Maternal prepregnancy body mass index and offspring white matter microstructure: results from three birth cohorts

Prepregnancy maternal obesity is a global health problem and has been associated with offspring metabolic and mental ill-health. However, there is a knowledge gap in understanding potential neurobiological factors related to these associations. This study explored the relation between maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and offspring brain white matter microstructure at the age of 6, 10, and 26 years in three independent cohorts. Maternal BMI was associated with higher FA and lower MD in multiple brain tracts in offspring aged 10 and 26 years, but not at 6 years of age. Future studies should examine whether our observations can be replicated and explore the potential causal nature of the findings.This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program [grant agreement no. 633595 DynaHEALTH] and no. 733206 LifeCycle], the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development [ZONMW Vici project 016.VICI.170.200]. The PREOBE cohort was funded by Spanish Ministry of Innovation and Science. Junta de Andalucía: Excellence Projects (P06-CTS-02341) and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BFU2012-40254-C03-01). The first phase of the Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from the Erasmus Medical Centre, the Erasmus University, and the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMW, grant ZonMW Geestkracht 10.000.1003). The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 is funded by University of Oulu, University Hospital of Oulu, Academy of Finland (EGEA), Sigrid Juselius Foundation, European Commission (EURO-BLCS, Framework 5 award QLG1-CT-2000-01643), NIH/NIMH (5R01MH63706:02

Two Plant Bacteria, S. meliloti and Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus, Share Functional znuABC Homologues That Encode for a High Affinity Zinc Uptake System

The Znu system, encoded for by znuABC, can be found in multiple genera of bacteria and has been shown to be responsible for the import of zinc under low zinc conditions. Although this high-affinity uptake system is known to be important for both growth and/or pathogenesis in bacteria, it has not been functionally characterized in a plant-associated bacterium. A single homologue of this system has been identified in the plant endosymbiont, Sinorhizobium meliloti, while two homologous systems were found in the destructive citrus pathogen, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. To understand the role of these protein homologues, a complementation assay was devised allowing the individual genes that comprise the system to be assayed independently for their ability to reinstate a partially-inactivated Znu system. Results from the assays have demonstrated that although all of the genes from S. meliloti were able to restore activity, only one of the two Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus encoded gene clusters contained genes that were able to functionally complement the system. Additional analysis of the gene clusters reveals that distinct modes of regulation may also exist between the Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus and S. meliloti import systems despite the intracellular-plant niche common to both of these bacteria

Human Genome-Wide RNAi Screen for Host Factors That Modulate Intracellular Salmonella Growth

Salmonella enterica is a bacterial pathogen of humans that can proliferate within epithelial cells as well as professional phagocytes of the immune system. While much has been learned about the microbial genes that influence the infectious process through decades of intensive research, relatively little is known about the host factors that affect infection. We performed a genome-wide siRNA screen to identify host genes that Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium) utilizes to facilitate growth within human epithelial cells. In this screen, with siRNAs targeting every predicted gene in the human genome, we identified 252 new human-host-susceptibility factors (HSFs) for S. typhimurium. We also identified 39 genes whose silencing results in increased intracellular growth of S. typhimurium. The HSFs identified are regulated most centrally by NFκB and associate with each other through an extremely dense network of interactions that center around a group of kinases. Most genes identified were not previously appreciated as playing roles in the intracellular lifecycle of S. enterica. Numerous HSFs identified with interesting characteristics that could play plausible roles in mediating intracellular microbial growth are discussed. Importantly, this study reveals significant overlap between the host network that supports S. typhimurium growth within human epithelial cells and the one that promotes the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within human macrophages. In addition to providing much new information about the molecular mechanisms underlying S. enterica-host cell interplay, all 252 HSFs identified are candidates for new anti-microbial targets for controlling S. enterica infections, and some may provide broad-spectrum anti-microbial activity

Identification of a major QTL for Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni resistance in apricot

Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni causes bacterial spot of stone fruit resulting in severe yield losses in apricot production systems. Present on all continents, the pathogen is regulated in Europe as a quarantine organism. Host resistance is an important component of integrated pest management; however, little work has been done describing resistance against X. arboricola pv. pruni. In this study, an apricot population derived from the cross “Harostar” × “Rouge de Mauves” was used to construct two parental genetic maps and to perform a quantitative trait locus analysis of resistance to X. arboricola pv. pruni. A population of 101 F1 individuals was inoculated twice for two consecutive years in a quarantine greenhouse with a mixture of bacterial strains, and disease incidence and resistance index data were collected. A major QTL for disease incidence and resistance index accounting respectively for 53 % (LOD score of 15.43) and 46 % (LOD score of 12.26) of the phenotypic variation was identified at the same position on linkage group 5 of “Rouge de Mauves.” Microsatellite marker UDAp-452 co-segregated with the resistance, and two flanking microsatellites, namely BPPCT037 and BPPCT038A, were identified. When dividing the population according to the alleles of UDAp-452, the subgroup with unfavorable allele had a disease incidence of 32.6 % whereas the group with favorable allele had a disease incidence of 21 %, leading to a reduction of 35.6 % in disease incidence. This study is a first step towards the marker-assisted breeding of new apricot varieties with an increased tolerance to X. arboricola pv. pruni

Subtype-associated differences in HIV-1 reverse transcription affect the viral replication

Background: The impact of the products of the pol gene, specifically, reverse transcriptase (RT) on HIV-1 replication, evolution, and acquisition of drug resistance has been thoroughly characterized for subtype B. For subtype C, which accounts of almost 60% of HIV cases worldwide, much less is known. It has been reported that subtype C HIV-1 isolates have a lower replication capacity than B; however, the basis of these differences remains unclear. Results: We analyzed the impact of the pol gene products from HIV-1 B and C subtypes on the maturation of HIV virions, accumulation of reverse transcription products, integration of viral DNA, frequency of point mutations in provirus and overall viral replication. Recombinant HIV-1 viruses of B and C subtypes comprising the pol fragments encoding protease, integrase and either the whole RT or a chimeric RT from different isolates of the C and B subtypes, were used for infection of cells expressing CXCR4 or CCR5 co-receptors. The viruses carrying different fragments of pol from the isolates of B and C subtypes did not reveal differences in Gag and GagPol processing and viral RNA incorporation into the virions. However, the presence of the whole RT from subtype C, or the chimeric RT containing either the polymerase or the connection and RNase H domains from C isolates, caused significantly slower viral replication regardless of B or C viral backbone. Subtype C RT carrying viruses displayed lower levels of accumulation of strong-stop cDNA in permeabilized virions during endogenous reverse transcription, and decreased accumulation of both strong-stop and positive strand reverse transcription products in infected cells and in isolated reverse transcription complexes. This decreased accumulation correlated with lower levels of viral DNA integration in cells infected with viruses carrying the whole RT or RT domains from subtype C isolates. The single viral genome assay analysis did not reveal significant differences in the frequency of point mutations between the RT from B or C subtypes. Conclusions: These data suggest that the whole RT as well as distinct polymerase and connection-RNase H domains from subtype C HIV-1 confer a lower level of accumulation of reverse transcripts in the virions and reverse transcription complexes as compared to subtype B, resulting in a lower overall level of virus replication

Práticas de saúde em Enfermagem e Comunicação: um estudo de revisão da literatura Healthcare practices in Nursing and Communication: a review of the literature

As mudanças na prática de saúde do enfermeiro em programas emergentes como o Programa Saúde da Família nos levaram a estudar os processos comunicacionais que se colocam a esta prática. Mediante estudo de revisão bibliográfica de janeiro de 1994 até dezembro de 2004, investigamos 26 artigos de periódicos nacionais e internacionais, quatro dissertações, três teses e quatro livros nas bases de dados da BIREME (LILACS e SCIELO-Br) a partir dos unitermos "comunicação", "Programa Saúde da Família" e "enfermagem". Foram identificadas 373 citações com "comunicação" e "enfermagem", 12 citações usando "programa saúde da família" e "comunicação" (LILACS) e 18 citações com "comunicação" e "enfermagem" e zero citações com "programa saúde da família" e "comunicação" (SCIELO-Br). Para analisar as publicações, buscamos agrupá-las em quatro tendências acerca da relação comunicação e práticas na enfermagem: comunicação nas equipes do PSF, comunicação na prática profissional do enfermeiro, comunicação como instrumento de liderança do enfermeiro, comunicação no contexto do ensino da enfermagem. O estudo permitiu observar que, apesar do modelo hegemônico nas práticas de saúde ser o unilinear, já é nítido um movimento no sentido de uma prática comunicacional mais dialógica que aparece como um desafio na prática do enfermeiro no PSF.<br>Changes in nurse healthcare practices, especially for projects such as Brazil's Family Health Program, prompted us to study the related communication processes. A review of the literature from January 1994 through to December 2004 examined 26 papers in Brazilian and international periodicals, four dissertations, three theses and four books in the BIREME data-bases (LILACS and SCIELO-Br). Using 'Communication', 'Family Health Program' and 'Nursing' as key words, 373 mentions were found for 'Communication' and 'Nursing', twelve mentions for 'Family Health Program' and 'Communication' (LILACS); eighteen mentions for 'Communication' and 'Nursing'; and no mentions for 'Family Health Program' and 'Communication' (SCIELO-Br). In order to analyze these findings, the publications located through this search were grouped under four trends in the links between Communication and Nursing practices: Communication within the Family Health Program teams; Communication in professional Nursing practice; Communication as a leadership tool for Nurses; and Communication in Nursing education. This study showed that although the most usual communication model for healthcare practices is still unilinear, there is already a clear trend towards more dialogue, which poses a challenge for nursing practices in the Family Health Program