Encouraging eye care workers to stay: the role of investment and management.

Considering how expensive it is to train, recruit and employ eye health personnel, it makes sense to invest time and energy into creating a positive and productive working environment

Aryl Phosphoramidates of 5-Phospho Erythronohydroxamic Acid, A New Class of Potent Trypanocidal Compounds

RNAi and enzymatic studies have shown the importance of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGDH) in Trypanosoma brucei for the parasite survival and make it an attractive drug target for the development of new treatments against human African trypanosomiasis. 2,3-O-Isopropylidene-4-erythrono hydroxamate is a potent inhibitor of parasite Trypanosoma brucei 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGDH), the third enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway. However, this compound does not have trypanocidal activity due to its poor membrane permeability. Consequently, we have previously reported a prodrug approach to improve the antiparasitic activity of this inhibitor by converting the phosphate group into a less charged phosphate prodrug. The activity of prodrugs appeared to be dependent on their stability in phosphate buffer. Here we have successfully further extended the development of the aryl phosphoramidate prodrugs of 2,3-O-isopropylidene-4-erythrono hydroxamate by synthesizing a small library of phosphoramidates and evaluating their biological activity and stability in a variety of assays. Some of the compounds showed high trypanocidal activity and good correlation of activity with their stability in fresh mouse blood

Ressources psychosociales, événements transitoires et qualité de vie des personnes vieillissantes

S'appuyant sur les données de la première vague de l'Étude longitudinale québécoise sur le vieillissement, cet article examine transversalement la relation entre les ressources psychosociales des personnes âgées et leur qualité de vie. L'échantillon de 781 sujets comporte trois groupes de personnes âgées sélectionnées d'après les critères d'âge et d'exposition ou non à un événement transitoire majeur : la retraite (60-65 ans), le veuvage (70-75 ans) et les incapacités fonctionnelles (80-85 ans). Les résultats confirment que les répondants ayant des ressources psychosociales élevées obtiennent les meilleures performances aux différents indices de qualité de vie. Cependant, en ce qui regarde la survenue d'événements, l'effet protecteur des ressources psychosociales sur la qualité de vie est démontré uniquement chez les retraités. On remarque que chez les personnes en incapacité, le soutien social semble contribuer faiblement au maintien de la qualité de vie. Des tentatives d'explication sont proposées.Psychosocial resources, transitory events and quality of life of aging people Based on data of the Québec longitudinal study on aging, this article examines crosswise the relation between psychosocial resources of elderly people and their quality of life. The sample of 781 subjects includes three groups of elderly people selected according to their age and their experience or not of a major transitory event: retirement (60-65), widowed (70-75) and functional incapacity (80-85). The results confirm that respondents with a high level of psychosocial resources obtain better performances in the various indexes of quality of life. However, in regards to events, the protective effect of psychosocial resources on quality of life is only shown with those people in retirement. We notice that with people with functional incapacity, social support seem to slightly contribute in maintaining quality of life. Finally, the authors propose certain explanations.Recursos sicosociales, eventos transitorios y calidad de vida de personas envejesando Apoyandose sobre los datos de la primera hola del Estudio longitudinal quebequense sobre el envejecimiento este artículo examina transversalmente la relación entre los recursos siquosociales de las personas ancianas y su calidad de vida. Una escala de 781 sujetos comporta tres grupos de personas ancianas selecionadas según los criterios de edad y de confrontación o no a un evento transitorio mayor: la jubilación (60-65 años), el viudez (70-75años) y las incapacidades funcionales (80-85 años). Los resultados confirman que los respondientes teniendo los recursos sicosiales elevados obtienen los mejores resultados a los varios indicios de calidad de vida. Sin embargo, con respeto a la sobrevenida de eventos, el efecto protector de los recursos sicosociales sobre la calidad de vida se demuestra unicamente con los jubilados. Se nota que en el caso de las personas incapacidadas el sostén social parace contribuir flacamente al mantenimiento de la calidad de vida. Tentativas de explicación estan proposadas

Athletic equipment microbiota are shaped by interactions with human skin

© The Author(s), 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Microbiome 3 (2015): 25, doi:10.1186/s40168-015-0088-3.Americans spend the vast majority of their lives in built environments. Even traditionally outdoor pursuits, such as exercising, are often now performed indoors. Bacteria that colonize these indoor ecosystems are primarily derived from the human microbiome. The modes of human interaction with indoor surfaces and the physical conditions associated with each surface type determine the steady-state ecology of the microbial community. Bacterial assemblages associated with different surfaces in three athletic facilities, including floors, mats, benches, free weights, and elliptical handles, were sampled every other hour (8 am to 6 pm) for 2 days. Surface and equipment type had a stronger influence on bacterial community composition than the facility in which they were housed. Surfaces that were primarily in contact with human skin exhibited highly dynamic bacterial community composition and non-random co-occurrence patterns, suggesting that different host microbiomes—shaped by selective forces—were being deposited on these surfaces through time. However, bacterial assemblages found on the floors and mats changed less over time, and species co-occurrence patterns appeared random, suggesting more neutral community assembly. These longitudinal patterns highlight the dramatic turnover of microbial communities on surfaces in regular contact with human skin. By uncovering these longitudinal patterns, this study promotes a better understanding of microbe-human interactions within the built environment.MW was supported by a Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Summer Grant from Northwestern University. This work was supported in part by the U.S. Dept. of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357. This work was also supported by the Alfred P Sloan Foundation’s Microbiology of the Built Environment research program. SMG was supported by an EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship and the National Institutes of Health Training Grant 5 T-32 EB-009412

Hogg's Reception and Reputation

The trajectory of Hogg’s reputation has presented scholars with a range of difficulties and contradictions. This chapter traces key factors in that trajectory, including the early focus on Hogg’s labouring-class roots, his complex involvement with the persona of the ‘Ettrick Shepherd’, and his contentious relations with the publishing world during his lifetime. It considers the distinctive North American reception of Hogg’s work as well as its Victorian bowdlerisation, which contributed to the author's virtual disappearance from the modern literary canon. Finally, it traces the ongoing recovery of Hogg’s reputation following Gide’s reading of The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner in the mid-twentieth century

Anti-trypanosomal 8-hydroxyl naphthyridines are chelators of divalent transition metals

The lack of information regarding the mechanisms of action (MoA) or specific molecular targets of phenotypically active compounds can prove a barrier to their development as chemotherapeutic agents. Here, we report the results of our orthogonal genetic, molecular, and biochemical studies to determine the MoA of a novel 7-substituted 8-hydroxy-1,6-naphthyridine (8-HNT) series that displays promising activity against Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania donovani . </jats:p

Orality and the Ballad Tradition

Presenting a vexing problem for female aspirations to authorship, women and orality have been so close aligned as to be nearly indistinguishable,configured in a context which emphasises the national dimension to their creativity. This chapter traces the ways in which Scottish women have been associated with orality, with particular emphasis on the ballad, where authorship, gender, and nation are closely joined