Relationships among Members of the Genus Myxobolus (Myxozoa: Bilvalvidae) Based on Small Subunit Ribosomal DNA Sequences

Sequences representing similar to 1,700 base pairs of the 18S rRNA gene from 10 different species in the genus Myxobulus were found to group them into 3 clusters that showed little correlation with spore morphology and size or host specificity, criteria currently used for both higher and lower taxonomic placements in the Myxozoa. Of the phenotypic criteria examined, tissue tropism was most correlated with the rRNA groupings observed. Spores of similar size and shape (Myxobolus cerebralis vs. Myxobolus squamalis) were distantly related in some instances, whereas spores with divergent morphology and size were some times found to be closely related (M. cerebralis and Myxobolus insidiosus). These initial investigations into the phylogenetic relationships of putative members of the genus Myxobolus clearly indicate the potential limitations of groupings based on size and morphological properties of the spores and host species infected. We propose that 18S rRNA gene sequences, combined with information on tissue tropism, host species infected, and developmental cycles in the fish and alternate host (when and if known) be given greater consideration in taxonomic placements of myxosporeans

General insights on obstacles to dog vaccination in Chad on community and institutional level

Domestic dogs are responsible for 95% of all human rabies cases worldwide and continue to be the main reservoir for this fatal virus in African and Asian countries. Interrupting the spread of the disease in the domestic dog population is therefore necessary for long-term, sustainable rabies control. Chad has been recognized as a rabies-endemic country since 1961, but no national control strategy is in place to date and dog vaccination coverage is very low. This qualitative, descriptive study aims to describe the main barriers to dog vaccination on both the community and the institutional level from a socio-anthropological point of view in Chad. The study was embedded in an overall project conducted from 2016 to 2018, to determine rabies burden and vaccine demand in West and Central Africa, funded by GAVI, the vaccine alliance. Data collection was conducted on the occasion of the project's closing workshops with stakeholders organized between August to September 2018 in the four (4) project areas: Logone Occidental, Ouaddai, Hadjer Lamis and Chari Baguirmi. We conducted interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) among veterinary officers and dog owners. Participants were selected purposively based on their place of residence (dog owners) or work place (veterinary officers) and their previous contact with the project through reporting (dog owner) or management (veterinary officers) of a suspect dog rabies case. In each region, one FGD was organized with dog owners, and one FGD with heads of veterinary posts. At the end of the FGDs, a few participants were randomly selected for interviews. In addition, in each region an interview was conducted with the head of the livestock sector, the chief district medical officers and the head of a civil society association. The identified barriers to dog vaccination access are grouped into three main aspects: the economic, the socio-cultural and the institutional level. Economic constraints encountered relate to the cost of the vaccine itself and the expenses for transporting the dogs to the vaccination site. The cultural belief that the vaccine will have an impact on the therapeutic properties of dog meat for consumers (observed in Southern Chad), and the fact that dogs are considered impure animals in Muslim faith, which prohibits handling of dogs, are obstacles identified on the sociocultural level. At the institutional level, the unavailability of vaccines in veterinary services, the lack of communication about the law on dog vaccination, the absence of rabies in the training curricula of veterinary agents, and the lack of intersectoral collaboration limit vaccination coverage. In order to improve vaccination coverage and rabies surveillance with a view to eradicate rabies by 2030, communication strategies that are adapted to the context and that take cultural obstacles into account must be put in place in a synergy of interdisciplinary action. In addition, factors such as affordability, geographical access and availability of dog rabies vaccines needs to be addressed throughout the country. Although our study design did not allow a detailed analysis of obstacles related to socio-economic level, gender and age the broad insights gained can provide general guidance for future interventions in Chad and similar countries

Optimization of an Alkylpolyglucoside-Based Dishwashing Detergent Formulation.

The aim of this work was to formulate and optimize the washing performance of an alkylpolyglucoside-based dishwashing detergent. The liquid detergent was formulated with five ingredients of commercial origin: anionic (linear sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate and sodium laurylethersulfate), nonionic (C12–C14 alkylpolyglucoside) and zwitterionic (a fatty acid amide derivative with a betaine structure) surfactants, and NaCl for viscosity control. In addition to the plate test, other properties were investigated including ‘‘cloud point’’, viscosity, and emulsion stability. Statistical analysis software was used to generate a central composite experimental design. Then, a second order design and analysis of experiments approach, known as the Response Surface Methodology, was set up to investigate the effects of the five components of the formulation on the studied properties in the region covering plausible component ranges. The method proved to be efficient for locating the domains of concentrations where the desired properties were met

Growth and shape of indium islands on molybdenum at micro-roughened spots created by femtosecond laser pulses

Indium islands on molybdenum coated glass can be grown in ordered arrays by surface structuring using a femtosecond laser. The effect of varying the molybdenum coated glass substrate temperature and the indium deposition rate on island areal density, volume and geometry is investigated and evaluated in a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process. The joined impact of growth conditions and spacing of the femtosecond laser structured spots on the arrangement and morphology of indium islands is demonstrated. The results yield a deeper understanding of the island growth and its precise adjustment to industrial requirements, which is indispensable for a technological application of such structures at a high throughput, for instance as precursors for the preparation of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 micro concentrator solar cells

Lactadherin blocks thrombosis and hemostasis in vivo : correlation with platelet phosphatidylserine exposure

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73556/1/j.1538-7836.2008.03010.x.pd

In vitro and in vivo effects of SerpinA1 on the modulation of Transthyretin proteolysis

Transthyretin (TTR) proteolysis has been recognized as a complementary mechanism contributing to transthyretin-related amyloidosis (ATTR amyloidosis). Accordingly, amyloid deposits can be composed mainly of full-length TTR or contain a mixture of both cleaved and full-length TTR, particularly in the heart. The fragmentation pattern at Lys48 suggests the involvement of a serine protease, such as plasmin. The most common TTR variant, TTR V30M, is susceptible to plasmin-mediated proteolysis, and the presence of TTR fragments facilitates TTR amyloidogenesis. Recent studies revealed that the serine protease inhibitor, SerpinA1, was differentially expressed in hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) from ATTR patients. In this work, we evaluated the effects of SerpinA1 on in vitro and in vivo modulation of TTR V30M proteolysis, aggregation, and deposition. We found that plasmin-mediated TTR proteolysis and aggregation are partially inhibited by SerpinA1. Furthermore, in vivo downregulation of SerpinA1 increased TTR levels in mice plasma and deposition in the cardiac tissue of older animals. The presence of TTR fragments was observed in the heart of young and old mice but not in other tissues following SerpinA1 knockdown. Increased proteolytic activity, particularly plasmin activity, was detected in mice plasmas. Overall, our results indicate that SerpinA1 modulates TTR proteolysis and aggregation in vitro and in vivo.This research was funded by COMPETE 2020 of PT2020 through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), “NETDIAMOND—New Targets in DIAstolic heart failure: from coMOrbidities to persoNalizeD medicine” project financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), through the Programa Operacional Regional (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016385) and HEALTHUNORTE: Setting-up biobanks and regenerative medicine strategies to boost research in cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, neurological, oncological, immunological, and infectious diseases, NORTE- 01-0145-FEDER-000039. FB was supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/MEC— Ministério da Educação e Ciência with a PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/123674/2016)

Bves Modulates Tight Junction Associated Signaling

Blood vessel epicardial substance (Bves) is a transmembrane adhesion protein that regulates tight junction (TJ) formation in a variety of epithelia. The role of TJs within epithelium extends beyond the mechanical properties. They have been shown to play a direct role in regulation of RhoA and ZONAB/DbpA, a y-box transcription factor. We hypothesize that Bves can modulate RhoA activation and ZONAB/DbpA activity through its regulatory effect on TJ formation. Immortalized human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells were stably transfected with Flag-tagged full length chicken Bves (w-Bves) or C-terminus truncated Bves (t-Bves). We found that stably transfected w-Bves and t-Bves were interacting with endogenous human Bves. However, interaction with t-Bves appeared to disrupt cell membrane localization of endogenous Bves and interaction with ZO-1. w-Bves cells exhibited increased TJ function reflected by increased trans-epithelial electrical resistance, while t-Bves cells lost TJ protein immunolocalization at cell-cell contacts and exhibited decreased trans-epithelial electrical resistance. In parental HCE and w-Bves cells ZONAB/DbpA and GEF-H1 were seen at cell borders in the same pattern as ZO-1. However, expression of t-Bves led to decreased membrane localization of both ZONAB/DbpA and GEF-H1. t-Bves cells had increased RhoA activity, as indicated by a significant 30% increase in FRET activity compared to parental HCE cells. ZONAB/DbpA transcriptional activity, assessed using a luciferase reporter probe, was increased in t-Bves cells. These studies demonstrate that Bves expression and localization can regulate RhoA and ZONAB/DbpA activity

Biological/Biomedical Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Targets. 1. Optimizing the CO2 Reduction Step Using Zinc Dust

Biological and biomedical applications of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) use isotope ratio mass spectrometry to quantify minute amounts of long-lived radioisotopes such as 14C. AMS target preparation involves first the oxidation of carbon (in sample of interest) to CO2 and second the reduction of CO2 to filamentous, fluffy, fuzzy, or firm graphite-like substances that coat a −400-mesh spherical iron powder (−400MSIP) catalyst. Until now, the quality of AMS targets has been variable; consequently, they often failed to produce robust ion currents that are required for reliable, accurate, precise, and high-throughput AMS for biological/biomedical applications. Therefore, we described our optimized method for reduction of CO2 to high-quality uniform AMS targets whose morphology we visualized using scanning electron microscope pictures. Key features of our optimized method were to reduce CO2 (from a sample of interest that provided 1 mg of C) using 100 ± 1.3 mg of Zn dust, 5 ± 0.4 mg of −400MSIP, and a reduction temperature of 500 °C for 3 h. The thermodynamics of our optimized method were more favorable for production of graphite-coated iron powders (GCIP) than those of previous methods. All AMS targets from our optimized method were of 100% GCIP, the graphitization yield exceeded 90%, and δ13C was −17.9 ± 0.3‰. The GCIP reliably produced strong 12C− currents and accurate and precise Fm values. The observed Fm value for oxalic acid II NIST SRM deviated from its accepted Fm value of 1.3407 by only 0.0003 ± 0.0027 (mean ± SE, n = 32), limit of detection of 14C was 0.04 amol, and limit of quantification was 0.07 amol, and a skilled analyst can prepare as many as 270 AMS targets per day. More information on the physical (hardness/color), morphological (SEMs), and structural (FT-IR, Raman, XRD spectra) characteristics of our AMS targets that determine accurate, precise, and high-hroughput AMS measurement are in the companion paper

Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Scan in Major Depressive Disorder

While genome-wide association studies are ongoing to identify sequence variation influencing susceptibility to major depressive disorder (MDD), epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation, which can be influenced by environment, might also play a role. Here we present the first genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) scan in MDD. We compared 39 postmortem frontal cortex MDD samples to 26 controls. DNA was hybridized to our Comprehensive High-throughput Arrays for Relative Methylation (CHARM) platform, covering 3.5 million CpGs. CHARM identified 224 candidate regions with DNAm differences >10%. These regions are highly enriched for neuronal growth and development genes. Ten of 17 regions for which validation was attempted showed true DNAm differences; the greatest were in PRIMA1, with 12–15% increased DNAm in MDD (p = 0.0002–0.0003), and a concomitant decrease in gene expression. These results must be considered pilot data, however, as we could only test replication in a small number of additional brain samples (n = 16), which showed no significant difference in PRIMA1. Because PRIMA1 anchors acetylcholinesterase in neuronal membranes, decreased expression could result in decreased enzyme function and increased cholinergic transmission, consistent with a role in MDD. We observed decreased immunoreactivity for acetylcholinesterase in MDD brain with increased PRIMA1 DNAm, non-significant at p = 0.08