H-NS Regulation of IraD and IraM Antiadaptors for Control of RpoS Degradation

International audienceRpoS, the master sigma factor during stationary phase and under a variety of stress conditions, is regulated at multiple levels, including regulated degradation. Degradation is dependent upon ClpXP and the RssB adaptor protein. H-NS, a nucleoid-associated protein, affects the regulated degradation of RpoS; in the absence of H-NS, RpoS is stable. The mechanisms involved in this regulation were not known. We have found that H-NS inhibits the expression of iraD and iraM, the genes coding for two antiadaptor proteins that stabilize RpoS when overexpressed. The regulation by H-NS of iraM is independent from the previously demonstrated regulation by the PhoP/PhoQ two-component system. Moreover, differences in the behavior of several hns alleles are explained by a role for StpA, an H-NS-like protein, in the regulation of RpoS stability. This finding parallels recent observations for a role of StpA in regulation of RpoS stability in Salmonella

Community-Investor Negotiation Guide 1: Preparing in Advance for Potential Investors

Deciding whether or not to allow an investor to use community lands and natural resources is one of the most important decisions a community can make. If an investment project is carried out in a respectful and inclusive way, it may help community members to achieve their development goals, which may include creating jobs and local economic opportunities. But investments come with risks. Investment projects may make the land that community members need for farming and other livelihood activities unavailable for some time. They may pollute local rivers, lakes, air, and soils, or block access to sacred areas or water sources. Investment projects may even violate community members’ human rights, or result in communities completely losing their lands. Given these challenges, CCSI partnered with Namati, a legal empowerment organization, to produce two guides aimed at supporting communities and their advisors in their interactions with land-based investors. This Guide (Guide 1) sets out practical guidance to help communities and their advisors to prepare before potential investors arrive, and after an investor has approached a community. It covers topics and activities such as visioning a community’s desired future, understanding how valuable the land is for the community, and ensuring the inclusion of all voices within community decision-making, as well as pointers on meaningful consultation, information access, and knowing the community’s rights. A related publication, Guide 2, provides practical guidance on the issues to consider when a community has decided to negotiate a contract with an investor. Using example clauses, and guidance boxes for community discussion and seeking legal advice, it describes all of the various sections and clauses that should be in a contract, advises what protective language to try to include in the contract to make it enforceable, and warns against types of problematic contractual language that should be avoided. The guides are designed to apply to agriculture and forestry projects, although may have some applicability to agreements reached in other contexts, such as around mining or renewable energy projects

Community-Investor Negotiation Guide 2: Negotiating Contracts with Investors

Deciding whether or not to allow an investor to use community lands and natural resources is one of the most important decisions a community can make. If an investment project is carried out in a respectful and inclusive way, it may help community members to achieve their development goals, which may include creating jobs and local economic opportunities. But investments come with risks. Investment projects may make the land that community members need for farming and other livelihood activities unavailable for some time. They may pollute local rivers, lakes, air, and soils, or block access to sacred areas or water sources. Investment projects may even violate community members’ human rights, or result in communities completely losing their lands. Given these challenges, CCSI partnered with Namati, a legal empowerment organization, to produce two guides aimed at supporting communities and their advisors in their interactions with land-based investors. This Guide (Guide 2) provides practical guidance on the issues to consider when a community has decided to negotiate a contract with an investor. Using example clauses, and guidance boxes for community discussion and seeking legal advice, it describes all of the various sections and clauses that should be in a contract, advises what protective language to try to include in the contract to make it enforceable, and warns against types of problematic contractual language that should be avoided. An earlier guide, Guide 1, sets out practical guidance to help communities and their advisors to prepare both before potential investors arrive, and after an investor has approached a community. It covers topics and activities such as visioning a community’s desired future, understanding how valuable the land is for the community, and ensuring the inclusion of all voices within community decision-making, as well as pointers on meaningful consultation, information access, and knowing the community’s rights. The guides are designed to apply to agriculture and forestry projects, although may have some applicability to agreements reached in other contexts, such as around mining or renewable energy projects

Modern contraceptive use and associated factors during extended postpartum period among women who gave birth in the last 12 months at Northwest Ethiopia

Background: The extended postpartum period is a one-year follow-up period after giving birth, and it is critical for women to prevent unintended pregnancy and reduce the risk of maternal and child mortality by ensuring safe birth intervals. Many women, however, are unaware that they are at risk for pregnancy throughout this period. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the utilization and associated factors of modern contraceptives during extended postpartum family planning (EPPP) in northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted using 630 samples from October 01 to October 30, 2020, in northwest Ethiopia. The study participants were drawn through a multistage sampling technique and data were collected using structured questionnaires via interview. The collected data were entered into EpiData version 4.2 and exported into SPSS version 25.0 for management and further analysis. A bivariable logistic regression model was used to identify variables having an association with the outcome variable. In bivariable analysis, variables having P ≤ 0.25 were selected and entered into multivariable logistic regression analysis. Finally, in multivariable analysis, variables having P ≤ 0.05 with a 95% CI were declared as significantly associated with the outcome variable. Results: About 60.6% of women were using modern contraceptive during extended postpartum period. Mothers to partner discussion (AOR= 7.6, 95% CI: 4.20– 14.05), secondary educational status (AOR= 3.8, 95% CI: 1.36– 10.93), college and above educational status (AOR= 7, 95% CI: 1.92– 25.57), menstrual resumption (AOR= 9.2, 95% CI: 5.66– 15.12), sex resumed (AOR=8.5, 95% CI: 2.19– 33.58), fertility desire (AOR= 3.9, 95% CI: 1.99– 6.15), linkage to FP during child immunization (AOR= 2.7, 95% CI: 1.67– 4.50), and FP counseling during pregnancy (AOR=2, 95% CI: 1.25– 3.34) were significantly associated with outcome variable. Conclusion: Associating factors were identified as partner discussion, education, menstrual resumption, fertility desire, sexual resumption, FP counseling, and FP during child immunization. Improving mothers’ education and informing couples about the dangers of becoming pregnant before menstruation are critical

Evaluation of Two Estrus Synchronization Protocols in Dairy Cattle at North Shoa Zone Ethiopia

This study was initiated to change the hesitation of the farmer on the effectiveness of estrus synchronization under their (Ethiopian small holder) livestock management system using two synchronization protocols. Non-pregnant animals with normal reproductive tract and that fulfilled the preconditions for estrus synchronization were considered for treatment & assigned into two synchronization protocols (single PGF2α injection; and double PGF2α injection). Among 94 (27 heifer and 67 cows) synchronized cows using one and two injections of PGF2α protocols 26 heifers and 63 cows (89/94.7%) were exhibited estrus by visual observation and rectal palpation the remaining 5 (5.3%) did not illustrate heat. The overall pregnancy was 59.6 % with overall birth 94.3 %. High pregnancy was obtained in the double injection of PGF2α treatment group (63.1 %) than animals treated with one shot protocol 55.8 % there were statistically significant difference between treatments (p<0.05). Higher pregnancy was obtained from cross breed animals than local breeds. More over most of the animals come to estrus greater than 96 hrs. There was also significant difference between technicians on detecting the CL and conception. The estrus response, conception rate, pregnancy rate and calving rate was higher in both protocols so producers or farmers can use either the two protocols to achieve remarkable result but tight follow-ups and more resources are need to be exploited at farmer level

Are Interaction-free Measurements Interaction Free?

In 1993 Elitzur and Vaidman introduced the concept of interaction-free measurements which allowed finding objects without ``touching'' them. In the proposed method, since the objects were not touched even by photons, thus, the interaction-free measurements can be called as ``seeing in the dark''. Since then several experiments have been successfully performed and various modifications were suggested. Recently, however, the validity of the term ``interaction-free'' has been questioned. The criticism of the name is briefly reviewed and the meaning of the interaction-free measurements is clarified.Comment: 11 pages, 3 eps figures. Contribution to the ICQO 2000, Raubichi, Belaru

Quantitative conditional quantum erasure in two-atom resonance fluorescence

We present a conditional quantum eraser which erases the a priori knowledge or the predictability of the path a photon takes in a Young-type double-slit experiment with two fluorescent four-level atoms. This erasure violates a recently derived erasure relation which must be satisfied for a conventional, unconditional quantum eraser that aims to find an optimal sorting of the system into subensembles with particularly large fringe visibilities. The conditional quantum eraser employs an interaction-free, partial which-way measurement which not only sorts the system into optimal subsystems with large visibility but also selects the appropriate subsystem with the maximum possible visibility. We explain how the erasure relation can be violated under these circumstances.Comment: Revtex4, 12pages, 4 eps figures, replaced with published version, changes in Sec. 3, to appear in Physical Review

Podoconiosis and soil-transmitted helminths (STHs): double burden of neglected tropical diseases in Wolaita zone, rural southern Ethiopia

Background Both podoconiosis and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections occur among barefoot people in areas of extreme poverty; however, their co-morbidity has not previously been investigated. We explored the overlap of STH infection and podoconiosis in Southern Ethiopia and quantified their separate and combined effects on prevalent anemia and hemoglobin levels in podoconiosis patients and health controls from the same area. Methods and Principal Findings A two-part comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia. Data were collected from adult patients presenting with clinically confirmed podoconiosis, and unmatched adult neighborhood controls living in the same administrative area. Information on demographic and selected lifestyle factors was collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Stool samples were collected and examined qualitatively using the modified formalin-ether sedimentation method. Hemoglobin level was determined using two different methods: hemoglobinometer and automated hematology analyzer. A total of 913 study subjects (677 podoconiosis patients and 236 controls) participated. The prevalence of any STH infection was 47.6% among patients and 33.1% among controls (p<0.001). The prevalence of both hookworm and Trichuris trichiura infections was significantly higher in podoconiosis patients than in controls (AOR 1.74, 95% CI 1.25 to2.42, AOR 6.53, 95% CI 2.34 to 18.22, respectively). Not wearing shoes and being a farmer remained significant independent predictors of infection with any STH. There was a significant interaction between STH infection and podoconiosis on reduction of hemoglobin level (interaction p value = 0.002). Conclusions Prevalence of any STH and hookworm infection was higher among podoconiosis patients than among controls. A significant reduction in hemoglobin level was observed among podoconiosis patients co-infected with hookworm and ‘non-hookworm STH’. Promotion of consistent shoe-wearing practices may have double advantages in controlling both podoconiosis and hookworm infection in the study area

Polarization quantum properties in type-II Optical Parametric Oscillator below threshold

We study the far field spatial distribution of the quantum fluctuations in the transverse profile of the output light beam generated by a type II Optical Parametric Oscillator below threshold, including the effects of transverse walk-off. We study how quadrature field correlations depend on the polarization. We find spatial EPR entanglement in quadrature-polarization components: For the far field points not affected by walk-off there is almost complete noise suppression in the proper quadratures difference of any orthogonal polarization components. We show the entanglement of the state of symmetric intense, or macroscopic, spatial light modes. We also investigate nonclassical polarization properties in terms of the Stokes operators. We find perfect correlations in all Stokes parameters measured in opposite far field points in the direction orthogonal to the walk-off, while locally the field is unpolarized and we find no polarization squeezing.Comment: 16 pages, 18 figure

Importance of Ethnicity, CYP2B6 and ABCB1 Genotype for Efavirenz Pharmacokinetics and Treatment Outcomes: A Parallel-group Prospective Cohort Study in two sub-Saharan Africa Populations.

We evaluated the importance of ethnicity and pharmacogenetic variations in determining efavirenz pharmacokinetics, auto-induction and immunological outcomes in two African populations. ART naïve HIV patients from Ethiopia (n = 285) and Tanzania (n = 209) were prospectively enrolled in parallel to start efavirenz based HAART. CD4+ cell counts were determined at baseline, 12, 24 and 48 weeks. Plasma and intracellular efavirenz and 8-hydroxyefvairenz concentrations were determined at week 4 and 16. Genotyping for common functional CYP2B6, CYP3A5, ABCB1, UGT2B7 and SLCO1B1 variant alleles were done. Patient country, CYP2B6*6 and ABCB1 c.4036A>G (rs3842A>G) genotype were significant predictors of plasma and intracellular efavirenz concentration. CYP2B6*6 and ABCB1 c.4036A>G (rs3842) genotype were significantly associated with higher plasma efavirenz concentration and their allele frequencies were significantly higher in Tanzanians than Ethiopians. Tanzanians displayed significantly higher efavirenz plasma concentration at week 4 (p<0.0002) and week 16 (p = 0.006) compared to Ethiopians. Efavirenz plasma concentrations remained significantly higher in Tanzanians even after controlling for the effect of CYP2B6*6 and ABCB1 c.4036A>G genotype. Within country analyses indicated a significant decrease in the mean plasma efavirenz concentration by week 16 compared to week 4 in Tanzanians (p = 0.006), whereas no significant differences in plasma concentration over time was observed in Ethiopians (p = 0.84). Intracellular efavirenz concentration and patient country were significant predictors of CD4 gain during HAART. We report substantial differences in efavirenz pharmacokinetics, extent of auto-induction and immunologic recovery between Ethiopian and Tanzanian HIV patients, partly but not solely, due to pharmacogenetic variations. The observed inter-ethnic variations in efavirenz plasma exposure may possibly result in varying clinical treatment outcome or adverse event profiles between populations