Innate immune defences in the human endometrium

The human endometrium is an important site of innate immune defence, giving protection against uterine infection. Such protection is critical to successful implantation and pregnancy. Infection is a major cause of preterm birth and can also cause infertility and ectopic pregnancy. Natural anti-microbial peptides are key mediators of the innate immune system. These peptides, between them, have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral activity and are expressed at epithelial surfaces throughout the female genital tract. Two families of natural anti-microbials, the defensins and the whey acidic protein (WAP) motif proteins, appear to be prominent in endometrium. The human endometrial epithelium expresses beta-defensins 1–4 and the WAP motif protein, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor. Each beta-defensin has a different expression profile in relation to the stage of the menstrual cycle, providing potential protection throughout the cycle. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor is expressed during the secretory phase of the cycle and has a range of possible roles including anti-protease and anti-microbial activity as well as having effects on epithelial cell growth. The leukocyte populations in the endometrium are also a source of anti-microbial production. Neutrophils are a particularly rich source of alpha-defensins, lactoferrin, lysozyme and the WAP motif protein, elafin. The presence of neutrophils during menstruation will enhance anti-microbial protection at a time when the epithelial barrier is disrupted. Several other anti-microbials including the natural killer cell product, granulysin, are likely to have a role in endometrium. The sequential production of natural anti-microbial peptides by the endometrium throughout the menstrual cycle and at other sites in the female genital tract will offer protection from many pathogens, including those that are sexually transmitted

Does parkland influence walking? The relationship between area of parkland and walking trips in Melbourne, Australia

Background : Using two different measures of park area, at three buffer distances, we sought to investigate the ways in which park area and proximity to parks, are related to the frequency of walking (for all purposes) in Australian adults. Little previous research has been conducted in this area, and results of existing research have been mixed. Methods : Residents of 50 urban areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia completed a physical activity survey (n = 2305). Respondents reported how often they walked for &gt;=10 minutes in the previous month. Walking frequency was dichotomised to \u27less than weekly\u27 (less than 1/week) and \u27at least weekly\u27 (1/week or more). Using Geographic Information Systems, Euclidean buffers were created around each respondent\u27s home at three distances: 400metres (m), 800 m and 1200 m. Total area of parkland in each person\u27s buffer was calculated for the three buffers. Additionally, total area of \u27larger parks\u27, (park space &gt;= park with Australian Rules Football oval (17,862 m2)), was calculated for each set of buffers. Area of park was categorised into tertiles for area of all parks, and area of larger parks (the lowest tertile was used as the reference category). Multilevel logistic regression, with individuals nested within areas, was used to estimate the effect of area of parkland on walking frequency. Results : No statistically significant associations were found between walking frequency and park area (total and large parks) within 400 m of respondent\u27s homes. For total park area within 800 m, the odds of walking at least weekly were lower for those in the mid (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.46-0.91) and highest (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.44-0.95) tertile of park area compared to those living in areas with the least amount of park area. Similar results were observed for total park area in the 1200 m buffers. When only larger parks were investigated, again more frequent walking was less likely when respondents had access to a greater amount of park area. Conclusions : In this study we found that more park area in residential environments reduced the odds of walking more frequently. Other area characteristics such as street connectivity and destinations may underlay these associations by negatively correlating with park area. <br /

Bee Threat Elicits Alarm Call in African Elephants

Unlike the smaller and more vulnerable mammals, African elephants have relatively few predators that threaten their survival. The sound of disturbed African honeybees Apis meliffera scutellata causes African elephants Loxodonta africana to retreat and produce warning vocalizations that lead other elephants to join the flight. In our first experiment, audio playbacks of bee sounds induced elephants to retreat and elicited more head-shaking and dusting, reactive behaviors that may prevent bee stings, compared to white noise control playbacks. Most importantly, elephants produced distinctive “rumble” vocalizations in response to bee sounds. These rumbles exhibited an upward shift in the second formant location, which implies active vocal tract modulation, compared to rumbles made in response to white noise playbacks. In a second experiment, audio playbacks of these rumbles produced in response to bees elicited increased headshaking, and further and faster retreat behavior in other elephants, compared to control rumble playbacks with lower second formant frequencies. These responses to the bee rumble stimuli occurred in the absence of any bees or bee sounds. This suggests that these elephant rumbles may function as referential signals, in which a formant frequency shift alerts nearby elephants about an external threat, in this case, the threat of bees

Use of infection control measures in people with chronic lung disease: mixed methods study

BACKGROUND: The introduction of community infection control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a reduction in acute exacerbations of lung disease. We aimed to understand the acceptability of continued use of infection control measures among people with chronic lung disease and to understand the barriers and facilitators of use. METHODS: Australian adults with chronic lung disease were invited to an online survey (last quarter of 2021) to specify infection control measures they would continue themselves post-pandemic and those they perceived should be adopted by the community. A subset of survey participants were interviewed (first quarter of 2022) with coded transcripts deductively mapped to the COM-B model and Theoretical Domains Framework. RESULTS: 193 people (COPD 84, bronchiectasis 41, interstitial lung disease 35, asthma 33) completed the survey. Physical distancing indoors (83%), handwashing (77%), and avoidance of busy places (71%) or unwell family and friends (77%) were measures most likely to be continued. Policies for the wider community that received most support were those during the influenza season including hand sanitiser being widely available (84%), wearing of face coverings by healthcare professionals (67%) and wearing of face coverings by the general population on public transport (66%). Barriers to use of infection control measures were related to physical skills, knowledge, environmental context and resources, social influences, emotion, beliefs about capabilities and beliefs about consequences. CONCLUSIONS: Adults with chronic lung diseases in Australia are supportive of physical distancing indoors, hand hygiene, and avoidance of busy places or unwell family and friends as long-term infection control measures

Paramétrisation du potentiel de ruissellement des bassins versants au moyen de la Télédétection et des systèmes d'Informations Géographiques. Application à des bassins versants du Pays de Caux

International audienceThe increasing number of run-off damages occurring in Pays de Caux is a serious concern for regional authorities. The suggested method aims the assessmenl of run-off parameters using Remote Sensing and GIS. This method allows an objective comparison of the intrinsic and anthropic pressures of cultivated catchment from 1000 to 5000 ha. The potenliaI ron-off characteristics are analysed using land use components increasing or limiting run-off. and their spoliaI distrihulion on three different functional units. The selected parameters are the grassland proportion and compacity around concentrated surficial water channels (80 m wide), the proportion and compacity of the soil surfaces contributive to run-off on the top of catchments and, finally, the simple proportion of grassland and forest upon high sloped areas. The temporal evolution of these indices and the comparison between calchments show the signiflcant recorded changes whÎch favour the increase of surfaces contributing la mn-off between 1990 and /997. The interest of Ihese indices is to identify areas sensitive to run-off and to act as a decision supporl tool for a lerritorial management policy aimed al run-off reduclion on catchments. The outlook of this study is to generalize these parameters for regional applications

A Nuclear DNA Perspective on Delineating Evolutionarily Significant Lineages in Polyploids: The Case of the Endangered Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)

The shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum, oft considered a phylogenetic relic, is listed as an “endangered species threatened with extinction” in the US and “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. Effective conservation of A. brevirostrum depends on understanding its diversity and evolutionary processes, yet challenges associated with the polyploid nature of its nuclear genome have heretofore limited population genetic analysis to maternally inherited haploid characters. We developed a suite of polysomic microsatellite DNA markers and characterized a sample of 561 shortnose sturgeon collected from major extant populations along the North American Atlantic coast. The 181 alleles observed at 11 loci were scored as binary loci and the data were subjected to multivariate ordination, Bayesian clustering, hierarchical partitioning of variance, and among-population distance metric tests. The methods uncovered moderately high levels of gene diversity suggesting population structuring across and within three metapopulations (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast) that encompass seven demographically discrete and evolutionarily distinct lineages. The predicted groups are consistent with previously described behavioral patterns, especially dispersal and migration, supporting the interpretation that A. brevirostrum exhibit adaptive differences based on watershed. Combined with results of prior genetic (mitochondrial DNA) and behavioral studies, the current work suggests that dispersal is an important factor in maintaining genetic diversity in A. brevirostrum and that the basic unit for conservation management is arguably the local population

Sustained impact of energy-dense TV and online food advertising on children\u27s dietary intake: a within-subject, randomised, crossover, counter-balanced trial

Background Policies restricting children\u27s exposure to unhealthy food marketing have been impeded by the lack of evidence showing a direct link between food advertising exposure and children\u27s energy intake and body weight. Food advertising exposure increases children\u27s immediate food consumption, but whether this increased intake is compensated for at later eating occasions is not known; consequently the sustained effect on diets remains unclear. Methods We conducted a within-subject, randomised, crossover, counterbalanced study across four, six-day holiday camps in New South Wales, Australia between April 2016 and January 2017. Children (7-12 years, n = 160) were recruited via local schools, email networks and social media. Two gender- and age-balanced groups were formed for each camp (n = 20), randomised to either a multiple- or single- media condition and exposed to food and non-food advertising in an online game and/or a television cartoon. Children\u27s food consumption (kilojoules) was measured at a snack immediately after exposure and then at lunch later in the day. Linear mixed models were conducted to examine relationships between food advertising exposure and dietary intake, taking into account gender, age and weight status. Results All children in the multiple-media condition ate more at a snack after exposure to food advertising compared with non-food advertising; this was not compensated for at lunch, leading to additional daily food intake of 194 kJ (95% CI 80-308, p = 0.001, d = 0.2). Exposure to multiple-media food advertising compared with a single-media source increased the effect on snack intake by a difference of 182 kJ (95% CI 46-317, p = 0.009, d = 0.4). Food advertising had an increased effect among children with heavier weight status in both media groups. Conclusion Online (\u27advergame\u27) advertising combined with TV advertising exerted a stronger influence on children\u27s food consumption than TV advertising alone. The lack of compensation at lunch for children\u27s increased snack intake after food advertising exposure suggests that unhealthy food advertising exposure contributes to a positive energy-gap, which could cumulatively lead to the development of overweight

Distinct Properties Underlie Flavin-Based Electron Bifurcation in a Novel Electron Transfer Flavoprotein FixAB from \u3cem\u3eRhodopseudomonas palustris\u3c/em\u3e

A newly recognized third fundamental mechanism of energy conservation in biology, electron bifurcation, uses free energy from exergonic redox reactions to drive endergonic redox reactions. Flavin-based electron bifurcation furnishes low-potential electrons to demanding chemical reactions, such as reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia. We employed the heterodimeric flavoenzyme FixAB from the diazotrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris to elucidate unique properties that underpin flavin-based electron bifurcation. FixAB is distinguished from canonical electron transfer flavoproteins (ETFs) by a second FAD that replaces the AMP of canonical ETF. We exploited near-UV–visible CD spectroscopy to resolve signals from the different flavin sites in FixAB and to interrogate the putative bifurcating FAD. CD aided in assigning the measured reduction midpoint potentials (E° values) to individual flavins, and the E° values tested the accepted model regarding the redox properties required for bifurcation. We found that the higher-E° flavin displays sequential one-electron (1-e−) reductions to anionic semiquinone and then to hydroquinone, consistent with the reactivity seen in canonical ETFs. In contrast, the lower-E° flavin displayed a single two-electron (2-e−) reduction without detectable accumulation of semiquinone, consistent with unstable semiquinone states, as required for bifurcation. This is the first demonstration that a FixAB protein possesses the thermodynamic prerequisites for bifurcating activity, and the separation of distinct optical signatures for the two flavins lays a foundation for mechanistic studies to learn how electron flow can be directed in a protein environment. We propose that a novel optical signal observed at long wavelength may reflect electron delocalization between the two flavins