Virulence of an emerging respiratory pathogen, genus Pandoraea, in vivo and its interactions with lung epithelial cells

Pandoraea species have emerged as opportunistic pathogens among cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF patients. Pandoraea pulmonicola is the predominant Pandoraea species among Irish CF patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the pathogenicity and potential mechanisms of virulence of Irish P. pulmonicola isolates and strains from other Pandoraea species. Three patients from whom the P. pulmonicola isolates were isolated have since died. The in vivo virulence of these and other Pandoraea strains was examined by determining the ability to kill Galleria mellonella larvae. The P. pulmonicola strains generally were the most virulent of the species tested, with three showing a comparable or greater level of virulence in vivo relative to another CF pathogen, Burkholderia cenocepacia, whilst strains from two other species, Pandoraea apista and Pandoraea pnomenusa, were considerably less virulent. For all Pandoraea species, whole cells were required for larval killing, as cell-free supernatants had little effect on larval survival. Overall, invasive Pandoraea strains showed comparable invasion of two independent lung epithelial cell lines, irrespective of whether they had a CF phenotype. Pandoraea strains were also capable of translocation across polarized lung epithelial cell monolayers. Although protease secretion was a common characteristic across the genus, it is unlikely to be involved in pathogenesis. In conclusion, whilst multiple mechanisms of pathogenicity may exist across the genus Pandoraea, it appears that lung cell invasion and translocation contribute to the virulence of P. pulmonicola strains

Nutrient Intakes and Nutritional Status of Mothers and their Under-Five Children in a Rural Community of Oyo State, Nigeria

Malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa contributes to high rates of childhood morbidity and mortality which make it a public health concern in Africa. This study assessed the nutrient intakes and nutritional status of mothers and their under-five children in a rural community of Oyo State, Nigeria. A total of 500 households with a mother and child pair were sampled using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Information on household socio-economic status, hygiene practices, breastfeeding practices and clinical observation for signs of malnutrition were collected using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires by trained interviewers. Weight for age (WAZ), weight for height (WHZ), and height for age (HAZ) for underweight, wasting and stunting, respectively were calculated and assessed by Epi Info software using the NCHS/WHO international reference values. BMI (weight/height2) of mothers were also constructed from the measurements of mothers’ weights and heights. The waist/hip ratio of mothers was also determined. An interactive 24 h recall repeated for three days was used to obtain data on food and nutrient intakes of the women. Information on foods consumed was converted into quantitative data of nutrients using Food Composition Table. The result showed a high proportion (81%) of mothers ate three times daily while 14% ate twice and 5% ate more than thrice daily. The mean daily intakes of calcium, vitamins A, B6, B12, niacin, and folate were found to be inadequate compared with the Recommended Intakes. The WHR of the mothers indicated that majority had low risk. Most of the mothers (69.2%) were normal, underweight 9.6%, overweight 15.8% and obese 5.4%. About 37% of the children were stunted, 18% were underweight and 14.3% were wasted. BMI correlated negatively with age (r = -0.41; p <0.05), and positively with education (r = 0.22; p<0.05) and income (r = 0.45; p <0.05). Clinical observation revealed PEM prevalence in 12% children while eyes pallor and palm pallor were present in 15% and 20% respectively. The nutritional status of mothers and their under-five children is poor with respect to the overall food consumption and micronutrient intake. Consequently, nutrition programmes in this area should include effective measures to promote nutritional status of mothers and children

Technology usage and employee behaviour: controversies, complications, and implications in the Nigerian business environment

Organizations are among the key units of the society. An organization comprises of several people including employees. The behaviour of employees determines the performance and efficiency of the organization. Technology is an important factor that distinguishes one organization from the other. Employee’s acceptance, rejection, and adaptability to technology being used determine to a great extent how organizations will thrive in a business environment. The drive of technology usage is to ensure that work processes are made easier, faster and to improve the organization’s economic efficiency. In addition, technology usage greatly influences employee behaviour. The aim of this paper is to find out how technology usage affects employee behaviour and vice versa. It is important to understand that in order to improve employee’s usage of technology incorporated into the organization, individual behaviour of employees must be examined cum their attitude. The results of the study indicate that employee behaviour mainly affects technology usage, promotes individual learning, increases efficiency and effectiveness, and improves organizational performance. The paper therefore recommends periodic review of organizational policies and in addition, procure hardware and software to guide against hackers and scammers to avoid losing those important informatio

TIMP3 Is Reduced in Atherosclerotic Plaques From Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes and Increased by SirT1

Atherosclerosis is accelerated in subjects with type 2 diabetes by unknown mechanisms. We identified tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP3), the endogenous inhibitor of A disintegrin and metalloprotease domain 17 (ADAM17) and other matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), as a gene modifier for insulin resistance and vascular inflammation in mice. We tested its association with atherosclerosis in subjects with type 2 diabetes and identified Sirtuin 1 (SirT1) as a major regulator of TIMP3 expression

The Pathogenic Potential of Campylobacter concisus Strains Associated with Chronic Intestinal Diseases

Campylobacter concisus has garnered increasing attention due to its association with intestinal disease, thus, the pathogenic potential of strains isolated from different intestinal diseases was investigated. A method to isolate C. concisus was developed and the ability of eight strains from chronic and acute intestinal diseases to adhere to and invade intestinal epithelial cells was determined. Features associated with bacterial invasion were investigated using comparative genomic analyses and the effect of C. concisus on host protein expression was examined using proteomics. Our isolation method from intestinal biopsies resulted in the isolation of three C. concisus strains from children with Crohn's disease or chronic gastroenteritis. Four C. concisus strains from patients with chronic intestinal diseases can attach to and invade host cells using mechanisms such as chemoattraction to mucin, aggregation, flagellum-mediated attachment, “membrane ruffling”, cell penetration and damage. C. concisus strains isolated from patients with chronic intestinal diseases have significantly higher invasive potential than those from acute intestinal diseases. Investigation of the cause of this increased pathogenic potential revealed a plasmid to be responsible. 78 and 47 proteins were upregulated and downregulated in cells infected with C. concisus, respectively. Functional analysis of these proteins showed that C. concisus infection regulated processes related to interleukin-12 production, proteasome activation and NF-κB activation. Infection with all eight C. concisus strains resulted in host cells producing high levels of interleukin-12, however, only strains capable of invading host cells resulted in interferon-γ production as confirmed by ELISA. These findings considerably support the emergence of C. concisus as an intestinal pathogen, but more significantly, provide novel insights into the host immune response and an explanation for the heterogeneity observed in the outcome of C. concisus infection. Moreover, response to infection with invasive strains has substantial similarities to that observed in the inflamed mucosa of Crohn's disease patients

AAV Exploits Subcellular Stress Associated with Inflammation, Endoplasmic Reticulum Expansion, and Misfolded Proteins in Models of Cystic Fibrosis

Barriers to infection act at multiple levels to prevent viruses, bacteria, and parasites from commandeering host cells for their own purposes. An intriguing hypothesis is that if a cell experiences stress, such as that elicited by inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) expansion, or misfolded proteins, then subcellular barriers will be less effective at preventing viral infection. Here we have used models of cystic fibrosis (CF) to test whether subcellular stress increases susceptibility to adeno-associated virus (AAV) infection. In human airway epithelium cultured at an air/liquid interface, physiological conditions of subcellular stress and ER expansion were mimicked using supernatant from mucopurulent material derived from CF lungs. Using this inflammatory stimulus to recapitulate stress found in diseased airways, we demonstrated that AAV infection was significantly enhanced. Since over 90% of CF cases are associated with a misfolded variant of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (ΔF508-CFTR), we then explored whether the presence of misfolded proteins could independently increase susceptibility to AAV infection. In these models, AAV was an order of magnitude more efficient at transducing cells expressing ΔF508-CFTR than in cells expressing wild-type CFTR. Rescue of misfolded ΔF508-CFTR under low temperature conditions restored viral transduction efficiency to that demonstrated in controls, suggesting effects related to protein misfolding were responsible for increasing susceptibility to infection. By testing other CFTR mutants, G551D, D572N, and 1410X, we have shown this phenomenon is common to other misfolded proteins and not related to loss of CFTR activity. The presence of misfolded proteins did not affect cell surface attachment of virus or influence expression levels from promoter transgene cassettes in plasmid transfection studies, indicating exploitation occurs at the level of virion trafficking or processing. Thus, we surmised that factors enlisted to process misfolded proteins such as ΔF508-CFTR in the secretory pathway also act to restrict viral infection. In line with this hypothesis, we found that AAV trafficked to the microtubule organizing center and localized near Golgi/ER transport proteins. Moreover, AAV infection efficiency could be modulated with siRNA-mediated knockdown of proteins involved in processing ΔF508-CFTR or sorting retrograde cargo from the Golgi and ER (calnexin, KDEL-R, β-COP, and PSMB3). In summary, our data support a model where AAV exploits a compromised secretory system and, importantly, underscore the gravity with which a stressed subcellular environment, under internal or external insults, can impact infection efficiency

Awareness and Use of Online Public Access Catalogue by Students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

This study investigated the awareness and use of Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) by students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. A questionnaire was distributed to 800 students at various faculties and in different levels of studies in August 2012. Five hundred and twenty copies of the questionnaire was retrieved and used for the study. The study revealed that 68.7 % of the respondents were aware of the OPAC services; students who were aware of the library OPAC and did not use it to access library resources were statistically significant (x2 =82.073; df =2; α = 0.001); 23.8% of the respondents used OPAC independently; only 3.2% of the respondents accessed library resources from their hostels, 0.2% access it from homes. Similarly, majority of the respondents lacked information searching skills while lack of awareness, irregular power supply, network failure and inadequacy of computer terminals designated for the use of OPAC were among the problems identified as factors inhibiting the use of library OPAC. Therefore, the study concludes that majority of the students used manual catalogues to access library resources due to lack of awareness, skills to use OPAC and problems encountered during usage. Hence, students have not been making effective and efficient use of the library OPAC. Therefore, we recommend that the Library should create more awareness and effective education for students at various levels to ensure maximum utilization of library resources

A comparative analysis of information acquisition, information management capacity and administrators' decision-making effectiveness in tertiary institutions in South-Western Nigeria

The study was motivated by the information related problems commonly observed in the administration of Nigerian tertiary institutions. The study investigated the levels of information acquisition, information management capacity and decision-making effectiveness of administrators in 14 tertiary institutions in three out of six states of South-Western Nigeria. It also compared the levels of these three variables among the three types of tertiary institutions – universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. A survey research design was adopted, and a random sample of 1,357 or 75% of a total population of 1,799 administrators in the sampled institutions participated in the study. A Likert-type questionnaire was used to collect data. Findings revealed that although the levels of information acquisition, information management capacity and decision-making effectiveness were rated very high, there were significant differences among the three types of tertiary institutions. Institutions that used computers mostly in processing and storage showed higher scores on the three variables than those which used less of computers. Furthermore, communication and processing facilities were grossly inadequate and methods of processing and storage of information were mostly manual. The study recommends that tertiary institutions should improve their communication facilities as well as modernise their methods of storage and processing of information by computerising their management information systems. West African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science Vol. 16(2) 2006: 89-9