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What bacteria want.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial signal transduction systems are responsible for sensing environmental cues and adjusting the cellular behaviour and/or metabolism in response to these cues. They also monitor the intracellular conditions and the status of the cell envelope and the cytoplasmic membrane and trigger various stress responses to counteract adverse changes. This surveillance involves several classes of sensor proteins: histidine kinases; chemoreceptors; membrane components of the sugar phosphotransferase system; adenylate, diadenylate and diguanylate cyclases and certain cAMP, c-di-AMP and c-di-GMP phosphodiesterases; extracytoplasmic function sigma factors and Ser/Thr/Tyr protein kinases and phosphoprotein phosphatases. We have compiled a detailed listing of sensor proteins that are encoded in the genomes of Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and 10 widespread pathogens: Chlamydia trachomatis, Haemophilus influenzae, Helicobacter pylori, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Rickettsia typhi, Streptococcus pyogenes and Treponema pallidum, and checked what, if anything, is known about their functions. This listing shows significant gaps in the understanding of which environmental and intracellular cues are perceived by these bacteria and which cellular responses are triggered by the changes in the respective parameters. A better understanding of bacterial preferences may suggest new ways to modulate the expression of virulence factors and therefore decrease the reliance on antibiotics to fight infection.

SUBMITTER: Galperin MY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7020242 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:A number of recent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies on intertemporal choice behavior have demonstrated that so-called emotion- and reward-related brain areas are preferentially activated by decisions involving immediately available (but smaller) rewards as compared to (larger) delayed rewards. This pattern of activation was not seen, however, when intertemporal choices were made for another (unknown) individual, which speaks to that activation having been triggered by self-relatedness. In the present fMRI study, we investigated the brain correlates of individuals who passively observed intertemporal choices being made either for themselves or for an unknown person. We found higher activation within the ventral striatum, medial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex when an immediate reward was possible for the observer herself, which is in line with findings from studies in which individuals actively chose immediately available rewards. Additionally, activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus was higher for choices that included immediate options than for choices that offered only delayed options, irrespective of who was to be the beneficiary. These results indicate that (1) the activations found in active intertemporal decision making are also present when the same decisions are merely observed, thus supporting the assumption that a robust brain network is engaged in immediate gratification; and (2) with immediate rewards, certain brain areas are activated irrespective of whether the observer or another person is the beneficiary of a decision, suggesting that immediacy plays a more general role for neural activation. An explorative analysis of participants' brain activation corresponding to chosen rewards, further indicates that activation in the aforementioned brain areas depends on the mere presence, availability, or actual reception of immediate rewards.

Project description:BackgroundFueled by rapid technological advances over the past decade, there is growing interest in the use of smartphones to aid in smoking cessation. Hundreds of applications have been developed for this purpose, but little is known about how these applications are accessed and used by smokers or what features smokers believe would be most useful.PurposeThe present study sought to understand the prevalence of smartphone ownership and patterns of use among smokers as well as the perceived utility of various smartphone application features for smoking cessation that are currently in development or already available.MethodsDaily cigarette smokers (n = 224) reported on smartphone ownership, their patterns of smartphone usage, and perceived utility of features. Features were ranked according to perceived utility and differences in both perceived utility and general smartphone use patterns were examined as a function of demographic and smoking-related variables.ResultsMost smokers (80.4%) own a smartphone, but experience with smoking cessation applications is extremely rare (6.1%). Ownership and patterns of usage differed as a function of demographic and smoking-related variables. Overall, gain-framed features were rated as most useful, while loss-framed and interpersonal features were rated as least useful.ConclusionsMobile health interventions have the potential to reach a large number of smokers but are currently underutilized. Additional effort is needed to ensure parity in treatment access. Gain-framed messages may be especially useful for engaging smokers, even if other features ultimately drive treatment effects.ImplicationsThis study describes patterns of smartphone usage among smokers and identifies the smartphone application features smokers believe would be most useful during a quit attempt. Findings indicate which subgroups of smokers are most likely to be reached with mobile health interventions and suggests that inclusion of specific features may be helpful for engaging smokers in the smoking cessation process.

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What bacteria want.

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