Eroticism in E.L James' Fifty Shades of Grey

Society constantly tends to assume that everything related to sexual activity regarded as eroticism. In fact, eroticism is not always and only about sexual activity. It is a part of man aspects in human life, especially in human relationship. In other definitions, eroticism in literary work is the sexual desire that affects the characters within. This research undertakes to discuss the eroticism in the novel Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. To make it more specific, this research has been divided into two research questions, they are (1) How is the eroticism depicted in the novel Fifty Shades of Grey (2) How does the eroticism supports the romantic formula in the novel Fifty Shades of GreyThis researcher uses Bataille's theory as eroticism theory as a supporter and basic theory for explains on eroticism, the types of eroticism and the theory of the romance formula of Janice Radway's of eroticism as a supporter of romantic formulas in a literary work that is an erotic romantic novel. This research uses literary criticism method, specifically structuralism and also the eroticism theory from George Bataille to analyze the data and answer the research questions. According to George Bataille, eroticism is divided into emotional eroticism, physical eroticism, and religious eroticism. Each kind of eroticisms has its own definition and examples

Comparative analysis of commercially available typhoid point-of-care tests: results of a prospective and hybrid retrospective multicenter diagnostic accuracy study in Kenya and Pakistan

Blood and bone marrow cultures are considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of typhoid, but these methods require infrastructure and skilled staff that are not always available in low- and middle-income countries where typhoid is endemic. The objective of the study is to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of nine commercially available Salmonella Typhi rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) using blood culture as a reference standard in a multicenter study. This was a prospective and retrospective multicenter diagnostic accuracy study conducted in two geographically distant areas where typhoid is endemic (Pakistan and Kenya; NCT04801602). Nine RDTs were evaluated, including the Widal test. Point estimates for sensitivity and specificity were calculated using the Wilson method. Latent class analyses were performed using R to address the imperfect gold standard. A total of 531 serum samples were evaluated (264 blood culture positive; 267 blood culture negative). The sensitivity of RDTs varied widely (range, 0 to 78.8%), with the best overall performance shown by Enterocheck WB (72.7% sensitivity, 86.5% specificity). In latent class modeling, CTK IgG was found to have the highest sensitivity (79.1%), while the highest overall accuracy was observed with Enterocheck (73.8% sensitivity, 94.5% specificity). All commercially available Salmonella Typhi RDTs evaluated in the study had sensitivity and specificity values that fell below the required levels to be recommended for an accurate diagnosis. There were minimal differences in RDT performances between regions of endemicity. These findings highlight the clear need for new and more-accurate Salmonella Typhi tests

Guidance for studies evaluating the accuracy of rapid tuberculosis drug-susceptibility tests

The development and implementation of rapid molecular diagnostics for tuberculosis (TB) drug-susceptibility testing is critical to inform treatment of patients and to prevent the emergence and spread of resistance. Optimal trial planning for existing tests and those in development will be critical to rapidly gather the evidence necessary to inform World Health Organization review and to support potential policy recommendations. The evidence necessary includes an assessment of the performance for TB and resistance detection as well as an assessment of the operational characteristics of these platforms. The performance assessment should include analytical studies to confirm the limit of detection and assay ability to detect mutations conferring resistance across globally representative strains. The analytical evaluation is typically followed by multisite clinical evaluation studies to confirm diagnostic performance in sites and populations of intended use. This paper summarizes the considerations for the design of these analytical and clinical studies.FIND (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics)https://academic.oup.com/jid2020-10-08am2019Medical Microbiolog

Mycobacterium marinum antagonistically induces an autophagic response while repressing the autophagic flux in a TORC1- and ESX-1-dependent manner.

Autophagy is a eukaryotic catabolic process also participating in cell-autonomous defence. Infected host cells generate double-membrane autophagosomes that mature in autolysosomes to engulf, kill and digest cytoplasmic pathogens. However, several bacteria subvert autophagy and benefit from its machinery and functions. Monitoring infection stages by genetics, pharmacology and microscopy, we demonstrate that the ESX-1 secretion system of Mycobacterium marinum, a close relative to M. tuberculosis, upregulates the transcription of autophagy genes, and stimulates autophagosome formation and recruitment to the mycobacteria-containing vacuole (MCV) in the host model organism Dictyostelium. Antagonistically, ESX-1 is also essential to block the autophagic flux and deplete the MCV of proteolytic activity. Activators of the TORC1 complex localize to the MCV in an ESX-1-dependent manner, suggesting an important role in the manipulation of autophagy by mycobacteria. Our findings suggest that the infection by M. marinum activates an autophagic response that is simultaneously repressed and exploited by the bacterium to support its survival inside the MCV

Induction par un stress de la résistance aux peptides antimicrobiens chez Yersinia

Lorsque les bactéries colonisent un hôte, elles sont rapidement confrontées à l'activité d'effecteurs de l'immunité innée parmi lesquels figurent les peptides anti-microbiens. Produites par de nombreux organismes vivants, ces molécules sont pourvues de charges électro-positives et de domaines hydrophobes responsables de leur activité : leurs interactions avec les charges électro-négatives portées par des composés de la surface bactérienne est suivie d'une perméabilisation de la membrane cytoplasmique susceptible d'aboutir à la mort cellulaire. Cependant, au cours de leur évolution, les bactéries ont développé des mécanismes défensifs à l'égard des peptides anti-microbiens. Ainsi, lorsque Yersinia pseudotuberculosis - une bactérie pathogène pour le tractus digestif de l'homme et de nombreux animaux et choisie comme modèle pour cette étude- a poussé dans un milieu carencé en fer, sa survie est augmentée en présence d'un peptide anti-microbien particulier : la polymyxine B. A l'opposé, celle de Y. enterocolitica, une espèce phylogénétiquement proche, reste inchangée dans les mêmes conditions expérimentales. Nous avons donc émis l'hypothèse que des gènes, présents uniquement chez Y. pseudotuberculosis, conféreraient au microorganisme la capacité de résister à la polymyxine B. Afin de les caractériser, nous avons construit une banque constituée de dix mille fragments génomiques (obtenus aléatoirement) de Y. pseudotuberculosis, puis recherché le(s)quel(s) d'entre eux permet(tent) l'induction d'une résistance à la polymyxine B chez Y. enterocolitica privée de fer. Nous avons ainsi identifié deux régions chromosomiques distinctes de Y. pseudotuberculosis qui sont impliquées dans le phénotype de résistance. La première comporte trois gènes, YPTB0331, YPTB0332 et YPTB0333, spécifiant respectivement un transporteur putatif, une protéine de fonction inconnue et un régulateur transcriptionnel de la famille LysR. La seconde région comprend deux gènes, YPTB2685 et YPTB2686, codant des produits de fonction inconnue. L'inactivation de l'un des gènes de chacune de ces régions, YPTB0333 et YPTB2686, altère la résistance de Y. pseudotuberculosis à la polymyxine B mais également à des peptides anti-microbiens d'Invertébrés (dérivés de cécropines, polyphémusine). Elle est également associée à une diminution de la virulence bactérienne in vivo, qui est essentiellement due à une colonisation réduite des plaques de Peyer intestinales, étape déterminante du processus infectieux chez l'hôte. Le mécanisme de résistance mis en jeu par YPTB0331-0332-0333 est une modification de la surface bactérienne, responsable d'une réduction du contact des peptides avec la bactérie. Le rôle exercé par YPTB2685 et YPTB2686 serait d'inactiver (voire de dégrader) la polymyxine BLILLE2-BU Santé-Recherche (593502101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Setting up and monitoring an infection of Dictyostelium discoideum with mycobacteria.

Mycobacterium marinum is the causative agent of fish and amphibian tuberculosis in the wild. It is a genetically close cousin of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and thereby the infection process remarkably shares many of the hallmarks of M. tuberculosis infection in human, at both the cellular and organism levels. Therefore, M. marinum is used as a model for the study of mycobacterial infection in various host organisms. Recently, the Dictyostelium-M. marinum system has been shown to be a valuable model that recapitulates the main features of the intracellular fate of M. marinum including phagosome maturation arrest, as well as its particular cell-to-cell dissemination mode. We present here a "starter kit" of detailed methods that allows to establish an infection of Dictyostelium with M. marinum and to monitor quantitatively the intracellular bacterial growth

Diagnostic accuracy of DPP Fever Panel II Asia tests for tropical fever diagnosis

Background: Fever is the most frequent symptom in patients seeking care in South and Southeast Asia. The introduction of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria continues to drive patient management and care. Malaria-negative cases are commonly treated with antibiotics without confirmation of bacteraemia. Conventional laboratory tests for differential diagnosis require skilled staff and appropriate access to healthcare facilities. In addition, introducing single-disease RDTs instead of conventional laboratory tests remains costly. To overcome some of the delivery challenges of multiple separate tests, a multiplexed RDT with the capacity to diagnose a diverse range of tropical fevers would be a cost-effective solution. In this study, a multiplex lateral flow immunoassay (DPP Fever Panel II Assay) that can detect serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) and specific microbial antigens of common fever agents in Asia (Orientia tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi, Leptospira spp., Burkholderia pseudomallei, Dengue virus, Chikungunya virus, and Zika virus), was evaluated. Methodology/Principal findings: Whole blood (WB) and serum samples from 300 patients with undefined febrile illness (UFI) recruited in Vientiane, Laos PDR were tested using the DPP Fever Panel II, which consists of an Antibody panel and Antigen panel. To compare reader performance, results were recorded using two DPP readers, DPP Micro Reader (Micro Reader 1) and DPP Micro Reader Next Generation (Micro Reader 2). WB and serum samples were run on the same fever panel and read on both micro readers in order to compare results. ROC analysis and equal variance analysis were performed to inform the diagnostic validity of the test compared against the respective reference standards of each fever agent (S1 Table). Overall better AUC values were observed in whole blood results. No significant difference in AUC performance was observed when comparing whole blood and serum sample testing, except for when testing for R. typhi IgM (p = 0.04), Leptospira IgM (p = 0.02), and Dengue IgG (p = 0.03). Linear regression depicted R2 values had ~70% agreement across WB and serum samples, except when testing for leptospirosis and Zika, where the R2 values were 0.37 and 0.47, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the performance of Micro Reader 1 and Micro Reader 2, except when testing for the following pathogens: Zika IgM, Zika IgG, and B pseudomallei CPS Ag. Conclusions/Significance: These results demonstrate that the diagnostic accuracy of the DPP Fever Panel II is comparable to that of commonly used RDTs. The optimal cut-off would depend on the use of the test and the desired sensitivity and specificity. Further studies are required to authenticate the use of these cut-offs in other endemic regions. This multiplex RDT offers diagnostic benefits in areas with limited access to healthcare and has the potential to improve field testing capacities. This could improve tropical fever management and reduce the public health burden in endemic low-resource areas

The autophagic flux is blocked during wt <i>M</i>. <i>marinum</i> infection.

<p><b>A.</b> GFP-Atg8-expressing cells were infected or mock-infected for 0.5 or 6 h with mCherry-expressing <i>M</i>. <i>marinum</i> wt or with DsRed-expressing <i>M</i>. <i>marinum</i> ΔRD1 and treated or not with a PI cocktail at 2.5× for one additional hour. Representative maximum projections of live imaging at 1.5 hpi are shown. Scale bars, 10 μm; <b>B.</b> Medians with interquartile ranges of the number of GFP-Atg8 structures per cell from the infections carried out in <b>A</b>. Each dot represents one cell. 178–338 cells per condition from three independent experiments were counted. The λ that define the Poisson distribution of each data set and differences between them were calculated as described in Materials and Methods (*<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05; ****<i>p</i> ≤ 0.0001; ns, <i>p</i> > 0.05); <b>C.</b> Mean and standard deviation of the log₂ (<b>λ</b>_PI/<b>λ</b>_mock) from the three independent replicates represented in <b>B</b>. A log₂ (<b>λ</b>_PI/<b>λ</b>_mock) of zero implies that there was a total autophagic block. <i>p</i>-values calculated as described in Materials and Methods (****<i>p</i> ≤ 0.0001; ns, <i>p</i> > 0.05). <b>D.</b> Samples from infections (<b>A</b>) were immunoblotted against GFP. Longer exposure of the free GFP bands is shown as "GFP (high)". Ponceau-S staining as loading control. Representative result from four independent experiments <b>E.</b> Means and standard deviations of the ratio GFP/GFP-Atg8 from the immunoblots represented in <b>D</b>. Unpaired <i>t</i> test (*<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05; **<i>p</i> ≤ 0.01; ns, <i>p</i> > 0.05). <b>F.</b> EM of <i>D</i>. <i>discoideum</i> infected with <i>M</i>. <i>marinum</i> wt for 7 h and incubated or not with PI at 2.5× for an additional hour. White and green asterisks label bacteria and autophagosomes, respectively. White arrowheads point to membrane extensions originating at the MCV. The black arrowhead marks the zoomIn. Scale bars, 2 μm.</p