Monoclonal antibodies reveal the potential of the tetragnathid spider Pachygnatha degeeri (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) as an aphid predator

2005 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.D. Harwood ◽  
K.D. Sunderland ◽  
W.O.C. Symondson
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Generalist Predators ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Aphid Predators ◽  
Predator Complex ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Establishment Phase

AbstractThe drive towards a more sustainable and integrated approach to pest management has engendered a renewed interest in conservation biological control, the role of natural enemy communities and their interactions with prey. Monoclonal antibodies have provided significant advances in enhancing our knowledge of trophic interactions and can be employed to help quantify predation on target species. The tetragnathid spider Pachygnatha degeeri Sundevall was collected from fields of winter wheat in the UK and assayed by ELISA for aphid proteins. It was demonstrated that this spider did not simply consume greater quantities of aphids because it was bigger. In addition, P. degeeri contained significantly greater concentrations of aphid in their guts than other spiders, showing that aphids comprised a greater proportion of their diet. Although P. degeeri constituted only 6% of the spider population numerically, females and males respectively contained 16% and 37% of total aphid proteins within all spiders screened, significantly more than their density would predict. These spiders also preyed upon aphids at a disproportionately high rate in June, during the aphid establishment phase, theoretically the best time for limiting growth in the aphid population. Although less abundant than other generalist predators, the capability of these hunting spiders to consume large numbers of aphids highlights them as a more significant component of the predator complex than had previously been realized. Limitation of aphid numbers early in the year by generalist predators provides more time for the specialist aphid predators and parasitoids to move in.

scholarly journals A Possible Role of Remdesivir and Plasma Therapy in the Selective Sweep and Emergence of New SARS-CoV-2 Variants

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 3276
Author(s):  
Philippe Colson ◽  
Christian A. Devaux ◽  
Jean-Christophe Lagier ◽  
Philippe Gautret ◽  
Didier Raoult
Keyword(s):  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Selective Sweep ◽  
Immune Escape ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Immunocompromised Patients ◽  
Plasma Therapy ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Experimental Therapies ◽  
The Uk

Since summer 2020, SARS-CoV-2 strains at the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic have suddenly been replaced by new SARS-CoV-2 variants, some of which are highly transmissible and spread at a high rate. These variants include the Marseille-4 lineage (Nextclade 20A.EU2) in Europe, the 20I/501Y.V1 variant first detected in the UK, the 20H/501Y.V2 variant first detected in South Africa, and the 20J/501Y.V3 variant first detected in Brazil. These variants are characterized by multiple mutations in the viral spike protein that is targeted by neutralizing antibodies elicited in response to infection or vaccine immunization. The usual coronavirus mutation rate through genetic drift alone cannot account for such rapid changes. Recent reports of the occurrence of such mutations in immunocompromised patients who received remdesivir and/or convalescent plasma or monoclonal antibodies to treat prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infections led us to hypothesize that experimental therapies that fail to cure the patients from COVID-19 could favor the emergence of immune escape SARS-CoV-2 variants. We review here the data that support this hypothesis and urge physicians and clinical trial promoters to systematically monitor viral mutations by whole-genome sequencing for patients who are administered these treatments.

Private water supplies and the local authority role: results of a UK national survey

1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 41-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.M. Shepherd ◽  
A.P. Wyn-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Contaminated Water ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Potable Water Supply ◽  
The Uk

There are more than 100,000 private water supplies within the UK serving about a million people. The Private Water Regulations 1991 provide a framework for Local Authorities to monitor these supplies within their areas. Geographical distribution is variable with some Authorities responsible for large numbers of private sources. Sampling programmes are dependent on the abstraction volume or the number of consumers; some supplies may be monitored only annually or even less frequently. Seasonal variation of water quality may allow contaminated water to be consumed undetected by the Authority and may constitute a risk of illness to the consumer. This national survey of all the UK Local Authorities assesses the distribution, classification and quality of UK private water supplies. Incidence of sample non-compliance, complaints regarding water quality and suspected illness due to possible microbial contamination are addressed. The role of the Authorities in maintaining a safe potable water supply from private sources and the difficulties encountered in implementation of the Regulations are discussed.

scholarly journals Healthcare scandals and the failings of doctors

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Mannion ◽  
Huw Davies ◽  
Martin Powell ◽  
John Blenkinsopp ◽  
Ross Millar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Public Inquiry ◽  
Systemic Factors ◽  
Uk National Health Service ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether official inquiries are an effective method for holding the medical profession to account for failings in the quality and safety of care. Design/methodology/approach Through a review of the theoretical literature on professions and documentary analysis of key public inquiry documents and reports in the UK National Health Service (NHS) the authors examine how the misconduct of doctors can be understood using the metaphor of professional wrongdoing as a product of bad apples, bad barrels or bad cellars. Findings The wrongdoing literature tends to present an uncritical assumption of increasing sophistication in analysis, as the focus moves from bad apples (individuals) to bad barrels (organisations) and more latterly to bad cellars (the wider system). This evolution in thinking about wrongdoing is also visible in public inquiries, as analysis and recommendations increasingly tend to emphasise cultural and systematic issues. Yet, while organisational and systemic factors are undoubtedly important, there is a need to keep in sight the role of individuals, for two key reasons. First, there is growing evidence that a small number of doctors may be disproportionately responsible for large numbers of complaints and concerns. Second, there is a risk that the role of individual professionals in drawing attention to wrongdoing is being neglected. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first theoretical and empirical study specifically exploring the role of NHS inquiries in holding the medical profession to account for failings in professional practice.

Localization of Intracisternal a Particle Antigens in Neoplastic Cells and Preimplantation Mouse Embryos

1980 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 696-697
Author(s):  
Thomas T.F. Huang ◽  
Patricia G. Calarco
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Normal Development ◽  
Mouse Embryos ◽  
Neoplastic Cells ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Preimplantation Mouse Embryos ◽  
Preimplantation Mouse ◽  
Intracisternal A Particle ◽  
Normal Feature

The stage specific appearance of a retravirus, termed the Intracisternal A particle (IAP) is a normal feature of early preimplantation development. To date, all feral and laboratory strains of Mus musculus and even Asian species such as Mus cervicolor and Mus pahari express the particles during the 2-8 cell stages. IAP form by budding into the endoplasmic reticulum and appear singly or as groups of donut-shaped particles within the cisternae (fig. 1). IAP are also produced in large numbers in several neoplastic cells such as certain plasmacytomas and rhabdomyosarcomas. The role of IAP, either in normal development or in neoplastic behavior, is unknown.

A Molecular Approach to Immunoscintigraphy: A Study of the T-Antigen Conformation on the Surface of Tumors

1987 ◽  
Vol 26 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Selvaraj ◽  
M. R. Suresh ◽  
G. McLean ◽  
D. Willans ◽  
C. Turner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
T Antigen ◽  
Human Carcinomas ◽  
Animal Tumor ◽  
Synthetic Antigens

The role of glycoconjugates in tumor cell differentiation has been well documented. We have examined the expression of the two anomers of the Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen on the surface of human, canine and murine tumor cell membranes both in vitro and in vivo. This has been accomplished through the synthesis of the disaccharide terminal residues in both a and ß configuration. Both entities were used to generate murine monoclonal antibodies which recognized the carbohydrate determinants. The determination of fine specificities of these antibodies was effected by means of cellular uptake, immunohistopathology and immunoscintigraphy. Examination of pathological specimens of human and canine tumor tissue indicated that the expressed antigen was in the β configuration. More than 89% of all human carcinomas tested expressed the antigen in the above anomeric form. The combination of synthetic antigens and monoclonal antibodies raised specifically against them provide us with invaluable tools for the study of tumor marker expression in humans and their respective animal tumor models.

Plasminogen Activation In Vivo upon Intravenous Infusion of DDAVP

1992 ◽  
Vol 67 (01) ◽  
pp. 111-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Levi ◽  
Jan Paul de Boer ◽  
Dorina Roem ◽  
Jan Wouter ten Cate ◽  
C Erik Hack
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Plasma Levels ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Fibrinolytic System ◽  
Plasminogen Activation ◽  
Plasminogen Activator Activity ◽  
Insight Into

SummaryInfusion of desamino-d-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) results in an increase in plasma plasminogen activator activity. Whether this increase results in the generation of plasmin in vivo has never been established.A novel sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the measurement of the complex between plasmin and its main inhibitor α2 antiplasmin (PAP complex) was developed using monoclonal antibodies preferentially reacting with complexed and inactivated α2-antiplasmin and monoclonal antibodies against plasmin. The assay was validated in healthy volunteers and in patients with an activated fibrinolytic system.Infusion of DDAVP in a randomized placebo controlled crossover study resulted in all volunteers in a 6.6-fold increase in PAP complex, which was maximal between 15 and 30 min after the start of the infusion. Hereafter, plasma levels of PAP complex decreased with an apparent half-life of disappearance of about 120 min. Infusion of DDAVP did not induce generation of thrombin, as measured by plasma levels of prothrombin fragment F1+2 and thrombin-antithrombin III (TAT) complex.We conclude that the increase in plasminogen activator activity upon the infusion of DDAVP results in the in vivo generation of plasmin, in the absence of coagulation activation. Studying the DDAVP induced increase in PAP complex of patients with thromboembolic disease and a defective plasminogen activator response upon DDAVP may provide more insight into the role of the fibrinolytic system in the pathogenesis of thrombosis.

Management of deradicalisation in the UK: reflections of a clinical psychologist

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feryad A. Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Psychologist ◽  
Healthcare Team ◽  
Psychosocial Issues ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
Violent Action ◽  
Clinical Counselling ◽  
The Uk

Radicalisation to violent action is not just a problem in foreign lands. Research has identified numerous politico–psychosocial factors to explain why young people from the UK are now joining terrorist groups such as ISIS. Our understanding has been expanded by the accounts of “returnees” who have subsequently either self-deradicalised or joined a government deradicalisation programme in the role of an Intervention Provider (IP). These individuals are now key to the deradicalisation programme. This article presents the reflections of a clinical psychologist who worked within a social healthcare team managing psychosocial issues related to radicalisation, in conjunction with an allocated IP. The project involved individuals from the Muslim community and, as such, issues discussed are specific to this group. It is acknowledged that the process in general is universally applicable to all groups though specifics may vary (under Trust agreement, details may not be discussed). This article also aims to share basic information on the current Home Office deradicalisation programme and raises questions about the current intervention. It also offers reflections on how the work of IPs may be facilitated and supported by clinical/counselling psychologists and psychotherapists.

Crucial role of physiotherapy in treating COVID-19 patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 967-971
Author(s):  
Poonam Thakre ◽  
Waqar M. Naqvi ◽  
Trupti Deshmukh ◽  
Nikhil Ingole ◽  
Sourabh Deshmukh
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Distress Syndrome ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Front Line ◽  
The Many ◽  
Sixth International

The emergence in China of 2019 of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2) previously provisionally names 2019-nCoV disease (COVID19) caused major global outbreak and is a major public health problem. On 30 January 2020, the WHO declared COVID19 to be the sixth international public health emergency. This present pandemic has engrossed the globe with a high rate of mortality. As a front line practitioner, physiotherapists are expected to be getting in direct contact with patients infected with the virus. That’s why it is necessary for understanding the many aspects of their role in the identification, contains, reduces and treats the symptoms of this disease. The main presentation is the involvement of respiratory system with symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, sneezing and characteristics of pneumonia leads to ARDS(Acute respiratory distress syndrome) also land up in multiorgan dysfunction syndrome. This text describes and suggests physiotherapy management of acute COVID-19 patients. It also includes recommendations and guidelines for physiotherapy planning and management. It also covers the guidelines regarding personal care and equipment used for treatment which can be used in the treatment of acute adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

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