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Antigiardial activity of novel guanidine compounds
From four focused compound libraries based on the known anticoccidial agent robenidine, 44 compounds total were synthesised and screened for antigiardial activity. All active compounds were counter-screened for antibiotic and cytotoxic action. Of the analogues examined, 21 displayed IC50<5 μM, seven with IC50<1.0 μM. Most active were 2,2′-bis{[4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]methylene}carbonimidic dihydrazide hydrochloride (30), 2,2′-bis{[4-(trifluoromethylsulfanyl)phenyl]methylene}carbonimidic dihydrazide hydrochloride (32), and 2,2′-bis[(2-bromo-4,5-dimethoxyphenyl)methylene]carbonimidic dihydrazide hydrochloride (41) with IC50=0.2 μM. The maximal observed activity was a 5 h IC50 value of 0.2 μM for 41. The clinically used metronidazole was inactive at this timepoint at a concentration of 25 μM. Robenidine off-target effects at bacteria and cell line toxicity were removed. Analogue 41 was well tolerated in mice treated orally (100 mg/kg). Following 5 h treatment with 41, no Giardia regrowth was noted after 48 h
Investigating the link between Later-Life brain volume and cardiorespiratory fitness after mild traumatic brain injury exposure
Introduction: Evidence suggests that maintaining a higher level of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) later in life can offer some protection against brain volume loss as we age. By contrast, mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) could accelerate age-related cortical atrophy. The current study sought to examine whether variations in the CRF level modified the association between mTBI history and brain volumetric measures in a sample of older adults. Methods: Seventy-nine community-dwelling older adults (mean age 68.7 ± 4.3 years, 54.4% female) were assessed for their mTBI history: 25 participants (32%) reported sustaining at least one lifetime mTBI. Participants also underwent a CRF assessment and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to obtain global and region-of-interest volumes. Results: Analysis of covariance, controlling for age, sex, education, and apolipoprotein (APOE) ε4 allele carriage, revealed that participants with a history of mTBI had a significantly larger total mean grey matter volume (582.21 ± 12.46 cm3) in comparison to participants with no mTBI history (571.08 ± 17.21 cm3, p = 0.01 after correction for multiple comparisons). However, no differences between groups based on mTBI history were found for total white matter volume or in any other cortical or subcortical structures examined. A subsequent moderation analysis found that CRF was predominantly non-influential on the association between mTBI history and the MRI-quantified measures of brain volume. Conclusion: While unexpected, the findings suggest that a history of mTBI can lead to grey matter alterations in the ageing brain. However, concurrent variations in the CRF level did not influence the differences in brain volume found based on mTBI exposure status
Professionalization, cultural adaptation and the history and impact of the Middle Eastern Public Relations Association (MEPRA)
Did someone say “farmer-centric”? Digital tools for spatially distributed on-farm experimentation
On-farm experimentation (OFE) embeds the conduct of agronomic research within normal farm business operations such that experiments are driven by farmers’ needs for business improvement, albeit enabled and facilitated by collaborating ‘experts’ in a process of co-learning. Because experiments are laid down using the farmers’ own equipment in their own fields and at a scale that is consistent with the scale at which farm management decisions are made, it provides them with a salient, credible and legitimate means of creating knowledge for effective application that is valuable to the individual farmer in their field and farm, and potentially to neighbouring farmers in a region. Here, with a particular view to the potential application of OFE in Australian farming systems, we consider the synergies between OFE and the use of precision agriculture (PA) technologies such as yield monitors, crop and soil sensors, and variable rate application of inputs. Indeed, it is suggested that whilst the tools of PA greatly facilitate the conduct of OFE, it is arguably the case that OFE is an essential part of the optimal deployment of PA. We also address statistical issues associated with OFE conducted using PA, including the use of replication, randomization for experimental design, and concerns about spatial autocorrelation in data collected at the within-field scale. However, whilst farmers are generally disengaged from data analysis and place greater emphasis on the magnitude of gross effects and benefit:cost than on statistical significance, they nevertheless want robust and interpretable results. Accordingly, we identify some tools which facilitate simple assessment of alternative management actions across the range of variation in the production systems which farmers encounter. The need for farmer-trustworthy systems of data governance and data sharing amongst those engaged in OFE is also highlighted
Distinctive diets of eutherian predators in Australia
Introduction of the domestic cat and red fox has devastated Australian native fauna. We synthesized Australian diet analyses to identify traits of prey species in cat, fox and dingo diets, which prey were more frequent or distinctive to the diet of each predator, and quantified dietary overlap. Nearly half (45%) of all Australian terrestrial mammal, bird and reptile species occurred in the diets of one or more predators. Cat and dingo diets overlapped least (0.64 ± 0.27, n = 24 location/time points) and cat diet changed little over 55 years of study. Cats were more likely to have eaten birds, reptiles and small mammals than foxes or dingoes. Dingo diet remained constant over 53 years and constituted the largest mammal, bird and reptile prey species, including more macropods/potoroids, wombats, monotremes and bandicoots/bilbies than cats or foxes. Fox diet had greater overlap with both cats (0.79 ± 0.20, n = 37) and dingoes (0.73 ± 0.21, n = 42), fewer distinctive items (plant material, possums/gliders) and significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity over 69 years, suggesting the opportunity for prey switching (especially of mammal prey) to mitigate competition. Our study reinforced concerns about mesopredator impacts upon scarce/threatened species and the need to control foxes and cats for fauna conservation. However, extensive dietary overlap and opportunism, as well as low incidence of mesopredators in dingo diets, precluded resolution of the debate about possible dingo suppression of foxes and cats
Epidemiology, pathology, prevention, and control strategies of inclusion body hepatitis and hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome in poultry: A comprehensive review
Infection with fowl adenoviruses (FAdVs) can result in a number of syndromes in the production of chicken, including inclusion body hepatitis (IBH), hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome (HHS), and others, causing enormous economic losses around the globe. FAdVs are divided into 12 serotypes and five species (A–E; 1–8a and 8b−11). Most avian species are prone to infection due to the widespread distribution of FAdV strains. The genus aviadenovirus, which is a member of the adenoviridae family, is responsible for both IBH and HHS. The most popular types of transmission are mechanical, vertical, and horizontal. Hepatitis with basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies distinguishes IBH, but the buildup of translucent or straw-colored fluid in the pericardial sac distinguishes HHS. IBH and HHS require a confirmatory diagnosis because their clinical symptoms and postmortem abnormalities are not unique to those conditions. Under a microscope, the presence of particular lesions and inclusion bodies may provide clues. Traditional virus isolation in avian tissue culture is more delicate than in avian embryonated eggs. Additionally, aviadenovirus may now be quickly and precisely detected using molecular diagnostic tools. Preventive techniques should rely on efficient biosecurity controls and immunize breeders prior to production in order to protect progeny. This current review gives a general overview of the current local and global scenario of IBH, and HHS brought on by FAdVs and covers both their issues and preventative vaccination methods
Correction to: Interactive effect of boron application methods and Boron-Tolerant Bacteria (Bacillus sp. MN54) improves nodulation, grain yield, profitability and biofortification of kabuli chickpea grown under irrigated and rainfed conditions
Correction to: Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-022-00982-
A method for the molecular classification of pollen for forensic purposes
Forensic palynology and the identification of pollen grains using DNA barcoding is an underutilised field in criminal investigations. Successful identification of pollen grains is used to establish links between an offender or body and location-‐related crimes. The use of palynology in criminal investigations has been limited due to slow speed of identification, limited expert specialization and poor taxonomic resolution. To fill the gap, DNA barcoding overcomes these limitations by offering taxonomic resolution down to species in a faster, more accessible way. Despite this, there are technical applications that need to be addressed before DNA barcoding can be implemented as a laboratory standard for forensic palynology. This study aims to address these gaps, and highlight the need to make DNA barcoding more accessible in the future of forensic palynology
Small RNA analyses of a ceratobasidium isolate infected with three endornaviruses
Isolates of three endornavirus species were identified co-infecting an unidentified species of Ceratobasidium, itself identified as a symbiont from within the roots of a wild plant of the terrestrial orchid Pterostylis vittata in Western Australia. Isogenic lines of the fungal isolate lacking all three mycoviruses were derived from the virus-infected isolate. To observe how presence of endornaviruses influenced gene expression in the fungal host, we sequenced fungus-derived small RNA species from the virus-infected and virus-free isogenic lines and compared them. The presence of mycoviruses influenced expression of small RNAs. Of the 3272 fungus-derived small RNA species identified, the expression of 9.1% (300 of 3272) of them were up-regulated, and 0.6% (18 of 3272) were down-regulated in the presence of the viruses. Fourteen novel micro-RNA-like RNAs (Cer-milRNAs) were predicted. Gene target prediction of the differentially expressed Cer-milRNAs was quite ambiguous; however, fungal genes involved in transcriptional regulation, catalysis, molecular binding, and metabolic activities such as gene expression, DNA metabolic processes and regulation activities were differentially expressed in the presence of the mycoviruses
POS1342 depletion of KLRG1+ T CELLS in a first-in-human clinical trial of ABC008 in Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM)
Background Inclusion body myositis (IBM), a relentlessly progressive autoimmune skeletal muscle disease, has no effective available pharmacological therapy. A prominent feature of IBM on microscopy is highly differentiated effector CD8+ cytotoxic T (Tc) cells invading non-necrotic myofibers [1]. These Tc cells, known to be relatively resistant to apoptosis, express markers including killer cell lectin-like receptor G1 (KLRG1) [2]. ABC008, a first-in-class humanized, afucosylated monoclonal antibody (mAb) specific for KLRG1, selectively depletes these highly differentiated Tc cells while sparing other blood cell populations, e.g., naïve, central memory, and regulatory T cells and B cells. ABC008 has been designed to treat diseases mediated by these Tc cells, including IBM and T-cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia (T-LGLL). IBM and rheumatoid arthritis overlap clinically with T-LGLL and share similar expansions of large granular lymphocytes (LGLs), which also express KLRG1. We report here our preliminary data from our ongoing trial of ABC008 in IBM (NCT04659031)..