Identification of Secreted Exoproteome Fingerprints of Highly-Virulent and Non-Virulent Staphylococcus aureus Strains

Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal inhabitant of skin and mucous membranes in nose vestibule but also an important opportunistic pathogen of humans and livestock. The extracellular proteome as a whole constitutes its major virulence determinant; however, the involvement of particular proteins is still relatively poorly understood. In this study, we compared the extracellular proteomes of poultry-derived S. aureus strains exhibiting a virulent (VIR) and non-virulent (NVIR) phenotype in a chicken embryo experimental infection model with the aim to identify proteomic signatures associated with the particular phenotypes. Despite significant heterogeneity within the analyzed proteomes, we identified alpha-haemolysin and bifunctional autolysin as indicators of virulence, whereas glutamylendopeptidase production was characteristic for non-virulent strains.Staphopain C (StpC) was identified in both the VIR and NVIR proteomes and the latter fact contradicted previous findings suggesting its involvement in virulence. By supplementing NVIR, StpC-negative strains with StpC and comparing the virulence of parental and supplemented strains, we demonstrated that staphopain C alone does not affect staphylococcal virulence in a chicken embryo model

Neel probability and spin correlations in some nonmagnetic and nondegenerate states of hexanuclear antiferromagnetic ring Fe6: Application of algebraic combinatorics to finite Heisenberg spin systems

The spin correlations \omega^z_r, r=1,2,3, and the probability p_N$ of finding a system in the Neel state for the antiferromagnetic ring Fe(III)6 (the so-called `small ferric wheel') are calculated. States with magnetization M=0, total spin 0<=S<=15 and labeled by two (out of four) one-dimensional irreducible representations (irreps) of the point symmetry group D_6 are taken into account. This choice follows from importance of these irreps in analyzing low-lying states in each S-multiplet. Taking into account the Clebsch--Gordan coefficients for coupling total spins of sublattices (SA=SB=15/2) the global Neel probability p*_N can be determined. Dependencies of these quantities on state energy (per bond and in the units of exchange integral J) and the total spin S are analyzed. Providing we have determined p_N(S) etc. for other antiferromagnetic rings (Fe10, for instance) we could try to approximate results for the largest synthesized ferric wheel Fe18. Since thermodynamic properties of Fe6 have been investigated recently, in the present considerations they are not discussed, but only used to verify obtained values of eigenenergies. Numerical results re calculated with high precision using two main tools: (i) thorough analysis of symmetry properties including methods of algebraic combinatorics and (ii) multiple precision arithmetic library GMP. The system considered yields more than 45 thousands basic states (the so-called Ising configurations), but application of the method proposed reduces this problem to 20-dimensional eigenproblem for the ground state (S=0). The largest eigenproblem has to be solved for S=4; its dimension is 60. These two facts (high precision and small resultant eigenproblems) confirm efficiency and usefulness of such an approach, so it is briefly discussed here.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figs, 5 tabs, revtex

Analysis of Using Multi-Angle Conventional Ultrasound Scanning for Efficient 3-D Object Imaging

The purpose of this work is to examine the possibility of using multi-angle conventional ultrasound B-mode scanning in efficient 3-D imaging. In the paper, the volume of an object is reconstructed from vertical projections registered at fixed angular positions of the multi-element linear ultrasonic probe rotated in relation to the object submerged in water. The possible configurations are: vertical lateral, vertical top or vertical bottom. In the vertical lateral configuration, the ultrasonic probe acquires 2-D images of object’s vertical cross-sections, turning around its lateral surface. In the vertical top or bottom configuration, the ultrasonic probe acquires 2-D images of the object’s vertical cross-sections, turning on the horizontal plane over the top or under the bottom surface of the object. The method of recording 3-D volume of an object’s structure and reconstruction algorithm have been designed. Studies show the method in the vertical top or bottom configuration could be successfully applied to the effective 3-D visualisation of the structure of the female breast in vivo as the new complement ultrasonic imaging modality in the prototype of the developed ultrasound tomography scanner

Zadowolenie z życia i motywy podejmowania wysiłku fizycznego przez kobiety w wieku 50–55 lat aktywne w klubie fitness

Cel: Systematycznie podejmowany wysiłek fizyczny stanowi jeden ze sposobów przeciwdziałania negatywnym skutkom cywilizacji i nasilającym się z upływem lat zmianom inwolucyjnym. Rekreacyjny, określany mianem zdrowego styl życia, w którym aktywność fizyczna stanowi intergralny element, jest coraz bardziej popularną i pożądaną wartością dla współczesnych społeczeństw. Cel pracy stanowiła ocena zadowolenia z życia i analiza motywów podejmowania aktywności fizycznej przez klientki klubu fitness w wieku 50-55 lat.Materiał i metody: Sondażem diagnostycznym objęto 60 kobiet w wieku 50-55 lat, w tym 30 aktywnych fizycznie, uczęszczających na zajęcia oferowane przez studio fitness FIT HOUSE w Rzeszowie (grupa I) i 30 niepodejmujących regularnej aktywności fizycznej (grupa II). Do analizy wyników wykorzystano testy: Chi-kwadrat Pearsona (χ2) i U Manna-Whitney’a.Wyniki: Kobiety aktywne w klubie fitness częściej deklarowały zadowolenie z własnego życia (p<0,001), wyglądu (p<0,001) i kontaktów towarzyskich (p=0,034). Stwierdzono, że 70% respondentek z grupy I podejmowało wysiłek fizyczny z uwagi na chęć poprawy sprawności fizycznej a 63% grupy w celu poprawy sylwetki.Wnioski: Uczestnictwo w zajęciach fitness warunkuje stopień zadowolenia z własnego życia, wyglądu zewnętrznego i kontaktów towarzyskich kobiet w wieku 50-55 lat. Głównym motywem podejmowania wysiłku fizycznego w klubie fitness jest chęć poprawy sprawności fizycznej i uzyskania zgrabnej sylwetki.Aim of the study: Regular physical activity is one of the ways to prevent the negative effects of civilization and age-related involutiory changes. Recreational, referred to as an healthy lifestyle, in which physical activity is an integral element, is increasingly popular and desirable value for the modern society. The aim of this study was evaluation of life satisfaction and analysis motives of taking physical activity by fitness center clients aged 50-55.Material and methods: The study involving the method of diagnostic survey included 60 women aged 20-30, including 30 physically active, taking part in the classes offered by FIT HOUSE fitness club in Rzeszow (I group) and 30 who did not regularly participate in any physical exercises (II group). The collected research results were analyzed with the use of a non-parametric test of independence Chi-square (χ2 ) and Mann-Whitney U test.Results: Women working out in fitness club have more often declared their life satisfaction (p<0,001), satisfaction with own appearance (p<0,001) and relationships (p=0,034). We found that 70% of respondents from the first group were taking part in physical exercises due to a desire of improve the physical ability and 63% of group, in order to improve their silhouette.Conclusions: Participation in fitness clasess determines the degree of life satisfaction, apperance and social contacts of women aged 50-55. The main motive of physical effort in the fitness club is desire to improve physical efficiency and slim silhouette

Identification of infants with increased type 1 diabetes genetic risk for enrollment into Primary Prevention Trials-GPPAD-02 study design and first results

Primary prevention of type 1 diabetes (T1D) requires intervention in genetically at-risk infants. The Global Platform for the Prevention of Autoimmune Diabetes (GPPAD) has established a screening program, GPPAD-02, that identifies infants with a genetic high risk of T1D, enrolls these into primary prevention trials, and follows the children for beta-cell autoantibodies and diabetes. Genetic testing is offered either at delivery, together with the regular newborn testing, or at a newborn health care visits before the age of 5 months in regions of Germany (Bavaria, Saxony, Lower Saxony), UK (Oxford), Poland (Warsaw), Belgium (Leuven), and Sweden (Region Skåne). Seven clinical centers will screen around 330 000 infants. Using a genetic score based on 46 T1D susceptibility single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or three SNPS and a first-degree family history for T1D, infants with a high (>10%) genetic risk for developing multiple beta-cell autoantibodies by the age of 6 years are identified. Screening from October 2017 to December 2018 was performed in 50 669 infants. The prevalence of high genetic risk for T1D in these infants was 1.1%. Infants with high genetic risk for T1D are followed up and offered to participate in a randomized controlled trial aiming to prevent beta-cell autoimmunity and T1D by tolerance induction with oral insulin. The GPPAD-02 study provides a unique path to primary prevention of beta-cell autoimmunity in the general population. The eventual benefit to the community, if successful, will be a reduction in the number of children developing beta-cell autoimmunity and T1D.status: publishe