A potential space-making role in cell wall biogenesis for SltB1and DacB revealed by a beta-lactamase induction phenotype in .

Unlabelled: encodes the beta-lactamase AmpC, which promotes resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics. Expression of is induced by anhydro-muropeptides (AMPs) released from the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall upon beta-lactam treatment. AmpC can also be induced via genetic inactivation of PG biogenesis factors such as the endopeptidase DacB that cleaves PG crosslinks.

Waddlia chondrophila, a Chlamydia-related bacterium, has a negative impact on human spermatozoa.

Study Question: What is the impact of Waddlia chondrophila, an emerging Chlamydia-related bacterium associated with miscarriage, on human spermatozoa?

Summary Answer: W. chondrophila had a negative impact on human spermatozoa (decrease in viability and mitochondrial membrane potential) and was not entirely removed from infected samples by density gradient centrifugation.

What Is Known Already: Bacterial infection or colonization might have a deleterious effect on male fertility.

Waddlia chondrophila induces systemic infection, organ pathology, and elicits Th1-associated humoral immunity in a murine model of genital infection.

Waddlia chondrophila is a known bovine abortigenic Chlamydia-related bacterium that has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in human. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding how W. chondrophila infection spreads, its ability to elicit an immune response and induce pathology.

Role of Chlamydia trachomatis and emerging Chlamydia-related bacteria in ectopic pregnancy in Vietnam.

In this case-control study, we investigated the seroprevalence and molecular evidence of Chlamydia trachomatis and Waddlia chondrophila in ectopic pregnancies (EP) and uneventful control pregnancies in 343 women from Vietnam. Whereas presence of C. trachomatis IgG was strongly associated with EP [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 5·41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2·58-11·32], its DNA remained undetected in all tubal lesions.

Genes involved in the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle (ANLS) are specifically regulated in cortical astrocytes following sleep deprivation in mice.

Study Objectives: There is growing evidence indicating that in order to meet the neuronal energy demands, astrocytes provide lactate as an energy substrate for neurons through a mechanism called "astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle" (ANLS). Since neuronal activity changes dramatically during vigilance states, we hypothesized that the ANLS may be regulated during the sleep-wake cycle. To test this hypothesis we investigated the expression of genes associated with the ANLS specifically in astrocytes following sleep deprivation.

The psychostimulant modafinil enhances gap junctional communication in cortical astrocytes.

Sleep-wake cycle is characterized by changes in neuronal network activity. However, for the last decade there is increasing evidence that neuroglial interaction may play a role in the modulation of sleep homeostasis and that astrocytes have a critical impact in this process. Interestingly, astrocytes are organized into communicating networks based on their high expression of connexins, which are the molecular constituents of gap junction channels.

Analysis of narrative functionality: toward evidence-based approaches in managed care settings.

The advent of managed health care has challenged rehabilitation professionals to guide their clients toward functionally meaningful outcomes in the least amount of time possible and to justify the evidence base for their intervention approaches. The ability to relate personal narratives in everyday contexts lies at the core of communicative functionality, but feasible clinical assessment of narrative has proven elusive. The purpose of this article is to offer an evidence-based framework for guiding assessments of the personal narratives of adults with aphasia, within a managed care model of service delivery.

Evidence from glut2-null mice that glucose is a critical physiological regulator of feeding.

A role for glucose in the control of feeding has been proposed, but its precise physiological importance is unknown. Here, we evaluated feeding behavior in glut2-null mice, which express a transgenic glucose transporter in their beta-cells to rescue insulin secretion (ripglut1;glut2-/- mice). We showed that in the absence of GLUT2, daily food intake was increased and feeding initiation and termination following a fasting period were abnormal.