Bordetella parapertussis Survives inside Human Macrophages in Lipid Raft-Enriched Phagosomes

Bordetella parapertussis is a human pathogen that causes whooping cough. The increasing incidence of B. parapertussis has been attributed to the lack of cross protection induced by pertussis vaccines. It was previously shown that B. parapertussis is able to avoid bacterial killing by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) if specific opsonic antibodies are not present at the site of interaction. Here, we evaluated the outcome of B. parapertussis innate interaction with human macrophages, a less aggressive type of cell and a known reservoir of many persistent pathogens. The results showed that in the absence of opsonins, O antigen allows B. parapertussis to inhibit phagolysosomal fusion and to remain alive inside macrophages. The O antigen targets B. parapertussis to lipid rafts that are retained in the membrane of phagosomes that do not undergo lysosomal maturation. Forty-eight hours after infection, wild-type B. parapertussis bacteria but not the O antigen-deficient mutants were found colocalizing with lipid rafts and alive in nonacidic compartments. Taken together, our data suggest that in the absence of opsonic antibodies, B. parapertussis survives inside macrophages by preventing phagolysosomal maturation in a lipid raft- and O antigen-dependent manner. Two days after infection, about 15% of macrophages were found loaded with live bacteria inside flotillin-enriched phagosomes that had access to nutrients provided by the host cell recycling pathway, suggesting the development of an intracellular infection. IgG opsonization drastically changed this interaction, inducing efficient bacterial killing. These results highlight the need for B. parapertussis opsonic antibodies to induce bacterial clearance and prevent the eventual establishment of cellular reservoirs of this pathogen.Fil: Gorgojo, Juan Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Harvill, Eric. State University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Rodriguez, Maria Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; Argentin

The Eastern Atomic Rise: Defining Nuclear Hegemony in a Multi-lateral World

Most existing literature in the field of international relations on the hegemonic dimension of nuclear technology is written from a realist, western perspective within the context of the Cold War. It focuses on its military, defense, and security dimensions, non-proliferation and safety, and some analyses of hegemony from a cultural media perspective. This theory-building paper offers contrasting understanding of nuclear hegemony, which recognizes three recent developments: 1) diminished Western Hegemony in nuclear technology; 2) growing Chinese nuclear capacity in energy geopolitics; and 3) growing concerns about global energy security. This paper begins with an overview of these developments and a review of the current state of literature on the concept of nuclear hegemony. The paper then reviews the research methodology employed by the author to interrogate conventional understandings of nuclear hegemony. A discussion section then identifies the extent to which current thinking on nuclear hegemony reflects current geopolitical realities. This section includes a proposed new definition of nuclear hegemony. The paper concludes by examining the implications of this study and recommendations for application and further study

Experimental verification of democratic particle motions by direct imaging of glassy colloidal systems

We analyze data from confocal microscopy experiments of a colloidal suspension to validate predictions of rapid sporadic events responsible for structural relaxation in a glassy sample. The trajectories of several thousand colloidal particles are analyzed, confirming the existence of rapid sporadic events responsible for the structural relaxation of significant regions of the sample, and complementing prior observations of dynamical heterogeneity. The emergence of relatively compact clusters of mobility allows the dynamics to transition between the large periods of local confinement within its potential energy surface, in good agreement with the picture envisioned long ago by Adam and Gibbs and Goldstein.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Synergistic effects of ultraviolet radiation, thermal cycling, and atomic oxygen on altered and coated Kapton surfaces

The photovoltaic (PV) power system for Space Station Freedom (SSF) uses solar array blankets which provide structural support for the solar cells and house the electrical interconnections. In the low Earth orbital (LEO) environment where SSF will be located, surfaces will be exposed to potentially damaging environmental conditions including solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, thermal cycling, and atomic oxygen. It is necessary to use ground based tests to determine how these environmental conditions would affect the mass loss and optical properties of candidate SSF blanket materials. Silicone containing, silicone coated, and SiO(x) coated polyimide film materials were exposed to simulated LEO environmental conditions to determine there durability and whether the environmental conditions of UV, thermal cycling and oxygen atoms act synergistically on these materials. A candidate PV blanket material called AOR Kapton, a polysiloxane polyimide cast from a solution mixture, shows an improvement in durability to oxygen atoms erosion after exposure to UV radiation or thermal cycling combined with UV radiation. This may indicate that the environmental conditions react synergistically with this material, and the damage predicted by exposure to atomic oxygen alone is more severe than that which would occur in LEO where atomic oxygen, thermal cycling and UV radiation are present together

Special issue on smart interactions in cyber-physical systems: Humans, agents, robots, machines, and sensors

In recent years, there has been increasing interaction between humans and non‐human systems as we move further beyond the industrial age, the information age, and as we move into the fourth‐generation society. The ability to distinguish between human and non‐human capabilities has become more difficult to discern. Given this, it is common that cyber‐physical systems (CPSs) are rapidly integrated with human functionality, and humans have become increasingly dependent on CPSs to perform their daily routines.The constant indicators of a future where human and non‐human CPSs relationships consistently interact and where they allow each other to navigate through a set of non‐trivial goals is an interesting and rich area of research, discovery, and practical work area. The evidence of con- vergence has rapidly gained clarity, demonstrating that we can use complex combinations of sensors, artificial intelli- gence, and data to augment human life and knowledge. To expand the knowledge in this area, we should explain how to model, design, validate, implement, and experiment with these complex systems of interaction, communication, and networking, which will be developed and explored in this special issue. This special issue will include ideas of the future that are relevant for understanding, discerning, and developing the relationship between humans and non‐ human CPSs as well as the practical nature of systems that facilitate the integration between humans, agents, robots, machines, and sensors (HARMS).Fil: Kim, Donghan. Kyung Hee University;Fil: Rodriguez, Sebastian Alberto. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Matson, Eric T.. Purdue University; Estados UnidosFil: Kim, Gerard Jounghyun. Korea University

Profitability and production in 19th century composite ships: the case study of the Austrian vessel, the Slobodna

The shipbuilding strategies of the late-19th century are defined by the adaptations and incorporation of new building materials that allowed for the specialization and near perfection of the sailing ship as a commerce vehicle. European shipbuilding industries began incorporating iron as a building material as its value became lower than that of timber. As the more affordable alternative, iron alleviated the pressures of decreasing timber reserves and the material’s growing value. Iron was integrated into merchant ships, creating larger stronger hulls and achieving faster freighting rates. The first iron and wood hybrids were known as composite ships, which increased the economic surplus of the industries due to low production costs and increasing efficient freighting rates. As the revenue increased, industries expanded into the specialized production of iron ship parts eliminating more of their reliance of wooden craftsmanship and its costly application. The lost cost and benefits of ironworking in sailing ships gave sailing dominion over the long-distance trade while the steamship controlled regional trade. The steamship produced only low returns on long-distance trade due to high fuel consumption and frequent repair, giving the sailing ship a specialized role for trade. With the creation of the fuel-conscious triple combustion engine in the late-1880s, the steamship became more efficient and profitable than sailing ships, which were then phased out of commercial trading. However, this trend did not happen simultaneously across Europe as the availability and level of industrial production varied. Austrian builders continued practicing traditional shipbuilding methods up to the 1880s, as it remained the most cost-efficient method of construction for long distance trade. Through an archaeological and historic study of one of these Austrian vessels, the Slobodna, it is possible to observe the different methods that European countries at the time utilized in order to maintain their approaches to capitalism. Through an interdisciplinary approach consisting of history, Marxian economics, and maritime archaeology, it is possible to identify and further examine the relationship between the motivation to achieve high profitability in shipbuilding and the incorporation of technological advancements in the industrial and economic situations that were present in 19th century Europe

Aménagement de terroirs au Yatenga (Nord-Ouest du Burkina Faso) : quatre années de gestion conservatoire de l'eau et de la fertilité des sols (GCES) : bilan et perspective

Ce document fait le bilan de 4 années de collaboration originale entre un chercheur spécialisé dans la lutte antiérosive et un agronome coopérant chargé de l'aménagement de terroir en milieu soudano sahélien très pauvre. Après un diagnostic de la situation régionale, des propositions ont été faite pour gérer l'eau, la biomasse, les matières organiques et la fertilité des sols. Un suivi des innovations a été réalisé avec l'aide de stagiaires et de missions courtes qui a permis la formation des responsables locaux et l'évolution des innovations en fonction des réactions des paysans. L'accent a été mis sur les contrats d'aménagement intégré à l'échelle de quartiers de culture, sur la régénération des parcours, sur l'aménagement d'impluvium, le stockage du ruissellement en citerne et la création de petits jardins intensifs, sur l'implantation de microbarrages perméables (haies vives en lignes d'herbes ou de cailloux) pour réduire l'énergie du ruissellement, sur le stockage de fumier/compost et de fourrages, ainsi que sur l'aménagement de ravines, de pistes rurales et de bas fonds. L'effort a porté sur des techniques simples, peu coûteuses, réalisables par les paysans et vise la restauration de la fertilité de leurs terres, l'infiltration et la fumure pour valoriser les aménagements. Des suggestions ont été faites pour le projet vivrier du Nord Yatenga tant sur la plan des aménagements que de la recherche d'accompagnement. (Résumé d'auteur

Addressing the Social Determinants of Health: “Vulnerable” Populations and the Presentation of Healthy People 2020

Population health is a concept at the core of national healthcare reform efforts. Population health focuses on the social determinants of health, or the living conditions of people at work, home, and play. To participate in population health initiatives, organizations must collect population-level data, creating a discourse of resilience-as-ability-to-cope through mapping community demographics, as though a counting of bodies and their material conditions creates a foundation for sustained, improved health outcomes. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) launched an initiative called Healthy People 2020, a set of ten-year national goals and objectives for health promotion and disease prevention. In this essay, we analyze this data project, arguing that the discourses of resiliency (through improved national, state, and local data collection efforts) and vulnerability (of the people who are reduced to data) create a constitutive rhetoric for U.S. public health officials to rally around the cause of population health yet exclude the very people upon whom such a cause should focus. Specifically, an examination of the ODPHP’s Healthy People 2020 website reveals that the reduction of bodies to quantification in data displays for health professionals, when viewed through the lens of Philip Wander’s Third Persona, objectifies groups of people already historically marginalized and obfuscates pathways to social action. We argue that instead, an ecological, relational definition of resilience must be fostered through autonomy of communities in the decisions they make about their own community members’ health and wellness