Women in History - Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen was born in Bermersheim, Germany near Alzey in 1098 to the nobleman Hildebert von Bermersheim and his wife Mechthild, as their tenth and last child. Hildegard was brought by her parents to God as a tithe and determined for life in the Order. However, rather than choosing to enter their daughter formally as a child in a convent where she would be brought up to become a nun (a practice known as \u27oblation\u27), Hildegard\u27s parents had taken the more radical step of enclosing their daughter, apparently for life, in the cell of an anchoress, Jutta, attached to the Benedictine monastery at Disibodenberg (Flanagan, 1989, p. 3). Gossman\u27s analysis of Eibingen Benedictines Marianna Schrader and Adelgundis Fiihrkotter\u27s research, concluded that Hildegard saw light phenomena as early as the age of three, even before she could express herself about it, and all during childhood she had visionary impressions (p. 27). In early conversations with Jutta, Hildegard intimated that she knew she was different from those around her. At first, this was more unsettling than strengthening to her, as she was not yet able to justify her visionary gift with her calling, as she would as an adult (Waithe, 1989, p. 28)

Selective disinfection based on directional ultraviolet irradiation and artificial intelligence

Ultraviolet disinfection has been proven to be effective for surface sanitation. Traditional ultraviolet disinfection systems generate omnidirectional radiation, which introduces safety concerns regarding human exposure. Large scale disinfection must be performed without humans present, which limits the time efficiency of disinfection. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a targeted ultraviolet disinfection system using a combination of robotics, lasers, and deep learning. The system uses a laser-galvo and a camera mounted on a two-axis gimbal running a custom deep learning algorithm. This allows ultraviolet radiation to be applied to any surface in the room where it is mounted, and the algorithm ensures that the laser targets the desired surfaces avoids others such as humans. Both the laser-galvo and the deep learning algorithm were tested for targeted disinfection

Localization and nucleotide specificity of Blastocystis succinyl-CoA synthetase

The anaerobic lifestyle of the intestinal parasite Blastocystis raises questions about the biochemistry and function of its mitochondria-like organelles. We have characterized the Blastocystis succinyl-CoA synthetase (SCS), a tricarboxylic acid cycle enzyme that conserves energy by substrate-level phosphorylation. We show that SCS localizes to the enigmatic Blastocystis organelles, indicating that these organelles might play a similar role in energy metabolism as classic mitochondria. Although analysis of residues inside the nucleotide-binding site suggests that Blastocystis SCS is GTP-specific, we demonstrate that it is ATP-specific. Homology modelling, followed by flexible docking and molecular dynamics simulations, indicates that while both ATP and GTP fit into the Blastocystis SCS active site, GTP is destabilized by electrostatic dipole interactions with Lys 42 and Lys 110, the side-chains of which lie outside the nucleotide-binding cavity. It has been proposed that residues in direct contact with the substrate determine nucleotide specificity in SCS. However, our results indicate that, in Blastocystis, an electrostatic gatekeeper controls which ligands can enter the binding site

Blastocystis hominis and Endolimax nana Co-Infection Resulting in Chronic Diarrhea in an Immunocompetent Male

Blastocystis hominis and Endolimax nana exist as two separate parasitic organisms; however co-infection with the two individual parasites has been well documented. Although often symptomatic in immunocompromised individuals, the pathogenicity of the organisms in immunocompetent subjects causing gastrointestinal symptoms has been debated, with studies revealing mixed results. Clinically, both B. hominis and E. nana infection may result in acute or chronic diarrhea, generalized abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, flatulence and anorexia. We report the case of a 24-year-old immunocompetent male presenting with chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain secondary to B. hominis and E. nana treated with metronidazole, resulting in symptom resolution and eradication of the organisms. Our case illustrates that clinicians should be cognizant of both B. hominis and E. nana infection as a cause of chronic diarrhea in an immunocompetent host. Such awareness will aid in a timely diagnosis and possible parasitic eradication with resolution of gastrointestinal symptoms