Draft genome sequence of the commercial biocontrol strain Pantoea agglomerans P10c

We report here the draft genome sequence of the biocontrol strain Pantoea agglomerans P10c, composed of a draft chromosome and two plasmids: the 559-kb large Pantoea plasmid 1 (pPag3) and a 182-kb plasmid (pPag1). A genomic island containing pantocin A biosynthesis genes was identified

Isolation and phenotyping of potential stem cells from the umbilical cord of the bottlenose dolphin(Tursiops truncatus)

We have successfully isolated cells with stem-like properties from bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) umbilical cord. Our results show that this cetacean species has embryonic fetal and adult stem cells as do humans and other studied mammals. This accomplishment allows to eventually investigate whether dolphins, due to their unique adaptations to aquatic environments, have special stem cell lineages or distinctive mechanisms of cell programming. Further characterization of their potency to differentiate into multiple cell lineages would fulfill numerous applicative purposes. We characterized, developed and refined a new protocol for obtaining potential stem cells from umbilical cord tissues of the bottlenose dolphin. Tissue samples were taken from umbilical cords of successful deliveries immediately after placenta ejection and collection from the water. Umbilical cord samples (2-3 cm3) were excised and subjected to enzymatic digestion and mechanical dissociation. Viable cells from specimens resident in the Oceanografic Valencia were cultured and subsequently isolated and tested for pluripotent characteristics (cell morphology, phenotype and expression of surface markers). Cell viability was confirmed also after freezing/thawing. The established protocol is suitable for collection/isolation/culture of dolphin potential mesenchymal stem cells from dolphin umbilical cord, which can be deposited in cell banks for future research needs

Clinical correlates of complicated grief among individuals with acute coronary syndromes

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed at exploring bereavement and complicated grief (CG) symptoms among subjects without a history of coronary heart disease (CHD) at the time of a first acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and to evaluate the relationship of CG symptoms and ACS. METHOD: Overall, 149 subjects with ACS (namely, acute myocardial infarct with or without ST-segment elevation or unstable angina), with no previous history of CHD, admitted to three cardiac intensive care units were included and evaluated by the Structured Clinical Interview for Complicated Grief (SCI-CG), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, and the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (MOS-SF-36). RESULTS: Of the total sample of 149 subjects with ACS, 118 (79.2%) met criteria for DSM-5 persistent complex bereavement disorder. Among these, subjects who lost a partner, child, or sibling were older (P=0.008), less likely to be working (P=0.032), and more likely to be suffering from hypertension (P=0.021), returned higher scores on the SCI-CG (P=0.001) and developed the index ACS more frequently between 12 and 48 months after the death than those who lost a parent or another relative (P≤0.0001). The occurrence of ACS 12-48 months (P=0.019) after the loss was positively correlated with SCI-CG scores. An inverse relationship with SCI-CG scores was observed for patients who experienced ACS more than 48 months after the loss (P=0.005). The SCI-CG scores significantly predicted lower scores on the "general health" domain of MOS-SF-36 (P=0.030), as well as lower scores on "emotional well-being" domain (P=0.010). CONCLUSION: A great proportion of subjects with ACS report the loss of a loved one. Among these, the loss of a close relative and the severity of CG symptoms are associated with poorer health status. Our data corroborate previous data indicating a strong relationship between CG symptoms and severe cardiac problems

Controls on natural gas migration in the western Nile Delta fan

The aim of this study is to combine petrophysical and geochemical data in order to reconstruct the migration history and pathways of mixed microbial-thermogenic gases drilled on the Nile Delta fan, offshore Egypt. While general interest lies in understanding migration routes, rates and mechanisms special attention is dedicated to understanding (1) the origin of gas in both reservoir and non-reservoir units using chemical and isotopic fingerprints and (2) whether a free gas phase supports relatively rapid leakage via bulk flow in non-reservoir units, both above and below commercial accumulations. The Pilocene section in this study is a classic slope environment comprising channels, mud-rich turbidites, mass transport complexes and hemipelagites. Data from seismic and drilled wells suggest that the channel and levee reservoirs are rarely full to spill, implying either a lack of charge and leakage rates which precludes complete filling of the structures. The provided data set enables a quantitative assessment of gas distribution and its genetic fingerprint in the context of both stratigraphic position and lithology. Data is reported from 25 wells, each provided with a conventional wireline log suite and some with borehole images and high-quality core images. Gas concentration data, plus compositional and isotope data are available for isotubes and headspace gas for both reservoir and non-reservoir units. Small-to-medium scale linear and non-linear depth shifts between different techniques (core recovery, core logging, wireline logging) in conjunction with scale and resolution issues demanded logical/stochastic depth synchronisation and well as harmonisation of signal resolution (typically up-scaling). Accordingly, great care was taken to depth-match core, log and gas data. In general, there is evidence of leaking thermogenic and partly biodegraded gas from the reservoirs under investigation, while some microbial methane appears to be retained in the cap rock. Careful assessment of the maturity of the thermogenic gas charge suggests that in a given structure, maturities are similar throughout the sampled section of underseal, reservoir and top seal. Furthermore, compositional temperature stratification suggests a balance between influx of fresh gas and microbial metabolism rates, supporting the concept of a dynamic charge-leak scenario that is sustaining hydrocarbon fermenting microbial communities in the deep biosphere. It was found that microbial recycling of hydrocarbons at depth enables the identification of diffusive gas mixing pathways in the combined analysis of methane and ethane compositional and isotopic data. The proposed diffusion pattern supports the idea of a widely present coupling between both methanogenic and biodegrading microbial communities that exhibit strong carbon isotopic dis-balances at gas-water contacts (GWC) where nutrient supply is in favour of the biodegrading metabolism. Although the hypothesis of coupled diffusive/microbial gas overprints complies with (1) various literature reports that microbial attack on free gas phases is hindered by restricted physical access and (2) segregative isotope fractionation as a consequence of differences on methane and ethane diffusivity, it is conditional to the nature of gas mixing patterns along borehole trajectories in the context of lithology and pore fluid saturations. Undoubtedly, the ubiquitous presence of microbial gas has consequences for vertical net leakage. As classic empirical wireline models for hydrocarbon saturation (i.e. free gas phase volumetrics) are not suited for clay-dominated cap rock sections, an alternative approach presented in this study is based on total gas (TG) modelling from nuclear logs and its solubility in the formation of brine. The calibrated saturation model is scale-independent and implies that free gas occurs on the most of the clay-dominated non-reservoir sections. However, model resolution is not sufficient to capture the suspected filamentary network of free gas phase within the mudrock pore space that enables relatively rapid leakage via Darcy flow. In an unique attempt to validate manual and thereby subjective lithofacies allocations to core images a subset of rock sample properties such as grain size fractions and porosity were successfully modelled using quantitative core image properties. However, model validity appears to be restricted to clay-rich lithofacies due to both an absence of calibration data for sands and occurrence of abnormally dark sandstone units. Further, an artificial neural network (ANN) was trained to propagate the calibrated core fancies along the entire wireline logged borehole section to set the lithological context for a detailed fluid flow analysis. Reproducibility of input (core) facies by output (wireline) facies is similar to the reproducibility by fellow geoscientists but could not be significantly improved to 60-80% of reliability by reduction of facies types. The study shows that a combination of geochemical data with lithological and petro-physical information generates detailed insights into rates, mechanisms, and pathways of two phase flow through the deep biosphere of gas-charged basins. Vertical, geologically rapid flow through mud-rich sequences is a viable migration route for gas if the influence of cap rock bypass systems (permeable faults, sandstone intrusions, mud volcanoes etc.) is restricted. It was found that an adequate quantification of both thermogenic gas fraction and diffusive gas mixing fingerprints is crucial to identity stratigraphic intervals that are not dominated by advective leakage through the pore space and are consequently bypassed.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Italy: The Archaeology of Palaeoshorelines, Coastal Caves and Seafaring Connections

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Capitolo 8 - Pesci

I Vertebrati più primitivi attuano risposte immunitarie innate ed adattative. Il riconoscimento mediante PRR di patterns molecolari attiva la risposta innata, che nei Teleostei è fondamentale già nello sviluppo precoce. La fagocitosi, esercitata soprattutto da macrofagi (e granulociti), la citotossicità non-specifica, mediata da NCC, cellule NK-simili ed altri leucociti, ed una dotazione ampia e diversificata di fattori umorali (complemento, enzimi litici e inibitori della crescita dei batteri, lectine, citochine e peptidi antibatterici) contrastano efficacemente i patogeni. L’immunità adattativa ha caratteristiche differenti in Agnati e Gnatostomi, basandosi su CDA, linfociti e VLR (lampreda) o RAG, linfociti T e B e loro distinti recettori (già nei Condroitti). Le due diverse modalità hanno però in comune la caratteristica di recettori che permangono sulla membrana cellulare (cellule VLRA+ e linfociti T) o vengono secreti dopo il differenziamento (cellule VLRB+ e plasmacellule). Gli organi linfoidi primari degli Gnatostomi sono il timo per i linfociti T (self-ristretti e -tolleranti), l’organo epigonale degli Elasmobranchi ed il rene cefalico dei Teleostei per i linfociti B. La milza diviene organo linfoide secondario (come gli organi primari di linfopoiesi B), che accoglie i linfociti maturi, cattura e mantiene gli antigeni circolanti, induce ed elabora le risposte immunitarie. I linfociti T ricadono in due tipologie, Tαβ e Tγδ, in base all’espressione delle catene del TCR. Quelli dei Teleostei hanno caratteri molecolari e funzionali di Tc (CD8+, citotossici antigene-specifici) e Th (CD4+, con attività helper), con sottotipi in corso di caratterizzazione. I linfociti B hanno Ig di membrana, secernono anticorpi specifici in risposta allo stimolo antigenico e ne conservano memoria. L’aumento di affinità degli anticorpi è però limitato e si attua con meccanismi peculiari. Nei Teleostei esistono distinte popolazioni B, con differenti funzioni. Alcune popolazioni B e T manifestano attività innate (fagocitosi e/o citotossicità non-specifica). Il GALT dei Teleostei è il sistema immunitario mucosale più dettagliato. Pur privo di specializzazioni che si riscontrano in Vertebrati più evoluti, è sede di risposte locali, quali la produzione di anticorpi specifici mucosali, mediate dalle cellule immunocompetenti presenti nella mucosa intestinale. I numerosi linfociti T sono Tαβ, con repertorio diversificato, e Tγδ (soprattutto intra-epiteliali), che sembrano possedere soprattutto funzioni citotossica non-specifica e/o regolativa, presumibilmente già operative quando le larve iniziano l’alimentazione esogena

Fish immunology after the post-genomic era.

The research on fish immunology has risen impressively over the last decades, providing deep insights into the evolution of the immune system of vertebrates and underlying genetic networks, but also discovering some peculiarities, mainly related to ancestral or heavily specialised molecular and cellular characters. Gathered information has built a sound platform to further accomplish the elucidation of evolutionary processes and boost application-based research to monitor fish health and contrast old and emerging diseases. The extensive cloning of genes encoding for immune-regulatory molecules, together with the sequencing of many fish genomes, provided scientists with a comprehensive panel of nucleotide sequences. Therefore, fish have become the main research models for cold-blooded vertebrates. It is expected in the near future that much research will be addressed to revive the more arduous work remaining, namely, that of associating molecules, cell features and anatomy with function. Considerable efforts have been, and will be, directed toward a careful interpretation of differences among species, disclosure of relation to fish habits, and interactions of individual specimens with the changing (and challenging) environment. When proposing expert reviews on some research topics that pursue these intriguing perspectives, this Special Issue of Fish and Shellfish Immunology aimed at updating current knowledge on fish immunology. This Special Issue arises from outstanding contributions presented at the Symposium of the European Organisation of Fish Immunology (EOFFI) held in Viterbo, Italy, on May 2010. As a result of the wide and qualified participation of scientists from all the continents, the Organisation has been renamed as the new International Society of Fish and Shellfish Immunology (ISFSI, www.isfsim.org), aiming at extending the scientific interests and activities to shellfish immunology

Histology of developing thymus in sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax (L.).

The histology and chronology of thymic development in sea bass were described. Day 27 post-hatch: the thymus appears as a paired anlage on dorsal caudal portion of both gill chambers, predominantly filled with lymphoid cells associated with the pharyngeal epithelium. Day 38 ph: the penetration into the parenchyma of connective trabeculae begins to divide it into lobes and carries the vascular supply. This process is accompanied by the development of a subcapsular, inner thymic region. Day 53 ph: the active lymphopoiesis and enlargement of the outer region, filled by numerous small lymphocytes, define evident regional differences in the thymus, that are retained in older stages. In one-year old bass, the organ is completely encapsulated by connective, the pharyngeal epithelium detaches from the lymphoid tissue. The thymus, which still retains a superficial position, does not show evident signs of regression

Monoclonal antibodies in fish immunology: identification, ontogeny and activity of T- and B-lymphocytes.

The current status on the antibodies that have been produced against teleost fish immuno- globulins, immunoglobulin-bearing cells (B-cells), thymocytes and T-cells is reviewed. An updated list of monoclonal antibodies is reported together with their antigen specificity, their use in the detection of cross-reacting cells, and their eventual use as markers of fish leucocyte subpopulations. The evidence obtained with monoclonal antibodies on the ontogeny of lymphoid cells and functions of lymphocyte subpopulations is presented. The possibility to create a common nomenclature for fish monoclonal antibodies is discussed