Phage display-selected peptides for binding and synthesis of nanoparticles: ZnO as an example

Nanoparticles of metal oxides are widely used in bionanotechnology, particularly in bio-medical applications; e.g., construction of biosensors, separation of biological materials, molecular imaging, and anticancer and antimicrobial therapies. However, synthesis of these nanoparticles using physico-chemical methods is problematic, because such procedures require high-temperature processes and harsh chemical treatments. The use of peptides specifically binding particular nanoparticles or nanostructures and facilitating their synthesis appears to be an encouraging alternative. Specific peptides capable of such reactions may be identified with the use of the phage display method. In this mini-review, zinc oxide is discussed as an exemple material whose nanoparticles can be bound and synthesized by such peptides exposed on the surface of bacteriophage capsids. An analysis of reports on studies into methods of peptide-aided synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles has indicated that, despite the encouraging results obtained so far, further studies are necessary to optimize such procedures. This may also be true for nanoparticles of other materials, particularly metal oxides

Complete Annotated Genome Sequences of Four Klebsiella pneumoniae Phages Isolated from Sewage in Poland

Four lytic phages, vB_KpnP_BIS33, vB_KpnP_IL33, and vB_KpnP_PRA33 of the Podoviridae family and vB_KpnM_BIS47 of the Myoviridae family, which act against animal-pathogenic Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, were isolated from sewage plants in Poland. They possess double-stranded DNA genomes of 41,697 bp, 41,335 bp, 40,605 bp, and 147,443 bp, respectively

Draft Genome Sequence of Shewanella baltica M1 Isolated from Brackish Surface Water of the Gulf of Gdańsk

Here, we present the 5.168-Mbp draft genome sequence of Shewanella baltica M1, the first Shewanella strain from the Gulf of Gdańsk to have its genome sequenced and annotated. The availability of the genome sequence of strain M1 will promote further global analyses of bacterial stress responses in the unique Gulf of Gdan´ sk ecosystem

Wybrane próby testu EUROFIT jako miara sprawności fizycznej dzieci z nawracającymi schorzeniami układu oddechowego : doniesienie wstępne

Introduction: The study assessed the usefulness of selected trials from the European Physical Fitness Test as a tool for measuring the physical fitness of children with recurrent respiratory diseases treated in subterraneotherapy conditions. Research project: Before-after study. Materials and methods: The assessment was conducted in the first and last day of a rehabilitation stay at the ‘Wieliczka’ Salt Mine Health Resort with the participation of 58 children, comprising 25 girls and 33 boys aged 5 to 10 years old, who had been performing daily breathing exercises, general rehabilitation exercises, some form of dancing and running with time measurement. To assess the physical fitness of the children, the 3 trials of the European Physical Fitness Test - EUROFIT were used, evaluating the flexibility, speed and explosive strength of the lower limbs and also the value for a standardized, standing long jump was calculated. Results: The mean distance of the sit-and-reach test increased after the rehabilitation program to 1.78 cm for the 7-10 year-old girls (p ≤ 0.05). The average distance of the standardized, standing long jump increased from 0.7 cm in the 5-6 year-old girls, up to 6.6 cm in the 7-10 year-old girls. In the boys group, these results were higher in the older children and amounted to 3.6 cm, than in the younger - 2.7 cm. Statistically significant differences were noted in children aged 7-10 years old (Figure 3). Analyzing the parameter which takes into account the standing long jump and body height, similar relationships was observed. Conclusions: The proposed trials of the European Physical Fitness Test seem to be a good tool for assessing the physical fitness of children with recurrent respiratory diseases. The results are encouraging and indicate the need to engage in comprehensive rehabilitation proceedings with regard to kinetic therapy, music therapy and choreotherapy. Further research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of a rehabilitation programme carried out under subterraneotherapy.Wstęp: W pracy oceniono przydatność wybranych prób z Europejskiego Testu Sprawności Fizycznej jako narzędzia służącego do pomiaru sprawności fizycznej dzieci z nawracającymi schorzeniami układu oddechowego leczonych w warunkach subterraneoterapii. Projekt badań: Badanie „przed i po”. Materiał i metody: W badaniu przeprowadzonym w pierwszym i ostatnim dniu turnusu rehabilitacyjno-leczniczego w Uzdrowisku Kopalni Soli „Wieliczka” wzięło udział 58 dzieci, w tym 25 dziewcząt i 33 chłopców w wieku od 5 do 10 lat życia, które codziennie wykonywały ćwiczenia oddechowe, ogólnousprawniające, formy muzyczno-ruchowe oraz biegi z pomiarem czasu. Do oceny sprawności fizycznej dzieci zastosowano 3 próby Europejskiego Testu Sprawności Fizycznej - EUROFIT, oceniające gibkość, szybkość i siłę eksplozywną kończyn dolnych oraz obliczono wartość dla skoku w dal z miejsca unormowanego. Wyniki: Średni dystans testu skłonu tułowia w przód w siadzie prostym uległ zwiększeniu po turnusie rehabilitacyjnym o 1,78 cm u 7-10 letnich dziewczynek (p≤ 0.05). Średnia odległości skoku w dal z miejsca uległa zwiększeniu od 0,7 cm u 5-6 letnich dziewczynek, aż do 6,6 cm u 7-10 letnich dziewczynek. U chłopców rezultaty te były większe u starszych i wyniosły 3,6 cm, niż u młodszych - 2,7 cm. Różnice istotne statystycznie odnotowano u dzieci w wieku 7-10 lat życia. Analizując parametr uwzględniający skok z miejsca i wysokość ciała zaobserwowano podobne zależności. Wnioski: Zaproponowane próby z Europejskiego Testu Sprawności Fizycznej wydają się być dobrym narzędziem do oceny sprawności fizycznej dzieci z nawracającymi schorzeniami układu oddechowego. Uzyskane wyniki są zachęcające i wskazują na konieczność prowadzenia kompleksowego postępowania usprawniającego z uwzględnieniem metod kinezyterapii, muzykoterapii i choreoterapii. Niezbędne są dalsze badania potwierdzające skuteczność programu usprawniania prowadzonego w warunkach subterraneoterapii

Insight Into the Diversity and Possible Role of Plasmids in the Adaptation of Psychrotolerant and Metalotolerant Arthrobacter spp. to Extreme Antarctic Environments

Arthrobacter spp. are coryneform Gram-positive aerobic bacteria, belonging to the class Actinobacteria. Representatives of this genus have mainly been isolated from soil, mud, sludge or sewage, and are usually mesophiles. In recent years, the presence of Arthrobacter spp. was also confirmed in various extreme, including permanently cold, environments. In this study, 36 psychrotolerant and metalotolerant Arthrobacter strains isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil from the King George Island (Antarctica), were screened for the presence of plasmids. The identified replicons were thoroughly characterized in order to assess their diversity and role in the adaptation of Arthrobacter spp. to harsh Antarctic conditions. The screening process identified 11 different plasmids, ranging in size from 8.4 to 90.6 kb. A thorough genomic analysis of these replicons detected the presence of numerous genes encoding proteins that potentially perform roles in adaptive processes such as (i) protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation, (ii) resistance to heavy metals, (iii) transport and metabolism of organic compounds, (iv) sulfur metabolism, and (v) protection against exogenous DNA. Moreover, 10 of the plasmids carry genetic modules enabling conjugal transfer, which may facilitate their spread among bacteria in Antarctic soil. In addition, transposable elements were identified within the analyzed plasmids. Some of these elements carry passenger genes, which suggests that these replicons may be actively changing, and novel genetic modules of adaptive value could be acquired by transposition events. A comparative genomic analysis of plasmids identified in this study and other available Arthrobacter plasmids was performed. This showed only limited similarities between plasmids of Antarctic Arthrobacter strains and replicons of other, mostly mesophilic, isolates. This indicates that the plasmids identified in this study are novel and unique replicons. In addition, a thorough meta-analysis of 247 plasmids of psychrotolerant bacteria was performed, revealing the important role of these replicons in the adaptation of their hosts to extreme environments

Wyniki czynnościowe usprawniania chorych po aloplastykach całkowitych stawu biodrowego endoprotezami krótkotrzpieniowymi i przynasadowymi

Wstęp: Aloplastyki całkowite stawu biodrowego z pewnością zajmują już trwałe miejsce w praktyce operacyjnej choroby zwyrodnieniowej, a także uszkodzeń urazowych szyjki kości udowej. Na przestrzeni ostatnich kilkunastu lat coraz większą uwagę skupiają na sobie tzw. endoprotezy przynasadowe i krótkotrzpieniowe, które niosą ze sobą nowe wyzwania operacyjne i rehabilitacyjne. Celem pracy była ocena wyników czynnościowych aloplastyki całkowitej stawów biodrowych z wykorzystaniem endoprotez krótkotrzpieniowych, przynasadowych oraz niecementowanych z trzpieniem standardowym. Projekt badań: Badanie retrospektywne. Materiał badań: Materiał badań pochodzi z lat 1993-2014 i obejmuje 180 operowanych z powodu zwyrodnienia stawów biodrowych metodą aloplastyki całkowitej, w tym 96 endoprotezą niecementowaną z trzpieniem standardowym typu ABG-1, co stanowi 53,4%, 62 endoprotezą przynasadową typu Proxima, co daje 34,4%, 14 endoprotezą krótkotrzpieniową typu BTS, czyli 7,7% oraz 8 endoprotezą z krótkim trzpieniem typu TL, co stanowi 4,4%. Metoda badań: Kilkukrotnie wykonywany test czynnościowy Harrisa. Wyniki badań: Uzyskane wyniki czynnościowe w poszczególnych grupach operowanych są porównywalne i zbieżne, bez wyraźnych różnic. Wnioski: Analizowane aloplastyki całkowite stawów biodrowych u większości operowanych, zarówno w obserwacji wczesnej, jak i odległej, skutkują bardzo dobrymi i dobrymi wynikami czynnościowymi oraz są porównywalne z wynikami aloplastyk całkowitych endoprotezami z trzpieniem standardowym. Operowani analizowanymi metodami nie wymagają odmiennych programu rehabilitacji o odrębnej charakterystyce biomechanicznej i klinicznej.Introduction: Total hip arthroplasty already has a permanent place among surgical procedures dealing with osteoarthritis, as well as traumatic injuries of the femoral neck. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in metaphyseal-fitting and short-stem endoprostheses, which bring new challenges regarding operating technique and rehabilitation care. The aim of this study was to evaluate functional results of total hip arthroplasty using the following endoprostheses: short-stem, metaphyseal-fitting, and cementless with a standard stem. Research Project: Retrospective study. Materials and methods: The research material covers the period between 1993 and 2014 and includes 180 patients operated on due to hip osteoarthritis using total hip arthroplasty. In 96 patients (53.4%) cementless endoprosthesis with a standard ABG-1 stem was used, in 62 patients (34.4%) the Proxima metaphyseal prosthesis was implanted, in 14 patients (7.7%) the BTS short-stem endoprosthesis was used, and in 8 patients (4.4%) TL short-stem endoprosthesis was used. Each patient was evaluated several times using the Harris Hip Score. Results: Functional results obtained in individual groups of patients who underwent surgery are comparable and consistent, without pronounced differences. Conclusions: Functional results obtained in analysed total hip arthroplasties were excellent and good in the majority of patients, both in the early and late observation periods. They are comparable with results of total hip arthroplasties with standard stem endoprosthesis. Patients operated on using the described methods do not require a different rehabilitation programme with different biomechanical or clinical characteristics when compared to patients with standard stem endoprostheses

Effective inhibition of lytic development of bacteriophages λ, P1 and T4 by starvation of their host, Escherichia coli

BACKGROUND: Bacteriophage infections of bacterial cultures cause serious problems in genetic engineering and biotechnology. They are dangerous not only because of direct effects on the currently infected cultures, i.e. their devastation, but also due to a high probability of spreading the phage progeny throughout a whole laboratory or plant, which causes a real danger for further cultivations. Therefore, a simple method for quick inhibition of phage development after detection of bacterial culture infection should be very useful. RESULTS: Here, we demonstrate that depletion of a carbon source from the culture medium, which provokes starvation of bacterial cells, results in rapid inhibition of lytic development of three Escherichia coli phages, λ, P1 and T4. Since the effect was similar for three different phages, it seems that it may be a general phenomenon. Moreover, similar effects were observed in flask cultures and in chemostats. CONCLUSION: Bacteriophage lytic development can be inhibited efficiently by carbon source limitation in bacterial cultures. Thus, if bacteriophage contamination is detected, starvation procedures may be recommended to alleviate deleterious effects of phage infection on the culture. We believe that this strategy, in combination with the use of automated and sensitive bacteriophage biosensors, may be employed in the fermentation laboratory practice to control phage outbreaks in bioprocesses more effectively

Monte Carlo simulation as a demand forecasting tool

PURPOSE: This article aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Monte Carlo simulation as a tool for demand forecasting.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The study analyzes historical data on product sales, fits a theoretical distribution, and then applies Monte Carlo simulation to forecast demand for the next 15 days.FINDINGS: The result of the research shows that Monte Carlo simulation can outperform more straightforward methods such as averaging, particularly in the presence of uncertainty or randomness.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The study demonstrates how Monte Carlo simulation can improve demand forecasting accuracy, which is crucial for optimizing various business operations.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study's novelty lies in demonstrating the practical application of Monte Carlo simulation for demand forecasting and comparing its performance against traditional methods.peer-reviewe