Comparative analysis of Acinetobacters: three genomes for three lifestyles

Acinetobacter baumannii is the source of numerous nosocomial infections in humans and therefore deserves close attention as multidrug or even pandrug resistant strains are increasingly being identified worldwide. Here we report the comparison of two newly sequenced genomes of A. baumannii. The human isolate A. baumannii AYE is multidrug resistant whereas strain SDF, which was isolated from body lice, is antibiotic susceptible. As reference for comparison in this analysis, the genome of the soil-living bacterium A. baylyi strain ADP1 was used. The most interesting dissimilarities we observed were that i) whereas strain AYE and A. baylyi genomes harbored very few Insertion Sequence elements which could promote expression of downstream genes, strain SDF sequence contains several hundred of them that have played a crucial role in its genome reduction (gene disruptions and simple DNA loss); ii) strain SDF has low catabolic capacities compared to strain AYE. Interestingly, the latter has even higher catabolic capacities than A. baylyi which has already been reported as a very nutritionally versatile organism. This metabolic performance could explain the persistence of A. baumannii nosocomial strains in environments where nutrients are scarce; iii) several processes known to play a key role during host infection (biofilm formation, iron uptake, quorum sensing, virulence factors) were either different or absent, the best example of which is iron uptake. Indeed, strain AYE and A. baylyi use siderophore-based systems to scavenge iron from the environment whereas strain SDF uses an alternate system similar to the Haem Acquisition System (HAS). Taken together, all these observations suggest that the genome contents of the 3 Acinetobacters compared are partly shaped by life in distinct ecological niches: human (and more largely hospital environment), louse, soil.     

Alternative splicing of fibronectin: three variants, three functions.

Fibronectin (FN) is a multi-functional extracellular matrix protein required for cell adhesion and migration, blood clotting, wound healing, and oncogenic transformation. The functional complexity is paralleled by structural diversity in that multiple forms of FN are generated by cell type-specific alternative splicing. In the rat, up to 12 different combinations of the three alternatively spliced segments (EIIIA, EIIIB, and the V region) are produced. What effects do these segments have on FN function? Recently, progress has been made in the identification of specific activities for the three Variants of the V region, V120, V95, and V0. FN-mediated cell adhesion, FN synthesis and secretion, and incorporation into blood clots are differentially affected by these isoforms. These results suggest that cellular behavior is modulated by environmental cues provided by different types and proportions of alternatively spliced FN variants.     

A three plus three parameters mechanistic model for viral filtration

Viral filtration is an expensive regulatory requirement in downstream processing of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). This process step is typically operated with an overdesigned filter in order to account for any batch to batch variability in the filter, as well as the feed characteristics. Here, we propose a simple, six‐parameter mechanistic model for viral filtration where three parameters are membrane‐specific while the other three depend on feed characteristics and membrane‐feed interactions. Viruses are considered as passive particles which are retained by the membrane on the basis of size exclusion. The model envisages that the viral filter contains two kind of pores: virus‐retentive, small‐sized pores and non‐retentive, large‐sized pores. The small‐sized pores get blocked during filtration resulting in decrease in active membrane area, while the large‐sized pores get constricted during filtration. The length of constricted part increases during filtration and contributes to increase in hydraulic resistance of the filter. Rate of these processes (blocking and constriction) are assumed to be proportional to the instantaneous rate of retention of the viral particles. The general nature of the model is validated with the experimental data on viral filtration for four different commercial membranes used in biotech industries as well as different model viruses. The proposed model has been demonstrated to describe the behavior of filters with very good accuracy. The best‐fit model parameter values indicate about the various phenomena that are responsible for differences in the behavior of the membranes as well as change in retention and flux with feed concentration. The proposed model can be used for improving design of virus filters as well as in appropriate sizing of the filters during processing. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1538–1547, 2017     

3种丛枝菌根真菌与3种寄主植物的共生关系

【目的】利用丛枝菌根(Arbuscular mycorrhiza,AM)真菌对寄主植物的偏好性和不同寄主植物的功能互补作用,建立AM真菌的高效繁殖体系。【方法】以玉米(Zea may L.)、高粱[Sorghum bicolor(L.)Moench]和白车轴草(Trifolium repens L.)为寄主植物,采用寄主植物单作和间作的盆栽培养法,研究不同栽培模式对光壁无梗囊霉(Acaulospora laevis)、单孢球囊霉(Glomus monosporum)和根内球囊霉(G.intraradices)3种AM真菌繁殖能力的影响,通过地上部分生物量的分配分析,探索C3和C4植物对AM真菌共生关系的"功能互补"效应及机制。【结果】间作模式下,寄主植物地上部分总生物量和3种AM真菌的孢子密度均显著高于单作(P0.05);单作和间作栽培模式下,3种AM真菌对玉米地上部分生物量响应无显著差异(P0.05),但单孢球囊霉和根内球囊霉对高粱地上部分生物量产生显著影响(P0.05);两种间作栽培模式下,根内球囊霉对白车轴草地上部分生物量也产生了显著影响(P0.05)。【结论】3种AM真菌对3种寄主植物的共生偏好性不同,且C3和C4植物对AM真菌共生关系存在一定的"功能互补"效应,利用AM真菌的寄主植物偏好性和不同植物间的功能互补关系,增加AM真菌的孢子产量,有利于AM真菌高效繁殖体系的建立。     

Comparison of routine oxygen consumption rates of three species of pleuronectids at three temperatures

The oxygen consumption rates of three species of pleuronectids, the yellowtail flounder, Pleuronectes ferrugineus (Storer), the winter flounder, Pleuronectes americanus (Walbaum), and the American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides (Fabricius), were examined under simulated, land-based, aquaculture conditions. Routine oxygen consumption (ROC) rates for groups of each species were measured simultaneously using single-pass, flow-through respirometry. This study was conducted over three seasons at temperatures from 2°C to 14°C. An analysis of variance identified a significant interaction between temperature and species on the oxygen consumption rates of these flounder. The analysis indicated that at each temperature, ROC rates were significantly different among the three species (P < 0.05). A subsequent test of each species'ROC rate across the three temperatures indicated that both the yellowtail flounder and the winter flounder had significantly different ROC rates at each temperature experiment (P < 0.05). The ROC of yellowtail and winter flounder responded similarly to changes in experimental temperatures.     

Comparisons of three ordination techniques

Summary Simulated coenoclines were used to test performance of several techniques for ordinating samples by species composition: Wisconsin polar or Bray-Curtis ordination with Euclidean distance (ED) and the complements of percentage similarity (PD) and coefficient of community (CD) as distance measures, Principal components analysis, and polar and non-polar or indirect use of Discriminant function analysis. In general the Bray-Curtis technique gave the best ordinations, and PD was the best distance measure. Euclidean distance gave greater distortion than PD in all tests; CD may be better than PD only for some sample sets of high alpha and beta diversity and high levels of noise or sample error. Principal components ordinations are increasingly distored as beta diversity increases, and are highly vulnerable to effects of both noise and sample clustering. Discriminant function analysis was found generally unsuitable for ordination of samples by species composition, but likely to be useful for sample classification.     

Muscle discrimination ability at three muscle sites in three headache groups

The present study examined the ability of three headache groups (migraine, mixed migraine/tension, and tension) to accurately discriminate subjective levels of muscle tension at the forearm flexor, frontalis, and trapezius muscle sites. Discrimination ability was assessed at pre- and posttreatment using a psychophysical method of magnitude production. Results show that the ability to discriminate muscle tension levels at pretreatment varied across the headache groups, with migraineurs being the most accurate (r=.854), followed by the mixed headache group (r=.785), and finally the tension headache group (r=.732). Discrimination ability significantly increased at the posttreatment assessment. A multiple regression analysis showed that pretreatment performance on the muscle discrimination task significantly predicted outcome (r=.75) from relaxation and biofeedback training for migraine patients but not for the mixed or tension headache groups.This research was supported by a grant from NINCDS, NS-15235.     

三种益生菌制剂活菌的稳定性

目的检测3种益生菌制剂的稳定性,了解其所含活菌的稳定性信息。方法按药物稳定性试验指导原则进行加速稳定性试验和长期稳定性试验。加速稳定性试验在第0、1、2、3、6个月各检测1次,共5次;长期稳定性试验在第0、3、6个月各检测1次,共3次。制剂1的加速条件为(30±2)℃、相对湿度(65±5)%,长期条件为(18±2)℃、相对湿度(60±10)%;制剂2、3的加速条件为(25±2)℃、相对湿度(60±10)%,长期条件为(6±2)℃、相对湿度(60±10)%。检测项目包括崩解时限检查、干燥失重检测和活菌计数。结果 3种益生菌制剂在实验前后含水量等指标相对稳定,菌种含量有轻微变化,除制剂1中的嗜酸乳杆菌外,其余菌种含量均较稳定,在标示含量范围内(均P0.05)。结论 3种益生菌制剂在加速条件和长期条件下稳定性均较好,生物学特性未发生明显改变。     

Dermatoglyphics of three Hungarian populations

The dermatoglyphics of 709 individuals from three Hungarian populations living near each other but of different origin were analyzed. In dermatoglyphic traits the three populations present but slight differences from one another.     

The three genomes of Chlamydomonas

During the past 50 years, the green unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has played a key role as model system for the study of photosynthesis and chloroplast biogenesis. This is due to its well-established nuclear and chloroplast genetics, its dispensable photosynthetic function in the presence of acetate, and its highly efficient nuclear and chloroplast transformation systems. Considerable progress has been achieved in our understanding of the structure, function, inheritance, and expression of nuclear, chloroplast, and mitochondrial genes and of the molecular cross-talk between the nuclear, chloroplast, and mitochondrial genetic systems. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Muscle discrimination ability at three muscle sites in three headache groups

The present study examined the ability of three headache groups (migraine, mixed migraine/tension, and tension) to accurately discriminate subjective levels of muscle tension at the forearm flexor, frontalis, and trapezius muscle sites. Discrimination ability was assessed at pre- and posttreatment using a psychophysical method of magnitude production. Results show that the ability to discriminate muscle tension levels at pretreatment varied across the headache groups, with migraineurs being the most accurate (r = .854), followed by the mixed headache group (r = .785), and finally the tension headache group (r = .732). Discrimination ability significantly increased at the posttreatment assessment. A multiple regression analysis showed that pretreatment performance on the muscle discrimination task significantly predicted outcome (r = .75) from relaxation and biofeedback training for migraine patients but not for the mixed or tension headache groups.