Mycoplasma leachii sp. nov. as a new species designation for Mycoplasma sp. bovine group 7 of Leach, and reclassification of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides LC as a serovar of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri

The Mycoplasma mycoides cluster consists of six pathogenic mycoplasmas causing disease in ruminants, which share many genotypic and phenotypic traits. The M. mycoides cluster comprises five recognized taxa: Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony (MmmSC), M. mycoides subsp. mycoides Large Colony (MmmLC), M. mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc), Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum (Mcc) and M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae (Mccp). The group of strains known as Mycoplasma sp. bovine group 7 of Leach (MBG7) has remained unassigned, due to conflicting data obtained by different classification methods. In the present paper, all available data, including recent phylogenetic analyses, have been reviewed, resulting in a proposal for an emended taxonomy of this cluster: (i) the MBG7 strains, although related phylogenetically to M. capricolum, hold sufficient characteristic traits to be assigned as a separate species, i.e. Mycoplasma leachii sp. nov. (type strain, PG50(T) = N29(T) = NCTC 10133(T) = DSM 21131(T)); (ii) MmmLC and Mmc, which can only be distinguished by serological methods and are related more distantly to MmmSC, should be combined into a single subspecies, i.e. Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri, leaving M. mycoides subsp. mycoides (MmmSC) as the exclusive designation for the agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. A taxonomic description of M. leachii sp. nov. and emended descriptions of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides and M. mycoides subsp. capri are presented. As a result of these emendments, the M. mycoides cluster will hereafter be composed of five taxa comprising three subclusters, which correspond to the M. mycoides subspecies, the M. capricolum subspecies and the novel species M. leachii.

Dynamic Web Development with Seaside

Seaside is the open source framework of choice for developing sophisticated and dynamic web applications. Seaside uses the power of objects to master the web. With Seaside web applications is as simple as building desktop applications. Seaside lets you build highly dynamic and interactive web applications. Seaside supports agile development through interactive debugging and unit testing. Seaside is based on Smalltalk, a proven and robust language implemented by different vendors. Seaside is now available for all the major Smalltalk including Pharo, Squeak, GNU Smalltalk, Cincom Smalltalk, GemStone Smalltalk, and VA Smalltalk.

Paternity of subordinates raises cooperative effort in cichlids

Background In cooperative breeders, subordinates generally help a dominant breeding pair to raise offspring. Parentage studies have shown that in several species subordinates can participate in reproduction. This suggests an important role of direct fitness benefits for cooperation, particularly where groups contain unrelated subordinates. In this situation parentage should influence levels of cooperation. Here we combine parentage analyses and detailed behavioural observations in the field to study whether in the highly social cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher subordinates participate in reproduction and if so, whether and how this affects their cooperative care, controlling for the effect of kinship. Methodology/Principal Findings We show that: (i) male subordinates gained paternity in 27.8% of all clutches and (ii) if they participated in reproduction, they sired on average 11.8% of young. Subordinate males sharing in reproduction showed more defence against experimentally presented egg predators compared to subordinates not participating in reproduction, and they tended to stay closer to the breeding shelter. No effects of relatedness between subordinates and dominants (to mid-parent, dominant female or dominant male) were detected on parentage and on helping behaviour. Conclusions/Significance This is the first evidence in a cooperatively breeding fish species that the helping effort of male subordinates may depend on obtained paternity, which stresses the need to consider direct fitness benefits in evolutionary studies of helping behaviour.

Wild immunology: converging on the real world

Recently, the Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution sponsored a one-day symposium entitled "Wild Immunology." The CIIE is a new Wellcome Trust-funded initiative with the remit to connect evolutionary biology and ecology with research in immunology and infectious diseases in order to gain an interdisciplinary perspective on challenges to global health. The central question of the symposium was, "Why should we try to understand infection and immunity in wild systems?" Specifically, how does the immune response operate in the wild and how do multiple coinfections and commensalism affect immune responses and host health in these wild systems? The symposium brought together a broad program of speakers, ranging from laboratory immunologists to infectious disease ecologists, working on wild birds, unmanaged animals, wild and laboratory rodents, and on questions ranging from the dynamics of coinfection to how commensal bacteria affect the development of the immune system. The meeting on wild immunology, organized by Amy Pedersen, Simon Babayan, and Rick Maizels, was held at the University of Edinburgh on 30 June 2011.

Phase I trial of combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P) in combination with bevacizumab in patients with advanced cancer

The vascular disrupting agent (VDA) combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P) induces significant tumor necrosis as a single agent. Preclinical models have shown that the addition of an anti-VEGF antibody to a VDA attenuates the revascularization of the surviving tumor rim and thus significantly increases antitumor activity.

A smart multi-hop hierarchical routing protocol for efficient video communication over wireless multimedia sensor networks

For smart applications, nodes in wireless multimedia sensor networks (MWSNs) have to take decisions based on sensed scalar physical measurements. A routing protocol must provide the multimedia delivery with quality level support and be energy-efficient for large-scale networks. With this goal in mind, this paper proposes a smart Multi-hop hierarchical routing protocol for Efficient VIdeo communication (MEVI). MEVI combines an opportunistic scheme to create clusters, a cross-layer solution to select routes based on network conditions, and a smart solution to trigger multimedia transmission according to sensed data. Simulations were conducted to show the benefits of MEVI compared with the well-known Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) protocol. This paper includes an analysis of the signaling overhead, energy-efficiency, and video quality.

Cloning and expression of the gene encoding the major surface protein 5 (MSP5) of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and potential application for serodiagnosis

BACKGROUND: Anaplasma phagocytophilum (formerly known as the human granulocytic ehrlichia, Ehrlichia equi and Ehrlichia phagocytophila) is an obligate intracellular organism causing clinical disease in humans and various species of domestic animals. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this investigation were to sequence and clone the major surface protein 5 (MSP5) of A phagocytophilum and to evaluate the suitability of this antigen in the serologic diagnosis of anaplasmosis in humans and dogs. METHODS: The msp5 gene of A phagocytophilum was sequenced, cloned, and expressed in Escherichia coli. The predicted amino acid sequence homology of the various MSP5/major antigenic protein 2 orthologs was compared among various Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species. Recombinant MSP5 of A phagocytophilum was used in an ELISA to detect antibodies in serum samples from humans and dogs infected with the organism. RESULTS: Serum samples from 104 individuals previously diagnosed with A phagocytophilum infection, as well as samples from clinically healthy humans, were tested. In addition, multiple samples from 4 dogs experimentally infected with 2 different geographic isolates of A phagocytophilum and 5 dogs naturally infected with a Swiss isolate were tested using ELISA. Using this group of immunofluorescent antibody test-positive and immunofluorescent antibody test-negative samples, we found the overall agreement between assays to be >90%. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that recombinant MSP5 has potential for use as a diagnostic test antigen to detect infection with A phagocytophilum in both dogs and humans. However, sequence similarities among orthologs of MSP5 in related species of anaplasma and ehrlichia suggest that cross-reactivity among these pathogens is likely if the entire peptide is used as a test antigen.

Copper and human health: biochemistry, genetics, and strategies for modeling dose-response relationships

Copper (Cu) and its alloys are used extensively in domestic and industrial applications. Cu is also an essential element in mammalian nutrition. Since both copper deficiency and copper excess produce adverse health effects, the dose-response curve is U-shaped, although the precise form has not yet been well characterized. Many animal and human studies were conducted on copper to provide a rich database from which data suitable for modeling the dose-response relationship for copper may be extracted. Possible dose-response modeling strategies are considered in this review, including those based on the benchmark dose and categorical regression. The usefulness of biologically based dose-response modeling techniques in understanding copper toxicity was difficult to assess at this time since the mechanisms underlying copper-induced toxicity have yet to be fully elucidated. A dose-response modeling strategy for copper toxicity was proposed associated with both deficiency and excess. This modeling strategy was applied to multiple studies of copper-induced toxicity, standardized with respect to severity of adverse health outcomes and selected on the basis of criteria reflecting the quality and relevance of individual studies. The use of a comprehensive database on copper-induced toxicity is essential for dose-response modeling since there is insufficient information in any single study to adequately characterize copper dose-response relationships. The dose-response modeling strategy envisioned here is designed to determine whether the existing toxicity data for copper excess or deficiency may be effectively utilized in defining the limits of the homeostatic range in humans and other species. By considering alternative techniques for determining a point of departure and low-dose extrapolation (including categorical regression, the benchmark dose, and identification of observed no-effect levels) this strategy will identify which techniques are most suitable for this purpose. This analysis also serves to identify areas in which additional data are needed to better define the characteristics of dose-response relationships for copper-induced toxicity in relation to excess or deficiency.