Vaginal microbial profiling in a preterm birth high-risk cohort using shallow shotgun metagenomics

Preterm birth (PTB) is a significant health problem globally, with an estimate of 15 million cases annually. Approximately 10% of neonates born early will die prematurely, while a subset will develop severe life-long morbidities. Unfortunately, preterm birth's syndromic nature has evaded prevention strategies, and it continues to impose a high burden on healthcare systems and families. The role of vaginal bacteria in triggering biomolecular causes of PTB has been recognised for years. However, translating this knowledge to practical diagnostic and therapeutic strategies has remained elusive. New techniques in high-throughput sequencing have improved our understanding of the nature and role of the vaginal microbiome during pregnancy. Several multi-ethnic and multi-geographical studies into the vaginal microbiome have identified five distinct bacterial profiles termed community state types (CSTs), one of which is positively associated with dysbiosis and increased risk of PTB. In a small pilot study of first-trimester vaginal microbial DNA obtained from pregnant women at high-risk of PTB, we compared the CST profiles generated using standard 16S amplicon sequencing with shallow shotgun metagenomics (SSM). Both methods identified the presence of the five CSTs as has been reported previously, although the metagenomic data showed greater taxonomic resolution and more accurate CST assignation. These findings suggest that SSM is a cost-effective and potentially superior alternative to 16S sequencing for vaginal microbiome analysis

Exploring Leishmania major inositol phosphorylceramide synthase (LmjIPCS): insights into the ceramide binding domain

The synthesis of set of ceramide analogues exploring hydrophobicity in the acyl chains and the degree and nature of hydroxylation is described. These have been assayed against the parasitic protozoan enzyme LmjIPCS. These studies showed that whilst the C-3 hydroxyl group was not essential for turnover it provided enhanced affinity. Reflecting the membrane bound nature of the enzyme a long (C13) hydrocarbon ceramide tail was necessary for both high affinity and turnover. Whilst the N-acyl chain also contributed to affinity, analogues lacking the amide linkage functioned as competitive inhibitors in both enzyme and cell-based assays. A model that accounts for this observation is proposed

The properties of Sweet Sorghum Syrup Produced by Combined Vacuum Falling Film and Rotary Evaporation

The combination of Vacuum Falling Film Evaporator(FFE) and Rotary Evaporator (RE) was conducted in producing sweet sorghum syrup. The aim of this research was to evaluate the performance of single FFE and combined FFE-RE on sorghum syrup concentration. Single FFE was studied at the temperature of 70, 80, and 90°C. The best single FFE treatment was continued by RE at 60, 70, and 80°C. Sweet sorghum that were concentrated using single FFE(90°C) and combined FFE(90°C)-RE(80°C) had the highest Total Soluble Solid(TSS) of 44.2°Brix and 87.53°Brix, also the acceptable lightness(L*) of 30.13 and 25.83 respectively. That combined FFE-RE produced sorghum syrup had the highest overall Hedonic score 3.34 within the taste parameter value of 2.89; color of 3,75; aroma of 3,29; and texture of 3.42. It was also accomplished with the redness(a*) of -2.11, yellowness(b*) of 5.13, turbidity of 387.66 NTU, viscosity of 2036.67cP, and reducing sugar of 52.54%

Anomalous dimension of non-singlet quark currents at O(1/Nf^2) in QCD

We compute the O(1/Nf^2) corrections to the flavour non-singlet quark bilinear currents in QCD in arbitrary spacetime dimensions. Hence, the anomalous dimension of the QED current $\bar{\psi} \sigma^{\mu\nu} \psi$ is deduced at four loops in the MSbar scheme up to one unknown parameter.Comment: 8 latex page

Management of paediatric tibial fractures using two types of circular external fixator: Taylor spatial frame and Ilizarov circular fixator.

Background The use of circular fixators for the treatment of tibial fractures is well established in the literature. The aim of this study was to compare the Ilizarov circular fixator (ICF) with the Taylor spatial frame (TSF) in terms of treatment results in consecutive patients with tibial fractures that required operative management. Method A retrospective analysis of patient records and radiographs was performed to obtain patient data, information on injury sustained, the operative technique used, time duration in frame, healing time and complications of treatment. The minimum follow-up was 24 months. Results Ten patients were treated with ICF between 2000 and 2005, while 15 patients have been treated with TSF since 2005. Two of the 10 treated with ICF and 5 of the 15 treated with TSF were open fractures. All patients went on to achieve complete union. Mean duration in the frame was 12.7 weeks for ICF and 14.8 weeks for the TSF group. Two patients in the TSF group had delayed union and required additional procedures including adjustment of fixator and bone grafting. There was one malunion in the TSF group that required osteotomy and reapplication of frame. There were seven and nine pin-site infections in the ICF and TSF groups, respectively, all of which responded to antibiotics. There were no refractures in either group. Conclusion In an appropriate patient, both types of circular fixator are equally effective but have different characteristics, with TSF allowing for postoperative deformity correction. Of concern are the two cases of delayed union in the TSF group, all in patients with high-energy injuries. We feel another larger study is required to provide further clarity in this matter. Level of evidence Level II—comparative study

Thermodynamic Potential for Superfluid 3He in Aerogel

We present a free energy functional for superfluid 3He in the presence of homogeneously distributed impurity disorder which extends the Ginzburg-Landau free energy functional to all temperatures. We use the new free energy functional to calculate the thermodynamic potential, entropy, heat capacity and density of states for the B-phase of superfluid 3He in homogeneous, isotropic aerogel.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Actual and perceived motor competence levels of Belgian and United States preschool children

Purpose: The present study examined the motor competence of preschool children from Belgium and the United States (US), and the influence of perceived motor competence on actual motor competence. A secondary objective was to compare the levels of motor competence of Belgian and US children using the US norms of the Test of Gross Motor Development, Second Edition (TGMD-2). Methods: All participants (N = 326; ages 4-5) completed the TGMD-2 and the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children. Results: Belgian children performed significantly higher on actual object control and locomotor skills than US children. However, both Belgian and US children scored significantly worse on the TGMD-2 when compared to the US norm group from 1997-1998. Furthermore, perceived motor competence was significantly related to actual object control skills but not locomotor skills. Conclusion: The present study showed cross-cultural differences in actual motor competence in young children. The findings also indicate a secular downward trend in childhood competence levels, possibly due to a decrease in physical activity and increase in sedentary behavior. Future research should consider conducting an in-depth exploration of physical activity contexts such as physical education to better understand cross-cultural differences in motor competence

A plate-based assay system for analyses and screening of the Leishmania major inositol phosphorylceramide synthase

Sphingolipids are key components of eukaryotic membranes, particularly the plasma membrane. The biosynthetic pathway for the formation of these lipid species is largely conserved. However, in contrast to mammals, which produce sphingomyelin, organisms such as the pathogenic fungi and protozoa synthesize inositol phosphorylceramide (IPC) as the primary phosphosphingolipid. The key step involves the reaction of ceramide and phosphatidylinositol catalysed by IPC synthase, an essential enzyme with no mammalian equivalent encoded by the AUR1 gene in yeast and recently identified functional orthologues in the pathogenic kinetoplastid protozoa. As such this enzyme represents a promising target for novel anti-fungal and anti-protozoal drugs. Given the paucity of effective treatments for kinetoplastid diseases such as leishmaniasis, there is a need to characterize the protozoan enzyme. To this end a fluorescent-based cell-free assay protocol in a 96-well plate format has been established for the Leishmania major IPC synthase. Using this system the kinetic parameters of the enzyme have been determined as obeying the double displacement model with apparent Vmax = 2.31 pmol min−1 U−1. Furthermore, inhibitory substrate analogues have been identified. Importantly this assay is amenable to development for use in high-throughput screening applications for lead inhibitors and as such may prove to be a pivotal tool in drug discovery

Nonresonant Contributions in B->rho pi Decay

We consider nonresonant contributions in the Dalitz plot analysis of B->rho pi->pi^+ pi^- pi^0 decay and their potential impact on the extraction of the CKM parameter alpha. In particular, we examine the role of the heavy mesons B^* and B_0, via the process B->pi (B^*, B_0)->pi^+ pi^- pi^0, and their interference with resonant contributions in the rho-mass region. We discuss the inherent uncertainties and suggest that the effects may be substantially smaller than previously indicated.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures; minor changes, version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Clinically significant chronic liver disease in people with type 2 diabetes: the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study

Background: Type 2 diabetes is an independent risk factor for chronic liver disease, however disease burden estimates and knowledge of prognostic indicators are lacking in community populations. Aims: To describe the prevalence and incidence of clinically significant chronic liver disease amongst community-based older people with Type 2 diabetes and to determine risk factors which might assist in discriminating patients with unknown prevalent or incident disease. Design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Nine hundred and thirty-nine participants in the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study underwent investigation including liver ultrasound and non-invasive measures of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), hepatic fibrosis and systemic inflammation. Over 6-years, cases of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma were collated from multiple sources. Results: Eight patients had known prevalent disease with 13 further unknown cases identified (prevalence 2.2%) and 15 incident cases (IR 2.9/1000 person-years). Higher levels of systemic inflammation, NASH and hepatic fibrosis markers were associated with both unknown prevalent and incident clinically significant chronic liver disease (all P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study investigations increased the known prevalence of clinically significant chronic liver disease by over 150%, confirming the suspicion of a large burden of undiagnosed disease. The disease incidence rate was lower than anticipated but still much higher than the general population rate. The ability to identify patients both with and at risk of developing clinically significant chronic liver disease allows for early intervention and clinical monitoring strategies. Ongoing work, with longer follow-up, including analysis of rates of liver function decline, will be used to define optimal risk prediction tools