Unraveling How Candida albicans Forms Sexual Biofilms.

Biofilms, structured and densely packed communities of microbial cells attached to surfaces, are considered to be the natural growth state for a vast majority of microorganisms. The ability to form biofilms is an important virulence factor for most pathogens, including the opportunistic human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. C. albicans is one of the most prevalent fungal species of the human microbiota that asymptomatically colonizes healthy individuals. However, C. albicans can also cause severe and life-threatening infections when host conditions permit (e.g., through alterations in the host immune system, pH, and resident microbiota). Like many other pathogens, this ability to cause infections depends, in part, on the ability to form biofilms. Once formed, C. albicans biofilms are often resistant to antifungal agents and the host immune response, and can act as reservoirs to maintain persistent infections as well as to seed new infections in a host. The majority of C. albicans clinical isolates are heterozygous (a/α) at the mating type-like (MTL) locus, which defines Candida mating types, and are capable of forming robust biofilms when cultured in vitro. These "conventional" biofilms, formed by MTL-heterozygous (a/α) cells, have been the primary focus of C. albicans biofilm research to date. Recent work in the field, however, has uncovered novel mechanisms through which biofilms are generated by C. albicans cells that are homozygous or hemizygous (a/a, a/Δ, α/α, or α/Δ) at the MTL locus. In these studies, the addition of pheromones of the opposite mating type can induce the formation of specialized "sexual" biofilms, either through the addition of synthetic peptide pheromones to the culture, or in response to co-culturing of cells of the opposite mating types. Although sexual biofilms are generally less robust than conventional biofilms, they could serve as a protective niche to support genetic exchange between mating-competent cells, and thus may represent an adaptive mechanism to increase population diversity in dynamic environments. Although conventional and sexual biofilms appear functionally distinct, both types of biofilms are structurally similar, containing yeast, pseudohyphal, and hyphal cells surrounded by an extracellular matrix. Despite their structural similarities, conventional and sexual biofilms appear to be governed by distinct transcriptional networks and signaling pathways, suggesting that they may be adapted for, and responsive to, distinct environmental conditions. Here we review sexual biofilms and compare and contrast them to conventional biofilms of C. albicans

College of occupational therapists: Position paper on the way ahead for research, education and practice in mental health

The future of occupational therapy in mental health has been a topic of reflection and debate. The Education and Research Board (now the Education and Practice Board) of the College of Occupational Therapists created a Working Group to develop a position paper on the way ahead for research, education and practice in mental health. Following consultation, the Working Group reviewed literature, examined current research and surveyed practitioners, managers and educators. From these findings, recommendations have been made which will lead to a firmer evidence base for the practice of occupational therapy in mental health, leading to a more effective use of the expertise of occupational therapists and an improved service for users

Photochemical trajectory modelling studies of the 1987 Antarctic spring vortex

Simulations of Antarctic ozone photochemistry performed using a photochemical model integrated along air parcel trajectories are described. This type of model has a major advantage at high latitudes of being able to simulate correctly the complex interaction between photolysis and temperature fields, which, because of the polar night cannot be represented accurately in a zonally averaged framework. Isentropic air parcel trajectories were computed using Meteorological Office global model analyses and forecast fields from positions along the ER-2 flight paths during the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment in Austral Spring 1987. A photochemical model is integrated along these trajectories using the aircraft observations to initialize constituent concentrations. The model includes additional reactions of the ClO dimer and also bromine reactions, which are thought to play a significant role in Antarctica. The model also includes heterogeneous reactions which are invoked when the air parcel passes through a polar stratospheric cloud (PSC). The existence of a PSC is determined throughout the course of the model integration from the parcel temperature and the saturated vapour pressure of water over an assumed H2O/HNO3 mixture. The air parcel temperature is used to determine the saturated vapor pressure of HNO3 over the same mixture. Mixing ratios which exceed saturation result in condensation of the excess in the model and hence lead to a reduction of the amount of gas phase NO2 available for chemical reaction

Diagnostic studies of the 1987 Antarctic spring vortex

Dynamical fields form the UK Meteorological office global forecast model were used throughout the 1987 Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment (AAOE) for flight planning and diagnostic studies. Here, several studies based on the Meteorological Office global analysis (resolution 1.5 degrees lattitude x 1.875 degrees longitude, Lyne et al.) are described. The wind and temperature data derived from the model analysis are compared with observations made from both the DCB and ER-2, and an assessment of the model performance given. Derived quantities such as potential vorticity and model data and discrepancies due to the model data are discussed

Quantifying the search for solid Li-ion electrolyte materials by anion: a data-driven perspective

We compile data and machine learned models of solid Li-ion electrolyte performance to assess the state of materials discovery efforts and build new insights for future efforts. Candidate electrolyte materials must satisfy several requirements, chief among them fast ionic conductivity and robust electrochemical stability. Considering these two requirements, we find new evidence to suggest that optimization of the sulfides for fast ionic conductivity and wide electrochemical stability may be more likely than optimization of the oxides, and that the oft-overlooked chlorides and bromides may be particularly promising families for Li-ion electrolytes. We also find that the nitrides and phosphides appear to be the most promising material families for electrolytes stable against Li-metal anodes. Furthermore, the spread of the existing data in performance space suggests that fast conducting materials that are stable against both Li metal and a >4V cathode are exceedingly rare, and that a multiple-electrolyte architecture is a more likely path to successfully realizing a solid-state Li metal battery by approximately an order of magnitude or more. Our model is validated by its reproduction of well-known trends that have emerged from the limited existing data in recent years, namely that the electronegativity of the lattice anion correlates with ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability. In this work, we leverage the existing data to make solid electrolyte performance trends quantitative for the first time, building a roadmap to complement material discovery efforts around desired material performance.Comment: Main text is 41 pages with 3 figures and 2 tables; attached supplemental information is 8 pages with 3 figure

Arthroscopic transosseous rotator cuff repair: A prospective study on cost savings, surgical time, and outcomes

Objectives: Health expenditures in the United States are outpacing national income, and affordability has become a major policy issue. Over 500,000 rotator cuff repairs (RCR) are performed annually in the United States making RCR a potential source of cost savings. Arthroscopic trans-osseous equivalent (TOE) repair using a double row of anchors has shown superior biomechanical strength compared to other techniques, but at a higher cost. The arthroscopic transosseous (TO) repair is a novel technique allowing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair to be performed without suture anchors. Arthroscopic TO repair may be a means to provide similarly excellent patient outcomes while lowering the cost of care. The primary purpose is to compare the price differential and time of surgery for an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair using anchorless TO repair verses an anchor trans-osseous equivalent (TOE) repair. A secondary purpose of the study was to evaluate outcomes at 6 months postoperatively. Methods: A prospective, case-controlled study evaluating arthroscopic rotator cuff repair using two techniques was performed. The study group consisting of 21 patients undergoing TO repair was compared to a control group consisting of 22 patients undergoing TOE repair. The groups were controlled for size of tear, biceps treatment, acromioplasty, distal clavicle excision, and labral pathology. The primary outcome measures were surgical time as well as total cost of implants and equipment for each surgery, determined by an independent third party, Atlanticare Hospital. Secondary outcomes were changes in the SST, VAS, and SANE scores. Results: Mean total surgical implant/equipment cost per procedure for TOE repair was $2348.03 (SD 490.30) and for TO repair was$1204.97 (SD 330.69; p\u3c0.0001). Mean cut to close time for TOE repair was 85 minutes (95% CI is 77-90) verses 74 (95% CI = 71-98) for TO repair. A log rank test revealed no difference in time (p =0.95). A linear regression model was developed to evaluate the change in SST, VAS, and SANE scores from pre-op to 6 months follow-up. Our study was underpowered but no difference in outcome was observed. Conclusion: Arthroscopic TO rotator cuff repair is a cost savings and time neutral technique compared to TOE repair. A mean of $1100 can be saved in surgical cost per case. In a country that performs over 500,000 RCRs annually, utilizing a TO repair technique can provide substantial cost savings to the healthcare system. © The Author(s) 2015

A new approach to scoring systems to improve identification of acute medical admissions that will require critical care

Removal of the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Vale of Leven Hospital mandated the identification and transfer out of those acute medical admissions with a high risk of requiring ICU. The aim of the study was to develop triaging tools that identified such patients and compare them with other scoring systems. The methodology included a retrospective analysis of physiological and arterial gas measurements from 1976 acute medical admissions produced PREEMPT-1 (PRE-critical Emergency Medical Patient Triage). A simpler one for ambulance use (PREAMBLE-1 [PRE-Admission Medical Blue-Light Emergency]) was produced by the addition of peripheral oxygen saturation to a modification of MEWS (Modified Early Warning Score). Prospective application of these tools produced a larger database of 4447 acute admissions from which logistic regression models produced PREEMPT-2 and PREAMBLE-2, which were then compared with the original systems and seven other early warning scoring systems. Results showed that in patients with arterial gases, the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve was significantly higher in PREEMPT-2 (89·1%) and PREAMBLE-2 (84.4%) than all other scoring systems. Similarly, in all patients, it was higher in PREAMBLE-2 (92·4%) than PREAMBLE-1 (88·1%) and the other scoring systems. In conclusion, risk of requiring ICU can be more accurately predicted using PREEMPT-2 and PREAMBLE-2, as described here, than by other early warning scoring systems developed over recent years

Self-referenced characterization of space-time couplings in near single-cycle laser pulses

We report on the characterization of space-time couplings in high energy sub-2-cycle 770nm laser pulses using a self-referencing single-shot method. Using spatially-encoded arrangement filter-based spectral phase interferometry for direct electric field reconstruction (SEA-F-SPIDER) we characterize few-cycle pulses with a wave-front rotation of 2.8x?10^11 rev/sec (1.38 mrad per half-cycle) and pulses with pulse front tilts ranging from to -0.33 fs/um to -3.03 fs/um.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Test program on the contamination of ultraviolet region mirrors by Apollo Telescope Mount materials

Results are presented of testing performed to measure the effects of material outgas products on the reflectances of ultraviolet-region mirrors. These tests were to provide data on changes of ultraviolet reflectances of first-surface mirrors which had been exposed to the outgas products of selected materials under specific time and thermal-vacuum conditions. The requirement for such data was based on the extreme sensitivity of the sophisticated optical instruments in the Skylab mission's Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) to condensed outgas products from materials, and on the desire to insure that no serious hazard of contaminating these instruments existed

The vervet monkey (cercopithecus aethiops) as an experimental model for pulpal studies

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