28 research outputs found
Candidiasis, Bacterial Vaginosis, Trichomoniasis and Other Vaginal Conditions Affecting the Vulva
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
DISTRIBUTION OF DERMATOPHYTES FROM SOILS OF URBAN AND RURAL AREAS OF CITIES OF PARAIBA STATE, BRAZIL
Energy limitation of cyanophage development : implications for marine carbon cycling
RJP was in receipt of a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) PhD studentship and a Warwick University IAS Fellowship. This work was also supported in part by NERC grant NE/N003241/1 and Leverhulme Trust grant RPG-2014-354 to A.D.M., D.J.E., and D.J.S.Marine cyanobacteria are responsible for ~25% of the fixed carbon that enters the ocean biosphere. It is thought that abundant co-occurring viruses play an important role in regulating population dynamics of cyanobacteria and thus the cycling of carbon in the oceans. Despite this, little is known about how viral infections ‘play-out’ in the environment, particularly whether infections are resource or energy limited. Photoautotrophic organisms represent an ideal model to test this since available energy is modulated by the incoming light intensity through photophosphorylation. Therefore, we exploited phototrophy of the environmentally relevant marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus and monitored growth of a cyanobacterial virus (cyanophage). We found that light intensity has a marked effect on cyanophage infection dynamics, but that this is not manifest by a change in DNA synthesis. Instead, cyanophage development appears energy limited for the synthesis of proteins required during late infection. We posit that acquisition of auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) involved in light-dependent photosynthetic reactions acts to overcome this limitation. We show that cyanophages actively modulate expression of these AMGs in response to light intensity and provide evidence that such regulation may be facilitated by a novel mechanism involving light-dependent splicing of a group I intron in a photosynthetic AMG. Altogether, our data offers a mechanistic link between diurnal changes in irradiance and observed community level responses in metabolism, i.e., through an irradiance-dependent, viral-induced release of dissolved organic matter (DOM).Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
An evaluation of the infection control potential of a UV clinical podiatry unit
Background: Infection control is a key issue in podiatry as it is in all forms of clinical practice. Airborne
contamination may be particularly important in podiatry due to the generation of particulates during treatment.
Consequently, technologies that prevent contamination in podiatry settings may have a useful role. The aims of this
investigation were twofold, firstly to determine the ability of a UV cabinet to protect instruments from airborne
contamination and secondly to determine its ability to remove microbes from contaminated surfaces and
instruments.
Method: A UV instrument cabinet was installed in a University podiatry suite. Impact samplers and standard
microbiological techniques were used to determine the nature and extent of microbial airborne contamination.
Sterile filters were used to determine the ability of the UV cabinet to protect exposed surfaces. Artificially
contaminated instruments were used to determine the ability of the cabinet to remove microbial contamination.
Results: Airborne bacterial contamination was dominated by Gram positive cocci including Staphylococcus aureus.
Airborne fungal levels were much lower than those observed for bacteria. The UV cabinet significantly reduced
(p < 0.05) the observed levels of airborne contamination. When challenged with contaminated instruments the
cabinet was able to reduce microbial levels by between 60% to 100% with more complex instruments e.g. clippers,
remaining contaminated.
Conclusions: Bacterial airborne contamination is a potential infection risk in podiatry settings due to the presence
of S. aureus. The use of a UV instrument cabinet can reduce the risk of contamination by airborne microbes. The UV
cabinet tested was unable to decontaminate instruments and as such could pose an infection risk if misused.
Keywords: Infection control, UV, Bacteria, Fungi, Dermatophytes, Contaminatio