Depletion of Alveolar Macrophages Increases Pulmonary Neutrophil Infiltration, Tissue Damage, and Sepsis in a Murine Model of Acinetobacter baumannii Pneumonia.

has emerged as an important etiological agent of hospital-related infections, especially nosocomial pneumonia. The virulence factors of this bacterium and their interactions with the cells and molecules of the immune system just recently began to be extensively studied. Here, we investigated the impact of alveolar macrophages on pneumonia using a mouse model of infection and a flexible tissue culture system.

Fitting different visual models to behavioral patterns of parasitic egg rejection along a natural egg color gradient in a cavity-nesting host species.

Avian brood parasites lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and hosts can mitigate the fitness cost of raising unrelated offspring by rejecting parasitic eggs. A visually-based cognitive mechanism often thought to be used by hosts to discriminate the foreign egg is to compare it against the hosts' own eggshell by size, shape, maculation, and/or ground coloration (i.e.

The global distribution of avian eggshell colours suggest a thermoregulatory benefit of darker pigmentation.

The survival of a bird's developing embryo depends on the egg's ability to stay within strict thermal limits. How eggshell colours help maintain thermal balance is a long-standing and contested question. Using data spanning a wide phylogenetic diversity of birds on a global spatial scale, we find evidence that eggshell pigmentation may have been shaped by thermoregulatory needs.

When are egg-rejection cues perceived? A test using thermochromic eggs in an avian brood parasite host.

At the core of recognition systems research are questions regarding how and when fitness-relevant decisions made. Studying egg-rejection behavior by hosts to reduce the costs of avian brood parasitism has become a productive model to assess cognitive algorithms underlying fitness-relevant decisions. Most of these studies focus on how cues and contexts affect hosts' behavioral responses to foreign eggs; however, the timing of when the cues are perceived for egg-rejection decisions is less understood.

Essential Quality Attributes of Tangible Bio-Oils from Catalytic Pyrolysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass.

This review covers the characteristics of pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis bio-oils by focusing on the fundamental factors that determine bio-oil upgradability. The abundant works on the subject of bio-oil production from lignocellulosic biomass were studied to establish the essential attributes of the bio-oils for assessment of the oil stability and upgradability. Bio-oils from catalytic pyrolysis processes relating to catalysts of different compositions and structures are discussed.

Reduced phagocytosis and killing of Cryptococcus neoformans biofilm-derived cells by J774.16 macrophages is associated with fungal capsular production and surface modification.

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic encapsulated pathogen that causes life-threatening meningoencephalitis in individuals with immunosuppression. We compared the interactions of C. neoformans planktonic and biofilm-derived cells with J774.

The current state of heart disease: statins, cholesterol, fat and sugar.

Unlabelled: After decades of improvement in the outlook for cardiovascular disease (CVD), we are now seeing a plateau. Statins, once believed to be the most important advance in the fight against heart disease, have not mitigated the incidence or prevalence of CVD.

Aim: New research into lipid-lowering drugs is not only questioning their usefulness in primary care, but identifying them as harmful, resulting in the development of other diseases.

Anti-parasitic egg rejection by great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) tracks differences along an eggshell color gradient.

One of the most effective defenses against avian brood parasitism is the rejection of the foreign egg from the host's nest. Until recently, most studies have tested whether hosts discriminate between own and foreign eggs based on the absolute differences in avian-perceivable eggshell coloration and maculation. However, recent studies suggest that hosts may instead contrast egg appearances across a directional eggshell color gradient.

Spaced Retrieval Using Static and Dynamic Images to Improve Face-Name Recognition: Alzheimer's Dementia and Vascular Dementia.

Purpose The primary objective of this study examined whether spaced retrieval (SR) using dynamic images (video clips without audio) is more effective than SR using static images to improve face-name recognition in persons with dementia. A secondary objective examined the length of time associations were retained after participants reached criterion. A final objective sought to determine if there is a relationship between SR training and dementia diagnosis.

The effect of sex, age, and location on carnivory in Utah black bears (Ursus americanus).

Ungulates are important to the diet of bears because they are high in protein, and the level of dietary protein strongly influences bear size. The size a bear obtains as an adult influences important life history characteristics, such as age of reproduction and reproductive success; therefore, it is important to know what foods are available to bears and how they are utilizing them. We tested hypotheses concerning the effect of age, sex, and location on black bear carnivory.

Variation in multicomponent recognition cues alters egg rejection decisions: a test of the optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis.

The optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis provides a general predictive framework for testing behavioural responses to discrimination challenges. Decision-makers should respond to a stimulus when the perceived difference between that stimulus and a comparison template surpasses an acceptance threshold. We tested how individual components of a relevant recognition cue (experimental eggs) contributed to behavioural responses of chalk-browed mockingbirds, Mimus saturninus, a frequent host of the parasitic shiny cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis.

Methamphetamine Impairs IgG1-Mediated Phagocytosis and Killing of Cryptococcus neoformans by J774.16 Macrophage- and NR-9640 Microglia-Like Cells.

The prevalence of methamphetamine (METH) use is estimated at ∼35 million people worldwide, with over 10 million users in the United States. Chronic METH abuse and dependence predispose the users to participate in risky behaviors that may result in the acquisition of HIV and AIDS-related infections. is an encapsulated fungus that causes cryptococcosis, an opportunistic infection that has recently been associated with drug users.

The role of school psychologists in the support of grieving children.

School psychologists are in a unique position to both identify and work with grieving students; to provide guidance to schools, families, and peers on approaches to support such children and youth; and to offer training to classroom educators so that they are better prepared to support grieving students. Yet, there has been minimal research published on this topic in professional journals. This special section of is devoted to grief and loss with the hope of beginning to narrow this gap in the literature.

Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients.

Brood parasites lay their eggs in other females' nests, leaving the host parents to hatch and rear their young. Studying how brood parasites manipulate hosts into raising their young and how hosts detect parasitism provide important insights in the field of coevolutionary biology. Brood parasites, such as cuckoos and cowbirds, gain an evolutionary advantage because they do not have to pay the costs of rearing their own young.

Differences in Sirtuin Regulation in Response to Calorie Restriction in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Cryptococcus neoformans successfully replicates in low glucose in infected patients. In the serotype A strain, H99, growth in this condition prolongs lifespan regulated by SIR2, and can be modulated with SIR2-specific drugs. Previous studies show that lifespan modulation of a cryptococcal population affects its sensitivity to antifungals, and survival in an infection model.

Diagnostic exome sequencing in children: A survey of parental understanding, experience and psychological impact.

Clinical exome sequencing (CES) is increasingly being used as an effective diagnostic tool in the field of pediatric genetics. We sought to evaluate the parental experience, understanding and psychological impact of CES by conducting a survey study of English-speaking parents of children who had diagnostic CES. Parents of 192 unique patients participated.

Eating During Hemodialysis Treatment: A Consensus Statement From the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism.

Poor nutritional status and protein-energy wasting are common among maintenance dialysis patients and associated with unfavorable outcomes. Providing foods, meal trays, snack boxes, and/or oral nutritional supplements during hemodialysis can improve nutritional status and might also reduce inflammation, enhance health-related quality of life, boost patient satisfaction, and improve survival. Potential challenges include postprandial hypotension and other hemodynamic instabilities, aspiration risk, gastrointestinal symptoms, hygiene issues, staff burden, reduced solute removal, and increased costs.

Eggshells as hosts of bacterial communities: An experimental test of the antimicrobial egg coloration hypothesis.

Oviparous animals have evolved multiple defenses to prevent microbes from penetrating their eggs and causing embryo mortality. In birds, egg constituents such as lysozyme and antibodies defend against microbial infestation, but eggshell pigments might also impact survival of bacteria. If so, microbes could exert an important selective pressure on the evolution of eggshell coloration.

Does contrast between eggshell ground and spot coloration affect egg rejection?

Obligate avian brood parasitic species impose the costs of incubating foreign eggs and raising young upon their unrelated hosts. The most common host defence is the rejection of parasitic eggs from the nest. Both egg colours and spot patterns influence egg rejection decisions in many host species, yet no studies have explicitly examined the role of variation in spot coloration.

Capsular specific IgM enhances complement-mediated phagocytosis and killing of Cryptococcus neoformans by methamphetamine-treated J774.16 macrophage-like cells.

Methamphetamine (METH) is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system of users in the United States and worldwide, and its consumption is associated to the acquisition of HIV and AIDS-related infections. METH enhances cryptococcosis in mice, an opportunistic infection caused by the encapsulated fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Due to its ability to survive within macrophages, C.

Generational distribution of a Candida glabrata population: Resilient old cells prevail, while younger cells dominate in the vulnerable host.

Similar to other yeasts, the human pathogen Candida glabrata ages when it undergoes asymmetric, finite cell divisions, which determines its replicative lifespan. We sought to investigate if and how aging changes resilience of C. glabrata populations in the host environment.

Multispectral images of flowers reveal the adaptive significance of using long-wavelength-sensitive receptors for edge detection in bees.

Many pollinating insects acquire their entire nutrition from visiting flowers, and they must therefore be efficient both at detecting flowers and at recognizing familiar rewarding flower types. A crucial first step in recognition is the identification of edges and the segmentation of the visual field into areas that belong together. Honeybees and bumblebees acquire visual information through three types of photoreceptors; however, they only use a single receptor type-the one sensitive to longer wavelengths-for edge detection and movement detection.