Current status of antisense RNA-mediated gene regulation in Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive human-pathogen bacterium that served as an experimental model for investigating fundamental processes of adaptive immunity and virulence. Recent novel technologies allowed the identification of several hundred non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the Listeria genome and provided insight into an unexpected complex transcriptional machinery. In this review, we discuss ncRNAs that are encoded on the opposite strand of the target gene and are therefore termed antisense RNAs (asRNAs). We highlight mechanistic and functional concepts of asRNAs in L. monocytogenes and put these in context of asRNAs in other bacteria. Understanding asRNAs will further broaden our knowledge of RNA-mediated gene regulation and may provide targets for diagnostic and antimicrobial development

AIS4C: AIS Candid Conversation on Community Conduct: Panel Report from ICIS 2020

This report reflects the discussion that took place at a virtual panel at the ICIS 2020 conference. It focuses on a candid conversation on the code of conduct (AIS4C) among AIS community members. As our AIS community has evolved, we have grown in size, diversity, and in the scope of member needs; it is important for all stakeholders to understand what is expected as members of this academic community. The panel included those currently serving in AIS committees related to member and research conduct. The objective of the panel was to start a dialogue about what we – as members of the AIS – each hope to gain from our academic interactions, and how AIS can help members achieve these goals and help each other achieve desired outcomes. Maintaining good standing in the AIS community protects individuals’ professional reputations and the reputation of the IS discipline as a whole. Understanding what AIS offers its members to accomplish these objectives, allows individuals to fully leverage AIS member services to become more successful researchers and teachers. By situating the panel within the current COVID-disrupted world, the descriptions of desirable behavior among members and the outlining of member services, this panel report is intended to benefit current and future members of AIS

Preparation and execution of voluntary action both contribute to awareness of intention

How and when motor intentions form has long been controversial. In particular, the extent to which motor preparation and action-related processes produce a conscious experience of intention remains unknown. Here, we used a brain–computer interface (BCI) while participants performed a self-paced movement task to trigger cues upon the detection of a readiness potential (a well-characterized brain signal that precedes movement) or in its absence. The BCI-triggered cues instructed participants either to move or not to move. Following this instruction, participants reported whether they felt they were about to move at the time the cue was presented. Participants were more likely to report an intention (i) when the cue was triggered by the presence of a readiness potential than when the same cue was triggered by its absence, and (ii) when they had just made an action than when they had not. We further describe a time-dependent integration of these two factors: the probability of reporting an intention was maximal when cues were triggered in the presence of a readiness potential, and when participants also executed an action shortly afterwards. Our results provide a first systematic investigation of how prospective and retrospective components are integrated in forming a conscious intention to move

Enzyme prodrug therapy achieves site-specific, personalized physiological responses to the locally produced nitric oxide

Nitric oxide (NO) is a highly potent but short-lived endogenous radical with a wide spectrum of physiological activities. In this work, we developed an enzymatic approach to the site-specific synthesis of NO mediated by biocatalytic surface coatings. Multilayered polyelectrolyte films were optimized as host compartments for the immobilized β-galactosidase (β-Gal) enzyme through a screen of eight polycations and eight polyanions. The lead composition was used to achieve localized production of NO through the addition of β-Gal–NONOate, a prodrug that releases NO following enzymatic bioconversion. The resulting coatings afforded physiologically relevant flux of NO matching that of the healthy human endothelium. The antiproliferative effect due to the synthesized NO in cell culture was site-specific: within a multiwell dish with freely shared media and nutrients, a 10-fold inhibition of cell growth was achieved on top of the biocatalytic coatings compared to the immediately adjacent enzyme-free microwells. The physiological effect of NO produced via the enzyme prodrug therapy was validated ex vivo in isolated arteries through the measurement of vasodilation. Biocatalytic coatings were deposited on wires produced using alloys used in clinical practice and successfully mediated a NONOate concentration-dependent vasodilation in the small arteries of rats. The results of this study present an exciting opportunity to manufacture implantable biomaterials with physiological responses controlled to the desired level for personalized treatment

The Deposition of Metallic Phases on Polymers with Different Electronic Conductivity and Catalytic Activity

The growth of metallic phases and the kinetics of this process are mainly dependent on the electronic conductivity and catalytic activity of the substrate. In this work we used electrodes covered with different polymer films. The conductivity and the number of growth sites of these modified electrodes was changed by the monomer (in the polymer chain or by the polarization. We used the metallic conducting polyaniline as deposited material. From the experimental data current density i and change of mass m as function of time, we got informations about the different steps of electropolymerization as nucleation and growth of a homogeneous film. This investigation shows that the number of growing centers plays an important role and can be varied with the substrate. A modification with semiconducting or insulating polymers, of course, is not useful to accelerate the growth. Further characteristic quantities like the rate of the growth can be calculated and their in-situ-transients are depicted. Additionally the electronic behaviour of the used substrate can be characterized

Burden of asthma exacerbations and health care utilization in pediatric patients with asthma in the US and England.

BACKGROUND: Data on asthma burden in pediatric patients are limited; this real-world study investigated exacerbation frequency and health care resource utilization (HCRU) in pediatric asthma patients from the US and England. METHODS: Data from pediatric patients (aged 6-17 years) in the Optum claims database (US) or Clinical Practice Research Datalink with linkage to Hospital Episode Statistics (England) were analyzed. Patients were categorized into four hierarchical groups: treated asthma (patients with ≥1 baseline asthma medication), severe asthma (plus Global Initiative for Asthma Step 4/5), severe refractory asthma ([SRA] plus ≥2 baseline severe asthma exacerbations), and eosinophilic SRA (SRA plus blood eosinophil count ≥150 cells/µL). Exacerbation frequency and HCRU during the 12 months postindex were described. RESULTS: Of 151 549 treated asthma patients in the US, 18 086 had severe asthma, 2099 SRA, and 109 eosinophilic SRA. There were 32 893 treated asthma patients in England, of whom 2711 had severe asthma, 265 SRA, and 8 eosinophilic SRA. In the 12 months postindex, ≥1 exacerbation occurred in 12.4% and 10.8% of patients with severe asthma, and 32.6% and 42.6% with SRA in the US and England, respectively. The proportions of patients with ≥1 asthma hospitalization in the 30 days after the first asthma exacerbation were 2.7% and 4.4% (treated), 3.5% and 8.2% (severe asthma), and 6.0% and 16.8% (SRA) in the US and England, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study provides insights into current asthma management practices in the US and England and indicates that some patients with severe disease have an unmet need for effective management

From monotonous to enriched bushy pastures to replace the traditional smallholder management in north-eastern Pará, Brazil.

Editado por Reinhard Lieberei, Helmut Bianchi, Vera Boehm, Christoph Reisdorff