Blowing on Embers: Commensal Microbiota and Our Immune System

Vertebrates have co-evolved with microorganisms resulting in a symbiotic relationship, which plays an important role in health and disease. Skin and mucosal surfaces are colonized with a diverse population of commensal microbiota, over 1000 species, outnumbering the host cells by 10-fold. In the past 40 years, studies have built on the idea that commensal microbiota is in constant contact with the host immune system and thus influence immune function. Recent studies, focusing on mutualism in the gut, have shown that commensal microbiota seems to play a critical role in the development and homeostasis of the host immune system. In particular, the gut microbiota appears to direct the organization and maturation of lymphoid tissues and acts both locally and systemically to regulate the recruitment, differentiation, and function of innate and adaptive immune cells. While the pace of research in the area of the mucosal–immune interface has certainly intensified over the last 10 years, we are still in the early days of this field. Illuminating the mechanisms of how gut microbes shape host immunity will enhance our understanding of the causes of immune-mediated pathologies and improve the design of next-generation vaccines. This review discusses the recent advances in this field, focusing on the close relationship between the adaptive immune system and commensal microbiota, a constant and abundant source of foreign antigens

Atypical work and unemployment protection in Europe

This paper evaluates the degree of income protection the tax-benefit system provides to atypical workers in the event of unemployment. Our approach relies on simulating transitions from employment to unemployment for the entire workforce in EU member states to compare household financial circumstances before and after the transition. Our results show that coverage rates of unemployment insurance are low among atypical workers, who are also more exposed to the risk of poverty, both while in work and in unemployment. Low work intensity employees are characterized by high net replacement rates. However, this is due to the major role played by market incomes of other household members. Finally, we show that in countries where self-employed workers are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, extending the eligibility to this group of workers would increase their replacement rates and make them less likely to fall into poverty in the event of unemployment

Jastrow-type calculations of one-nucleon removal reactions on open ss-dd shell nuclei

Single-particle overlap functions and spectroscopic factors are calculated on the basis of Jastrow-type one-body density matrices of open-shell nuclei constructed by using a factor cluster expansion. The calculations use the relationship between the overlap functions corresponding to bound states of the $(A-1)$-particle system and the one-body density matrix for the ground state of the $A$-particle system. In this work we extend our previous analyses of reactions on closed-shell nuclei by using the resulting overlap functions for the description of the cross sections of $(p,d)$ reactions on the open $s$-$d$ shell nuclei $^{24}$Mg, $^{28}$Si and $^{32}$S and of $^{32}$S$(e,e^{\prime}p)$ reaction. The relative role of both shell structure and short-range correlations incorporated in the correlation approach on the spectroscopic factors and the reaction cross sections is pointed out.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

CHANGES IN THE LEVEL OF NT-proBNP AND MEAN PULMONARY ARTERY PRESSURE FOLLOWING BRONCHOPLASTIC LOBECTOMY OR PNEUMONECTOMY AS MARKERS OF RIGHT VENTRICULAR DYSFUNCTION

Background There are scanty data of right ventricular dysfunction markers after major pulmonary resection.Objective To study the changes of plasma level of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and its association with pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) as markers of right ventricular dysfunction in patients who underwent bronchoplastic lobectomy or pneumonectomy.Material and Methods The study population consisted of 36 patients aged 40–65 who underwent major  pulmonary resection for lung cancer in 2016–2018. Patients were stratified into two groups according to the type of surgical procedure: bronchoplastic lobectomy, the main group (n = 19), and pneumonectomy, control group (n = 17). They were then analyzed for plasma NT-proBNP concentration, operative time, blood loss, intraoperative fluid administration, intraoperative urine output, and mean PAP level before and after an operation.Results The mean PAP level correlated positively with the plasma NT-proBNP concentration in the pneumonectomy group (Pearson r = 0.916754; p < 0.001). This correlation was no evident in the subset of patients undergoing bronchoplastic lobectomy at the same determination point (Pearson r = 0.234741; p = 0.330).Conclusion The mean PAP increased significantly after pneumonectomy and is closely correlated with plasma  NTproBNP concentration. These findings support the conclusion that bronchoplasty is preferable over pneumonectomy for lung cancer patients

2D Molybdenum Carbide MXenes for Enhanced Selective Detection of Humidity in Air

2D transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) open up novel opportunities in gas sensing with high sensitivity at room temperature. Herein, 2D Mo2CTx flakes with high aspect ratio are successfully synthesized. The chemiresistive effect in a sub-mu m MXene multilayer for different organic vapors and humidity at 10(1)-10(4) ppm in dry air is studied. Reasonably, the low-noise resistance signal allows the detection of H2O down to 10 ppm. Moreover, humidity suppresses the response of Mo2CTx to organic analytes due to the blocking of adsorption active sites. By measuring the impedance of MXene layers as a function of ac frequency in the 10(-2)-10(6) Hz range, it is shown that operation principle of the sensor is dominated by resistance change rather than capacitance variations. The sensor transfer function allows to conclude that the Mo2CTx chemiresistance is mainly originating from electron transport through interflake potential barriers with heights up to 0.2 eV. Density functional theory calculations, elucidating the Mo2C surface interaction with organic analytes and H2O, explain the experimental data as an energy shift of the density of states under the analyte's adsorption which induces increasing electrical resistance

The aged lymphoid tissue environment fails to support naive T cell homeostasis.

Aging is associated with a gradual loss of naive T cells and a reciprocal increase in the proportion of memory T cells. While reduced thymic output is important, age-dependent changes in factors supporting naive T cells homeostasis may also be involved. Indeed, we noted a dramatic decrease in the ability of aged mice to support survival and homeostatic proliferation of naive T cells. The defect was not due to a reduction in IL-7 expression, but from a combination of changes in the secondary lymphoid environment that impaired naive T cell entry and access to key survival factors. We observed an age-related shift in the expression of homing chemokines and structural deterioration of the stromal network in T cell zones. Treatment with IL-7/mAb complexes can restore naive T cell homeostatic proliferation in aged mice. Our data suggests that homeostatic mechanisms that support the naive T cell pool deteriorate with age.11128Ysciescopu

The aged lymphoid tissue environment fails to support naive T cell homeostasis

Aging is associated with a gradual loss of naive T cells and a reciprocal increase in the proportion of memory T cells. While reduced thymic output is important, age-dependent changes in factors supporting naive T cells homeostasis may also be involved. Indeed, we noted a dramatic decrease in the ability of aged mice to support survival and homeostatic proliferation of naive T cells. The defect was not due to a reduction in IL-7 expression, but from a combination of changes in the secondary lymphoid environment that impaired naive T cell entry and access to key survival factors. We observed an age-related shift in the expression of homing chemokines and structural deterioration of the stromal network in T cell zones. Treatment with IL-7/mAb complexes can restore naive T cell homeostatic proliferation in aged mice. Our data suggests that homeostatic mechanisms that support the naive T cell pool deteriorate with age © The Author(s) 2016111101sciescopu

Bioinspired Magneto-optical Bacteria

“Two-in-one” magneto-optical bacteria have been produced using the probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum for the first time. We took advantage of two features of bacteria to synthesize this novel and bifunctional nanostructure: their metal-reducing properties, to produce gold nanoparticles, and their capacity to incorporate iron oxide nanoparticles at their external surface. The magneto-optical bacteria survive the process and behave as a magnet at room temperature.This work was funded by Biosearch S.A. (POSTBIO project-Agency for Innovation and Development of Andalucia IDEA) and by MINECO and FEDER (project CTQ2012-32236)

Structure–activity Relationships of Amyloid Beta-aggregation Inhibitors Based on Curcumin: Influence of Linker Length and Flexibility

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66293/1/j.1747-0285.2007.00557.x.pd