Gender influences bacterial contamination of reusable cleanroom operators’ garments following wear.

Background: Operators are the primary source of cleanroom contamination, with the majority of their detritus identified as skin squames and their associated microorganisms. To reduce contamination, operatives are required to wear a specific arrangement of specialist garments. However, bacteria can evade this clothing and tarnish outer surfaces whilst operators work, with adverse implication for cleanroom environment and product sterility. Gender plays a significant role in bacterial dispersion, with male rates being in excess of female counterparts. Currently there is a lack of published literature evaluating the effect of gender on contamination of cleanroom garments. Such information would assist cleanroom facilities to more robustly assess and mitigate operator-associated contamination risks. Aim: To compare bacterial contamination on the surface of cleanroom operators’ garments, specifically with respect to gender. Method: Levels of bacteria on garments worn by male and female operators working under two conditions (30 minutes: Grade A/B cleanroom and 60 minutes: Grade C cleanroom) were compared. Immediately following the operators’ exit from the cleanroom, a direct agar contact method was undertaken at several sites on the surface of their garments. Findings: Bacteria were recovered from the surface of garments worn by both genders. Bacterial levels on garments worn by male operators were almost always in excess of those worn by females at all sites tested (Percentage of plates displaying growth: Grade A/B – 83.9%/63.3% and Grade C – 86.1%/70.1%, respectively) [*p[less than]0.05]. Regardless of gender, bacterial levels at the chest and posterior cervicis region of suits were reduced with the donning of a hood, covering the head. Conclusions: Gender plays a significant role in bacterial contamination of cleanroom garment surfaces, with bacteria on the surface of clothing worn by males being in excess of that on garments worn by female counterparts. In addition, the donning of a hood reduces bacterial numbers on suits. These findings add to the limited body of knowledge examining bacterial contamination of cleanroom garments and contribute towards understanding operator-associated contamination risks within cleanroom facilities

Genome-Wide Association Study for Maize Leaf Cuticular Conductance Identifies Candidate Genes Involved in the Regulation of Cuticle Development.

The cuticle, a hydrophobic layer of cutin and waxes synthesized by plant epidermal cells, is the major barrier to water loss when stomata are closed at night and under water-limited conditions. Elucidating the genetic architecture of natural variation for leaf cuticular conductance (g c) is important for identifying genes relevant to improving crop productivity in drought-prone environments. To this end, we conducted a genome-wide association study of g c of adult leaves in a maize inbred association panel that was evaluated in four environments (Maricopa, AZ, and San Diego, CA, in 2016 and 2017). Five genomic regions significantly associated with g c were resolved to seven plausible candidate genes (ISTL1, two SEC14 homologs, cyclase-associated protein, a CER7 homolog, GDSL lipase, and β-D-XYLOSIDASE 4). These candidates are potentially involved in cuticle biosynthesis, trafficking and deposition of cuticle lipids, cutin polymerization, and cell wall modification. Laser microdissection RNA sequencing revealed that all these candidate genes, with the exception of the CER7 homolog, were expressed in the zone of the expanding adult maize leaf where cuticle maturation occurs. With direct application to genetic improvement, moderately high average predictive abilities were observed for whole-genome prediction of g c in locations (0.46 and 0.45) and across all environments (0.52). The findings of this study provide novel insights into the genetic control of g c and have the potential to help breeders more effectively develop drought-tolerant maize for target environments

Deep Ancestry of Programmed Genome Rearrangement in Lampreys

In most multicellular organisms, the structure and content of the genome is rigorously maintained over the course of development. However some species have evolved genome biologies that permit, or require, developmentally regulated changes in the physical structure and content of the genome (programmed genome rearrangement: PGR). Relatively few vertebrates are known to undergo PGR, although all agnathans surveyed to date (several hagfish and one lamprey: Petromyzon marinus) show evidence of large scale PGR. To further resolve the ancestry of PGR within vertebrates, we developed probes that allow simultaneous tracking of nearly all sequences eliminated by PGR in P. marinus and a second lamprey species (Entosphenus tridentatus). These comparative analyses reveal conserved subcellular structures (lagging chromatin and micronuclei) associated with PGR and provide the first comparative embryological evidence in support of the idea that PGR represents an ancient and evolutionarily stable strategy for regulating inherent developmental/genetic conflicts between germline and soma

The influence of membrane physical properties on microvesicle release in human erythrocytes

Exposure of human erythrocytes to elevated intracellular calcium causes fragments of the cell membrane to be shed as microvesicles. This study tested the hypothesis that microvesicle release depends on microscopic membrane physical properties such as lipid order, fluidity, and composition. Membrane properties were manipulated by varying the experimental temperature, membrane cholesterol content, and the activity of the trans-membrane phospholipid transporter, scramblase. Microvesicle release was enhanced by increasing the experimental temperature. Reduction in membrane cholesterol content by treatment with methyl-β-cyclodextrin also facilitated vesicle shedding. Inhibition of scramblase with R5421 impaired vesicle release. These data were interpreted in the context of membrane characteristics assessed previously by fluorescence spectroscopy with environment-sensitive probes such as laurdan, diphenylhexatriene, and merocyanine 540. The observations supported the following conclusions: 1) calcium-induced microvesicle shedding in erythrocytes relates more to membrane properties detected by diphenylhexatriene than by the other probes; 2) loss of trans-membrane phospholipid asymmetry is required for microvesicle release

Modeling Kelvin wave cascades in superfluid helium

We study two different types of simplified models for Kelvin wave turbulence on quantized vortex lines in superfluids near zero temperature. Our first model is obtained from a truncated expansion of the Local Induction Approximation (Truncated-LIA) and it is shown to possess the same scalings and the essential behaviour as the full Biot-Savart model, being much simpler than the later and, therefore, more amenable to theoretical and numerical investigations. The Truncated-LIA model supports six-wave interactions and dual cascades, which are clearly demonstrated via the direct numerical simulation of this model in the present paper. In particular, our simulations confirm presence of the weak turbulence regime and the theoretically predicted spectra for the direct energy cascade and the inverse wave action cascade. The second type of model we study, the Differential Approximation Model (DAM), takes a further drastic simplification by assuming locality of interactions in k-space via using a differential closure that preserves the main scalings of the Kelvin wave dynamics. DAMs are even more amenable to study and they form a useful tool by providing simple analytical solutions in the cases when extra physical effects are present, e.g. forcing by reconnections, friction dissipation and phonon radiation. We study these models numerically and test their theoretical predictions, in particular the formation of the stationary spectra, and closeness of numerics for the higher-order DAM to the analytical predictions for the lower-order DAM

Ab-initio calculation of Kerr spectra for semi-infinite systems including multiple reflections and optical interferences

Based on Luttinger's formulation the complex optical conductivity tensor is calculated within the framework of the spin-polarized relativistic screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method for layered systems by means of a contour integration technique. For polar geometry and normal incidence ab-initio Kerr spectra of multilayer systems are then obtained by including via a 2x2 matrix technique all multiple reflections between layers and optical interferences in the layers. Applications to Co|Pt5 and Pt3|Co|Pt5 on the top of a semi-infinite fcc-Pt(111) bulk substrate show good qualitative agreement with the experimental spectra, but differ from those obtained by applying the commonly used two-media approach.Comment: 32 pages (LaTeX), 5 figures (Encapsulated PostScript), submitted to Phys. Rev.

Effect of kidney donation on bone mineral metabolism.

Kidney donation results in reductions in kidney function and lasting perturbations in phosphate homeostasis, which may lead to adverse cardiovascular sequelae. However, the acute effects of kidney donation on bone mineral parameters including regulators of calcium and phosphate metabolism are unknown. We conducted a prospective observational controlled study to determine the acute effects of kidney donation on mineral metabolism and skeletal health. Biochemical endpoints were determined before and after donation on days 1, 2 and 3, 6 weeks and 12 months in donors and at baseline, 6 weeks and 12 months in controls. Baseline characteristic of donors (n = 34) and controls (n = 34) were similar: age (53±10 vs 50±14 years, p = 0.33), BMI (26.3±2.89 vs 25.9±3.65, p = 0.59), systolic BP (128±13 vs 130±6 mmHg, p = 0.59), diastolic BP (80±9 vs 81±9 mmHg, p = 0.68) and baseline GFR (84.4±20.2 vs 83.6±25.2 ml/min/1.73m2, p = 0.89). eGFR reduced from 84.4±20.2 to 52.3±17.5 ml/min/1.73m2 (p<0.001) by day 1 with incomplete recovery by 12 months (67.7±22.6; p = 0.002). Phosphate increased by day 1 (1.1(0.9-1.2) to 1.3(1.1-1.4) mmol/L, p <0.001) but declined to 0.8(0.8-1.0) mmol/L (p<0.001) before normalizing by 6 weeks. Calcium declined on day 1 (p = 0.003) but recovered at 6 weeks or 12 months. PTH and FGF-23 remained unchanged, but α-Klotho reduced by day 1 (p = 0.001) and remained low at 6 weeks (p = 0.02) and 1 year (p = 0.04). In this study, we conclude that kidney donation results in acute disturbances in mineral metabolism characterised by a reduced phosphate and circulating α-Klotho concentration without acute changes in the phosphaturic hormones FGF23 and PTH