25. Isolation and Identification of Bacteria from Therapeutic Ball Pits Located in Hospital Settings

It is known that bacteria can be found on commercial ball pits. Due to ball pits moist, dark, warm environments, bacteria flourish, increasing risk of transmission. No study has been conducted on clinical therapeutic ball pits. These ball pits may be used constantly, yet no protocol exists on sanitation, or its frequency. Infrequent cleanings allow bacteria to reproduce to potentially infectious levels. Risk increases if the individual has lesions, abrasions, or is immunocompromised. An understanding in microbial communities of therapeutic ball pits and proper cleaning protocol was sought. A study was conducted using six clinical ball pits in Georgia. Sampling consisted of selecting random balls, swabbing five locations (four corners and center), and different strata (depths). Samples were plated on tryptic soy agar (TSA) plates, and incubated for twenty-four hours at 33 °C. Afterwards, microbial colonies were tallied. Colonies were identified using the Biolog GEN III Bacterial Identification System. Differences were found between clinics and the amount of colony forming units (CFU) from each sample. Clinic B had the least amount of CFU with 36% of balls having less than 3.0x101 CFU, and 7% with greater than 3.0x104 colonies. Clinic D had the largest CFU with 93% of balls having greater than 3.0x104 CFU. Potential opportunistic pathogens identified are Enterococcus faecalis, Acinetobacter lwoffii, Paoultella terrigena, Psychrobacter immobilis, Paenibacillus xylanilyficus, Klebsiella variicola, and Moraxella caprae. Balls with floor exposure had the most CFU; middle stratum balls had the least CFU; and balls with surface exposure had the second highest CFU

Aplysinopsins - Marine Indole Alkaloids: Chemistry, Bioactivity and Ecological Significance

Aplysinopsins are tryptophan-derived marine natural products isolated from numerous genera of sponges and scleractinian corals, as well as from one sea anemone and one nudibranch. Aplysinopsins are widely distributed in the Pacific, Indonesia, Caribbean, and Mediterranean regions. Up to date, around 30 analogues occurring in Nature have been reported. Natural aplysinopsins differ in the bromination pattern of the indole ring, variation in the structure of the C ring, including the number and position of N-methylation, the presence and configuration of the C-8-C-1′ double bond, and the oxidation state of the 2-aminoimidazoline fragment. Aplysinopsins can also occur in the form of dimers. This review summarizes 30 years’ research on aplysinopsins. The origin, isolation sources, chemistry, bioactivity, and ecological functions of aplysinopsins are comprehensively reviewed

Poly[[bis­{μ3-tris­[2-(1H-tetra­zol-1-yl)eth­yl]amine}copper(II)] bis­(perchlorate)]

In the title compound, {[Cu(C9H15N13)2](ClO4)2}n, the Cu2+ cation lies on an inversion center and is coordinated by the tetra­zole N4 atoms of six symmetry-equivalent tris­[2-(1H-tetra­zol-1-yl)eth­yl]amine ligands (t 3 z) in the form of a Jahn–Teller-distorted octa­hedron with Cu—N bond distances of 2.0210 (8), 2.0259 (8) and 2.4098 (8) Å. The tertiary amine N atom is stereochemically inactive. The cationic part of the structure, viz. [Cu(t 3 z)2]2+, forms an infinite two-dimensional network parallel to (100), in pockets of which the perchlorate anions reside. The individual networks are partially inter­locked and held together by C—H⋯O inter­actions to the perchlorate anions and C—H⋯N inter­actions to tetra­zole N atoms

Synthesis and Biological Activity of Fused tetracyclic Pyrrolo[2,1-C][1,4]Benzodiazepines

Cancer remains the second major cause of death in the world. Thus, there is a pressing need to identify potential synthetic route for the development of novel anticancer agents which will serve as lead compounds to effectively combat this life-threatening epidemic. Pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepines (PBDs) have sparked a great interest as lead compounds because of their cancerostatic and anti-infective properties. The twisted molecular structure of PBD analogs provides both helical and chiral elements. In an effort to expand novel PBDs that interact with the key exocyclic amino group of the DNA-guanine base, we hypothesized that construction of a fused cyclic active system, would likely serve as an electrophilic site when compared to traditional electrophilic C11-N10 imine group. To examine our theory, we report herein the synthesis and cell viability/cytotoxicity of a series of PBD analogs using NCI-60 cell lines screening. Thus, compounds 1–13 were synthesized and fully characterized. The selected PBDs were found to have marginal inhibition of growth, up to 30%, for certain cell lines

Pomegranate inhibits neuroinflammation and amyloidogenesis in IL-1β stimulated SK-N-SH cells

Purpose: Pomegranate fruit, Punica granatum L. (Punicaceae) and its constituents have been shown to inhibit inflammation. In this study we aimed to assess the effects of freeze-dried pomegranate (PWE) on PGE2 production in IL-1β stimulated SK-N-SH cells. Methods: An enzyme immuno assay (EIA) was used to measure prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production from supernatants of IL-1β stimulated SK-N-SH cells. Expression of COX-2, phospho-IκB and phospho-IKK proteins were evaluated, while NF-κB reporter gene assay was carried out in TNFα-stimulated HEK293 cells to determine the effect of PWE on NF-κB transactivation. Levels of BACE-1 and Aβ in SK-N-SH cells stimulated with IL-1β were measured with an in cell ELISA. Results: PWE (25-200 µg/ml) dose dependently reduced COX-2 dependent PGE2 production in SK-N-SH cells stimulated with IL-1β. Phosphorylation of IκB and IKK were significantly (p<0.001) inhibited by PWE (50- 200 µg/ml). Our studies also show that PWE (50-200 µg/ml) significantly (p<0.01) inhibited NF-κB transactivation in TNFα-stimulated HEK293 cells. Furthermore PWE inhibited BACE-1 and Aβ expression in SK-N-SH cells treated with IL-1β. Conclusions: Taken together, our study demonstrates that pomegranate inhibits inflammation, as well as amyloidogenesis in IL-1β-stimulated SK-N-SH cells. We propose that pomegranate is a potential nutritional strategy in slowing the progression of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease

Halogenated Indole Alkaloids from Marine Invertebrates

This review discusses the isolation, structural elucidation, and biological activities of halogenated indole alkaloids obtained from marine invertebrates. Meridianins and related compounds (variolins, psammopemmins, and aplicyanins), as well as aplysinopsins and leptoclinidamines, are focused on. A compilation of the 13C-NMR spectral data of these selected natural indole alkaloids is also provided

1J: Effect of Brominated Indole-3-carboxaldehydes on the Communication and Biofilm Formation in Bacteria

Quorum sensing (QS) is a type of intercellular communication used by many bacterial species wherein bacteria produce and secrete signaling molecules to affect changes in bacterial populations. As the population of bacteria grows, the concentration of signaling molecules secreted also increases in the environment. Once the signaling molecules reach a threshold concentration, the molecules saturate their respective receptors on, or in, the bacteria altering gene expression. Indole is an organic compound that serves to mediate communication among many bacteria and it has been shown to affect a wide variety of bacterial behaviors including biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, and the production of virulence factors. Therefore, targeting indole signaling may be a way to mediate pathogenicity among bacteria without the use of traditional antibiotics. In this study, we used a model bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum to investigate a subset of indole derivatives, and we identify three new quorum sensing inhibitors: 5, 6, and 7-bromoindole-3-carboxaldehydes. We further show that bromination of indole-3-carboxaldehyde significantly increased the potency of quorum sensing inhibition. In addition, we evaluated the impact of those molecules on biofilm formation in the pathogenic species Pseudomonas aeruginosa