A population of immature cerebellar parallel fibre synapses are insensitive to adenosine but are inhibited by hypoxia

The purine adenosine plays an important role in a number of physiological and pathological processes and is neuroprotective during hypoxia and ischemia. The major effect of adenosine is to suppress network activity via the activation of A1 receptors. Here we report that in immature cerebellar slices, the activation of A1 receptors has variable effects on parallel fibre synaptic transmission, ranging from zero depression to an almost complete abolition of transmission. Concentration–response curves suggest that the heterogeneity of inhibition stems from differences in A1 receptor properties which could include coupling to downstream effectors. There is less variation in the effects of adenosine at parallel fibre synapses in slices from older rats and thus adenosine signalling appears developmentally regulated. In the cerebellum, hypoxia increases the concentration of extracellular adenosine leading to the activation of A1 receptors (at adenosine-sensitive parallel fibre synapses) and the suppression of glutamate release. It would be predicted that the synapses that were insensitive to adenosine would be less depressed by hypoxia and thus maintain function during metabolic stress. However those synapses which were insensitive to adenosine were rapidly inhibited by hypoxia via a mechanism which was not reversed by blocking A1 receptors. Thus another mechanism must be responsible for the hypoxia-mediated depression at these synapses. These different mechanisms of depression may be important for cell survival and for maintenance of cerebellar function following oxygen starvation

Method for bacteriophage isolation against target Campylobacter strains

Aims: Poultry meat is considered a major source of Campylobacter. This micro-aerobic bacterium is commonly responsible for foodborne illness. This work focuses on the isolation of Campylobacter coli lytic bacteriophages (phages) against target C. coli strains. Methods and Results: A method involving the enrichment of free-range chicken samples in a broth containing the target C. coli strains and salts (CaCl2 and MgSO4) was used for phage isolation. This method allowed the isolation of 43 phages that were active against 83% of the C. coli strains used in the isolation procedure. Approximately 65% of the phages were also effective against Campylobacter jejuni strains. Conclusions: The use of target pathogens in the phage isolation step improves the likelihood of detecting and isolating phages for the control of these specific strains. Significance and Impact of the Study: This technique will be valuable in the context of phage therapy for enriching for phages that are active against specifically identified strains of bacteria, for example from a food poisoning outbreak or epidemic strains resistant to multiple antibiotics. In these situations, using the conventional methods for searching for bacteriophages active for these particular strains can be a time-consuming, if not an unsuccessful process. Using the isolation method described in this manuscript, the particular strains can be added to the enrichment broth increasing the probability of finding phages against them. Therefore, it will shorten the time needed for seeking phages able to lyse target strains, which in most of the cases, because of the rapid increase in antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, is of crucial importance.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Isolation and characterization of Campylobacter bacteriophages from retail poultry

The ability of phages to survive processing is an important aspect of their potential use in the biocontrol of Campylobacter in poultry production. To this end, we have developed a procedure to recover Campylobacter bacteriophages from chilled and frozen retail poultry and have validated the sensitivity of the method by using a characterized Campylobacter phage (i.e., NCTC 12674). By using this method, we have shown that Campylobacter phages can survive on retail chicken under commercial storage conditions. Retail chicken portions purchased in the United Kingdom were screened for the presence of endogenous Campylobacter phages. Thirty-four Campylobacter bacteriophages were isolated from 300 chilled retail chicken portions, but none could be recovered from 150 frozen chicken portions. The phage isolates were characterized according to their lytic profiles, morphology, and genome size. The free-range products were significantly more likely to harbor phages (P < 0.001 by single-factor analysis of variance) than were standard or economy products. This study demonstrates that Campylobacter bacteriophages, along with their hosts, can survive commercial poultry processing procedures and that the phages exhibited a wide range of recovery rates from chicken skin stored at 4°C

Isolation and characterization of novel broad host range bacteriophages of Vibrio cholerae O1 from Bengal

Objectives: We have isolated a total of five newer cholera phages which are novel broad host range to incorporate with the existing phage typing schemes for an extended typing scheme. Materials and Methods: These newly isolated phages were well characterized including the electron micrograph. A total of 300 Vibrio cholerae strains were isolated from the different endemic region in India were included in phage typing study. Results: These phages were found different from the existing phages. Electron microscopic results showed that the phages belonged to myophage and podophage group. Characterization of the phages based on pH, temperature, and organic solvent sensitivity showed differences among the phages used in this study. All the strains of Vibrio O1 were typeable (100%) with the five set of cholera phages. Of these, 40% strains were clustered under Type-1. Conclusion: The newer Vibrio phages are novel and broad host range and will be useful to incorporate with the existing phage typing system for more precisely discriminate the strains of Vibrio cholerae

High resolution studies of low-energy electron attachment to SF5Cl: Product anions and absolute cross sections

Low energy electron attachment to SF$_5$Cl was studied at high energy resolution by mass spectrometric detection of the product anions. Two variants of the laser photoelectron attachment (LPA) technique (Kaiserslautern) were used for determining the threshold behaviour of the yield for SF$_5^-$ formation at about 1 meV resolution, and to investigate the relative cross sections for Cl$^-$, FCl$^-$, and SF$_5^-$ formation towards higher energies (up to 1 eV) at about 20 meV resolution. Thermal swarm measurements (Birmingham) were used to place the relative LPA cross sections on an absolute scale. A trochoidal electron monochromator (Innsbruck) was used for survey measurements of the relative cross sections for the different product anions over the energy range of 0-14 eV with a resolution of 0.30 eV. Combined with earlier beam data (taken at Berlin, J. Chem. Phys. 88 (1988) 149), the present experimental results provide a detailed set of partial cross sections for anion formation in low-energy electron collisions with SF$_5$Cl

Complete genome sequences of seven Vibrio cholerae phages isolated in China

The complete genome sequences of seven closely related Vibrio cholerae phages isolated from environmental sites in southeastern China are reported here. Phages QH, CJY, H1, H2, H3, J2, and J3 are members of the Podoviridae family and are highly similar to the previously sequenced Vibrio phages VP2, VP5, and phiVC8

Employment Protection and Domestic Violence: Addressing Abuse in the Labor Grievance Process

The effects of domestic violence are not limited to the home environment. Its effects are felt in employment when abused employees are absent from work and when violent incidents erupt in the workplace. For example, a bruised employee might be too injured and embarrassed to attend work, or an estranged spouse might stalk and harass a victim on the job. Another issue arises in that employers often discipline victims of domestic violence for absenteeism and incidents of violence that occur in the workplace. Discipline of union members is governed by collective bargaining agreements and subject to the labor grievance process. These grievances often end in arbitration, where the union represents the battered employee. Because of this occurrence, employers, unions, and arbitrators must be educated about domestic violence to ensure victims of abuse receive adequate job protection

Adaptations: Blood and All You Zombies

The author describes the experience of adapting two different short stories for the stage, one as a solo playwright and one as part of an ensemble performance workshop