Microbiological interactions with cold plasma

There is a diverse range of microbiological challenges facing the food, healthcare and clinical sectors. The increasing and pervasive resistance to broad‐spectrum antibiotics and health‐related concerns with many biocidal agents drives research for novel and complementary antimicrobial approaches. Biofilms display increased mechanical and antimicrobial stability and are the subject of extensive research. Cold plasmas (CP) have rapidly evolved as a technology for microbial decontamination, wound healing and cancer treatment, owing to the chemical and bio‐active radicals generated known collectively as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. This review outlines the basics of CP technology and discusses the interactions with a range of microbiological targets. Advances in mechanistic insights are presented and applications to food and clinical issues are discussed. The possibility of tailoring CP to control specific microbiological challenges is apparent. This review focuses on microbiological issues in relation to food‐ and healthcare‐associated human infections, the role of CP in their elimination and the current status of plasma mechanisms of action.     

Different responses in the expression of alginases,alginate polymerase and acetylation genes during alginate production by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Azotobacter vinelandii</Emphasis> under oxygen-controlled conditions

Alginate production and gene expression of genes involved in alginate biosynthesis were evaluated in continuous cultures under dissolved oxygen tension (DOT) controlled conditions. Chemostat at 8% DOT showed an increase in the specific oxygen uptake rate \((q_{{{\text{O}}_{ 2} }} )\) from 10.9 to 45.3 mmol g^?1 h^?1 by changes in the dilution rate (D) from 0.06 to 0.10 h^?1, whereas under 1% DOT the \(q_{{{\text{O}}_{ 2} }}\) was not affected. Alginate molecular weight was not affected by DOT. However, chemostat at 1% DOT showed a downregulation up to 20-fold in genes encoding both the alginate polymerase (alg8, alg44), alginate acetylases (algV, algI) and alginate lyase AlgL. alyA1 and algE7 lyases gene expressions presented an opposite behavior by changing the DOT, suggesting that A. vinelandii can use specific depolymerases depending on the oxygen level. Overall, the DOT level have a differential effect on genes involved in alginate synthesis, thus a gene expression equilibrium determines the production of alginates of similar molecular weight under DOT controlled.     

Frequency of a natural truncated allele of <Emphasis Type="Italic">MdMLO19</Emphasis> in the germplasm of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Malus domestica</Emphasis>

Podosphaera leucotricha is the causal agent of powdery mildew (PM) in apple. To reduce the amount of fungicides required to control this pathogen, the development of resistant apple cultivars should become a priority. Resistance to PM was achieved in various crops by knocking out specific members of the MLO gene family that are responsible for PM susceptibility (S-genes). In apple, the knockdown of MdMLO19 resulted in PM resistance. However, since gene silencing technologies such as RNAi are perceived unfavorably in Europe, a different approach that exploits this type of resistance is needed. This work evaluates the presence of non-functional naturally occurring alleles of MdMLO19 in apple germplasm. The screening of the re-sequencing data of 63 apple individuals led to the identification of 627 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in five MLO genes (MdMLO5, MdMLO7, MdMLO11, MdMLO18, and MdMLO19), 127 of which were located in exons. The T-1201 insertion of a single nucleotide in MdMLO19 caused the formation of an early stop codon, resulting in a truncated protein lacking 185 amino acids, including the calmodulin-binding domain. The presence of the insertion was evaluated in 115 individuals. It was heterozygous in 64 and homozygous in 25. Twelve of the 25 individuals carrying the insertion in homozygosity were susceptible to PM. After barley, pea, cucumber, and tomato, apple would be the fifth species for which a natural non-functional mlo allele has been found.     

Epistemic artefacts: on the uses of complexity in anthropology

Distinctions between the ‘simple’ and the ‘complex’ have enjoyed a long and varied career in anthropology. Simplicity was once part of a collective fantasy about what life was like elsewhere, tingeing studies of tribal life with human longing for simpler ways of being. With the reflexive turn and the rise of cultural critique, simplicity has been all but excommunicated in favour of widespread diagnoses of complexity. In this article, I tease out some transformations in the uses of complexity in anthropology, and weave in some critical responses to these uses, spanning many decades, from within the discipline. I pay special attention to recent critiques by anthropologists who are beginning to grow weary of complexity as both an end‐in‐itself for scholarship and an empirical diagnosis. For these critics, complexity is deeply entwined with anthropological methods and knowledge practices. Drawing on these critical views, I suggest that complexity may be an epistemological artefact, rather than something that can be diagnosed ‘out there’, and offer a way of reframing complexity as a ‘dominant problematic’ in anthropology and beyond.     

A lifelong competitive training practice attenuates age-related lipid peroxidation

The effect of exercise-induced oxidative stress on health and aging is not clearly explained. This study examined the effects of habitual sport practice, age, and submaximal exercise on the blood markers of oxidative stress, muscle damage, and antioxidant response. Seventy-two healthy men were grouped by their habitual sport practice: inactive (<1.5 h/week), recreational (3–8 h/week), and trained athletes (>8 h/week), and further divided by age: young (18–25 years), adult (40–55 years), and senior (>55 years). Blood samples were collected at rest and after submaximal effort. Hydroperoxides and superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase activities were measured by spectrophotometry. Nuclear DNA damage was analyzed by comet assay. The alpha-actin release was analyzed by Western blot. Alpha-tocopherol, retinol, and coenzyme-Q10 were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. Data was analyzed through a factorial ANOVA and the Bonferroni post hoc test. Lipid peroxidation increased significantly with age and submaximal effort (p?<?0.05). However, the trained athlete group presented lower lipid peroxidation compared with the recreational group (MD?=?2.079, SED?=?0.58, p?=?0.002) and inactive group (MD?=?1.979, SED?=?0.61, p?=?0.005). Trained athletes showed significant higher alpha-actin levels (p?<?0.001) than the other groups. Recreational group showed lower nuclear DNA damage than trained athletes (MD?=?3.681, SED?=?1.28, p?=?0.015). Nevertheless, the inactive group presented significantly higher superoxide dismutase and catalase (p?<?0.05) than the other groups. Data suggested that habitual competitive training practice could prevent age-related increases of plasma lipid peroxidation, which, according with our results, cannot be entirely attributed to blood antioxidant defense systems.     

Functional proteomic insights in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Introduction: B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) is a hematological malignancy considered as the most common leukemia in the Western world. The understanding of B cell differentiation is crucial for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of the disease.

Areas covered: In this review, B-cell ontogeny and its relation with the CLL development, in combination with the proteomic approaches which could provide a deep characterization of the disease through the characterization of the cellular signaling pathways involved in the pathological cells is described.

Expert commentary: Although conventional strategies (genome sequencing, morphology assays, and immunophenotyping by flow cytometry and/or immunochemistry) have allowed the establishment of the disease stage based on different parameters, it is still necessary to utilize novel approaches (e.g., proteomics) that have the potential to simultaneously analyze thousands of molecules to improve understanding of CLL.     

Social structure and indirect genetic effects: genetics of social behaviour

The social environment modulates gene expression, physiology, behaviour and patterns of inheritance. For more than 50 years, this concept has been investigated using approaches that include partitioning the social component out of behavioural heritability estimates, studying maternal effects on offspring, and analysing dominance hierarchies. Recent advances have formalized this ‘social environment effect’ by providing a more nuanced approach to the study of social influences on behaviour while recognizing evolutionary implications. Yet, in most of these formulations, the dynamics of social interactions are not accounted for. Also, the reciprocity between individual behaviour and group‐level interactions has been largely ignored. Consistent with evolutionary theory, the principles of social interaction are conserved across a broad range of taxa. While noting parallels in diverse organisms, this review uses Drosophila melanogaster as a case study to revisit what is known about social interaction paradigms. We highlight the benefits of integrating the history and pattern of interactions among individuals for dissecting molecular mechanisms that underlie social modulation of behaviour.