Functional Amyloids Composed of Phenol Soluble Modulins Stabilize Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen that colonizes the skin and mucosal surfaces of mammals. Persistent staphylococcal infections often involve surface-associated communities called biofilms. Here we report the discovery of a novel extracellular fibril structure that promotes S. aureus biofilm integrity. Biochemical and genetic analysis has revealed that these fibers have amyloid-like properties and consist of small peptides called phenol soluble modulins (PSMs). Mutants unable to produce PSMs were susceptible to biofilm disassembly by matrix degrading enzymes and mechanical stress. Previous work has associated PSMs with biofilm disassembly, and we present data showing that soluble PSM peptides disperse biofilms while polymerized peptides do not. This work suggests the PSMs' aggregation into amyloid fibers modulates their biological activity and role in biofilms

A qualitative analysis of relatives', health professionals' and service users' views on the involvement in care of relatives in Bipolar Disorder

Background: Relatives of people with bipolar disorder report that services do not meet their own needs, despite clinical recommendations for the development of care plans for relatives, provision of information regarding their statutory entitlements, and formal involvement in decision making meetings. Further, there is now conclusive evidence highlighting the benefits of relatives' involvement in improving outcomes for service users, relatives, and the health system as a whole. This qualitative study explored the views of relatives of people with bipolar disorder, service users and healthcare professionals regarding the barriers and the facilitators to relatives' involvement in care. Methods: Thirty five people were interviewed (12 relatives, 11 service users and 12 healthcare professionals). Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and common themes in participants' narratives emerged using framework analysis. Results: Participants' accounts confirmed the existence of opportunities for relatives to be involved. These, however, were limited and not always accessible. There were three factors identified that influenced accessibility namely: pre-existing worldviews, the quality of relationships and of communication between those involved, and specific structural impediments. Discussion: These themes are understood as intertwined and dependent on one another. People's thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, cultural identifications and worldviews often underlie the ways by which they communicate and the quality of their relationship. These, however, need to be conceptualised within operational frameworks and policy agendas in health settings that often limit bipolar relatives' accessibility to opportunities for being more formally involved. Conclusions: Involving relatives leads to clear benefits for relatives, service users, healthcare professionals, and the health system as a whole. Successful involvement of relatives, however, depends on a complex network of processes and interactions among all those involved and requires strategic planning from policy makers, operational plans and allocation of resources

Diagnostic ‘omics’ for active tuberculosis

The decision to treat active tuberculosis (TB) is dependent on microbiological tests for the organism or evidence of disease compatible with TB in people with a high demographic risk of exposure. The tuberculin skin test and peripheral blood interferon-γ release assays do not distinguish active TB from a cleared or latent infection. Microbiological culture of mycobacteria is slow. Moreover, the sensitivities of culture and microscopy for acid-fast bacilli and nucleic acid detection by PCR are often compromised by difficulty in obtaining samples from the site of disease. Consequently, we need sensitive and rapid tests for easily obtained clinical samples, which can be deployed to assess patients exposed to TB, discriminate TB from other infectious, inflammatory or autoimmune diseases, and to identify subclinical TB in HIV-1 infected patients prior to commencing antiretroviral therapy. We discuss the evaluation of peripheral blood transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics to develop the next generation of rapid diagnostics for active TB. We catalogue the studies published to date seeking to discriminate active TB from healthy volunteers, patients with latent infection and those with other diseases. We identify the limitations of these studies and the barriers to their adoption in clinical practice. In so doing, we aim to develop a framework to guide our approach to discovery and development of diagnostic biomarkers for active TB

A Journey from Innocence to Experience: Feminist Approach to Nagesh Kukunoor’s Film Lakshmi (2014)

Society has created some specific categorisations for women: sweet daughter, loving wife, and caring mother. If a woman does not fit into these predestined roles, she will be recognised as a monster. The patriarchal society has injected these notions into her from her early childhood. She has been treated as a profitable product and procreating machine, which is evident from the age-old dowry system. She has been called “item” sometimes, and society has normalised it by playing Bollywood item songs repeatedly. Even women do not object to it because it seems natural to them. Feminists argue that a woman’s body has been represented as seductive, procreative, material and sexual. In Nagesh Kukunoor’s film Lakshmi (2014), the materialistic image of a woman has been revealed through the acts of child trafficking and child prostitution. The protagonist has been named after the Hindu goddess, LAKSHMI. She is the goddess of wealth, love, beauty, joy and prosperity. An Indian woman has been called Lakshmilike when her behaviour appears docile and submissive. In this film, Lakshmi, a fourteen-year-old girl, has been sold off by her father to acquire Lakshmi, which is money! Society’s materialistic portrayal of women has merged both the goddess and a real woman. The purchaser has imposed prostitution upon the girl child forcefully. In 2012, the “Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012” was legislated to offer protection to children that may have suffered from sexual violence. In this film, the girl called Lakshmi did not remain silent about this abominable act. She protests and succeeds in shedding off her objective position and achieves the subjective status in punishing her perpetrators legally. Another victim, Jyothi, punishes the oppression of the patriarchal society by castrating one of its male agents, Chinna, at the end of the film. The patriarchal society strategically sets some features regarding an ideal woman: weak, sweet in nature, caring, gentle, and submissive, only to subjugate her and keep her in control. But in this film, society fails to control her innocence about its ideological tricks. She no longer becomes the object of the male gaze but achieves a life where she becomes the master of her own life. Her journey is from Object to Subject, from Innocence to Experience.  &nbsp

Assessment of Bacteriological and Physico-Chemical Parameters of Drinking Water to Check the Efficacy of Water Purifier Systems

Availability of safe drinking water is a prerequisite for survival and safeguard against various water-borne diseases. The study was carried out with an aim to check the efficacy of water purifier systems by assessing the bacteriological and physico-chemical parameters (temperature, turbidity, pH, TDS, chloride, total hardness, dissolved oxygen, and free CO2) in industrial RO water samples from various outlets at Maitreyi College and household RO and filtered water samples from two residential areas (Satya Niketan and Geeta Colony) located in Delhi, India. The results obtained were compared with the standard values set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for safe drinking water. Out of total 29 samples analyzed for various physico-chemical parameters, the values of most of the samples were found to be within permissible range. The values of some parameters for drinking water samples collected from filter and RO purifier installed at Geeta colony were above the maximum limit which can pose serious threats to health. The bacteriological examination was assessed by the Most Probable Number (MPN) test and the results of EMB agar plates showed that there is probability of presence of coliform bacteria in 3 samples. The results obtained signify that it is important to check the purity of drinking water at regular intervals irrespective of the fact that it is filtered. Also, it is imperative to ensure regular maintenance of purifier systems installed as they themselves might be the source of impurity.</jats:p