Generalizing the GAGA Principle

This paper generalizes the fundamental GAGA results of Serre cite{MR0082175} in three ways---to the non-separated setting, to stacks, and to families. As an application of these results, we show that analytic compactifications of $\mathcal{M}_{g,n}$ possessing modular interpretations are algebraizable.Comment: 19 page

Investigation of free-living honey bee colonies in Ireland

Apis mellifera mellifera (Linnaeus), the Western European honey bee, is considered extinct in the wild over most of its range due largely to hybridisation and replacement by other subspecies, parasitism by Varroa destructor, habitat loss, and effects from agricultural pesticides. The purity of the subspecies within the managed cohort is also at risk over much of its range. Here, we investigated if honey bee colonies inhabited locations outside of the apiaries. In those we located, we explored how long the colony persisted and we investigated the genotypes of the bees using multiple markers. We show here that unmanaged free-living honey bee colonies are present and widespread in Ireland, inhabiting a mixture of nesting habitats with some colonies persisting naturally and unaided over multiple years. Molecular data including mitochondrial, microsatellite, and SNPs evidence indicate that the free-living population sampled is largely comprised of pure A. m. mellifera. Finally, we discuss the implications of conserving free-living A. m. mellifera in Ireland and its possible role in improving the fitness of the managed population both in Ireland and the rest of its European range.We particularly thank the custodians of the free-living honey bee colonies and the Native Irish Honey Bee Society (NIHBS) for their assistance. KAB is a recipient of an Irish Research Council postgraduate fellowship (GOIPG/2015/2767) and a Tony Ryan Postgraduate fellowship. Additional funding was gratefully received from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine [grant number GRGAS 16/GR/09], the Federation of Irish Beekeeping Associations, the Eva Crane Trust [grant number ECTA20160303] and The Native Irish Honey Bee Society. Financial support for DH was provided through the program COMPETE 2020 – POCI (Programa Operacional para a Competividade e Internacionalizac¸~ao) and by Portuguese funds through FCT (Fundac¸~ao para a Ci^encia e a Tecnologia) in the framework of the project BeeHappy (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029871).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Delivery of care, seizure control and medication adherence in women with epilepsy during pregnancy

Purpose: To evaluate service access for women with epilepsy (WWE) during pregnancy; to determine seizure frequency and rates of adherence to anti-seizure medication (ASM). Methods: Between June 2019-June 2020, pregnant WWE within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health-board were identified from the National Obstetric Register. A manual review of electronic patient records was undertaken to ensure diagnostic accuracy, as well as determine contact with epilepsy services and documented seizures. Medication dispensing records were obtained six months before and six months after midwifery booking and measures of ASM adherence calculated. Results: Between June 2019-June 2020, 4592 women were registered with a pregnancy. Eighty-five (1.9%) were identified as having active epilepsy (generalised- 40/85 (47.0%), focal- 35/85 (41.2%), unclassified- 10/85 (11.8%)). Preconceptually, 42/85 WWE (49.4%) had input from epilepsy services. Only 59/85 (69.4%) were reviewed during pregnancy (First trimester- 21/59 (35.6%), Second trimester- 25/59 (42.4%) and Third trimester- 13/59 (22.0%)). Seizure occurrence was documented in 37/85 WWE (43.5%) during the antenatal/postnatal period. 71/85 WWE (83.5%) were prescribed ASM. Poor adherence was noted in 50/85 (58.9%) and a documented seizure recorded in 26/50 (52.0%) of these women. Conclusion: Too many WWE do not receive input from epilepsy services during pregnancy, leaving some with poor ASM adherence and continued seizures. We aim to use “near-live” obstetric and dispensing data to facilitate early identification of WWE, promoting timely access to epilepsy specialists. This will also provide an opportunity to address concerns regarding ASM safety and allow medication dose changes to be considered

The effect of physical activity on health outcomes in people with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury: a rapid systematic review with meta-analysis

Abstract Background In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the first global physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines for children and adults living with disability. The evidence informing the guidelines though is not specific to people living with traumatic brain injury (TBI), but rather comes from other disabling conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. There remains a clear lack of direct evidence of the effects of physical activity for people living with TBI. The objective of this rapid review was to identify direct evidence of the effect of physical activity on health outcomes in people with moderate-to-severe TBI to inform adaptation of the WHO physical activity guidelines into clinical practice guidelines. Methods We conducted a rapid systematic review with meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, including people of any age with moderate-to-severe TBI, investigating physical activity interventions compared to either usual care, a physical activity intervention with different parameters, or a non-physical activity intervention. Four databases (CENTRAL, SPORTDiscus, PEDro, Ovid MEDLINE) were searched from inception to October 8, 2021. The primary outcomes were physical function, cognition, and quality of life. Results Twenty-three studies were included incorporating 812 participants (36% females, majority working-age adults, time post-TBI in studies ranged from 56 days (median) to 16.6 years (mean)). A range of physical activity interventions were evaluated in rehabilitation (n = 12 studies), community (n = 8) and home (n = 3) settings. We pooled data from the end of the intervention for eight outcomes. Participation in a virtual reality physical activity intervention improved mobility, assessed by the Community Balance and Mobility Scale (range 0 to 96; higher score indicates better mobility) more than standard balance training (two studies, 80 participants, Mean Difference = 2.78, 95% CI 1.40 to 4.16; low certainty evidence). There was uncertainty of effect for the remaining outcomes, limited by small sample sizes, diverse comparators and a wide range of outcome measures. Conclusion This review consolidates the current evidence base for the prescription of physical activity for people with moderate-to-severe TBI. There remains a pressing need for further rigorous research in order to develop practice guidelines to support clinical decision-making when prescribing physical activity in this population

Catalase (KatA) Plays a Role in Protection against Anaerobic Nitric Oxide in <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>

<div><p><i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> (<i>PA</i>) is a common bacterial pathogen, responsible for a high incidence of nosocomial and respiratory infections. KatA is the major catalase of <i>PA</i> that detoxifies hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a reactive oxygen intermediate generated during aerobic respiration. Paradoxically, <i>PA</i> displays elevated KatA activity under anaerobic growth conditions where the substrate of KatA, H₂O₂, is not produced. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the mechanism underlying this phenomenon and define the role of KatA in <i>PA</i> during anaerobiosis using genetic, biochemical and biophysical approaches. We demonstrated that anaerobic wild-type PAO1 cells yielded higher levels of <i>katA</i> transcription and expression than aerobic cells, whereas a nitrite reductase mutant Δ<i>nirS</i> produced ∼50% the KatA activity of PAO1, suggesting that a basal NO level was required for the increased KatA activity. We also found that transcription of the <i>katA</i> gene was controlled, in part, by the master anaerobic regulator, ANR. A Δ<i>katA</i> mutant and a mucoid <i>mucA22</i> Δ<i>katA</i> bacteria demonstrated increased sensitivity to acidified nitrite (an NO generator) in anaerobic planktonic and biofilm cultures. EPR spectra of anaerobic bacteria showed that levels of dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNIC), indicators of NO stress, were increased significantly in the Δ<i>katA</i> mutant, and dramatically in a Δ<i>norCB</i> mutant compared to basal levels of DNIC in PAO1 and Δ<i>nirS</i> mutant. Expression of KatA dramatically reduced the DNIC levels in Δ<i>norCB</i> mutant. We further revealed direct NO-KatA interactions <i>in vitro</i> using EPR, optical spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. KatA has a 5-coordinate high spin ferric heme that binds NO without prior reduction of the heme iron (<i>K</i>_d ∼6 μM). Collectively, we conclude that KatA is expressed to protect <i>PA</i> against NO generated during anaerobic respiration. We proposed that such protective effects of KatA may involve buffering of free NO when potentially toxic concentrations of NO are approached.</p></div