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Results of a survey on the value of PNLA membership

Measurement of cruelty in children: The Cruelty to Animals Inventory

Cruelty to animals may be a particularly pernicious aspect of problematic child development. Progress in understanding the development of the problem is limited due to the complex nature of cruelty as a construct, and limitations with current assessment measures. The Children and Animals Inventory (CAI) was developed as a brief self- and parent-report measure of F. R. Ascione''s (1993) 9 parameters of cruelty. The CAI emerged as a reliable, stable, and readily utilized measure of cruelty using parent and child reports. Children (especially the older children) reported higher rates of cruelty than their parents and boys reported more cruelty than girls. Self- and parent-reports showed good convergence with independent observations of cruelty versus nurturance during free interactions with domestic animals. The results indicate that cruelty to animals can be reliably measured using brief child and parent report measures

Choosing and using methodological search filters : searchers' views

© 2014 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2014 Health Libraries Group.Peer reviewedPostprin

The cation diffusion facilitator protein MamM's cytoplasmic domain exhibits metal-type dependent binding modes and discriminates against Mn2+

Cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) proteins are a conserved family of divalent transition metal cation transporters. CDF proteins are usually composed of two domains: the transmembrane domain (TMD), in which the metal cations are transported through, and a regulatory cytoplasmic C-terminal domain (CTD). Each CDF protein transports either one specific metal, or multiple metals, from the cytoplasm, and it is not known if the CTD takes an active regulatory role in metal recognition and discrimination during cation transport. Here, the model CDF protein MamM, an iron transporter from magnetotactic bacteria, was used to probe the role of the CTD in metal recognition and selectivity. Using a combination of biophysical and structural approaches, the binding of different metals to MamM CTD was characterized. Results reveal that different metals bind distinctively to MamM CTD in terms of their binding sites, thermodynamics and binding-dependent conformations, both in crystal form and in solution, which suggests a varying level of functional discrimination between CDF domains. Furthermore, these results provide the first direct evidence that CDF CTDs play a role in metal selectivity. We demonstrate that MamM's CTD can discriminate against Mn2+, supporting its postulated role in preventing magnetite formation poisoning in magnetotactic bacteria via Mn2+ incorporation

Seroprevalence of rubella antibodies and determinants of susceptibility to rubella in a cohort of pregnant women in Canada, 2008–2011

Long term control of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome relies on high population-level immunity against rubella, particularly among women of childbearing age. In Canada, all pregnant women should be screened so that susceptible new mothers can be offered vaccination for rubella before discharge. This study was undertaken to estimate rubella susceptibility in a cohort of pregnant women in Canada and to identify associated socio-economic and demographic factors. Biobanked plasma samples were obtained from the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) study, in which pregnant women were recruited between 2008 and 2011. Socio-demographic characteristics and obstetric histories were collected. Second trimester plasma samples (n = 1,752) were tested for rubella-specific IgG using an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The percentage of women with IgG titers <5 IU/mL, 5–10 IU/mL, and 10 IU/mL were 2.3%, 10.1%, and 87.6%, respectively. Rates of seronegativity, defined as <5 IU/mL, were 3.1% in women who had no previous live birth and 1.6% in women who had given birth previously. Among the latter group, seronegativity was higher in women with high school education or less (adjusted OR (aOR) 5.93, 95% CI 2.08–16.96) or with a college or trade school diploma (aOR 3.82, 95% CI 1.45–10.12), compared to university graduates, and those born outside Canada (aOR 2.60, 95% CI 1.07–6.31). In conclusion, a large majority of pregnant women were found to be immune to rubella. Further research is needed to understand inequalities in vaccine uptake or access, and more effort is needed to promote catch-up measles-mumps-rubella vaccination among socioeconomically disadvantaged and immigrant women of childbearing age

Metal binding to the dynamic cytoplasmic domain of the cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) protein MamM induces a 'locked-in' configuration

Cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) proteins are a conserved family of transmembrane transporters that ensure cellular homeostasis of divalent transition metal cations. Metal cations bind to CDF protein's cytoplasmic C-terminal domain (CTD), leading to closure from its apo open V-shaped dimer to a tighter packed structure, followed by a conformational change of the transmembrane domain thus enabling transport of the metal cation. By implementing a comprehensive range of biochemical and biophysical methods, we studied the molecular mechanism of metal binding to the magnetotactic bacterial CDF protein MamM CTD. Our results reveal that the CTD is rather dynamic in its apo form, and that two dependent metal binding sites, a single central binding site and two symmetrical, peripheral sites, are available for metal binding. However, only cation binding to the peripheral sites leads to conformational changes that lock the protein in a compact state. Thus, this work reveals how metal binding is regulating the sequential uptakes of metal cations by MamM, and extends our understanding of the complex regulation mechanism of CDF proteins. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Evidence of a Large Novel Gene Pool Associated with Prokaryotic Genomic Islands

Microbial genes that are “novel” (no detectable homologs in other species) have become of increasing interest as environmental sampling suggests that there are many more such novel genes in yet-to-be-cultured microorganisms. By analyzing known microbial genomic islands and prophages, we developed criteria for systematic identification of putative genomic islands (clusters of genes of probable horizontal origin in a prokaryotic genome) in 63 prokaryotic genomes, and then characterized the distribution of novel genes and other features. All but a few of the genomes examined contained significantly higher proportions of novel genes in their predicted genomic islands compared with the rest of their genome (Paired t test = 4.43E-14 to 1.27E-18, depending on method). Moreover, the reverse observation (i.e., higher proportions of novel genes outside of islands) never reached statistical significance in any organism examined. We show that this higher proportion of novel genes in predicted genomic islands is not due to less accurate gene prediction in genomic island regions, but likely reflects a genuine increase in novel genes in these regions for both bacteria and archaea. This represents the first comprehensive analysis of novel genes in prokaryotic genomic islands and provides clues regarding the origin of novel genes. Our collective results imply that there are different gene pools associated with recently horizontally transmitted genomic regions versus regions that are primarily vertically inherited. Moreover, there are more novel genes within the gene pool associated with genomic islands. Since genomic islands are frequently associated with a particular microbial adaptation, such as antibiotic resistance, pathogen virulence, or metal resistance, this suggests that microbes may have access to a larger “arsenal” of novel genes for adaptation than previously thought

Saturation transfer difference NMR on the integral trimeric membrane transport protein GltPh determines cooperative substrate binding

UID/Multi/04378/2019 Grant no. BB/P010660/1 grant number BB/M011216/1Saturation-transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy is a fast and versatile method which can be applied for drug-screening purposes, allowing the determination of essential ligand binding affinities (KD). Although widely employed to study soluble proteins, its use remains negligible for membrane proteins. Here the use of STD NMR for KD determination is demonstrated for two competing substrates with very different binding affinities (low nanomolar to millimolar) for an integral membrane transport protein in both detergent-solubilised micelles and reconstituted proteoliposomes. GltPh, a homotrimeric aspartate transporter from Pyrococcus horikoshii, is an archaeal homolog of mammalian membrane transport proteins—known as excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs). They are found within the central nervous system and are responsible for fast uptake of the neurotransmitter glutamate, essential for neuronal function. Differences in both KD’s and cooperativity are observed between detergent micelles and proteoliposomes, the physiological implications of which are discussed.publishersversionpublishe