Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter in Pigs from Swine Producing States in the United States

The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella, Campylobacter and generic E. coli (commensal bacteria which may harbor antimicrobial resistance genes) from swine feces collected over one year from the top three swine producing states (Iowa, North Carolina, and Minnesota), which represent 51% of the total pig crop in the U.S, plus Ohio. The prevalence of Salmonella (n=462/4426), Campylobacter (n=994/1184) and E. coli (n=833/845) at the sample level was 10.4%, 98.6% and 83.6%, respectively

Cellular-level mechanisms of polarity and their role in plant growth

Coordinated cell polarity fields are essential for plant and animal development. Several models have been proposed for how these cell polarity fields are established. However, it remains unclear how different models are related to each other and how coordinated cell polarity fields are generated. Here, I present a hypothesis that both plant and animal cell polarity fields are based on a common intracellular partitioning (IP) mechanism that spontaneously generates cell polarity independently from pre-established asymmetries. I show how plant polarity fields may be accounted for through an auxin-mediated indirect cell-cell coupling mechanism that coordinates polarities established by IP, and provides an explicit molecular hypothesis that is consistent with current experimental data. I show that this model behaves similarly to a flux-based model of plant polarity in several scenarios, and that these models make testable predictions that differ from those of published up-the-gradient models. To test the different plant models, I use kanadi1kanadi2 (kan1kan2) mutant Arabidopsis leaves, which develop ectopic outgrowths, as a simple system to study the dynamics of polarity reorientations. I compare contrasting model predictions with observed polarity changes and patterns of auxin-related gene expression preceding the development of ectopic outgrowths. Together with an analysis of wild-type leaves, this reveals that indirect cell-cell coupling and flux-based models are more compatible than the up-the-gradient model with patterns of auxin biosynthesis and import in leaves. I next show that the CUC2 transcription factor is essential for kan1kan2 outgrowth development. Through modelling and experiments, I show that CUC2-regulation of auxin biosynthesis most-likely plays an important role in polarity reorientations. Finally, I present models for how epidermal and subepidermal PIN polarity patterns may be coordinated and lead to changes in growth. This work reveals the value of comparing different computational models with experimental data when investigating mechanisms of polarity generation

Facilitating social coping-‘seeking emotional and practical support from others’-as a critical strategy in maintaining the family care of people with dementia

The aim of this study was to identify how the family care of people living with dementia could be supported to make reliance on family care sustainable in the long term despite the impact of stress. A Realist Evaluation (Pawson & Tilley, 1997) was conducted to investigate this aim. An initial review established ‘coping’ as a primary means of mediating stressors associated with caregiving. However, there was a need to specify which coping approaches/strategies are most effective. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of family carers (n = 18) in a suburb in North East England from 2016 to 2017. Analysis of the data revealed ‘social coping’ (SC) that included an emotional support component as a critical mediator of family carer stress. Several key hindrances to the utilisation of SC, including underpinning causal factors, are explicated. Ways in which these hindrances might be overcome are discussed and guidelines introduced for how family carers, formal providers and practitioners can facilitate SC as a critical coping strategy in sustaining the family care of people with dementia over the long term

Formation of a stable radical by oxidation of a tetraorganoborate

Herein, we describe the selective formation of a stable neutral spiroborate radical by one-electron oxidation of the corresponding tetraorganoborate salt Li[B(C4Ph4)2], formally containing a tetrahedral borate center and a s-cis-butadiene radical cation as the spin-bearing site. Spectroscopic and computational methods have been used to determine the spin distribution and the chromism observed in the solid state

Formation and Shaping of the Antirrhinum Flower through Modulation of the CUP Boundary Gene

Boundary domain genes, expressed within or around organ primordia, play a key role in the formation, shaping, and subdivision of planar plant organs, such as leaves. However, the role of boundary genes in formation of more elaborate 3D structures, which also derive from organ primordia, remains unclear. Here we analyze the role of the boundary domain gene CUPULIFORMIS (CUP) in formation of the ornate Antirrhinum flower shape. We show that CUP expression becomes cleared from boundary subdomains between petal primordia, most likely contributing to formation of congenitally fused petals (sympetally) and modulation of growth at sinuses. At later stages, CUP is activated by dorsoventral genes in an intermediary region of the corolla. In contrast to its role at organ boundaries, intermediary CUP activity leads to growth promotion rather than repression and formation of the palate, lip, and characteristic folds of the closed Antirrhinum flower. Intermediary expression of CUP homologs is also observed in related sympetalous species, Linaria and Mimulus, suggesting that changes in boundary gene activity have played a key role in the development and evolution of diverse 3D plant shapes

Exploring medicines reconciliation in the emergency assessment unit: staff perceptions and actual waiting times

Background Medicines reconciliation is the process of creating and maintaining the most accurate list possible of all medicines a patient is taking. If medicines reconciliation cannot be completed in a timely manner in hospital emergency assessment units (EAUs), delays in treatment can occur, potentially leading to deterioration of long-term and acute conditions, patient distress and complaints. Aim To obtain the perspectives of staff working on an EAU regarding the time patients wait for their medicines to be prescribed, including their awareness of practice and protocols. To determine the time from admission to the EAU until medicines reconciliation, and to identify if there was any time difference in medicines reconciliation according to the day of admission. Method This was a service evaluation in which staff working in one EAU in a teaching hospital in the north east of England were asked to complete a survey in December 2017. The staff survey aimed to ascertain: whether staff were aware of any guidance relating to medicines reconciliation times; how long they thought the average waiting time was for medicines reconciliation; and if they thought there were implications for patients or staff as a result of time spent waiting for medicines reconciliation. In addition, an audit was performed analysing medicines reconciliation times for all patients admitted to the EAU during the month of December 2017. Results A total of 30 staff members responded to the survey. While 40% (n=12) of respondents believed that the EAU had an efficient system in place for timely medicines reconciliation, 90% (n=27) believed the unit could still improve. Almost half the respondents (47%, n=14) perceived a delay in medicines reconciliation could result in exacerbation of patients’ physical conditions. The clinical audit identified considerable variation in medicines reconciliation times, ranging from seven minutes to almost 24 hours. However, most medicines (82%) were reconciled within six hours. Conclusion This service evaluation found that the median time after arrival in the EAU until completion of medicines reconciliation was two hours 48 minutes. However, almost one fifth of patients had to wait for more than six hours, and in one instance almost 24 hours. One potential solution could be increasing the involvement of hospital pharmacists or pharmacy technicians in medicines reconciliation

Cellular interpretation of the long-range gradient of Four-jointed activity in the Drosophila wing

To understand how long-range patterning gradients are interpreted at the cellular level, we investigate how a gradient of expression of the Four-jointed kinase specifies planar polarised distributions of the cadherins Fat and Dachsous in the Drosophila wing. We use computational modelling to test different scenarios for how Four-jointed might act and test the model predictions by employing fluorescence recovery after photobleaching as an in vivo assay to measure the influence of Four-jointed on Fat-Dachsous binding. We demonstrate that in vivo, Four-jointed acts both on Fat to promote its binding to Dachsous and on Dachsous to inhibit its binding to Fat, with a bias towards a stronger effect on Fat. Overall, we show that opposing gradients of Fat and Dachsous phosphorylation are sufficient to explain the observed pattern of Fat–Dachsous binding and planar polarisation across the wing, and thus demonstrate the mechanism by which a long-range gradient is interpreted

A Dual Function for Prickle in Regulating Frizzled Stability during Feedback-Dependent Amplification of Planar Polarity

The core planar polarity pathway coordinates epithelial cell polarity during animal development, and loss of its activity gives rise to a range of defects, from aberrant morphogenetic cell movements to failure to correctly orient structures, such as hairs and cilia. The core pathway functions via a mechanism involving segregation of its protein components to opposite cells ends, where they form asymmetric intracellular complexes that couple cell-cell polarity. This segregation is a self-organizing process driven by feedback interactions between the core proteins themselves. Despite intense efforts, the molecular pathways underlying feedback have proven difficult to elucidate using conventional genetic approaches. Here we investigate core protein function during planar polarization of the Drosophila wing by combining quantitative measurements of protein dynamics with loss-of-function genetics, mosaic analysis, and temporal control of gene expression. Focusing on the key core protein Frizzled, we show that its stable junctional localization is promoted by the core proteins Strabismus, Dishevelled, Prickle, and Diego. In particular, we show that the stabilizing function of Prickle on Frizzled requires Prickle activity in neighboring cells. Conversely, Prickle in the same cell has a destabilizing effect on Frizzled. This destabilizing activity is dependent on the presence of Dishevelled and blocked in the absence of Dynamin and Rab5 activity, suggesting an endocytic mechanism. Overall, our approach reveals for the first time essential in vivo stabilizing and destabilizing interactions of the core proteins required for self-organization of planar polarity

Three ancient hormonal cues co-ordinate shoot branching in a moss.

Shoot branching is a primary contributor to plant architecture, evolving independently in flowering plant sporophytes and moss gametophytes. Mechanistic understanding of branching is largely limited to flowering plants such as Arabidopsis, which have a recent evolutionary origin. We show that in gametophytic shoots of Physcomitrella, lateral branches arise by re-specification of epidermal cells into branch initials. A simple model co-ordinating the activity of leafy shoot tips can account for branching patterns, and three known and ancient hormonal regulators of sporophytic branching interact to generate the branching pattern- auxin, cytokinin and strigolactone. The mode of auxin transport required in branch patterning is a key divergence point from known sporophytic pathways. Although PIN-mediated basipetal auxin transport regulates branching patterns in flowering plants, this is not so in Physcomitrella, where bi-directional transport is required to generate realistic branching patterns. Experiments with callose synthesis inhibitors suggest plasmodesmal connectivity as a potential mechanism for transport.We thank Catherine Rameau, Eva Sundberg and Klaus von Schwartzenberg for giving us mutant lines, Nik Cunniffe for his support with statistical analyses and Siobhan Braybrook for help with the scanning electron microscope. We thank our funding bodies for financial support. Yoan Coudert and Jill Harrison are funded by a BBSRC grant ‘PIN proteins and architectural diversification in plants’ (Grant BB/L00224811) and fellowships from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation (GAT2962) and Royal Society. Ottoline Leyser and Wojtek Palubicki are funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation (Grant GAT3272C) and by the European Research Council (Grant N° 294514—EnCoDe). Karin Ljung is funded by the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) and the Swedish Research Council (VR) and thanks Roger Granbom for excellent technical assistance. Ondrej Novak is funded by a Czech Ministry of Education grant from the National Program for Sustainability I (LO1204).This is the final published version of the article. It was originally published in eLIFE (Coudert Y, Palubicki W, Ljung K, Novak O, Leyser O, Harrison CJ, eLIFE, 2015, 4:e06808, doi:10.7554/eLife.06808). The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.0680

The etemic model of Gypsy Roma Traveller community vulnerability: is it time to rethink our understanding of vulnerability?

AIM: To present a new etemic model of vulnerability. BACKGROUND: Despite vulnerability being identified as a core consequence of health and health experiences there has been little research exploring the meaning of vulnerability as a concept. Yet being vulnerable is known to have dire physical/mental health consequences. It is therefore a fundamental issue for nurses to address. To date, the meaning of the term vulnerability has been influenced by the work of Spiers (2000, 2005). Spiers identified two aspects of vulnerability; the etic (external judgment of another persons' vulnerability and the emic (internal lived experience of vulnerability). This approach has led to a plethora of research which has explored the etic (external judgment) of vulnerability and rendered the internal lived (or emic) experience invisible. Consequences of this, for marginalised communities such as Gypsy Roma Travellers include a lack of culturally sensitive services compounding health inequalities. DESIGN: Position paper. METHOD: Drawing upon a qualitative phenomenological research study exploring the lived experience of vulnerability from a Gypsy Roma Travelling community (published previously), this paper presents a new model of vulnerability. This etemic model of vulnerability values both external and internal dimensions of vulnerability and argues for a fusion of these two opposing perspectives. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: If nurses and other health and social care professionals wish to develop practice that is successful in engaging with Gypsy Roma Travellers then there is a need to both understand and respect their community. This can be achieved through an etemic approach to understanding their vulnerability achieved by eliciting lived experience alongside the appreciation of epidemiological studies. Doing so would enable the development and delivery of culturally sensitive services facilitating health access to this community. Only then, will their poor health status be successfully addressed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved