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The transport of antigen from the periphery to the draining lymph node (DLN) is critical for T-cell priming but remains poorly studied during infection with Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). To address this we employed a mouse model to track the traffic of Dendritic cells (DCs) and mycobacteria from the BCG inoculation site in the skin to the DLN. Detection of BCG in the DLN was concomitant with the priming of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells at that site. We found EpCAMlow CD11bhigh migratory skin DCs to be mobilized during the transport of BCG to the DLN. Migratory skin DCs distributed to the T-cell area of the LN, co-localized with BCG and were found in close apposition to antigen-specific CD4+ T cells. Consequently, blockade of skin DC traffic into DLN dramatically reduced mycobacterial entry into DLN and muted T-cell priming. Interestingly, DC and mycobacterial entry into the DLN was dependent on IL-1R-I, MyD88, TNFR-I and IL-12p40. In addition, we found using DC adoptive transfers that the requirement for MyD88 in BCG-triggered migration was not restricted to the migrating DC itself and that hematopoietic expression of MyD88 was needed in part for full-fledged migration. Our observations thus identify a population of DCs that contribute towards the priming of CD4+ T cells to BCG infection by transporting bacilli into the DLN in an IL-1R-MyD88-dependent manner and reveal both DC-intrinsic and -extrinsic requirements for MyD88 in DC migration., Funding Details: Stiftelsen Lars Hiertas MinneQC 20160205

Polyculture systems can promote greater economic efficiency with decreased use of inputs, making the activity more sustainable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the economic feasibility to grow-out lambari (Deuterodon iguape) in cages installed in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) ponds. We calculated operational costs and determined the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Net Present Value (NPV) and the Pay Back Period (PBP) to assess the economic viability of the investment. In a ten-year horizon, the largest positive NPV obtained was $ 83,082.55 for the sale price of $ 0.09 unit-1 of lambari and $ 2.11 kg-1 of Nile tilapia. Under these conditions, the IRR was 61% and PBP was 1.58 years, considered a low risk result due to the speed of the return on invested capital. A simulation of increase the prices of commercial diets shows that the polyculture system can be economic unfeasible if the farmer cannot access the market of live baits for lambari. The polyculture system is economic feasible, even assuming an annual loss of production, considering selling lambari as live baits.

Moraxella catarrhalis is one of the three most common causative bacterial pathogens of otitis media, however no effective vaccine against M. catarrhalis has been developed so far. To identify M. catarrhalis vaccine candidate antigens, we used carefully selected sera from children with otitis media and healthy individuals to screen small-fragment genomic libraries that are expressed to display frame-selected peptides on a bacterial cell surface. This ANTIGENome technology led to the identification of 214 antigens, 23 of which were selected by in vitro or in vivo studies for additional characterization. Eight of the 23 candidates were tested in a Moraxella mouse pulmonary clearance model, and 3 of these antigens induced significantly faster bacterial clearance compared to adjuvant or to the previously characterized antigen OmpCD. The most significant protection data were obtained with the antigen MCR_1416 (Msp22), which was further investigated for its biological function by in vitro studies suggesting that Msp22 is a heme binding protein. This study comprises one of the most exhaustive studies to identify potential vaccine candidate antigens against the bacterial pathogen M. catarrhalis.

We present an inflationary model preceded by a bounce in a metric $f(R)$ theory. In this model, modified gravity affects only the early stages of the universe. We analyse the predicted spectrum of the gravitational waves in this scenario using the method of the Bogoliubov coefficients. We show that there are distinctive (oscillatory) signals on the spectrum for very low frequencies; i.e., corresponding to modes that are currently entering the horizon., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Contribution to the Spanish Relativity Meeting in Portugal 2012 (ERE2012), Guimaraes, Portugal

Em atendimento a uma demanda de produtores locais, o objetivo deste trabalho foi testar procedimentos básicos para a reprodução artificial do lambari Deuterodon iguape, coletado na bacia do rio Itanhaém, litoral sul do estado de São Paulo. Durante o período de julho a dezembro de 2011, foram replicados dois tratamentos nas fêmeas: I - dose única de extrato hipofisário de carpa de 6 mg kg-1; II - duas doses de extrato hipofisário, sendo a preparatória de 0,6 mg kg-1 e a decisiva de 6,0 mg kg-1, com dez horas de intervalo. Os machos receberam dose única de extrato hipofisário de 2,0 mg kg-1, após a última aplicação nas fêmeas. As taxas de respostas positivas (desova) foram de 47,73% no tratamento com duas doses e 9,09% no de dose única de extrato hipofisário. A quantidade média de pós-larvas produzidas por fêmea foi de 575 no tratamento com dose única e 1071 no tratamento com duas doses. O tratamento com duas doses de extrato hipofisário de carpa foi mais vantajoso, pois além de ter obtido maior porcentagem de fêmeas que desovaram, quase dobrou a quantidade de pós-larvas produzidas por fêmea.

We explore the consequences of loop quantum cosmology (inverse-volume corrections) in the spectrum of the gravitational waves using the method of the Bogoliubov coefficients. These corrections are taken into account at the background level of the theory as well as at the first order in the perturbations theory framework. We show that these corrections lead to an intense graviton production during the loop super-inflationary phase prior to the standard slow-roll era, which leave their imprints through new features on the energy spectrum of the gravitational waves as would be measured today, including a new maximum on the low frequency end of the spectrum., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. RevTex4-1 Expanded version. Version accepted in PRD

Moraxella catarrhalis is one of the three most common causative bacterial pathogens of otitis media, however no effective vaccine against M. catarrhalis has been developed so far. To identify M. catarrhalis vaccine candidate antigens, we used carefully selected sera from children with otitis media and healthy individuals to screen small-fragment genomic libraries that are expressed to display frame-selected peptides on a bacterial cell surface. This ANTIGENome technology led to the identification of 214 antigens, 23 of which were selected by in vitro or in vivo studies for additional characterization. Eight of the 23 candidates were tested in a Moraxella mouse pulmonary clearance model, and 3 of these antigens induced significantly faster bacterial clearance compared to adjuvant or to the previously characterized antigen OmpCD. The most significant protection data were obtained with the antigen MCR_1416 (Msp22), which was further investigated for its biological function by in vitro studies suggesting that Msp22 is a heme binding protein. This study comprises one of the most exhaustive studies to identify potential vaccine candidate antigens against the bacterial pathogen M. catarrhalis.

We present an inflationary model preceded by a bounce in a metric theory a l\'{a} $f(R)$ where $R$ is the scalar curvature of the space-time. The model is asymptotically de Sitter such that the gravitational action tends asymptotically to a Hilbert-Einstein action, therefore modified gravity affects only the early stages of the universe. We then analyse the spectrum of the gravitational waves through the method of the Bogoliubov coefficients by two means: taking into account the gravitational perturbations due to the modified gravitational action in the $f(R)$ setup and by simply considering those perturbations inherent to the standard Hilbert-Einstein action. We show that there are distinctive (oscillatory) signals on the spectrum for very low frequencies; i.e. corresponding to modes that are currently entering the horizon., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. Extensively expanded version. References added. Version accepted in PRD