Evidence for genetic variance in resistance to tuberculosis in Great Britain and Irish Holstein-Friesian populations

peer-reviewedBackground: Here, we jointly summarise scientific evidence for genetic variation in resistance to infection with Mycobacterium bovis, the primary agent of bovine tuberculosis (TB), provided by two recent and separate studies of Holstein-Friesian dairy cow populations in Great Britain (GB) and Ireland. Methods: The studies quantified genetic variation within archived data from field and abattoir surveillance control programmes within each country. These data included results from the single intradermal comparative tuberculin test (SICTT), abattoir inspection for TB lesions and laboratory confirmation of disease status. Threshold animal models were used to estimate variance components for responsiveness to the SICTT and abattoir confirmed M. bovis infection. The link functions between the observed 0/1 scale and the liability scale were the complementary log-log in the GB, and logit link function in the Irish population. Results and discussion: The estimated heritability of susceptibility to TB, as judged by responsiveness to the SICTT, was 0.16 (0.012) and 0.14 (0.025) in the GB and Irish populations, respectively. For abattoir or laboratory confirmation of infection, estimates were 0.18 (0.044) and 0.18 (0.041) from the GB and the Irish populations, respectively. Conclusions: Estimates were all significantly different from zero and indicate that exploitable variation exists among GB and Irish Holstein Friesian dairy cows for resistance to TB. Epidemiological analysis suggests that factors such as variation in exposure or imperfect sensitivity and specificity would have resulted in underestimation of the true values

Back reaction, covariant anomaly and effective action

In the presence of back reaction, we first produce the one-loop corrections for the event horizon and Hawking temperature of the Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole. Then, based on the covariant anomaly cancelation method and the effective action technique, the modified expressions for the fluxes of gauge current and energy momentum tensor, due to the effect of back reaction, are obtained. The results are consistent with the Hawking fluxes of a (1+1)-dimensional blackbody at the temperature with quantum corrections, thus confirming the robustness of the covariant anomaly cancelation method and the effective action technique for black holes with back reaction.Comment: 17 page

On the Relationship between Sialomucin and Sulfomucin Expression and Hydrogenotrophic Microbes in the Human Colonic Mucosa

The colonic mucus layer is comprised primarily of acidomucins, which provide viscous properties and can be broadly classified into sialomucins or sulfomucins based on the presence of terminating sialic acid or sulfate groups. Differences in acidomucin chemotypes have been observed in diseases such as colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, and variation in sialo- and sulfomucin content may influence microbial colonization. For example, sulfate derived from sulfomucin degradation may promote the colonization of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), which through sulfate respiration generate the genotoxic gas hydrogen sulfide. Here, paired biopsies from right colon, left colon, and rectum of 20 subjects undergoing routine screening colonoscopies were collected to enable parallel histochemical and microbiological studies. Goblet cell sialo- and sulfomucins in each biopsy were distinguished histochemically and quantified. Quantitative PCR and multivariate analyses were used to examine the abundance of hydrogenotrophic microbial groups and SRB genera relative to acidomucin profiles. Regional variation was observed in sialomucins and sulfomucins with the greatest abundance of each found in the rectum. Mucin composition did not appear to influence the abundance of SRB or other hydrogenotrophic microbiota but correlated with the composition of different SRB genera. A higher sulfomucin proportion correlated with higher quantities of Desulfobacter, Desulfobulbus and Desulfotomaculum, relative to the predominant Desulfovibrio genus. Thus, acidomucin composition may influence bacterial sulfate respiration in the human colon, which may in turn impact mucosal homeostasis. These results stress the need to consider mucus characteristics in the context of studies of the microbiome that target intestinal diseases

Species Specificity in Major Urinary Proteins by Parallel Evolution

Species-specific chemosignals, pheromones, regulate social behaviors such as aggression, mating, pup-suckling, territory establishment, and dominance. The identity of these cues remains mostly undetermined and few mammalian pheromones have been identified. Genetically-encoded pheromones are expected to exhibit several different mechanisms for coding 1) diversity, to enable the signaling of multiple behaviors, 2) dynamic regulation, to indicate age and dominance, and 3) species-specificity. Recently, the major urinary proteins (Mups) have been shown to function themselves as genetically-encoded pheromones to regulate species-specific behavior. Mups are multiple highly related proteins expressed in combinatorial patterns that differ between individuals, gender, and age; which are sufficient to fulfill the first two criteria. We have now characterized and fully annotated the mouse Mup gene content in detail. This has enabled us to further analyze the extent of Mup coding diversity and determine their potential to encode species-specific cues

Search for gravitational waves associated with gamma-ray bursts detected by Fermi and Swift during the LIGO–Virgo run O3b

We search for gravitational-wave signals associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the Fermi and Swift satellites during the second half of the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (2019 November 1 15:00 UTC–2020 March 27 17:00 UTC). We conduct two independent searches: a generic gravitational-wave transients search to analyze 86 GRBs and an analysis to target binary mergers with at least one neutron star as short GRB progenitors for 17 events. We find no significant evidence for gravitational-wave signals associated with any of these GRBs. A weighted binomial test of the combined results finds no evidence for subthreshold gravitational-wave signals associated with this GRB ensemble either. We use several source types and signal morphologies during the searches, resulting in lower bounds on the estimated distance to each GRB. Finally, we constrain the population of low-luminosity short GRBs using results from the first to the third observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. The resulting population is in accordance with the local binary neutron star merger rate

Association of Predisposing Factors of Diabetes with six Stages of Disease Progression in Ayurveda (Shatkriyakala): A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

Introduction: Diabetes has emerged as a global health crisis. It not only causes morbidity and mortality figures but deteriorates quality of life, national productivity and economic burden too. Besides this, no major advancement has been made for early diagnosis and prevention of diabetes. Clinical Staging of morbidity has been depicted in classical texts of Ayurveda modelled on pathogenesis.) This type of classification can serve as the basis of levelled and precise preventive interventions.  Thus, identification of cases pertaining to each stage of pathogenesis based on validated parameters is a prerequisite. This research is a preliminary work on validation of clinical staging. This Ayurveda system of staging method can serve as a holistic model of prevention as it includes variable responsible host factors, etiology, risk factor stratification and grading of pathological state. Aim: The present study aimed to explore the six stage pathogonomic model SKK (Shat kriyakala and its relevance in tracking pathogenesis at preclinical stages. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional trial was conducted in forty- two subjects. Study participants were subjected to a questionnaire (Q2) to assess clinical features in latent and clinical stages of Prameha (~ Diabetes Mellitus) and biomarkers (CRP and Serum cortisol).Result: The mean score of SKK questionnaire was found maximum with the corresponding stages designed on the basis of predisposing factors and laboratory parameters.Conclusion: It can be inferred from the study that SKK may act as a tool to check pathogenesis at an early stage. The model may act as a potential paradigm for preventing diabetes risk as well as preventive care from a public health perspective

May measurement month 2018: an analysis of blood pressure screening campaign results in India.

Hypertension (HTN) is the greatest attributable risk factor for cardiovascular disease in India. Recent studies have reported the crude prevalence of HTN in India to be 25.3%. In the May Measurement Month (MMM) screening campaign of 2017 conducted in India, 31.8% had HTN. In order to ratify earlier results, and further understand the awareness and control levels of HTN in India, organizations that participated in MMM 2017 decided to participate in the MMM global screening initiative of the International Society of Hypertension for a 2nd consecutive year. A total of 345 234 individuals were screened in MMM 2018. There were more than 1000 screening locations that included hospitals, clinics, workplaces, and special health camps organized across the country. After applying multiple imputation, a total of 111 462 (32.3%) individuals had HTN of whom 63 415 (55.6%) were aware of HTN and 61 646 (55.3%) were on antihypertensive medicines, out of which 15 583 (25.3%) were uncontrolled. Overall 57 864 (41.3%) hypertensives were uncontrolled. About half (44.7%) of hypertensive population in India were not on treatment. Around two-thirds (65.7%, n = 226 924) had not measured their blood pressure (BP) in last 12 months and 64% measured their BP for the first time in their life during the campaign, which strongly indicates the need for large scale awareness drives. This study suggests that opportunistic periodic public health screening at a national level is needed to increase HTN detection, treatment, control, and countrywide awareness in highly populated nations like India