South Korea rescues Chinese group stranded in Antarctica
South Korea rescues Chinese group stranded in Antarctica, Published online: 25 January 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00299-3
China asked for help after its icebreaker, on its way to collect the team, collided with an iceberg.
Kosovo academics brace for controversial ethnic land swaps
Kosovo academics brace for controversial ethnic land swaps, Published online: 25 January 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00293-9
Proposed land exchanges between Kosovo and Serbia could undermine efforts to rebuild multi-ethnic education and research.
Working Scientist podcast: How to navigate the UK's new research funding landscape
Working Scientist podcast: How to navigate the UK's new research funding landscape, Published online: 25 January 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00300-z
An expert guide for early career researchers to UK Research and Innovation, the UK's new central funding agency.
Daily briefing: Maxwell's demon and the hunt for alien life
Daily briefing: Maxwell's demon and the hunt for alien life, Published online: 25 January 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00302-x
Informational life, conservation drones and a Doomsday Clock update
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is a clinically important representative of Pseudomonas spp., has been recognized as causative agent of severe nosocomial infections worldwide. An increase in antibiotic resistance of P. aeruginosa clinical strains could be attributed to their capacity to acquire resistance through mobile genetic elements such as mobile integrons that are present in one-half of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa strains. Mobile class 1 integrons are recognized as genetic elements involved in the rapid dissemination of multiple genes encoding for antibiotic resistance. The LexA protein is a major repressor of integrase transcription, but differences in transcription regulation among bacterial species have also been noted. In this study, the promoter activity of class 1 integron integrase gene (intI1) and its variant lacking the LexA binding site in Pseudomonas putida WCS358 wild type, ΔrpoS and ΔpsrA was analysed. The results show that the activity of the intI1 gene promoter decreased in the rpoS and psrA mutants in the stationary phase of growth compared to the wild type, which indicates the role of RpoS and PsrA proteins in the positive regulation of integrase transcription. Additionally, it was determined that the activity of the lexA gene promoter decreased in ΔrpoS and ΔpsrA, and thus, we propose that PsrA indirectly regulates the intI1 gene promoter activity through regulation of lexA gene expression in co-operation with some additional regulators. In this study, intI1 gene expression was shown to be controlled by two major stress response (SOS and RpoS) regulons, which indicates that integrase has evolved to use both systems to sense the cell status.
The secretomes of the strain Cellulosimicrobium cellulans F16 grown on different carbon sources were analyzed by zymography, and the subcellular surface structures were extensively studied by electron microscope. The exo-cellulase and xylanase systems were sparse when cells were grown on soluble oligosaccharides, but were significantly increased when grown on complex and water-insoluble polysaccharides, such as Avicel, corn cob, and birchwood xylan. The cellulosome-like protuberant structures were clearly observed on the cell surfaces of strain F16 grown on cellulose, with diameters of 15–20 nm. Fibrous structures that connected the adjacent cells can be seen under microscope. Moreover, protuberances that adsorbed the cell to cellulose were also observed. As the adhesion of Cellulosimicrobium cellulans cells onto cellulose surfaces occurs via thick bacterial curdlan-type exopolysaccharides (EPS), such surface layer is potentially important in the digestion of insoluble substrates such as cellulose or hemicellulose, and the previously reported xylanosomes are part of such complex glycocalyx layer on the surface of the bacterial cell.
Bacteria play an important role in the reclamation of mudflats. However, little is known about the effects of long-term rice cultivation on bacterial communities in mudflats. In this study, the bacterial community in mudflats with long-term rice cultivation was evaluated using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA genes. We found that the soil enzyme activity in mudflat soil demonstrated an overall increasing trend with an increase in rice planting years, while polyphenol oxidase activity decreased. There were significant differences in the microbial community composition between mudflat and paddy soil. There were high proportions of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes in mudflat soil, while the predominant phyla in paddy soil were Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Acidobacteria. The dominant taxa were significantly correlated with electrical conductivity, organic matter, and total nitrogen. In addition, the proportion of Fe- and S-related bacteria in paddy soil was much higher than that of mudflat soil, including Anaeromyxobacter, Geobacter, Thiobacillus, Clostridium, and GOUTA19. Furthermore, the proportion of some nitrogen cycle-related bacteria (e.g., Nitrospira, Steroidobacter, Rhodoplanes) and some carbohydrate-degrading bacteria (e.g., Anaerolinea, Candidatus Solibacter) also increased with long-term rice cultivation in mudflat soil. These key microbial players are involved in the biogeochemical C, N, S, and Fe cycles of mudflat paddy soil during mudflat reclamation by rice cultivation. In short, the orderly succession of the bacterial community changed with the change of soil physical–chemical properties during long-term rice cultivation. In addition, key microbial players have a beneficial ecological function in enhancing soil fertility.
Publication date: Available online 25 January 2019
Source: Allergologia et Immunopathologia
Author(s): S. Filiz, M.G. Kutluk, D.F.K. Uygun
Quality of life, which is impaired in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), is influenced by comorbid mental disorders. Headaches could be another comorbid mental disorder that affects quality of life in children with CSU.
To investigate the effect of headaches on urticaria symptoms, disease activity and quality of life in children with CSU.
A total of 83 patients with CSU were enrolled in the study and were separated into two groups as those with or without headache. Demographic and clinical characteristics were studied with the Urticaria Activity Score (UAS7), Urticaria Control test (UCT) and Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire (CU-Q2QoL). The headache questionnaire designed according to the Department of International Classification of Headache Disorders, second edition (ICHD-II) was used and VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) and NRS (Numerical Rating Scale) were used to assess the pain measurement. In patients diagnosed with migraine, the paediatric Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (PedMIDAS) was applied.
CU-QoL total scores were significantly higher in patients with CSU with headache than in those without headache (p = 0.015). In the five domains of CU-QoL, impact of daily life activities domain and sleep problems domain had higher scores in CSU with headache (p = 0.008, 0.028, respectively). There was no significant relationship between UCT, UAS and CU-QoL and headache severity (p < 0.05). No differences were found between the groups in respect of duration of urticaria, UAS7 and UCT.
Headache may be an important factor that affects and impairs quality of life in children with chronic urticaria.
We report a male with longstanding warts who presented with severe West Nile virus encephalitis (WNVE) and recovered after interferon alfa-2b and intravenous immunoglobulin. He was later found to have GATA2 de...
from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader http://bit.ly/2Re7VIP
The genome of broomcorn millet
The genome of broomcorn millet, Published online: 25 January 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08409-5
Broomcorn millet is one of the earliest domesticated plants and has the highest water use efficiency among cereals. Here, the authors report its genome assembly and annotation, which provides a valuable resource for breeders and paves the way for studying plant drought tolerance and C4 photosynthesis.
, Published online: 25 January 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-018-08104-x
To date, experimental demonstrations of PT-symmetric systems have been restricted to one dimension. Here, the authors experimentally realize and characterize a two-dimensional PT-symmetric system using photonic lattice waveguides with judiciously designed refractive index landscape and an alternating loss distribution.
AAV2.7m8 is a powerful viral vector for inner ear gene therapy
AAV2.7m8 is a powerful viral vector for inner ear gene therapy, Published online: 25 January 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-018-08243-1
Adeno-associated virus is used in gene therapy in mouse models of hearing loss. Here the authors compare vectors and find AAV2.7m8 can infect cells in the inner ear with high efficiency.
The evolution of human population distance to water in the USA from 1790 to 2010
The evolution of human population distance to water in the USA from 1790 to 2010, Published online: 25 January 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08366-z
There are dynamic and complex interactions between population and water resources. Here the authors studied the spatio-temporal relationship between human and water resources in conterminous US and found that dynamic human distance to water reflects the changing societal reliance on adjacency to major rivers.
FGL2 promotes tumor progression in the CNS by suppressing CD103+ dendritic cell differentiation
FGL2 promotes tumor progression in the CNS by suppressing CD103<sup>+</sup> dendritic cell differentiation, Published online: 25 January 2019; doi:10.1038/s41467-018-08271-x
Fibrinogen-like protein 2 (FGL2) mediates immune suppression in glioblastoma (GBM). Here, the authors show that FGL-2 expressed by GBM cancer cells acts by suppressing the differentiation of CD103+ DC cells required to activate the anti-tumor CD8+ T cell response via blocking GM-CSF signalling at NFKB, STAT1/5 and p38 level.
