A decoy receptor 3 analogue reduces localised defects in phagocyte function in pneumococcal pneumonia

Background. Therapeutic strategies to modulate the host response to bacterial pneumonia are needed to improve outcomes during community-acquired pneumonia. This study used mice with impaired Fas signalling to examine susceptibility to pneumococcal pneumonia and decoy receptor 3 analogue (DcR3-a) to correct factors associated with increased susceptibility. Methods. Wild-type mice and those with varying degrees of impairment of Fas (lpr) or Fas ligand signalling (gld) were challenged with Streptococcus pneumoniae and microbiological and immunological outcomes measured in the presence or absence of DcR3-a. Results. During established pneumonia, neutrophils became the predominant cell in the airway and gld mice were less able to clear bacteria from the lungs, demonstrating localised impairment of pulmonary neutrophil function in comparison to lpr or wild-type mice. T-cells from gld mice had enhanced activation and reduced apoptosis in comparison to wild-type and lpr mice during established pneumonia. Treatment with DcR3-a reduced T-cell activation and corrected the defect in pulmonary bacterial clearance in gld mice. Conclusions. The results suggest that imbalance in tumour necrosis factor superfamily signalling and excessive T-cell activation can impair bacterial clearance in the lung but that DcR3-a treatment can reduce T-cell activation, restore optimal pulmonary neutrophil function and enhance bacterial clearance during S pneumoniae infection

Photoionisation loading of large Sr+ ion clouds with ultrafast pulses

This paper reports on photoionisation loading based on ultrafast pulses of singly-ionised strontium ions in a linear Paul trap. We take advantage of an autoionising resonance of Sr neutral atoms to form Sr+ by two-photon absorption of femtosecond pulses at a wavelength of 431nm. We compare this technique to electron-bombardment ionisation and observe several advantages of photoionisation. It actually allows the loading of a pure Sr+ ion cloud in a low radio-frequency voltage amplitude regime. In these conditions up to 4x10^4 laser-cooled Sr+ ions were trapped

A weakly stable algorithm for general Toeplitz systems

We show that a fast algorithm for the QR factorization of a Toeplitz or Hankel matrix A is weakly stable in the sense that R^T.R is close to A^T.A. Thus, when the algorithm is used to solve the semi-normal equations R^T.Rx = A^Tb, we obtain a weakly stable method for the solution of a nonsingular Toeplitz or Hankel linear system Ax = b. The algorithm also applies to the solution of the full-rank Toeplitz or Hankel least squares problem.Comment: 17 pages. An old Technical Report with postscript added. For further details, see http://wwwmaths.anu.edu.au/~brent/pub/pub143.htm

Controlled RNA contamination and degradation and its impact on qPCR gene expression in S. epidermidis biofilms

RNA quality is of utmost importance to perform gene expression quantification by qPCR. The classical methods used to determine \RNA\ quality are based on electrophoresis and spectrophotometer assessment, namely A260/A280 and A260/A230 ratios. It was previously shown that due to the complex nature of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms, \RNA\ extraction procedures could impact mRNA quality and thus accurate quantification. Herein, we contaminated and degraded \RNA\ extracted from S. epidermidis biofilms, and assessed the effect on gene expression by qPCR. As expected, thermal degradation of RNA had a significant impact on gene expression on two out of the three tested genes. On the other hand, the contamination of the extracted \RNA\ yielded an interesting result: while most contaminants did not changed the purity indicators or the integrity of RNA, significant changes on gene expression levels were found. This work confirms that poor \RNA\ extraction has an important impact in qPCR quantification, emphasizing the consequences of carry-over contaminants on gene expression studies. Additionally, our results show that the parameters commonly used to assess the quality of extracted \RNA\ from bacterial cultures seem to be insufficient to ensure reliable gene expression determination.This work was funded by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) and COMPETE grants PTDC/BIA-MIC/113450/2009 and FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014309. The following authors had an individual FCT fellowship: VC (SFRH/BD/78235/2011); LDRM (SFRH/BD/66166/2009)

Topological Defects and CMB anisotropies : Are the predictions reliable ?

We consider a network of topological defects which can partly decay into neutrinos, photons, baryons, or Cold Dark Matter. We find that the degree-scale amplitude of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies as well as the shape of the matter power spectrum can be considerably modified when such a decay is taken into account. We conclude that present predictions concerning structure formation by defects might be unreliable.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication in PR

Water use, water use efficiency, water soluble carbohydrate and yield of four varieties of wheat in continuously high temperatures

High temperatures are a common feature of the environment of tropical regions such as Lombok Island and although the effect can be alleviated by altitude, heat stress will be an important limitation to the productivity of wheat in this environment. The objectives of the experiment were to observe the responses of water use (WU), water use efficiency (WUE) and water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) to high temperatures on growth and yield of wheat under controlled conditions. In this experiment plants were grown under growth chambers at temperatures to simulate low and high elevation locations on Lombok Island. Water use, water use efficiency, WSC and yield of 4 wheat genotypes (2 Australian and 2 Indonesian varieties) grown at 3 temperatures (32°/23°C, 28°/20ºC, and 25°/15ºC day/night) were compared. Variation in water use, water use efficiency, and the concentration of water soluble carbohydrate was found. Indonesian wheat varieties, Nias and Dewata produced higher yield and biomass and maintaining higher rates of water use and remobilisation of water soluble carbohydrate from vegetative tissues to grain. The accumulation of water soluble carbohydrates was an important adaptive characteristic that was strongly associated with grain weight and grains per spikelet and maintained better yield.A Zubaidi, D R Anugrahwati, G Gill and G K McDonal

Yield and photosynthetic rate of wheat under continuously high temperature

In tropical regions high temperature occurs throughout wheat growth cycle and is a major factor influencing growth and yield in this area. The aim of this work is to describe the responses to continuously-high temperatures on growth, photosynthesis and yield of wheat, under controlled conditions. Nias and Dewata (Indonesian wheat varieties) and Axe and Gladius (Australian varieties) were tested in growth room experiment with temperature and photoperiod chosen to simulate conditions on Lombok Island, at lowland (32/23°C) and highland (28/20°C) sites. The third temperature (25/15°C) was selected to represent temperature in a more temperate wheat-producing area. High temperature reduced yield and dry matter accumulation which was associated with a reduction in photosynthetic rate and stomata conductance and an increase in respiration rate. The reduction in photosynthetic rate at high temperature was not only due to lower stomatal conductance but also non-stomatal effects as mesophyll conductance and quantum yield were lower. Genetic variability in response to heat stress was evident with the Indonesian varieties being more tolerant to high temperatures than Australian varieties. Nias and Dewata produced higher yield and biomass and maintaining higher rates of photosynthesis. Maintaining high photosynthetic rate and high stomata conductance, are important characters in adapting wheat into tropical environment such as Lombok Island.A Zubaidi, D R Anugrahwati, G K McDonald and G Gil

Codes of Fair Competition: The National Recovery Act, 1933-1935, and the Women’s Dress Manufacturing Industry

Controversial issues prevalent in today’s ready-to-wear apparel industry include the right of workers to join unions, the proliferation of sweatshops and sweatshop conditions, and design piracy. The idea of forming codes of conduct to establish criteria of ethical business practices is not new to the apparel industry. Indeed, the women’s dress manufacturing industry discussed and debated codes of fair competition under the New Deal Policies of the National Recovery Act (NRA) of 1933 to 1935. Primary sources for this study included governmental hearings in the establishment of the NRA Dress Code, The New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, and the Journal of the Patent Office Society. The history of the NRA codes implemented in the U.S. women’s ready-to-wear apparel industry provides an important case study highlighting the difficulties and complexities of creating and achieving industry-wide standard practices through self-regulation. The failure of the NRA demonstrates that even with the joint cooperation of industry, labor, and consumer groups and the backing of the force of law, codes of fair competition proved impossible to enforce

Should social enterprises complement or supplement public health provision?

Purpose This paper explores how stable employment, company culture, and tailored health, digital, and core skills training provided by a social enterprise (SE) in the Philippines affect survivors of exploitation. Research shows survivors experience adverse social conditions and physical and mental health outcomes caused by their exploitative experience. Stable, decent employment has been identified as critical to their recovery and reintegration. This paper discusses the SE’s impact on the employees’ physical, mental, and social health and behaviour. Based on our findings, we discuss the contribution of SE in improving health outcomes and providing health services, and conclude that SEs should not replace but complement public health government programmes. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses mixed methods, presenting data from a longitudinal survey (household income, mental health, and social wellbeing, among others), and a follow-up qualitative study, which uses in-depth interviews and participatory videos to explore survey findings. Findings The quantitative analysis demonstrates positive, but gradual, changes in sexual and reproductive health behaviour; personal empowerment; and trauma, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The qualitative findings show how improvements in executive functioning, self-regulation, and self-esteem occur incrementally over time. As their self-efficacy improves, employees need to avoid being overly dependent on the SE, to support their autonomy, therefore access to complementary public health services is fundamental. Originality/value This paper focuses, to our knowledge, on a unique SE, which hires survivors of exploitation, without losing their competitiveness in the market