Engineering Escherichia coli for increased Und-P availability leads to material improvements in glycan expression technology.

Background: Bacterial surface glycans are assembled by glycosyltransferases (GTs) that transfer sugar monomers to long-chained lipid carriers. Most bacteria employ the 55-carbon chain undecaprenyl phosphate (Und-P) to scaffold glycan assembly. The amount of Und-P available for glycan synthesis is thought to be limited by the rate of Und-P synthesis and by competition for Und-P between phosphoglycosyl transferases (PGTs) and GTs that prime glycan assembly (which we collectively refer to as PGT/GTs).

An IL-4 signalling axis in bone marrow drives pro-tumorigenic myelopoiesis.

Myeloid cells are known to suppress antitumour immunity. However, the molecular drivers of immunosuppressive myeloid cell states are not well defined. Here we used single-cell RNA sequencing of human and mouse non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lesions, and found that in both species the type 2 cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) was predicted to be the primary driver of the tumour-infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophage phenotype.

Chemoenzymatic Preparation of a Lipid-Linked Heptasaccharide on an Azide-Linked Polyisoprenoid.

Complex poly- and oligosaccharides on the surface of bacteria provide a unique fingerprint to different strains of pathogenic and symbiotic microbes that could be exploited for therapeutics or sensors selective for specific glycans. To discover reagents that can selectively interact with specific bacterial glycans, a system for both the chemoenzymatic preparation and immobilization of these materials would be ideal. Bacterial glycans are typically synthesized in nature on the C55 polyisoprenoid bactoprenyl (or undecaprenyl) phosphate.

Pharmacological Interventions for Sialorrhoea in People with Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background/objectives: Sialorrhoea is a common non motor complication experienced by people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite its prevalence there is conflicting evidence on how to effectively treat it. Our aim was to establish the efficacy and safety outcomes of pharmacological interventions used to treat sialorrhoea in people with idiopathic PD.

Exploring Music Therapists' Experiences With and Perceptions About Copyrighted Music: A Thematic Analysis.

Patient-preferred music is often copyrighted music; prior research, however, has paid scant attention to music therapists' understanding and use of copyrighted music. To fill a gap in the literature, this exploratory study sought to understand music therapists' experiences and perceptions about permissible therapeutic uses of copyrighted music. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 board-certified music therapists working in the United States.

Two new species of Iridoteuthis (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae: Heteroteuthinae) from the southwest Pacific, with a redescription of Stoloteuthis maoria (Dell, 1959).

Examination of the Stoloteuthis maoria (Dell, 1959) type specimens held in the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa revealed that the two female paratypes were not conspecific with the S. maoria holotype male and belong to the genus Iridoteuthis Naef, 1912. Based on this finding, Stoloteuthis maoria is redescribed here to properly define the male and female characters.

Lipopolysaccharide Is a 4-Aminoarabinose Donor to Exogenous Polyisoprenyl Phosphates through the Reverse Reaction of the Enzyme ArnT.

Modification of the lipid A portion of LPS with cationic monosaccharides provides resistance to polymyxins, which are often employed as a last resort to treat multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Here, we describe the use of fluorescent polyisoprenoids, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and bacterial genetics to probe the activity of membrane-localized proteins that utilize the 55-carbon lipid carrier bactoprenyl phosphate (BP). We have discovered that a substantial background reaction occurs when B-strain cell membrane fractions are supplemented with exogenous BP.

Copyright as a Barrier to Music Therapy Telehealth Interventions: Qualitative Interview Study.

Background: Music therapy is a multifaceted discipline that harnesses the power of music to treat a wide range of patient populations. A therapist who plays music in a private room for a patient is not subject to copyright restrictions on public performances. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, music therapy is no longer strictly confined to the face-to-face setting.

Tracking Colanic Acid Repeat Unit Formation from Stepwise Biosynthesis Inactivation in .

Colanic acid is a glycopolymer loosely associated with the outer membrane of that plays a role in pathogen survival. For nearly six decades since its discovery, the functional identities of the enzymes necessary to synthesize colanic acid have yet to be assessed in full. Herein, we developed a method for detecting the lipid-linked intermediates from each step of colanic acid biosynthesis in .

Making the Enterobacterial Common Antigen Glycan and Measuring Its Substrate Sequestration.

The enterobacterial common antigen (ECA), a three-sugar repeat unit polysaccharide produced by Enterobacteriaceae family members, impacts bacterial outer membrane permeability, and its biosynthesis affects the glycan landscape of the organism. ECA synthesis impacts the production of other polysaccharides by reducing the availability of shared substrates, the most notable of which is the 55-carbon polyisoprenoid bactoprenyl phosphate (BP), which serves as a carrier for the production of numerous bacterial glycans including ECA, peptidoglycan, O-antigen, and more. Here, using a combination of enzymatic synthesis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of bacterial lysates, we provide biochemical evidence for the effect on endogenous polyisoprenoid pools from cell culture that arises from glycan pathway disruption.

Diffusible Signal Factors Act through AraC-Type Transcriptional Regulators as Chemical Cues To Repress Virulence of Enteric Pathogens.

Successful colonization by enteric pathogens is contingent upon effective interactions with the host and the resident microbiota. These pathogens thus respond to and integrate myriad signals to control virulence. Long-chain fatty acids repress the virulence of the important enteric pathogens and by repressing AraC-type transcriptional regulators in pathogenicity islands.

General Utilization of Fluorescent Polyisoprenoids with Sugar Selective Phosphoglycosyltransferases.

The protective surfaces of bacteria are comprised of polysaccharides and are involved in host invasion and colonization, host immune system evasion, and antibacterial resistance. A major barrier to our fundamental understanding of these complex surface polysaccharides lies in the tremendous diversity in glycan composition among bacterial species. The polyisoprenoid bactoprenyl phosphate (or undecaprenyl phosphate) is an essential lipid carrier necessary for early stages of glycopolymer assembly.

New bobtail squid (Sepiolidae: Sepiolinae) from the Ryukyu islands revealed by molecular and morphological analysis.

Bobtail squid are emerging models for host-microbe interactions, behavior, and development, yet their species diversity and distribution remain poorly characterized. Here, we combine mitochondrial and transcriptome sequences with morphological analysis to describe three species of bobtail squid (Sepiolidae: Sepiolinae) from the Ryukyu archipelago, and compare them with related taxa. One Ryukyuan type was previously unknown, and is described here as sp.

The first global deep-sea stable isotope assessment reveals the unique trophic ecology of Vampire Squid Vampyroteuthis infernalis (Cephalopoda).

Vampyroteuthis infernalis Chun, 1903, is a widely distributed deepwater cephalopod with unique morphology and phylogenetic position. We assessed its habitat and trophic ecology on a global scale via stable isotope analyses of a unique collection of beaks from 104 specimens from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Cephalopods typically are active predators occupying a high trophic level (TL) and exhibit an ontogenetic increase in δN and TL.

A new pygmy squid, Idiosepius hallami n. sp. (Cephalopoda: Idiosepiidae) from eastern Australia and elevation of the southern endemic 'notoides' clade to a new genus, Xipholeptos n. gen.

A new species of pygmy squid, Idiosepius hallami n. sp., is described from eastern Australia.

Pharmacists' Knowledge and Practices Surrounding Expedited Partner Therapy for Chlamydia trachomatis, New York City, 2012 and 2014.

Background: Health care providers in New York City can prescribe treatment for Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) for a patient's partner without the partner having a medical evaluation ("prescription-expedited partner therapy" [EPT]), and use of prescription-EPT is common. However, there is little known about pharmacists' knowledge and practices surrounding EPT.

Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys, in 2012 and 2014, were conducted with representative samples of supervising pharmacists in NYC neighborhoods with high rates of Ct infection.

An Advanced Practice Nurse Coordinated Multidisciplinary Intervention for Patients with Late-Stage Cancer: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

Background: Early palliative care provided through a palliative care consultative service is effective in enhancing patient outcomes. However, it is unknown whether the integration of palliative care as part of routine comprehensive cancer care improves patients' self-reported clinical outcomes.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a multidisciplinary coordinated intervention by advanced practice nurses at the clinic level on outcomes with patients newly diagnosed with late-stage cancer.

Perceptual assimilation of lexical tone: the roles of language experience and visual information.

Using Best's (1995) perceptual assimilation model (PAM), we investigated auditory-visual (AV), auditory-only (AO), and visual-only (VO) perception of Thai tones. Mandarin and Cantonese (tone-language) speakers were asked to categorize Thai tones according to their own native tone categories, and Australian English (non-tone-language) speakers to categorize Thai tones into their native intonation categories-for instance, question or statement. As comparisons, Thai participants completed a straightforward identification task, and another Australian English group identified the Thai tones using simple symbols.

The study of deep-sea cephalopods.

"Deep-sea" cephalopods are here defined as cephalopods that spend a significant part of their life cycles outside the euphotic zone. In this chapter, the state of knowledge in several aspects of deep-sea cephalopod research are summarized, including information sources for these animals, diversity and general biogeography and life cycles, including reproduction. Recommendations are made for addressing some of the remaining knowledge deficiencies using a variety of traditional and more recently developed methods.

The management of anxiety and knowledge of serum CA-125 after an ovarian cancer diagnosis.

This article describes the relationship among anxiety, distress, and serum CA-125 levels in women with ovarian cancer. Women's anxiety about monitoring their CA-125 levels during chemotherapy also is discussed. Data from a randomized trial including self-reported anxiety and emotional distress of women following surgery after a primary diagnosis of ovarian cancer, their recorded serum CA-125 levels, and knowledge about their CA-125 levels were analyzed.

Emotional prosody perception and production in dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

Purpose: In this study, the authors investigated emotional prosody in patients with moderate Dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) With Late Onset. It was expected that both expression and reception of prosody would be impaired relative to age-matched controls.

Method: Twenty DAT and 20 control participants engaged in 2 expressive and 2 receptive tasks with randomly presented exemplars of sentences targeting the emotions of happiness, anger, sadness, and surprise.

Children's magazines: reading resources or food marketing tools?

Objective: Magazines targeted at children under 12 years old are growing in popularity; past studies have asserted that food items are rarely exposed, but methodological issues may have covered the true extent of covert promotion. The primary purpose of the present study was to quantify the nature and extent of the promotion of branded food products in Australian children's magazines.

Design: We conducted a content analysis of possible food promotions in seven top-selling Australian children's magazines published in 2005.