Iga-Biome Profiles Correlate With Clinical Parkinson\u27s Disease Subtypes

BACKGROUND: Parkinson\u27s disease is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder with distinctive gut microbiome patterns suggesting that interventions targeting the gut microbiota may prevent, slow, or reverse disease progression and severity. OBJECTIVE: Because secretory IgA (SIgA) plays a key role in shaping the gut microbiota, characterization of the IgA-Biome of individuals classified into either the akinetic rigid (AR) or tremor dominant (TD) Parkinson\u27s disease clinical subtypes was used to further define taxa unique to these distinct clinical phenotypes. METHODS: Flow cytometry was used to separate IgA-coated and -uncoated bacteria from stool samples obtained from AR and TD patients followed by amplification and sequencing of the V4 region of the 16 S rDNA gene on the MiSeq platform (Illumina). RESULTS: IgA-Biome analyses identified significant alpha and beta diversity differences between the Parkinson\u27s disease phenotypes and the Firmicutes/Bacteroides ratio was significantly higher in those with TD compared to those with AR. In addition, discriminant taxa analyses identified a more pro-inflammatory bacterial profile in the IgA+ fraction of those with the AR clinical subclass compared to IgA-Biome analyses of those with the TD subclass and with the taxa identified in the unsorted control samples. CONCLUSION: IgA-Biome analyses underscores the importance of the host immune response in shaping the gut microbiome potentially affecting disease progression and presentation. In the present study, IgA-Biome analyses identified a unique proinflammatory microbial signature in the IgA+ fraction of those with AR that would have otherwise been undetected using conventional microbiome analysis approaches

Iga-Biome Profiles Correlate With Clinical Parkinson\u27s Disease Subtypes

BACKGROUND: Parkinson\u27s disease is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder with distinctive gut microbiome patterns suggesting that interventions targeting the gut microbiota may prevent, slow, or reverse disease progression and severity. OBJECTIVE: Because secretory IgA (SIgA) plays a key role in shaping the gut microbiota, characterization of the IgA-Biome of individuals classified into either the akinetic rigid (AR) or tremor dominant (TD) Parkinson\u27s disease clinical subtypes was used to further define taxa unique to these distinct clinical phenotypes. METHODS: Flow cytometry was used to separate IgA-coated and -uncoated bacteria from stool samples obtained from AR and TD patients followed by amplification and sequencing of the V4 region of the 16 S rDNA gene on the MiSeq platform (Illumina). RESULTS: IgA-Biome analyses identified significant alpha and beta diversity differences between the Parkinson\u27s disease phenotypes and the Firmicutes/Bacteroides ratio was significantly higher in those with TD compared to those with AR. In addition, discriminant taxa analyses identified a more pro-inflammatory bacterial profile in the IgA+ fraction of those with the AR clinical subclass compared to IgA-Biome analyses of those with the TD subclass and with the taxa identified in the unsorted control samples. CONCLUSION: IgA-Biome analyses underscores the importance of the host immune response in shaping the gut microbiome potentially affecting disease progression and presentation. In the present study, IgA-Biome analyses identified a unique proinflammatory microbial signature in the IgA+ fraction of those with AR that would have otherwise been undetected using conventional microbiome analysis approaches

Internet of Things for Sustainable Forestry

Forests and grasslands play an important role in water and air purification, prevention of the soil erosion, and in provision of habitat to wildlife. Internet of Things has a tremendous potential to play a vital role in the forest ecosystem management and stability. The conservation of species and habitats, timber production, prevention of forest soil degradation, forest fire prediction, mitigation, and control can be attained through forest management using Internet of Things. The use and adoption of IoT in forest ecosystem management is challenging due to many factors. Vast geographical areas and limited resources in terms of budget and equipment are some of the limiting factors. In digital forestry, IoT deployment offers effective operations, control, and forecasts for soil erosion, fires, and undesirable depositions. In this chapter, IoT sensing and communication applications are presented for digital forestry systems. Different IoT systems for digital forest monitoring applications are also discussed

Conversation with Craig Newmark

Craig Newmark is the founder of craigslist, the web-based platform that has fundamentally changed classified advertising. Since its founding in 1995, craigslist has become one of the Internet’s 10 most-visited English language sites. Born December 6, 1952 in Morristown, NJ, Craig attended Case Western Reserve University, where he earned a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science in 1975 and 1977 respectively. During his business career, Craig worked with IBM, Charles Schwab, Bank of America, and other firms. Today, he resides in San Francisco\u27s Cole Valley. In early 2011 Craig launched craigconnects, his initiative to link up everyone on the planet using the Internet to bear witness to good efforts and encourage the same behavior in others. Part of the IT, Ethics & Law Colloquium Series cosponsored by the High Tech Law Institute; the Center for Science, Technology, & Society; and the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Decision-making in a culture of participation

"A culture of participation involves a community which is to some large extent, self-governing. In principle, everyone participates in the decision-making process, perhaps just by voicing their opinion. In principle, decisions have buy-in from everyone involved, even if they are merely tolerated. In such environments, there\u27s a continuous process of consensus-building, involving a large degree of mutual trust. It involves the \u27consent of the governed.\u27 Consensus-building, when done well, involves most everyone and relies on a lot of buy-in. However, consensus-building skills are rare, and the process is frequently a lengthy one. It involves many one to one or one to a few conversations...

Readings In Applied Microeconomics

xvii.439 hal ill.26 c