Air Temperature and Diet are Not Associated with Oxygen Consumption Rate in Banded Crickets, Gryllodes sigillatus

All living organisms acclimate to their environments, with ectothermic species particularly susceptible to environmental change, specifically temperature. Ectothermic insects like crickets directly alter their physiological processes depending on the environment in which they live. Temperature is vital in regulating processes such as metabolism, respiration, and reproduction, among other things. What remains unclear is how a change in the environment, specifically extreme temperature change and dietary alterations, affects physiological processes. In this study, we performed experiments on ectothermic banded crickets to examine the effects of temperature change and the interaction of temperature and diet on oxygen consumption. For both experiments, we found no effect of temperature change or diet on oxygen consumption, and we were unable to correlate diet or temperature to oxygen consumption rate. We recommend more research to fully understand how temperature change and diet affect oxygen consumption rate

The Genome Sequences of Three Paraburkholderia sp. Strains Isolated from Wood-Decay Fungi Reveal Them as Novel Species with Antimicrobial Biosynthetic Potential.

Three strains of fungus-associated Burkholderiales bacteria with antagonistic activity against Gram-negative plant pathogens were genome sequenced to investigate their taxonomic placement and potential for antimicrobial specialized metabolite production. The selected strains were identified as novel taxa belonging to the genus Paraburkholderia and carry multiple biosynthetic gene clusters

Genome sequence of pluralibacter gergoviae ECO77, a unique multireplicon isolate of industrial origin

In order to expand the limited understanding of genomics of antimicrobial resistant industrial bacteria, we report the genome sequence of Pluralibacter gergoviae ECO77, a historical contaminant strain of industrial origin. The multi-replicon 6.16 Mbp genome of ECO77 consists of a main chromosome, one megaplasmid (605,666 bp) and large plasmid (182,007bp)

Novel application of metagenomics for the strain-level detection of 1 bacterial contaminants within non-sterile industrial products – a 2 retrospective, real-time analysis

The home and personal care (HPC) industry generally relies on initial cultivation and subsequent biochemical testing for the identification of microorganisms in contaminated products. This process is slow (several days for growth), labour intensive, and misses organisms which fail to revive from the harsh environment of preserved consumer products. Since manufacturing within the HPC industry is high-throughput, the process of identification of microbial contamination could benefit from the multiple cultivation-independent methodologies that have developed for the detection and analysis of microbes. We describe a novel workflow starting with automated DNA extraction directly from a HPC product, and subsequently applying metagenomic methodologies for species and strain-level identification of bacteria. The workflow was validated by application to a historic microbial contamination of a general-purpose cleaner (GPC). A single strain of Pseudomonas oleovorans was detected metagenomically within the product. The metagenome mirrored that of a contaminant isolated in parallel by a traditional cultivation-based approach. Using a dilution series of the incident sample, we also provide evidence to show that the workflow enables detection of contaminant organisms down to 100 CFU/ml of product. To our knowledge, this is the first validated example of metagenomics analysis providing confirmatory evidence of a traditionally isolated contaminant organism, in a HPC product

Scapular winging: anatomical review, diagnosis, and treatments

Scapular winging is a rare debilitating condition that leads to limited functional activity of the upper extremity. It is the result of numerous causes, including traumatic, iatrogenic, and idiopathic processes that most often result in nerve injury and paralysis of either the serratus anterior, trapezius, or rhomboid muscles. Diagnosis is easily made upon visible inspection of the scapula, with serratus anterior paralysis resulting in medial winging of the scapula. This is in contrast to the lateral winging generated by trapezius and rhomboid paralysis. Most cases of serratus anterior paralysis spontaneously resolve within 24 months, while conservative treatment of trapezius paralysis is less effective. A conservative course of treatment is usually followed for rhomboid paralysis. To allow time for spontaneous recovery, a 6–24 month course of conservative treatment is often recommended, after which if there is no recovery, patients become candidates for corrective surgery

The unfolded protein response in immunity and inflammation.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a highly conserved pathway that allows the cell to manage endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress that is imposed by the secretory demands associated with environmental forces. In this role, the UPR has increasingly been shown to have crucial functions in immunity and inflammation. In this Review, we discuss the importance of the UPR in the development, differentiation, function and survival of immune cells in meeting the needs of an immune response. In addition, we review current insights into how the UPR is involved in complex chronic inflammatory diseases and, through its role in immune regulation, antitumour responses.This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research Rubicon grant 825.13.012 (J.G.); US National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants DK044319, DK051362, DK053056 and DK088199, and the Harvard Digestive Diseases Center (HDDC) grant DK034854 (R.S.B.); National Institutes of Health grants DK042394, DK088227, DK103183 and CA128814 (R.J.K.); and European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant 260961, ERC Consolidator Grant 648889, and the Wellcome Trust Investigator award 106260/Z/14/Z (A.K.).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nri.2016.6

Everyday Nationalism:Constructivism for the Masses

Objective: We argue that the "everyday nationalism" approach is both useful and necessary for improving existing constructivist approaches in the comparative study of nationalism and ethnic politics. Methods: A meta-analysis of existing studies reveals pervasive conceptual and methodological problems of contemporary constructivist approaches. We consider the implications of replacing individuals or groups with ethnic or nationalist practices as units of analysis. Results: Everyday nationalism promises to address the gap between constructivist theory and the methodological individualism of existing studies. This approach proceeds from ethnographic observation and utilizes methods reliant on observing societal interaction or relational meaning making for verification. We illustrate such a research strategy using examples of nationalist legitimation in authoritarian regimes and the ethnicization of economic development. Conclusion: The everyday nationalism approach promises to overcome the shortcomings in much contemporary constructivist work. The potential for developing qualitative data sets of nationalist or ethnic practices further promises to complement constructivist insights.</p

The Genome Sequences of Three Paraburkholderia sp. Strains Isolated from Wood-Decay Fungi Reveal Them as Novel Species with Antimicrobial Biosynthetic Potential.

Three strains of fungus-associated Burkholderiales bacteria with antagonistic activity against Gram-negative plant pathogens were genome sequenced to investigate their taxonomic placement and potential for antimicrobial specialized metabolite production. The selected strains were identified as novel taxa belonging to the genus Paraburkholderia and carry multiple biosynthetic gene clusters

Novel application of metagenomics for the strain-level detection of bacterial contaminants within non-sterile industrial products – a retrospective, real-time analysis

The home and personal care (HPC) industry generally relies on initial cultivation and subsequent biochemical testing for the identification of microorganisms in contaminated products. This process is slow (several days for growth), labour intensive, and misses organisms which fail to revive from the harsh environment of preserved consumer products. Since manufacturing within the HPC industry is high-throughput, the process of identification of microbial contamination could benefit from the multiple cultivation-independent methodologies that have developed for the detection and analysis of microbes. We describe a novel workflow starting with automated DNA extraction directly from a HPC product, and subsequently applying metagenomic methodologies for species and strain-level identification of bacteria. The workflow was validated by application to a historic microbial contamination of a general-purpose cleaner (GPC). A single strain of Pseudomonas oleovorans was detected metagenomically within the product. The metagenome mirrored that of a contaminant isolated in parallel by a traditional cultivation-based approach. Using a dilution series of the incident sample, we also provide evidence to show that the workflow enables detection of contaminant organisms down to 100 CFU/ml of product. To our knowledge, this is the first validated example of metagenomics analysis providing confirmatory evidence of a traditionally isolated contaminant organism, in a HPC product.</jats:p

Genomics reveals the novel species placement of industrial contaminant isolates incorrectly identified as Burkholderia lata

The Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a closely related group of bacteria, composed of at least 20 different species, the accurate identification of which is essential in the context of infectious diseases. In industry, they can contaminate non-food products, including home and personal care products and cosmetics. The Bcc are problematic contaminants due to their ubiquitous presence and intrinsic antimicrobial resistance, which enables them to occasionally overcome preservation systems in non-sterile products. Burkholderia lata and Burkholderia contaminans are amongst the Bcc bacteria encountered most frequently as industrial contaminants, but their identification is not straightforward. Both species were historically established as a part of a group known collectively as taxon K, based upon analysis of the recA gene and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Here, we deploy a straightforward genomics-based workflow for accurate Bcc classification using average nucleotide identity (ANI) and core-gene analysis. The workflow was used to examine a panel of 23 Burkholderia taxon K industrial strains, which, based on MLST, comprised 13 B. lata, 4 B. contaminans and 6 unclassified Bcc strains. Our genomic identification showed that the B. contaminans strains retained their classification, whilst the remaining strains were reclassified as Burkholderia aenigmatica sp. nov. Incorrect taxonomic identification of industrial contaminants is a problematic issue. Application and testing of our genomic workflow allowed the correct classification of 23 Bcc industrial strains, and also indicated that B. aenigmatica sp. nov. may have greater importance than B. lata as a contaminant species. Our study illustrates how the non-food manufacturing industry can harness whole-genome sequencing to better understand antimicrobial-resistant bacteria affecting their products