Role of lysozyme inhibitors in the virulence of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli

Lysozymes are key effectors of the animal innate immunity system that kill bacteria by hydrolyzing peptidoglycan, their major cell wall constituent. Recently, specific inhibitors of the three major lysozyme families occuring in the animal kingdom (c-, g- and i-type) have been discovered in Gram-negative bacteria, and it has been proposed that these may help bacteria to evade lysozyme mediated lysis during interaction with an animal host. Escherichia coli produces two inhibitors that are specific for c-type lysozyme (Ivy, Inhibitor of vertebrate lysozyme; MliC, membrane bound lysozyme inhibitor of c-type lysozyme), and one specific for g-type lysozyme (PliG, periplasmic lysozyme inhibitor of g-type lysozyme). Here, we investigated the role of these lysozyme inhibitors in virulence of Avian Pathogenic E. coli (APEC) using a serum resistance test and a subcutaneous chicken infection model. Knock-out of mliC caused a strong reduction in serum resistance and in in vivo virulence that could be fully restored by genetic complementation, whereas ivy and pliG could be knocked out without effect on serum resistance and virulence. This is the first in vivo evidence for the involvement of lysozyme inhibitors in bacterial virulence. Remarkably, the virulence of a ivy mliC double knock-out strain was restored to almost wild-type level, and this strain also had a substantial residual periplasmic lysozyme inhibitory activity that was higher than that of the single knock-out strains. This suggests the existence of an additional periplasmic lysozyme inhibitor in this strain, and indicates a regulatory interaction in the expression of the different inhibitors

Age at Puberty and the Emerging Obesity Epidemic

Background: Recent studies have shown that puberty starts at younger ages than previously. It has been hypothesized that the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity is contributing to this trend. The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between prepubertal body mass index (BMI) and pubertal timing, as assessed by age at onset of pubertal growth spurt (OGS) and at peak height velocity (PHV), and the secular trend of pubertal timing given the prepubertal BMI. Methodology/Principal Findings: Annual measurements of height and weight were available in all children born from 1930 to 1969 who attended primary school in the Copenhagen municipality; 156,835 children fulfilled the criteria for determining age at OGS and PHV. The effect of prepubertal BMI at age seven on these markers of pubertal development within and between birth cohorts was analyzed. BMI at seven years was significantly inversely associated with age at OGS and PHV. Dividing the children into five levels of prepubertal BMI, we found a similar secular trend toward earlier maturation in all BMI groups. Conclusion/Significance: The heavier both boys and girls were at age seven, the earlier they entered puberty. Irrespective of level of BMI at age seven, there was a downward trend in the age at attaining puberty in both boys and girls, whic

Testing metallicity indicators at z~1.4 with the gravitationally lensed galaxy CASSOWARY 20

We present X-shooter observations of CASSOWARY 20 (CSWA 20), a star-forming (SFR ~6 Msol/yr) galaxy at z=1.433, magnified by a factor of 11.5 by the gravitational lensing produced by a massive foreground galaxy at z=0.741. We analysed the integrated physical properties of the HII regions of CSWA 20 using temperature- and density-sensitive emission lines. We find the abundance of oxygen to be ~1/7 of solar, while carbon is ~50 times less abundant than in the Sun. The unusually low C/O ratio may be an indication of a particularly rapid timescale of chemical enrichment. The wide wavelength coverage of X-shooter gives us access to five different methods for determining the metallicity of CSWA 20, three based on emission lines from HII regions and two on absorption features formed in the atmospheres of massive stars. All five estimates are in agreement, within the factor of ~2 uncertainty of each method. The interstellar medium of CSWA 20 only partially covers the star-forming region as viewed from our direction; in particular, absorption lines from neutrals and first ions are exceptionally weak. We find evidence for large-scale outflows of the interstellar medium (ISM) with speeds of up 750 km/s, similar to the values measured in other high-z galaxies sustaining much higher rates of star formation.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

School development through democratic involvement and group-approach in migrant dominated areas: experiences from Raadmandsgades Skole og Heimdalsgades Overbygningsskole in Copenhagen City, Denmark

Copenhagen City has since 2000 worked to fulfill policy aims and visions for integration in a democratic society. This integration provides equal opportunities in education, where teachers are able to empower pupils with ethnic minority background. The Copenhagen mayor for education and schools Per Bregengaard will focus on this issue. Two schools give examples of how they work. Raadmandsgades School is a primary school for 6-14 years students. They integrate the minority children in language groups. The other school Heimdalsgades Overbygningsskole is a secondary school with 14-17 years old pupils. It has innovated the curriculum and the students take part in the decisions of the school. Finally a consultant from the Development and Planning Unit in the Educational Department in Copenhagen City will explain the efforts to perform a special Copenhagen PISA survey and a massive in-service training for the teacher

Reply to Comment on " Universal Fluctuations in Correlated Systems"

Reply to the comment, cond-mat/0209398 by by N.W. Watkins, S.C. Chapman, and G. RowlandsComment: To appear In Physical Review Letter