Gene duplication and deletion, not horizontal transfer, drove intra-species mosaicism of Bartonella henselae

Bartonella henselae is a facultative intracellular pathogen that occurs worldwide and is responsible primarily for cat-scratch disease in young people and bacillary angiomatosis in immunocompromised patients. The principal source of genome-level diversity that contributes to B. henselae\u27s host-adaptive features is thought to be horizontal gene transfer events. However, our analyses did not reveal the acquisition of horizontally-transferred islands in B. henselae after its divergence from other Bartonella. Rather, diversity in gene content and genome size was apparently acquired through two alternative mechanisms, including deletion and, more predominantly, duplication of genes. Interestingly, a majority of these events occurred in regions that were horizontally transferred long before B. henselae\u27s divergence from other Bartonella species. Our study indicates the possibility that gene duplication, in response to positive selection pressures in specific clones of B. henselae, might be linked to the pathogen\u27s adaptation to arthropod vectors, the cat reservoir, or humans as incidental host-species

Gene expression signatures associated with chronic endometritis revealed by RNA sequencing

IntroductionChronic endometritis (CE) is a persistent inflammatory condition of the endometrium characterized by the infiltration of plasma cells in the endometrial stroma. CD138 immunohistochemistry is considered to improve the CE diagnosis rate.MethodsUsing the number of CD138-positive cells equal or greater than five as a diagnostic criterion for CE, we identified 24 CE and 33 non-CE cases among women with infertility. We conducted RNA-sequencing analysis for these 57 cases in total as an attempt to elucidate the molecular pathogenesis of CE and to search for new biomarkers for CE.Results and DiscussionBy comparing CE and non-CE groups, we identified 20 genes upregulated in the endometria of CE patients, including 12 immunoglobulin-related genes and eight non-immunoglobulin genes as differentially expressed genes. The eight genes were MUC5AC, LTF, CAPN9, MESP1, ACSM1, TVP23A, ALOX15, and MZB1. By analyzing samples in the proliferative and secretory phases of the menstrual cycle separately, we also identified four additional non-immunoglobulin genes upregulated in CE endometria: CCDC13 by comparing the samples in the proliferative phase, and OVGP1, MTUS2, and CLIC6 by comparing the samples in the secretory phase. Although the genes upregulated in CE may serve as novel diagnostic markers of CE, many of them were upregulated only in a limited number of CE cases showing an extremely high number of CD138-positive cells near or over one hundred. Exceptionally, TVP23A was upregulated in the majority of CE cases regardless of the number of CD138-positive cells. The upregulation of TVP23A in the endometria of CE cases may reflect the pathophysiology of a cell-type or cell-types intrinsic to the endometrium rather than the accumulation of plasma cells. Our data, consisting of clinical and transcriptomic information for CE and non-CE cases, helped us identify gene expression signatures associated with CE

Amphiphilic beads as depots for sustained drug release integrated into fibrillar scaffolds

Native extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex fibrous structure loaded with bioactive cues that affects the surrounding cells. A promising strategy to mimicking native tissue architecture for tissue engineering applications is to engineer fibrous scaffolds using electrospinning. By loading appropriate bioactive cues within these fibrous scaffolds, various cellular functions such as cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation can be regulated. Here, we report on the encapsulation and sustained release of a model hydrophobic drug (dexamethasone (Dex)) within beaded fibrillar scaffold of poly(ethylene oxide terephthalate)-poly(butylene terephthalate) (PEOT/PBT), a polyether-ester multiblock copolymer to direct differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The amphiphilic beads act as depots for sustained drug release that is integrated into the fibrillar scaffolds. The entrapment of Dex within the beaded structure results in sustained release of the drug over the period of 28days. This is mainly attributed to the diffusion driven release of Dex from the amphiphilic electrospun scaffolds. In vitro results indicate that hMSCs cultured on Dex containing beaded fibrillar scaffolds exhibit an increase in osteogenic differentiation potential, as evidenced by increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, compared to the direct infusion of Dex in the culture medium. The formation of a mineralized matrix is also significantly enhanced due to the controlled Dex release from the fibrous scaffolds. This approach can be used to engineer scaffolds with appropriate chemical cues to direct tissue regenerationAKG, SMM, LM and AK conceived the idea and designed the experiments. AKG and SMM fabricated electrospun scaffolds and performed the structural (SEM, FTIR), mechanical, and in vitro studies. AAK and AKGperformedDex release study. AKGand AP performed thermal analysis. AKG analyzed experimental data. AKG, SMM, LMand AK wrote the manuscript. ADL and CvB provided the polymers and corrected the manuscript. AKK, AP, MG and RLR revised the paper. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript. Authors would like to thank Shilpaa Mukundan, Poornima Kulkarni and Dr. Arghya Paul for help with image analysis, drug release modeling and technical discussion respectively. AKG would like to thank Prof. Robert Langer for access to equipment and acknowledge financial support from MIT Portugal Program (MPP-09Call-Langer-47). SMMthanks the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the personal grant SFRH/BD/42968/2008 (MIT-Portugal Program). This research was funded by the office of Naval Research Young National Investigator Award (AK), the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) (AK), the NIH (EB009196; DE019024; EB007249; HL099073; AR057837), the National Science Foundation CAREER award (DMR 0847287; AK), and the Dutch Technology Foundation (STW # 11135; LM, CvB, and AD)

Studies on the etimation of mercury contamination using basidiomycetian mushrooms and other plants as the indicator organisms.(Part II) : The process of murcurial accumulation by mushrooms

Mercury contents of selected species of mushrooms, their substrates (humus ground), leaves of woody plants, air, soil-air and exhaust gas of factory were analysed to learn the mechanism of mercury accumulation by the mushrooms. The samples were obtained from 4 stations in the vicinity of the K-Denko Factory which have still remained ten deposit sites of industrial sludge. Mercury detected in air and exhaust gas of the factory was not so higher now. But mercury levels in the soil-air of sludge deposit sites were 10 times higher than these of other stations. Neither thin gold wire nor the growing Shiitake, Lentinus edodes, left at 4 stations for about a week has trapped and accumulated the mercury from the surrounding air. In addition, mercury contents of leaves of woody plants were also negligible. Wild mushrooms and their substrates obtained from the vicinity of the factory, especially the sludge deposit sites contained higher level of mercury. There is corelation in mercury content between the mushrooms and their substrates examined in 4 species of them, Lycoperdon gemmatum, Mycena pura, Psathyrella velutina and Stropharia servginsa. However, no relationship is seen in Coprius spp. It is presumed that the mushrooms growing near the factory accumulated the mercury through the mycellium from the humus ground that has been contaminated when the acetoaldehyde plant was operated

Profiling and imaging of forensic evidence – a pan-European forensic round robin study part 1: document forgery

The forensic scenario, on which the round robin study was based, simulated a suspected intentional manipulation of a real estate rental agreement consisting of a total of three pages. The aims of this study were to (i) establish the amount and reliability of information extractable from a single type of evidence and to (ii) provide suggestions on the most suitable combination of compatible techniques for a multi-modal imaging approach to forgery detection. To address these aims, seventeen laboratories from sixteen countries were invited to answer the following tasks questions: (i) which printing technique was used? (ii) were the three pages printed with the same printer? (iii) were the three pages made from the same paper? (iv) were the three pages originally stapled? (v) were the headings and signatures written with the same ink? and (vi) were headings and signatures of the same age on all pages? The methods used were classified into the following categories: Optical spectroscopy, including multispectral imaging, smartphone mapping, UV-luminescence and LIBS; Infrared spectroscopy, including Raman and FTIR (micro-)spectroscopy; X-ray spectroscopy, including SEM-EDX, PIXE and XPS; Mass spectrometry, including ICPMS, SIMS, MALDI and LDIMS; Electrostatic imaging, as well as non-imaging methods, such as non-multimodal visual inspection, (micro-)spectroscopy, physical testing and thin layer chromatography. The performance of the techniques was evaluated as the proportion of discriminated sample pairs to all possible sample pairs. For the undiscriminated sample pairs, a distinction was made between undecidability and false positive claims. It was found that none of the methods used were able to solve all tasks completely and/or correctly and that certain methods were a priori judged unsuitable by the laboratories for some tasks. Correct results were generally achieved for the discrimination of printer toners, whereas incorrect results in the discrimination of inks. For the discrimination of paper, solid state analytical methods proved to be superior to mass spectrometric methods. None of the participating laboratories deemed addressing ink age feasible. It was concluded that correct forensic statements can only be achieved by the complementary application of different methods and that the classical approach of round robin studies to send standardised subsamples to the participants is not feasible for a true multimodal approach if the techniques are not available at one location

The Unity Of Friendship Against Pennywise Clown Terror In The “It” Novel : A New Criticism Study

Kesatuan persahabatan adalah sebuah hubungan persahabatan yang kuat. Hal ini ada di dalam kehidupan masyarakat kita ketika anak-anak menjalin persahabatan. Persahabatan itu sendiri biasanya terjalin karena adanya persamaan pengalaman, hobi, minat, rasa kesepian, atau pengalaman traumatis yang sebelumnya pernah dialami. Dalam novel IT karya Stephen King, kesatuan persahabatan merupakan pokok bahasan yang dapat ditemukan di ceritanya. Kesatuan persahabatan tersebut dijalin oleh para tokoh utama yang memiliki pengalaman sama seperti intimidasi, trauma masa lalu, dan terror oleh badut yang bernama Pennywise. Penelitian ini fokus pada tokoh utama bernama Bill yang mengalami terror di dalam cerita IT. Dia merupakan bagian kelompok geng yang semua anggotanya diteror oleh Pennywise. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kritik sastra baru (New Criticism) untuk menganalisis elemen formal novel, yaitu penokohan, alur cerita, dan latar belakang cerita yang mendukung tema cerita, yaitu kesatuan persahabatan melawan musuh dalam novel Stephen King berjudul IT. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif dengan berfokus pada karakter utama bernama Bill Denbourgh. Bill digambarkan sebagai tokoh yang penolong, kuat, sensitif, pintar, karismatik, dan optimis. Tokoh ini memiliki dorongan kuat dan berani melawan badut Pennywise sehingga dia juga memberikan kontribusi pada teman-temannya agar berani melawan tokoh badut yang menjadi musuh mereka tersebut. Melalui penelitian ini, penulis berharap agar para pembaca menyadari persatuan persahabatan yang kuat di antara para tokoh utama. Selain itu, elemen formal alur cerita, penokohan, dan latar belakang cerita akan menjadi aspek penting untuk dimasukkan ke analisis

Spectral Line Reflectance and Fluorescence Imaging Device for Skin Diagnostics

The multi-spectral-line imaging concept, which was recently implemented for the snapshot mapping of three main skin chromophores—melanin, oxy-hemoglobin, and deoxy-hemoglobin, is further explored for the snapshot capturing of four spectral line images at wavelengths of 450, 523, 638, and 850 nm, with the consecutive acquiring of a 405 nm excited fluorescence image. A corresponding laser-based prototype device was designed and assembled. Processing of the mentioned five images enables obtaining distribution maps of four skin chromophores within the malformation and comparing their mean fluorescence intensity with that of the surrounding healthy skin. This set of information is helpful for dermatologists, cosmetologists, oncologists, and other healthcare professionals to quantify the diagnosis of skin malformations (including cancers) and to follow up the recovery process after therapy. This paper describes the design of the developed proof-of-concept prototype device and initial test results

Smartphone snapshot mapping of skin chromophores under triple-wavelength laser illumination

Abstract Chromophore distribution maps are useful tools for skin malformation severity assessment and for monitoring of skin recovery after burns, surgeries, and other interactions. The chromophore maps can be obtained by processing several spectral images of skin, e.g., captured by hyperspectral or multispectral cameras during seconds or even minutes. To avoid motion artifacts and simplify the procedure, a single-snapshot technique for mapping melanin, oxyhemoglobin, and deoxyhemoglobin of in-vivo skin by a smartphone under simultaneous three-wavelength (448–532–659 nm) laser illumination is proposed and examined. Three monochromatic spectral images related to the illumination wavelengths were extracted from the smartphone camera RGB image data set with respect to crosstalk between the RGB detection bands. Spectral images were further processed accordingly to Beer’s law in a three chromophore approximation. Photon absorption path lengths in skin at the exploited wavelengths were estimated by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The technique was validated clinically on three kinds of skin lesions: nevi, hemangiomas, and seborrheic keratosis. Design of the developed add-on laser illumination system, image-processing details, and the results of clinical measurements are presented and discussed

Riga Group’s recent results on laser applications for skin diagnostics

240th ECS Meeting (October 10-14, 2021)The laser-related activities are reviewed of the Biophotonics Laboratory at UL Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy following the previous ICSQE-2018 conference. Four recent research projects are considered, including one EC Horizon-2020 project, two European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) projects and one project funded by the Latvian Council of Science (LCS). The projects are generally aimed at developing new optical methods and technologies for non-invasive in-vivo skin assessment to facilitate the early diagnostics of skin malformations (including cancers). Most of the projects explore novel approaches of camera-based biomedical imaging to the clinical diagnostics and recovery monitorin