The Threatened Status of Steller Sea Lions, Eumetopias jubatus, under the Endangered Species Act: Effects on Alaska Groundfish Fisheries Management

In April 1990, the Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus, was listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act by emergency action. Competitive interactions with the billion-dollar Alaska commercial groundfish fisheries have been suggested as one of the possible contributing factors to the Steller sea lion population decline. Since the listing, fisheries managers have attempted to address the potential impacts of the groundfish fisheries on Steller sea lion recovery. In this paper, we review pertinent Federal legislation, biological information on the Steller sea lion decline, changes in the Alaska trawl fishery for walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma, since the late 1970's, andpossible interactions between fisheries and sea lions. Using three cases, we illustrate how the listing of Steller sea lions has affected Alaska groundfish fisheries through: I) actions taken at the time of listing designed to limit the potential for directhuman-related sea lion mortality, 2) actions addressing spatial and temporal separation of fisheries from sea lions, and 3) introduction of risk-adverse stock assessment methodologies and Steller sea lion conservation considerations directly in the annual quota-setting process. This discussion shows some of the ways that North Pacific groundfish resource managers have begun to explicitly consider the conservation ofmarine mammal and other nontarget species

Development of Beluga, Delphinapterus leucas, Capture and Satellite Tagging Protocol in Cook Inlet, Alaska

Attempts to capture and place satellite tags on belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in Cook Inlet, Alaska were conducted during late spring and summer of 1995, 1997, and 1999. In 1995, capture attempts using a hoop net proved impractical in Cook Inlet. In 1997, capture efforts focused on driving belugas into nets. Although this method had been successful in the Canadian High Arctic, it failed in Cook Inlet due to the ability of the whales to detect and avoid nets in shallow and very turbid water. In 1999, belugas were successfully captured using a gillnet encirclement technique. A satellite tag was attached to a juvenile male, which subsequently provided the first documentation of this species’ movements within Cook Inlet during the summer months (31 May–17 September)

Synthesis and structural characterisation of bismuth(III) hydroxamates and their activity against Helicobacter pylori

Seven new bismuth(III) hydroxamate complexes derived from the hydroxamic acids N-methylfurohydroxamic acid (H-MFHA), N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxamic acid (H-BPHA), salicylhydroxamic acid (H2-SHA), benzohydroxamic acid (H2-BHA), and acetohydroxamic acid (H2-AHA) have been synthesized and characterized. The complexes formed are either tris-hydroxamato complexes containing only mono-anionic ligands, [Bi(H-SHA)3], [Bi(MFHA)3] and [Bi(BPHA)3]; mixed-anion complexes, [Bi(SHA)(H-SHA)] and [Bi(AHA)(H-AHA)]; and potassium bismuthate complexes, K[Bi(SHA)2] and K[Bi(BHA)2]. The solid-state structure of three complexes has been determined through single crystal X-ray diffraction; [Bi(MFHA)3]2·Me2C[double bond, length as m-dash]O, {[Bi(SHA)(H-SHA)(DMSO)2][Bi(SHA)(H-SHA)(DMSO)]·DMSO}∞ and [Bi(BPHA)3]2·2EtOH. All the complexes and their parent acids were assessed for the bactericidal activity against three strains of Helicobacter pylori (26695, B128 and 251). Of the acids, only acetohydroxamic acid showed any activity at low concentrations (MIC 6.25 μg mL−1; 83.26 µM) while the others were not toxic below 25 μg mL−1. In contrast, their bismuth(III) complexes all showed excellent activity across all three strains (e.g. 0.28 μM for [Bi(H-SHA)3] to 6.01 μM for K[Bi(BHA)2] against strain 251) with only minor variations in activity being both ligand and composition dependant

Secretion of flagellin by the LEE-encoded type III secretion system of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

Background: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an attaching and effacing (A/E) pathogen that possesses a type III secretion system (T3SS) encoded within the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). The LEE is essential for A/E lesion formation and directs the secretion and translocation of multiple LEE-encoded and non-LEE encoded effector proteins into the cytosol of infected cells. In this study we used proteomics to compare proteins exported to the culture supernatant by wild type EPEC E2348/69, a Delta espADB mutant and a Delta escF T3SS mutant

Narrative review of the role of artificial intelligence to improve aortic valve disease management

Valvular heart disease (VHD) is a chronic progressive condition with an increasing prevalence in the Western world due to aging populations. VHD is often diagnosed at a late stage when patients are symptomatic and the outcomes of therapy, including valve replacement, may be sub-optimal due the development of secondary complications, including left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. The clinical application of artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning (ML), has promise in supporting not only early and more timely diagnosis, but also hastening patient referral and ensuring optimal treatment of VHD. As physician auscultation lacks accuracy in diagnosis of significant VHD, computer-aided auscultation (CAA) with the help of a commercially available digital stethoscopes improves the detection and classification of heart murmurs. Although used little in current clinical practice, CAA can screen large populations at low cost with high accuracy for VHD and faciliate appropriate patient referral. Echocardiography remains the next step in assessment and planning management and AI is delivering major changes in speeding training, improving image quality by pattern recognition and image sorting, as well as automated measurement of multiple variables, thereby improving accuracy. Furthermore, AI then has the potential to hasten patient disposal, by automated alerts for red-flag findings, as well as decision support in dealing with results. In management, there is great potential in ML-enabled tools to support comprehensive disease monitoring and individualized treatment decisions. Using data from multiple sources, including demographic and clinical risk data to image variables and electronic reports from electronic medical records, specific patient phenotypes may be identified that are associated with greater risk or modeled to the estimate trajectory of VHD progression. Finally, AI algorithms are of proven value in planning intervention, facilitating transcatheter valve replacement by automated measurements of anatomical dimensions derived from imaging data to improve valve selection, valve size and method of delivery

Molecular Basis of Phenylketonuria in Italy

n/

Effects of real versus phantom stock option plans on shareholder wealth

Helicobacter pylori causes chronic gastritis and avoids elimination by the immune system of the infected host. The commensal bacterium Lactobacillus acidophilus has been suggested to exert beneficial effects as a supplement during H. pylori eradication therapy. In the present study, we applied whole-genome microarray analysis to compare the immune responses induced in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) stimulated with L. acidophilus, H. pylori, or both bacteria in combination. While L. acidophilus induced a Th1-polarizing response characterized by high expression of interferon beta (IFN-β) and interleukin 12 (IL-12), H. pylori strongly induced the innate cytokines IL-1β and IL-1α. In BMDMs prestimulated with L. acidophilus, H. pylori blocked the expression of L. acidophilus-induced IFN-β and IL-12 and suppressed the expression of key regulators of the Rho, Rac, and Cdc42 GTPases. The inhibition of L. acidophilus-induced IFN-β was independent of H. pylori viability and the virulence factor CagPAI; however, a vacuolating cytotoxin (vacA) mutant was unable to block IFN-β. Confocal microscopy demonstrated that the addition of H. pylori to L. acidophilus-stimulated BMDMs redirects intracellular processing, leading to an accumulation of L. acidophilus in the endosomal and lysosomal compartments. Thus, our findings indicate that H. pylori inhibits the development of a strong Th1-polarizing response in BMDMs stimulated with L. acidophilus by blocking the production of IFN-β in a VacA-dependent manner. We suggest that this abrogation is caused by a redirection of the endocytotic pathway in the processing of L. acidophilus. IMPORTANCE Approximately half of the world's population is infected with Helicobacter pylori. The factors that allow this pathogen to persist in the stomach and cause chronic infections have not yet been fully elucidated. In particular, how H. pylori avoids killing by macrophages, one of the main types of immune cell underlying the epithelium, remains elusive. Here we have shown that the H. pylori virulence factor VacA plays a key role by blocking the activation of innate cytokines induced by the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus in macrophages and suppresses the expression of key regulators required for the organization and dynamics of the intracellular cytoskeleton. Our results identify potential targets for the treatment of H. pylori infection and vaccination, since specific inhibition of the toxin VacA possibly allows the activation of an efficient immune response and thereby eradication of H. pylori in the host

Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph - Distant Quasar Survey: Prescriptions for Calibrating UV-Based Estimates of Supermassive Black Hole Masses in High-Redshift Quasars

The most reliable single-epoch supermassive black hole mass ($M_{\rm BH}$) estimates in quasars are obtained by using the velocity widths of low-ionization emission lines, typically the H$\beta$ $\lambda4861$ line. Unfortunately, this line is redshifted out of the optical band at $z\approx1$, leaving $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates to rely on proxy rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) emission lines, such as C IV $\lambda1549$ or Mg II $\lambda2800$, which contain intrinsic challenges when measuring, resulting in uncertain $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates. In this work, we aim at correcting $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates derived from the C IV and Mg II emission lines based on estimates derived from the H$\beta$ emission line. We find that employing the equivalent width of C IV in deriving $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates based on Mg II and C IV provides values that are closest to those obtained from H$\beta$. We also provide prescriptions to estimate $M_{\rm BH}$ values when only C IV, only Mg II, and both C IV and Mg II are measurable. We find that utilizing both emission lines, where available, reduces the scatter of UV-based $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates by $\sim15\%$ when compared to previous studies. Lastly, we discuss the potential of our prescriptions to provide more accurate and precise estimates of $M_{\rm BH}$ given a much larger sample of quasars at $3.20 \lesssim z \lesssim 3.50$, where both Mg II and H$\beta$ can be measured in the same near-infrared spectrum.Comment: 19 pages (AASTeX 6.3.1), 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

A Helicobacter pylori Homolog of Eukaryotic Flotillin Is Involved in Cholesterol Accumulation, Epithelial Cell Responses and Host Colonization.

The human pathogen Helicobacter pylori acquires cholesterol from membrane raft domains in eukaryotic cells, commonly known as "lipid rafts." Incorporation of this cholesterol into the H. pylori cell membrane allows the bacterium to avoid clearance by the host immune system and to resist the effects of antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides. The presence of cholesterol in H. pylori bacteria suggested that this pathogen may have cholesterol-enriched domains within its membrane. Consistent with this suggestion, we identified a hypothetical H. pylori protein (HP0248) with homology to the flotillin proteins normally found in the cholesterol-enriched domains of eukaryotic cells. As shown for eukaryotic flotillin proteins, HP0248 was detected in detergent-resistant membrane fractions of H. pylori. Importantly, H. pylori HP0248 mutants contained lower levels of cholesterol than wild-type bacteria (P < 0.01). HP0248 mutant bacteria also exhibited defects in type IV secretion functions, as indicated by reduced IL-8 responses and CagA translocation in epithelial cells (P < 0.05), and were less able to establish a chronic infection in mice than wild-type bacteria (P < 0.05). Thus, we have identified an H. pylori flotillin protein and shown its importance for bacterial virulence. Taken together, the data demonstrate important roles for H. pylori flotillin in host-pathogen interactions. We propose that H. pylori flotillin may be required for the organization of virulence proteins into membrane raft-like structures in this pathogen