Control of Phragmites communis using low rate glyphosate applications and TopFilm adjuvant

An experiment to test the hypothesis that the addition of TopFilm adjuvant would reduce the effective concentration of glyphosate required to control Phragmites communis, the common reed

Saturation Mutagenesis of the HIV-1 Envelope CD4 Binding Loop Reveals Residues Controlling Distinct Trimer Conformations

The conformation of HIV-1 envelope (Env) glycoprotein trimers is key in ensuring protection against waves of neutralizing antibodies generated during infection, while maintaining sufficient exposure of the CD4 binding site (CD4bs) for viral entry. The CD4 binding loop on Env is an early contact site for CD4 while penetration of a proximal cavity by CD4 triggers Env conformational changes for entry. The role of residues in the CD4 binding loop in regulating the conformation of the trimer and trimer association domain (TAD) was investigated using a novel saturation mutagenesis approach. Single mutations identified, resulted in distinct trimer conformations affecting CD4bs exposure, the glycan shield and the TAD across diverse HIV-1 clades. Importantly, mutations that improve access to the CD4bs without exposing the immunodominant V3 loop were identified. The different trimer conformations identified will affect the specificity and breadth of nabs elicited in vivo and are important to consider in design of Env immunogens for vaccines

APPLICATION OF BIOMECHANICS TO THE PREVENTION OF OVERLOAD INJURIES IN ELITE SOCCER PLAYERS.

Structural alterations of the foot and inadequate design of sports footwear, as well as overtraining, have been determined to be risk factors for overload injuries during sports practice. A biomechanical analysis protocol was designed to study both, the foot and sports footwear statically and dynamically. This protocol was applied on 47 soccer players of the Spanish Premier League. Amongst the results we should point out that 53.3% of the players had cavus feet. 14.8% of the players deformed the boots. 44.7% of the players studied registered high pressures over the metatarsal heads. and 19.1 % registered high ones at the first toe. 44.7% of the players showed an excessive supination pattern. The data obtained gave us information about the static and dynamic patterns of the elite soccer player. With the individual information the assessment of suitable footwear was carried out for each player. The correct application of this protocol could be used in the diagnosis or prevention of overtraining and in the detection of foot and gait pathologies

Search for Nanosecond Near-infrared Transients around 1280 Celestial Objects

Stars and planetary system

Chemical characterization and bioactive properties of Prunus avium L.: The widely studied fruits and the unexplored stems

The aim of this study was to characterize sweet cherry regarding nutritional composition of the fruits, and individual phytochemicals and bioactive properties of fruits and stems. The chromatographic profiles in sugars, organic acids, fatty acids, tocopherols and phenolic compounds were established. All the preparations (extracts, infusions and decoctions) obtained using stems revealed higher antioxidant potential than the fruits extract, which is certainly related with its higher phenolic compounds (phenolic acids and flavonoids) concentration. The fruits extract was the only one showing antitumor potential, revealing selectivity against HCT-15 (colon carcinoma) (GI50~74 μg/mL). This could be related with anthocyanins that were only found in fruits and not in stems. None of the preparations have shown hepatotoxicity against normal primary cells. Overall, this study reports innovative results regarding chemical and bioactive properties of sweet cherry stems, and confirmed the nutritional and antioxidant characteristics of their fruits.The authors are grateful to Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to the research centre CIMO (strategic project PEst OE/AGR/UI0690/2011) and L. Barros researcher contract under “Programa Compromisso com Ciência – 2008”

Rational modification of an HIV-1 gp120 results in enhanced neutralization breadth when used as a DNA prime

Background The identification of phenotypic features of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein that correlate with neutralization breadth is an important goal of HIV vaccine research. Recently we compared the immunogenic potential of two gp120s differing in their ability to utilize CD4; B33 (highly macrophage topic) and LN40 (non-macrophage tropic). Using a DNA prime protein boost regimen in New Zealand White Rabbits, LN40-primed sera displayed enhanced breadth compared to the B33-primed group, with differences in immunogenicity between groups modulated by specific residues within and flanking the V3 loop and the CD4bs. To better understand the role of these residues in eliciting breadth, we introduced reciprocal mutations between LN40 and B33 at these critical positions. Methods Three groups of four rabbits were primed with one of three chimeric LN40/B33 gp120 DNAs, followed by a polyvalent protein boost. Time course and endpoint titers were determined via ELISA. Neutralization breadth was analyzed by Monogram against a panel of sixteen viruses using a Phenosense neutralization assay. Anti-gp120 serum specificities were determined using a set of overlapping peptides spanning the entire gp120 via ELISA. Results We found that sera primed with a B33 chimera containing specific LN40 residues within the V3 loop and the CD4 binding loop displayed enhanced neutralization breadth against a cross-clade panel of Tier 1 and 2 viruses compared to the B33-primed group. Interestingly, a second B33 chimera containing two additional LN40 substitutions (Stu-Bsu R373/N386) within C3/V4 primed the broadest response, being broader than even the LN40-primed group. Additionally, peptide ELISAs showed differences in reactivity between priming groups which were most pronounced for the C3/V4 region, suggesting an important role for these regions in modulating serum antibody responses against gp120

Do on-farm natural, restored, managed and constructed wetlands mitigate agricultural pollution in Great Britain and Ireland?: a systematic review

Wetlands in agricultural landscapes offer a number of benefits to the landscape function in which they are set, reducing nutrient runoff, providing additional habitat mosaics and offering various ecosystem services. They require careful planning and maintenance in order to perform their optimum design function over a prolonged period of time. They should be treated as functional units of farm infrastructure rather than fit-and-forget systems. A high priority topic within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) water quality programme is the mitigation of pollution from agriculture. This programme was set up to meet the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) EU (2000). Nutrient loss from agricultural land has been suggested as a major cause of elevated nutrient concentrations in surface waters in the UK. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are of particular concern as an excess of either nutrient can lead to eutrophication of freshwater systems and coastal waters. Agriculture has also been identified as a significant source of suspended sediment (SS) concentrations in UK rivers and agriculturally derived sediment has been identified as a source of increased bed-sediment P concentrations in rivers. High bed sediments loads have other negative impacts, such as clogging river gravels reducing fish spawning. There is considerable evidence in the published and grey literature that wetlands have the ability to remove nutrients and sediment and thus reduce the load on receiving waters. Wetlands have also been reported to perform other ecosystem services, such as reducing floods, supporting biodiversity and sequestering carbon. A policy to promote the conservation, management, restoration or construction of wetlands could help to mitigate the impacts of N, P and SS from agriculture delivering requirements of WFD through Catchment Sensitive Farming following an Ecosystem Approach and Catchment Based Approach promoted by Defra. It could also meet other commitments such as implementing the Ramsar and Biodiversity Conventions to which the UK is a signatory. However, the term wetlands covers a wide range of habitat types and it is important that policy makers are provided with accurate, robust and independently reviewed information on the degree to which different types of wetland perform these services under different circumstances, so that policy can most best targeted. This systematic review assesses the available evidence on the performance of various wetland types on farms to reduce nutrient input and suspended sediments to receiving waters. It provides a defensible evidence base on which to base policy. The studies reviewed cover different input loads and the analysis compares performance of these wetland systems in respect of % reduction efficiency. In England and Wales, Defra, working closely with the Environment Agency and Natural England, has commissioned this systematic review on how effective, and what influences the effectiveness of wetlands at mitigating N, P and SS inputs from agriculture to receiving freshwater in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Variation in HIV-1 R5 macrophage-tropism correlates with sensitivity to reagents that block envelope: CD4 interactions but not with sensitivity to other entry inhibitors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>HIV-1 R5 viruses cause most of the AIDS cases worldwide and are preferentially transmitted compared to CXCR4-using viruses. Furthermore, R5 viruses vary extensively in capacity to infect macrophages and highly macrophage-tropic variants are frequently identified in the brains of patients with dementia. Here, we investigated the sensitivity of R5 envelopes to a range of inhibitors and antibodies that block HIV entry. We studied a large panel of R5 envelopes, derived by PCR amplification without culture from brain, lymph node, blood and semen. These R5 envelopes conferred a wide range of macrophage tropism and included highly macrophage-tropic variants from brain and non-macrophage-tropic variants from lymph node.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>R5 macrophage-tropism correlated with sensitivity to inhibition by reagents that inhibited gp120:CD4 interactions. Thus, increasing macrophage-tropism was associated with increased sensitivity to soluble CD4 and to IgG-CD4 (PRO 542), but with increased resistance to the anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody (mab), Q4120. These observations were highly significant and are consistent with an increased affinity of envelope for CD4 for macrophage-tropic envelopes. No overall correlations were noted between R5 macrophage-tropism and sensitivity to CCR5 antagonists or to gp41 specific reagents. Intriguingly, there was a relationship between increasing macrophage-tropism and increased sensitivity to the CD4 binding site mab, b12, but decreased sensitivity to 2G12, a mab that binds a glycan complex on gp120.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Variation in R5 macrophage-tropism is caused by envelope variation that predominantly influences sensitivity to reagents that block gp120:CD4 interactions. Such variation has important implications for therapy using viral entry inhibitors and for the design of envelope antigens for vaccines.</p