Assessing a decade of public health preparedness: progress on the precipice?

September 11 and the subsequent anthrax attacks marked the beginning of significant investment by the federal government to develop a national public health emergency response capability. Recognizing the importance of the public health sector's contribution to the burgeoning homeland security enterprise, this investment was intended to convey a "dual benefit" by strengthening the overall public health infrastructure while building preparedness capabilities. In many instances, federal funds were used successfully for preparedness activities. For example, electronic health information networks, a Strategic National Stockpile, and increased interagency cooperation have all contributed to creating a more robust and prepared enterprise. Additionally, the knowledge of rarely seen or forgotten pathogens has been regenerated through newly established public health learning consortia, which, too, have strengthened relationships between the practice and academic communities. Balancing traditional public health roles with new preparedness responsibilities heightened public health's visibility, but it also presented significant complexities, including expanded lines of reporting and unremitting inflows of new guidance documents. Currently, a rapidly diminishing public health infrastructure at the state and local levels as a result of federal budget cuts and a poor economy serve as significant barriers to sustaining these nascent federal public health preparedness efforts. Sustaining these improvements will require enhanced coordination, collaboration, and planning across the homeland security enterprise; an infusion of innovation and leadership; and sustained transformative investment for governmental public health.     

Preliminary studies on chorote – a traditional Mexican fermented product

Summary The purpose of this work was to study some biochemical and microbiological changes occurring during the fermentation of chorote, an important indigenous fermented food in the Mexican state of Tabasco. The chorote solid state fermentation is similar to that for the production of pozol, though fermented and roasted cacao beans are added to the maize dough. Changes in pH, lactic acid, total and soluble protein, available lysine and tryptophan as well as in some microbial groups were recorded during a 9-day fermentation period. Microbiological analysis showed an increase in moulds, yeasts, amylolytic lactic acid and nitrogen-fixing bacteria during the fermentation. There was a decrease in pH (to 4.2) and a significant net increase in protein content. There was also an increase in soluble protein and tryptophan.     

Biomechanical highlights — the personal miscellany of a decade

Developments of the past decade, primarily in biomechanics, are characterized through personal recollections. Topics covered include pressure treatment of hypertrophic scars, laser eradication of tattoos, amputation stump and artificial limb interactions, elbow arthoplasty, disability rehabilitation and training for sports performance, functional electrical stimulation and joint goniometry. The review is prefaced by comments on the present day context and resource environment of bioengineering research and ends by discussing the anticipated advent of health maintenance orientated community care as the activity of first priority for the future.     

Polychaete phylogeny based on morphological data – a comparison of current attempts

Annelid phylogeny is one of the largest unresolved problems within the Metazoa. This is due to the enormous age of this taxon and also strongly influenced by the current discussion on the position of the Arthropoda, which traditionally is hypothesized to be the annelid sister taxon. Within the framework of recent discussions on the position of the Annelida, the ground pattern of this taxon is either a clitellate-like, parapodia-less dwelling organism or an organisms that resembles errant polychaetes in having parapodia and gills and probably being a predator. To solve this problem different attempts have been made in the past, cladistic analysis, scenario based plausibility considerations and a successive search for sister taxa base on isolated characters. These attempts are presented and critically discussed. There is at least strong support for the Annelida as wells as for several of its taxa above the level of traditional families; the monophyly of the Polychaeta, however, remains questionable. The term taxon is used here in the sense of group of things that share certain characteristics. Biological taxa are not necessarily monophyletic, although many of them turned out to be. In terms of phylogenetic systematics taxa should be monophyletic.     

Macropore effects on phosphorus acquisition by wheat roots – a rhizotron study

Background and aims

Macropores may be preferential root pathways into the subsoil. We hypothesised that the presence of macropores promotes P-uptake from subsoil, particularly at limited water supply in surface soil. We tested this hypothesis in a rhizotron experiment with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Scirocco) under variation of fertilisation and irrigation.

Methods

Rhizotrons were filled with compacted subsoil (bulk density 1.4 g cm^?3), underneath a P-depleted topsoil. In half of these rhizotrons the subsoil contained artificial macropores. Spring wheat was grown for 41 days with and without irrigation and ³¹P–addition. Also, a ³³P–tracer was added at the soil surface to trace P-distribution in plants using liquid scintillation counting and radioactive imaging.

Results

Fertilisation and irrigation promoted biomass production and plant P-uptake. Improved growing conditions resulted in a higher proportion of subsoil roots, indicating that the topsoil root system additionally promoted subsoil nutrient acquisition. The presence of macropores did not improve plant growth but tended to increase translocation of ³³P into both above- and belowground biomass. ³³P–imaging confirmed that this plant-internal transport of topsoil-P extended into subsoil roots.

Conclusions

The lack of penetration resistance in macropores did not increase plant growth and nutrient uptake from subsoil here; however, wheat specifically re-allocated topsoil-P for subsoil root growth.

     

Exosomes at a glance – common nominators for cancer hallmarks and novel diagnosis tools

Cancer represents a heterogeneous disease with multiple levels of regulation and a dynamic environment that sustains the evolution of the malignant mass. This dynamic is in part sustained by a class of extracellular vesicles termed exosomes that are able to imprint the pathological state by incorporating differential cargos in order to facilitate cell-to-cell communication. Exosomes are stable within the extracellular medium and function as shuttles secreted by healthy or pathological cells, being further taken by the accepting cell with direct effects on its phenotype. The exosomal trafficking is deeply involved in multiple levels of cancer development with roles in all cancer hallmarks. Nowadays, studies are constantly exploring the ability of exosomes to sustain the malignant progression in order to attack this pathological trafficking and impair the ability of the tumor mass to expand within the organisms. As important, the circulatory characteristics of exosomes represent a steady advantage regarding the possibility of using them as minimally invasive diagnosis tools, where cancer patients’ present modified exosomal profiles compared to the healthy ones. This last characteristic, as novel diagnosis tools, has the advantage of a possible rapid transition within the clinic, compared to the studies that evaluate the therapeutic meaning.     

Dermacentor reticulatus – a tick on its way from glacial refugia to a panmictic Eurasian population

The ornate dog tick (Dermacentor reticulatus) shows a recently expanding geographic distribution. Knowledge on its intraspecific variability, population structure, rate of genetic diversity and divergence, including its evolution and geographic distribution, is crucial to understand its dispersal capacity. All such information would help to evaluate the potential risk of future spread of associated pathogens of medical and veterinary concern. A set of 865 D. reticulatus ticks was collected from 65 localities across 21 countries, from Portugal in the west to Kazakhstan and southern Russia in the east. Cluster analyses of 16 microsatellite loci were combined with nuclear (ITS2, 18S) and mitochondrial (12S, 16S, COI) sequence data to uncover the ticks’ population structures and geographical patterns. Approximate Bayesian computation was applied to model evolutionary relationships among the found clusters. Low variability and a weak phylogenetic signal showing an east–west cline were detected both for mitochondrial and nuclear sequence markers. Microsatellite analyses revealed three genetic clusters, where the eastern and western cluster gradient was supplemented by a third, northern cluster. Alternative scenarios could explain such a tripartite population structure by independent formation of clusters in separate refugia, limited gene flow connected with isolation by distance causing a “bipolar pattern”, and the northern cluster deriving from admixture between the eastern and western populations. The best supported demographic scenario of this tick species indicates that the northern cluster derived from admixture between the eastern and western populations 441 (median) to 224 (mode) generations ago, suggesting a possible link with the end of the Little Ice Age in Europe.     

Validation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aseroë coccinea</Emphasis> (Phallales,Phallaceae)

Aseroë coccinea, an invalid name for a Japanese phalloid, is formally validated. Morphological features of A. coccinea are described and illustrated. This fungus is well distinguishable from the other known species of Aseroë by 7–9 bright red arms dispersed radially on the apex of the receptacle, not bifurcating but simple, and consisting of a single tubulate chamber.     

Cofactors revisited – Predicting the impact of flavoprotein-related diseases on a genome scale

Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and its precursor flavin mononucleotide (FMN) are redox cofactors that are required for the activity of more than hundred human enzymes. Mutations in the genes encoding these proteins cause severe phenotypes, including a lack of energy supply and accumulation of toxic intermediates. Ideally, patients should be diagnosed before they show symptoms so that treatment and/or preventive care can start immediately. This can be achieved by standardized newborn screening tests. However, many of the flavin-related diseases lack appropriate biomarker profiles. Genome-scale metabolic models can aid in biomarker research by predicting altered profiles of potential biomarkers. Unfortunately, current models, including the most recent human metabolic reconstructions Recon and HMR, typically treat enzyme-bound flavins incorrectly as free metabolites. This in turn leads to artificial degrees of freedom in pathways that are strictly coupled. Here, we present a reconstruction of human metabolism with a curated and extended flavoproteome. To illustrate the functional consequences, we show that simulations with the curated model – unlike simulations with earlier Recon versions - correctly predict the metabolic impact of multiple-acyl-CoA-dehydrogenase deficiency as well as of systemic flavin-depletion. Moreover, simulations with the new model allowed us to identify a larger number of biomarkers in flavoproteome-related diseases, without loss of accuracy. We conclude that adequate inclusion of cofactors in constraint-based modelling contributes to higher precision in computational predictions.     

Tropical China Plant Diversity,Ecology and Conservation – a Glimpse at the Current State

Tropical and subtropical ecosystems, especially those found on limestone substrates, are among the most diverse terrestrial habitats in China. However, little is known about patterns of plant diversity, ecology and conservation status within these ecosystems. In this special issue we present five reviews and/or in-depth studies of these tropical Chinese plants and ecosystems that capture current research efforts in tropical China plant ecology.     

Internal auditory canal metastasis mimicking a vestibular schwannoma at presentation – a case report and review of the literature

Metastasis to the internal auditory canal from breast carcinoma is extremely rare and difficult to diagnose. It radiologically mimics vestibular schwannoma and can occur as a first manifestation of systemic relapse after a long disease-free interval in patients previously treated for early breast cancer. The diagnosis is usually made retrospectively and the optimal management of such metastasis following complete resection remains undefined.     

Mycology should be recognized as a field in biology at eye level with other major disciplines – a memorandum

Fungi are key players in terrestrial ecosystem functions. They are not only indispensable symbionts of most of the terrestrial plants, but can also interact with almost all organisms and are the major decomposers of organic matter. Indeed, they are involved in most ecosystem services, so much that life on earth would not have evolved without them. Competition among fungi and with other organism groups has driven evolution of offensive and defensive mechanisms, including the production of secondary metabolites, which continue to be widely unexplored. In addition, fungal plant parasites threaten the global agricultural production and are therefore of highest relevance for human health and survival. Given the ecological and economical relevance of fungi, advancement of other biological and physical sciences are impeded because mycology—the science devoted to the study of fungi—is insufficiently recognized as a major field of life science and supported in basic and applied research and economic contexts.     

Photoinhibition – a historical perspective

Photoinhibition is a state of physiological stress that occurs in all oxygen evolving photosynthetic organisms exposed to light. The primary damage occurs within the reaction center of Photosystem II (PS II). While irreversible photoinduced damage to PS II occurs at all light intensities, the efficiency of photosynthetic electron transfer decreases markedly only when the rate of damage exceeds the rate of its repair, which requires de novo PS II protein synthesis. Photoinhibition has been studied for over a century using a large variety of biochemical, biophysical and genetic methodologies. The discovery of the light induced turnover of a protein, encoded by the plastid psbA gene (the D1 protein), later identified as one of the photochemical reaction center II proteins, has led to the elucidation of the underlying mechanism of photoinhibition and to a deeper understanding of the PS II `life cycle.' This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Patents – a practical perspective

Patent Update is a regular column dedicated to the complex issues that affect patents in the genomics and proteomics field. In each issue, there are two sections compiled by patent attorneys. The first section, Patents – a Practical Perspective, is a commentary on current issues, landmark patents, useful patent resources and how to search them, and legislative changes that impact the pharma and biotech industries. The second section, Patent News, provides brief synopses of recently issued patents and other patent events, and their significance to drug discovery R&D.     

Beitrag zur Kenntnis der aërophytischen Mikroflora Griechenlands

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Meeting report – Copper research at the top

In this brief paper, the author reports on a meeting on copper research (2nd International Meeting on Copper Homeostasis and its Disorders: Molecular and Cellular Aspects) recently held in Ravello, Italy (17–21 September 1999). Aimed at elucidating the diverse roles played by copper ions in biology and medicine, as they are currently intensely investigated worldwide, the meeting has been organized around a number of major topics from prominent areas of copper research. These included the molecular and cellular basis of copper transport, molecular advances in Menkes and Wilson's diseases, the involvement of copper in neurodegenerative diseases, the structure and function of copper metalloproteins.     

Conservation planning on a budget: a “resource light” method for mapping priorities at a landscape scale?

Conservation projects may be reluctant to attempt Systematic Conservation Planning because existing methods are often prohibitive in the time, money, data, and expertise they require. We tried to develop a “resource light” method for Systematic Conservation Planning and applied it to the Ewaso Ngiro Landscape of central Kenya. Over a 6-month preparation period and 1-week participatory workshop, we used expert assessments to select focal biodiversity features, set quantitative targets for these, map their current distribution, vulnerability, potential for recovery, and conservation costs, and, finally, map cross-feature conservation priorities. Preparation for and facilitation of the workshop required time investment by one part-time workshop coordinator, eight workshop committee members, six ecosystem experts, and two GIS technicians. Total time investment was approximately 56.5 person-weeks spread over facilitators and 40 workshop participants. Monetary costs for the workshop were approximately $US 42,000, excluding investments made by researchers previous to this project. Costs for a similar workshop could vary substantially, depending on need to cover salaries, international travel, food and lodging, and the number of participants. To stay within our resource constraints, we completed the exercise for only four of nine focal biodiversity features and did not negotiate trade-offs between conservation and human land-uses or use planning software to identify “optimal networks” of conservation areas. These were not considered critical for conservationists to try Systematic Conservation Planning, introduce landscape-scale conservation concepts to stakeholders, and begin implementing landscape conservation strategies. Participants agreed that further work would be needed to complete and update the planning process. Due to the lack of comparative cost data from similar planning exercises, we cannot definitively conclude that our approach was “resource light”, although we suspect it is within the constraints of most site-based conservation projects.