Subcutaneous immunization with a novel immunogenic candidate (urease) confers protection against Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis infections

Brucellosis is a world prevalent endemic illness that is transmitted from domestic animals to humans. Brucella spp. exploits urease for survival in the harsh conditions of stomach during the gastrointestinal infection. In this study, we examined the immune response and the protection elicited by using recombinant Brucella urease (rUrease) vaccination in BALB/c mice. The urease gene was cloned in pET28a and the resulting recombinant protein was employed as subunit vaccine. Recombinant protein was administered subcutaneously and intraperitoneally. Dosage reduction was observed with subcutaneous (SC) vaccination when compared with intraperitoneal (IP) vaccination. rUrease induced mixed Th1–Th2 immune responses with high titers of specific IgG1 and IgG2a. In lymphocyte proliferation assay, splenocytes from IP and SC‐vaccinated mice displayed a strong recall proliferative response with high amounts of IL‐4, IL‐12 and IFN‐γ production. Vaccinated mice were challenged with virulent Brucella melitensis, B. abortus and B. suis. The SC vaccination route exhibited a higher degree of protection than IP vaccination (p value ≤ 0.05). Altogether, our results indicated that rUrease could be a useful antigen candidate for the development of subunit vaccines against brucellosis.     

Parts‐based representations of perceived face movements in the superior temporal sulcus

Facial motion is a primary source of social information about other humans. Prior fMRI studies have identified regions of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) that respond specifically to perceived face movements (termed fSTS), but little is known about the nature of motion representations in these regions. Here we use fMRI and multivoxel pattern analysis to characterize the representational content of the fSTS. Participants viewed a set of specific eye and mouth movements, as well as combined eye and mouth movements. Our results demonstrate that fSTS response patterns contain information about face movements, including subtle distinctions between types of eye and mouth movements. These representations generalize across the actor performing the movement, and across small differences in visual position. Critically, patterns of response to combined movements could be well predicted by linear combinations of responses to individual eye and mouth movements, pointing to a parts‐based representation of complex face movements. These results indicate that the fSTS plays an intermediate role in the process of inferring social content from visually perceived face movements, containing a representation that is sufficiently abstract to generalize across low‐level visual details, but still tied to the kinematics of face part movements.     

Isolation and characterization of cellulose from date palm tree spathe sheath

This study deals with a series of operations to isolate the micro-cellulose from the palm tree spathe sheath by using a modified chemical method to take into account the low cost and the completion speed and its characterization using X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope coupled with element analyzer (SEM/EDX). The results showed that the extraction method succeeded in obtaining very pure microscopic fibers with a width of 2–10 μm with a crystallinity index equal to 79.21%, containing the two cellulose features Iβ and II, that, the conversion ratio of the first to the second was estimated at 32, 87%.     

Cognition in breast cancer survivors: A pilot study of interval and continuous exercise

Objectives

The current study investigated the effects of two exercise interventions on cognitive function amongst breast cancer survivors.