Coral microbiomes are critical to holobiont functioning, but much remains to be understood about how prevailing environment and host genotype affect microbial communities in ecosystems. Resembling ...human identical twin studies, we examined bacterial community differences of naturally occurring fire coral clones within and between contrasting reef habitats to assess the relative contribution of host genotype and environment to microbiome structure. Bacterial community composition of coral clones differed between reef habitats, highlighting the contribution of the environment. Similarly, but to a lesser extent, microbiomes varied across different genotypes in identical habitats, denoting the influence of host genotype. Predictions of genomic function based on taxonomic profiles suggest that environmentally determined taxa supported a functional restructuring of the microbial metabolic network. In contrast, bacteria determined by host genotype seemed to be functionally redundant. Our study suggests microbiome flexibility as a mechanism of environmental adaptation with association of different bacterial taxa partially dependent on host genotype.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are chemically reactive molecules that are naturally produced within biological systems. Research has focused extensively on revealing the multi‐faceted and complex ...roles that ROS play in living tissues. In regard to the good side of ROS, this article explores the effects of ROS on signalling, immune response and other physiological responses. To review the potentially bad side of ROS, we explain the consequences of high concentrations of molecules that lead to the disruption of redox homeostasis, which induces oxidative stress damaging intracellular components. The ugly effects of ROS can be observed in devastating cardiac, pulmonary, neurodegenerative and other disorders. Furthermore, this article covers the regulatory enzymes that mitigate the effects of ROS. Glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase are discussed in particular detail. The current understanding of ROS is incomplete, and it is imperative that future research be performed to understand the implications of ROS in various therapeutic interventions.
Significant adverse events (AE) during cancer therapy disrupt treatment and escalate to emergency admissions. Approaches to improve the timeliness and accuracy of AE reporting may improve safety and ...reduce health service costs. Reporting AE via patient reported outcomes (PROs), can improve clinician–patient communication and making data available to clinicians in ‘real-time’ using electronic PROs (ePROs) could potentially transform clinical practice by providing easily accessible records to guide treatment decisions. This manuscript describes the development of eRAPID (electronic patient self-Reporting of Adverse-events: Patient Information and aDvice) is a National Institute for Health Research-funded programme, a system for patients to self-report and manage AE online during and after cancer treatment.
A multidisciplinary team of IT experts, staff and patients developed using agile principles a secure web application interface (QStore) between an existing online questionnaire builder (QTool) displaying real-time ePRO data to clinicians in the electronic patient record at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Hierarchical algorithms were developed corresponding to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grading using the QTool question dependency function. Patient advocates (N = 9), patients (N = 13), and staff (N = 19) usability tested the system reporting combinations of AE.
The eRAPID system allows patients to report AE from home on PC, tablet or any web enabled device securely during treatment. The system generates immediate self-management advice for low or moderate AE and for severe AE advice to contact the hospital immediately. Clinicians can view patient AE data in the electronic patient record and receive email notifications when patients report severe AE.
Evaluation of the system in a randomised controlled trial in breast, gynaecological and colorectal cancer patients undergoing systemic therapy is currently underway. To adapt eRAPID for different treatment groups, pilot studies are being undertaken with patients receiving pelvic radiotherapy and upper gastrointestinal surgery.
ISRCTN88520246.
A new method for concentrating nitrate from fresh waters for
δ
15N and
δ
18O analysis has been developed and field-tested for four years. The benefits of the method are: (1) elimination of the need ...to transport large volumes of water to the laboratory for processing; (2) elimination of the need for hazardous preservatives; and (3) the ability to concentrate nitrate from fresh waters. Nitrate is collected by, passing the water-sample through pre-filled, disposable, anion exchanging resin columns in the field. The columns are subsequently transported to the laboratory where the nitrate is extracted, converted to AgNO
3 and analyzed for its isotope composition. Nitrate is eluted from the anion exchange columns with 15
ml of 3
M HCl. The nitrate-bearing acid eluant is neutralized with Ag
2O, filtered to remove the AgCl precipitate, then freeze-dried to obtain solid AgNO
3, which is then combusted to N
2 in sealed quartz tubes for
δ
15N analysis. For
δ
18O analysis, aliquots of the neutralized eluant are processed further to remove non-nitrate oxygen-bearing anions and dissolved organic matter. Barium chloride is added to precipitate sulfate and phosphate; the solution is then filtered, passed through a cation exchange column to remove excess Ba
2+, re-neutralized with Ag
2O, filtered, agitated with activated carbon to remove dissolved organic matter and freeze-dried. The resulting AgNO
3 is combusted with graphite in a closed tube to produce CO
2, which is cryogenically purified and analyzed for its oxygen isotope composition. The 1
σ analytical precisions for
δ
15N and
δ
18O are ±0.05‰ and ±0.5‰, respectively, for solutions of KNO
3 standard processed through the entire column procedure.
High concentrations of anions in solution can interfere with nitrate adsorption on the anion exchange resins, which may result in isotope fractionation of nitrogen and oxygen (fractionation experiments were conducted for nitrogen only; however, fractionation for oxygen is expected). Chloride, sulfate, and potassium biphthalate, an organic acid proxy for dissolved organic material, added to KNO
3 standard solutions caused no significant nitrogen fractionation for chloride concentrations below about 200
mg/l (5.6
meq/l) for 1000
ml samples, sulfate concentrations up to 2000
mg/l (41.7
meq/l) in 100
ml samples, and Potassium biphthalate for concentrations up to 200
mg/l carbon in 100
ml samples. Samples archived on the columns for up to two years show minimal nitrogen isotope fractionation.
Among primate species there is pronounced variation in the relationship between social status and measures of stress physiology. An informal meta-analysis was designed to investigate the basis of ...this diversity across different primate societies. Species were included only if a substantial amount of published information was available regarding both social behavior and rank-related differences in stress physiology. Four Old World and three New World species met these criteria, including societies varying from small-group, singular cooperative breeders (common marmoset and cotton top tamarin) to large-troop, multi-male, multi-female polygynous mating systems (rhesus, cynomolgus, talapoin, squirrel monkeys, and olive baboon). A questionnaire was formulated to obtain information necessary to characterize the stress milieu for individuals in particular primate societies. We standardized cortisol values within each species by calculating the ratio of basal cortisol concentrations of subordinates to those of dominants in stable dominance hierarchies and expressing the ratio as a percentage (relative cortisol levels). The meta-analysis identified two variables that significantly predicted relative cortisol levels: subordinates exhibited higher relative cortisol levels when they (1) were subjected to higher rates of stressors, and (2) experienced decreased opportunities for social (including close kin) support. These findings have important implications for understanding the different physiological consequences of dominant and subordinate social status across primate societies and how social rank may differ in its behavioral and physiological manifestations among primate societies.
Background
Histamine is a key immunoregulatory mediator and can dampen proinflammatory responses via activation of histamine receptor 2 (H2R). The aim of this study was to determine the role of H2R ...in modulating lung inflammatory responses.
Methods
H2R was blocked using famotidine or activated using dimaprit in both the ovalbumin (OVA) and house dust mite extract (HDM) murine models of respiratory inflammation. H2R‐deficient animals and CD1d/H2R‐deficient animals were utilized to examine the CD1d presentation of lipid antigens (αGalCer or OCH) to invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells.
Results
Famotidine treatment resulted in more severe airway disease in the OVA model, while dimaprit treatment significantly reduced disease severity. Both OVA and HDM‐induced airway diseases were more severe in H2R‐deficient animals. Flow cytometric analysis of lung tissue from H2R‐deficient animals revealed increased numbers of CD1d+ dendritic cells and increased numbers of iNKT cells. In vitro, αGalCer‐stimulated iNKT cells from H2R‐deficient mice secreted higher levels of IL‐4, IL‐5, and GM‐CSF. In vivo, αGalCer or OCH administration to the lung resulted in enhanced mucus secretion, inflammatory cell recruitment, and cytokine production in H2R‐deficient or famotidine‐treated animals, while dimaprit dampened the lung iNKT cell response to αGalCer. Removal of iNKT cells in H2R‐deficient (CD1d−/−H2R−/−) animals normalized the lung response to HDM.
Conclusion
The deliberate activation of H2R, or its downstream signaling molecules, may represent a novel therapeutic target for chronic lung inflammatory diseases, especially when CD1d‐mediated presentation of lipid antigens to iNKT cells is contributing to the pathology.
ABSTRACT
The hot WN star WR 2 (HD 6327) has been claimed to have many singular characteristics. To explain its unusually rounded and relatively weak emission line profiles, it has been proposed that ...WR 2 is rotating close to break-up with a magnetically confined wind. Alternatively, the line profiles could be explained by the dilution of WR 2’s spectrum by that of a companion. In this paper, we present a study of WR 2 using near-infrared AO imaging and optical spectroscopy and polarimetry. Our spectra reveal the presence of weak photospheric absorption lines from a B 2.5–4V companion, which however contributes only 5–10 per cent to the total light, suggesting that the companion is a background object. Therefore, its flux cannot be causing any significant dilution of the WR star’s emission lines. The absence of intrinsic linear continuum polarization from WR 2 does not support the proposed fast rotation. Our Stokes V spectrum was not of sufficient quality to test the presence of a moderately strong organized magnetic field but our new modelling indicates that to confine the wind the putative magnetic field must be significantly stronger than was previously suggested sufficiently strong as to make its presence implausible.
Epidemiological evidence on meat intake and breast cancer is inconsistent, with little research on potentially carcinogenic meat-related exposures. We investigated meat subtypes, cooking practices, ...meat mutagens, iron, and subsequent breast cancer risk.
Among 52 158 women (aged 55-74 years) in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, who completed a food frequency questionnaire, 1205 invasive breast cancer cases were identified. We estimated meat mutagen and haem iron intake with databases accounting for cooking practices. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, we calculated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) within quintiles of intake.
Comparing the fifth to the first quintile, red meat (HR=1.23; 95% CI=1.00-1.51, P trend=0.22), the heterocyclic amine (HCA), 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo4,5-fquinoxaline (MeIQx), (HR=1.26; 95% CI=1.03-1.55; P trend=0.12), and dietary iron (HR=1.25; 95% CI=1.02-1.52; P trend=0.03) were positively associated with breast cancer. We observed elevated, though not statistically significant, risks with processed meat, the HCA 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo4,5-fquinoxaline (DiMeIQx), mutagenic activity, iron from meat, and haem iron from meat.
In this prospective study, red meat, MeIQx, and dietary iron elevated the risk of invasive breast cancer, but there was no linear trend in the association except for dietary iron.
ABSTRACT
Searching for Earth-sized planets in data from Kepler’s extended mission (K2) is a niche that still remains to be fully exploited. The TFAW survey is an ongoing project that aims to ...re-analyse all light curves in K2 C1–C8 and C12–C18 campaigns with a wavelet-based detrending and denoising method, and the period search algorithm TLS to search for new transit candidates not detected in previous works. We have analysed a first subset of 24 candidate planetary systems around relatively faint host stars (10.9 < Kp < 15.4) to allow for follow-up speckle imaging observations. Using vespa and TRICERATOPS, we statistically validate six candidates orbiting four unique host stars by obtaining false-positive probabilities smaller than 1 per cent with both methods. We also present 13 vetted planet candidates that might benefit from other, more precise follow-up observations. All of these planets are sub-Neptune-sized with two validated planets and three candidates with sub-Earth sizes, and have orbital periods between 0.81 and 23.98 d. Some interesting systems include two ultra-short-period planets, three multiplanetary systems, three sub-Neptunes that appear to be within the small planet Radius Gap, and two validated and one candidate sub-Earths (EPIC 210706310.01, K2-411 b, and K2-413 b) orbiting metal-poor stars.
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