Physiological and Behavioral Responses of Heifers that Graze Tall Fescue Infected by Wild-type or Novel Endophytes

Fescue toxicosis presents serious challenges and huge economic losses to the beef industry in the U.S. Replacing tall fescue (TF) infected by wild-type endophyte (WE) with TF infected by novel endophyte can eliminate this problem but adoption of this technology has been limited. We aimed at demonstrating the physiological and behavioral responses of heifers that grazed either WE or NE TF using relatively non-invasive techniques. Angus or Angus cross heifers (n = 24) were assigned to either WE or NE pastures for a 56-d grazing period during the summers of 2020 and 2021. Heifer ADG and hair retention scores were recorded once every 4 weeks and intravaginal temperatures were recorded for two consecutive days at this interval. Extremity temperatures were determined using thermographic imaging and hair was collected from the left rump for cortisol analysis. Animal behavior was detected using time-lapse trail cameras. The overall ADG of heifers that grazed NE was greater (p = 0.0160) compared to heifers that grazed WE in 2020, but not in 2021 (p = 0.9623). Hair retention was greater for heifers that grazed WE compared to heifers that grazed NE (p = 0.0029). Heifers that grazed WE TF had lower (p ≤ 0.0075) temperatures at ears, tails, and hooves and 0.3-0.9 °C greater intravaginal temperatures than heifers that grazed NE, especially during daytime. Hair cortisol levels of heifers that grazed WE were greater (p \u3c 0.0001) compared to heifers that grazed NE. From 1200h-1700h each day, heifers on WE pasture spent 1.5 more (p = 0.0003) hours loafing and 0.9 fewer (p = 0.0402) hours lying down than heifers on NE pastures. These results suggest that heat stress and other physiological changes in heifers grazing WE could be mitigated by renovating pastures with NE TF

The 1.2 A resolution crystal structure of TcpG, the Vibrio cholerae DsbA disulfide-forming protein required for pilus and cholera-toxin production

The enzyme TcpG is a periplasmic protein produced by the Gram-negative pathogen Vibrio cholerae. TcpG is essential for the production of ToxR-regulated proteins, including virulence-factor pilus proteins and cholera toxin, and is therefore a target for the development of a new class of anti-virulence drugs. Here, the 1.2 Å resolution crystal structure of TcpG is reported using a cryocooled crystal. This structure is compared with a previous crystal structure determined at 2.1 Å resolution from data measured at room temperature. The new crystal structure is the first DsbA crystal structure to be solved at a sufficiently high resolution to allow the inclusion of refined H atoms in the model. The redox properties of TcpG are also reported, allowing comparison of its oxidoreductase activity with those of other DSB proteins. One of the defining features of the Escherichia coli DsbA enzyme is its destabilizing disulfide, and this is also present in TcpG. The data presented here provide new insights into the structure and redox properties of this enzyme, showing that the binding mode identified between E. coli DsbB and DsbA is likely to be conserved in TcpG and that the [beta]5-[alpha]7 loop near the proposed DsbB binding site is flexible, and suggesting that the tense oxidized conformation of TcpG may be the consequence of a short contact at the active site that is induced by disulfide formation and is relieved by reduction

Addressing health workforce inequities in the Mindanao regions of the Philippines: tracer study of graduates from a socially-accountable, community-engaged medical school and graduates from a conventional medical school

Developing and retaining a high-quality medical workforce in low-resource countries is a worldwide challenge. The Filipino Ateneo de Zamboanga University–School of Medicine (ADZU-SOM) has adopted a strong focus on socially accountable health professional education (SAHPE) in order to address the shortage of physicians across rural and urban communities in the Western Mindanao region. A cross-sectional survey of graduates from two Philippines medical schools: ADZU-SOM in the Mindanao region and a medical school with a more conventional curriculum, found ADZU-SOM graduates were more likely to have joined the medical profession due to a desire to help others (p=0.002), came from lower socioeconomic strata (p¼0.001) and had significantly (p<0.05) more positive attitudes to community service. ADZU graduates were also more likely to currently work in Government Rural Health Units (p<0.001) or be generalist Medical Officers (p<0.001) or Rural/Municipal Health Officers (p=0.003). ADZU graduates were also less likely to work in private or specialist Government hospitals (p=0.033 and p=0.040, respectively) and be surgical or medical specialists (p=0.010 and p<0.001, respectively). The findings suggest ADZU-SOM’s SAHPE philosophy manifests in the practice choices of its graduates and that the ADZUSOM can meet the rural and urban health workforce needs of the Western Mindanao region

Methyltransferase Dnmt3a upregulates HDAC9 to deacetylate the kinase TBK1 for activation of antiviral innate immunity

The DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a has high expression in terminally differentiated macrophages; however, its role in innate immunity remains unknown. Here we report that deficiency in Dnmt3a selectively impaired the production of type I interferons triggered by pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs), but not that of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF and IL-6. Dnmt3a-deficient mice exhibited enhanced susceptibility to viral challenge. Dnmt3a did not directly regulate the transcription of genes encoding type I interferons; instead, it increased the production of type I interferons through an epigenetic mechanism by maintaining high expression of the histone deacetylase HDAC9. In turn, HDAC9 directly maintained the deacetylation status of the key PRR signaling molecule TBK1 and enhanced its kinase activity. Our data add mechanistic insight into the crosstalk between epigenetic modifications and post-translational modifications in the regulation of PRR signaling and activation of antiviral innate immune responses

Insights into Improving Risk and Safety Communication through Environmental Health Literacy

Messages and materials developed to communicate risk to the public are often misunder-stood because the public misperceives risk, science information is too complex, leading to audience misunderstandings, and an overarching focus on the details of the problem without supplying solutions or actions to keep the public safe. This article describes the creation of a communication model to improve risk communication that includes safety information. The authors describe essential components of Risk and Safety Communication based on features of Environmental Health Literacy (EHL), which informed the creation of a protocol for developing risk communication messages and materials. An online training module was developed to aid communicators in creating information to enable the public to protect themselves, their family, and their community, leading to improved comprehension of how the environment impacts health. These principles were developed in a series of focus groups, identifying how the public perceives risk, how they prefer to receive communication, and how participants respond to materials developed using the principles. Important topics discussed are understanding the literacy levels of the target audience, applying that understanding to developing messages, how risk perception leads to misperceptions and how to address those misperceptions by using plain language when developing focused messages and materials. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]