Hybrid Paper/Electronic Archival Collecting, Processing, and Reference: A View from SLAC

Real-time archiving of mixed paper and digital collections presents challenges not encountered in the primarily paper environment. A few recent examples from the archives of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center highlight obstacles encountered, and attempted and contemplated solutions

How do tsetse recognise their hosts? The role of shape in the responses of tsetse (Glossina fuscipes and G. palpalis) to artificial hosts

Palpalis-group tsetse, particularly the subspecies of Glossina palpalis and G. fuscipes, are the most important transmitters of human African trypanomiasis (HAT), transmitting .95% of cases. Traps and insecticide-treated targets are used to control tsetse but more cost-effective baits might be developed through a better understanding of the fly’s host-seeking behaviour.Electrocuting grids were used to assess the numbers of G. palpalis palpalis and G. fuscipes quanzensis attracted to and landing on square or oblong targets of black cloth varying in size from 0.01 m2 to 1.0 m2. For both species, increasing the size of a square target from 0.01 m2 (dimensions = 0.1 x 0.1 m) to 1.0 m2 (1.0 x 1.0 m) increased the catch ,4x however the numbers of tsetse killed per unit area of target declined with target size suggesting that the most cost efficient targets are not the largest. For G. f. quanzensis, horizontal oblongs, (1 m wide x 0.5 m high) caught, 1.8x more tsetse than vertical ones (0.5 m wide x 1.0 m high) but the opposite applied for G. p. palpalis. Shape preference was consistent over the range of target sizes. For G. p. palpalis square targets caught as many tsetse as the oblong; while the evidence is less strong the same appears to apply to G. f. quanzensis. The results suggest that targets used to control G. p. palpalis and G. f. quanzensis should be square, and that the most cost-effective designs, as judged by the numbers of tsetse caught per area of target, are likely to be in the region of 0.25 x 0.25 m2. The preference of G. p. palpalis for vertical oblongs is unique amongst tsetse species, and it is suggested that this response might be related to its anthropophagic behaviour and hence importance as a vector of HAT

Genetic and antigenic variation of the bovine tick-borne pathogen Theileria parva in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa

BACKGROUND : Theileria parva causes East Coast fever (ECF), one of the most economically important tick-borne diseases of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa. A live immunisation approach using the infection and treatment method (ITM) provides a strong long-term strain-restricted immunity. However, it typically induces a tick-transmissible carrier state in cattle and may lead to spread of antigenically distinct parasites. Thus, understanding the genetic composition of T. parva is needed prior to the use of the ITM vaccine in new areas. This study examined the sequence diversity and the evolutionary and biogeographical dynamics of T. parva within the African Great Lakes region to better understand the epidemiology of ECF and to assure vaccine safety. Genetic analyses were performed using sequences of two antigencoding genes, Tp1 and Tp2, generated among 119 T. parva samples collected from cattle in four agro-ecological zones of DRC and Burundi. RESULTS : The results provided evidence of nucleotide and amino acid polymorphisms in both antigens, resulting in 11 and 10 distinct nucleotide alleles, that predicted 6 and 9 protein variants in Tp1 and Tp2, respectively. Theileria parva samples showed high variation within populations and a moderate biogeographical sub-structuring due to the widespread major genotypes. The diversity was greater in samples from lowlands and midlands areas compared to those from highlands and other African countries. The evolutionary dynamics modelling revealed a signal of selective evolution which was not preferentially detected within the epitope-coding regions, suggesting that the observed polymorphism could be more related to gene flow rather than recent host immune-based selection. Most alleles isolated in the Great Lakes region were closely related to the components of the trivalent Muguga vaccine. CONCLUSIONS : Our findings suggest that the extensive sequence diversity of T. parva and its biogeographical distribution mainly depend on host migration and agro-ecological conditions driving tick population dynamics. Such patterns are likely to contribute to the epidemic and unstable endemic situations of ECF in the region. However, the fact that ubiquitous alleles are genetically similar to the components of the Muguga vaccine together with the limited geographical clustering may justify testing the existing trivalent vaccine for cross-immunity in the region.Additional file 1: Table S1. Cattle blood sample distribution across agroecological zones.Additional file 2: Table S2. Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of Tp1 and Tp2 antigen epitopes from T. parva Muguga reference sequence.Additional file 3: Table S3. Characteristics of 119 T. parva samples obtained from cattle in different agro-ecological zones (AEZs) of The Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.Additional file 4: Figure S1. Multiple sequence alignment of the 11 Tp1 gene alleles obtained in this study.Additional file 5: Table S4. Estimates of evolutionary divergence between gene alleles for Tp1 and Tp2, using proportion nucleotide distance.Additional file 6: Table S5. Tp1 and Tp2 genes alleles with their corresponding antigen variants.Additional file 7: Table S6. Amino acid variants of Tp1 and Tp2 CD8+ T cell target epitopes of T. parva from DRC and Burundi.Additional file 8: Figure S2. Multiple sequence alignment of the 10 Tp2 gene alleles obtained in this study.Additional file 9: Table S7. Distribution of Tp1 gene alleles of T. parva from cattle and buffalo in the sub-Saharan region of Africa.Additional file 10: Table S8. Distribution of Tp2 gene alleles of T. parva from cattle and buffalo in the sub-Saharan region of Africa.Additional file 11: Figure S3. Neighbor-joining tree showing phylogenetic relationships among 48 Tp1 gene alleles described in Africa.Additional file 12: Figure S4. Phylogenetic tree showing the relationships among concatenated Tp1 and Tp2 nucleotide sequences of 93 T. parva samples from cattle in DRC and Burundi.This study is part of the PhD work supported by the University of Namur (UNamur, Belgium) through the UNamur-CERUNA institutional PhD grant awarded to GSA for bioinformatic analyses, interpretation of data and manuscript write up in Belgium. The laboratory aspects (molecular biology analysis) of the project were supported by the BecA-ILRI Hub through the Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) programme. The ABCF Programme is funded by the Australian Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through the BecA-CSIRO partnership; the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA); the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF); the UK Department for International Development (DFID); and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The ABCF Fellowship awarded to GAS was funded by BMGF grant (OPP1075938). Sample collection, field equipment and preliminary sample processing were supported through the “Theileria” project co-funded to the Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA) by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Communauté Economique des Pays des Grands Lacs (CEPGL). The International Foundation for Science (IFS, Stockholm, Sweden) supported the individual scholarship awarded to GSA (grant no. IFS-92890CA3) for field work and part of field equipment to the “Theileria” project.http://www.parasitesandvectors.comam2020Veterinary Tropical Disease

NADPH oxidase DUOX1 promotes long-term persistence of oxidative stress after an exposure to irradiation.

Ionizing radiation (IR) causes not only acute tissue damage, but also late effects in several cell generations after the initial exposure. The thyroid gland is one of the most sensitive organs to the carcinogenic effects of IR, and we have recently highlighted that an oxidative stress is responsible for the chromosomal rearrangements found in radio-induced papillary thyroid carcinoma. Using both a human thyroid cell line and primary thyrocytes, we investigated the mechanism by which IR induces the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) several days after irradiation. We focused on NADPH oxidases, which are specialized ROS-generating enzymes known as NOX/DUOX. Our results show that IR induces delayed NADPH oxidase DUOX1-dependent H2O2 production in a dose-dependent manner, which is sustained for several days. We report that p38 MAPK, activated after IR, increased DUOX1 via IL-13 expression, leading to persistent DNA damage and growth arrest. Pretreatment of cells with catalase, a scavenger of H2O2, or DUOX1 down-regulation by siRNA abrogated IR-induced DNA damage. Analysis of human thyroid tissues showed that DUOX1 is elevated not only in human radio-induced thyroid tumors, but also in sporadic thyroid tumors. Taken together, our data reveal a key role of DUOX1-dependent H2O2 production in long-term persistent radio-induced DNA damage. Our data also show that DUOX1-dependent H2O2 production, which induces DNA double-strand breaks, can cause genomic instability and promote the generation of neoplastic cells through its mutagenic effect.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Stroma cell-derived factor-1α signaling enhances calcium transients and beating frequency in rat neonatal cardiomyocytes.

Stroma cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) is a cardioprotective chemokine, acting through its G-protein coupled receptor CXCR4. In experimental acute myocardial infarction, administration of SDF-1α induces an early improvement of systolic function which is difficult to explain solely by an anti-apoptotic and angiogenic effect. We wondered whether SDF-1α signaling might have direct effects on calcium transients and beating frequency.Primary rat neonatal cardiomyocytes were culture-expanded and characterized by immunofluorescence staining. Calcium sparks were studied by fluorescence microscopy after calcium loading with the Fluo-4 acetoxymethyl ester sensor. The cardiomyocyte enriched cellular suspension expressed troponin I and CXCR4 but was vimentin negative. Addition of SDF-1α in the medium increased cytoplasmic calcium release. The calcium response was completely abolished by using a neutralizing anti-CXCR4 antibody and partially suppressed and delayed by preincubation with an inositol triphosphate receptor (IPR) blocker, but not with a ryanodine receptor (RyR) antagonist. Calcium fluxes induced by caffeine, a RyR agonist, were decreased by an IPR blocker. Treatment with forskolin or SDF-1α increased cardiomyocyte beating frequency and their effects were additive. treatment with SDF-1α increased left ventricular dP/dtmax.These results suggest that in rat neonatal cardiomyocytes, the SDF-1α/CXCR4 signaling increases calcium transients in an IP-gated fashion leading to a positive chronotropic and inotropic effect.Journal ArticleSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe