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The entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana are ubiquitously distributed in soils. As insect pathogens they adhere to the insect cuticle and penetrate through to the insect haemocoel using a variety of cuticle-hydrolysing enzymes. Once in the insect haemocoel they are able to survive and replicate within, and/or evade, phagocytic haemocyte cells circulating in the haemolymph. The mechanism by which these soil fungi acquire virulence factors for insect infection and insect immune avoidance is unknown. We hypothesize that insect phagocytic cell avoidance in M. anisopliae and B. bassiana is the consequence of a survival strategy against soil-inhabiting predatory amoebae. Microscopic examination, phagocytosis assays and amoeba mortality assays showed that these insect pathogenic fungi are phagocytosed by the soil amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii and can survive and grow within the amoeba, resulting in amoeba death. Mammalian fungal and bacterial pathogens, such as Cryptococcus neoformans and Legionella pneumophila, respectively, show a remarkable overlap between survival against soil amoebae and survival against human macrophages. The insect immune system, particularly phagocytic haemocytes, is analogous to the mammalian macrophage. Our data suggest that the ability of the fungal insect pathogens M. anisopliae and B. bassiana to survive insect phagocytic haemocytes may be a consequence of adaptations that have evolved in order to avoid predation by soil amoebae. DOI 10.1099/mic.0.038216-0

Addition of sorbitan monooleate (SO), an oil-soluble emulsifier, boosts the emulsifying properties of proteins because of lower interfacial tension. This research studied the behaviour of SO with milk proteins. It was found that adding SO also lowered emulsion stability by disruption and displacement of adsorbed proteins. Beta-casein was affected at lower SO concentrations than beta-lactoglobulin, probably because of the relatively higher viscoelastic nature of the beta-lactoglobulin-adsorbed layer.

A high pressure of 300-900 MPa produces structural and functional changes in beta-lactoglobulin. The change in the structure increases hydrophobicity and protein aggregate formation in beta-lactoglobulin. This reduces the emulsifying ability and foamability of the modified beta-lactoglobulin. The pressure-treated samples also show an increase in protein-protein interactions and the surface elastic modulus of the adsorbed protein layer.

The case of Ellen West represents a milestone in suicide research, particularly since it involves the sensitive issue of euthanasia or physician-assisted death. The case study's relevance stems from the fact that the patient's suicide was rationalized to have been the best solution to what seemed like an incurable psychosis during that time. Also, the fact that this recommendation came from a noted psychiatrist seems even more alarming.

A structural equation model was developed to determine the relative contributions of adherence to medication, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting attendance to abstinent outcome of chronic alcoholics. Analysis of the equationshows that medication adherence has a small direct influence while AA meeting attendance has a larger, independent influence on abstinent outcome.

The Beck Depression Inventory was filled up by 130 alcoholic applicants to validate its use in assessing the severity of depressive states in recently detoxified alcoholics. There are 14 items that discriminated well between high and low levels of depression including sadness,pessimism, failure, dissatisfaction, guilt, self-dislike, self-accusations, loss of social interest, indeciion, work difficulty, insomnia, loss appetite, loss sexual interest and suicidal ideas. A modified scale has been developed based on the findings.