Compounds shown to thwart stubborn pathogen's social propensity

ScienceDaily (Aug. 21, 2012) ? Acinetobacter baumanni, a pathogenic bacterium that is a poster child of deadly hospital acquired infections, is one tough customer.

It resists most antibiotics, is seemingly immune to disinfectants, and can survive desiccation with ease. Indeed, the prevalence with which it infects soldiers wounded in Iraq earned it the nickname "Iraqibacter."

In the United States, it is the bane of hospitals, opportunistically infecting patients through open wounds, catheters and breathing tubes. Some estimates suggest it kills tens of thousands of people annually.

But like many species of bacteria, A. baumanni is a social creature. In order to unleash its pathogenic potential, current research suggests that it must accumulate into large colonies or aggregate into "biofilms." To do this, it uses a microbial trick called quorum sensing, where chemical signals are used by the bacterium to gather and sense a critical mass of cells, which then act in unison to exert virulence, which in human patients can manifest itself in the form of pneumonia as well as urinary tract and blood infections.

Interfering with the quorum sensing behavior, some scientists think, may prove to be the Achilles heel of A. baumanni and other microbial pathogens, and new research by chemists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison now gives traction to that idea.

In a study by UW-Madison chemistry Professor Helen Blackwell and her colleagues, and published online in the journal ACS Chemical Biology, certain small molecule chemicals that can disrupt quorum sensing in A. baumanni have been identified, providing a glimmer of hope that the stubborn pathogen can be tamed.

"Right now, there are no approved drugs out there to modulate (quorum sensing), explains Blackwell, a leading expert on the phenomenon in microbes. "The strategy is not to kill the bacterium, but to keep it from behaving badly."

Blackwell explains that A. baumanni and other bacterial pathogens behave differently once a certain population threshold is crossed: "When working as a group, they initiate behaviors different from those observed in an individual cell. They have the ability to take on more complex tasks, and many pathogens use quorum sensing to initiate certain group behaviors."

In A. baumanni and other troublesome microbes, those behaviors include increased virulence and the ability to form biofilms, a state that in A. baumanni is linked it its ability to persist on surfaces, sometimes for weeks at a time, and withstand antibiotic treatment.

Quorum sensing is governed by chemical signaling, notes Blackwell. Bacteria can get a sense of how many cells have gathered by assessing the concentration of chemical signals that they emit. By interfering with those signals, it may be possible to control behaviors such as biofilm formation and movement and thereby limit the virulence of A. baumanni.

"The way a quorum sensing modulator would work is that it wouldn't kill (the microbes), it would just just keep them from behaving badly," says Blackwell.

Combing libraries of potential quorum sensing modulators, Blackwell and her colleagues have identified a handful of compounds that effectively disrupt the signaling pathway A. baumanni depends on.

Although the compounds look promising, Blackwell emphasizes that they will likely find their first use in the lab as research tools. Quorum sensing is still not well understood, she explains, and much more research needs to be done before these compounds or others can be deployed in hospitals and other settings to disrupt deadly pathogens.

However, Blackwell expressed confidence that more such quorum sensing compounds remain to be found and next-generation agents may then be ready to tackle pathogens that are rapidly evolving resistance to our best drugs.

In addition to Blackwell, co-authors of the new research include graduate students Danielle M. Stacy and Michael A. Welsh, also of UW-Madison's Department of Chemistry; and Prof. Philip N. Rather of Emory University. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation Shaw Scientist Program, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and Johnson & Johnson.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Wisconsin-Madison. The original article was written by Terry Devitt.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Danielle M. Stacy, Michael A. Welsh, Philip N. Rather, Helen E. Blackwell. Attenuation of Quorum Sensing in the PathogenAcinetobacter baumanniiUsing Non-nativeN-Acyl Homoserine Lactones. ACS Chemical Biology, 2012; : 120814105147005 DOI: 10.1021/cb300351x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/A4bWhrCeBqA/120821162531.htm

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Data mining the classics makes for beautiful science

8 hrs.

Devin Coldewey

Statistics and data mining aren't typically associated with literary analysis, but new research suggests that such objective methods may be both powerful and relevant. Not everyone is impressed, including scholars who don't care to be replaced by supercomputers.

Matthew Jockers, assistant professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has devised a method of comparing thousands of books to one another in order to find systems of influence, schools of thought?and other groupings that may not be obvious to literary theorists. He calls it macroanalysis.

"We need to?go beyond our traditional practice of close reading and go out to a different scale," Jockers told NBC News. "The traditional practice of close reading allows us to look at the bark on the trees, while the macroanalytic allows us to see the whole forest." Modern programming and data mining tools, combined with widely available digital texts, make this approach possible.

His system processed thousands of digital books from the 19th- and late 18th centuries ? a period?chosen because the works are free, plentiful and subject to a wealth of theory already. The books are examined on dozens of measures, from word choice to punctuation to overarching theme. The end result is a unique "book signal" that allows it to be compared to other books and eventually plotted in a sort of similarity space, where closely related books are near one another, and differing books are distant.

It makes for a striking graphical representation:

But it's not just about making a pretty picture. By looking at how books are distributed based on certain metrics, there are many trends and facts to be gleaned.

Some aren't particularly surprising, like the fact that Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott are rated very highly for originality and influence.?But less obvious things emerge as well. Jockers' systematic approach helped illuminate the reasons for a decline in the visibility of Irish-American authors early in the 20th century, closing?a gap in knowledge that had been speculated about for years (for those interested, it turns out they temporarily changed the seat of their literary voice to more rural, western climes, away from the urban, eastern areas with which they are traditionally associated).

And other powerful patterns emerge: female authors, for instance, were grouped closely at one end of the book space, even though their gender was not part of how they were placed. You can see it in the rendering below;?the darker-colored areas represent groups of women authors. So female authorship?is indeed detectable, not just by well-honed human intuition but by objective measures.

Other themes and measures can also be shown to group or separate themselves, so certain styles, eras?and so on can be described not just anecdotally, but systematically, using nothing but the text as data.

Naturally, there are objections. Jockers is aware of them: "One of the?criticisms is that it succeeds in refinding what we already knew." In other words, why bother proving statistically what we already know from close reading?

But other sciences have different methods for obtaining the same result, such as measuring the diameter of the Earth or the pH of an acid. Why shouldn't literary theory have the same thing? "These are not competing methodologies, but complementary ones," explained Jockers. For instance, while the approach showed definite clustering of female authors, an interesting finding, this level of organization fails to show that many of the best-known works by women were in fact not in that group. Pointing that out and examining why it is so are jobs best done by humans. So as the high-level approach?presents a new perspective, it?may prompt new work in more?traditional fields as well.

Macroanalysis could be applied to modern literature as well, and of course other languages, but it's not just a box where you put in books and out comes theory. It takes critical thought to dissect the results and apply them to existing thought. But it's not hard to imagine new books coming out with a computer-determined thematic and stylistic analysis printed on the dust cover.

The work was presented as a paper and talk in Hamburg, but in its final form it will be the final chapter of a book Jockers is working on called "Macroanalysis: Digital Methods and Literary History," due to be published soon by University of Illinois Press. He's?trying not to make it too dry: "I want this to appeal to my literary?colleagues who aren't programmers. It's not laden with theoretical jargon."?Curious statisticians and literary theorists alike?should find it an interesting read.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/data-mining-classics-makes-beautiful-science-954577

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Pet Products and Gift Ideas pertaining to Dogs - Total Vibration

Giving offers is one of the most common methods we show each of our appreciation and affection for those we care regarding. This is usually done through holidays and special occasions such as Christmas as well as birthdays. However, this particular tradition is not tied to humans as we can also give gifts to your furry companions. Several dog lovers believe that their pets deserve these types of special offerings also.

There are a number of considerations that one must remember when shopping for these cute and cuddly pets. You can choose a thing fun that they can have fun with or other items that they?re able to use for sleeping or eating. Here are some unique gift ideas that will help you with your selection:

Goodie basket

You can assembled a basket filled with your canine?s favourite goodies. This can include soft rawhide, milk bones, as well as goodies that will help boost his breath. You will find there?s wide variety of such products on the market, so you won?t run out of options. Simply keep in mind though that whenever shopping, be sure to consider any allergies along with sensitivities that your puppy might have.

Toys

You?ll never go wrong if you decided to go with toys. Forms of available in different kinds, so you have plenty of selections. Opt for the kind which is durable and easy to wash. Knot balls, as well as rope, water, and fetching toys, are among the most popular products you can buy.

Comfortable bed

Since these hairy creatures tend to spend a lot of time lying around, you can consider purchasing a comfortable your bed for them. These Pet Supplies can be found in many sizes, but be sure to select the one that best suits your canine. It would also be best to select one with a removable cover so that it will probably be easier for you to clean.

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These include collars, giving mats and bowls, and leads. There are numerous styles, colours, and fashions that you can choose from, so feel free to have fun with your own selection. You can also choose adorable clothing items such as tutus, coats, and sports jerseys.

Doggy Childcare gift card

Give your current four-legged friend a fun evening to go out and also play at the community doggy day care center. Most of these places get playgrounds with all types of structures, playthings, and in many cases pools that your animal can enjoy. This will additionally give you the opportunity to look after work and other errands.

With these helpful tips, you will be able to choose the best product that you beloved pet will certainly love.

For more information about Pet Products please visit the website.

Source: http://blog.thorsrubberhammer.com/2012/08/pet-products-and-gift-ideas-pertaining-to-dogs/

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Filmmaker teaches movie magic to Chiles slum kids | The Eagle ...

LO HERMIDA, Chile ? Inside the community center for this slum where children shiver in the winter chill, dozens of kids are dreaming of flying away. Their pilot is 9-year-old Benjamin Ortega, who tips his hat inside their cardboard plane and calls for takeoff while an old 16-mm projector rolls and clicks, projecting Walt Disney?s 1928 classic film Plane Crazy on a white sheet.

As the first black-and-white images of Mickey Mouse pop up, they roar with laughter. The 83-year-old woman responsible for their joy smiles faintly, paying no attention to the movie. She?s more interested in these starry-eyed kids, who have never walked into a cinema.

Her name is Alicia Vega, a no-nonsense filmmaker who has seen that look during 27 years of workshops. In slum after slum, all across Chile, she has helped thousands of poor children soar by teaching them about the magic of movies.

Film, she says, has a uniquely transformative power.

?My intention was never for them to become filmmakers, but for them to become better human beings, to discover themselves,? says Vega, who recently documented her life?s work in a book, Film Workshop for Children, so others might be inspired to follow her lead.

?Movies help children escape poverty because it lifts their self-esteem. They learn values, it expands their culture. It?s universal: Kids are kids anywhere and they learn a lot through images,? she says.

In her four-month workshops, children start by making devices that preceded the first projected moving images, like the Zoetrope ? a cylinder with vertical slits surrounding a band of pictures that come alive when spun. The children often take the toys back home and teach their parents that the name comes from the Greek words ?zoe? for alive and ?trope? for turn.

?The Zoetrope impressed me most, because I never imagined that an inanimate image could have movement. It was shocking,? recalls Leonardo Veliz, 38, who used to sell shoelaces in the streets when he attended Vega?s workshop in 1987 at age 13. He now works as an electrical technician.

?I was surprised to see how movies were made, or to find out that the first ones were silent. The classes awakened my curiosity,? Veliz says. ?We learned that images are not really what they seem at first, and this has helped me at work. I?ll be repairing computers for hours, and I also have to find a way to see things in a different way.?

Studying cinema history, the kids sneeze together after watching Vega?s 16-mm copy of the earliest surviving motion picture, the 1894 Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze. Children pencil handlebar moustaches on their faces and dress in 19th century clothes to watch images of a train arriving at a station, famously shown to a shocked public by the Lumiere Brothers in Paris. Of the mustachioed brothers, sometimes they ask: ?Which one is Louis and which one Auguste??

On other days, they wear top hats and giggle at the slapstick comedy of Laurel and Hardy or Charlie Chaplin?s first silent films. They discover shots and angles behind a real camera, construct a box office and pay for their classroom cinema using fake bills. And they always enjoy snacks during screenings.

?I?ve never been to the movie theater but I want to learn what a movie is and how it?s made. I like this a lot,? says Ortega, the 9-year-old ?pilot? of the cardboard plane.

Kids also watch the moving stick figures of the century-old Fantasmagorie, the world?s first cartoon. Eventually, frame by frame, they will draw their own moving images ? of dinosaurs, soccer players, ships and trains ? to make their own movie. They also grasp the difference between film and documentary or real life.

Source: http://www.theeagle.com/article/20120820/BC0304/120829983/1090&source=RSS

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Curiosity rover begins vaporizing Mars, one rock at a time

A Martian rock dubbed 'Coronation' became the first victim of the Curiosity rover's ChemCam, which vaporizes rocks with a laser and examines the sparks to determine the chemical composition of the Red Planet's surface.

By SPACE.com Staff / August 20, 2012

This artist concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Enlarge

A NASA rover has fired the first laser gun on Mars to take a peek inside a small Martian rock.

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The?Mars rover Curiosity?zapped a rock scientists are now calling "Coronation" on Sunday (Aug. 19) to test an instrument that measures the composition of targets hit by its powerful laser beam. The rover fired 30 laser pulses in 10 seconds at the fist-size Coronation rock in order to analyze the results.

"We got a great spectrum of Coronation ? lots of signal," said Roger Wiens, lead scientist for the rover's laser-wielding instrument at the Los Almos National Laboratory in New Mexico, in a statement. "Our team is both thrilled and working hard, looking at the results. After eight years building the instrument, it's payoff time!"

Curiosity's?Chemical and Camera instrument, or ChemCam, fires a laser pulses that last just five one-billionths of a second but deliver more than a million watts of power, enough to turn solid rock into an ionized plasma. A trio of spectrometers in the tool then studies the sparks from the laser fire on 6,144 different wavelengths of ultraviolet, visible and infrared light to determine the composition of the vaporized rock.

Sunday's laser firing was primarily target practice for Curiosity, but early results suggest the high-tech instrument is working well, mission managers said. Data from the test showed ChemCam is performing even better than in ground tests on Earth, they added.

"It's so rich, we can expect great science from investigating what might be thousands of targets with ChemCam in the next two years," said instrument deputy project scientist Sylvestre Maurice of the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Plan?tologie (IRAP) in Toulouse, France.

ChemCam is one of 10 instruments packed on Curiosity that rely on the rover's plutonium power source to study?Mars. The $2.5 billion rover landed on the Red Planet on Aug. 5 and is expected to explore its Gale Crater landing site for the next two years to determine if the region could have ever supported microbial life.

You can SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/XgOA2J5EZms/Curiosity-rover-begins-vaporizing-Mars-one-rock-at-a-time

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