Expression of \u3cem\u3eRhizobium leguminosarum\u3c/em\u3e CFN42 Genes for Lipopolysaccharide in Strains Derived from Different \u3cem\u3eR. leguminosarum\u3c/em\u3e Soil Isolates

Two mutant derivatives of Rhizobium leguminosarum ANU843 defective in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were isolated. The LPS of both mutants lacked O antigen and some sugar residues of the LPS core oligosaccharides. Genetic regions previously cloned from another Rhizobium leguminosarum wild-type isolate, strain CFN42, were used to complement these mutants. One mutant was complemented to give LPS that was apparently identical to the LPS of strain ANU843 in antigenicity, electrophoretic mobility, and sugar composition. The other mutant was complemented by a second CFN42 lps genetic region. In this case the resulting LPS contained O-antigen sugars characteristic of donor strain CFN42 and reacted weakly with antiserum against CFN42 cells, but did not react detectably with antiserum against ANU843 cells. Therefore, one of the CFN42 lps genetic regions specifies a function that is conserved between the two R. leguminosarum wild-type isolates, whereas the other region, at least in part, specifies a strain-specific LPS structure. Transfer of these two genetic regions into wild-type strains derived from R. leguminosarum ANU843 and 128C53 gave results consistent with this conclusion. The mutants derived from strain ANU843 elicited incompletely developed clover nodules that exhibited low bacterial populations and very low nitrogenase activity. Both mutants elicited normally developed, nitrogen-fixing clover nodules when they carried CFN42 lps DNA that permitted synthesis of O-antigen-containing LPS, regardless of whether the O antigen was the one originally made by strain ANU843

Evaluating the macroeconomic impacts of bio-based applications in the EU

In 2012, the European Commission (EC) launched the Bioeconomy Strategy and Action Plan with the objective of establishing a resource efficient and competitive society that reconciles food security with the sustainable use of renewable resources. This report contributes to the plan by evaluating the macroeconomic impacts of bio-based applications in the EU. Such effects can only be evaluated with a computable general equilibrium model such as MAGNET. Four bio-based applications are considered, namely biofuel (second generation), biochemicals, bioelectricity, and biogas (synthetic natural gas). This is done assuming that 1 EJ lignocellulose biomass is converted into fuel, chemicals, electricity and gas and that the final product replaces an equal amount of conventional (e.g. fossil energy) product (on energy basis). The results show that given the assumed efficiency of conversion technology, costs of conversion, biomass price and oil price, the production of second generation biofuel and biochemicals are the only competitive sectors compare to their conventional counterparts in the year 2030 for the EU. In the case of the fuel sectors, it represents a net GDP effect of 5.1 billion US$while biochemicals generates 6 billion US$. A substantial part of this impact can be explained by the increase in wages, since the production of biomass is relatively labour intensive. The resulting increase in wages is transmitted to other sectors in the economy and increases production and consumption. Another important contributor is the lower oil and fuel price as a result of the substitution of oil based fuel production by bio-based fuel production, which in turn benefits the entire economy.JRC.J.4-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

A non-perturbative approach to halo breakup

The theory of weakly bound cluster breakup, like halo nucleus breakup, needs an accurate treatment of the transitions from bound to continuum states induced by the nuclear and Coulomb potentials. When the transition probability is not very small, a non-perturbative framework might be necessary. Nuclear excitation dominates at small impact parameters whereas the Coulomb potential being long range acts over a larger impact parameter interval. In this article, we propose an effective breakup amplitude which meets a number of requirements necessary for an accurate quantitative description of the breakup reaction mechanism. Furthermore our treatment gives some insight on the interplay between time dependent perturbation theory and sudden approximation and it allows to include the nuclear and Coulomb potentials to all orders within an eikonal-like framework.Comment: 22 Latex pages, 1 table, 8 eps figures. Accepted for publication on Nucl. Phys.

Natural course of neuropsychiatric symptoms in nursing home patients with mental-physical multimorbidity in the first eight months after admission

Objective: Aging societies will bring an increase in the number of long-term care patients with mental-physical multimorbidity (MPM). This paper aimed to describe the natural course of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in patients with MPM in the first 8 months after admission to a geronto-psychiatric nursing home (GP-NH) unit. Methods: Longitudinal cohort study among 63 patients with MPM no dementia living in 17 GP-NH units across the Netherlands. Data collection consisted of chart review, semi-structured interviews, and brief neuropsychological testing, among which our primary outcome measure the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted. Results: Our study showed a significant increase of the NPI total score (from 25.3 to 29.3, p = 0.045), and the total scores of a NPI hyperactivity cluster (from 9.7 to 11.8, p = 0.039), and a NPI mood/apathy cluster (from 7.7 to 10.1, p = 0.008). Just over 95% had any clinically relevant symptom at baseline and/or six months later, of which irritability was the most prevalent and persistent symptom and the symptom with the highest incidence. Hyperactivity was the most prevalent and persistent symptom cluster. Also, depression had a high persistence. Conclusions: Our results indicate the omnipresence of NPS of which most were found to be persistent. Therefore, we recommend to explore opportunities to reduce NPS in NH patients with MPM, such as creating a therapeutic milieu, educating the staff, and evaluating patient's psychotropic drug use

Reduced frontal brain volume in non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent individuals:Exploring the role of impulsivity, depression, and smoking

In cocaine-dependent patients, gray matter (GM) volume reductions have been observed in the frontal lobes that are associated with the duration of cocaine use. Studies are mostly restricted to treatment-seekers and studies in non-treatment-seeking cocaine abusers are sparse. Here, we assessed GM volume differences between 30 non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent individuals and 33 non-drug using controls using voxel-based morphometry. Additionally, within the group of non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent individuals, we explored the role of frequently co-occurring features such as trait impulsivity (Barratt Impulsivity Scale, BIS), smoking, and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory), as well as the role of cocaine use duration, on frontal GM volume. Smaller GM volumes in non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent individuals were observed in the left middle frontal gyrus. Moreover, within the group of cocaine users, trait impulsivity was associated with reduced GM volume in the right orbitofrontal cortex, the left precentral gyrus, and the right superior frontal gyrus, whereas no effect of smoking severity, depressive symptoms, or duration of cocaine use was observed on regional GM volumes. Our data show an important association between trait impulsivity and frontal GM volumes in cocaine-dependent individuals. In contrast to previous studies with treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent patients, no significant effects of smoking severity, depressive symptoms, or duration of cocaine use on frontal GM volume were observed. Reduced frontal GM volumes in non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent subjects are associated with trait impulsivity and are not associated with co-occurring nicotine dependence or depression

Burden and attitude to resistant and refractory migraine: a survey from the European Headache Federation with the endorsement of the European Migraine & Headache Alliance

Cura de migranya; Migranya refractària; Migranya resistentMigraine care; Refractory migraine; Resistant migraineCuidado de la migraña; Migraña refractaria; Migraña resistenteBackground New treatments are currently offering new opportunities and challenges in clinical management and research in the migraine field. There is the need of homogenous criteria to identify candidates for treatment escalation as well as of reliable criteria to identify refractoriness to treatment. To overcome those issues, the European Headache Federation (EHF) issued a Consensus document to propose criteria to approach difficult-to-treat migraine patients in a standardized way. The Consensus proposed well-defined criteria for resistant migraine (i.e., patients who do not respond to some treatment but who have residual therapeutic opportunities) and refractory migraine (i.e., patients who still have debilitating migraine despite maximal treatment efforts). The aim of this study was to better understand the perceived impact of resistant and refractory migraine and the attitude of physicians involved in migraine care toward those conditions. Methods We conducted a web-questionnaire-based cross-sectional international study involving physicians with interest in headache care. Results There were 277 questionnaires available for analysis. A relevant proportion of participants reported that patients with resistant and refractory migraine were frequently seen in their clinical practice (49.5% for resistant and 28.9% for refractory migraine); percentages were higher when considering only those working in specialized headache centers (75% and 46% respectively). However, many physicians reported low or moderate confidence in managing resistant (8.1% and 43.3%, respectively) and refractory (20.7% and 48.4%, respectively) migraine patients; confidence in treating resistant and refractory migraine patients was different according to the level of care and to the number of patients visited per week. Patients with resistant and refractory migraine were infrequently referred to more specialized centers (12% and 19%, respectively); also in this case, figures were different according to the level of care. Conclusions This report highlights the clinical relevance of difficult-to-treat migraine and the presence of unmet needs in this field. There is the need of more evidence regarding the management of those patients and clear guidance referring to the organization of care and available opportunities.Publication fees for this publication were covered by the European Headache Federation