Expansion of Bacteriophages Is Linked to Aggravated Intestinal Inflammation and Colitis

1. Download high-res image (192KB)
2. Download full-size image

     

No Evidence of Association between Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Financial Risk Taking in Females

Background

Past research linked Toxoplasma gondii (TG) infection in humans with neurological and mental disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and attention disorders), irregularities of the dopaminergic and testosterone system, and increased likelihood of being involved in traffic accidents.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We test for an association between TG infection and financial decision-making (DM) using a case-control design in a sample of female Czech students (n = 79). We estimate each subject''s risk attitude and loss aversion using an experimental economic task involving real monetary incentives. We find no significant evidence that either measure of decision-making is associated with TG infection.

Conclusion

We were unable to find evidence of an association between TG infection and financial decision-making in females.     

The Tip of the Tail Needle Affects the Rate of DNA Delivery by Bacteriophage P22

The P22-like bacteriophages have short tails. Their virions bind to their polysaccharide receptors through six trimeric tailspike proteins that surround the tail tip. These short tails also have a trimeric needle protein that extends beyond the tailspikes from the center of the tail tip, in a position that suggests that it should make first contact with the host’s outer membrane during the infection process. The base of the needle serves as a plug that keeps the DNA in the virion, but role of the needle during adsorption and DNA injection is not well understood. Among the P22-like phages are needle types with two completely different C-terminal distal tip domains. In the phage Sf6-type needle, unlike the other P22-type needle, the distal tip folds into a “knob” with a TNF-like fold, similar to the fiber knobs of bacteriophage PRD1 and Adenovirus. The phage HS1 knob is very similar to that of Sf6, and we report here its crystal structure which, like the Sf6 knob, contains three bound L-glutamate molecules. A chimeric P22 phage with a tail needle that contains the HS1 terminal knob efficiently infects the P22 host, Salmonella enterica, suggesting the knob does not confer host specificity. Likewise, mutations that should abrogate the binding of L-glutamate to the needle do not appear to affect virion function, but several different other genetic changes to the tip of the needle slow down potassium release from the host during infection. These findings suggest that the needle plays a role in phage P22 DNA delivery by controlling the kinetics of DNA ejection into the host.     

青藏铁路沿线景观保护评价方法研究

采用遥感和地理信息系统技术 ,对新建青藏铁路唐古拉山口至拉萨段铁路沿线景观进行分类和制图的基础上 ,以景观类型为评价对象 ,采用专家评分法对铁路沿线景观美景度进行了评价 ;根据海拔高度、降水量、植被覆盖度、Shanon-Winner多样性指数、物种丰富度、表层土壤厚度、净第一性生产力、工程扰动的敏感系数和破坏后恢复能力系数计算了景观的阈值。在景观美景度和景观阈值的基础上 ,确定了景观的质量级别。以景观相对于观景者的坡度和景观的可见度对铁路沿线景观敏感度进行了分析与评价。根据景观质量、景观敏感度和距离带 ,将铁路沿线分为不同的景观保护级别 ,为铁路工程建设合理设计工程和施工场地提供科学依据