Dynamic Host-Pathogen Interactions Result in Fungal Epitope Unmasking

Molecular camouflage is used by a diverse set of pathogens to disguise their identity and avoid recognition by protective host receptors. The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is a good example, as it masks the inflammatory component β-glucan in its cell wall to evade detection by the immune receptor Dectin-1. Interestingly, it has been seen that β-glucan becomes unmasked during infection in vivo, though the underlying mechanisms remained unclear. Exposure levels of this epitope may be important, as Dectin-1 mediates protection from some strains of C. albicans and alterations in the organization and composition of the Candida cell wall can influence host responses. This research sought to understand C. albicans cell wall dynamics, particularly within the context of host-pathogen interactions. Special attention was paid to elucidating mechanisms of β-glucan unmasking and we have revealed a novel and dynamic interaction in which neutrophils damage the fungal cell wall via a mechanism involving neutrophil extracellular traps. This damage provoked the disruption of fungal cell wall architecture including increased chitin deposition and β-glucan unmasking at sites of immune attack. Surprisingly, these cell wall changes were also dependent on an active fungal response, which required cell wall integrity signaling and involved relocalization of cell wall remodeling components. Importantly, neutrophil mediated β-glucan unmasking could result in enhanced immune responses to fungi from macrophages, suggesting that this epitope unmasking could have functional consequences during infection. Work we participated in helped elucidate mechanisms involved in baseline fungal epitope masking in the form of Cho1 and phosphatidylserine biosynthesis and also demonstrated that changes to cell wall composition and architecture influence the importance of β-glucan exposure to host responses to C. albicans. Overall, this work helps elucidate the importance of host-pathogen interactions in influencing fungal cell wall dynamics during disseminated candidiasis. Given the importance of the cell wall as a drug target, understanding how this fungus maintains integrity and epitope masking during attack may identify therapeutic targets to aid the treatment of candidiasis. This work also highlights an important concept, which is that microbial cell walls can change dynamically during infection with important consequences for host recognition and immunity

Yoga to Decrease the Stress Response: Gentle Yoga Encourages Faster Decline in Salivary Cortisol Concentrations Following Participation in TSST

Short-term, activation of the human stress response system is beneficial as it prepares the body to deal with stressors at hand (McEwen & Stellar, 1993). If this system is overactive or chronically active however, it can negatively impact health and longevity (Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, & Miller, 2007). According to a review conducted by Ross & Thomas (2010) implementation of a yoga practice has been shown to down-regulate the stress response system. The present study aimed to expand on current research involving yoga for stress reduction by exploring whether participation in gentle yoga could decrease the stress response more quickly than naturally occurs after psychological stress exposure. Participants were exposed to a psychological stress test, then randomly assigned to take part in a gentle yoga sequence or watch a neutral video. Analyses through independent sample t-tests indicated faster decline in salivary cortisol concentrations from initial stress response for participants that took part in gentle yoga. Results suggest participation in a gentle yoga practice helps decrease the stress response more quickly than occurs naturally following psychological stress exposure

Is Congress Holding Itself to Account? Addressing Congress\u27s Sexual Harassment Problem and the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act

This Note explores how the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 ( CAA ) contributed to the underreporting of the sexual harassment occurring in Congress and evaluates both the original proposals offered by the House and Senate to reform the CAA and the Reform Act in its final form. Part I will offer brief background information on the ‘me too’ Movement and the specific allegations of harassment against individuals in Congress. Part II will explore the issue of underreporting when it comes to instances of sexual harassment, with a particular focus on reporting considerations of professional women such as those employed in the legislature. Part III gives an overview of Title VII, the basic framework for making a formal complaint for sexual harassment or discrimination that occurs in the employment setting. Part III then largely focuses on the CAA and how it modified the procedure required to bring claims of sexual harassment or discrimination occurring within the congressional context. Part IV is broken into three Sections. Section IV.A describes the major components of the initial House and Senate reform bills and how they compare to one another and to the Reform Act. Section IV.B covers the major components of the Reform Act. Section IV.C then explores the ways in which the Reform Act falls short of what victims of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill deserve and fails to meet Congress’s promise to hold itself to a higher standard

A cost-benefit analysis of a pellet boiler with electrostatic precipitator versus conventional biomass technology: A case study of an institutional boiler in Syracuse, New York

BACKGROUND: Biomass facilities have received increasing attention as a strategy to increase the use of renewable fuels and decrease greenhouse gas emissions from the electric generation and heating sectors, but these facilities can potentially increase local air pollution and associated health effects. Comparing the economic costs and public health benefits of alternative biomass fuel, heating technology, and pollution control technology options provides decision-makers with the necessary information to make optimal choices in a given location. METHODS: For a case study of a combined heat and power biomass facility in Syracuse, New York, we used stack testing to estimate emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for both the deployed technology (staged combustion pellet boiler with an electrostatic precipitator) and a conventional alternative (wood chip stoker boiler with a multicyclone). We used the atmospheric dispersion model AERMOD to calculate the contribution of either fuel-technology configuration to ambient primary PM2.5 in a 10 km x 10 km region surrounding the facility, and we quantified the incremental contribution to population mortality and morbidity. We assigned economic values to health outcomes and compared the health benefits of the lower-emitting technology with the incremental costs. RESULTS: In total, the incremental annualized cost of the lower-emitting pellet boiler was $190,000 greater, driven by a greater cost of the pellet fuel and pollution control technology, offset in part by reduced fuel storage costs. PM2.5 emissions were a factor of 23 lower with the pellet boiler with electrostatic precipitator, with corresponding differences in contributions to ambient primary PM2.5 concentrations. The monetary value of the public health benefits of selecting the pellet-fired boiler technology with electrostatic precipitator was$1.7 million annually, greatly exceeding the differential costs even when accounting for uncertainties. Our analyses also showed complex spatial patterns of health benefits given non-uniform age distributions and air pollution levels. CONCLUSIONS: The incremental investment in a lower-emitting staged combustion pellet boiler with an electrostatic precipitator was well justified by the population health improvements over the conventional wood chip technology with a multicyclone, even given the focus on only primary PM2.5 within a small spatial domain. Our analytical framework could be generalized to other settings to inform optimal strategies for proposed new facilities or populations.This research was supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), via an award to the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (Agreement #92229). The SCICHEM work of KMZ was supported by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

Effect of soil on the mutagenic properties of waste water

The disposal of complex mixtures such as waste water on agricultural lands poses known and unknown environmental risks. Mutagens may be introduced into the eco-system and perhaps concentrated by crop plants or leached into ground water supplies. The purpose of this study was to determine the biological effect of a mutagenic waste water before and after application to soil. We used an XAD-8 methanol extract of waste water from the municipal sewage treatment facility at Sauget IL. This extract was a potent direct acting mutagen when assayed with the Salmonella typhimurium. 1 and 3 ml of extract were brought up to 10 ml volumes with water and added to 10 a of sterile or nonsterile , native clay loam. These mixtures were placed in a shaking water bath at room temperature for 0, 24, and 48 h. After separation of solid and liquid portions by filtration, dichloromethane was added to extract the organic fractions from each component. Solvent extractions were evaporated to dryness under vacuum and brought up in DMSO. Tests for mutagenic activity were conducted using strain TA98. After addition to the soil for greater periods of time the mutagenic activity decreased. The solid component exhibited greater mutagenic activity than the liquid. The XAD-8 extract was also assayed using the yg2 assay in Zea mays and the micronucleus assay in Tradescantia. The extract did not induce mutation or chromosome aberrations in these assays. The sludge from the Sauqet plant was chemically fractionated and assayed with S. typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100. The neutral fraction was the most mutagenic fraction followed by the weak acid,-strong acid and basic fractions. These chemical fractions uncovered more mutagenic potency than was predicted by assaying a crude organic extract of the sludge.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

Air pollution at Rochester, NY: Long-term trends and multivariate analysis of upwind SO2 source impacts

There have been many changes in the air pollutant sources in the northeastern United States since 2001. To assess the effect of these changes, trend analyses of the monthly average values were performed on PM2.5 and its components including major ions, elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and gaseous pollutant concentrations measured between 2001 (in some cases 1999) and 2015 at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation sites in Rochester, NY. Mann-Kendall regression with Sen's slope was applied to estimate the trends and seasonality. Using piecewise regression, significant reductions in the air pollution of Rochester area were observed between 2008 and 2010 when a 260 MW coal-fired power plant was decommissioned, new heavy-duty diesel trucks had to be equipped with catalytic regenerator traps, and the economic recession that began in 2008 reduced traffic and other activities. The monthly average PM2.5 mass showed a downward trend (− 5 μg/m3; − 41%) in Rochester between 2001 and 2015. This change is largely due to reductions in particulate sulfate that showed a 65% decrease. The sulfate concentrations were compared to changes in SO2 emissions in seventeen upwind source domains, and other systematic changes by multivariate linear regression. Selectivity ratio obtained from target projection discriminated the most important source domains that are SO2 emissions from Georgia for winter, North Carolina for transition (spring and fall) and Ohio along with other influences for summer. North Carolina and Michigan were identified as the main sources for entire period. These observations suggest that any further reductions in the specified regional SO2 emissions would result in a proportional decrease in sulfate in Rochester

Changes in ambient air pollutants in New York State from 2005 to 2019: Effects of policy implementations and economic and technological changes

Over the past 20 years, a number of regulatory efforts have been applied to improve air quality in the United States and specifically in New York State. These measures generally focused on mobile emissions through emissions controls and improved fuel quality, and controls on electricity generation to reduce emissions from older, uncontrolled electricity generation units (EGUs). In addition, economic drivers such as the major recession in 2007–2009 and the change in the relative costs of natural gas and coal also drove changes in the mixture of EGU technologies. To assess the effects of these changes and to define the baseline for future changes as the economy further decarbonizes through renewable electricity generation and electric vehicles, the concentrations of all pollutants measured at all regulatory monitoring sites in New York State were assessed for their trends. Trends were examined using seasonal-trend decomposition with local regression smoothing (STL), Mann-Kendall trend analysis with the Theil-Sen nonparametric slope estimation, and piecewise regression analysis to identify breakpoints in the slopes of the time series data. The concentrations of primary gaseous pollutants, CO, NO2, and SO2 have decreased substantially in step with the declining emissions. PM2.5 has substantially declined largely due to the reductions in particulate sulfate. However, in recent years, the rate of decline has diminished due to relatively constant or increasing particulate nitrate and secondary organic aerosol. O3 has also generally increased at the urban sites likely as a result of reduced NOx emissions, while it declined or remained constant at the rural sites. Thus, the promulgated regulations assisted by the economic drivers have improved air quality, but additional actions will be needed to further reduce urban O3 and PM2.5

PM2.5 and gaseous pollutants in New York State during 2005–2016: Spatial variability, temporal trends, and economic influences

Over the past decades, mitigation strategies have been adopted both by federal and state agencies in the United States (US) to improve air quality. Between 2007 and 2009, the US faced a financial/economic crisis that lowered activity and reduced emissions. At the same time, changes in the prices of coal and natural gas drove a shift in fuels used for electricity generation. Seasonal patterns, diel cycles, spatial gradients, and trends in PM2.5 and gaseous pollutants concentrations (NOx, SO2, CO and O3) monitored in New York State (NYS) from 2005 to 2016 were examined. Relationships between ambient concentrations, changes in NYS emissions retrieved from the US EPA trends inventory, and economic indicators were studied. PM2.5 and primary gaseous pollutants concentrations decreased across NYS. By 2016, PM2.5 and SO2 attained relatively homogeneous concentrations across the state. PM2.5 concentrations decreased significantly at all sites. Similarly, SO2 concentrations declined at all sites within this period, with the highest slopes observed at the urban sites. Reductions in NOx emissions likely contributed to summertime average ozone reductions. NOx and VOCs controls reduced O3 peak concentrations at rural and suburban sites as seen in significant relationships between the annual O3 4th-highest daily maximum 8-h concentrations and estimated NOx emissions at rural and suburban sites (r2 ∼ 0.7). Spring maxima were not reduced with most sites showing insignificant slopes or significant positive slopes (e.g., +2.6% y−1 and +2% y−1, at CCNY and PFI, respectively). Increases in autumn and winter ozone concentrations were found (e,g., 6.6 ± 0.4% y−1 on average in New York City). Significant relationships were observed between PM2.5, primary pollutants, and economic indicators. Overall, a decrease in electricity generation with coal, and the simultaneous increase in natural gas consumption for power generation, led to a decrease in PM2.5 and gaseous pollutants concentrations

Long-term trends (2005–2016) of source apportioned PM2.5 across New York State

The United States has experienced substantial air pollutant emissions reductions in the last two decades. Among others, emissions produced by electricity generation plants and industries were significantly lowered. Ultralow (<15 ppm) sulfur fuels were introduced for road vehicles, nonroad, rail, and maritime transport. New heavy-duty diesel trucks have been equipped with particle traps and NOx controls. Residual oil (No. 6) for space heating and for any other purpose was replaced with cleaner No. 2 and No. 4 oils. Chemical speciation of PM2.5 has been measured since 2005 at eight sites across the New York State. A prior study has identified and apportioned the major sources of PM2.5 across the State using receptor modelling (positive matrix factorization). This present study aims to investigate the long-term trends of those source-apportioned PM2.5 mass contributions from 2005 to 2016 at the eight sites: two rural sites (Pinnacle and Whiteface), three medium sized cities (Buffalo, Albany, Rochester), and three sites in the New York City metropolitan area (Bronx, Manhattan and Queens). Negative trends from 2005 to 2016 were detected across the state for secondary sulfate (from −0.19 μg/m3/y in Rochester to −0.36 μg/m3/y at BRO and QUE) and secondary nitrate (from −0.02 μg/m3/y at the rural sites to approximately −0.2 μg/m3/y at BRO and MAN). Spark-ignition vehicles were the only source type experiencing upward annual trends at all urban sites with slopes ranging from 0.02 μg/m3/y (ROC, not statistically significant) to ∼0.2 μg/m3/y (Albany, Bronx, Manhattan). Other sources exhibited different trends among the sites. The relationships of source contributions with emissions inventories were explored with regression analysis. A new trajectory model, differential concentration-weighted trajectories (DCWT), was used to examine spatial changes in sources of secondary aerosol affecting the rural sites

A long-term source apportionment of PM2.5 in New York State during 2005–2016

The development and implementation of effective policies for controlling PM2.5 mass concentrations and protecting human health depend upon the identification and apportionment of its sources. In this study, the PM2.5 sources affecting 6 urban and 2 rural sites across New York State during the period 2005–2016 were determined. The extracted profiles were compared to identify state-wide common profiles. The source contributions provide detailed, long-term quantification of the emission sources across the state during the investigated period (2005–2016). Seven factors were common to all sites: secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate, spark-ignition emissions, diesel emissions, road dust, biomass burning, and pyrolyzed organic (OP) rich. The largest contributors were secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate, spark-ignition (gasoline), diesel, and OP-rich. Secondary sulfate concentrations ranged from 2.3 μg m−3 at Whiteface to 3.2 μg m−3 at Buffalo and the Bronx. The highest secondary sulfate fractional contributions were found at the rural sites (∼46% of PM2.5 mass) also showed the highest OP-rich contributions (∼19%). Secondary nitrate showed the highest concentrations at the urban sites representing ∼17% of PM2.5 mass (1.6 ± 0.3 μg m−3 on average). Urban sites also showed the highest average spark-ignition concentrations (1.7 ± 0.2 μg m−3, ∼18%) and diesel emissions (1.0 ± 0.2 μg m−3, ∼10%). During this period, secondary sulfate concentrations declined likely related to the implementation of mitigation strategies for controlling SO2 emissions and the changing economics of electricity generation. Similarly, diesel and secondary nitrate showed decreases in concentrations likely associated with the introduction of emissions controls and improved quality fuels for heavy-duty diesel on-road trucks and buses. Spark-ignition concentrations showed an increase across the state during 2014–2016 associated with the increase of registered vehicles in New York State