Biochemical Aspects of Lipid Storage and Utilization in Animals

The high energy content of lipids makes these compounds attractiveto active metazoans as alight form of fuel storage. Animalshave evolved complex systems of enzymes and transport proteinsin order to utilize lipids for the generation of energy. Whilethe enzymatic systems responsible for lipid synthesis and oxidationare probably similar in all metazoans, mechanisms for controlof the rates of these processes differ with taxonomic group.The means by which lipids are transported through the body fluidsof metazoans also show phylogenetic variation. Complete, quantitativedata on the mechanisms and rates of lipid digestion, synthesis,transport and utilization are available for only a very fewmammals, birds and insects. This would seem to be a very fertilefield for comparative physiologists.     

Dynamics of Pneumococcal Acquisition and Carriage in Young Adults during Training in Confined Settings in Israel

Background

Outbreaks and sporadic cases of pneumococcal illness occur among young adults in confined settings. Our aim was to characterize pneumococcal acquisition and carriage among healthy young adults in Israel during military training in confined settings.

Methods

During the years 2007–2008, an observational longitudinal study was conducted in three cohorts of healthy soldiers, during a 7-month basic training period. Epidemiological data, oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal cultures were sampled on 5 occasions: before and 3, 6, 12 and 24 weeks after start of training. Samples were processed within 2–18 hours. Relatedness of isolates was investigated by capsular typing of all isolates and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to determine acquisition and transmission. Carriage and acquisition patterns were analyzed and multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of time on acquisition after mixing, controlling for other covariates.

Results

Pneumococci were recovered on 202 of 1872 visits among 742 individuals, including 40 different serotypes. Mean carriage prevalence increased in all visits following training initiation. Acquisition during training was high, as 36.9% of individuals acquired pneumococci at least once during training, and for almost one fourth of the whole population this occurred during the first 6 weeks. Significant clustering was noted. Sharing drinking glass/bottle was found to be a significant and common risk factor for pneumococcal acquisition.

Conclusions

Pneumococcal acquisition is highly frequent when young adults live in close contact in confined settings, especially early after mixing.     

Sequential and Structural Aspects of Antifungal Peptides from Animals,Bacteria and Fungi Based on Bioinformatics Tools

Emerging drug resistance varieties and hyper-virulent strains of microorganisms have compelled the scientific fraternity to develop more potent and less harmful therapeutics. Antimicrobial peptides could be one of such therapeutics. This review is an attempt to explore antifungal peptides naturally produced by prokaryotes as well as eukaryotes. They are components of innate immune system providing first line of defence against microbial attacks, especially in eukaryotes. The present article concentrates on types, structures, sources and mode of action of gene-encoded antifungal peptides such as mammalian defensins, protegrins, tritrpticins, histatins, lactoferricins, antifungal peptides derived from birds, amphibians, insects, fungi, bacteria and their synthetic analogues such as pexiganan, omiganan, echinocandins and Novexatin. In silico drug designing, a major revolution in the area of therapeutics, facilitates drug development by exploiting different bioinformatics tools. With this view, bioinformatics tools were used to visualize the structural details of antifungal peptides and to predict their level of similarity. Current practices and recent developments in this area have also been discussed briefly.     

Pictures of Synthetic Biology

This article is concerned with the representation of Synthetic Biology in the media and by biotechnology experts. An analysis was made of German-language media articles published between 2004 and 2008, and interviews with biotechnology-experts at the Synthetic Biology conference SB 3.0 in Zurich 2007. The results have been reflected in terms of the definition of Synthetic Biology, applications of Synthetic Biology and the perspectives of opportunities and risks. In the media, Synthetic Biology is represented as a new scientific field of biology with an engineering-like thinking, while the scientists interviewed mostly define Synthetic Biology as contrary to nature and the natural system. Media articles present Synthetic Biology broadly with positive potential and inform the publics less about the potential risks than about the benefits of Synthetic Biology. In contrast, the experts interviewed reflect more on the risks than the opportunities of Synthetic Biology. Both used metaphors to describe Synthetic Biology and its aspects.     

Dermatophytoses in Animals

Dermatophytoses are one of the most frequent skin diseases of pets and livestock. Contagiousness among animal communities, high cost of treatment, difficulty of control measures, and the public health consequences of animal ringworm explain their great importance. A wide variety of dermatophytes have been isolated from animals, but a few zoophilic species are responsible for the majority of the cases, viz. Microsporum canis, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton equinum and Trichophyton verrucosum, as also the geophilic species Microsporum gypseum. According to the host and the fungal species involved, the typical aspect of dermatophytic lesions may be modified. As a consequence, an accurate clinical examination, a good differential diagnosis and laboratory analyses are required for a correct identification. Few antifungal agents are available and licenced for use in veterinary practice, and the use of systemic drugs is limited in livestock due to the problems of residues in products intended for human consumption. The high resistance of the dermatophyte arthroconidia in the environment, the multiplicity of host species, and the confinement of animals in breedings are cause of an enzootic situation in many cases. Prevention is difficult, but research development on the immune response to dermatophytes and the use of vaccination, especially in cattle, have brought some interesting results.