Influence of antibiotic pressure on bacterial bioluminescence, with emphasis on Staphylococcus aureus

Bioluminescence imaging is used for longitudinal evaluation of bacteria in live animals. Clear relations exist between bacterial numbers and their bioluminescence. However, bioluminescence images of Staphylococcus aureus Xen29, S. aureus Xen36 and Escherichia coli Xen14 grown on tryptone soy agar in Etests demonstrated increased bioluminescence at sub-MICs of different antibiotics. This study aimed to further evaluate the influence of antibiotic pressure on bioluminescence in S. aureus Xen29. Bioluminescence of S. aureus Xen29, grown planktonically in tryptone soy broth, was quantified in the absence and presence of different concentrations of vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin or chloramphenicol and was related to expression of the luxA gene under antibiotic pressure measured using real-time PCR. In the absence of antibiotics, staphylococcal bioluminescence increased over time until a maximum after ca. 6 h of growth, and subsequently decreased to the detection threshold after 24 h of growth owing to reduced bacterial metabolic activity. Up to MICs of the antibiotics, bioluminescence increased according to a similar pattern up to 6 h of growth, but after 24 h bioluminescence was higher than in the absence of antibiotics. Contrary to expectations, bioluminescence per organism (CFU) after different growth periods in the absence and at MICs of different antibiotics decreased with increasing expression of luxA. Summarising, antibiotic pressure impacts the relation between CFU and bioluminescence. Under antibiotic pressure, bioluminescence is not controlled by luxA expression but by co-factors impacting the bacterial metabolic activity. This conclusion is of utmost importance when evaluating antibiotic efficacy in live animals using bioluminescent bacterial strains. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. and the International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved

Motor development in children 0-2 years pre- and post-LTX, a prospective study

To determine prospectively gross and fine motor development of childre

Crystallization And Reentrant Melting Of Charged Colloids In Nonpolar Solvents

We explore the crystallization of charged colloidal particles in a nonpolar solvent mixture. We simultaneously charge the particles and add counterions to the solution with aerosol-OT (AOT) reverse micelles. At low AOT concentrations, the charged particles crystallize into body-centered-cubic (bcc) or face-centered-cubic (fcc) Wigner crystals; at high AOT concentrations, the increased screening drives a thus far unobserved reentrant melting transition. We observe an unexpected scaling of the data with particle size, and account for all behavior with a model that quantitatively predicts both the reentrant melting and the data collapse

The James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large (6.6m), cold (50K), infrared-optimized space observatory that will be launched early in the next decade. The observatory will have four instruments: a near-infrared camera, a near-infrared multi-object spectrograph, and a tunable filter imager will cover the wavelength range, 0.6 to 5.0 microns, while the mid-infrared instrument will do both imaging and spectroscopy from 5.0 to 29 microns. The JWST science goals are divided into four themes. The End of the Dark Ages: First Light and Reionization theme seeks to identify the first luminous sources to form and to determine the ionization history of the early universe. The Assembly of Galaxies theme seeks to determine how galaxies and the dark matter, gas, stars, metals, morphological structures, and active nuclei within them evolved from the epoch of reionization to the present day. The Birth of Stars and Protoplanetary Systems theme seeks to unravel the birth and early evolution of stars, from infall on to dust-enshrouded protostars to the genesis of planetary systems. The Planetary Systems and the Origins of Life theme seeks to determine the physical and chemical properties of planetary systems including our own, and investigate the potential for the origins of life in those systems. To enable these observations, JWST consists of a telescope, an instrument package, a spacecraft and a sunshield. The telescope consists of 18 beryllium segments, some of which are deployed. The segments will be brought into optical alignment on-orbit through a process of periodic wavefront sensing and control. The JWST operations plan is based on that used for previous space observatories, and the majority of JWST observing time will be allocated to the international astronomical community through annual peer-reviewed proposal opportunities.Comment: 96 pages, including 48 figures and 15 tables, accepted by Space Science Review

PLoS One

Quantitative analysis of the vascular network anatomy is critical for the understanding of the vasculature structure and function. In this study, we have combined microcomputed tomography (microCT) and computational analysis to provide quantitative three-dimensional geometrical and topological characterization of the normal kidney vasculature, and to investigate how 2 core genes of the Wnt/planar cell polarity, Frizzled4 and Frizzled6, affect vascular network morphogenesis. Experiments were performed on frizzled4 (Fzd4-/-) and frizzled6 (Fzd6-/-) deleted mice and littermate controls (WT) perfused with a contrast medium after euthanasia and exsanguination. The kidneys were scanned with a high-resolution (16 μm) microCT imaging system, followed by 3D reconstruction of the arterial vasculature. Computational treatment includes decomposition of 3D networks based on Diameter-Defined Strahler Order (DDSO). We have calculated quantitative (i) Global scale parameters, such as the volume of the vasculature and its fractal dimension (ii) Structural parameters depending on the DDSO hierarchical levels such as hierarchical ordering, diameter, length and branching angles of the vessel segments, and (iii) Functional parameters such as estimated resistance to blood flow alongside the vascular tree and average density of terminal arterioles. In normal kidneys, fractal dimension was 2.07±0.11 (n = 7), and was significantly lower in Fzd4-/- (1.71±0.04; n = 4), and Fzd6-/- (1.54±0.09; n = 3) kidneys. The DDSO number was 5 in WT and Fzd4-/-, and only 4 in Fzd6-/-. Scaling characteristics such as diameter and length of vessel segments were altered in mutants, whereas bifurcation angles were not different from WT. Fzd4 and Fzd6 deletion increased vessel resistance, calculated using the Hagen-Poiseuille equation, for each DDSO, and decreased the density and the homogeneity of the distal vessel segments. Our results show that our methodology is suitable for 3D quantitative characterization of vascular networks, and that Fzd4 and Fzd6 genes have a deep patterning effect on arterial vessel morphogenesis that may determine its functional efficiency

Influence of a chitosan on oral bacterial adhesion and growth in vitro

Generally, mechanical plaque control without chemical support is insufficient to prevent oral diseases, and an ongoing quest exists for new antimicrobials for use in oral healthcare. Chitosans are polycationic, naturally occurring antimicrobials that are rapidly finding their way into oral healthcare. In this study we determined the effects of pellicle treatment with chitosan on bacterial adhesion and growth. Chitosan caused a reduction in bacterial adhesion and was responsible for bacterial death upon contact compared with a buffer control. Exposure of adhering bacteria to a chitosan solution or a buffer control did not cause detachment, but the chitosan solution left a small proportion of the adhering bacteria alive. Growth after exposure to chitosan was similar to (Streptococcus mutans ATCC700610, Streptococcus oralis HM1, Streptococcus sobrinus HG1025) or less than (S. mutans NS, Actinomyces naeslundii HM1) that of the control, while biofilm viability after chitosan treatment was lower than that of the control, except for S. oralis HM1. Therefore, chitosan is a promising antimicrobial for use in oral healthcare

A gentamicin-releasing coating for cementless hip prostheses - Longitudinal evaluation of efficacy using in vitro bio-optical imaging and its wide-spectrum antibacterial efficacy

Cementless prostheses are increasingly popular in total hip arthroplasties. Therewith, common prophylactic measures to reduce the risk of postoperative infection like the use of antibiotic-loaded bone cements, will no longer be available. Alternative prophylactic measures may include the use of antibiotic-releasing coatings. Previously, we developed a gentamicin-releasing coating for cementless titanium hip prostheses and derived an appropriate dosing of this coating by adjusting the amount of gentamicin in the coating to match the antibacterial efficacy of clinically employed gentamicin-loaded bone cement. In this manuscript, we investigated two important issues regarding the prophylactic use of this 1 mg cm-2 bioactive gentamicin-releasing coating in cementless total hip arthroplasty: (1) its ability to prevent bacterial growth in a geometrically relevant set-up and (2) its antibacterial spectrum. A geometrically relevant set-up was developed in which miniature titanium stems were surrounded by agar, contaminated with bioluminescent Staphylococcus aureus. Novel, bio-optical imaging was performed allowing noninvasive, longitudinal monitoring of staphylococcal growth around miniature stems with and without the gentamicin-releasing coating. Furthermore, the antibacterial efficacy of the gentamicin-releasing coating was determined against a wide variety of clinical isolates, including bioluminescent Staphylococcus aureus strains, using traditional zone of inhibition measurements. The gentamicin-releasing coating demonstrated a wide-spectrum of antibacterial efficacy and successfully prevented growth of bioluminescent staphylococci around a miniature stem mounted in bacterially contaminated agar for at least 60 h. This implies that the gentamicin-releasing coating has potential to contribute to the improvement of infection prophylaxis in cementless total hip arthroplasty. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 100A:32203226, 2012

Antibacterial Efficacy of a New Gentamicin-Coating for Cementless Prostheses Compared to Gentamicin-Loaded Bone Cement

Cementless prostheses are increasingly popular but require alternative prophylactic measures than the use of antibiotic-loaded bone cements. Here, we determine the 24-h growth inhibition of gentamicin-releasing coatings from grit-blasted and porous-coated titanium alloys, and compare their antibacterial efficacies and gentamicin release-profiles to those of a commercially available gentamicin-loaded bone cement. Antibacterial efficacy increased with increasing doses of gentamicin in the coating and loading with 1.0 and 0.1 mg gentamicin/cm(2) on both grit-blasted and porous-coated samples yielded comparable efficacy to gentamicin-loaded bone cement. The coating had a higher burst release than bone cement, and also inhibited growth of gentamicin-resistant strains. Antibacterial efficacy of the gentamicin coatings disappeared after 4 days, while gentamicin-loaded bone cement exhibited efficacy over at least 7 days. Shut-down after 4 days of gentamicin-release from coatings is advantageous over the low-dosage tail-release from bone cements, as it minimizing risk of inducing antibiotic-resistant strains. Both gentamicin-loaded cement discs and gentamicin-coated titanium coupons were able to kill gentamicin-sensitive and -resistant bacteria in a simulated prothesis-related interfacial gap. In conclusion, the gentamicin coating provided similar antibacterial properties to those seen by gentamicin-loaded bone cement, implying protection of a prosthesis from being colonized by peri-operatively introduced bacteria in cementless total joint arthroplasty. (C) 2011 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 29: 1654-1661, 201