Forensic analysis of the microbiome of phones and shoes

BACKGROUND: Microbial interaction between human-associated objects and the environments we inhabit may have forensic implications, and the extent to which microbes are shared between individuals inhabiting the same space may be relevant to human health and disease transmission. In this study, two participants sampled the front and back of their cell phones, four different locations on the soles of their shoes, and the floor beneath them every waking hour over a 2-day period. A further 89 participants took individual samples of their shoes and phones at three different scientific conferences. RESULTS: Samples taken from different surface types maintained significantly different microbial community structures. The impact of the floor microbial community on that of the shoe environments was strong and immediate, as evidenced by Procrustes analysis of shoe replicates and significant correlation between shoe and floor samples taken at the same time point. Supervised learning was highly effective at determining which participant had taken a given shoe or phone sample, and a Bayesian method was able to determine which participant had taken each shoe sample based entirely on its similarity to the floor samples. Both shoe and phone samples taken by conference participants clustered into distinct groups based on location, though much more so when an unweighted distance metric was used, suggesting sharing of low-abundance microbial taxa between individuals inhabiting the same space. CONCLUSIONS: Correlations between microbial community sources and sinks allow for inference of the interactions between humans and their environment. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40168-015-0082-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

DNA replication stress restricts ribosomal DNA copy number

Ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) in budding yeast are encoded by ~100–200 repeats of a 9.1kb sequence arranged in tandem on chromosome XII, the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus. Copy number of rDNA repeat units in eukaryotic cells is maintained far in excess of the requirement for ribosome biogenesis. Despite the importance of the repeats for both ribosomal and non-ribosomal functions, it is currently not known how “normal” copy number is determined or maintained. To identify essential genes involved in the maintenance of rDNA copy number, we developed a droplet digital PCR based assay to measure rDNA copy number in yeast and used it to screen a yeast conditional temperature-sensitive mutant collection of essential genes. Our screen revealed that low rDNA copy number is associated with compromised DNA replication. Further, subculturing yeast under two separate conditions of DNA replication stress selected for a contraction of the rDNA array independent of the replication fork blocking protein, Fob1. Interestingly, cells with a contracted array grew better than their counterparts with normal copy number under conditions of DNA replication stress. Our data indicate that DNA replication stresses select for a smaller rDNA array. We speculate that this liberates scarce replication factors for use by the rest of the genome, which in turn helps cells complete DNA replication and continue to propagate. Interestingly, tumors from mini chromosome maintenance 2 (MCM2)-deficient mice also show a loss of rDNA repeats. Our data suggest that a reduction in rDNA copy number may indicate a history of DNA replication stress, and that rDNA array size could serve as a diagnostic marker for replication stress. Taken together, these data begin to suggest the selective pressures that combine to yield a “normal” rDNA copy number

Dengue Deaths in Puerto Rico: Lessons Learned from the 2007 Epidemic

Dengue is a major public health problem in the tropics and subtropics; an estimated 50 million cases occur annually and 40 percent of the world's population lives in areas with dengue virus (DENV) transmission. Dengue has a wide range of clinical presentations from an undifferentiated acute febrile illness, classic dengue fever, to severe dengue (i.e., dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome). About 5% of patients develop severe dengue, which is more common with second or subsequent infections. No vaccines are available to prevent dengue, and there are no specific antiviral treatments for patients with dengue. However, early recognition of shock and intensive supportive therapy can reduce risk of death from ∼10% to less than 1% among severe dengue cases. Reviewing dengue deaths is one means to identify issues in clinical management. These findings can be used to develop healthcare provider education to minimize dengue morbidity and mortality

Relational Contracts and Organizational Capabilities

A large literature identifies unique organizational capabilities as a potent source of competitive advantage, yet our knowledge of why capabilities fail to diffuse more rapidly—particularly in situations in which competitors apparently have strong incentives to adopt them and a well-developed understanding of how they work—remains incomplete. In this paper we suggest that competitively significant capabilities often rest on managerial practices that in turn rely on relational contracts (i.e., informal agreements sustained by the shadow of the future). We argue that one of the reasons these practices may be difficult to copy is that effective relational contracts must solve the twin problems of credibility and clarity and that although credibility might, in principle, be instantly acquired, clarity may take time to develop and may interact with credibility in complex ways so that relational contracts may often be difficult to build

Respiratory disease and the role of oral bacteria

The relationship between oral health and systemic conditions, including the association between poor oral hygiene, periodontal disease, and respiratory disease, has been increasingly debated over recent decades. A considerable number of hypotheses have sought to explain the possible role of oral bacteria in the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases, and some clinical and epidemiological studies have found results favoring such an association. This review discusses the effect of oral bacteria on respiratory disease, briefly introduces the putative biological mechanisms involved, and the main factors that could contribute to this relationship. It also describes the role of oral care for individuals who are vulnerable to respiratory infections

Toward optimal implementation of cancer prevention and control programs in public health: A study protocol on mis-implementation

Abstract Background Much of the cancer burden in the USA is preventable, through application of existing knowledge. State-level funders and public health practitioners are in ideal positions to affect programs and policies related to cancer control. Mis-implementation refers to ending effective programs and policies prematurely or continuing ineffective ones. Greater attention to mis-implementation should lead to use of effective interventions and more efficient expenditure of resources, which in the long term, will lead to more positive cancer outcomes. Methods This is a three-phase study that takes a comprehensive approach, leading to the elucidation of tactics for addressing mis-implementation. Phase 1: We assess the extent to which mis-implementation is occurring among state cancer control programs in public health. This initial phase will involve a survey of 800 practitioners representing all states. The programs represented will span the full continuum of cancer control, from primary prevention to survivorship. Phase 2: Using data from phase 1 to identify organizations in which mis-implementation is particularly high or low, the team will conduct eight comparative case studies to get a richer understanding of mis-implementation and to understand contextual differences. These case studies will highlight lessons learned about mis-implementation and identify hypothesized drivers. Phase 3: Agent-based modeling will be used to identify dynamic interactions between individual capacity, organizational capacity, use of evidence, funding, and external factors driving mis-implementation. The team will then translate and disseminate findings from phases 1 to 3 to practitioners and practice-related stakeholders to support the reduction of mis-implementation. Discussion This study is innovative and significant because it will (1) be the first to refine and further develop reliable and valid measures of mis-implementation of public health programs; (2) bring together a strong, transdisciplinary team with significant expertise in practice-based research; (3) use agent-based modeling to address cancer control implementation; and (4) use a participatory, evidence-based, stakeholder-driven approach that will identify key leverage points for addressing mis-implementation among state public health programs. This research is expected to provide replicable computational simulation models that can identify leverage points and public health system dynamics to reduce mis-implementation in cancer control and may be of interest to other health areas

The Decline of University Patenting and the End of the Bayh-Dole Effect

University patenting has been heralded as a symbol of changing relations between universities and their social environments. The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 in the USA was eagerly promoted by the OECD as a recipe for the commercialization of university research, and the law was imitated by a number of national governments. However, since the 2000s university patenting in the most advanced economies has been on the decline both as a percentage and in absolute terms. We suggest that the institutional incentives for university patenting have disappeared with the new regime of university ranking. Patents and spin-offs are not counted in university rankings. In the new arrangements of university-industry-government relations, universities have become very responsive to changes in their relevant environments

Measurement of the Relative Branching Fraction of Υ(4S)\Upsilon(4S) to Charged and Neutral B-Meson Pairs

We analyze 9.7 x 10^6 B\bar{B}$ pairs recorded with the CLEO detector to determine the production ratio of charged to neutral B-meson pairs produced at the Y(4S) resonance. We measure the rates for B^0 -> J/psi K^{(*)0} and B^+ -> J/psi K^{(*)+} decays and use the world-average B-meson lifetime ratio to extract the relative widths f+-/f00 = Gamma(Y(4S) -> B+B-)/Gamma(Y(4S) -> B0\bar{B0}) = = 1.04 +/- 0.07(stat) +/- 0.04(syst). With the assumption that f+- + f00 = 1, we obtain f00 = 0.49 +/- 0.02(stat) +/- 0.01(syst) and f+- = 0.51 +/- 0.02(stat) +/- 0.01(syst). This production ratio and its uncertainty apply to all exclusive B-meson branching fractions measured at the Y(4S) resonance.Comment: 11 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

First Observation of the Decays B0→D∗−ppˉπ+B^{0}\to D^{*-}p\bar{p}\pi^{+} and B^{0}\to D^{*-}p\bar{n}$

We report the first observation of exclusive decays of the type B to D^* N anti-N X, where N is a nucleon. Using a sample of 9.7 times 10^{6} B-Bbar pairs collected with the CLEO detector operating at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, we measure the branching fractions B(B^0 \to D^{*-} proton antiproton \pi^+) = ({6.5}^{+1.3}_{-1.2} +- 1.0) \times 10^{-4} and B(B^0 \to D^{*-} proton antineutron) = ({14.5}^{+3.4}_{-3.0} +- 2.7) times 10^{-4}. Antineutrons are identified by their annihilation in the CsI electromagnetic calorimeter.Comment: 9 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

Measurements of B --> D_s^{(*)+} D^{*(*)} Branching Fractions

This article describes improved measurements by CLEO of the $B^0 \to D_s^+ D^{*-}$ and $B^0 \to D_s^{*+} D^{*-}$ branching fractions, and first evidence for the decay $B^+ \to D_s^{(*)+} \bar{D}^{**0}$, where $\bar{D}^{**0}$ represents the sum of the $\bar{D}_1(2420)^0$, $\bar{D}_2^*(2460)^0$, and $\bar{D}_1(j=1/2)^0$ L=1 charm meson states. Also reported is the first measurement of the $D_s^{*+}$ polarization in the decay $B^0 \to D_s^{*+} D^{*-}$. A partial reconstruction technique, employing only the fully reconstructed $D_s^+$ and slow pion $\pi_s^-$ from the $D^{*-} \to \bar{D}^0 \pi^-_s$ decay, enhances sensitivity. The observed branching fractions are ${\mathcal B} (B^0 \to D_s^+ D^{*-}) = (1.10 \pm 0.18 \pm 0.10 \pm 0.28)$, ${\mathcal B} (B^0 \to D_s^{*+} D^{*-}) = (1.82 \pm 0.37 \pm 0.24 \pm 0.46)$, and ${\mathcal B} (B^+ \to D_s^{(*)+} \bar{D}^{**0}) = (2.73 \pm 0.78 \pm 0.48 \pm 0.68)$, where the first error is statistical, the second systematic, and the third is due to the uncertainty in the $D_s^+ \to \phi \pi^+$ branching fraction. The measured $D_s^{*+}$ longitudinal polarization, $\Gamma_L/\Gamma = (50.6 \pm 13.9 \pm 3.6)$, is consistent with the factorization prediction of 54%.Comment: 26 pages (LaTeX), 15 figures. To be submitted to PR