Coping with environmental eukaryotes; identification of pseudomonas syringae genes during the interaction with alternative hosts or predators

Understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning the ecological success of plant pathogens is critical to develop strategies for controlling diseases and protecting crops. Recent observations have shown that plant pathogenic bacteria, particularly Pseudomonas, exist in a range of natural environments away from their natural plant host e.g., water courses, soil, non-host plants. This exposes them to a variety of eukaryotic predators such as nematodes, insects and amoebae present in the environment. Nematodes and amoeba in particular are bacterial predators while insect herbivores may act as indirect predators, ingesting bacteria on plant tissue. We therefore postulated that bacteria are probably under selective pressure to avoid or survive predation and have therefore developed appropriate coping mechanisms. We tested the hypothesis that plant pathogenic Pseudomonas syringae are able to cope with predation pressure and found that three pathovars show weak, but significant resistance or toxicity. To identify the gene systems that contribute to resistance or toxicity we applied a heterologous screening technique, called Rapid Virulence Annotation (RVA), for anti-predation and toxicity mechanisms. Three cosmid libraries for P. syringae pv. aesculi, pv. tomato and pv. phaseolicola, of approximately 2000 cosmids each, were screened in the susceptible/non-toxic bacterium Escherichia coli against nematode, amoebae and an insect. A number of potential conserved and unique genes were identified which included genes encoding haemolysins, biofilm formation, motility and adhesion. These data provide the first multi-pathovar comparative insight to how plant pathogens cope with different predation pressures and infection of an insect gut and provide a foundation for further study into the function of selected genes and their role in ecological success

Root ectomycorrhizal status of oak trees symptomatic and asymptomatic for Acute Oak Decline in southern Britain

Acute Oak Decline (AOD) is a decline-disease that has distinctive symptoms and poses a serious threat to oak. Our understanding of the causal factors of AOD remains poor but it is likely that multiple biotic and abiotic factors contribute to a deterioration in oak condition. There is evidence that indications of above-ground tree health status are frequently reflected below-ground in roots and associated ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities. However, no study has yet explored these potential relationships specifically in AOD affected trees. In this study, we compare the composition and range of functional exploration types of ECM communities associated with AOD symptomatic oak trees and with AOD asymptomatic trees in three oak-dominated woodlands in southern England. We additionally assess the abundance of fine roots tips in surface soils beneath AOD symptomatic and asymptomatic trees and consider soil physico-chemical effects on ECM communities. The frequency of fine root tips was found to be significantly higher on asymptomatic compared with symptomatic trees in two of the three woodlands studied and long-distance ECM exploration types had a weak positive association with AOD asymptomatic trees. ECM diversity and composition were, however, unaffected by tree symptom status and were not related to the frequency of fine root tips. ECM diversity and compositional (but not exploration type) differences were evident only between the different woodlands and this was related to a small number of soil chemistry variables. This study revealed a relationship between the above-ground symptoms of AOD (i.e. stem lesions and Agrilus biguttatus exit holes) and the frequency of live root tips, providing a potential additional diagnostic tool of trees in decline and highlighting the importance of considering belowground rhizosphere microbiome communities

Técnicas y tecnologías en hidrología médica e hidroterapia

El objetivo del presente informe es difundir entre los profesionales médicos la información que contribuya a orientarles en la materia, conocer las aplicaciones terapéuticas o rehabilitadoras que pueden ofrecer los distintos centros termales y explorar su interacción con los tratamientos médicos habituales a los que suelen estar sometidos los usuarios de estos programas de termalismo

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Studying the effects of human resource management practices and corporate social responsibility on employee performance in Kalinisan Workers Service Cooperative

Employee performance is an essential element in an organization\u27s competitiveness. There exist various factors that affect the performance of the employees. This research paper mainly investigates the effects of human resource management practices and corporate social responsibility on employee performance in the Kalinisan Workers Service Cooperative. Different human resource management practices and corporate social responsibility activities are identified and critically studied to reveal their effects on employee performance. The researchers were able to gather quantitative data that consisted of one hundred thirty-two (132) respondents, while also interviewing nine (9) respondents as qualitative data in the said company. To test the hypothesis of the study, the researchers ensured that the 4 assumptions— Durbin-Watson Test, Collinearity Statistics, Normality Test, and Test for Homoscedastic were met. The resaerchers then proceeded to utilize Pearson’s Correlation Analysis, and Regression Analysis (Linear Regression) to test the hypothesis of the study. Based on the results of the Pearson correlation analysis conducted for the study, there exists a significant positive correlation between the Human Resource Management Practices subconstructs and Employee Performance. Likewise, there also exists a significant positive correlation between Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Performance. Furthermore, based on the linear regression analysis conducted for studying the effects of Human Resource Management Practices and Corporate Social Responsibility towards Employee Performance that both the Human Resource Management Practices subconstructs and Corporate Social Responsibility have a significant positive effect on Employee Performance within Kalinisan Workers Service Cooperative. Subsequently, the study recommended Kalinisan Workers Service Cooperative to improve on their Human Resource Management Practices and Corporate Social Responsibility. The researchers suggest to update the expectations section of the job description and the usage of daily monitoring shifts to generate valuable feedback. Handpicking employees to be selected for the company is highly recommended. Furthermore, an increased presence of team leaders/supervisors as well as to provide more personalized work-related assistance whenever needed are deemed necessary for its workforce. The researchers recommend non-monetary compensations as well as milestone-based incentives. In addition, the frequency of training should be returned to being conducted quarterly, all the while integrating more the use of technology and feedback from employees. The researchers recommend the use of more job advertisement websites in recruiting employees. The company is also suggested to have seminars focused on raising awareness in support of equal opportunities for employees and against discrimination. Moreover, it is also recommended that the company should engage its employees more when it comes to counseling, planning assistance, and work-life balance policies. The researchers also recommend involving the employees in the planning and execution of community-based activities, as well as providing aid in the respective communities of the employees. Additionally, the practices related to the protection and preservation of the environment are sufficient and recommended to continuously implement the practices regarding the welfare of the environment

Characterization of bone marrow T cells in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, multiple myeloma, and plasma cell leukemia demonstrates increased infiltration by cytotoxic/Th1 T cells demonstrating a squed TCR-Vβ repertoire

[BACKGROUND]: The majority of studies published to date regarding the role of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment in the pathogenesis of monoclonal gammopathies (MG) have focused on the interaction between stroma cells and plasma cells, whereas information concerning the lymphocytes infiltrating the tumor microenvironment is scanty. [METHODS]: The authors measured the distribution, TCR-Vβ repertoire, immunophenotype, and functional characteristics of different subsets of BM T lymphocytes from 61 nontreated patients with MG (30 patients with MG of undetermined significance [MGUS], 27 patients with multiple myeloma [MM], and 4 patients with plasma cell leukemia [PCL]). [RESULTS]: The authors found a significantly increased rate of BM infiltration by T cells in all patient groups, at the expense of CD4+CD8- and CD4-CD8- T lymphocytes and both CD4+CD28- and CD8+CD28- cytotoxic/effector T cell subsets, and associated with TCR-Vβ expansions in both CD4+ and CD8+ BM T cells in the majority of patients with MGUS, MM, and PCL. Moreover, the percentage of T cells secreting interferon (IFN)-γ was found to be increased (P ≤ 0.05) both in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in MGUS and MM patients, and a higher plasma concentration of IFN-γ was found in patients with MM. It is interesting to note that a positive correlation was noted between the proportion of CD28- and both the percentage of IFN-γ-secreting cells and the proportion of expanded TCR-Vβ lymphocytes within the total BM CD4+ T cells. [CONCLUSIONS]: The results of the current study demonstrated an increased infiltration of BM by T cells associated with frequent TCR-Vβ expansions and a more prominent cytotoxic/Th1 phenotype in all the patient groups studied. © 2006 American Cancer Society.Peer Reviewe

Multiparameter flow cytometric remission is the most relevant prognostic factor for multiple myeloma patients who undergo autologous stem cell transplantation

Minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment is standard in many hematologic malignancies but is considered investigational in multiple myeloma (MM). We report a prospective analysis of the prognostic importance of MRD detection by multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) in 295 newly diagnosed MM patients uniformly treated in the GEM2000 protocol VBMCP/VBAD induction plus autologous stem cell transplantation [ASCT]). MRD status by MFC was determined at day 100 after ASCT. Progression-free survival (PFS; median 71 vs 37 months, P < .001) and overall survival (OS; median not reached vs 89 months, P = .002) were longer in patients who were MRD negative versus MRD positive at day 100 after ASCT. Similar prognostic differentiation was seen in 147 patients who achieved immunofixation-negative complete response after ASCT. Moreover, MRD− immunofixation-negative (IFx−) patients and MRD− IFx+ patients had significantly longer PFS than MRD+ IFx− patients. Multivariate analysis identified MRD status by MFC at day 100 after ASCT as the most important independent prognostic factor for PFS (HR = 3.64, P = .002) and OS (HR = 2.02, P = .02). Our findings demonstrate the clinical importance of MRD evaluation by MFC, and illustrate the need for further refinement of MM re-sponse criteria. This trial is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov under identifier NCT00560053