Isolation and characterization of the full-length cDNA encoding a member of a novel cytochrome p450 family (CYP320A1) from the tropical freshwater snail, Biomphalaria glabrata, intermediate host for Schistosoma mansoni

Cytochrome p450s (cyp450s) are a family of structurally related proteins, with diverse functions, including steroid synthesis and breakdown of toxins. This paper reports the full-length sequence of a novel cyp450 gene, the first to be isolated from the tropical freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata, an important intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni. The nucleotide sequence is 2291 bp with a predicted amino acid sequence of 584aa. The sequence demonstrates conserved cyp450 structural motifs, but is sufficiently different from previously reported cyp450 sequences to be given a new classification, CYP320A1. Initially identified as down-regulated in partially resistant snails in response to S. mansoni infection, amplification of this gene using RT-PCR in both totally resistant or susceptible snail lines when exposed to infection, and all tissues examined, suggests ubiquitous expression. Characterization of the first cyp450 from B. glabrata is significant in understanding the evolution of these metabolically important proteins

T-cell subpopulations αβ and γδ in cord blood of very preterm infants : The influence of intrauterine infection

Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are creditedPreterm infants are very susceptible to infections. Immune response mechanisms in this group of patients and factors that influence cord blood mononuclear cell populations remain poorly understood and are considered insufficient. However, competent immune functions of the cord blood mononuclear cells are also described. The aim of this work was to evaluate the T-cell population (CD3+) with its subpopulations bearing T-cell receptor (TCR) αβ or TCR γδ in the cord blood of preterm infants born before 32 weeks of gestation by mothers with or without an intrauterine infection. Being a pilot study, it also aimed at feasibility check and assessment of an expected effect size. The cord blood samples of 46 infants age were subjected to direct immunofluorescent staining with monoclonal antibodies and then analyzed by flow cytometry. The percentage of CD3+ cells in neonates born by mothers with diagnosis of intrauterine infection was significantly lower than in neonates born by mothers without infection (p = 0.005; Mann-Whitney U test). The number of cells did not differ between groups. Infection present in the mother did not have an influence on the TCR αβ or TCR γδ subpopulations. Our study contributes to a better understanding of preterm infants' immune mechanisms, and sets the stage for further investigations.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Noncommutative geometry inspired black holes in higher dimensions at the LHC

When embedding models of noncommutative geometry inspired black holes into the peridium of large extra dimensions, it is natural to relate the noncommutativity scale to the higher-dimensional Planck scale. If the Planck scale is of the order of a TeV, noncommutative geometry inspired black holes could become accessible to experiments. In this paper, we present a detailed phenomenological study of the production and decay of these black holes at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Noncommutative inspired black holes are relatively cold and can be well described by the microcanonical ensemble during their entire decay. One of the main consequences of the model is the existence of a black hole remnant. The mass of the black hole remnant increases with decreasing mass scale associated with noncommutative and decreasing number of dimensions. The experimental signatures could be quite different from previous studies of black holes and remnants at the LHC since the mass of the remnant could be well above the Planck scale. Although the black hole remnant can be very heavy, and perhaps even charged, it could result in very little activity in the central detectors of the LHC experiments, when compared to the usual anticipated black hole signatures. If this type of noncommutative inspired black hole can be produced and detected, it would result in an additional mass threshold above the Planck scale at which new physics occurs.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure

Stability of Spatial Optical Solitons

We present a brief overview of the basic concepts of the soliton stability theory and discuss some characteristic examples of the instability-induced soliton dynamics, in application to spatial optical solitons described by the NLS-type nonlinear models and their generalizations. In particular, we demonstrate that the soliton internal modes are responsible for the appearance of the soliton instability, and outline an analytical approach based on a multi-scale asymptotic technique that allows to analyze the soliton dynamics near the marginal stability point. We also discuss some results of the rigorous linear stability analysis of fundamental solitary waves and nonlinear impurity modes. Finally, we demonstrate that multi-hump vector solitary waves may become stable in some nonlinear models, and discuss the examples of stable (1+1)-dimensional composite solitons and (2+1)-dimensional dipole-mode solitons in a model of two incoherently interacting optical beams.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures; to be published in: "Spatial Optical Solitons", Eds. W. Torruellas and S. Trillo (Springer, New York

Syncopation and the Score

The first and second authors were supported by an EPSRC DTA (www.epsrc.ac.uk) studentship

The Hidden Curriculum of Veterinary Education: Mediators and Moderators of Its Effects

The “hidden curriculum” has long been supposed to have an effect on students' learning during their clinical education, and in particular in shaping their ideas of what it means to be a professional. Despite this, there has been little evidence linking specific changes in professional attitudes to the individual components of the hidden curriculum. This study aimed to recognize those components that led to a change in students' professional attitudes at a UK veterinary school, as well as to identify the attitudes most affected. Observations were made of 11 student groups across five clinical rotations, followed by semi-structured interviews with 23 students at the end of their rotation experience. Data were combined and analyzed thematically, taking both an inductive and deductive approach. Views about the importance of technical competence and communication skills were promoted as a result of students' interaction with the hidden curriculum, and tensions were revealed in relation to their attitudes toward compassion and empathy, autonomy and responsibility, and lifestyle ethic. The assessment processes of rotations and the clinical service organization served to communicate the messages of the hidden curriculum, bringing about changes in student professional attitudes, while student-selected role models and the student rotation groups moderated the effects of these influences

Individualization as driving force of clustering phenomena in humans

One of the most intriguing dynamics in biological systems is the emergence of clustering, the self-organization into separated agglomerations of individuals. Several theories have been developed to explain clustering in, for instance, multi-cellular organisms, ant colonies, bee hives, flocks of birds, schools of fish, and animal herds. A persistent puzzle, however, is clustering of opinions in human populations. The puzzle is particularly pressing if opinions vary continuously, such as the degree to which citizens are in favor of or against a vaccination program. Existing opinion formation models suggest that "monoculture" is unavoidable in the long run, unless subsets of the population are perfectly separated from each other. Yet, social diversity is a robust empirical phenomenon, although perfect separation is hardly possible in an increasingly connected world. Considering randomness did not overcome the theoretical shortcomings so far. Small perturbations of individual opinions trigger social influence cascades that inevitably lead to monoculture, while larger noise disrupts opinion clusters and results in rampant individualism without any social structure. Our solution of the puzzle builds on recent empirical research, combining the integrative tendencies of social influence with the disintegrative effects of individualization. A key element of the new computational model is an adaptive kind of noise. We conduct simulation experiments to demonstrate that with this kind of noise, a third phase besides individualism and monoculture becomes possible, characterized by the formation of metastable clusters with diversity between and consensus within clusters. When clusters are small, individualization tendencies are too weak to prohibit a fusion of clusters. When clusters grow too large, however, individualization increases in strength, which promotes their splitting.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Evolution of predator dispersal in relation to spatio-temporal prey dynamics : how not to get stuck in the wrong place!

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cell genesis and dendritic plasticity: a neuroplastic pas de deux in the onset and remission from depression

Brain neuroplasticity is increasingly considered to be an important component of both the pathology and treatment of depressive spectrum disorders. Recent studies shed light on the relevance of hippocampal cell genesis and cortico-limbic dendritic plasticity for the development and remission from depressive-like behavior. However, the neurobiological significance of neuroplastic phenomena in this context is still controversial. Here we summarize recent developments in this topic and propose an integrative interpretation of data gathered so far

Assessing the role of undetected colonization and isolation precautions in reducing Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus transmission in intensive care units

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Screening and isolation are central components of hospital methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>(MRSA) control policies. Their prevention of patient-to-patient spread depends on minimizing undetected and unisolated MRSA-positive patient days. Estimating these MRSA-positive patient days and the reduction in transmission due to isolation presents a major methodological challenge, but is essential for assessing both the value of existing control policies and the potential benefit of new rapid MRSA detection technologies. Recent methodological developments have made it possible to estimate these quantities using routine surveillance data.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Colonization data from admission and weekly nares cultures were collected from eight single-bed adult intensive care units (ICUs) over 17 months. Detected MRSA-positive patients were isolated using single rooms and barrier precautions. Data were analyzed using stochastic transmission models and model fitting was performed within a Bayesian framework using a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm, imputing unobserved MRSA carriage events.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Models estimated the mean percent of colonized-patient-days attributed to undetected carriers as 14.1% (95% CI (11.7, 16.5)) averaged across ICUs. The percent of colonized-patient-days attributed to patients awaiting results averaged 7.8% (6.2, 9.2). Overall, the ratio of estimated transmission rates from unisolated MRSA-positive patients and those under barrier precautions was 1.34 (0.45, 3.97), but varied widely across ICUs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Screening consistently detected >80% of colonized-patient-days. Estimates of the effectiveness of barrier precautions showed considerable uncertainty, but in all units except burns/general surgery and one cardiac surgery ICU, the best estimates were consistent with reductions in transmission associated with barrier precautions.</p