More Torsion in the Homology of the Matching Complex

A matching on a set $X$ is a collection of pairwise disjoint subsets of $X$ of size two. Using computers, we analyze the integral homology of the matching complex $M_n$, which is the simplicial complex of matchings on the set $\{1, >..., n\}$. The main result is the detection of elements of order $p$ in the homology for $p \in \{5,7,11,13\}$. Specifically, we show that there are elements of order 5 in the homology of $M_n$ for $n \ge 18$ and for $n \in {14,16}$. The only previously known value was $n = 14$, and in this particular case we have a new computer-free proof. Moreover, we show that there are elements of order 7 in the homology of $M_n$ for all odd $n$ between 23 and 41 and for $n=30$. In addition, there are elements of order 11 in the homology of $M_{47}$ and elements of order 13 in the homology of $M_{62}$. Finally, we compute the ranks of the Sylow 3- and 5-subgroups of the torsion part of $H_d(M_n;Z)$ for $13 \le n \le 16$; a complete description of the homology already exists for $n \le 12$. To prove the results, we use a representation-theoretic approach, examining subcomplexes of the chain complex of $M_n$ obtained by letting certain groups act on the chain complex.Comment: 35 pages, 10 figure

Tailoring the release of drugs having different water solubility by hybrid polymer-lipid microparticles with a biphasic structure

The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of hybrid polymer-lipid microparticles with a biphasic structure (b-MPs) as drug delivery system. Hybrid b-MPs of Compritol & REG;888 ATO as main lipid constituent of the shell and polyethylene glycol 400 as core material were produced by an innovative solvent-free approach based on spray congealing. To assess the suitability of hybrid b-MPs to encapsulate various types of APIs, three model drugs (fluconazole, tolbutamide and nimesulide) with extremely different water solubility were loaded into the polymeric core. The hybrid systems were characterized in terms of particle size, morphology and physical state. Various techniques (e.g. optical, Confocal Raman and Scanning Electron Microscopy) were used to investigate the influence of the drugs on different aspects of the b-MPs, including external and internal morphology, properties at the lipid/polymer interface and drug distribution. Hybrid b-MPs were suitable for the encapsulation of all drugs (encapsulation efficiency > 90 %) regardless the drug hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties. Finally, the drug release behaviors from hybrid b-MPs were studied and compared with traditional solid lipid MPs (consisting of only the lipid carrier). Due to the combination of lipid and polymeric materials, hybrid b-MPs showed a wide array of release profiles that depends on their composition, the type of loaded drug, the drug loading amount and location, providing a versatile platform and allowing the formulators to finely balance the release performance of drugs intended for oral administration. Overall, the study demonstrates that hybrid, solvent-free b-MPs produced by spray congealing are an extremely versatile delivery platform able to efficiently encapsulate and release very different types of drug compounds

Possible role of Escherichia coli in propagation and perpetuation of chronic inflammation in ulcerative colitis

BACKGROUND: This study investigated a possible role of Escherichia coli in propagation and perpetuation of the chronic inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC). The lesions of UC are located superficially on the rectal and/or colonic mucosa. It is suggested that the commensal bacteria of the digestive tract may play a role in the pathogenesis of UC. Several studies have demonstrated proliferation of E. coli in the gut of UC patients. An increase in the number of E. coli in the inflamed tissue is most probably related to the abundance of iron ions produced by the bacteria. METHODS: Colon mucosal biopsies were collected from 30 patients with acute-phase UC, both from tissues with inflammatory changes (n = 30) and unchanged tissue with no inflammatory changes (n = 30) from the same patient. Biopsies were also taken from 16 patients with irritable bowel syndrome diarrhea who comprised the control group. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the biopsy specimens was performed using culture methods and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Genotyping of the E. coli isolates was done using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Multiplex PCR was used to compare the E. coli strains for the presence of genes responsible for synthesis of iron acquisition proteins: iroN, iutA, iha, ireA, chuA, and hlyA. RESULTS: We demonstrated that there was a significant increase in the number of E. coli at the sites of inflammation in patients with UC compared to the control group (P = 0.031). Comparative analysis of the restriction patterns of E. coli isolated from inflammatory and unchanged tissues showed that the local inflammatory changes did not promote specific E. coli strains. There was a significant difference in the frequency of the iroN gene in E. coli isolated from patients with UC as compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in the numbers of E. coli in the inflammatory tissues is related to the presence of chuA and iutA genes, which facilitate iron acquisition during chronic intestinal inflammatory processes

МОНИТОРИНГ ТРИХИНЕЛЛЕЗА СВИНЕЙ И ДИКИХ КАБАНОВ В ПРОВИНЦИИ ПОМЕРАНИЯ (ПОЛЬША) С ТОЧКИ ЗРЕНИЯ ФАКТОРОВ РИСКА ДЛЯ ЗДОРОВЬЯ ЧЕЛОВЕКА

The main reservoirs of trichinosis in the province Pomeranian (Polish) are wild boars and pigs which are still a serious threat to human health. The aim of the study was to investigated the prevalence of Trichinella spp. among wild boars and pigs in province Pomerania. From the veterinary and epidemiological perspective it was of the prime importance to identify the reason for the increasing prevalence of Trichinella spp. larvae infections among wild boars observed in the years 2008-2013. In the animal study of parasitology for Trichinella larvae presence were performed post mortem by digestion method. Evaluation of microscopic samples of muscle preceded by digestion tests in artificial stomachs. Trichinella diagnosis in humans was based on immunoassay for the detection of presence Trichinella specific antibodies in serum. The assessment was based on official data on the number of cases of trichinosis in pigs and wild boars, derived from the annual reports of the Veterinary Inspectorate in Szczecin and annual bulletins of the National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene. In 2008, 16 583 tested boars Trichinella larvae were found in 92 cases, which accounted for 0,55 %. However, in 2013 it was 158 infected animals, which constituted the prevalence of 1,19 %. In 2005, 2006 and 2007 on Polish territory were major outbreaks of epidemic trichinosis. The largest of these took place in the province West Pomerania, where around 300 people were hospitalized. The diagnosis of trichinosis is based on the clinical picture, an interview with epidemiological and laboratory diagnostic examinations. The conducted monitoring over the years has shown cyclical nature of the occurrence of a tendency to create an epidemic.Основными носителями трихинеллеза на территории провинции Померания (Польша) являются дикие кабаны и свиньи, которые по-прежнему представляют серьезную угрозу для здоровья человека. Целью данной работы является изучение распространения Trichinella spp. среди диких кабанов и свиней провинции Померания. С точки зрения ветеринарии и эпидемиологии, было необходимо в первую очередь установить причину нарастающего распространения инфекции среди диких кабанов, вызванной Trichinella spp. larvae, на протяжении 2008-2013 годов. Было проведено посмертное вскрытие и исследование ЖКТ животных для определения наличия Trichinella larvae. Проведено исследование образцов мышечной ткани под микроскопом, используя метод переваривания в искусственном желудочном соке. Наличие инфекции Trichinella larvae у человека определяется с помощью иммунного анализа, который позволяет обнаружить в сыворотке крови антитела к Trichinella spp. Наша оценка основана на официальных данных исследования ряда случаев трихинеллеза у диких кабанов и свиней, полученных из ежегодных отчетов Ветеринарной Инспекции г. Щецин и ежегодных бюллетеней Национального Института Общественного Здоровья и Национального Института Гигиены. Из 16 583 кабанов, обследованных в 2008 г. Trichinella larvae была установлена в 92 случаях что составило 0,55 %. Однако, в 2013 г. было зарегистрировано 158 инфицированных животных, что составило 1,19 %. В 2005, 2006 и 200г г.г. на территории Польши были отмечены крупные вспышки эпидемии трихинеллеза. Наиболее сильная вспышка трихинеллеза была зафиксирована в провинции Западная Померания, где было госпитализировано около 300 человек. Диагноз трихинеллеза ставился на основании клинической картины, эпидемиологического анамнеза и лабораторных исследований. Природа цикличности эпидемий трихинеллеза изучалась в процессе мониторинга, проводимого на протяжении ряда лет

Effects of scene properties and emotional valence on brain activations : a fixation-related fMRI study

Temporal and spatial characteristics of fixations are affected by image properties, including high-level scene characteristics, such as object-background composition, and low-level physical characteristics, such as image clarity. The influence of these factors is modulated by the emotional content of an image. Here, we aimed to establish whether brain correlates of fixations reflect these modulatory effects. To this end, we simultaneously scanned participants and measured their eye movements, while presenting negative and neutral images in various image clarity conditions, with controlled object-background composition. The fMRI data were analyzed using a novel fixation-based event-related (FIBER) method, which allows the tracking of brain activity linked to individual fixations. The results revealed that fixating an emotional object was linked to greater deactivation in the right lingual gyrus than fixating the background of an emotional image, while no difference between object and background was found for neutral images. We suggest that deactivation in the lingual gyrus might be linked to inhibition of saccade execution. This was supported by fixation duration results, which showed that in the negative condition, fixations falling on the object were longer than those falling on the background. Furthermore, increase in the image clarity was correlated with fixation-related activity within the lateral occipital complex, the structure linked to object recognition. This correlation was significantly stronger for negative images, presumably due to greater deployment of attention towards emotional objects. Our eye-tracking results are in line with these observations, showing that the chance of fixating an object rose faster for negative images over neutral ones as the level of noise decreased. Overall, our study demonstrated that emotional value of an image changes the way that low and high-level scene properties affect the characteristics of fixations. The fixation-related brain activity is affected by the low-level scene properties and this impact differs between negative and neutral images. The high-level scene properties also affect brain correlates of fixations, but only in the case of the negative images

Poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) infestation:A broad impact parasitological disease that still remains a significant challenge for the egg-laying industry in Europe

Abstract The poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, has been described for decades as a threat to the egg production industry, posing serious animal health and welfare concerns, adversely affecting productivity, and impacting public health. Research activities dedicated to controlling this parasite have increased significantly. Their veterinary and human medical impact, more particularly their role as a disease vector, is better understood. Nevertheless, red mite infestation remains a serious concern, particularly in Europe, where the prevalence of red mites is expected to increase, as a result of recent hen husbandry legislation changes, increased acaricide resistance, climate warming, and the lack of a sustainable approach to control infestations. The main objective of the current work was to review the factors contributing to this growing threat and to discuss their recent development in Europe. We conclude that effective and sustainable treatment approach to control poultry red mite infestation is urgently required, included integrated pest management

Variable alterations of the microbiota, without metabolic or immunological change, following faecal microbiota transplantation in patients with chronic pouchitis

© 2015 The Authors. Published by Springer Nature. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep12955Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is effective in the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection, where efficacy correlates with changes in microbiota diversity and composition. The effects of FMT on recipient microbiota in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) remain unclear. We assessed the effects of FMT on microbiota composition and function, mucosal immune response, and clinical outcome in patients with chronic pouchitis. Eight patients with chronic pouchitis (current PDAI ‰7) were treated with FMT via nasogastric administration. Clinical activity was assessed before and four weeks following FMT. Faecal coliform antibiotic sensitivities were analysed, and changes in pouch faecal and mucosal microbiota assessed by 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing and 1 H NMR spectroscopy. Lamina propria dendritic cell phenotype and cytokine profiles were assessed by flow cytometric analysis and multiplex assay. Following FMT, there were variable shifts in faecal and mucosal microbiota composition and, in some patients, changes in proportional abundance of species suggestive of a 'healthier' pouch microbiota. However, there were no significant FMT-induced metabolic or immunological changes, or beneficial clinical response. Given the lack of clinical response following FMT via a single nasogastric administration our results suggest that FMT/bacteriotherapy for pouchitis patients requires further optimisation.Published versio