Stimulus specificity in the acquisition and extinction of conditioned taste aversion

Vogel, E.H. Universidad de Talca, Escuela de Psicología, Casilla N° 747, Talca, Chile.An experiment evaluated whether the acquisition and extinction of conditioned taste aversion in the rat is stimulus-specific by testing the degree of response transfer between sweet and salty tastes. Animals in the paired-same and paired-different groups received a presentation of a gustatory CS and a cyclophosphamide injection US. Nonconditioned control groups received unpaired CS /US presentations or the CS followed by a vehicle injection. Taste avoidance was evaluated in three nonreinforced test sessions. In the paired-same, unpaired and vehicle groups, all test sessions were conducted with the same flavor as originally used in training, whereas the paired-different group was tested with a novel flavor on the first and second sessions and with the originally trained flavor in last session. Stimulus specific acquisition was apparent in the first test session, when the animals in the group paired-same exhibited lower fluid intake than the other three groups. Evidence of specificity of extinction was apparent in the last test session, when animals in the group paired-different exhibited lower fluid intake than the other three groups. These results provide further evidence of stimulus specificity in acquisition and extinction of conditioned taste aversion, supporting the associative interpretation of these phenomen

Human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted diseases in Cuban women

ABSTRACTA cross-sectional study was performed in 60 Cuban women of child-bearing age who were sero-positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and 60 controls. Human papillomavirus (HPV) was identified most frequently, with oncogenic HPV serotypes 16, 33 and 58 detected in HIV-positive patients, and serotypes 11, 33 and 51 in the controls (relative risk 4.41; 95% CI 2.21– 8.29). Syphilis and hepatitis B and C viruses were detected exclusively in HIV-sero-positive women (p < 0.05). Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) appeared to pose a substantial health problem, especially for HIV-positive women. Clinics should consider screening and treatment for STDs as part of their HIV prevention programmes

Prevalence of infection with high-risk human papillomavirus in women in Colombia

AbstractThe prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in 2109 females inhabiting five cities of Colombia was determined. Of the 49.2% with an HPV infection, 59.8% were infected with more than one viral type. Species 7 (of the the genus Alphapapillomavirus) was associated with multiple infections. Analysis of the socio-demographic data revealed a statistically significant protective effect associated with the status of civil union (civil recognition of cohabitation without marriage), and indigenous ethnicity proved to be a risk factor for HPV infection. This is the first study comparing HPV infection among women from geographical regions of Colombia with different socio-cultural structures

Skin-associated lactic acid bacteria from North American bullfrogs as potential control agents of batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is the causative agent of chytridiomycosis and has been a key driver in the catastrophic decline of amphibians globally. While many strategies have been proposed to mitigate Bd outbreaks, few have been successful. In recent years, the use of probiotic formulations that protect an amphibian host by killing or inhibiting Bd have shown promise as an effective chytridiomycosis control strategy. The North American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is a common carrier of Bd and harbours a diverse skin microbiota that includes lactic acid bacteria (LAB), a microbial group containing species classified as safe and conferring host benefits. We investigated beneficial/probiotic properties: anti-Bd activity, and adhesion and colonisation characteristics (hydrophobicity, biofilm formation and exopolysaccharide-EPS production) in two confirmed LAB (cLAB-Enterococcus gallinarum CRL 1826, Lactococcus garvieae CRL 1828) and 60 presumptive LAB (pLAB) [together named as LABs] isolated from bullfrog skin.We challenged LABs against eight genetically diverse Bd isolates and found that 32% of the LABs inhibited at least one Bd isolate with varying rates of inhibition. Thus, we established a score of sensitivity from highest (BdGPL AVS7) to lowest (BdGPL C2A) for the studied Bd isolates. We further reveal key factors underlying host adhesion and colonisation of LABs. Specifically, 90.3% of LABs exhibited hydrophilic properties that may promote adhesion to the cutaneous mucus, with the remaining isolates (9.7%) being hydrophobic in nature with a surface polarity compatible with colonisation of acidic, basic or both substrate types. We also found that 59.7% of LABs showed EPS synthesis and 66.1% produced biofilm at different levels: 21% weak, 29% moderate, and 16.1% strong. Together all these properties enhance colonisation of the host surface (mucus or epithelial cells) and may confer protective benefits against Bd through competitive exclusion. Correspondence analysis indicated that biofilm synthesis was LABs specific with high aggregating bacteria correlating with strong biofilm producers, and EPS producers being correlated to negative biofilm producing LABs. We performed Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR analysis and demonstrated a higher degree of genetic diversity among rod-shaped pLAB than cocci. Based on the LAB genetic analysis and specific probiotic selection criteria that involve beneficial properties, we sequenced 16 pLAB which were identified as Pediococcus pentosaceus, Enterococcus thailandicus, Lactobacillus pentosus/L. plantarum, L. brevis, and L. curvatus. Compatibility assays performed with cLAB and the 16 species described above indicate that all tested LAB can be included in a mixed probiotic formula. Based on our analyses, we suggest that E. gallinarum CRL 1826, L. garvieae CRL 1828, and P. pentosaceus 15 and 18B represent optimal probiotic candidates for Bd control and mitigation. © 2019 Niederle et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited149FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP2016/25358-3This research was supported by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (PIP 063 to SEP), Consejo de Investigaciones de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (PIUNT 26/D 414 and 26/D 645 to SEP, and PIUNT 528), Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (PICT 2017-2244 to SEP, PICT 2015-2467 to CEA, and PICT2017-4324 to MENM), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (CGL2015-70070-R to JB), Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (1181758 to CSA and 3180107 to AVS), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (2016/25358-3 to LFT). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip

Reasons for Institutionalization of People With Dementia: Informal Caregiver Reports From 8 European Countries

Objectives: To explore reasons for institutionalization of people with dementia according to informal caregivers as well as variation in reasons between countries. Design: An explorative cross-sectional study was conducted in 8 European countries. Setting: Per country, a minimum of 3 long term care facilities, offering care and accommodation as a package, participated in this study. Participating countries were selected to represent different geographic areas in Europe. Participants: Of the 791 informal caregivers involved in the RightTimePlaceCare project of people with dementia who were recently admitted to a long term care facility, 786 were included for this study. Measurements: As part of a semistructured interview, informal caregivers were asked the main reason for institutionalization in an open-ended question. Answers were categorized according to a conventional coding approach. All reasons were then quantified and tested. Results: Mainly patient-related reasons were stated, such as neuropsychiatric symptoms (25%), care dependency (24%), and cognition (19%). Neuropsychiatric symptoms were among the most often mentioned reasons in most countries. Besides patient-related reasons, caregiver burden and the inability of the informal caregiver to care for the patient were stated as reasons (both 15%). Further analyses showed countries differ significantly in reasons according to informal caregivers. Additionally, reasons were analyzed for spouses and child-caregivers, showing that spouses more often stated reasons related to themselves compared with child-caregivers. Conclusion: Multiple reasons contribute to the institutionalization for people with dementia, with several factors that may influence why there were country differences. Variation in the organization of dementia care and cultural aspects, or the relationship between the informal caregiver and person with dementia may be factors influencing the reasons. Because of a wide variation in reasons between countries, no one-size-fits-all approach can be offered to guide informal caregivers when facing the possibility of institutionalization of the person with dementia. (C) 2014 - American Medical Directors Association, Inc. All rights reserved

Solid-state NMR characterisation of the thermal transformation of a Hungarian white illite

1H, 27Al, 29Si and 39K solid-state NMR are reported from a Hungarian illite 2:1 clay for samples heated up 1600 °C. This single-phase sample has a small amount of aluminium substitution in the silica layer and very low iron-content (0.4 wt%). Thermal analysis shows several events that can be related to features in the NMR spectra, and hence changes in the atomic scale structure. As dehydroxylation occurs there is increasing AlO4 and AlO5-contents. The silica and gibbsite layers become increasingly separated as the dehydroxylation progresses. Between 900 and 1000 °C the silica layer forms a potassium aluminosilicate glass. The gibbsite-layer forms spinel/γ-Al2O3 and some aluminium-rich mullite. Then on heating to 1600 °C changes in the 29Si and 27Al MAS NMR spectra are consistent with the aluminosilicate glass increasing its aluminium-content, the amount of mullite increasing probably with its silicon-content also increasing, and some α-Al2O3 forming

PHF6 regulates phenotypic plasticity through chromatin organization within lineage-specific genes

Developmental and lineage plasticity have been observed in numerous malignancies and have been correlated with tumor progression and drug resistance. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that enable such plasticity to occur. Here, we describe the function of the plant homeodomain finger protein 6 (PHF6) in leukemia and define its role in regulating chromatin accessibility to lineage-specific transcription factors. We show that loss of Phf6 in B-cell leukemia results in systematic changes in gene expression via alteration of the chromatin landscape at the transcriptional start sites of B-cell- and T-cell-specific factors. Additionally, Phf6KO cells show significant down-regulation of genes involved in the development and function of normal B cells, show up-regulation of genes involved in T-cell signaling, and give rise to mixed-lineage lymphoma in vivo. Engagement of divergent transcriptional programs results in phenotypic plasticity that leads to altered disease presentation in vivo, tolerance of aberrant oncogenic signaling, and differential sensitivity to frontline and targeted therapies. These findings suggest that active maintenance of a precise chromatin landscape is essential for sustaining proper leukemia cell identity and that loss of a single factor (PHF6) can cause focal changes in chromatin accessibility and nucleosome positioning that render cells susceptible to lineage transition.National Cancer Institute ; F31-CA183405 - National Institutes of Health ; 1122374 - National Science Foundation ; Ludwig Center for Molecular Oncology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology ; Koch Institute ; Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center ; P30-CA14051 - Koch Institute ; NCI ; NIH ; National Science Foundatio

Soft, collinear and non-relativistic modes in radiative decays of very heavy quarkonium

We analyze the end-point region of the photon spectrum in semi-inclusive radiative decays of very heavy quarkonium (m alpha_s^2 >> Lambda_QCD). We discuss the interplay of the scales arising in the Soft-Collinear Effective Theory, m, m(1-z)^{1/2} and m(1-z) for z close to 1, with the scales of heavy quarkonium systems in the weak coupling regime, m, m alpha_s and m alpha_s^2. For 1-z \sim alpha_s^2 only collinear and (ultra)soft modes are seen to be relevant, but the recently discovered soft-collinear modes show up for 1-z << alpha_s^2. The S- and P-wave octet shape functions are calculated. When they are included in the analysis of the photon spectrum of the Upsilon (1S) system, the agreement with data in the end-point region becomes excellent. The NRQCD matrix elements and are also obtained.Comment: Revtex, 11 pages, 6 figures. Minor improvements and references added. Journal versio

Phase I clinical trial in healthy adults of a nasal vaccine candidate containing recombinant hepatitis B surface and core antigens

SummaryBackgroundThe nasal vaccine candidate (NASVAC), comprising hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface (HBsAg) and core antigens (HBcAg), has been shown to be highly immunogenic in animal models.MethodsA phase I double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was carried out in 19 healthy male adults with no serologic markers of immunity/infection to HBV. This study was aimed at exploring the safety and immunogenic profile of nasal co-administration of both HBV recombinant antigens. The trial was performed according to Good Clinical Practice guidelines. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 45 years and were randomly allocated to receive a mixture of 50μg HBsAg and 50μg HBcAg or 0.9% physiologic saline solution, as a placebo, via nasal spray in a five-dose schedule at 0, 7, 15, 30, and 60 days. A total volume of 0.5ml was administered in two dosages of 125μl per nostril. Adverse events were actively recorded 1h, 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h, 72h, 7 days and 30 days after each dose. Anti-HBs and anti-HBc titers were evaluated using corresponding ELISA kits at days 30 and 90.ResultsThe vaccine candidate was safe and well tolerated. Adverse reactions included sneezing (34.1%), rhinorrhea (12.2%), nasal stuffiness (9.8%), palate itching (9.8%), headache (9.8%), and general malaise (7.3%). These reactions were all self-limiting and mild in intensity. No severe or unexpected events were recorded during the trial. The vaccine elicited anti-HBc seroconversion in 100% of subjects as early as day 30 of the immunization schedule, while a seroprotective anti-HBs titer (≥10IU/l) was at a maximum at day 90 (75%). All subjects in the placebo group remained seronegative during the trial.ConclusionThe HBsAg–HBcAg vaccine candidate was safe, well tolerated and immunogenic in this phase I study in healthy adults. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of safety and immunogenicity for a nasal vaccine candidate comprising HBV antigens