With the advancement in knowledge of innate immune functioning, toll-like receptors (TLRs) have emerged as potential adjuvant candidates. TLRs are one of the types of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that sense conserved signature molecules on invading pathogens. Detection of the pathogens via TLRs alerts the immune system of the host and helps in mounting a quick immune response against the invading pathogens. This property of TLR ligands may be exploited for the development of effective prophylactic agents against infectious chicken diseases. In this review the immunostimulatory effects of various TLRs will be discussed as well as their use as adjuvants in combination.

The lean-to-fat ratio, that is, the relative masses of muscle and adipose tissue, is a criterion for the yield and quality of bovine carcasses and meat. This review describes the interactions between muscle and adipose tissue (AT) that may regulate the dynamic balance between the number and size of muscle v. adipose cells. Muscle and adipose tissue in cattle grow by an increase in the number of cells (hyperplasia), mainly during foetal life. The total number of muscle fibres is set by the end of the second trimester of gestation. By contrast, the number of adipocytes is never set. Number of adipocytes increases mainly before birth until 1 year of age, depending on the anatomical location of the adipose tissue. Hyperplasia concerns brown pre-adipocytes during foetal life and white pre-adipocytes from a few weeks after birth. A decrease in the number of secondary myofibres and an increase in adiposity in lambs born from mothers severely underfed during early pregnancy suggest a balance in the commitment of a common progenitor into the myogenic or adipogenic lineages, or a reciprocal regulation of the commitment of two distinct progenitors. The developmental origin of white adipocytes is a subject of debate. Molecular and histological data suggested a possible transdifferentiation of brown into white adipocytes, but this hypothesis has now been challenged by the characterization of distinct precursor cells for brown and white adipocytes in mice. Increased nutrient storage in fully differentiated muscle fibres and adipocytes, resulting in cell enlargement (hypertrophy), is thought to be the main mechanism, whereby muscle and fat masses increase in growing cattle. Competition or prioritization between adipose and muscle cells for the uptake and metabolism of nutrients is suggested, besides the successive waves of growth of muscle v. adipose tissue, by the inhibited or delayed adipose tissue growth in bovine genotypes exhibiting strong muscular development. This competition or prioritization occurs through cellular signalling pathways and the secretion of proteins by adipose tissue (adipokines) and muscle (myokines), putatively regulating their hypertrophy in a reciprocal manner. Further work on the mechanisms underlying cross-talk between brown or white adipocytes and muscle fibres will help to achieve better understanding as a prerequisite to improving the control of body growth and composition in cattle.

This study examines the co-construction of five successful gatekeeping encounters. Drawing from a database of employment interviews, the emically derived concept of trustworthiness is identified as a key determiner in the success or failure of job candidates. Three critical, potentially problematic moves are identified: supplying inappropriate references, demanding too high a salary, and failing to account for gaps in one's work history. What distinguishes the successful from the failed interviews is not the frequency of these potentially damaging occurrences but the compensatory characteristics of those encounters in which trust (and subsequent success) is established. The successful candidates vary widely in terms of second language ability (in the case of nonnative speakers of English) and work experience. What they share, however, is the ability to present themselves positively, to establish rapport/solidarity with their interlocutor, and to demonstrate flexibility regarding job requirements and preferences. Both linguistic and nonlinguistic features are examined.I am grateful to Gabriele Kasper and Claire Kramsch, who provided me with numerous critical and insightful comments on earlier versions of this article. The data analyzed here come from the database that was used for my dissertation research (2001). Attempts have been made to reflect the constructive, and much appreciated, criticisms of two insightful anonymous reviewers of an earlier version of this article.

The coxsackie B3 virus oriR is an element of viral RNA thought to promote the assembly of a ribonucleoprotein complex involved in the initiation of genome replication. The mutual orientation of its two helical domains X and Y is determined by a kissing interaction between the loops of these domains. Here, a genetic approach was worked out to identify spatial orientation-dependent recognition signals in these helices. Spatial orientation changes (due to linear and rotational shifts) were introduced by appropriate insertions/deletions of a single base pair into one or both of the domains, and phenotypic consequences caused by these mutations were studied. The insertion of a base pair into domain Y caused a defect in viral reproduction that could be suppressed by a base-pair insertion into domain X. Similarly, a defect in viral replication caused by a base-pair deletion from domain X could be suppressed by a base-pair deletion from domain Y. Thus, certain areas of the two domains should cross-talk to one another in the sense that a change of space position of one of them required an adequate reply (change of space position) from the other. Phenotypic effects of the local rotation of one or more base pairs (and of some other mutations) in either domain X or domain Y suggested that the two most distal base pairs of these domains served as orientation-dependent recognizable signals. The results were also consistent with the notion that the recognition of the distal base pair of domain Y involved a mechanism similar to the intercalation of an amino acid residue.