Insights of biosurfactant producing Serratia marcescens strain W2.3 isolated from diseased tilapia fish: a draft genome analysis

Background Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen with broad range of host ranging from vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. S. marcescens strain W2.3 was isolated from a diseased tilapia fish and it was suspected to be the causal agent for the fish disease as virulence genes were found within its genome. In this study, for the first time, the genome sequences of S. marcescens strain W2.3 were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Result Several virulent factors of S. marcescens such as serrawettin, a biosurfactant, has been reported to be regulated by N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL)-based quorum sensing (QS). In our previous studies, an unusual AHL with long acyl side chain was detected from this isolate suggesting the possibility of novel virulence factors regulation. This evokes our interest in the genome of this bacterial strain and hereby we present the draft genome of S. marcescens W2.3, which carries the serrawettin production gene, swrA and the AHL-based QS transcriptional regulator gene, luxR which is an orphan luxR. Conclusion With the availability of the whole genome sequences of S. marcescens W2.3, this will pave the way for the study of the QS-mediated genes expression in this bacterium

Global Genome Comparative Analysis Reveals Insights of Resistome and Life-Style Adaptation of Pseudomonas putida

Most Pseudomonas putida strains are environmental microorganisms exhibiting a wide range of metabolic capability but certain strains have been reported as rare opportunistic pathogens and some emerged as multidrug resistant P. putida. This study aimed to assess the drug resistance profile of, via whole genome analysis, P. putida strain T2-2 isolated from oral cavity. At the same time, we also compared the nonenvironmental strain with environmentally isolated P. putida. In silico comparative genome analysis with available reference strains of P. putida shows that T2-2 has lesser gene counts on carbohydrate and aromatic compounds metabolisms, which suggested its little versatility. The detection of its edd gene also suggested T2-2’s catabolism of glucose via ED pathway instead of EMP pathway. On the other hand, its drug resistance profile was observed via in silico gene prediction and most of the genes found were in agreement with drug-susceptibility testing in laboratory by automated VITEK 2. In addition, the finding of putative genes of multidrug resistance efflux pump and ATP-binding cassette transporters in this strain suggests a multidrug resistant phenotype. In summary, it is believed that multiple metabolic characteristics and drug resistance in P. putida strain T2-2 helped in its survival in human oral cavity

N-Acyl Homoserine Lactone Production by Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolated from Human Tongue Surface

Bacteria communicate by producing quorum sensing molecules called autoinducers, which include autoinducer-1, an N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone (AHL), and autoinducer-2. Bacteria present in the human oral cavity have been shown to produce autoinducer-2, but not AHL. Here, we report the isolation of two AHL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strains from the posterior dorsal surface of the tongue of a healthy individual. Spent culture supernatant extracts from K. pneumoniae activated the biosensors Agrobacterium tumefaciens NTL4(pZLR4) and Escherichia coli [pSB401], suggesting the presence of both long and short chain AHLs. High resolution mass spectrometry analyses of these extracts confirmed that both K. pneumoniae isolates produced N-octanoylhomoserine lactone and N-3-dodecanoyl-l-homoserine lactone. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation of K. pneumoniae from the posterior dorsal surface of the human tongue and the production of these AHLs by this bacterium

Wideband Endfire Antenna Array for 5G mmWave Mobile Terminals

In this paper, a compact endfire antenna array with low-profile, small clearance, and wideband operation is proposed for millimeter-wave (mmWave) fifth-generation (5G) mobile terminals. The wideband operation is achieved by exciting two identical bow-tie dipoles inserted on both sides of a multilayer substrate fed by an asymmetric open-end stripline to slotline transition. The antenna performance is significantly improved by introducing a set of vertical metallic vias. The proposed antenna element can achieve 29 % from 24.2 GHz to 32.4 GHz with a peak realized gain that varies from 3.5 dBi to 4.5 dBi. A linear 4-element antenna array is arranged and fabricated to verify the proposed antenna beamforming capabilities. The simulated and measured bandwidth achieves a wide range of 34.4 % (24-34 GHz) to support 26, 28, and 30 GHz 5G mmWave bands with an isolation level better than 20 dB and a peak realized gain over the interested bands ranging from 7.56 to 8.14 dBi. The simulated array scanning angle is ± 68 • at 28 GHz within 3-dB gain deterioration. Furthermore, the simulated spherical coverage has met the requirements of 3GPP standards which make the proposed antenna array a promising candidate to be integrated within mmWave 5G mobile devices. INDEX TERMS 5G, antenna array, beamforming, endfire, mmWave bands, mobile terminal, wideband

Wideband Endfire Antenna Array for 5G mmWave Mobile Terminals

In this paper, a compact endfire antenna array with low-profile, small clearance, and wideband operation is proposed for millimeter-wave (mmWave) fifth-generation (5G) mobile terminals. The wideband operation is achieved by exciting two identical bow-tie dipoles inserted on both sides of a multilayer substrate fed by an asymmetric open-end stripline to slotline transition. The antenna performance is significantly improved by introducing a set of vertical metallic vias. The proposed antenna element can achieve 29 % from 24.2 GHz to 32.4 GHz with a peak realized gain that varies from 3.5 dBi to 4.5 dBi. A linear 4-element antenna array is arranged and fabricated to verify the proposed antenna beamforming capabilities. The simulated and measured bandwidth achieves a wide range of 34.4 % (24-34 GHz) to support 26, 28, and 30 GHz 5G mmWave bands with an isolation level better than 20 dB and a peak realized gain over the interested bands ranging from 7.56 to 8.14 dBi. The simulated array scanning angle is ±68° at 28 GHz within 3-dB gain deterioration. Furthermore, the simulated spherical coverage has met the requirements of 3GPP standards which make the proposed antenna array a promising candidate to be integrated within mmWave 5G mobile devices

Wolfberry genomes and the evolution of Lycium (Solanaceae)

AbstractWolfberry Lycium, an economically important genus of the Solanaceae family, contains approximately 80 species and shows a fragmented distribution pattern among the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Although several herbaceous species of Solanaceae have been subjected to genome sequencing, thus far, no genome sequences of woody representatives have been available. Here, we sequenced the genomes of 13 perennial woody species of Lycium, with a focus on Lycium barbarum. Integration with other genomes provides clear evidence supporting a whole-genome triplication (WGT) event shared by all hitherto sequenced solanaceous plants, which occurred shortly after the divergence of Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae. We identified new gene families and gene family expansions and contractions that first appeared in Solanaceae. Based on the identification of self-incompatibility related-gene families, we inferred that hybridization hotspots are enriched for genes that might be functioning in gametophytic self-incompatibility pathways in wolfberry. Extremely low expression of LOCULE NUBER (LC) and COLORLESS NON-RIPENING (CNR) orthologous genes during Lycium fruit development and ripening processes suggests functional diversification of these two genes between Lycium and tomato. The existence of additional flowering locus C-like MADS-box genes might correlate with the perennial flowering cycle of Lycium. Differential gene expression involved in the lignin biosynthetic pathway between Lycium and tomato likely illustrates woody and herbaceous differentiation. We also provide evidence that Lycium migrated from Africa into Asia, and subsequently from Asia into North America. Our results provide functional insights into Solanaceae origins, evolution and diversification.</jats:p

Diverse Applications of Nanomedicine

The design and use of materials in the nanoscale size range for addressing medical and health-related issues continues to receive increasing interest. Research in nanomedicine spans a multitude of areas, including drug delivery, vaccine development, antibacterial, diagnosis and imaging tools, wearable devices, implants, high-throughput screening platforms, etc. using biological, nonbiological, biomimetic, or hybrid materials. Many of these developments are starting to be translated into viable clinical products. Here, we provide an overview of recent developments in nanomedicine and highlight the current challenges and upcoming opportunities for the field and translation to the clinic. \ua9 2017 American Chemical Society

Real-time Monitoring for the Next Core-Collapse Supernova in JUNO

Core-collapse supernova (CCSN) is one of the most energetic astrophysical events in the Universe. The early and prompt detection of neutrinos before (pre-SN) and during the SN burst is a unique opportunity to realize the multi-messenger observation of the CCSN events. In this work, we describe the monitoring concept and present the sensitivity of the system to the pre-SN and SN neutrinos at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), which is a 20 kton liquid scintillator detector under construction in South China. The real-time monitoring system is designed with both the prompt monitors on the electronic board and online monitors at the data acquisition stage, in order to ensure both the alert speed and alert coverage of progenitor stars. By assuming a false alert rate of 1 per year, this monitoring system can be sensitive to the pre-SN neutrinos up to the distance of about 1.6 (0.9) kpc and SN neutrinos up to about 370 (360) kpc for a progenitor mass of 30$M_{\odot}$ for the case of normal (inverted) mass ordering. The pointing ability of the CCSN is evaluated by using the accumulated event anisotropy of the inverse beta decay interactions from pre-SN or SN neutrinos, which, along with the early alert, can play important roles for the followup multi-messenger observations of the next Galactic or nearby extragalactic CCSN.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure

CNS targets of adipokines

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Physiological Society via the DOI in this record.Our understanding of adipose tissue as an endocrine organ has been transformed over the last twenty years. During this time a number of adipocyte-derived factors or adipokines have been identified. This paper will review evidence for how adipokines acting via the central nervous system (CNS) regulate normal physiology and disease pathology. The reported CNS-mediated effects of adipokines are varied and include the regulation of energy homeostasis, autonomic nervous system activity, the reproductive axis, neurodevelopment, cardiovascular function, and cognition. Due to the wealth of information available and the diversity of their known functions, the archetypal adipokines leptin and adiponectin will be the focused on extensively. Other adipokines with established CNS actions will also be discussed. Due to the difficulties associated with studying CNS function on a molecular level in humans, the majority of our knowledge, and as such the studies described in this paper, comes from work in experimental animal models; however, where possible the relevant data from human studies are also highlighted