Autism spectrum disorder, extremism and risk assessment

Background: To date, there is no evidence supporting the existence of an association between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and extremism in the general population. However, there is increasing recognition that several features of ASD may provide the context of vulnerability to engage in extremist behaviour. Aims: This paper sets out the case for a dedicated clinical approach to better integrate clinical risk appraisal processes with an assessment of ASD individuals' vulnerabilities within the Criminal Justice System. Methods and Results: In this paper the Framework for the Assessment of Risk & Protection in Offenders on the Autistic Spectrum (FARAS): A Guide for Risk Assessors Working with Offenders on the Autistic Spectrum is explored. In developing the FARAS, Al‐Attar proposed seven facets of ASD that ‘may have different functional links with push and pull factors to terrorism’ (p. 928), which include circumscribed interests; rich vivid fantasy and impaired social imagination; need for order, rules, rituals, routine and predictability; obsessionality, repetition and collecting; social interaction and communication difficulties; cognitive styles and Sensory processing. Discussion and Conclusion: We describe the FARAS within the context of the most widely used clinical risk appraisal ‘aide memoire’ instruments integral to the Structured Professional Judgement of risk process, namely the HCR20v3

Multifunctional host-defense peptides isolated from skin secretions of the banana tree dwelling frog Boana platanera (Hylidae; Hylinae)

Five host-defense peptides (figainin 2PL, hylin PL, raniseptin PL, plasticin PL, and peptide YL) were isolated from norepinephrine-stimulated skin secretions of the banana tree dwelling frog Boana platanera (Hylidae; Hylinae) collected in Trinidad. Raniseptin PL (GVFDTVKKIGKAVGKFALGVAKNYLNS.NH 2) and figainin 2PL (FLGTVLKLGKAIAKTVVPMLTNAMQPKQ. NH 2) showed potent and rapid bactericidal activity against a range of clinically relevant Gram-positive and Gram-negative ESKAPE + pathogens and Clostridioides difficile. The peptides also showed potent cytotoxic activity (LC 50 values &lt; 30 μM) against A549, MDA-MB-231 and HT29 human tumor-derived cell lines but appreciably lower hemolytic activity against mouse erythrocytes (LC 50 = 262 ± 14 μM for raniseptin PL and 157 ± 16 μM for figainin 2PL). Hylin PL (FLGLIPALAGAIGNLIK.NH 2) showed relatively weak activity against microorganisms but was more hemolytic. The glycine-leucine-rich peptide with structural similarity to the plasticins (GLLSTVGGLVGGLLNNLGL.NH 2) and the non-cytotoxic peptide YL (YVPGVIESLL.NH 2) lacked antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. Hylin PL, raniseptinPL and peptide YL stimulated the rate of release of insulin from BRIN-BD11 clonal β-cells at concentrations ≥100 nM. Peptide YL was the most effective (2.3-fold increase compared with basal rate at 1 μM concentration) and may represent a template for the design of a new class of incretin-based anti-diabetic drugs.</p

The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) leaf proteome: identification of a gender biomarker to screen male parents

Abstract To establish a proteomic reference map of date palm leaves (Deglet Nour cultivar), we separated and identified leaf proteins using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, respectively. In total, 284 spots were excised from gel and analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Among them, 158 were successfully identified (i.e, a success rate of 55.6%) conducting to the identification of 126 unique proteins. These proteins were then clustered according to their functional annotations. Identified proteins were involved in metabolism, electron transport, photosynthesis, protein synthesis, cell structure or defence. However, 29.4 % of the identifications gave unknown function. We then compared the proteome map of female and male trees. Only one discriminated spot was found to be specific of the gender. We identified the corresponding protein as an ABC superfamily ATP binding cassette transporter, ABC protein, a protein whose an ortholog in Arabidopsis thaliana was already reported as required for male fertility and pollen formation. The relevance of this protein as gender biomarker was then confirmed in four other cultivars, i.e., Aligue, Khouet Aligue, Kentichi and Kenta. Such biomarker should be helpful in rapidly distinguishing date palm gender of immature trees

Identification of Biofilm-Associated Cluster (bac) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Involved in Biofilm Formation and Virulence

Biofilms are prevalent in diseases caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic and nosocomial pathogen. By a proteomic approach, we previously identified a hypothetical protein of P. aeruginosa (coded by the gene pA3731) that was accumulated by biofilm cells. We report here that a ΔpA3731 mutant is highly biofilm-defective as compared with the wild-type strain. Using a mouse model of lung infection, we show that the mutation also induces a defect in bacterial growth during the acute phase of infection and an attenuation of the virulence. The pA3731 gene is found to control positively the ability to swarm and to produce extracellular rhamnolipids, and belongs to a cluster of 4 genes (pA3729–pA3732) not previously described in P. aeruginosa. Though the protein PA3731 has a predicted secondary structure similar to that of the Phage Shock Protein, some obvious differences are observed compared to already described psp systems, e.g., this unknown cluster is monocistronic and no homology is found between the other proteins constituting this locus and psp proteins. As E. coli PspA, the amount of the protein PA3731 is enlarged by an osmotic shock, however, not affected by a heat shock. We consequently named this locus bac for biofilm-associated cluster

Studying the Functional Genomics of Stress Responses in Loblolly Pine With the Expresso Microarray Experiment Management System

Conception, design, and implementation of cDNA microarray experiments present a variety of bioinformatics challenges for biologists and computational scientists. The multiple stages of data acquisition and analysis have motivated the design of Expresso, a system for microarray experiment management. Salient aspects of Expresso include support for clone replication and randomized placement; automatic gridding, extraction of expression data from each spot, and quality monitoring; flexible methods of combining data from individual spots into information about clones and functional categories; and the use of inductive logic programming for higher-level data analysis and mining. The development of Expresso is occurring in parallel with several generations of microarray experiments aimed at elucidating genomic responses to drought stress in loblolly pine seedlings. The current experimental design incorporates 384 pine cDNAs replicated and randomly placed in two specific microarray layouts. We describe the design of Expresso as well as results of analysis with Expresso that suggest the importance of molecular chaperones and membrane transport proteins in mechanisms conferring successful adaptation to long-term drought stress

The role of released ATP in killing Candida albicans and other extracellular microbial pathogens by cationic peptides

A unifying theme common to the action of many cationic peptides that display lethal activities against microbial pathogens is their specific action at microbial membranes that results in selective loss of ions and small nucleotides chiefly ATP. One model cationic peptide that induces non-lytic release of ATP from the fungal pathogen Candida albicans is salivary histatin 5 (Hst 5). The major characteristic of Hst 5-induced ATP release is that it occurs rapidly while cells are still metabolically active and have polarized membranes, thus precluding cell lysis as the means of release of ATP. Other cationic peptides that induce selective release of ATP from target microbes are lactoferricin, human neutrophil defensins, bactenecin, and cathelicidin peptides. The role of released extracellular ATP induced by cationic peptides is not known, but localized increases in extracellular ATP concentration may serve to potentiate cell killing, facilitate further peptide uptake, or function as an additional signal to activate the host innate immune system at the site of infection

Phosphate deprivation is associated with high resistance to latamoxef of gel-entrapped, sessile-like Escherichia coli cells

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Distribution of eukaryotic plankton in the English Channel and the North Sea in summer

The distribution of eukaryotic plankton was investigated in the English Channel and the North Sea during the MICROVIR cruise in summer 2007. The size distribution of autotrophic, heterotrophic eukaryotes and species composition was analyzed with a focus on two major divisions, Haptophyta and Chlorophyta, targeted by 18S rRNA probes. Picoeukaryotes (<2 mu m) dominated over the larger eukaryotes at all stations. Eukaryotes larger than 5 mu m were mainly composed of diatoms in the English Channel and of dinoflagellates in the North Sea. The contribution of Haptophyta was maximal in the 2 to 5 pm fraction and they appeared more abundant in the central region of the North Sea. Chlorophyta, especially Micromonas pusilla, generally dominated the picoplanktonic fraction in the English Channel. Micromonas contribution decreased between the South and the North-east of the North Sea and it was even absent at some stations. Although this species is dominant among the picoeukaryote community of the English Channel, other Chlorophyta species may also play an important ecological role in these temperate ecosystems

A new antibacterial and antioxidant S07-2 compound produced by Bacillus subtilis B38

An antibacterial compound, S07-2, was purified to homogeneity by hydrophobic interaction, anion exchange, C18 reverse-phase and HS PEG HPLC. The molecular mass of S07-2 was 905.6 Da as determined by MS. The S07-2 compound was resistant to high temperatures (up to 100 1C) and could withstand a wide range of pH from 3 to 10. In addition, its antibacterial activity was preserved after treatment with proteases. Biochemical characterization revealed its cyclic peptide structure. This compound showed a bactericidal effect against important food- spoilage bacteria and food-borne pathogens including Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus faecalis with lethal concentration values of 62.5 mg mL1 and against Salmonella enteritidis at a concentration of 31.25 mg mL1 . However, no cytotoxic effect against human erythrocytes was recorded. Furthermore, the S07-2 com- pound displayed a remarkable Fe 21 -chelating activity (EC50 = 9.76 mg mL1 ) and 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl-scavenging capacity (IC50 = 65 mg mL1 ). All these chemical and biological features make S07-2 a useful compound in the food industry as a natural preservative