Biologically triggered liberation of sub-micron particles from alginate microcapsules

A new method for triggering the burst liberation of encapsulated sub-micron particles from carrier particles using embedded microorganisms has been developed. Triggering mechanisms such as chemical, light, thermal, or magnetic are known, but man-made particles are not yet able to replicate the concept of “hibernation” found in biological systems in the form of spores or seeds that survive in an inactive state and start to grow only once favourable environmental conditions are encountered. An engineered particle system that mimics this property by embedding viable yeast cells into synthetically made alginate microcapsules is reported in this work. Cell growth and division is used as a trigger mechanism for stimuli-responsive release of the encapsulated content. The hybrid living/artificial capsules were formed by an inkjet printing process and the mechanism of biologically triggered release was shown using fluorescently labelled liposomes

Genome Analysis of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum and subsp. pertenue Strains: Most of the Genetic Differences Are Localized in Six Regions

The genomes of eight treponemes including T. p. pallidum strains (Nichols, SS14, DAL-1 and Mexico A), T. p. pertenue strains (Samoa D, CDC-2 and Gauthier), and the Fribourg-Blanc isolate, were amplified in 133 overlapping amplicons, and the restriction patterns of these fragments were compared. The approximate sizes of the genomes investigated based on this whole genome fingerprinting (WGF) analysis ranged from 1139.3–1140.4 kb, with the estimated genome sequence identity of 99.57–99.98% in the homologous genome regions. Restriction target site analysis, detecting the presence of 1773 individual restriction sites found in the reference Nichols genome, revealed a high genome structure similarity of all strains. The unclassified simian Fribourg-Blanc isolate was more closely related to T. p. pertenue than to T. p. pallidum strains. Most of the genetic differences between T. p. pallidum and T. p. pertenue strains were accumulated in six genomic regions. These genome differences likely contribute to the observed differences in pathogenicity between T. p. pallidum and T. p. pertenue strains. These regions of sequence divergence could be used for the molecular detection and discrimination of syphilis and yaws strains

Clinical characteristics of patients with tick-borne encephalitis (Tbe) : A European multicentre study from 2010 to 2017

Funding Information: Conflicts of Interest: W.Z. received financial support from GSK, Pfizer, Merck, and Sanofi for organizing the “Graz Vaccination Day”. Funding Information: Funding: This study was financially supported by Land Steiermark (Office of the Regional Government of Styria, Department of Health Care and Science, Unit of Science and Research, Austria). D.R., L.K. and M.P. were supported by the Czech Ministry of Health (grant No. NV19-05-00457). P.B. and F.S. were supported by the Slovenian Research Agency (grant. No P3-0296). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is a major cause of central nervous system infections in endemic countries. Here, we present clinical and laboratory characteristics of a large international cohort of patients with confirmed TBE using a uniform clinical protocol. Patients were recruited in eight centers from six European countries between 2010 and 2017. A detailed description of clinical signs and symptoms was recorded. The obtained information enabled a reliable classification in 553 of 555 patients: 207 (37.3%) had meningitis, 273 (49.2%) meningoencephalitis, 15 (2.7%) meningomyelitis, and 58 (10.5%) meningoencephalomyelitis; 41 (7.4%) patients had a peripheral paresis of extremities, 13 (2.3%) a central paresis of extremities, and 25 (4.5%) had single or multiple cranial nerve palsies. Five (0.9%) patients died during acute illness. Outcome at discharge was recorded in 298 patients. Of 176 (59.1%) patients with incomplete recovery, 80 (27%) displayed persisting symptoms or signs without recovery expectation. This study provides further evidence that TBE is a severe disease with a large proportion of patients with incomplete recovery. We suggest monitoring TBE in endemic European countries using a uniform protocol to record the full clinical spectrum of the disease.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Complete Genome Sequence of Treponema paraluiscuniculi, Strain Cuniculi A: The Loss of Infectivity to Humans Is Associated with Genome Decay

Treponema paraluiscuniculi is the causative agent of rabbit venereal spirochetosis. It is not infectious to humans, although its genome structure is very closely related to other pathogenic Treponema species including Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, the etiological agent of syphilis. In this study, the genome sequence of Treponema paraluiscuniculi, strain Cuniculi A, was determined by a combination of several high-throughput sequencing strategies. Whereas the overall size (1,133,390 bp), arrangement, and gene content of the Cuniculi A genome closely resembled those of the T. pallidum genome, the T. paraluiscuniculi genome contained a markedly higher number of pseudogenes and gene fragments (51). In addition to pseudogenes, 33 divergent genes were also found in the T. paraluiscuniculi genome. A set of 32 (out of 84) affected genes encoded proteins of known or predicted function in the Nichols genome. These proteins included virulence factors, gene regulators and components of DNA repair and recombination. The majority (52 or 61.9%) of the Cuniculi A pseudogenes and divergent genes were of unknown function. Our results indicate that T. paraluiscuniculi has evolved from a T. pallidum-like ancestor and adapted to a specialized host-associated niche (rabbits) during loss of infectivity to humans. The genes that are inactivated or altered in T. paraluiscuniculi are candidates for virulence factors important in the infectivity and pathogenesis of T. pallidum subspecies

Whole Genome Sequences of Three Treponema pallidum ssp. pertenue Strains: Yaws and Syphilis Treponemes Differ in Less than 0.2% of the Genome Sequence

Spirochete Treponema pallidum ssp. pertenue (TPE) is the causative agent of yaws while strains of Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum (TPA) cause syphilis. Both yaws and syphilis are distinguished on the basis of epidemiological characteristics and clinical symptoms. Neither treponeme can reproduce outside the host organism, which precludes the use of standard molecular biology techniques used to study cultivable pathogens. In this study, we determined high quality whole genome sequences of TPE strains and compared them to known genetic information for T. pallidum ssp. pallidum strains. The genome structure was identical in all three TPE strains and also between TPA and TPE strains. The TPE genome length ranged between 1,139,330 bp and 1,139,744 bp. The overall sequence identity between TPA and TPE genomes was 99.8%, indicating that the two pathogens are extremely closely related. A set of 34 TPE genes (3.5%) encoded proteins containing six or more amino acid replacements or other major sequence changes. These genes more often belonged to the group of genes with predicted virulence and unknown functions suggesting their involvement in infection differences between yaws and syphilis

Marketing of the Town of Lanžhot in the Tourism Industry

Import 11/07/2012Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá marketingem města Lanžhot v cestovním ruchu. Hlavním cílem práce je analyzovat marketing města Lanžhot, zaměřit se na turistický potenciál tohoto města a naznačit jeho možný rozvoj v oboru cestovního ruchu. V teoretické části této práce jsou definovány základní pojmy marketingu, marketingového mixu, SWOT analýzy, cestovního ruchu, vlastností služeb nebo analýzy složek primární a sekundární nabídky cestovního ruchu. V dalších bodech je práce zaměřena na město Lanžhot. Nejdříve je tato oblast stručně charakterizována, dále se práce zaměřuje na konkrétní přírodní, kulturně-historický a kulturně-společenský potenciál oblasti. Zkoumána je turistická suprastruktura, infrastruktura a veřejná infrastruktura. Výzkum dané lokality tvoří SWOT analýzy a dotazníkové šetření, z kterých jsou vyvozena doporučení, jak by se dala návštěvnost města zvýšit.The thesis deals with marketing in tourism of the town Lanžhot. The main aim of the thesis is to analyze the marketing of the town, focusing on tourism potential in the town and suggesting its growth in tourism. In the theoretical part of the thesis the main terms of marketing, marketing mix, SWOT analysis, tourism, quality of the services or analysis of both primary and secondary offers of tourism are defined. Further, the thesis focuses on the town of Lanžhot. In the beginning this area is briefly summarized, then the thesis focuses on specific natural, cultural and historical and cultural and social potential of this area. Research is done in tourism superstructure, infrastructure and public infrastructure. The research in the area is supported by the SWOT analysis and questionnaire survey from which some recommendations are made on how tourism activities in town could be increased.115 - Katedra managementuvýborn

Genital Microorganisms in Pregnancy

Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá fyziologickou a patologickou mikroflórou těhotných žen a jejím působením na plod během těhotenství a porodu. Úvodní části je zaměřena na fyziologii pohlavního systému ženy. Další kapitoly jsou věnovány patologickému poševnímu ekosystému a působení vybraných patogenů na plod a délku těhotenství. Závěr práce shrnuje možnosti diagnostiky, typy vyšetření prováděných během těhotenství, způsobu prevence a předcházení těmto patogenům.This bachelor thesis deals with the physiological and pathological microflora of pregnant women and its effect on the fetus during pregnancy and childbirth. The introductory part is focused on the physiology of the female reproductive system. The next chapters are devoted to the pathological vaginal ecosystem and the effect of selected pathogens on the fetus and the length of pregnancy. The conclusion summarizes the possibilities of diagnosis, types of examinations performed during pregnancy, methods of prevention and prevention of these pathogens.Fakulta chemicko-technologická1. Prezentace výsledků bakalářské práce. 2. Diskuze k posudku vedoucího bakalářské práce. 3. Studentka zodpověděla všechny dotazy a připomínky k bakalářské práce.Dokončená práce s úspěšnou obhajobo

Availability of urban green spaces in European cities

Most of the European population and half of the world population lives in cities and their share will probably continue to increase (UN, 2010). With increasing urbanization, urban green spaces are becoming the most available means of contact with "nature" for more and more people. The aim of this bachelor thesis was to try to determine which factors affect the recreational use of urban green spaces. As the main factor was expected the availability of green spaces, ie. their quantity in the area of residence. The basis of the thesis was available literature on this subject, confronted with the outcomes of visitors monitoring in five forests in Prague between May 2009 and April 2010. The visitors monitoring followed a long series of studies, which were executed mainly by Institute for Enviromental Studies, Faculty of Science,Charles University, mostly as a dissertation thesises, in Prague forests and in Czech national parks. In this submitted thesis, particular attention was paid to data from the Prokopske udoli, where the author coordinated the visitors monitoring. During the 12 days of visitors monitoring, 14 359 visitors passed through the intersection of the main counting station - of which 59% walkers and 41% cyclists, moreover 868 dogs, 388 cars and 456 prams. Total estimated traffic is in the..