Intergenerational Communication – an interdisciplinary mapping review of research between 1996 and 2017

Concerns have been raised regarding the limited opportunities for intergenerational communication both outside and within the family. This “mapping review” draws together empirical literature in the topic published since 1996. Three hundred and twenty-four published studies met inclusion criteria, based on abstract review. The contents of each study were subjected to thematic analysis and nine broad themes emerged. These were (1) Dynamics of relationships, (2) Health & Well-being, (3) Learning & Literacy, (4) Attitudes, (5) Culture, (6) Digital, (7) Space, (8) Professional Development, and (9) Gender & Sexual Orientation. Studies commonly intersected disciplinary research areas. There was a marked rise across three key academic journals since 2007. An emergent finding was that a third of the studies relate to programs addressing intergenerational interventions, but many of these were primarily descriptive and failed to specify a primary outcome. Review implications and future research directions are discussed

Self-assembled hydrogel fibers for sensing the multi-compartment intracellular milieu

Targeted delivery of drugs and sensors into cells is an attractive technology with both medical and scientific applications. Existing delivery vehicles are generally limited by the complexity of their design, dependence on active transport, and inability to function within cellular compartments. Here, we developed self-assembled nanofibrous hydrogel fibers using a biologically inert, low-molecular-weight amphiphile. Self-assembled nanofibrous hydrogels offer unique physical/mechanical properties and can easily be loaded with a diverse range of payloads. Unlike commercially available E. coli membrane particles covalently bound to the pH reporting dye pHrodo, pHrodo encapsulated in self-assembled hydrogel-fibers internalizes into macrophages at both physiologic (37°C) and sub-physiologic (4°C) temperatures through an energy-independent, passive process. Unlike dye alone or pHrodo complexed to E. coli, pHrodo-SAFs report pH in both the cytoplasm and phagosomes, as well the nucleus. This new class of materials should be useful for next-generation sensing of the intracellular milieu

A comparative analysis of host responses to avian influenza infection in ducks and chickens highlights a role for the interferon-induced transmembrane proteins in viral resistance

Chickens are susceptible to infection with a limited number of Influenza A viruses and are a potential source of a human influenza pandemic. In particular, H5 and H7 haemagglutinin subtypes can evolve from low to highly pathogenic strains in gallinaceous poultry. Ducks on the other hand are a natural reservoir for these viruses and are able to withstand most avian influenza strains. Results: Transcriptomic sequencing of lung and ileum tissue samples from birds infected with high (H5N1) and low (H5N2) pathogenic influenza viruses has allowed us to compare the early host response to these infections in both these species. Chickens (but not ducks) lack the intracellular receptor for viral ssRNA, RIG-I and the gene for an important RIG-I binding protein, RNF135. These differences in gene content partly explain the differences in host responses to low pathogenic and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in chicken and ducks. We reveal very different patterns of expression of members of the interferon-induced transmembrane protein (IFITM) gene family in ducks and chickens. In ducks, IFITM1, 2 and 3 are strongly up regulated in response to highly pathogenic avian influenza, where little response is seen in chickens. Clustering of gene expression profiles suggests IFITM1 and 2 have an anti-viral response and IFITM3 may restrict avian influenza virus through cell membrane fusion. We also show, through molecular phylogenetic analyses, that avian IFITM1 and IFITM3 genes have been subject to both episodic and pervasive positive selection at specific codons. In particular, avian IFITM1 showed evidence of positive selection in the duck lineage at sites known to restrict influenza virus infection. Conclusions: Taken together these results support a model where the IFITM123 protein family and RIG-I all play a crucial role in the tolerance of ducks to highly pathogenic and low pathogenic strains of avian influenza viruses when compared to the chicken

Division of labour in response to host oxidative burst drives a fatal Cryptococcus gattii outbreak

Cryptococcus gattii is an emerging intracellular pathogen and the cause of the largest primary outbreak of a life-threatening fungal disease in a healthy population. Outbreak strains share a unique mitochondrial gene expression profile and an increased ability to tubularize their mitochondria within host macrophages. However, the underlying mechanism that causes this lineage of C. gattii to be virulent in immunocompetent individuals remains unexplained. Here we show that a subpopulation of intracellular C. gattii adopts a tubular mitochondrial morphology in response to host reactive oxygen species. These fungal cells then facilitate the rapid growth of neighbouring C. gattii cells with non-tubular mitochondria, allowing for effective establishment of the pathogen within a macrophage intracellular niche. Thus, host reactive oxygen species, an essential component of the innate immune response, act as major signalling molecules to trigger a ‘division of labour’ in the intracellular fungal population, leading to increased pathogenesis within this outbreak lineage