Audit in Change: An Analysis of the EU Audit Reform on Statutory Audit for the Case of Germany

The purpose of this paper is to add knowledge to the understanding in which way the measures of the audit reform are in accordance with the EC’s intended objectives. This is examined for the case of Germany. The study further contributes to the program impact theory by applying this theory to a new research area

Intersectionality and Feminist Pedagogy: Lessons from Teaching about Racism and Economic Inequity

This paper utilizes Rochester, NY, as a case study to argue that approaching race intersectionally and across disciplines creates a stronger model of feminist pedagogy. It is based on our work in the classroom and on the Fisher Race Initiatives—a series of three interactive workshops we created on our campus to create change in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, MO, and in the subsequent rise of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Our goals were to promote dialogue on race, to expose participants to factual information on race, and to emphasize the intersectional causes of poverty in the Rochester region. We use the framework of Gunnar Myrdal’s vicious circle theory about the perpetual cycle of black poverty and white racism to present how racism engenders and promulgates economic inequity, and we describe that framework here in the context of the Rochester region. We look at historical and current examples in the housing and education markets as specific examples of institutionalized racism and how it perpetuates the cycle of poverty. We conclude our paper by reflecting on how this intersectional interdisciplinary approach provides valuable lessons for faculty and students on diminishing unaware/unintentional racism and white privilege and promoting a more equitable campus committed to social justice

Towards a mechanistic understanding of reciprocal drug-microbiome interactions.

Broad-spectrum antibiotics target multiple gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and can collaterally damage the gut microbiota. Yet, our knowledge of the extent of damage, the antibiotic activity spectra, and the resistance mechanisms of gut microbes is sparse. This limits our ability to mitigate microbiome-facilitated spread of antibiotic resistance. In addition to antibiotics, non-antibiotic drugs affect the human microbiome, as shown by metagenomics as well as in vitro studies. Microbiome-drug interactions are bidirectional, as microbes can also modulate drugs. Chemical modifications of antibiotics mostly function as antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, while metabolism of non-antibiotics can also change the drugs' pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic, and toxic properties. Recent studies have started to unravel the extensive capacity of gut microbes to metabolize drugs, the mechanisms, and the relevance of such events for drug treatment. These findings raise the question whether and to which degree these reciprocal drug-microbiome interactions will differ across individuals, and how to take them into account in drug discovery and precision medicine. This review describes recent developments in the field and discusses future study areas that will benefit from systems biology approaches to better understand the mechanistic role of the human gut microbiota in drug actions

Salmonella Typhimurium Strain ATCC14028 Requires H-2-Hydrogenases for Growth in the Gut, but Not at Systemic Sites

Salmonella enterica is a common cause of diarrhea. For eliciting disease, the pathogen has to colonize the gut lumen, a site colonized by the microbiota. This process/initial stage is incompletely understood. Recent work established that one particular strain, Salmonella enterica subspecies 1 serovar Typhimurium strain SL1344, employs the hyb H-2-hydrogenase for consuming microbiota-derived H-2 to support gut luminal pathogen growth: Protons from the H-2-splitting reaction contribute to the proton gradient across the outer bacterial membrane which can be harvested for ATP production or for import of carbon sources. However, it remained unclear, if other Salmonella strains would use the same strategy. In particular, earlier work had left unanswered if strain ATCC14028 might use H-2 for growth at systemic sites. To clarify the role of the hydrogenases, it seems important to establish if H-2 is used at systemic sites or in the gut and if Salmonella strains may differ with respect to the host sites where they require H-2 in vivo. In order to resolve this, we constructed a strain lacking all three H-2-hydrogenases of ATCC14028 (14028(hyd3)) and performed competitive infection experiments. Upon intragastric inoculation, 14028(hyd3) was present at 100-fold lower numbers than 14028(WT) in the stool and at systemic sites. In contrast, i.v. inoculation led to equivalent systemic loads of 14028(hyd3) and the wild type strain. However, the pathogen population spreading to the gut lumen featured again up to 100-fold attenuation of 14028(hyd3). Therefore, ATCC14028 requires H-2-hydrogenases for growth in the gut lumen and not at systemic sites. This extends previous work on ATCC14028 and supports the notion that H-2-utilization might be a general feature of S. Typhimurium gut colonization

Salmonella Typhimurium Strain ATCC14028 Requires H-2-Hydrogenases for Growth in the Gut, but Not at Systemic Sites

Salmonella enterica is a common cause of diarrhea. For eliciting disease, the pathogen has to colonize the gut lumen, a site colonized by the microbiota. This process/initial stage is incompletely understood. Recent work established that one particular strain, Salmonella enterica subspecies 1 serovar Typhimurium strain SL1344, employs the hyb H-2-hydrogenase for consuming microbiota-derived H-2 to support gut luminal pathogen growth: Protons from the H-2-splitting reaction contribute to the proton gradient across the outer bacterial membrane which can be harvested for ATP production or for import of carbon sources. However, it remained unclear, if other Salmonella strains would use the same strategy. In particular, earlier work had left unanswered if strain ATCC14028 might use H-2 for growth at systemic sites. To clarify the role of the hydrogenases, it seems important to establish if H-2 is used at systemic sites or in the gut and if Salmonella strains may differ with respect to the host sites where they require H-2 in vivo. In order to resolve this, we constructed a strain lacking all three H-2-hydrogenases of ATCC14028 (14028(hyd3)) and performed competitive infection experiments. Upon intragastric inoculation, 14028(hyd3) was present at 100-fold lower numbers than 14028(WT) in the stool and at systemic sites. In contrast, i.v. inoculation led to equivalent systemic loads of 14028(hyd3) and the wild type strain. However, the pathogen population spreading to the gut lumen featured again up to 100-fold attenuation of 14028(hyd3). Therefore, ATCC14028 requires H-2-hydrogenases for growth in the gut lumen and not at systemic sites. This extends previous work on ATCC14028 and supports the notion that H-2-utilization might be a general feature of S. Typhimurium gut colonization

Differences between kinematic synergies and muscle synergies during two-digit grasping

International audienceThe large number of mechanical degrees of freedom of the hand is not fully exploited during actual movements such as grasping. Usually, angular movements in various joints tend to be coupled, and EMG activities in different hand muscles tend to be correlated. The occurrence of covariation in the former was termed kinematic synergies, in the latter muscle synergies. This study addresses two questions: (i) Whether kinematic and muscle synergies can simultaneously accommodate for kinematic and kinetic constraints. (ii) If so, whether there is an interrelation between kinematic and muscle synergies. We used a reach-grasp-and-pull paradigm and recorded the hand kinematics as well as eight surface EMGs. Subjects had to either perform a precision grip or side grip and had to modify their grip force in order to displace an object against a low or high load. The analysis was subdivided into three epochs: reach, grasp-and-pull, and static hold. Principal component analysis (PCA, temporal or static) was performed separately for all three epochs, in the kinematic and in the EMG domain. PCA revealed that (i) Kinematic-and muscle-synergies can simultaneously accommodate kinematic (grip type) and kinetic task constraints (load condition). (ii) Upcoming grip and load conditions of the grasp are represented in kinematic-and muscle-synergies already during reach. Phase plane plots of the principal muscle-synergy against the principal kinematic synergy revealed (iii) that the muscle-synergy is linked (correlated, and in phase advance) to the kinematic synergy during reach and during grasp-and-pull. Furthermore (iv), pair-wise correlations of EMGs during hold suggest that muscle-synergies are (in part) implemented by coactivation of muscles through common input. Together, these results suggest that kinematic synergies have (at least in part) their origin not just in muscular activation, but in synergistic muscle activation. In short: kinematic synergies may result from muscle synergies