Identification of a non-purple tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase: an evolutionary link to Ser/Thr protein phosphatases?

BACKGROUND Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatases (TRAcPs), also known as purple acid phosphatases (PAPs), are a family of binuclear metallohydrolases that have been identified in plants, animals and fungi. The human enzyme is a major histochemical marker for the diagnosis of bone-related diseases. TRAcPs can occur as a small form possessing only the ~35 kDa catalytic domain, or a larger ~55 kDa form possessing both a catalytic domain and an additional N-terminal domain of unknown function. Due to its role in bone resorption the 35 kDa TRAcP has become a promising target for the development of anti-osteoporotic chemotherapeutics. FINDINGS A new human gene product encoding a metallohydrolase distantly related to the ~55 kDa plant TRAcP was identified and characterised. The gene product is found in a number of animal species, and is present in all tissues sampled by the RIKEN mouse transcriptome project. Construction of a homology model illustrated that six of the seven metal-coordinating ligands in the active site are identical to that observed in the TRAcP family. However, the tyrosine ligand associated with the charge transfer transition and purple color of TRAcPs is replaced by a histidine. CONCLUSION The gene product identified here may represent an evolutionary link between TRAcPs and Ser/Thr protein phosphatases. Its biological function is currently unknown but is unlikely to be associated with bone metabolism.This work was funded by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene through a Dennis Burkitt Fellowship to JJM. ARD is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council. JJM is supported by a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship (GR074833MA)

A Small Community Model for the Transmission of Infectious Diseases: Comparison of School Closure as an Intervention in Individual-Based Models of an Influenza Pandemic

BACKGROUND: In the absence of other evidence, modelling has been used extensively to help policy makers plan for a potential future influenza pandemic. METHOD: We have constructed an individual based model of a small community in the developed world with detail down to exact household structure obtained from census collection datasets and precise simulation of household demographics, movement within the community and individual contact patterns. We modelled the spread of pandemic influenza in this community and the effect on daily and final attack rates of four social distancing measures: school closure, increased case isolation, workplace non-attendance and community contact reduction. We compared the modelled results of final attack rates in the absence of any interventions and the effect of school closure as a single intervention with other published individual based models of pandemic influenza in the developed world. RESULTS: We showed that published individual based models estimate similar final attack rates over a range of values for R(0) in a pandemic where no interventions have been implemented; that multiple social distancing measures applied early and continuously can be very effective in interrupting transmission of the pandemic virus for R(0) values up to 2.5; and that different conclusions reached on the simulated benefit of school closure in published models appear to result from differences in assumptions about the timing and duration of school closure and flow-on effects on other social contacts resulting from school closure. CONCLUSION: Models of the spread and control of pandemic influenza have the potential to assist policy makers with decisions about which control strategies to adopt. However, attention needs to be given by policy makers to the assumptions underpinning both the models and the control strategies examined

Evaluating Elk Summer Resource Selection and Applications to Summer Range Habitat Management

In much of the west, National Forest lands are managed in part to provide and protect elk (Cervus elaphus) habitat needs, and summer elk habitat is managed with consideration to motorized routes. We evaluated the relative importance of nutritional resources, access routes and other landscape attributes on elk summer resource selection at multiple spatial scales.  Resource selection models for 9 different western Montana elk populations, as well are regional models using data from all 9 herds, were compared to determine the applicability of resource selection models for informing habitat management recommendations. We found thatin all populations nutritional resources, best represented using NDVI metrics, were the most important factors associated with elk summer resource selection. Access route disturbances, best represented by the density of all routes (i.e., routes open and closed to motorized use), affected resource selection in all populations, however, the influence of access routes was relatively small as compared to nutritional resources. Regional models of resource selection predicted resource selection across populations better than population-specific models, thus we recommend these types of models be used to inform regional habitat management. Our results suggest that managers should expand the current management paradigm for elk summer habitat to also consider nutritional resources as an important component of elk summer habitat. Time-integrated NDVI, an easily accessible and free data source, may be useful as an assessment tool to identify areas of optimal elk nutrition

The AIFS evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms : a summary

In 2006, the Australian Government, through the Attorney- General\u27s Department (AGD) and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), commissioned the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) to undertake an evaluation of the impact of the 2006 changes to the family law system: Evaluation of the 2006 Family Law Reforms (Kaspiew et al., 2009) (the Evaluation). This article provides a summary of the key findings of the Evaluation.<br /

Family violence : key findings from the evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms

The different types, prevalence and consequences of family violence, as demonstrated by the Australian Institute of Family Studies\u27 Evaluation of the 2006 Family Law Reforms, are discussed. Family violence is shown to be an extremely complex phenomenon, which affects the mental and social well-being of the children. Hence, different measures that can be adopted to deal with pre- and post-separation periods and child care problems are also analyzed.<br /

Reconstructing ‘the Alcoholic’: Recovering from Alcohol Addiction and the Stigma this Entails

Public perception of alcohol addiction is frequently negative, whilst an important part of recovery is the construction of a positive sense of self. In order to explore how this might be achieved, we investigated how those who self-identify as in recovery from alcohol problems view themselves and their difficulties with alcohol and how they make sense of others’ responses to their addiction. Semi-structured interviews with six individuals who had been in recovery between 5 and 35 years and in contact with Alcoholics Anonymous were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The participants were acutely aware of stigmatising images of ‘alcoholics’ and described having struggled with a considerable dilemma in accepting this identity themselves. However, to some extent they were able to resist stigma by conceiving of an ‘aware alcoholic self’ which was divorced from their previously unaware self and formed the basis for a new more knowing and valued identity

Hiding in plain sight: discovery and phylogeography of a cryptic species of Trichinella (Nematoda: Trichinellidae) in wolverine (Gulo gulo)

Understanding parasite diversity and distribution is essential in managing the potential impact of para- sitic diseases in animals and people. Imperfect diagnostic methods, however, may conceal cryptic species. Here, we report the discovery and phylogeography of a previously unrecognized species of Trichinella in wolverine (Gulo gulo) from northwestern Canada that was indistinguishable from T. nativa using the stan- dard multiplex PCR assay based on the expansion segment 5 (ESV) of ribosomal DNA. The novel genotype, designated as T13, was discovered when sequencing the mitochondrial genome. Phylogenetic analyses of the mitochondrial genome and of 15 concatenated single-copy orthologs of nuclear DNA indicated a com- mon ancestor for the encapsulated clade is shared by a subclade containing Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella nelsoni, and a subclade containing T13 and remaining taxa: T12 + (T2 + T6) + [(T5 + T9) + (T 3 + T8)]. Of 95 individual hosts from 12 species of mammalian carnivores from northwestern Canada from which larvae were identified as T. nativa on multiplex PCR, only wolverines were infected with T13 (14 of 42 individuals). These infections were single or mixed with T. nativa and/or T6. Visual examination and motility testing confirmed that T13 is encapsulated and likely freeze-tolerant. We developed a new Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism which unequivocally distinguishes between T13 and T. nativa. We propose Trichinella chanchalensis n. sp. for T13, based on significant genetic divergence from other species of Trichinella and broad-based sampling of the Trichinella genome. Exploration of Alaskan and Siberian isolates may contribute to further resolution of a phylogeo- graphically complex history for species of Trichinella across Beringia, including Trichinella chanchalensis n. sp. (T13