Homburgvirus LP-018 Has a Unique Ability to Infect Phage-Resistant Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria phage LP-018 is the only phage from a diverse collection of 120 phages able to form plaques on a phage-resistant Listeria monocytogenes strain lacking rhamnose in its cell wall teichoic acids. The aim of this study was to characterize phage LP-018 and to identify what types of mutations can confer resistance to LP-018. Whole genome sequencing and transmission electron microscopy revealed LP-018 to be a member of the Homburgvirus genus. One-step-growth curve analysis of LP-018 revealed an eclipse period of ~60–90 min and a burst size of ~2 PFU per infected cell. Despite slow growth and small burst size, LP-018 can inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes at a high multiplicity of infection. Ten distinct LP-018-resistant mutants were isolated from infected Listeria monocytogenes 10403S and characterized by whole genome sequencing. In each mutant, a single mutation was identified in either the LMRG_00278 or LMRG_01613 encoding genes. Interesting, LP-018 was able to bind to a representative phage-resistant mutant with a mutation in each gene, suggesting these mutations confer resistance through a mechanism independent of adsorption inhibition. Despite forming plaques on the rhamnose deficient 10403S mutant, LP-018 showed reduced binding efficiency, and we did not observe inhibition of the strain under the conditions tested. Two mutants of LP-018 were also isolated and characterized, one with a single SNP in a gene encoding a BppU domain protein that likely alters its host range. LP-018 is shown to be a unique Listeria phage that, with additional evaluation, may be useful in biocontrol applications that aim to reduce the emergence of phage resistance

The 3D Kinematics of Gas in the Small Magellanic Cloud

We investigate the kinematics of neutral gas in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and test the hypothesis that it is rotating in a disk. To trace the 3D motions of the neutral gas distribution, we identify a sample of young, massive stars embedded within it. These are stars with radial velocity measurements from spectroscopic surveys and proper motion measurements from Gaia, whose radial velocities match with dominant HI components. We compare the observed radial and tangential velocities of these stars with predictions from the state-of-the-art rotating disk model based on high-resolution 21 cm observations of the SMC from the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder telescope. We find that the observed kinematics of gas-tracing stars are inconsistent with disk rotation. We conclude that the kinematics of gas in the SMC are more complex than can be inferred from the integrated radial velocity field. As a result of violent tidal interactions with the LMC, non-rotational motions are prevalent throughout the SMC, and it is likely composed of distinct sub-structures overlapping along the line of sight.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 1 Appendix; ApJ accepte

Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality in Eastern Europe : longitudinal results from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial Factors in Eastern Europe study

BACKGROUND: It is estimated that disease burden due to low fruit and vegetable consumption is higher in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU) than any other parts of the world. However, no large scale studies have investigated the association between fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake and mortality in these regions yet. DESIGN: The Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial Factors in Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) study is a prospective cohort study with participants recruited from the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia. METHODS: Dietary data was collected using food frequency questionnaire. Mortality data was ascertained through linkage with death registers. Multivariable adjusted hazard ratios were calculated by Cox regression models. RESULTS: Among 19,333 disease-free participants at baseline, 1314 died over the mean follow-up of 7.1 years. After multivariable adjustment, we found statistically significant inverse association between cohort-specific quartiles of F&V intake and stroke mortality: the highest vs lowest quartile hazard ratio (HR) was 0.52 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.28–0.98). For total mortality, significant interaction (p = 0.008) between F&V intake and smoking was found. The associations were statistically significant in smokers, with HR 0.70 (0.53–0.91, p for trend: 0.011) for total mortality, and 0.62 (0.40–0.97, p for trend: 0.037) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. The association was appeared to be mediated by blood pressure, and F&V intake explained a considerable proportion of the mortality differences between the Czech and Russian cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that increasing F&V intake may reduce CVD mortality in CEE and FSU, particularly among smokers and hypertensive individuals

Small footprint optoelectrodes using ring resonators for passive light localization

The combination of electrophysiology and optogenetics enables the exploration of how the brain operates down to a single neuron and its network activity. Neural probes are in vivo invasive devices that integrate sensors and stimulation sites to record and manipulate neuronal activity with high spatiotemporal resolution. State-of-the-art probes are limited by tradeoffs involving their lateral dimension, number of sensors, and ability to access independent stimulation sites. Here, we realize a highly scalable probe that features three-dimensional integration of small-footprint arrays of sensors and nanophotonic circuits to scale the density of sensors per cross-section by one order of magnitude with respect to state-of-the-art devices. For the first time, we overcome the spatial limit of the nanophotonic circuit by coupling only one waveguide to numerous optical ring resonators as passive nanophotonic switches. With this strategy, we achieve accurate on-demand light localization while avoiding spatially demanding bundles of waveguides and demonstrate the feasibility with a proof-of-concept device and its scalability towards high-resolution and low-damage neural optoelectrodes

The prognosis of allocentric and egocentric neglect : evidence from clinical scans

We contrasted the neuroanatomical substrates of sub-acute and chronic visuospatial deficits associated with different aspects of unilateral neglect using computed tomography scans acquired as part of routine clinical diagnosis. Voxel-wise statistical analyses were conducted on a group of 160 stroke patients scanned at a sub-acute stage. Lesion-deficit relationships were assessed across the whole brain, separately for grey and white matter. We assessed lesions that were associated with behavioural performance (i) at a sub-acute stage (within 3 months of the stroke) and (ii) at a chronic stage (after 9 months post stroke). Allocentric and egocentric neglect symptoms at the sub-acute stage were associated with lesions to dissociated regions within the frontal lobe, amongst other regions. However the frontal lesions were not associated with neglect at the chronic stage. On the other hand, lesions in the angular gyrus were associated with persistent allocentric neglect. In contrast, lesions within the superior temporal gyrus extending into the supramarginal gyrus, as well as lesions within the basal ganglia and insula, were associated with persistent egocentric neglect. Damage within the temporo-parietal junction was associated with both types of neglect at the sub-acute stage and 9 months later. Furthermore, white matter disconnections resulting from damage along the superior longitudinal fasciculus were associated with both types of neglect and critically related to both sub-acute and chronic deficits. Finally, there was a significant difference in the lesion volume between patients who recovered from neglect and patients with chronic deficits. The findings presented provide evidence that (i) the lesion location and lesion size can be used to successfully predict the outcome of neglect based on clinical CT scans, (ii) lesion location alone can serve as a critical predictor for persistent neglect symptoms, (iii) wide spread lesions are associated with neglect symptoms at the sub-acute stage but only some of these are critical for predicting whether neglect will become a chronic disorder and (iv) the severity of behavioural symptoms can be a useful predictor of recovery in the absence of neuroimaging findings on clinical scans. We discuss the implications for understanding the symptoms of the neglect syndrome, the recovery of function and the use of clinical scans to predict outcome

Expression of Distal-less, dachshund, and optomotor blind in Neanthes arenaceodentata (Annelida, Nereididae) does not support homology of appendage-forming mechanisms across the Bilateria

The similarity in the genetic regulation of arthropod and vertebrate appendage formation has been interpreted as the product of a plesiomorphic gene network that was primitively involved in bilaterian appendage development and co-opted to build appendages (in modern phyla) that are not historically related as structures. Data from lophotrochozoans are needed to clarify the pervasiveness of plesiomorphic appendage forming mechanisms. We assayed the expression of three arthropod and vertebrate limb gene orthologs, Distal-less (Dll), dachshund (dac), and optomotor blind (omb), in direct-developing juveniles of the polychaete Neanthes arenaceodentata. Parapodial Dll expression marks premorphogenetic notopodia and neuropodia, becoming restricted to the bases of notopodial cirri and to ventral portions of neuropodia. In outgrowing cephalic appendages, Dll activity is primarily restricted to proximal domains. Dll expression is also prominent in the brain. dac expression occurs in the brain, nerve cord ganglia, a pair of pharyngeal ganglia, presumed interneurons linking a pair of segmental nerves, and in newly differentiating mesoderm. Domains of omb expression include the brain, nerve cord ganglia, one pair of anterior cirri, presumed precursors of dorsal musculature, and the same pharyngeal ganglia and presumed interneurons that express dac. Contrary to their roles in outgrowing arthropod and vertebrate appendages, Dll, dac, and omb lack comparable expression in Neanthes appendages, implying independent evolution of annelid appendage development. We infer that parapodia and arthropodia are not structurally or mechanistically homologous (but their primordia might be), that Dll’s ancestral bilaterian function was in sensory and central nervous system differentiation, and that locomotory appendages possibly evolved from sensory outgrowths

An Umbrella Review of Aphasia Intervention descriPtion In Research: the AsPIRE project

Background: Recent reviews conclude that aphasia intervention is effective. However, replication and implementation require detailed reporting of intervention is and a specification of participant profiles. To date, reviews concentrate more on efficacy than on intervention reporting quality. Aims : The aim of this project is to review the descriptions of aphasia interventions and participants appearing in recent systematic reviews of aphasia intervention effectiveness. The relationship between the quality of these descriptions and the robustness of research design is explored, and the replicability of aphasia interventions is evaluated. Methods and Procedures : The scope of our search was an analysis of the aphasia intervention studies included in the and EBRSR 2018 systematic reviews, and in the RCSLT 2014 literature synthesis. Intervention descriptions published separately from the intervention study (i.e. published online, in clinical tools, or a separate trial protocols) were not included. The criteria for inclusion were that participants had aphasia, the intervention involved language and/or communication, and included the following research designs: Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), comparison or control, crossover design, case series. Exclusion criteria included non-SLT interventions, studies involving fewer than four participants, conference abstracts, studies not available in English. Studies were evaluated for completeness of intervention description using the TIDieR Checklist. Additionally, we rated the quality of patient and intervention description, with particular reference to replicability. Outcomes and Results: Ninety-three studies were included. Only 14 studies (15%) had >50 participants. Fifty-six studies (60%) did not select participants with a specific aphasia profile, and a further 10 studies only described participants as non-fluent. Across the studies, an average of eight (of 12) TIDieR checklist items were given but information on where, tailoring, modification and fidelity items was rarely available. Studies that evaluated general aphasia intervention approaches tended to use RCT designs, whereas more specific intervention studies were more likely to use case series designs. Conclusions: Group studies were generally under-powered and there was a paucity of research looking at specific aphasia interventions for specific aphasia profiles. There was a trade-off between the robustness of the design and the level of specificity of the intervention described. While the TIDieR framework is a useful guide to information which should be included in an intervention study, it is insufficiently sensitive for assessing replicability. We consider possible solutions to the challenges of making large-scale trials more useful for determining effective aphasia intervention