Sustainability and Workforce Development in Maine

Maine is facing challenges in terms of its work­force: education levels lag behind those in the other New England states; population growth is slow; and the economy is undergoing a change that has shifted from manufacturing to more knowledge-based jobs. Catherine Renault, Linda Silka and Jake Ward discuss these challenges, looking at what employers want in their employees and at the kinds of jobs the state is likely to see in the future. They point out that the Sustainability Solutions Initiative, with its emphasis on a boundary-crossing approach to educa­tion, is an example of a way to train today’s students to fill and create the jobs of the future

Chikungunya Virus Infection

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an alphavirus transmitted by mosquitoes, mostly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. After half a century of focal outbreaks of acute febrile polyarthralgia in Africa and Asia, the disease unexpectedly spread in the past decade with large outbreaks in Africa and around the Indian Ocean and rare autochthonous transmission in temperate areas. This emergence brought new insights on its pathogenesis, notably the role of the A226V mutation that improved CHIKV fitness in Ae. albopictus and the possible CHIKV persistence in deep tissue sanctuaries for months after infection. Massive outbreaks also revealed new aspects of the acute stage: the high number of symptomatic cases, unexpected complications, mother-to-child transmission, and low lethality in debilitated patients. The follow-up of patients in epidemic areas has identified frequent, long-lasting, rheumatic disorders, including rare inflammatory joint destruction, and common chronic mood changes associated with quality-of-life impairment. Thus, the globalization of CHIKV exposes countries with Aedes mosquitoes both to brutal outbreaks of acute incapacitating episodes and endemic long-lasting disorders

CD133, CD15/SSEA-1, CD34 or side populations do not resume tumor-initiating properties of long-term cultured cancer stem cells from human malignant glio-neuronal tumors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tumor initiating cells (TICs) provide a new paradigm for developing original therapeutic strategies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We screened for TICs in 47 human adult brain malignant tumors. Cells forming floating spheres in culture, and endowed with all of the features expected from tumor cells with stem-like properties were obtained from glioblastomas, medulloblastoma but not oligodendrogliomas.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A long-term self-renewal capacity was particularly observed for cells of malignant glio-neuronal tumors (MGNTs). Cell sorting, karyotyping and proteomic analysis demonstrated cell stability throughout prolonged passages. Xenografts of fewer than 500 cells in Nude mouse brains induced a progressively growing tumor. CD133, CD15/LeX/Ssea-1, CD34 expressions, or exclusion of Hoechst dye occurred in subsets of cells forming spheres, but was not predictive of their capacity to form secondary spheres or tumors, or to resist high doses of temozolomide.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results further highlight the specificity of a subset of high-grade gliomas, MGNT. TICs derived from these tumors represent a new tool to screen for innovative therapies.</p

A Critical Role of a Cellular Membrane Traffic Protein in Poliovirus RNA Replication

Replication of many RNA viruses is accompanied by extensive remodeling of intracellular membranes. In poliovirus-infected cells, ER and Golgi stacks disappear, while new clusters of vesicle-like structures form sites for viral RNA synthesis. Virus replication is inhibited by brefeldin A (BFA), implicating some components(s) of the cellular secretory pathway in virus growth. Formation of characteristic vesicles induced by expression of viral proteins was not inhibited by BFA, but they were functionally deficient. GBF1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small cellular GTPases, Arf, is responsible for the sensitivity of virus infection to BFA, and is required for virus replication. Knockdown of GBF1 expression inhibited virus replication, which was rescued by catalytically active protein with an intact N-terminal sequence. We identified a mutation in GBF1 that allows growth of poliovirus in the presence of BFA. Interaction between GBF1 and viral protein 3A determined the outcome of infection in the presence of BFA

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field

Create a Culture of Innovation in your Organization.

How To piece on encouraging innovation in the workplace and bringing new ideas to fruition. Renault lists five elements that can help create a culture of innovation

Respiration, anoxie et dénitrification à l'échelle de la motte de sol : influence de la matière organique et de la structure des sols sur la distribution et le fonctionnement des micro-organismes dénitrifiants. Rapport final du projet réalisé dans le cadre de l'AIP ECOSOL

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