Biogeography of Special Metabolites Produced by Ant-Associated Bacteria

There is an urgent and growing need for novel antibiotics with the growing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Ecologically-guided discovery is a strategy that focuses on how and where specially evolved metabolites such as antibiotics are used in nature. This strategy reveals unique active molecules with potential for human use. An unexplored niche with great potential for antibiotic discovery exists with Southwestern fungus-farming Trachymyrmex ants and their Actinobacteria symbionts. In exchange for nutrients from the ant, the ants’ bacterial symbiont produces antifungal molecules that protect the ants’ fungal cultivar from invasion by pathogenic microorganisms. They also produce antibacterial molecules to protect themselves from niche competitors. Recently, new antibiotics have been isolated from Trachymyrmex ant symbionts collected in the southwestern U.S., such as a novel analog of the antibiotic nocamycin and an antifungal compound, ECO-0501. These findings suggest that this unique environment may yield additional novel metabolites. Reported here are discoveries from a large-scale and systematic analysis of symbiont-derived natural products from this niche to understand their distribution and discovery potential, with the goal of discovering and characterizing novel bioactive compounds. We have assembled a collection of Actinobacteria isolated from colonies of Trachymyrmex ants in Arizona, New Mexico, and New York. An extract library has been prepared from this collection, and antibiotic activity testing of that library indicates the presence of ecologically and clinically relevant active compounds. Metabolomics data reveals patterns with regards to ant genus and the metabolites present in crude extracts. This method has great potential for strain prioritization in future studies

During visual word recognition, phonology is accessed within 100 ms and may be mediated by a speech production code: evidence from magnetoencephalography

Debate surrounds the precise cortical location and timing of access to phonological information during visual word recognition. Therefore, using whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated the spatiotemporal pattern of brain responses induced by a masked pseudohomophone priming task. Twenty healthy adults read target words that were preceded by one of three kinds of nonword prime: pseudohomophones (e.g., brein–BRAIN), where four of five letters are shared between prime and target, and the pronunciation is the same; matched orthographic controls (e.g., broin–BRAIN), where the same four of five letters are shared between prime and target but pronunciation differs; and unrelated controls (e.g., lopus–BRAIN), where neither letters nor pronunciation are shared between prime and target. All three priming conditions induced activation in the pars opercularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFGpo) and the left precentral gyrus (PCG) within 100 ms of target word onset. However, for the critical comparison that reveals a processing difference specific to phonology, we found that the induced pseudohomophone priming response was significantly stronger than the orthographic priming response in left IFG/PCG at ∼100 ms. This spatiotemporal concurrence demonstrates early phonological influences during visual word recognition and is consistent with phonological access being mediated by a speech production code

Development and Validation of a Survey of Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder

As autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more commonly diagnosed, having knowledge of the disorder becomes increasingly important for educators, parents, and the general public. Previous research regarding knowledge of ASD, focused mainly on knowledge possessed by those in the educational field, has found that individuals may perceive themselves as possessing average knowledge regarding ASD but have low actual knowledge (as defined by the researchers) regarding specific aspects of the disorder (Williams et al., 2011). Studies support the notion that there is a general lack of knowledge of different aspects of ASD among teachers; however, there has been little research regarding the level of awareness concerning ASD possessed by individuals outside of the educational sphere. The primary goal of this study was to create a standard measure to evaluate perceived versus actual knowledge of ASD. A sample of undergraduate students was administered A Survey of Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASK-ASD), as well as a measure of knowledge of ADHD and a measure of knowledge of HIV/AIDS. The ASK-ASD demonstrated test-retest reliability, adequate internal consistency, and fair validity coefficients. An exploratory factor analysis of the ASK-ASD revealed a two-factor structure of knowledge of ASD. Additionally, exploratory analyses revealed several interesting correlations between ASD knowledge, demographic characteristics, and source of ASD knowledge

How Do You Build a "Culture of Health"? A Critical Analysis of Challenges and Opportunities from Medical Anthropology.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Action Framework aims to "make health a shared value" and improve population health equity through widespread culture change. The authors draw upon their expertise as anthropologists to identify 3 challenges that they believe must be addressed in order to effectively achieve the health equity and population health improvement goals of the Culture of Health initiative: clarifying and demystifying the concept of "culture," contextualizing "community" within networks of power and inequality, and confronting the crises of trust and solidarity in the contemporary United States. The authors suggest that those who seek to build a "Culture of Health" refine their understanding of how "culture" is experienced, advocate for policies and practices that break down unhealthy consolidations of power, and innovate solutions to building consensus in a divided nation

The changing motivations of students' use of lecture podcasts across a semester: an extended theory of planned behaviour approach

We extended the previous work of Moss, O’Connor and White, to include a measure of group norms within the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), to examine the influences on students’ decisions to use lecture podcasts as part of their learning. Participants (N = 90) completed the extended TPB predictors before semester began (Time 1) and mid-semester (Time 2) and reported on their podcast use at mid-semester (Time 2) and end of semester (Time 3). We found that attitudes and perceived social pressures were important in informing intentions at both time points. At Time 1, perceptions of control over performing the behaviour and, at Time 2, perceptions of whether podcast use was normative among fellow students (group norms) also predicted intended podcast use. Intentions to use podcasting predicted self-reported use at both Time 2 and Time 3. These results provide important applied information for educators to encourage student use of novel on-line educational tools

Beginning and Small Acreage Farms: Nonmotorized Tool Selection

Farming on 2 acres or less can be challenging, especially when considering equipment selection. It is important to carefully consider the equipment options available. Tools should be cost-effective, task and operation appropriate, of high quality and durability, and provide labor savings. Appropriate equipment contributes to farm viability by enhancing labor efficiency and crop quality. This fact sheet briefly describes equipment beginning farmers commonly need or use on small farms

Summary Report of the MaineCare Listening Sessions

In September of 2010, the Muskie School of Public Service conducted four Listening Sessions with MaineCare members to gather in-depth information about their experiences on MaineCare, their likes and dislikes, and suggestions, needs and wants for improving the program. The overall goal of these sessions was to provide rich information to help inform DHHS in their design of a new managed care initiative. Funding for this project was provided by the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF)

The Order Bacillales Hosts Functional Homologs of the Worrisome cfr Antibiotic Resistance Gene

The cfr gene encodes the Cfr methyltransferase that methylates a single adenine in the peptidyl transferase region of bacterial ribosomes. The methylation provides resistance to several classes of antibiotics that include drugs of clinical and veterinary importance. This paper describes a first step toward elucidating natural residences of the worrisome cfr gene and functionally similar genes. Three cfr-like genes from the order Bacillales were identified from BLAST searches and cloned into plasmids under the control of an inducible promoter. Expression of the genes was induced in Escherichia coli, and MICs for selected antibiotics indicate that the cfr-like genes confer resistance to PhLOPSa (phenicol, lincosamide, oxazolidinone, pleuromutilin, and streptogramin A) antibiotics in the same way as the cfr gene. In addition, modification at A2503 on 23S rRNA was confirmed by primer extension. Finally, expression of the Cfr-like proteins was verified by SDS gel electrophoresis of whole-cell extracts. The work shows that cfr-like genes exist in the environment and that Bacillales are natural residences of cfr-like genes

Nitro-fatty acids are formed in response to virus infection and are potent inhibitors of STING palmitoylation and signaling

The adaptor molecule stimulator of IFN genes (STING) is central to production of type I IFNs in response to infection with DNA viruses and to presence of host DNA in the cytosol. Excessive release of type I IFNs through STING-dependent mechanisms has emerged as a central driver of several interferonopathies, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome (AGS), and stimulator of IFN genes-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI). The involvement of STING in these diseases points to an unmet need for the development of agents that inhibit STING signaling. Here, we report that endogenously formed nitro-fatty acids can covalently modify STING by nitro-alkylation. These nitro-alkylations inhibit STING palmitoylation, STING signaling, and subsequently, the release of type I IFN in both human and murine cells. Furthermore, treatment with nitro-fatty acids was sufficient to inhibit production of type I IFN in fibroblasts derived from SAVI patients with a gain-of-function mutation in STING. In conclusion, we have identified nitro-fatty acids as endogenously formed inhibitors of STING signaling and propose for these lipids to be considered in the treatment of STING-dependent inflammatory diseases