Interaction of Gram-negative bacteria with cationic proteins: Dependence on the surface characteristics of the bacterial cell

Gram-negative bacteria can enter the bloodstream and interact with serum cationic proteins. The character of interaction will depend on the surface characteristics of bacterial cells, which are determined by bacterial chemotype and density of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) packing in the cell wall. It was shown that the lysozyme treatment resulted in the increase sensitivity to hypotonic shock. Significant differences to this effect were found between Escherichia coli strain D21 and D21f2 under treatment with physiological protein concentration. On the basis of electrokinetic measurements and studies of the interaction of cells with lysozyme, the hypothesis was formed that the cell wall of the E. coli strain D21f2 contains more LPS and has a higher density of their packing than the cell wall of the E. coli D21 cells. The effect of lysozyme and lactoferrin on the viability of E. coli cells of two different strains was examined. Lysozyme was found to more effectively inhibit the growth of the E. coli D21 bacteria, and lactoferrin suppressed mainly the growth of the E. coli D21f2 bacteria. These results indicate that the differences in LPS core structure of bacterial R-chemotype, which determines surface charge and density of LPS packing, plays an essential role in the mechanisms of interaction of the cationic proteins with the cell wall

Manipulation and control of the growth of magnetic iron nitride films

+101hlm.;24c

Ranking Technologies of Additive Manufacturing of Removable Complete Dentures by the Results of Their Mechanical Testing

In this study, a methodology was developed for ranking manufacturing technologies of removable complete dentures (RCDs) according to the results of their full-scale mechanical tests. The actuality of the study is motivated by establishing the advantages and drawbacks of 3D-printed RCDs in contrast with ones manufactured via an analog protocol. The RCDs were fabricated via four technological routes that included various combinations of subtractive technologies (hot polymerization/HP and CAD/CAM milling) and additive manufacturing (digital light processing/DLP) ones and the installation of commercially available cosmetic denture teeth (DT). In the mechanical tests, different blocks of teeth (incisors, canines, premolars and molars) were loaded. To solve the ranking problem, it was proposed to interpret the results of the mechanical tests in terms of the reliability, durability and compliance/stiffness criteria. For this purpose, the combined AHP-VIKOR method was applied. In addition, a computer simulation of the mechanical loading conditions and the response of the RCDs was performed based on the finite element method (FEM). As the key conclusion, it was stated that additive manufacturing (AM) methods are competitive and cost-effective techniques for the fabrication of RCDs

High Efficiency White Luminescence of Alumina doped ZnO

International audienceThe application of Alumina-doped ZnO (AZO) films as luminescent material for large area lighting sources has been evaluated. Thin films were grown on quartz using magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed under argon atmosphere in a rapid thermal annealing experiment. Below 550 °C, red-shift of the optical band gap and increase of the visible emission are observed in agreement with Al diffusion and formation of interstitial oxygen atoms. At temperatures higher than 800 °C, diffusion is activated and Ostwald ripening leads to the formation of larger grains and an increase of the crystalline phase. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity is enhanced, specifically in the UV range. As a result the emission spectrum of AZO thin films can be adjusted by the annealing conditions, with equal contributions from the UV and orange parts of the PL spectrum resulting in an efficient white emission as quantified using the color space map of the Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage

Dental Material Selection for the Additive Manufacturing of Removable Complete Dentures (RCD)

This research addresses the development of a formalized approach to dental material selection (DMS) in manufacturing removable complete dentures (RDC). Three types of commercially available polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) grades, processed by an identical Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printer, were compared. In this way, a combination of mechanical, tribological, technological, microbiological, and economic factors was assessed. The material indices were calculated to compare dental materials for a set of functional parameters related to feedstock cost. However, this did not solve the problem of simultaneous consideration of all the material indices, including their significance. The developed DMS procedure employs the extended VIKOR method, based on the analysis of interval quantitative estimations, which allowed the carrying out of a fully fledged analysis of alternatives. The proposed approach has the potential to enhance the efficiency of prosthetic treatment by optimizing the DMS procedure, taking into consideration the prosthesis design and its production route