Corticomuscular Coherence Is Tuned to the Spontaneous Rhythmicity of Speech at 2-3 Hz

Human speech features rhythmicity that frames distinctive, fine-grained speech patterns. Speech can thus be counted among rhythmic motor behaviors that generally manifest characteristic spontaneous rates. However, the critical neural evidence for tuning of articulatory control to a spontaneous rate of speech has not been uncovered. The present study examined the spontaneous rhythmicity in speech production and its relationship to cortex–muscle neurocommunication, which is essential for speech control. Our MEG results show that, during articulation, coherent oscillatory coupling between the mouth sensorimotor cortex and the mouth muscles is strongest at the frequency of spontaneous rhythmicity of speech at 2–3 Hz, which is also the typical rate of word production. Corticomuscular coherence, a measure of efficient cortex–muscle neurocommunication, thus reveals behaviorally relevant oscillatory tuning for spoken language.Peer reviewe

Global Assessment of Grassland Carrying Capacities and Relative Stocking Densities of Livestock

Although many suggest that future diets should include more plant-based proteins, animal-sourced foods are unlikely to completely disappear from our diet. Grasslands yield a notable part of the world’s animal protein production, but thus far, there is no global insight into the relationship between current livestock stocking densities and the availability of grassland forage resources. This inhibits acting upon concerns over the negative effects of overgrazing in some areas and utilising the potential for increasing production in others. Previous research has examined the potential of sustainable grazing but lacks generic and observation-based methods needed to fully understand the opportunities and threats of grazing. Here we provide a novel framework and method to estimate global livestock carrying capacity and relative stocking density, i.e. the reported livestock distribution relative to the estimated carrying capacity. We first estimate the aboveground biomass that is available for grazers on grasslands and savannas based on the MODIS Net Primary Production (NPP) approach on a global scale. This information is then used to calculate reasonable livestock carrying capacities, using slopes, forest cover and animal forage requirements as restrictions. With this approach, we found that stocking rates exceed the forage provided by grasslands in northwestern Europe, midwestern United States, southern China and the African Sahel. In this study, we provide the highest resolution global datasets to date. Our results have implications for prospective global food system modelling as well as national agricultural and environmental policies. These maps and findings can assist with conservation efforts to reduce land degradation associated with overgrazing and help identify undergrazed areas for targeted sustainable intensification efforts

Exercise-induced expression of angiogenic growth factors in skeletal muscle and in capillaries of healthy and diabetic mice

Background. Diabetes has negative, and exercise training positive, effects on the skeletal muscle vasculature, but the mechanisms are not yet fully understood. In the present experiment the effects of running exercise on the mRNA expression of pro- and antiangiogenic factors were studied in healthy and diabetic skeletal muscle. The responses in capillaries and muscle fibers, collected from the muscle with laser capture microdissection, were also studied separately. Methods. Healthy and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice were divided into sedentary and exercise groups. Exercise was a single bout of 1 h running on a treadmill. Gastrocnemius muscles were harvested 3 h and 6 h post exercise, and angiogenesis-related gene expressions were analyzed with real-time PCR. In addition to muscle homogenates, capillaries and muscle fibers were collected from the muscle with laser capture microdissection method and analyzed for vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) mRNA expression. Results. Of the proangiogenic factors, VEGF-A and VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) mRNA expression increased significantly (P < 0.05) in healthy skeletal muscle 6 h post exercise. VEGF-B also showed a similar trend (P = 0.08). No significant change was observed post exercise in diabetic muscles in the expression of VEGF-A, VEGFR-2 or VEGF-B. The expression of angiogenesis inhibitor TSP-1 and angiogenic extracellular matrix protein Cyr61 were significantly increased in diabetic muscles (P < 0.05–0.01). Capillary mRNA expression resembled that in the muscle homogenates, however, the responses were greater in capillaries compared to muscle homogenates and pure muscle fibers. Conclusion. The present study is the first to report the effects of a single bout of exercise on the expression of pro- and antiangiogenic factors in diabetic skeletal muscle, and it provides novel data about the separate responses in capillaries and muscle fibers to exercise and diabetes. Diabetic mice seem to have lower angiogenic responses to exercise compared to healthy mice, and they show markedly increased expression of angiogenesis inhibitor TSP-1. Furthermore, exercise-induced VEGF-A expression was shown to be greater in capillaries than in muscle fibers.peerReviewe

Tuberculin screening of some selected Fulani lactating cows in north-central Nigeria

The prevalence of mycobacterial infection among lactating Fulani cows was investigated in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Kaduna State of Nigeria. Tuberculin testing using single comparative intradermal tuberculin test showed a 14.6 % positive, 4 % doubtful, and 81.4 % negative reactors. Mycobacterial infection was found to be present in the nomadic (constantly moving) and seminomadic (limited movement) management systems studied but management showed no significant effect on the prevalence of the disease. However, the prevalence was significantly higher in older age groups than the younger ones (P < 0.05).Peer reviewedSubmitted Versio

Coincidental detection of the first outbreak of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae colonisation in a primary care hospital, Finland, 2013

In Finland, occurrence of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-KP) has previously been sporadic and related to travel. We describe the first outbreak of colonisation with KPC-KP strain ST512; it affected nine patients in a 137-bed primary care hospital. The index case was detected by chance when a non-prescribed urine culture was taken from an asymptomatic patient with suprapubic urinary catheter in June 2013. Thereafter, all patients on the 38-bed ward were screened until two screening rounds were negative and extensive control measures were performed. Eight additional KPC-KP-carriers were found, and the highest prevalence of carriers on the ward was nine of 38. All other patients hospitalised on the outbreak ward between 1 May and 10 June and 101 former roommates of KPC-KP carriers since January had negative screening results. Two screening rounds on the hospital's other wards were negative. No link to travel abroad was detected. Compared with non-carriers, but without statistical significance, KPC-KP carriers were older (83 vs 76 years) and had more often received antimicrobial treatment within the three months before screening (9/9 vs 90/133). No clinical infections occurred during the six-month follow-up. Early detection, prompt control measures and repetitive screening were crucial in controlling the outbreak.Peer reviewe

Measurement of complement receptor 1 on neutrophils in bacterial and viral pneumonia

BACKGROUND: A reliable prediction of the causative agent of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is not possible based on clinical features. Our aim was to test, whether the measurement of the expression of complement receptors or Fcγ receptors on neutrophils and monocytes would be a useful preliminary test to differentiate between bacterial and viral pneumonia. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients with CAP were studied prospectively. Thirteen patients had pneumococcal pneumonia; 13 patients, influenza A pneumonia; 5 patients, atypical pneumonia, and 37 patients, aetiologically undefined pneumonia. Leukocyte receptor expression was measured within 2 days of hospital admission. RESULTS: The mean expression of complement receptor 1 (CR1) on neutrophils was significantly higher in the patients with pneumococcal pneumonia than in those with influenza A pneumonia. The mean expression of CR1 was also significantly higher in aetiologically undefined pneumonia than in influenza A pneumonia, but there was no difference between pneumococcal and undefined pneumonia. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the expression of CR1 is higher in classical bacterial pneumonia than in viral pneumonia. Determination of the expression of CR1 may be of value as an additional rapid tool in the aetiological diagnosis, bacterial or viral infection, of CAP. These results are preliminary and more research is needed to assess the utility of this new method in the diagnostics of pneumonia

Photocatalytic Decomposition of Formic Acid on Mo2C-Containing Catalyst

Soluble components in the peripheral blood from experimental exposure of 14 healthy subjects to filtered air and wood smoke. Samples were collected before (pre), at 24 h and 44 h after exposure, to air and wood smoke. Data are given as medians with interquartile range. (DOCX 62 kb

Attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years caused by infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the EU and the European Economic Area in 2015: a population-level modelling analysis

Background: Infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria are threatening modern health care. However, estimating their incidence, complications, and attributable mortality is challenging. We aimed to estimate the burden of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria of public health concern in countries of the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) in 2015, measured in number of cases, attributable deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Methods: We estimated the incidence of infections with 16 antibiotic resistance–bacterium combinations from European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) 2015 data that was country-corrected for population coverage. We multiplied the number of bloodstream infections (BSIs) by a conversion factor derived from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control point prevalence survey of health-care-associated infections in European acute care hospitals in 2011–12 to estimate the number of non-BSIs. We developed disease outcome models for five types of infection on the basis of systematic reviews of the literature. Findings: From EARS-Net data collected between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2015, we estimated 671 689 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 583 148–763 966) infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, of which 63·5% (426 277 of 671 689) were associated with health care. These infections accounted for an estimated 33 110 (28 480–38 430) attributable deaths and 874 541 (768 837–989 068) DALYs. The burden for the EU and EEA was highest in infants (aged <1 year) and people aged 65 years or older, had increased since 2007, and was highest in Italy and Greece. Interpretation: Our results present the health burden of five types of infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria expressed, for the first time, in DALYs. The estimated burden of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the EU and EEA is substantial compared with that of other infectious diseases, and has increased since 2007. Our burden estimates provide useful information for public health decision-makers prioritising interventions for infectious diseases

Quantitative Pathology: Historical Background, Clinical Research and Application of Nuclear Morphometry and DNA Image Cytometry

Quantitative analysis of histo- and cytochemical components such as DNA, RNA or chromatin pattern on one hand (cytometry) and the quantitative analysis of geometric non-chemical cell and tissue components (morphometry and sterology) on the other, have developed somewhat independently. Today, many different techniques, such as morphometry, sterology, and static image and flow cytometry are well established and routinely used in diagnostic quantitative pathology. The potential significance of these techniques in the individualization of care in cancer patients include the objective distinction between benign, borderline and malignant lesions, objective grading of invasive tumours, prediction of prognosis, and therapy response

Transcriptome Remodeling Contributes to Epidemic Disease Caused by the Human Pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes

For over a century, a fundamental objective in infection biology research has been to understand the molecular processes contributing to the origin and perpetuation of epidemics. Divergent hypotheses have emerged concerning the extent to which environmental events or pathogen evolution dominates in these processes. Remarkably few studies bear on this important issue. Based on population pathogenomic analysis of 1,200 Streptococcus pyogenes type emm89 infection isolates, we report that a series of horizontal gene transfer events produced a new pathogenic genotype with increased ability to cause infection, leading to an epidemic wave of disease on at least two continents. In the aggregate, these and other genetic changes substantially remodeled the transcriptomes of the evolved progeny, causing extensive differential expression of virulence genes and altered pathogen-host interaction, including enhanced immune evasion. Our findings delineate the precise molecular genetic changes that occurred and enhance our understanding of the evolutionary processes that contribute to the emergence and persistence of epidemically successful pathogen clones. The data have significant implications for understanding bacterial epidemics and for translational research efforts to blunt their detrimental effects. IMPORTANCE The confluence of studies of molecular events underlying pathogen strain emergence, evolutionary genetic processes mediating altered virulence, and epidemics is in its infancy. Although understanding these events is necessary to develop new or improved strategies to protect health, surprisingly few studies have addressed this issue, in particular, at the comprehensive population genomic level. Herein we establish that substantial remodeling of the transcriptome of the human-specific pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes by horizontal gene flow and other evolutionary genetic changes is a central factor in precipitating and perpetuating epidemic disease. The data unambiguously show that the key outcome of these molecular events is evolution of a new, more virulent pathogenic genotype. Our findings provide new understanding of epidemic disease.Peer reviewe