Exploring the potential of Auto-ID in a high-value supply chain. Pilot set-up, analysis and strategy road-map development

The company is one of the largest in the world within its industry, producing and distributing its products in a global supply chain. The purpose of the project was to explore the potential of using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in the company global supply chain. The thesis students were working as project managers responsible for designing and implementing an RFID pilot in the company supply chain. The thesis concludes that RFID is a powerful technology that eventually will increase supply-chain visibility. However, there are several barriers to overcome before RFID will provide the operational benefits that the company are looking for, but also a number of distinct drivers of adoption of RFID in the supply-chain. Hence, there is a need for a structured approach to monitoring the development of RFID. The authors also present a framework for strategy under uncertainty enabling the company to stay up-to-date on the RFID development

Non-inhibitory levels of oxygen during cultivation increase freeze-drying stress tolerance in Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938

The physiological effects of oxygen on Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 during cultivation and the ensuing properties of the freeze-dried probiotic product was investigated. On-line flow cytometry and k-means clustering gating was used to follow growth and viability in real time during cultivation. The bacterium tolerated aeration at 500 ml/min, with a growth rate of 0.74 ± 0.13 h-1 which demonstrated that low levels of oxygen did not influence the growth kinetics of the bacterium. Modulation of the redox metabolism was, however, seen already at non-inhibitory oxygen levels by 1.5-fold higher production of acetate and 1.5-fold lower ethanol production. A significantly higher survival rate in the freeze-dried product was observed for cells cultivated in presence of oxygen compared to absence of oxygen (61.8 ± 2.4 % vs 11.5 ± 4.3 %), coinciding with a higher degree of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA:SFA ratio of 10 for air sparged vs 3.59 for N2 sparged conditions.). Oxygen also resulted in improved bile tolerance and boosted 5’nucleotidase activity (370 U/L vs 240 U/L in N2 sparged conditions) but lower tolerance to acidic conditions compared bacteria grown under complete anaerobic conditions which survived up to 90 min of exposure at pH 2. Overall, our results indicate the controlled supply of oxygen during production may be used as means for probiotic activity optimisation of L. reuteri DSM 17938

Coetzeea brasiliensis gen. Nov., sp. nov. isolated from larvae of Anopheles darlingi

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped strain, Braz8T, isolated from larvae of Anopheles darlingi was investigated using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain Braz8T was related most closely to species of the genus Thorsellia, with 95.6, 96.5 and 96.6% similarity to the type strains of Thorsellia anophelis, Thorsellia kandunguensis and Thorsellia kenyensis, respectively, and formed a separate branch in the phylogenetic tree next to the monophyletic cluster of the genus Thorsellia. Chemotaxonomic data supported the allocation of the strain to the family Thorselliaceae. The major fatty acids were C18:1ω7c, C16:0 and C14:0. The quinone system was composed of ubiquinones Q-8 and Q-7 (1: 0.3), the predominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol, and the polyamine pattern showed the major compound putrescine. However, qualitative and quantitative differences in the major polyamine, polar lipid profile and fatty acid patterns distinguished strain Braz8T from species of the genus Thorsellia. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, average nucleotide identity, DNA-DNA hybridization, multilocus sequence analysis as well as physiological and biochemical tests distinguished strain Braz8T both genotypically and phenotypically from the three Thorsellia species but also showed its placement in the family Thorselliaceae. Thus, strain Braz8T is considered to represent a novel species of a new genus most closely related to the genus Thorsellia, for which the name Coetzeea brasiliensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Coetzeea brasiliensis is Braz8T (=LMG 29552T=CIP 111088T). © 2016 IUMS

Characterization of Bacterial Communities in Breeding Waters of Anopheles darlingi in Manaus in the Amazon Basin Malaria-Endemic Area

The microbiota in mosquito breeding waters can affect ovipositing mosquitoes, have effects on larval development, and can modify adult mosquito-gut bacterial composition. This, in turn, can affect transmission of human pathogens such as malaria parasites. Here, we explore the microbiota of four breeding sites for Anopheles darlingi, the most important malaria vector in Latin America. The sites are located in Manaus in the Amazon basin in Brazil, an area of active malaria transmission. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing by MiSeq, we found that all sites were dominated by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes and that 94% of the total number of reads belonged to 36 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) identified in all sites. Of these, the most common OTUs belonged to Escherichia/Shigella, Staphylococcus, and Pseudomonas. Of the remaining 6% of the reads, the OTUs found to differentiate between the four sites belonged to the orders Burkholderiales, Actinomycetales, and Clostridiales. We conclude that An. darlingi can develop in breeding waters with different surface-water bacteria, but that the common microbiota found in all breeding sites might indicate or contribute to a suitable habitat for this important malaria vector. © 2019, The Author(s)

Determinants of GBP Recruitment to Toxoplasma gondii Vacuoles and the Parasitic Factors That Control It

IFN-γ is a major cytokine that mediates resistance against the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The p65 guanylate-binding proteins (GBPs) are strongly induced by IFN-γ. We studied the behavior of murine GBP1 (mGBP1) upon infection with T. gondii in vitro and confirmed that IFN-γ-dependent re-localization of mGBP1 to the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) correlates with the virulence type of the parasite. We identified three parasitic factors, ROP16, ROP18, and GRA15 that determine strain-specific accumulation of mGBP1 on the PV. These highly polymorphic proteins are held responsible for a large part of the strain-specific differences in virulence. Therefore, our data suggest that virulence of T. gondii in animals may rely in part on recognition by GBPs. However, phagosomes or vacuoles containing Trypanosoma cruzi did not recruit mGBP1. Co-immunoprecipitation revealed mGBP2, mGBP4, and mGBP5 as binding partners of mGBP1. Indeed, mGBP2 and mGBP5 co-localize with mGBP1 in T. gondii-infected cells. T. gondii thus elicits a cell-autonomous immune response in mice with GBPs involved. Three parasitic virulence factors and unknown IFN-γ-dependent host factors regulate this complex process. Depending on the virulence of the strains involved, numerous GBPs are brought to the PV as part of a large, multimeric structure to combat T. gondii.National Institutes of Health (U.S.)Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (New Investigator Award)National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (Pre-Doctoral Grant in the Biological Sciences (5-T32-GM007287-33))Studienstiftung des deutschen VolkesCancer Research Institute (New York, N.Y.)Cleo and Paul Schimmel FoundationBayer HealthcareHuman Frontier Science Program (Strasbourg, France

SmokeHaz: systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the effects of smoking on respiratory health

Background: Smoking tobacco increases the risk of respiratory disease in adults and children, but communicating the magnitude of these effects in a scientific manner that is accessible and usable by public and policymakers presents a challenge. We have therefore summarised scientific data on the impact of smoking on respiratory diseases to provide the content for a unique resource, SmokeHaz. Methods: We conducted systematic reviews and meta-analyses of longitudinal studies (published to 2013) identified from electronic databases, grey literature, and experts. Random effect meta-analyses were used to pool the findings. Results: We included 216 papers. Among adult smokers, we confirmed substantially increased risks of lung cancer (Risk Ratio (RR) 10.92, 95% CI 8.28-14.40; 34 studies), COPD (RR 4.01, 95% CI 3.18-5.05; 22 studies) and asthma (RR 1.61, 95% CI 1.07-2.42; 8 studies). Exposure to passive smoke significantly increased the risk of lung cancer in adult non-smokers; and increased the risks of asthma, wheeze, lower respiratory infections, and reduced lung function in children. Smoking significantly increased the risk of sleep apnoea, and asthma exacerbations in adult and pregnant populations; and active and passive smoking increased the risk of tuberculosis. Conclusions: These findings have been translated into easily digestible content and published on the SmokeHaz website (www.smokehaz.eu)

Shared heritability and functional enrichment across six solid cancers

Quantifying the genetic correlation between cancers can provide important insights into the mechanisms driving cancer etiology. Using genome-wide association study summary statistics across six cancer types based on a total of 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, here we estimate the pair-wise genetic correlations between breast, colorectal, head/neck, lung, ovary and prostate cancer, and between cancers and 38 other diseases. We observed statistically significant genetic correlations between lung and head/neck cancer (r(g) = 0.57, p = 4.6 x 10(-8)), breast and ovarian cancer (r(g) = 0.24, p = 7 x 10(-5)), breast and lung cancer (r(g) = 0.18, p = 1.5 x 10(-6)) and breast and colorectal cancer (r(g) = 0.15, p = 1.1 x 10(-4)). We also found that multiple cancers are genetically correlated with non-cancer traits including smoking, psychiatric diseases and metabolic characteristics. Functional enrichment analysis revealed a significant excess contribution of conserved and regulatory regions to cancer heritability. Our comprehensive analysis of cross-cancer heritability suggests that solid tumors arising across tissues share in part a common germline genetic basis

The phenomenon of security in connection with physical education : A qualitative study of how physical education teachers in upper secondary school describe the phenomenon of security, its significance, and its impact on work

Enligt Skollagen (2010:800) har varje elev rätt till en skoldag där studiero och trygghet råder. När Skolinspektionen (2020) sammanställde resultaten från Skolenkäterna mellan 2010–2020 så visade resultatet att elevers upplevelse av trygghet hade minskat med 10 procentenheter. Av de deltagande eleverna upplevde hela 21 % av dem att de kände sig otrygga när de kom till skolan (ibid.). Relationer och regler är enligt Robert Thornberg (2013) viktiga faktorer för att lyckas skapa ett tryggt klimat i skolan. Jonas Aspelin och Sven Persson (2011) beskriver att det finns en obalans i elevernas behov av stöd med deras relationer och det stöd de får. Karin Redelius (2004) menar att det i samband med idrottsundervisningen finns elever som upplever sig otrygga, stressade och dåliga. Enligt Madeleine Wiker (2017) upplever en del elever ett obehag kring att undervisningen i ämnet innebär att elevers förmågor visas upp för andra. Detta tillsammans med otrygga situationer i samband med ombyte i omklädningsrummen är faktorer som kan påverka måluppfyllelsen i ämnet Idrott och hälsa (ibid.). Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur fenomenet trygghet beskrivs av idrottslärare. Syftet är också att undersöka hur relationen mellan elevers upplevelse av trygghet och deras prestationer beskrivs samt hur trygghetsfenomenet påverkar idrottslärarens arbete. I studien har en kvalitativ metod använts. Till studien valdes sex idrottslärare ut genom ett målinriktat urval. Datainsamlingen genomfördes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer där det inhämtade materialet sedan analyserades med en fenomenografisk metodansats.  Resultatet av intervjuerna visar att fenomenet trygghet beskrivs och uppfattas olika av de sex idrottslärarna och att de visar att fenomenet har ett brett utfallsrum. Alla idrottslärare är överens om att det finns en relation mellan upplevelsen av trygghet och elevernas prestationer. Utöver den gemensamma åsikten kring att tryggheten påverkar elevernas prestationer nämns även situationer där prestationerna kan påverka elevernas trygghet. Idrottslärarna ger en bred bild utav hur fenomenet trygghet påverkar idrottslärarens arbete där de ger konkreta beskrivningar utav hur fenomenet påverkar valet av arbetsmetoder.According to the Education Act (2010: 800), every student has the right to a school day where study peace and security prevails. When the Swedish Schools Inspectorate (2020) compiled the results from the School Surveys between 2010–2020, the results showed that students' experience of security had decreased by 10 percentage points. Of the participating students, as many as 21% of them experienced that they felt insecure when they came to school (ibid.). According to Robert Thornberg (2013), relationships and rules are important factors in succeeding in creating a safe climate in schools. Jonas Aspelin and Sven Persson (2011) describe that there is an imbalance in students' need for support with their relationships and the support they receive. Karin Redelius (2004) believes that in connection with physical education, there are students who feel insecure, stressed and bad. According to Madeleine Wiker (2017), some students experience discomfort about the fact that teaching the subject means that students' abilities are shown to others. This, together with insecure situations in connection with changing in the changing rooms, are factors that can affect the fulfillment of goals in the subject Sports and Health (ibid.). The purpose of the study is to investigate how the phenomenon of security is described by physical education teachers. The purpose is also to investigate how the relationship between students' experience of security and their performance is described and how the security phenomenon affects the physical education teacher's work. In the study, a qualitative method was used. For the study, six sports teachers were selected through a goal-oriented selection. The data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews where the obtained material was then analyzed with a phenomenographic method approach. The results of the interviews show that the phenomenon of security is described and perceived differently by the six sports teachers and that they show that the phenomenon has a wide range of outcomes. All physical education teachers agree that there is a relationship between the experience of security and students' performance. In addition to the common opinion that security affects students 'performance, situations are also mentioned where performance can affect students' security. The physical education teachers give a broad picture of how the phenomenon of security affects the physical education teacher's work, where they give concrete descriptions of how the phenomenon affects the choice of working methods