Microbial pathogens have evolved many strategies to evade recognition by the host immune system, including the use of phagocytic cells as a niche within which to proliferate. Dimorphic pathogenic fungi employ an induced morphogenetic transition, switching from multicellular hyphae to unicellular yeast that are more compatible with intracellular growth. A switch to mammalian host body temperature (37 °C) is a key trigger for the dimorphic switch. This study describes a novel gene, msgA, from the dimorphic fungal pathogen Talaromyces marneffei that controls cell morphology in response to host cues rather than temperature. The msgA gene is upregulated during murine macrophage infection, and deletion results in aberrant yeast morphology solely during growth inside macrophages. MsgA contains a Dbl homology domain, and a Bin, Amphiphysin, Rvs (BAR) domain instead of a Plekstrin homology domain typically associated with guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs). The BAR domain is crucial in maintaining yeast morphology and cellular localisation during infection. The data suggests that MsgA does not act as a canonical GEF during macrophage infection and identifies a temperature independent pathway in T. marneffei that controls intracellular yeast morphogenesis.Although used in the design and costing of large projects such as linear colliders and fusion tokamaks, the theory of vacuum arcs and gradient limits is not well understood. Almost 120 years after the isolation of vacuum arcs, the exact mechanisms of the arcs and the damage they produce are still being debated. We describe our simple and general model of the vacuum arc that can incorporate all active mechanisms and aims to explain all relevant data. Our four stage model, is based on experiments done at 805 MHz with a variety of cavity geometries, magnetic fields, and experimental techniques as well as data from Atom Probe Tomography and failure analysis of microelectronics. The model considers the trigger, plasma formation, plasma evolution and surface damage phases of the RF arc. This paper also examines how known mechanisms can explain the observed sharp field dependence, fast breakdown times and observed surface damage. We update the model and discuss new features while also pointing out where new data would be useful in extending the model to a wider range of frequencies.Clinical translation of pluripotent stem cell (PSC) derivatives is hindered by the tumorigenic risk from residual undifferentiated cells. Here, we identified salicylic diamines as potent agents exhibiting toxicity to murine and human PSCs but not to cardiomyocytes (CMs) derived from them. Half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of small molecules SM2 and SM6 were, respectively, 9- and 18-fold higher for human than murine PSCs, while the IC50 of SM8 was comparable for both PSC groups. Treatment of murine embryoid bodies in suspension differentiation cultures with the most effective small molecule SM6 significantly reduced PSC and non-PSC contamination and enriched CM populations that would otherwise be eliminated in genetic selection approaches. All tested salicylic diamines exerted their toxicity by inhibiting the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in PSCs. No or only minimal and reversible effects on OCR, sarcomeric integrity, DNA stability, apoptosis rate, ROS levels or beating frequency were observed in PSC-CMs, although effects on human PSC-CMs seemed to be more deleterious at higher SM-concentrations. Teratoma formation from SM6-treated murine PSC-CMs was abolished or delayed compared to untreated cells. We conclude that salicylic diamines represent promising compounds for PSC removal and enrichment of CMs without the need for other selection strategies.Deep tendon reflexes are one of the main components of the clinical nervous system examinations. These assessments are inexpensive and quick. However, evaluation can be subjective and qualitative. This study aimed to objectively evaluate hyperreflexia of the patellar tendon reflex using portable mechanomyography (MMG) and electromyography (EMG) devices. This study included 10 preoperative patients (20 legs) who had a pathology that could cause bilateral patellar tendon hyperreflexia and 12 healthy volunteers (24 legs) with no prior history of neurological disorders. We attached MMG/EMG sensors onto the quadriceps and tapped the patellar tendon with maximal and constant force. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/gdc6036.html Our results showed a significantly high amplitude of the root mean square (RMS) and low frequency of the mean power frequency (MPF) in the rectus femoris, vastus medialis, and vastus lateralis muscles in both EMG and MMG with both maximal and constant force. Especially in the patients with cervical and thoracic myelopathy, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for diagnosing hyperreflexia of the patellar tendon showed a moderate to very high area under the curve for all EMG-RMS, EMG-MPF, MMG-RMS, and MMG-MPF values. The use of EMG and MMG for objectively quantifying the patellar tendon reflex is simple and desirable for future clinical applications and could help diagnose neurological disorders.A magnetic Fe3O4@MgAl-layered double hydroxide (MLDH) nanocomposite was successfully synthesized and applied as an effective adsorbent for preconcentration of trace As(III), Cd(II), Cr(III), Co(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II) ions from complex matrices. The quantification of the analytes was achieved using the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) technique. The nanocomposite was then characterized using BET, FTIR, SEM, and EDS. Due to its high adsorption surface area, compared to traditional metal oxide-based adsorbents, MLDH nanocomposite exhibited high extraction efficiency. Several experimental parameters controlling the preconcentration of the trace metals were optimized using response surface methodology based on central composite design. Under optimum conditions, the linearity ranged from 0.1 to 500 µg L-1 and the correlation of coefficients (R2) were higher than 0.999. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) were 0.11-0.22 µg L-1 and 0.35-0.73 µg L-1, respectively.