Risk factors for otitis media and carriage of multiple strains of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

We studied genetic diversity in Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in throat culture isolates from 38 children attending two day-care centers in Michigan. Culture specimens were collected weekly; 184 S. pneumoniae and 418 H. influenzae were isolated from the cultures. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis identified 29 patterns among the S. pneumoniae isolates and 87 among the H. influenzae isolates. Of the cultures, 5% contained multiple genetic types of S. pneumoniae, and 43% contained multiple types of H. influenzae. Carriage of multiple H. influenzae isolates, which was associated with exposure to smoking, history of allergies, and age 36 to 47 months, may increase risk for otitis media in children

The location routing problem with facility sizing decisions

The location routing problem (LRP) integrates operational decisions on vehicle routing operations with strategic decisions on the location of the facilities or depots from which the distribution will take place. In other words, it combines the well-known vehicle routing problem (VRP) with the facility location problem (FLP). Hence, the LRP is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem, which justifies the use of metaheuristic approaches whenever large-scale instances need to be solved. In this paper, we explore a realistic version of the LRP in which facilities of different capacities are considered, i.e., the manager has to consider not only the location but also the size of the facilities to open. In order to tackle this optimization problem, three mixed-integer linear formulations are proposed and compared. As expected, they have been proved to be cost- and time- inefficient. Hence, a biased-randomized iterated local search algorithm is proposed. Classical instances for the LRP with homogeneous facilities are naturally extended to test the performance of our approach.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Isolation and characterization of the full-length cDNA encoding a member of a novel cytochrome p450 family (CYP320A1) from the tropical freshwater snail, Biomphalaria glabrata, intermediate host for Schistosoma mansoni

Cytochrome p450s (cyp450s) are a family of structurally related proteins, with diverse functions, including steroid synthesis and breakdown of toxins. This paper reports the full-length sequence of a novel cyp450 gene, the first to be isolated from the tropical freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata, an important intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni. The nucleotide sequence is 2291 bp with a predicted amino acid sequence of 584aa. The sequence demonstrates conserved cyp450 structural motifs, but is sufficiently different from previously reported cyp450 sequences to be given a new classification, CYP320A1. Initially identified as down-regulated in partially resistant snails in response to S. mansoni infection, amplification of this gene using RT-PCR in both totally resistant or susceptible snail lines when exposed to infection, and all tissues examined, suggests ubiquitous expression. Characterization of the first cyp450 from B. glabrata is significant in understanding the evolution of these metabolically important proteins

Using 10Be cosmogenic surface exposure dating to determine the evolution of the Purgatorio active fault in the Andean forearc, southern Peru

Active transpressive deformation has been occurring along the Andean hyperarid forearc for the last 3 Myrs but many of these faults are still not described even if able to produce large damaging earthquakes. Active faulting along the northern part of the Arica Bend can be recognized due to the presence of well-preserved and sharp fault scarps indicating recent surface slip. During the Mio-Pliocene, deposition within the forearc continental basins resulted in the formation of vast fan deposits and conglomerates of the Moquegua Formation, which can be considered as bedrock in this exposure study (~45-4 Ma; Tosdal et al., 1984; Sebrier et al., 1988a; Roperch et al., 2006). The typical vertical Purgatorio fault scarps offset both the Moquegua bedrock and several younger geomorphic features associated with <300kyrs climatic and 400 years old volcanic extreme events. This study focus on quantifying slip rate variations in time along a 5-meters high vertical fault scarp to understand how the fault is evolving. These results are achieved via surface exposure dating of the sampled seismically broken cobbolds of the Moquegua formation outcroping vertically along the fault scarp. These samples are well-suited to the application of in situ produced cosmogenic radionuclides for surface exposure dating, as the hyperarid region has extremely low erosion rates. We sampled the scarp away from any significant drainage so as to avoid possibly disturbed areas. The sampling did involve extracting quarzite conglomeratic material along the bedrock scarp and on the upper surrounding crests. The aim has been to measure Berylium-20 TCN (Terrestrial in situ Cosmogenic Nuclides) concentrations to determine exposure age as a function of height on the scarp. This has been successfully employed on one scarp in Italy based on Chlorine-36 TCN (Palumbo et al., 2004). However, slow faults behaviour remains unclear and more contributions are needed. Quaternary activity of the Purgatorio fault system was evidenced by Hall et al. (2008). They highlighted a vertical offset of about ~100 m for a pediment surface intercepted by the fault, and dated at ~280 ka. Considering that the pediment surface is horizontal, this would gave a maximum of ~0.3 mm/yr of vertical deformation since 280 ka. Our new data provide evidences of constant activity of the fault during the Holocene with a mean vertical motion of 2 ± 1 mm/ yr. These news results strengthen the idea that the Andean forearc is still submitted to contratile deformation, bring additional knowledge on the structural model of the area, and raise the question of the local seismological hazard

The Impact of Attenuated Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) Vaccine on the Efficacy of Subunit Classical Swine Fever Vaccine

Commercial pigs have been routinely injected with multiple vaccines that are either administered separately or co-administered at the same time for convenience, and to minimize pig stress. However, viruses, including attenuated and modified live virus (MLV) vaccines, can modulate host immune responses that could potentially impact the efficacy of co-administered vaccines. Here we report the effects of pre- and co-administered Chinese highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus MLV, JXA1-R, on the efficacy of an emulsion-based classical swine fever virus (CSFV) subunit vaccine, KNB-E2. Immune responses to the CSFV and JXA1-R vaccines were evaluated by testing CSFV-specific and PRRSV-specific sera antibodies and then challenged with CSFV at 4 weeks post KNB-E2 vaccination. Pigs co-administered with JXA1-R vaccine and pigs vaccinated with JXA1-R two weeks before KNB-E2 vaccination had slightly lower CSFV-specific antibodies than pigs vaccinated with KNB-E2 alone at 3 weeks post KNB-E2 vaccination. However, both groups of JXA1-R/KNB-E2 vaccinated pigs were amply protected from CSF clinical symptoms upon challenge. The immunological responses affected by various multiple vaccination combinations in swine would be an interesting aspect for future investiga­tions

Solving the random diffusion model in an infinite medium: A mean square approach

[EN] This paper deals with the construction of an analytic-numerical mean square solution of the random diffusion model in an infinite medium. The well-known Fourier transform method, which is used to solve this problem in the deterministic case, is extended to the random framework. Mean square operational rules to the Fourier transform of a stochastic process are developed and stated. The main statistical moments of the stochastic process solution are also computed. Finally, some illustrative numerical examples are included.This work has been partially supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad grant: DPI2010-20891-c0-01, and Universitat Politecnica de Valencia grant: PAID06-11-2070.Casabán, M.; Company Rossi, R.; Cortés, J.; Jódar Sánchez, LA. (2014). Solving the random diffusion model in an infinite medium: A mean square approach. Applied Mathematical Modelling. 38(24):5922-5933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apm.2014.04.063S59225933382

The PPARγ Agonist Pioglitazone Fails to Alter the Abuse Potential of Heroin, But Does Reduce Heroin Craving and Anxiety

Possibly through its effects on glia, the peroxisome proliferator-activated gamma receptor (PPARγ) agonist pioglitazone (PIO) has been shown to alter the effects of heroin in preclinical models. Until now, these results have not been assessed in humans. Heroin-dependent participants were randomized to either active (45&nbsp;mg, n&nbsp;=&nbsp;14) or placebo (0&nbsp;mg, n&nbsp;=&nbsp;16) PIO maintenance for the duration of the three-week study. After stabilization on buprenorphine (8&nbsp;mg), participants began a two-week testing period. On the first to fourth test days, participants could self-administer drug or money by making verbal choices for either option. On the fifth day, active heroin and money were administered and participants could work to receive heroin or money using a progressive ratio choice procedure. Test days 6–10 were identical to test days 1–5 with the exception that, during one of the test weeks, placebo was available on the first four&nbsp;days, and during the other week heroin was available. PIO failed to alter the reinforcing or positive subjective effects of heroin, but it did reduce heroin craving and overall anxiety. Although we were unable to replicate the robust effects found in preclinical models, these data provide an indication of drug effects that deserves further exploration

Transcriptomic analysis of field-droughted sorghum from seedling to maturity reveals biotic and metabolic responses.

Drought is the most important environmental stress limiting crop yields. The C4 cereal sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a critical food, forage, and emerging bioenergy crop that is notably drought-tolerant. We conducted a large-scale field experiment, imposing preflowering and postflowering drought stress on 2 genotypes of sorghum across a tightly resolved time series, from plant emergence to postanthesis, resulting in a dataset of nearly 400 transcriptomes. We observed a fast and global transcriptomic response in leaf and root tissues with clear temporal patterns, including modulation of well-known drought pathways. We also identified genotypic differences in core photosynthesis and reactive oxygen species scavenging pathways, highlighting possible mechanisms of drought tolerance and of the delayed senescence, characteristic of the stay-green phenotype. Finally, we discovered a large-scale depletion in the expression of genes critical to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, with a corresponding drop in AM fungal mass in the plants' roots