The Yeast Spore Wall Enables Spores to Survive Passage through the Digestive Tract of Drosophila

In nature, yeasts are subject to predation by flies of the genus Drosophila. In response to nutritional starvation Saccharomyces cerevisiae differentiates into a dormant cell type, termed a spore, which is resistant to many types of environmental stress. The stress resistance of the spore is due primarily to a spore wall that is more elaborate than the vegetative cell wall. We report here that S. cerevisiae spores survive passage through the gut of Drosophila melanogaster. Constituents of the spore wall that distinguish it from the vegetative cell wall are necessary for this resistance. Ascospores of the distantly related yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe also display resistance to digestion by D. melanogaster. These results suggest that the primary function of the yeast ascospore is as a cell type specialized for dispersion by insect vectors

General anaesthetic and airway management practice for obstetric surgery in England: a prospective, multi-centre observational study

There are no current descriptions of general anaesthesia characteristics for obstetric surgery, despite recent changes to patient baseline characteristics and airway management guidelines. This analysis of data from the direct reporting of awareness in maternity patients' (DREAMY) study of accidental awareness during obstetric anaesthesia aimed to describe practice for obstetric general anaesthesia in England and compare with earlier surveys and best-practice recommendations. Consenting patients who received general anaesthesia for obstetric surgery in 72 hospitals from May 2017 to August 2018 were included. Baseline characteristics, airway management, anaesthetic techniques and major complications were collected. Descriptive analysis, binary logistic regression modelling and comparisons with earlier data were conducted. Data were collected from 3117 procedures, including 2554 (81.9%) caesarean deliveries. Thiopental was the induction drug in 1649 (52.9%) patients, compared with propofol in 1419 (45.5%). Suxamethonium was the neuromuscular blocking drug for tracheal intubation in 2631 (86.1%), compared with rocuronium in 367 (11.8%). Difficult tracheal intubation was reported in 1 in 19 (95%CI 1 in 16-22) and failed intubation in 1 in 312 (95%CI 1 in 169-667). Obese patients were over-represented compared with national baselines and associated with difficult, but not failed intubation. There was more evidence of change in practice for induction drugs (increased use of propofol) than neuromuscular blocking drugs (suxamethonium remains the most popular). There was evidence of improvement in practice, with increased monitoring and reversal of neuromuscular blockade (although this remains suboptimal). Despite a high risk of difficult intubation in this population, videolaryngoscopy was rarely used (1.9%)

Effects of season and region on sapstain and wood degrade following simulated storm damage in Pinus radiata plantations

Storms causing windthrow are major natural disturbance events and an unpredictable hazard to forest planning. Knowledge of regional and seasonal climatic effects on sapstain and decay fungi will allow forest managers to minimise losses from wood deterioration during salvage operations. A study was conducted monitoring sapstain in trees that were experimentally felled to simulate storm breakage at up to four times during the year in . Pinus radiata plantations across six locations in different climatic zones throughout New Zealand. It was found that drying of sapwood and development of sapstain depended more on the season when the storm occurred, rather than the time since felling. Sapstain appeared almost immediately in stems felled during summer, at some locations reaching more than 20% mean cross-sectional cover inside logs within 3. months, whereas in those felled during winter an initial lag phase during the cooler months preceded a more rapid rise during spring and summer. Rates varied substantially between locations with a tendency for faster deterioration where average temperatures were greater. For trees damaged during winter, it was predicted that a . P. . radiata butt log with a mid-length diameter of c. 16-23. cm will take from 2 to 8. months, depending on climate, to reach an economic damage benchmark threshold of 10% cross-sectional sapstain cover. However, for storms in spring or summer this period reduces to less than 1. month at warmer locations. Development of sapstain was uniform or increased slightly with height along the felled stem, but was greatest close to the felling cut in the basal section that would normally be removed during log retrieval. The results of this study provide new information about the temporal and regional variation in the dynamics of sapstain fungi that will assist forest managers during timber recovery following storms in regions with similar climates and tree species

Transporter and ion channel gene expression after caco-2 cell differentiation using 2 different microarray technologies

mRNA expression profiles had previously been measured in Caco-2 cells (human colonic carcinoma cells) using either custom-designed spotted oligonucleotide arrays or Affymetrix GeneChip oligonucleotide arrays. The Caco-2 cells used were from different clones and were examined under slightly different culture conditions commonly encountered when Caco-2 cells are used as a model tissue for studying intestinal transport and metabolism in different laboratories. In this study, we compared gene expression profiles of Caco-2 cells generated with different arrays to assess the validity of conclusions derived from the 2 independent studies, with a focus on changes in transporter and ion channel mRNA expression levels on Caco-2 cell differentiation. Significant changes in expression levels upon differentiation were observed with 78 genes, with probes common to both arrays. Of these, 18 genes were upregulated and 36 genes were downregulated. The 2 arrays yielded discrepant results for 24 genes, showing significant changes upon differentiation. The results from the 2 arrays correlated well for genes expressed above average levels (r=0.75,P<0.01, n=25) and poorly for genes expressed at low levels (r=0.08,P>0.05, n=25). Overall correlation across the 2 platforms wasr=0.45 (P<0.01) for the 78 genes, with similar results from both arrays. Despite differences in experimental conditions and array technology, similar results were obtained for most genes