Highly conserved type 1 pili promote enterotoxigenic E. coli pathogen-host interactions

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), defined by their elaboration of heat-labile (LT) and/or heat-stable (ST) enterotoxins, are a common cause of diarrheal illness in developing countries. Efficient delivery of these toxins requires ETEC to engage target host enterocytes. This engagement is accomplished using a variety of pathovar-specific and conserved E. coli adhesin molecules as well as plasmid encoded colonization factors. Some of these adhesins undergo significant transcriptional modulation as ETEC encounter intestinal epithelia, perhaps suggesting that they cooperatively facilitate interaction with the host. Among genes significantly upregulated on cell contact are those encoding type 1 pili. We therefore investigated the role played by these pili in facilitating ETEC adhesion, and toxin delivery to model intestinal epithelia. We demonstrate that type 1 pili, encoded in the E. coli core genome, play an essential role in ETEC virulence, acting in concert with plasmid-encoded pathovar specific colonization factor (CF) fimbriae to promote optimal bacterial adhesion to cultured intestinal epithelium (CIE) and to epithelial monolayers differentiated from human small intestinal stem cells. Type 1 pili are tipped with the FimH adhesin which recognizes mannose with stereochemical specificity. Thus, enhanced production of highly mannosylated proteins on intestinal epithelia promoted FimH-mediated ETEC adhesion, while conversely, interruption of FimH lectin-epithelial interactions with soluble mannose, anti-FimH antibodies or mutagenesis of fimH effectively blocked ETEC adhesion. Moreover, fimH mutants were significantly impaired in delivery of both heat-stable and heat-labile toxins to the target epithelial cells in vitro, and these mutants were substantially less virulent in rabbit ileal loop assays, a classical model of ETEC pathogenesis. Collectively, our data suggest that these highly conserved pili play an essential role in virulence of these diverse pathogens

Hubungan Disiplin dengan Tanggung Jawab Belajar Siswa

This study aimed to learn discipline and responsibility, as well as how to discipline relations with the responsibilities of student learning. This type of research is descriptive correlation with a quantitative approach. Collecting data using a questionnaire with fourth grade students object Cluster III District of Ngimbang Lamongan. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis. The results of data analysis known to most students have the discipline and sense of responsibility of higher learning, correlation values obtained Perason rhitung of 0.823 with significance value = 0.000. rtabel with degrees of freedom (df = 90) for α = 0.05 value obtained 0.205. The next step to do a comparison, where the value is greater than rtabel rhitung (0.823> 0.205), and in addition the significant value gained less than α = 0.05 (0.000 <0.05) so that it can be concluded, and there is a relationship of discipline with responsibility learn.Tujuan penelitian mengetahui kedisiplinan dan tanggung jawab belajar, serta bagaimana hubungan disiplin dengan tanggung jawab belajar siswa. Jenis penelitian adalah deskriptif korelasional dengan pendekatan kuantitatif. Pengumpulan data menggunakan angket dengan objek siswa kelas IV SD Gugus III Kecamatan Ngimbang Kabupaten Lamongan. Teknik analisis data menggunakan analisis korelasi pearson. Hasil analisis data diketahui sebagian besar siswa memiliki disiplin dan rasa tanggung jawab belajar tinggi, uji korelasi Perasondidapatkan nilai rhitung sebesar 0,823 dengan nilai Signifikansi = 0,000. rtabel dengan derajat bebas (df=90) untuk α = 0,05 didapatkan nilai 0,205. Langkah selanjutnya dilakukan perbandingan, di mana nilai rhitung lebihbesar daripada rtabel (0,823 > 0,205), dan selain itu nilai signifikansi yang diperoleh kurang dari α = 0,05 (0,000 < 0,05) sehingga dapat disimpulkanserta terdapat hubungan disiplin dengan tanggung jawab belajar

Bank Syariah di Indonesia: Corporate Governance dan Pengungkapan Pertanggungjawaban Sosial Islami (Islamic Social Responsibility Disclosure)

The objective of this research is to provide empirical evidence of the effect of corporate governance on Islamic Social Rresponsibility Disclosure in syariah banking Indonesia. This research examines the influence of corporate governance (broad size, cross-diretorship, managerial ownership, and ownership diffusion) as independent variables, and Islamic Social Responsibility(ISR) Disclosure as the dependent variable. This research used 32 annual reports of listed companies on the website of syariah banking in Indonesia from 2007 – 2010. Sample was selected using purposive sampling method. Disclosure of Islamic Social responsibility is measured by content analysis method. While multiple regression analysis was used to test the four hypotheses developed in this research. The result found that broad size is a significant variable and positive effect on the volume of the disclosure of Islamic Social responsibility, and managerial ownership is negative significant on the variation of the disclosure of Islamic Social responsibility, while cross-directorship and ownership diffusion do not affect the Islamic Social responsibility disclosure (volume or variation). The contribution of this research is provided additional knowledge for regulator, investments analysts and capital market participant as the mechanism of islamic corporate governance on Syariah Banking in Indonesia

The Role of TLR2 and Bacterial Lipoprotein in Enhancing Airway Inflammation and Immunity

Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) colonizes the lower respiratory tract of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and also causes exacerbations of the disease. The 16-kDa lipoprotein P6 has been widely studied as a potential vaccine antigen due to its highly conserved expression amongst NTHI strains. Although P6 is known to induce potent inflammatory responses, its role in the pathogenesis of NTHI infection in vivo has not been examined. Additionally, the presence of an amino-terminal lipid motif on P6 serves to activate host Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) signaling. The role of host TLR2 and NTHI expression of the lipoprotein P6 on the induction of airway inflammation and generation of adaptive immune responses following chronic NTHI stimulation was evaluated with TLR2-deficient mice and a P6-deficient NTHI strain. Absence of either host TLR2 or bacterial P6 resulted in diminished levels of immune cell infiltration within lungs of mice exposed to NTHI. Pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion was also reduced in lungs that did not express TLR2 or were exposed to NTHI devoid of P6. Induction of specific antibodies to P6 was severely limited in TLR2-deficient mice. Although mice exposed to the P6-deficient NTHI strain were capable of generating antibodies to other surface antigens of NTHI, these levels were lower compared to those observed in mice exposed to P6-expressing NTHI. Therefore, cognate interaction between host TLR2 and bacterial P6 serves to enhance lung inflammation and elicit robust adaptive immune responses during NTHI exposure. Strategies to limit NTHI inflammation while simultaneously promoting robust immune responses may benefit from targeting the TLR2:P6 signaling axis

Molecular confirmation of the causes of inherited visual impairment in Northern Pakistan

Families with inherited visual impairment were identified and examined from January 2000 to December 2005 and given a clinical diagnosis. Known genes and loci were screened for mutations or linkage at Institute of Ophthalmology and Neurosciences, University of Leeds, in order to provide molecular confirmation. Inherited retinal disease was the most common cause of inherited visual impairment in 38 of 57 families (66.6%) with Leber\u27s congenital amaurosis, rod-cone dystrophy and cone-rod dystrophy being the most common diagnoses in 22, 8 and 3 families respectively. Anterior segment dysgenesis was diagnosed in 8 families (14%). Mutations in known genes or linkage to known loci were identified in 23 of 57 families (40%). All families had molecular confirmation of autosomal recessive inheritance or a pedigree consistent with this mode of inheritance, with evidence of first-cousin marriage. Knowledge of carrier status and genetic counseling may allow families to make an informed decision regarding marriage, and thus begin to plan a way of reducing the incidence of inherited visual impairment

Effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on root morphology of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

Rooting characteristics significantly affect the water-use patterns and acquirement of nutrient for any plant species. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria improve the plant growth by a variety of ways like the production of phytohormones, nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization and improvement in root morphology etc, and are also useful in cutting down the cost of chemical fertilizers. The present investigation was carried out to determine the comparative effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), Azospirillum brasilense, Azotobacter vinelandii and Pseudomonas stutzeri, either alone or in combination with different doses of chemical fertilizers [full dose (Urea at 60 kg ha-1 and DAP at 30 kg ha-1), half dose (Urea 30 kg ha-1 and DAP 15 kg ha-1) and quarter dose (Urea 15 kg ha-1 and DAP 7.5 kg ha-1)] on root morphology and root distribution pattern of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) viz. cvv. Thori and Saif-32 in the soil. The PGPR were applied as seed inoculation at 106 cells/ml prior to sowing. P. stutzeri either alone or in combination with full dose of chemical fertilizers, was highly effective in increasing the root area in cv. Saif-32, whereas, the percent increase due to A. brasilense was comparable to that of treatment with full dose of chemical fertilizers. P. stutzeri inoculation resulted in significantly higher root length in both the cultivars. Significantly, higher root width (54%) of cv. Thori was observed in treatment receiving inoculation with A. vinelandii and supplemented with half dose of chemical fertilizers, whereas maximum root width of cv. Saif-32 was recorded in treatment supplemented with half dose of chemical fertilizers. It is inferred that PGPR inoculation especially those of A. brasilense and P. stutzeri either alone and more so in combination with half dose of chemical fertilizers, are highly effective in improving root morphology and growth in safflower.Key words: Root area, safflower, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), root growth, chemical fertilizers

The Impact of Nicotine and Cigarette Smoke Condensate on Metabolic Activity and Biofilm Formation of Candida albicans on Acrylic Denture Material

Purpose Smokers have increased denture stomatitis caused primarily by Candida albicans. The primary aim of this study was to demonstrate the impact of a wide range of nicotine and cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) concentrations on biofilm formation and metabolic activity of C. albicans on acrylic denture material. Materials and Methods C. albicans (ATCC strain 10231) was used. Standardized denture acrylic (PMMA) specimens (total of 135 specimens) were incubated with C. albicans and exposed to nicotine and CSC at different concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 mg/ml) and (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/ml), respectively. For each experiment, 3 samples per nicotine and CSC concentration and a total of 45 specimens (27 specimens for the nicotine and 18 specimens for the CSC‐treated samples) were used and were selected randomly for each group. The control group consisted of 0 mg/ml of nicotine or CSC. The viability of C. albicans was measured using spiral plating on blood agar plates. The effect of nicotine and CSC concentrations on planktonic cells was were measured using a microplate reader. Metabolic activity of 24‐hour‐old established C. albicans biofilm exposed to nicotine and CSC for 24 hours in microtiter plates was determined using a 2,3‐bis (2‐methoxy‐4‐nitro‐5‐sulfophenyl)‐2H‐tetrazolium‐carboxanilide (XTT) reduction assay. Results The viability of C. albicans increased concomitant with increasing concentrations of CSC and nicotine, particularly at 0.5 and 2 mg/ml, respectively. Concentrations of CSC and nicotine above this resulted in an inhibitory effect on C. albicans viability. CSC and nicotine at 4 and 16 mg/ml, respectively, increased C. albicans biofilm metabolic activity. Conclusion Nicotine and CSC up to certain concentrations caused increases in biofilm formation, metabolic activity, viability, and planktonic cell absorbance of C. albicans. This in vitro study demonstrates the effectiveness of tobacco on promoting the growth of C. albicans and suggests their potential contributing factor in C. albicans biofilm related infections in smokers

Outcome reporting in therapeutic mammaplasty: a systematic review

Background Therapeutic mammaplasty (TM) is an oncological procedure which combines tumour resection with breast reduction and mastopexy techniques. Previous systematic reviews have demonstrated the oncological safety of TM but reporting of critically important outcomes such as quality of life, aesthetic and functional outcomes are limited, piecemeal or inconsistent. This systematic review aims to identify all outcomes reported in clinical studies of TM to facilitate development of a Core Outcome Set. Methods Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched from inception to 5 August 2020. Included studies reported clinical outcomes following TM for adult women. Two authors independently screened articles for eligibility. Data was extracted regarding the outcome definition and classification type (e.g., oncologic, quality of life, etc), time of outcome reporting and measurement tools. Results Of 5709 de-duplicated records, 148 were included in the narrative synthesis. The majority of studies (n=102, 68.9 per cent) reported measures of survival and/or recurrence; approximately three-quarters (n=75, 73.5 per cent) had less than 5 years follow-up. Aesthetic outcome was reported in half of studies (n=75, 50.7 per cent) using mainly subjective, non-validated measurement tools. The time-point at which aesthetic assessment was conducted was highly variable, and only defined in 48 (64.0 per cent) studies and none included a pre-operative baseline for comparison. Few studies reported quality of life (n=30, 20.3 per cent), functional outcomes (n=5, 3.4 per cent) or resource use (n=28, 18.9 per cent). Conclusions Given the oncological equivalence of TM and mastectomy, treatment decisions are often driven by aesthetic and functional outcomes, which are infrequently and inconsistently reported with non-validated measurement tools. PROSPERO: CRD4202020036