27 research outputs found
Author Correction: Uncoupling of invasive bacterial mucosal immunogenicity from pathogenicity.
No full textISSN:2041-172
Schulversagen als ungenügende Kompetenzen im Lesen und Rechnen
No full textDer Beitrag betrachtet Schulversagen als ungenügende Kompetenzen im Lesen und Rechnen nach langjährigem Schulbesuch. Er analysiert dazu die Ergebnisse des «International Adult Literacy Survey», der die Lese- und Rechenkompetenzen in der erwachsenen Bevölkerung untersuchte. Zwei Fragen stellen sich: 1. Wie verbreitet sind ungenügende Lese- und Rechenkompetenzen in der Schweiz, und 2. Muss man die Personengruppe, die höchstens eine Ausbildung auf Sekundarstufe I abgeschlossen hat, als Risiko-Gruppe betrachten? Von der einheimischen Bevölkerung weisen ca. 14 Prozent mindestens in einem der drei untersuchten Bereiche für die heutige Gesellschaft ungenügende Kompetenzen auf. Zwar nimmt dieser Prozentsatz bei den jüngeren Personen ab, doch weisen immer noch ca. 6 Prozent der jüngeren Personen mindestens in einem Bereich ungenügende Kompetenzen auf. Bei den Personen, die höchstens eine Ausbildung auf der Sekundarstufe I abgeschlossen haben, weisen ca. 39 Prozent in mindestens einem Bereich ungenügende Kompetenzen auf. Diese Gruppe muss damit als Risiko-Gruppe betrachtet werden. (DIPF/Orig.)The findings of this study tie school failure to a lack of competence in reading and math, even after many years of schooling. The author analyzes the results of the "International Adult Literacy Survey" which investigated the reading and math competence of adults. Two questions are raised: 1. How widespread is the problem of insufficient reading and math skills in Switzerland? and, 2. Are those pupils who do not go any further than secondary school level 1 (9th grade) at risk? Approximately 14% of the native population show insufficient skills for today’s society in at least three of the examined fields. Though the figure is lower for younger people, approximately 6% of them still show a lack of competence in at least one of the areas. For the general segment of the population which completed no more than level 1 of secondary school, at least 39% show a lack of skills in at least one area. This is the group that should be considered at risk. (DIPF/Orig.
2008 Author Recognition Bibliography
No full texthttps://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/authorrecognition/1006/thumbnail.jp
Undertaking a neurological assessment
No full textNeurological observations are an essential aspect of assessment in patients with altered mental status and require the nurse to collect and analyse information using a validated assessment tool. Assessing a patient's pupil size and response is also an important element of a neurological assessment. This article summarises the pathophysiology of raised intracranial pressure and lists some of the conditions that may contribute to an alteration in a patient's mental status. The article details the use of two commonly used neurological assessment tools and the assessment of a patient's pupil size and response. The author also considers the challenges related to accurate recording of neurological observations
Biogeography of microbial bile acid transformations along the murine gut
No full textBile acids, which are synthesized from cholesterol by the liver, are chemically transformed along the intestinal tract by the gut microbiota, and the products of these transformations signal through host receptors, affecting overall host health. These transformations include bile acid deconjugation, oxidation, and 7 alpha-dehydroxylation. An understanding of the biogeography of bile acid transformations in the gut is critical because deconjugation is a prerequisite for 7 alpha-dehydroxylation and because most gut microorganisms harbor bile acid transformation capacity. Here, we used a coupled metabolomic and metaproteomic approach to probe in vivo activity of the gut microbial community in a gnotobiotic mouse model. Results revealed the involvement of Clostridium scindens in 7 alpha-dehydroxylation, of the genera Muribaculum and Bacteroides in deconjugation, and of six additional organisms in oxidation (the genera Clostridium, Muribaculum, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Acutalibacter, and Akkermansia). Furthermore, the bile acid profile in mice with a more complex microbiota, a dysbiosed microbiota, or no microbiota was considered. For instance, conventional mice harbor a large diversity of bile acids, but treatment with an antibiotic such as clindamycin results in the complete inhibition of 7 alpha-dehydroxylation, underscoring the strong inhibition of organisms that are capable of carrying out this process by this compound. Finally, a comparison of the hepatic bile acid pool size as a function of microbiota revealed that a reduced microbiota affects host signaling but not necessarily bile acid synthesis. In this study, bile acid transformations were mapped to the associated active microorganisms, offering a systematic characterization of the relationship between microbiota and bile acid composition.EMLISIC-G
The lactonase BxdA mediates metabolic specialisation of maize root bacteria to benzoxazinoids.
No full textRoot exudates contain specialised metabolites that shape the plant's root microbiome. How host-specific microbes cope with these bioactive compounds, and how this ability affects root microbiomes, remains largely unknown. We investigated how maize root bacteria metabolise benzoxazinoids, the main specialised metabolites of maize. Diverse and abundant bacteria metabolised the major compound in the maize rhizosphere MBOA (6-methoxybenzoxazolin-2(3H)-one) and formed AMPO (2-amino-7-methoxy-phenoxazin-3-one). AMPO forming bacteria were enriched in the rhizosphere of benzoxazinoid-producing maize and could use MBOA as carbon source. We identified a gene cluster associated with AMPO formation in microbacteria. The first gene in this cluster, bxdA encodes a lactonase that converts MBOA to AMPO in vitro. A deletion mutant of the homologous bxdA genes in the genus Sphingobium, did not form AMPO nor was it able to use MBOA as a carbon source. BxdA was identified in different genera of maize root bacteria. Here we show that plant-specialised metabolites select for metabolisation-competent root bacteria. BxdA represents a benzoxazinoid metabolisation gene whose carriers successfully colonize the maize rhizosphere and thereby shape the plant's chemical environmental footprint
Engineering bacterial symbionts of nematodes improves biocontrol potential of the western corn rootworm
No full textThe western corn rootworm (WCR) decimates maize crops worldwide. One potential way to control this pest is treatment with entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) that harbor bacterial symbionts that are pathogenic to insects. However, WCR larvae sequester benzoxazinoid secondary metabolites that are produced by maize and use them to increase their resistance to the nematodes and their symbionts. Here we report that experimental evolution and selection for bacterial symbionts that are resistant to benzoxazinoids improve the ability of a nematode–symbiont pair to kill WCR larvae. We isolated five Photorhabdus symbionts from different nematodes and increased their benzoxazinoid resistance through experimental evolution. Benzoxazinoid resistance evolved through multiple mechanisms, including a mutation in the aquaporin-like channel gene aqpZ. We reintroduced benzoxazinoid-resistant Photorhabdus strains into their original EPN hosts and identified one nematode–symbiont pair that was able to kill benzoxazinoid-sequestering WCR larvae more efficiently. Our results suggest that modification of bacterial symbionts might provide a generalizable strategy to improve biocontrol of agricultural pests
Genetic parameters for fecal egg counts and their relationship with body weights in Katahdin lambs
No full text© The Author(s) 2018. Reliance on anthelmintic drugs to control internal parasites in sheep is no longer sustainable because of the development of resistance to these drugs in parasite populations. Genetic selection may offer an alternative long-term solution, as differences in parasite resistance exist both within and among sheep breeds. However, selection for parasite resistance may have correlated effects on other production traits. The objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters for weaning (WFEC) and postweaning (PWFEC) fecal egg counts (FEC) and assess their relationship with birth (BWT), weaning (WWT), and postweaning (PWWT) BW in Katahdin lambs. The study used WFEC (n = 2,537), PWFEC (n = 3.421), BWT (n = 12,869), WWT (n = 10,961), and PWWT (n = 7,812) from 12,869 lambs measured between 2003 and 2015 in 13 flocks enrolled in the U.S. National Sheep Improvement Program. Animal and sire models were fitted to the data using the ASReml statistical package. Records were corrected for fixed effects of dam age, joint effect of type of birth and rearing, and management group (defined by joint effects of flock, sex, and birth year and season); lamb age in days at each measurement time was fitted as a covari-ate. Maternal additive and maternal permanent environmental effects were not significant (P \u3e 0.05), but litter effects influenced (P \u3c 0.01) both WFEC and PWFEC. Heritability estimates ranged from 0.18 to 0.26 for WFEC and 0.23 to 0.46 for PWFEC, depending on the model used. Heritability estimates from sire models were higher than estimates from animal models. Direct additive, litter, residual, and phenotypic correlations between WFEC and PWFEC were 0.82, 0.25, 0.15, and 0.29, respectively. Bivariate analyses revealed low to moderate correlations between BW and FEC. Moderate heritabilities for FEC in this study indicated that genetic progress for this trait can be achieved in Katahdin lambs and that selection for low FEC should have little or no effect on BW
Genetic parameters for ewe reproductive performance and peri-parturient fecal egg counts and their genetic relationships with lamb body weights and fecal egg counts in Katahdin sheep
No full text© The Author(s) 2018. This study estimated genetic parameters for ewe reproductive traits [number of lambs born (NLB) and weaned (NLW) per ewe lambing] and fecal egg counts (FEC) during the peri-parturient rise (PPR) for use in genetic evaluation of Katahdin sheep. Data included NLB and NLW for 23,060 lambings by 9,295 Katahdin ewes, 1,230 PPR at lambing (PPR0) for 750 ewes, 1,070 PPR at approximately 30 d postpartum (PPR30) for 611 ewes, BW at birth, weaning, and (or) post-weaning for 12,869 lambs, and FEC at weaning and (or) post-weaning for 4,676 lambs. Direct additive, permanent environmental, and residual (co)variances were estimated in univariate and bivariate animal models. Fixed effects included effects of ewe management group and ewe age for all traits, and, for PPR, a continuous effect of days between lambing and measurement. Effects of litter size on PPR0 and number of lambs suckled on PPR30 were included in univariate models but excluded from bivariate models for PPR and NLB or NLW. Heritability estimates in univariate models for NLB, NLW, PPR0, and PPR30 were 0.09 ± 0.01, 0.06 ± 0.01, 0.35 ± 0.06, and 0.24 ± 0.07, respectively. Estimates of permanent environmental variance as a proportion of total phenotypic variance were 0.02 ± 0.01 for NLB, 0.03 ± 0.01 for NLW, 0.05 ± 0.06 for PPR0, and 0.13 ± 0.07 for PPR30. Direct additive, phenotypic, permanent environmental, and residual correlations between NLB and NLW were 0.88 ± 0.03, 0.74 ± 0.004, 0.54 ± 0.15, 0.74 ± 0.003, respectively; corresponding correlations between PPR0 and PPR30 were 0.96 ± 0.07, 0.46 ± 0.03, 0.98 ± 0.50, 0.18 ± 0.05, respectively. The additive genetic correlation (rd) between ewe reproductive traits and PPR ranged from 0.12 to 0.18. Estimates of rd between lamb BW and subsequent ewe NLB and NLW ranged from 0.07 to 0.20, and those between PPR and lamb BW ranged from −0.03 to 0.29. The rd between ewe reproductive traits and lamb FEC ranged from 0.27 to 0.40, and those between PPR and lamb FEC ranged from 0.56 to 0.77. Correlations between maternal additive effects on BW and direct additive effects on PPR were low (−0.08 to 0.10), and those between maternal additive effects on BW and direct additive effects on ewe reproductive traits were variable (−0.36 to 0.11). We conclude that FEC in growing lambs and peri-parturient ewes are controlled by similar genes and that modest, but manageable, genetic antagonisms may exist between FEC and ewe productivity
