Chronic Hypertension and the Risk of Readmission for Postpartum Cardiovascular Complications.

OBJECTIVE: Preeclampsia is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD, including heart disease and stroke) along the life course. However, whether exposure to chronic hypertension in pregnancy, in the absence of preeclampsia, is implicated in CVD risk during the immediate postpartum period remains poorly understood. Our objective was to estimate the risk of readmission for CVD complications within the calendar year after delivery for people with chronic hypertension. METHODS: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Readmission Database (2010-2018) was used to conduct a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 15-54 years. International Classification of Diseases codes were used to identify patients with chronic hypertension and postpartum readmission for CVD complications within 1 year of delivery. People with CVD diagnosed during pregnancy or delivery admission, multiple births, or preeclampsia or eclampsia were excluded. Excess rates of CVD readmission among patients with and without chronic hypertension were estimated. Associations between chronic hypertension and CVD complications were determined from Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: Of 27,395,346 delivery hospitalizations that resulted in singleton births, 2.0% of individuals had chronic hypertension (n=544,639). The CVD hospitalization rate among patients with chronic hypertension and normotensive patients was 645 (n=3,791) per 100,000 delivery hospitalizations and 136 (n=37,664) per 100,000 delivery hospitalizations, respectively (rate difference 508, 95% CI 467-549; adjusted hazard ratio 4.11, 95% CI 3.64-4.66). The risk of CVD readmission, in relation to chronic hypertension, persisted for 1 year after delivery. CONCLUSION: The heightened CVD risk as early as 1 month postpartum in relation to chronic hypertension underscores the need for close monitoring and timely care after delivery to reduce blood pressure and related complications.

Oxytocin receptor is not required for social attachment in prairie voles.

Prairie voles are among a small group of mammals that display long-term social attachment between mating partners. Many pharmacological studies show that signaling via the oxytocin receptor (Oxtr) is critical for the display of social monogamy in these animals. We used CRISPR mutagenesis to generate three different Oxtr-null mutant prairie vole lines. Oxtr mutants displayed social attachment such that males and females showed a behavioral preference for their mating partners over a stranger of the opposite sex, even when assayed using different experimental setups. Mothers lacking Oxtr delivered viable pups, and parents displayed care for their young and raised them to the weanling stage. Together, our studies unexpectedly reveal that social attachment, parturition, and parental behavior can occur in the absence of Oxtr signaling in prairie voles.

Genome Sequences of 22 T1-like Bacteriophages That Infect Enterobacteriales.

Here, the full genome sequences of 22 T1-like bacteriophages isolated from wastewater are reported. Eight (BlueShadow, Brooksby, Devorator, ElisaCorrea, Reinasaurus, SorkZaugg, Supreme284, ZeroToHero) were isolated on Citrobacter, six on Klebsiella (Chell, FairDinkum, HazelMika, Opt-817, P528, PeteCarol), and eight on Escherichia (Fulano1, Mishu, Opt-719, PhleaSolo, Punny, Poky, Phunderstruck, Sadiya).

Genome Sequences of 14 Siphophages That Infect Serratia marcescens.

We announce the complete genome sequences of 14 Serratia bacteriophages isolated from wastewater treatment plants. These phages define two previously undescribed types which we call the Carrot-like phage cluster (phages Carrot, BigDog, LittleDog, Niamh, Opt-148, Opt-169, PhooPhighters, Rovert, Serratianator, Stoker, Swain, and Ulliraptor) and Tlacuache-like phage cluster (Tlacuache and Opt-155).

Complete Genome Sequences of Five Bacteriophages That Infect Enterobacteriales Hosts.

Full genome sequences of five bacteriophages that were isolated from raw sewage samples and infect Enterobacteriales hosts are presented. Brookers is a P22-like Proteus phage, OddieOddie is a 9g-like Escherichia coli phage, Diencephelon is a Kp3-like Klebsiella phage, and Rgz1 and Lilpapawes are classic T4-like and T7-like virulent Proteus phages, respectively.

Complete Genome Sequences of Six Chi-Like Bacteriophages That Infect Proteus and Klebsiella.

Proteus mirabilis and Klebsiella aerogenes are Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens that are responsible for nosocomial and health care-associated infections, including urinary tract infections. Here, the full genome sequences of six Chi-like Proteus (DanisaurMW, DoubleBarrel, Inception, Jing313, and NotEvenPhaged) or Klebsiella (Phraden) bacteriophages are announced, contributing to the understanding of Chi-like phages.

Complete Genome Sequences of Five SO-1-Like Siphoviridae Bacteriophages That Infect Enterobacteriales.

The Enterobacteriales order is composed of Gram-negative bacteria that range from harmless symbionts to well-studied pathogens. We announce complete genome sequences of five related SO-1-like Enterobacteriales bacteriophages (also known as the Dhillonvirus genus) isolated from wastewater that infect Escherichia coli (Opt-212, Over9000, Pubbukkers, and Teewinot) or Shigella boydii (StarDew).

Genome Sequences of 12 Phages That Infect Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a pathogen responsible for significant proportions of nosocomial and health care-associated infections and is known to acquire multiple antibiotic resistance genes. Here, we announce the full genome sequences of 12 K. pneumoniae bacteriophages from samples collected in wastewater treatment facilities across the western United States.

Structural instability and divergence from conserved residues underlie intracellular retention of mammalian odorant receptors.

Mammalian odorant receptors are a diverse and rapidly evolving set of G protein-coupled receptors expressed in olfactory cilia membranes. Most odorant receptors show little to no cell surface expression in nonolfactory cells due to endoplasmic reticulum retention, which has slowed down biochemical studies. Here we provide evidence that structural instability and divergence from conserved residues of individual odorant receptors underlie intracellular retention using a combination of large-scale screening of odorant receptors cell surface expression in heterologous cells, point mutations, structural modeling, and machine learning techniques. We demonstrate the importance of conserved residues by synthesizing consensus odorant receptors that show high levels of cell surface expression similar to conventional G protein-coupled receptors. Furthermore, we associate in silico structural instability with poor cell surface expression using molecular dynamics simulations. We propose an enhanced evolutionary capacitance of olfactory sensory neurons that enable the functional expression of odorant receptors with cryptic mutations.

Genome Sequences of Two Bacillus Phages Isolated from Indonesia.

Here, the genome sequences of two soil bacteriophages isolated from a red chili plantation in Indonesia are presented. The genome of vB_BspS_SplendidRed (42,859 bp) is highly similar to Bacillus phage Ray17 from the United States, while vB_BspM_MarvelLand (156,945 bp) is highly similar to Bacillus phage BC01 from South Korea.

A Novel, Highly Related Jumbo Family of Bacteriophages That Were Isolated Against Erwinia.

Erwinia amylovora is a plant pathogen from the Erwiniaceae family and a causative agent of the devastating agricultural disease fire blight. Here we characterize eight lytic bacteriophages of E. amylovora that we isolated from the Wasatch front (Utah, United States) that are highly similar to vB_EamM_Ea35-70 which was isolated in Ontario, Canada. With the genome size ranging from 271 to 275 kb, this is a novel jumbo family of bacteriophages. These jumbo bacteriophages were further characterized through genomic and proteomic comparison, mass spectrometry, host range and burst size. Their proteomes are highly unstudied, with over 200 putative proteins with no known homologs. The production of 27 of these putative proteins was confirmed by mass spectrometry analysis. These bacteriophages appear to be most similar to bacteriophages that infect Pseudomonas and Ralstonia rather than Enterobacteriales bacteria by protein similarity, however, we were only able to detect infection of Erwinia and the closely related strains of Pantoea.

Genomic comparison of 60 completely sequenced bacteriophages that infect Erwinia and/or Pantoea bacteria.

Erwinia and Pantoea are closely related bacterial plant pathogens in the Gram negative Enterobacteriales order. Sixty tailed bacteriophages capable of infecting these pathogens have been completely sequenced by investigators around the world and are in the current databases, 30 of which were sequenced by our lab. These 60 were compared to 991 other Enterobacteriales bacteriophage genomes and found to be, on average, just over twice the overall average length. These Erwinia and Pantoea phages comprise 20 clusters based on nucleotide and protein sequences. Five clusters contain only phages that infect the Erwinia and Pantoea genera, the other 15 clusters are closely related to bacteriophages that infect other Enterobacteriales; however, within these clusters the Erwinia and Pantoea phages tend to be distinct, suggesting ecological niche may play a diversification role. The failure of many of their encoded proteins to have predicted functions highlights the need for further study of these phages.

Genome Sequences of Nine Erwinia amylovora Bacteriophages.

Erwinia amylovora is a plant pathogen belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family, a family containing many plant and animal pathogens. Herein, we announce nine genome sequences of E. amylovora bacteriophages isolated from infected apple trees along the Wasatch Front in Utah.

An Antimicrobial Peptide and Its Neuronal Receptor Regulate Dendrite Degeneration in Aging and Infection.

Infections have been identified as possible risk factors for aging-related neurodegenerative diseases, but it remains unclear whether infection-related immune molecules have a causative role in neurodegeneration during aging. Here, we reveal an unexpected role of an epidermally expressed antimicrobial peptide, NLP-29 (neuropeptide-like protein 29), in triggering aging-associated dendrite degeneration in C. elegans. The age-dependent increase of nlp-29 expression is regulated by the epidermal tir-1/SARM-pmk-1/p38 MAPK innate immunity pathway. We further identify an orphan G protein-coupled receptor NPR-12 (neuropeptide receptor 12) acting in neurons as a receptor for NLP-29 and demonstrate that the autophagic machinery is involved cell autonomously downstream of NPR-12 to transduce degeneration signals. Finally, we show that fungal infections cause dendrite degeneration using a similar mechanism as in aging, through NLP-29, NPR-12, and autophagy. Our findings reveal an important causative role of antimicrobial peptides, their neuronal receptors, and the autophagy pathway in aging- and infection-associated dendrite degeneration.

Genome Sequences of 19 Novel Erwinia amylovora Bacteriophages.

Erwinia amylovora is the causal agent of fire blight, a devastating disease affecting some plants of the Rosaceae family. We isolated bacteriophages from samples collected from infected apple and pear trees along the Wasatch Front in Utah. We announce 19 high-quality complete genome sequences of E. amylovora bacteriophages.

Olfactory receptor accessory proteins play crucial roles in receptor function and gene choice.

Each of the olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) chooses to express a single G protein-coupled olfactory receptor (OR) from a pool of hundreds. Here, we show the receptor transporting protein (RTP) family members play a dual role in both normal OR trafficking and determining OR gene choice probabilities. Rtp1 and Rtp2 double knockout mice (RTP1,2DKO) show OR trafficking defects and decreased OSN activation. Surprisingly, we discovered a small subset of the ORs are expressed in larger numbers of OSNs despite the presence of fewer total OSNs in RTP1,2DKO. Unlike typical ORs, some overrepresented ORs show robust cell surface expression in heterologous cells without the co-expression of RTPs. We present a model in which developing OSNs exhibit unstable OR expression until they choose to express an OR that exits the ER or undergo cell death. Our study sheds light on the new link between OR protein trafficking and OR transcriptional regulation.

Do industrial incidents in the chemical sector create equity market contagion?

INTRODUCTION: This paper examines a number of US chemical industry incidents and their effect on equity prices of the incident company. Furthermore, this paper then examines the contagion effect of this incident on direct competitors. METHOD: Event study methodology is used to assess the impact of chemical incidents on both incident and competitor companies. RESULTS: This paper finds that the incident company experiences deeper negative abnormal returns as the number of injuries and fatalities as a result of the incident increases. The equity value of the competitor companies suffer substantial losses stemming from contagion effects when disasters that occur cause ten or more injuries and fatalities, but benefit from the incident through increasing equity value when the level of injury and fatality is minor. CONCLUSIONS: Presence of contagion suggests collective action may reduce value destruction brought about by safety incidents that result in significant injury or loss of life. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This research can be used as a resource to promote and justify the cost of safety mechanisms within the chemical industry, as incidents have been shown to negatively affect the equity value of the not just the incident company, but also their direct competitors.

On-line characterization of metabolic state in batch cultivation of Clostridium diolis for 1,3-propanediol production using NADH+H+ fluorescence.

NADH is a coenzyme which plays a central role in cellular growth and metabolism. It is an intracellular fluorophore which fluoresces at 460 nm when cells are irradiated by 340 nm wavelength of light. The application of NADH+H(+) fluorescence measurement for characterization of biomass and its metabolic activity during batch fermentation of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) using Clostridium diolis was investigated in this study. A linear correlation between net fluorescence and biomass concentration was observed during both the initial and final phases of 1,3-PD fermentation. This could be used as an on-line indicator of biomass concentration inside the bioreactor thereby eliminating the need for sampling and off-line analysis for establishing biomass concentration during these phases. Also a sharp decline in the NADH+H(+) fluorescence value was obtained towards the end of fermentation which could be a significant on-line, in situ signal of substrate depletion in the bioreactor and therefore possible fresh nutrient feed for enhanced production of 1,3-PD by repetitive and/or various fed-batch cultivation(s). This is the first report on the use of NADH + H(+) fluorescence measurement technique for 1,3-PD fermentation.