from Streptomyces mobaraensis. Subsequently, the pro-mtg was introduced into C. acetobutylicum under the anhydrotetracycline inducible promoter Pcm-2tetO1 that we previously developed. Transglutaminase has been reported to be involved in oxidative stress in many human diseases. Here we found that the introduction of pro-mtg into C. acetobutylicum resulted in a significantly enhanced survival upon aeration and hydrogen peroxide challenges, as compared with the control. Penicillin susceptibility test indicated that the cross-linking activity of MTG might alter cell wall architecture and then improve the cellular resistance to oxidative stress. In addition, increased biomass concentration, reduced production of butyrate, as well as increased production of solvents by the recombinant C. acetobutylicum strain with pro-mtg, were also observed. Together with our previous observation that MTG improves the growth performance of Lactococcus lactis under aerobic conditions, introduction of MTG into non-MTG-producing microorganisms thus can be considered as a useful approach to improve the physiological functionality of the host microorganisms.

Numerical investigation of propellant leak methods in large-caliber cannons for blast overpressure attenuation

In this study, we numerically investigate a novel means to reduce blast overpressure to the rear of a muzzle-loaded cannon. Reduction in blast overpressure, and thus peak overpressure, leads to an increase in the number of allowed rounds that can be fired over a given period of time for the crew manning the system. New propellant leak methods are studied using numerical simulations, where the propellant gas is intentionally allowed to leak in front of the projectile into the precursor region (while the projectile is still in the bore). This is done through the addition of a bulge or leak channels in the tube. The focus of this work is on a large-caliber muzzle-loaded cannon at \(80^{\circ }\) (1,422 angular mils) elevation and with firing done at the max zone with the round and charge conditioned to ambient. We employ a hydrocode (ALE3D) to predict the blast overpressure for three types of geometries comprising five geometric configurations in total. These include one baseline configuration (i.e., with no modification) as well as four additional configurations with bulges and channels to allow propellant leak. The leaking of propellant gas into the precursor region leads to changes in the flow field associated with the precursor. In the case of channels, propellant leak results in a significantly reduced exit pressure ratio during projectile separation, and thereby, leading to a weaker primary blast wave. This in turn attenuates the peak overpressure to the rear of the muzzle without the aid of a muzzle device. For the channel leak method, at one monitored location, with the largest peak overpressure, a reduction of about 38 % was observed in peak overpressure as compared to the baseline case.