Draft genome sequences of two unclassified Chitinophagaceae bacteria, IBVUCB1 and IBVUCB2, isolated from environmental samples

We report here the draft genome sequences of two Chitinophagaceae bacteria, IBVUCB1 and IBVUCB2, assembled from metagenomes of surface samples from freshwater lakes. The genomes are >99% complete and may represent new genera within the Chitinophagaceae family, indicating a larger diversity than currently identified

Dependence on Dectin-1 Varies With Multiple Candida Species

This is the final version. Available from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this recordFour Candida spp. (albicans, glabrata, tropicalis, parapsilosis) cause >95% of invasive Candida infections. C. albicans elicits immune responses via pathogen recognition receptors including C-type lectin-like receptors (CLRs). The CLR, Dectin-1 is important for host immunity to C. albicans and C. glabrata, however, whether Dectin-1 is important for host defense against C. tropicalis or C. parapsilosis is unknown. Therefore, we compared the involvement of Dectin-1 in response to these four diverse Candida spp. We found that Dectin-1 mediates innate cytokine responses to these Candida spp. in a species- and cell-dependent manner. Dectin-1 KO mice succumbed to infection with highly virulent C. albicans while they mostly survived infection with less virulent Candida spp. However, Dectin-1 KO mice displayed increased fungal burden following infection with each Candida spp. Additionally, T cells from Dectin-1 KO mice displayed enhanced effector functions likely due to the inability of Dectin-1 KO mice to clear the infections. Together, these data indicate that Dectin-1 is important for host defense to multiple Candida spp., although the specific roles for Dectin-1 varies with different Candida spp.Wellcome TrustRoyal SocietyUK Dementia Research InstituteMRC Centre for Medical Mycolog

In search of innovative capabilities of communities of practice : a systematic review and typology for future research

The concept of communities of practice has generated considerable debate among scholars of management. Attention has shifted from a concern with the transmission and reproduction of knowledge towards their utility for enhancing innovative potential. Questions of governance, power, collaboration and control have all entered the debate with different theorizations emerging from a wide mix of empirical research. We appraise these key findings through a critical review of the literature. From a divergent range of findings, we identify four main ways in which communities of practice enable and constrain innovative capabilities as (a) enablers of learning for innovation, (b) situated platforms for professional occupations, (c) dispersed collaborative environments and (d) governance structures designed for purpose. Our conclusion signals the way forward for further research that could be used to improve our understanding of different contextual forms and how they may align with organizations in enabling rather than constraining innovative capabilities

Gene expression drives the evolution of dominance.

Dominance is a fundamental concept in molecular genetics and has implications for understanding patterns of genetic variation, evolution, and complex traits. However, despite its importance, the degree of dominance in natural populations is poorly quantified. Here, we leverage multiple mating systems in natural populations of Arabidopsis to co-estimate the distribution of fitness effects and dominance coefficients of new amino acid changing mutations. We find that more deleterious mutations are more likely to be recessive than less deleterious mutations. Further, this pattern holds across gene categories, but varies with the connectivity and expression patterns of genes. Our work argues that dominance arises as a consequence of the functional importance of genes and their optimal expression levels

Signatures of arithmetic simplicity in metabolic network architecture

Metabolic networks perform some of the most fundamental functions in living cells, including energy transduction and building block biosynthesis. While these are the best characterized networks in living systems, understanding their evolutionary history and complex wiring constitutes one of the most fascinating open questions in biology, intimately related to the enigma of life's origin itself. Is the evolution of metabolism subject to general principles, beyond the unpredictable accumulation of multiple historical accidents? Here we search for such principles by applying to an artificial chemical universe some of the methodologies developed for the study of genome scale models of cellular metabolism. In particular, we use metabolic flux constraint-based models to exhaustively search for artificial chemistry pathways that can optimally perform an array of elementary metabolic functions. Despite the simplicity of the model employed, we find that the ensuing pathways display a surprisingly rich set of properties, including the existence of autocatalytic cycles and hierarchical modules, the appearance of universally preferable metabolites and reactions, and a logarithmic trend of pathway length as a function of input/output molecule size. Some of these properties can be derived analytically, borrowing methods previously used in cryptography. In addition, by mapping biochemical networks onto a simplified carbon atom reaction backbone, we find that several of the properties predicted by the artificial chemistry model hold for real metabolic networks. These findings suggest that optimality principles and arithmetic simplicity might lie beneath some aspects of biochemical complexity

Differential susceptibility of Dectin-1 isoforms to functional inactivation by neutrophil and fungal proteases.

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) experience chronic or recurrent bacterial and fungal lung infections. Many patients with CF cannot effectively clear Aspergillus from their lungs. This may result in IgE sensitization and the development of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, or invasive infections, such as Aspergillus bronchitis. Lung disease in patients with CF is associated with neutrophil-dominated inflammation and elevated levels of the serine protease, neutrophil elastase (NE). Various C-type lectin-like receptors (CLRs), including Dectin-1 and Dectin-2, are involved in the immune response to Aspergillus. Here, we show that purified NE cleaves Dectin-1 in an isoform-specific manner. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with CF, which contains high NE activity, induces Dectin-1 cleavage. Similarly, filtrate from a protease-producing strain of Aspergillus fumigatus induces isoform-specific cleavage of Dectin-1. Dectin-1 knockout (KO) cells and NE-treated cells demonstrated reduced phagocytosis of zymosan, a fungal cell wall preparation. In addition, NE cleaves 2 other CLRs, Dectin-2 and Mincle, and fungal-induced cytokine production was reduced in Dectin-1 KO cells, Dectin-2 KO cells, and NE-treated cells. Thus, Dectin-1 and Dectin-2 cleavage by NE and/or A. fumigatus–derived proteases results in an aberrant antifungal immune response that likely contributes to disease pathology in patients with C

Extragalactic Radio Continuum Surveys and the Transformation of Radio Astronomy

Next-generation radio surveys are about to transform radio astronomy by discovering and studying tens of millions of previously unknown radio sources. These surveys will provide new insights to understand the evolution of galaxies, measuring the evolution of the cosmic star formation rate, and rivalling traditional techniques in the measurement of fundamental cosmological parameters. By observing a new volume of observational parameter space, they are also likely to discover unexpected new phenomena. This review traces the evolution of extragalactic radio continuum surveys from the earliest days of radio astronomy to the present, and identifies the challenges that must be overcome to achieve this transformational change.Comment: To be published in Nature Astronomy 18 Sept 201

Breathlessness is associated with urinary incontinence in men: A community-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Urinary incontinence (UI) is a distressing problem for older people. To investigate the relationship between UI and respiratory symptoms among middle-aged and older men, a community-based study was conducted in Japan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A convenience sample of 668 community-dwelling men aged 40 years or above was recruited from middle and southern Japan. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, the Medical Research Council's dyspnoea scale and the Australian Lung Foundation's Feeling Short of Breath scale, were administered by face-to-face interviews to ascertain their UI status and respiratory symptoms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall prevalence of UI was 7.6%, with urge-type leakage (59%) being most common among the 51 incontinent men. The presence of respiratory symptoms was significantly higher among incontinent men than those without the condition, especially for breathlessness (45% versus 30%, <it>p </it>= 0.025). The odds of UI for breathlessness was 2.11 (95% confidence interval 1.10-4.06) after accounting for age, body mass index, smoking and alcohol drinking status of each individual.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings suggested a significant association between UI and breathlessness in middle-aged and older men.</p