Allele Frequencies of Genetic Variants Associated with Varroa Drone Brood Resistance (DBR) in Subspecies across the European Continent.

Implementation of marker-assisted selection (MAS) in modern beekeeping would improve sustainability, especially in breeding programs aiming for resilience against the parasitic mite . Selecting honey bee colonies for natural resistance traits, such as brood-intrinsic suppression of varroa mite reproduction, reduces the use of chemical acaricides while respecting local adaptation. In 2019, eight genomic variants associated with varroa non-reproduction in drone brood were discovered in a single colony from the Amsterdam Water Dune population in the Netherlands.

Quantitative assessments of honeybee colony's response to an artificial vibrational pulse resulting in non-invasive measurements of colony's overall mobility and restfulness.

In this work we aim to provide a quantitative method allowing the probing of the physiological status of honeybee colonies by providing them with a gentle, short, external artificial vibrational shockwave, and recording their response. The knock is provided by an external electromagnetic shaker attached to the outer wall of a hive, driven by a computer with a 0.1 s long, monochromatic vibration at 340Hz set to an amplitude that occasionally yields a mild response from the bees, recorded by an accelerometer placed in the middle of the central frame of the colony.

Bioactivity and efficacy of a hyperimmune bovine colostrum product- Travelan, against shigellosis in a non-Human primate model (Macaca mulatta).

Infectious diarrhea is a World Health Organization public health priority area due to the lack of effective vaccines and an accelerating global antimicrobial resistance crisis. New strategies are urgently needed such as immunoprophylactic for prevention of diarrheal diseases. Hyperimmune bovine colostrum (HBC) is an established and effective prophylactic for infectious diarrhea.

A Monitoring System for Carbon Dioxide in Honeybee Hives: An Indicator of Colony Health.

Non-dispersive infra-red (NDIR) detectors have become the dominant method for measuring atmospheric CO, which is thought to be an important gas for honeybee colony health. In this work we describe a microcontroller-based system used to collect data from Senserion SCD41 NDIR sensors placed in the crown boards and queen excluders of honeybee colonies. The same sensors also provide relative humidity and temperature data.

Evaluation of the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a recombinant CS6-based ETEC vaccine in an Aotus nancymaae CS6 + ETEC challenge model.

Colonization factors or Coli surface antigens (CFs or CS) are important virulence factors of Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) that mediate intestinal colonization and accordingly are targets of vaccine development efforts. CS6 is a highly prevalent CF associated with symptomatic ETEC infection both in endemic populations and amongst travelers.

How butterflies keep their cool: Physical and ecological traits influence thermoregulatory ability and population trends.

Understanding which factors influence the ability of individuals to respond to changing temperatures is fundamental to species conservation under climate change. We investigated how a community of butterflies responded to fine-scale changes in air temperature, and whether species-specific responses were predicted by ecological or morphological traits. Using data collected across a UK reserve network, we investigated the ability of 29 butterfly species to buffer thoracic temperature against changes in air temperature.

Cross-Reactivity, Epitope Mapping, and Potency of Monoclonal Antibodies to Class 5 Fimbrial Tip Adhesins of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

Enterotoxigenic (ETEC) is a leading diarrheagenic bacterial pathogen among travelers and children in resource-limited regions. Adherence to host intestinal cells mediated by ETEC fimbriae is believed to be a critical first step in ETEC pathogenesis. These fimbriae are categorized into related classes based on sequence similarity, with members of the class 5 fimbrial family being the best characterized.

Evaluation of the Immunogenicity and Protective Efficacy of an Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli CFA/I Adhesin-Heat-Labile Toxin Chimera.

Recent efforts to develop an enterotoxigenic (ETEC) vaccine have focused on the antigenically conserved tip adhesins of colonization factors. We showed previously that intranasal immunization with dscCfaE, a soluble variant of the in donor strand-complemented tip adhesin of a colonization factor of the class 5 family (CFA/I) fimbria, is highly immunogenic and protects against oral challenge with CFA/I-positive (CFA/I) ETEC strain H10407 in the nonhuman primate. We also reported a cholera toxin (CT)-like chimera (called dscCfaE-CTA2/CTB) in which the CTA1 domain of CT was replaced by dscCfaE that was strongly immunogenic when administered intranasally or orogastrically in mice.

Biochemical and immunological characterization of an ETEC CFA/I adhesin cholera toxin B subunit chimera.

Surface-expressed colonization factors and their subunits are promising candidates for inclusion into a multivalent vaccine targeting enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), a leading cause of acute bacterial diarrhea in developing regions. However, soluble antigens are often poorly immunogenic in the absence of an adjuvant. We show here that the serum immune response to CfaE, the adhesin of the ETEC colonization factor CFA/I, can be enhanced in BALB/c mice by immunization with a chimeric antigen containing CfaE and pentameric cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) of cholera toxin from Vibrio cholerae.

Biochemical and Immunological Evaluation of Recombinant CS6-Derived Subunit Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Vaccine Candidates.

CS6, a prevalent surface antigen expressed in nearly 20% of clinical enterotoxigenic (ETEC) isolates, is comprised of two major subunit proteins, CssA and CssB. Using donor strand complementation, we constructed a panel of recombinant proteins of 1 to 3 subunits that contained combinations of CssA and/or CssB subunits and a donor strand, a C-terminal extension of 16 amino acids that was derived from the N terminus of either CssA or CssB. While the entire panel of recombinant proteins could be obtained as soluble, folded proteins, it was observed that the proteins possessing a heterologous donor strand, derived from the CS6 subunit different from the C-terminal subunit, had the highest degree of physical and thermal stability.

Evaluation of a conjugate vaccine platform against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), Campylobacter jejuni and Shigella.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), Campylobacter jejuni (CJ), and Shigella sp. are major causes of bacterial diarrhea worldwide, but there are no licensed vaccines against any of these pathogens. Most current approaches to ETEC vaccines are based on recombinant proteins that are involved in virulence, particularly adhesins.

Multiplex real time PCR panels to identify fourteen colonization factors of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC).

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a leading cause of childhood diarrhea in low income countries and in travelers to those areas. Inactivated enterotoxins and colonization factors (CFs) are leading vaccine candidates, therefore it is important to determine the prevailing CF types in different geographic locations and populations. Here we developed real time PCR (qPCR) assays for 14 colonization factors, including the common vaccine targets.

Immunogenicity of a prototype enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli adhesin vaccine in mice and nonhuman primates.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are the most common cause of bacterial diarrhea in young children in developing countries and in travelers. Efforts to develop an ETEC vaccine have intensified in the past decade, and intestinal colonization factors (CFs) are somatic components of most investigational vaccines. CFA/I and related Class 5 fimbrial CFs feature a major stalk-forming subunit and a minor, antigenically conserved tip adhesin.

Structure and function of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli fimbriae from differing assembly pathways.

Pathogenic enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are the major bacterial cause of diarrhea in young children in developing countries and in travelers, causing significant mortality in children. Adhesive fimbriae are a prime virulence factor for ETEC, initiating colonization of the small intestinal epithelium. Similar to other Gram-negative bacteria, ETEC express one or more diverse fimbriae, some assembled by the chaperone-usher pathway and others by the alternate chaperone pathway.

Structure of CfaA suggests a new family of chaperones essential for assembly of class 5 fimbriae.

Adhesive pili on the surface of pathogenic bacteria comprise polymerized pilin subunits and are essential for initiation of infections. Pili assembled by the chaperone-usher pathway (CUP) require periplasmic chaperones that assist subunit folding, maintain their stability, and escort them to the site of bioassembly. Until now, CUP chaperones have been classified into two families, FGS and FGL, based on the short and long length of the subunit-interacting loops between its F1 and G1 β-strands, respectively.

Variation in hospital mortality rates with inpatient cancer surgery.

Objective: To elucidate clinical mechanisms underlying variation in hospital mortality after cancer surgery

Background: : Thousands of Americans die every year undergoing elective cancer surgery. Wide variation in hospital mortality rates suggest opportunities for improvement, but these efforts are limited by uncertainty about why some hospitals have poorer outcomes than others.

Methods: Using data from the 2006-2007 National Cancer Data Base, we ranked 1279 hospitals according to a composite measure of perioperative mortality after operations for bladder, esophagus, colon, lung, pancreas, and stomach cancers.

Preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of CfaA, a molecular chaperone essential for the assembly of CFA/I fimbriae of human enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

Understanding of pilus bioassembly in Gram-negative bacteria stems mainly from studies of P pili and type 1 fimbriae of uropathogenic Escherichia coli, which are mediated by the classic chaperone-usher pathway (CUP). However, CFA/I fimbriae, a class 5 fimbria and intestinal colonization factor for enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), are proposed to assemble via the alternate chaperone pathway (ACP).

Safety culture and complications after bariatric surgery.

Objective: To assess relationships between safety culture and complications within 30 days of bariatric surgery.

Background: Safety culture refers to the quality of teamwork, coordination, and communication, as well as responses to error in health care settings. Although safety culture is thought to be an important determinant of surgical outcomes, few studies have examined this empirically.

Adaptive evolution of class 5 fimbrial genes in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and its functional consequences.

Class 5 fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) comprise eight serologically discrete colonization factors that mediate small intestinal adhesion. Their differentiation has been attributed to the pressure imposed by host adaptive immunity. We sequenced the major pilin and minor adhesin subunit genes of a geographically diverse population of ETEC elaborating CFA/I (n = 31), CS17 (n = 20), and CS2 (n = 18) and elucidated the functional effect of microevolutionary processes.

Detection of the CS20 colonization factor antigen in diffuse-adhering Escherichia coli strains.

We analyzed a randomly selected group of 30 diffusely adherent (DAEC), 30 enteropathogenic, 30 enteroaggregative, and five Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains isolated from children with diarrhea. Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) colonization factors (CFs) were evaluated by a dot-blot assay using 21 CF-specific monoclonal antibodies.

Shear-enhanced binding of intestinal colonization factor antigen I of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

In the intestine, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli works against peristaltic forces, adhering to the epithelium via the colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I) fimbrial adhesin CfaE. The CfaE adhesin is similar in localization and tertiary (but not primary) structure to FimH, the type 1 fimbrial adhesin of uropathogenic E. coli, which shows shear-dependent binding to epithelial receptors by an allosteric catch-bond mechanism.

Structure of CFA/I fimbriae from enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

Adhesion pili (fimbriae) play a critical role in initiating the events that lead to intestinal colonization and diarrheal disease by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), an E. coli pathotype that inflicts an enormous global disease burden. We elucidate atomic structures of an ETEC major pilin subunit, CfaB, from colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I) fimbriae.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analyses of several forms of the CfaB major subunit of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli CFA/I fimbriae.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), a major global cause of diarrhea, initiates the pathogenic process via fimbriae-mediated attachment to the small intestinal epithelium. A common prototypic ETEC fimbria, colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I), consists of a tip-localized minor adhesive subunit CfaE and the stalk-forming major subunit CfaB, both of which are necessary for fimbrial assembly. To elucidate the structure of CFA/I at atomic resolution, three recombinant proteins were generated consisting of fusions of the minor and major subunits (CfaEB) and of two (CfaBB) and three (CfaBBB) repeats of the major subunit.

A receptor-binding site as revealed by the crystal structure of CfaE, the colonization factor antigen I fimbrial adhesin of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

CfaE is the minor, tip-localized adhesive subunit of colonization factor antigen I fimbriae (CFA/I) of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and is thought to be essential for the attachment of enterotoxigenic E. coli to the human small intestine early in diarrhea pathogenesis. The crystal structure of an in cis donor strand complemented CfaE was determined, providing the first atomic view of a fimbrial subunit assembled by the alternate chaperone pathway.