104,582 research outputs found
Comparative functional genomics and the bovine macrophage response to strains of the Mycobacterium genus
Mycobacterial infections are major causes of morbidity and mortality in cattle and are also potential zoonotic agents with implications for human health. Despite the implementation of comprehensive animal surveillance programs, many mycobacterial diseases have remained recalcitrant to eradication in several industrialized countries. Two major mycobacterial pathogens of cattle are Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), the causative agents of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) and Johne's disease (JD), respectively. BTB is a chronic, granulomatous disease of the respiratory tract that is spread via aerosol transmission, while JD is a chronic granulomatous disease of the intestines that is transmitted via the fecal-oral route. Although these diseases exhibit differential tissue tropism and distinct complex etiologies, both M. bovis and MAP infect, reside, and replicate in host macrophages - the key host innate immune cell that encounters mycobacterial pathogens after initial exposure and mediates the subsequent immune response. The persistence of M. bovis and MAP in macrophages relies on a diverse series of immunomodulatory mechanisms, including the inhibition of phagosome maturation and apoptosis, generation of cytokine-induced necrosis enabling dissemination of infection through the host, local pathology, and ultimately shedding of the pathogen. Here, we review the bovine macrophage response to infection with M. bovis and MAP. In particular, we describe how recent advances in functional genomics are shedding light on the host macrophage-pathogen interactions that underlie different mycobacterial diseases. To illustrate this, we present new analyses of previously published bovine macrophage transcriptomics data following in vitro infection with virulent M. bovis, the attenuated vaccine strain M. bovis BCG, and MAP, and discuss our findings with respect to the differing etiologies of BTB and JD
International Law, International Relations Theory, and Preemptive War: The Vitality of Sovereign Equality Today
The norm of sovereign equality in international law is so resolutely canonical that its precise meaning, origins, and justifications are rarely examined. Whatever the general merits of the norm, its retention seems fairly open to question when one sovereign state appears supremely unequal among 191 states in terms of military power
The impact of Singapore’s military development on Malaysia’s security
In this intense era of military and defense development in South East Asia, Singapore has emergence as the fastest country in the development of military capabilities.The rapid military development that started in 1965 has made Singapore become the strongest and finest in military and defense compared to other Southeast Asia nations. Singapore’s decision to be independent from Malaysia has forced it to be self-reliant, especially in terms of security and defense.Singapore adopted the approach to develop and strengthen its defense and military system after achieving independence in 1965.Its increasing economic development in1990 has influenced the military development process and defense system.This rapid expansion has made Singapore emergence as the strongest and most advanced in military capabilities country in the Southeast Asian region.The offensive defense doctrine practiced such as forward defense, poison shrimp, pre-emptive
strike and strategic weaponry ownership had raised concerns among leaders in the Southeast Asian countries.At the same
time, Malaysia has also taken action to speed up its military development, diversifying the defense doctrine including total defense, complete military with modern and sophisticated defense equipment.It is speculated as a result of the security impact that Malaysia face from Singapore’s military development.Hence, this study tries to elaborate the impact or security implications on Malaysia resulting from Singapore’s military development from the Malaysian military perspective
In Defense of Property
This Article responds to an emerging view, in scholarship and popular society, that it is normatively undesirable to employ property law as a means of protecting indigenous cultural heritage. Recent critiques suggest that propertizing culture impedes the free flow of ideas, speech, and perhaps culture itself. In our view, these critiques arise largely because commentators associate property with a narrow model of individual ownership that reflects neither the substance of indigenous cultural property claims nor major theoretical developments in the broader field of property law. Thus, departing from the individual rights paradigm, our Article situates indigenous cultural property claims, particularly those of American Indians, in the interests of peoples rather than persons, arguing that such cultural properties are integral to indigenous group identity or peoplehood, and deserve particular legal protection. Further, we observe that whereas individual rights are overwhelmingly advanced by property law\u27s dominant ownership model, which consolidates control in the title-holder, indigenous peoples often seek to fulfill an ongoing duty of care toward cultural resources in the absence of title. To capture this distinction, we offer a stewardship model of property to explain and justify indigenous peoples\u27 cultural property claims in terms of non-owners\u27 fiduciary obligations toward cultural resources. We posit that re-envisioning cultural property law in terms of peoplehood and stewardship more fully illuminates both the particular nature of indigenous claims and the potential for property law itself to embrace a broader and more flexible set of interests
Transition metal ions at the crossroads of mucosal immunity and microbial pathogenesis.
Transition metal ions are essential micronutrients for all living organisms. In mammals, these ions are often protein-bound and sequestered within cells, limiting their availability to microbes. Moreover, in response to infection, mammalian hosts further reduce the availability of metal nutrients by activating epithelial cells and recruiting neutrophils, both of which release metal-binding proteins with antimicrobial function. Microorganisms, in turn, have evolved sophisticated systems to overcome these limitations and acquire the metal ions essential for their growth. Here we review some of the mechanisms employed by the host and by pathogenic microorganisms to compete for transition metal ions, with a discussion of how evading "nutritional immunity" benefits pathogens. Furthermore, we provide new insights on the mechanisms of host-microbe competition for metal ions in the mucosa, particularly in the inflamed gut
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The Changing Dimensions of Japanese Security Issues
Presentation on post-Cold War security issues and international relations in Japan.
Delivered to the Japan Industry and Management of Technology Program (JIMT) at The University of Texas at Austin on August 11, 1999.IC2 Institut
Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Context of Human Brain Evolution:A Role for Theory in DSM-V?
The “hypervigilance, escape, struggle, tonic immobility”\ud
evolutionarily hardwired acute peritraumatic response\ud
sequence is important for clinicians to understand. Our\ud
commentary supplements the useful article on human\ud
tonic immobility (TI) by Marx, Forsyth, Gallup, Fusé and Lexington (2008). A hallmark sign of TI is peritraumatic\ud
tachycardia, which others have documented as a\ud
major risk factor for subsequent posttraumatic stress\ud
disorder (PTSD). TI is evolutionarily highly conserved\ud
(uniform across species) and underscores the need for\ud
DSM-V planners to consider the inclusion of evolution\ud
theory in the reconceptualization of anxiety and PTSD.\ud
We discuss the relevance of evolution theory to the\ud
DSM-V reconceptualization of acute dissociativeconversion\ud
symptoms and of epidemic sociogenic disorder(epidemic “hysteria”). Both are especially in need of attention in light of the increasing threat of terrorism\ud
against civilians. We provide other pertinent examples.\ud
Finally, evolution theory is not ideology driven (and\ud
makes testable predictions regarding etiology in “both\ud
directions”). For instance, it predicted the unexpected\ud
finding that some disorders conceptualized in DSM-IV-TR as innate phobias are conditioned responses and thus better conceptualized as mild forms of PTSD. Evolution\ud
theory may offer a conceptual framework in\ud
DSM-V both for treatment and for research on psychopathology.\u
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