Publications by authors named "B McDonnell"
Background: The aortic-femoral arterial stiffness gradient, calculated as the ratio of lower-limb pulse-wave velocity (PWV) to central (aortic) PWV, is a promising tool for assessing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, but whether it predicts incident CVD is unknown.
Methods: We examined the association of the aortic-femoral arterial stiffness gradient measures carotid-femoral stiffness gradient (femoral-ankle PWV divided by carotid-femoral PWV) and the heart-femoral stiffness gradient (femoral-ankle PWV divided by heart-femoral PWV), as well as PWV, with incident CVD (coronary disease, stroke, and heart failure) and all-cause mortality among 3109 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study cohort (age, 75±5 years; carotid-femoral PWV, 11.5±3.
Bacteria possess (bacterio)phage defence systems to ensure their survival. The thermophilic lactic acid bacterium, Streptococcus thermophilus, which is used in dairy fermentations, harbours multiple CRISPR-Cas and restriction and modification (R/M) systems to protect itself against phage attack, with limited reports on other types of phage-resistance. Here, we describe the systematic identification and functional analysis of the phage resistome of S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Globally, while people are living longer, many experience a decline in health due to age-related diseases, highlighting the need for better classification systems to address these issues.
- A consensus meeting with 150 experts established criteria for identifying ageing-related pathologies, requiring a 70% agreement for approval among participants.
- The agreed criteria focus on conditions that progress with age, contribute to functional decline, and are backed by human studies, setting a foundation for future classification and staging efforts.
Until the late 2000s, lactococci substantially contributed to the discovery of various plasmid-borne phage defence systems, rendering these bacteria an excellent antiphage discovery resource. Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in identifying novel antiphage systems in lactic acid bacteria owing to recent reports of so-called 'defence islands' in diverse bacterial genera. Here, 321 plasmid sequences from 53 lactococcal strains were scrutinized for the presence of antiphage systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Bacteriocins, like Pseudocin 196, are antimicrobial compounds that show promise in addressing antibiotic-resistant infections.
- The genome of MM0196, sourced from a healthy pregnant woman, reveals a gene cluster for Pseudocin 196, a novel lantibiotic, along with proteins for its processing and immunity.
- Pseudocin 196 demonstrated the ability to inhibit harmful pathogens, suggesting its potential use as a probiotic for treating bacterial infections.