Lipid analogs reveal features critical for hemolysis and diminish granadaene mediated Group B Streptococcus infection

Although certain microbial lipids are toxins, the structural features important for cytotoxicity remain unknown. Increased functional understanding is essential for developing therapeutics against toxic microbial lipids. Group B Streptococci (GBS) are bacteria associated with preterm births, stillbirths, and severe infections in neonates and adults. GBS produce a pigmented, cytotoxic lipid, known as granadaene. Despite its importance to all manifestations of GBS disease, studies towards understanding granadaene’s toxic activity are hindered by its instability and insolubility in purified form. Here, we report the synthesis and screening of lipid derivatives inspired by granadaene, which reveal features central to toxin function, namely the polyene chain length. Furthermore, we show that vaccination with a non-toxic synthetic analog confers the production of antibodies that inhibit granadaene-mediated hemolysis ex vivo and diminish GBS infection in vivo. This work provides unique structural and functional insight into granadaene and a strategy to mitigate GBS infection, which will be relevant to other toxic lipids encoded by human pathogens.This work was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health Grants R01AI112619, R01AI133976, R01AI100989, and R21AI125907 and seed funds from Seattle Childrens Research Institute to L.

Impacto de los indicadores del modelo SCOR para el mejoramiento de la cadena de suministro de una Siderúrgica, basados en el ciclo cash to cash

El presente artículo, realizado a través de un estudio de caso en una empresa del sector siderúrgico, se apoya en la revisión literaria sobre los indicadores de segundo nivel del modelo SCOR para la gestión de una cadena de suministro. Estos indicadores hacen alusión a la importancia de la planeación de los pagos a los distintos proveedores en una compañía perteneciente al sector de aceros en Barranquilla, Colombia. Para ello, se pretende conocer el impacto que generan en el orden de las finanzas corporativas estos indicadores, siendo el objetivo principal de este artículo demostrar que un buen manejo del ciclo cash to cash en la empresa objeto de estudio coadyuvará a mejorar los índices de liquidez por el impacto que estas variables tienen directamente en el flujo de caja de la compañía. Dentro de los resultados se destaca que las empresas deben garantizar la planeación financiera al momento de cubrir obligaciones que se adquieren con proveedores, permitiendo la optimización de la cadena de suministro y optimizando la labor financiera de la compañía desde la gestión logística. Se propone la optimización en la gestión de cartera para optimizar el flujo de caja de la empresa estudiada

Breastfeeding knowledge, attitude and practice among school teachers in Abha female educational district, southwestern Saudi Arabia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inadequate knowledge, or inappropriate practice, of breastfeeding may lead to undesirable consequences. The aim of this study was to assess breastfeeding knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among female teachers in the Abha Female Educational District and identify factors that may affect breastfeeding practice in the study population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among school teachers in Abha Female Educational District during the months of April to June, 2011. Breastfeeding KAP of participants who had at least one child aged five years or younger at the time of the study were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire, based on their experience with the last child.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 384 women made up of 246 (61.1%) primary-, 89 (23.2%) intermediate- and 49 (12.8%) high-school teachers participated in the study. One hundred and nineteen participants (31%) started breastfeeding their children within one hour of delivery, while exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months was reported only by 32 (8.3%) participants. Insufficient breast milk and work related problems were the main reasons given by 169 (44%) and 148 (38.5%) of participants, respectively, for stopping breastfeeding before two years. Only 33 participants (8.6%) had attended classes related to breastfeeding. However, 261 participants (68%) indicated the willingness to attend such classes, if available, in future pregnancies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study revealed that breast milk insufficiency and adverse work related issues were the main reasons for a very low rate of exclusive breastfeeding among female school teachers in Abha female educational district, Saudi Arabia. A very low rate of attending classes addressing the breastfeeding issues during pregnancy, and an alarming finding of a high percentage of babies receiving readymade liquid formula while still in hospital, were also brought out by the present study. Such findings, if addressed comprehensively by health care providers and decision-makers, will lead to the improvement of breastfeeding practices in the study community.</p

Evidence for basal distortion-product otoacoustic emission components

Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were measured with traditional DP-grams and level∕phase (L∕P) maps in rabbits with either normal cochlear function or unique sound-induced cochlear losses that were characterized as either low-frequency or notched configurations. To demonstrate that emission generators distributed basal to the f2 primary-tone contribute, in general, to DPOAE levels and phases, a high-frequency interference tone (IT) was presented at 1∕3 of an octave (oct) above the f2 primary-tone, and DPOAEs were re-measured as “augmented” DP-grams (ADP-grams) and L∕P maps. The vector difference between the control and augmented functions was then computed to derive residual DP-grams (RDP-grams) and L∕P maps. The resulting RDP-grams and L∕P maps, which described the DPOAEs removed by the IT, supported the notion that basal DPOAE components routinely contribute to the generation of standard measures of DPOAEs. Separate experiments demonstrated that these components could not be attributed to the effects of the 1∕3-oct IT on f2, or DPOAEs generated by the addition of a third interfering tone. These basal components can “fill in” the lesion estimated by the commonly employed DP-gram. Thus, ADP-grams more accurately reveal the pattern of cochlear damage and may eventually lead to an improved DP-gram procedure