The fate of deroceras reticulatum following metaldehyde poisoning

\ua9 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The concentration of a pesticide used in agriculture not only has implications for effectiveness of pest control but may also have significant wider environmental consequences. This research explores the acceptability of metaldehyde slug pellets at different concentrations by Deroceras reticula-tum (M\ufcller, 1774) (Agriolimacidae), and the changes in the health status of the slug when allowed to recover. The highest metaldehyde concentration (5%) yielded the highest slug mortality; however, it also produced the highest proportion of unpoisoned slugs, suggesting the highest level of pellet rejection. Pellets with 1% metaldehyde were as effective as 3% pellets in paralysing a significant proportion of the population after initial pellet exposure; however, more slugs were able to recover from metaldehyde poisoning at 1% metaldehyde compared with 3%. There was no statistically significant difference between the mortality rate of slugs regardless of metaldehyde concentration, suggesting that a lower concentration of metaldehyde may be as effective as a higher concentration

SpxA1 and SpxA2 act coordinately to fine-tune stress responses and virulence in Streptococcus pyogenes

SpxA is a unique transcriptional regulator highly conserved among members of the phylum Firmicutes that binds RNA polymerase and can act as an antiactivator. Why some Firmicutes members have two highly similar SpxA paralogs is not understood. Here, we show that the SpxA paralogs of the pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes, SpxA1 and SpxA2, act coordinately to regulate virulence by fine-tuning toxin expression and stress resistance. Construction and analysis of mutants revealed that SpxA1− mutants were defective for growth under aerobic conditions, while SpxA2− mutants had severely attenuated responses to multiple stresses, including thermal and oxidative stresses. SpxA1− mutants had enhanced resistance to the cationic antimicrobial molecule polymyxin B, while SpxA2− mutants were more sensitive. In a murine model of soft tissue infection, a SpxA1− mutant was highly attenuated. In contrast, the highly stress-sensitive SpxA2− mutant was hypervirulent, exhibiting more extensive tissue damage and a greater bacterial burden than the wild-type strain. SpxA1− attenuation was associated with reduced expression of several toxins, including the SpeB cysteine protease. In contrast, SpxA2− hypervirulence correlated with toxin overexpression and could be suppressed to wild-type levels by deletion of speB. These data show that SpxA1 and SpxA2 have opposing roles in virulence and stress resistance, suggesting that they act coordinately to fine-tune toxin expression in response to stress. SpxA2− hypervirulence also shows that stress resistance is not always essential for S. pyogenes pathogenesis in soft tissue

Complete genome sequences of emm6 Streptococcus pyogenes JRS4 and parental strain D471

We report the complete genome assemblies of the group A Streptococcus pyogenes serotype emm6 strain D471 and its streptomycin-resistant derivative JRS4. Both of these well-studied laboratory strains have been extensively characterized over the past three decades and have been instrumental in the discovery of multiple aspects of streptococcal pathogenesis

Complete genome sequence of emm type 14 Streptococcus pyogenes strain HSC5

Streptococcus pyogenes causes a greater diversity of human disease than any other bacterial pathogen. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of the emm type 14 S. pyogenes strain HSC5. This strain is a robust producer of the cysteine protease SpeB and is capable of producing infection in several different animal models

Spin des niveaux à 0,46 et 0,67 MeV du 34Cl

L'étude de la réaction 32S(3He, pγ) 3Cl a été réalisée à l'aide d'un faisceau 3He++ aux énergies 9, 9,5 et 10 MeV. Les coïncidences pγ ont été effectuées entre protons détectés à 0° et rayonnements γ, conformément à la méthode II de corrélation angulaire de Litherland et Ferguson. L'exploitation des corrélations des groupes de protons menant aux deuxième et troisième niveaux excités du 34CI avec les rayonnements γ correspondants, détermine sans ambiguïté J = 1 pour les niveaux à 0,46 et 0,67 MeV de ce noyau. Ces résultats confirment les prévisions théoriques déduites du modèle en couches avec interaction à deux particules modifiée

Is outdoor use of the six-minute walk test with a global positioning system in stroke patients' own neighbourhoods reproducible and valid?

Objective: To examine the reproducibility, responsiveness and concurrent validity of the six-minute walk test (6MWT) when tested outdoors in patients' own neighbourhoods using a global positioning system (GPS) or a measuring wheel. Methods: A total of 27 chronic stroke patients, discharged to their own homes, were tested twice, within 5 consecutive days. The 6MWT was conducted using a GPS and an measuring wheel simultaneously to determine walking distance. Reproducibility was determined as test-retest reliability and agreement, using the intraclass correlation coefficient, standard error of measurement and Bland & Altman plots. Responsiveness was expressed as the smallest real difference and visualized in Bland & Altman plots. Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) was used to study concurrent validity between the GPS and measuring wheel. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficiens were 0.96 for the GPS and 0.98 for the measuring wheel, and standard error of measurement scores were 11.9 m for the measuring wheel and 18.1 m for the GPS, resulting in smallest real differences of 33.0 m and 50.2 m, respectively. Concurrent validity was strong (r = 0.99). Conclusion: These results indicate that the outdoor 6MWT using a GPS or measuring wheel is reproducible, responsive and concurrently valid. This suggests that therapists working in the community can use the outdoor 6MWT as a reliable, responsive and valid test. © 2011 Foundation of Rehabilitation Information

Étude d'états excités de 22Ne a l'aide des résonances de capture radiative de particules alpha par 18O entre 1,6 et 5,0 MeV d'énergie incidente

La courbe d'excitation du rayonnement γ de 350 keV issu de la réaction 18O(α, nγ) 21Ne a été mesurée entre 1,6 et 5 MeV. Six nouvelles résonances ont été observées correspondant aux niveaux du 22Ne : Ex = 11,199 MeV (Eα = 1,873 MeV ; Γt = 7 keV) ; 11,271 (1,961 ; 7) ; 11,431 (2,156 ; 47) ; 11,519 (2,263 ; 6) ; 11,577 (2,335 ; 16) ; 11,745 (2,540 ; 41). Nous avons relevé les spectres de désexcitation par rayonnement γ de tous les niveaux mis en évidence et mesuré les distributions angulaires des rayonnements γ de la réaction 18O(α, γ) 22Ne chaque fois que l'intensité de transition le permettait. En fait seules trois résonances déjà observées se trouvaient dans ce cas. Pour le niveau Ex = 11,462 MeV (2,194 ; 9) la distribution angulaire a permis de fixer Jπ = 1 -. Pour les niveaux Ex = 11,682 MeV (2,463 ; 8) et Ex = 11,751 MeV (2,547 ; 8) les valeurs respectives J π = 2+ et Jπ = 1- ont été confirmées. Des rapports d'embranchement (γ0/γ1) ont pu être déterminés pour ces trois niveaux ainsi que les coefficients de mélange de multipolarité des transitions γ1. Des limites supérieures des intensités de transition ωγ pour les transitions γ0 + γ 1 sont données pour les autres niveaux

An association between peptidoglycan synthesis and organization of the Streptococcus pyogenes ExPortal

The ExPortal of Streptococcus pyogenes is a focal microdomain of the cytoplasmic membrane that clusters the translocons of the general secretory pathway with accessory factors to facilitate the maturation of secreted polypeptides. While it is known that the ExPortal is enriched in anionic lipids, the mechanisms that organize the ExPortal are poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the role of the cell wall in organizing and maintaining the ExPortal. Removal of the cell wall resulted in a loss of ExPortal focal integrity accompanied by the circumferential redistribution of ExPortal lipid and protein components. A similar loss occurred upon treatment with gallidermin, a nonpermeabilizing lantibiotic that targets the lipid II precursor of peptidoglycan synthesis, and this treatment disrupted the secretion of several ExPortal substrates. Furthermore, several enzymes involved in the membrane-associated steps of lipid II synthesis, including MraY and MurN, were found to localize to a single discrete focus in the membrane that was coincident with the focal location of the secretory translocons and the anionic lipid microdomain. These data suggest that the ExPortal is associated with the site of peptidoglycan precursor synthesis and that peptidoglycan biogenesis influences ExPortal organization. These data add to an emerging literature indicating that cell wall biogenesis, cell division, and protein secretion are spatially coorganized processes

Predicting improvement in gait after stroke: a longitudinal prospective study

0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Improvement in standing balance control is more important than improvement in leg strength or synergism to achieve improvement in walking ability, whereas reduction in visuospatial inattention is independently related to improvement of gait. Finally, time itself is an independent covariate that is negatively associated with change on FAC, suggesting that most pronounced improvements occur earlier after strok

Effects of circuit training as alternative to usual physiotherapy after stroke: randomised controlled trial

Objective To analyse the effect of task oriented circuit training compared with usual physiotherapy in terms of self reported walking competency for patients with stroke discharged from a rehabilitation centre to their own home