Bacteria use exogenous peptidoglycan as a danger signal to trigger biofilm formation.

For any organism, survival is enhanced by the ability to sense and respond to threats in advance. For bacteria, danger sensing among kin cells has been observed, but the presence or impacts of general danger signals are poorly understood. Here we show that different bacterial species use exogenous peptidoglycan fragments, which are released by nearby kin or non-kin cell lysis, as a general danger signal.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: BIN1, the second strongest GWAS risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), encodes a nucleocytoplasmic adaptor protein that plays many roles in multiple tissue and cell types. It is known that BIN1 can directly bind to tau in vitro, and neuronal BIN1 expression decreases in patients with AD. Accumulation of intracellular hyperphosphorylated tau is a hallmark pathogenic feature of AD and related tauopathies.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Microglia play significant roles in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology. Current evidence suggests microglia may function in both protective and degenerative capacities, which has received little clarity from transcriptionally-characterised phenotypes uncovered from transgenic pathologies alone. BIN1 - the second-most significant risk gene for the development of late-onset AD (LOAD) - is expressed at high levels in neurons, oligodendrocytes and microglia.

Cause-Specific Secular Trends and Prevention Measures of Post-Neonatally Acquired Cerebral Palsy in Victoria and Western Australia 1975-2014: A Population-Based Observational Study.

Aim: To describe the timing and causes of post-neonatally acquired cerebral palsy (PNN-CP) and map the implementation of relevant preventive strategies against cause-specific temporal trends in prevalence.

Methods: Data for a 1975-2014 birth cohort of children with PNN-CP (brain injury between 28 days and 2 years of age) were drawn from the Victorian and Western Australian CP Registers. Descriptive statistics were used to report causal events and timing.

Evaluating general practitioners' focused lung ultrasound competence and findings in patients with suspected community-acquired pneumonia in general practice.

Objectives: To evaluate general practitioners' (GPs') ability to perform focused lung ultrasound (FLUS) following a training program and assess FLUS feasibility in general practice. Also, to describe FLUS findings and evaluate GPs' ability to interpret these in adults with acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) when pneumonia is suspected and assess GPs' perception of FLUS impact.

Methods: Nine GPs, using point-of-care ultrasound, completed a FLUS training program.