Recent advances in nanoparticles as antibacterial agent

Recently, the rapid increase in antibiotic-resistant pathogens has caused serious health problems. Researchers are searching for alternative antimicrobial substances to control or prevent infections caused by pathogens. Different strategies are used to develop effective antibacterial agents, and in this respect, nanoparticles are undoubtedly promising materials. Nanoparticles act by bypassing drug resistance mechanisms in bacteria and inhibiting biofilm formation or other important processes related to their virulence potential. Nanoparticles can penetrate the cell wall and membrane of bacteria and act by disrupting important molecular mechanisms. In combination with appropriate antibiotics, NPs may show synergy and help prevent the developing global bacterial resistance crisis. Furthermore, due to characteristics such as enhanced biocompatibility and biodegradability, polymer-based nanoparticles enable the development of a wide range of medical products. Antibacterial applications of nanoparticles range from antimicrobial synthetic textiles to biomedical and surgical devices when nanoparticles are embedded/loaded/coated into different materials. In this review, the antibacterial mechanisms of nanoparticles and their potential for use in the medical field are discussed

Seroprevalences of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C among healthcare workers in Tire State Hospital

Objective: The risk of infection with HBV and HCV in healthcare workers has been increased as risks such as contact with the blood or open wound of the infected people. The aim of the study was to investigate the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among healthcare working at Tire State Hospital. Methods: Screening records of total 518 hospital personnel working in the Tire State Hospital between January 2012 and April 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. HBsAg, Anti-HBs and Anti HCV tests on the blood samples obtained for screening were performed in our laboratory using Siemens advia centaur XP chemiluminescence technique. Results: Between January 2012 and April 2017, a total of 518 health workers, ranging in age from 18 to 63 working in the State Hospital, were evaluated in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology clinics. Our personnel were negative for Anti-HBs 61 (11.8%) and anti-HBs positivity was detected in 457 (88.2%) of the obtained samples, 6 (1.2%) of these personnel were positive for HBsAg. It was detected that two cleaning personnel and a nurse were positive for anti-HCV. Conclusion: Hospital workers should be screened for HBV and HCV and individuals without HBV vaccination should be vaccinated. In our country, HBsAg positivity in healthcare workers has decreased especially in recent years. Nevertheless, healthcare workers are still under the risk of HBV and HCV. Therefore, it is important to keep and review the records of hospital workers regularly

Quinolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis in lupins and prospects for grain quality improvement

Quinolizidine alkaloids (QAs) are toxic secondary metabolites found within the genus Lupinus, some species of which are commercially important grain legume crops including Lupinus angustifolius (narrow-leafed lupin, NLL), L. luteus (yellow lupin), L. albus (white lupin), and L. mutabilis (pearl lupin), with NLL grain being the most largely produced of the four species in Australia and worldwide. While QAs offer the plants protection against insect pests, the accumulation of QAs in lupin grain complicates its use for food purposes as QA levels must remain below the industry threshold (0.02%), which is often exceeded. It is not well understood what factors cause grain QA levels to exceed this threshold. Much of the early work on QA biosynthesis began in the 1970– 1980s, with many QA chemical structures well-characterized and lupin cell cultures and enzyme assays employed to identify some biosynthetic enzymes and pathway intermediates. More recently, two genes associated with these enzymes have been characterized, however, the QA biosynthetic pathway remains only partially elucidated. Here, we review the research accomplished thus far concerning QAs in lupin and consider some possibilities for further elucidation and manipulation of the QA pathway in lupin crops, drawing on examples from model alkaloid species. One breeding strategy for lupin is to produce plants with high QAs in vegetative tissues while low in the grain in order to confer insect resistance to plants while keeping grain QA levels within industry regulations. With the knowledge achieved on alkaloid biosynthesis in other plant species in recent years, and the recent development of genomic and transcriptomic resources for NLL, there is considerable scope to facilitate advances in our knowledge of QAs, leading to the production of improved lupin crops. © 2017 Frick, Kamphuis, Siddique, Singh and Foley

Update of the Scientific Opinion on opium alkaloids in poppy seeds

The CONTAM Panel wishes to thank the hearing experts: Pavel Cihlar, Daniel Doerge and Vaclav Lohr for the support provided to this scientific output. The CONTAM Panel acknowledges all European competent institutions and other stakeholders that provided occurrence data on opium alkaloids in food, and supported the data collection for the Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. Adopted: 22 March 2018 Reproduction of the images listed below is prohibited and permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder:Figure A.1 in Appendix A: © Elsevier.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

In Silico Analysis of Common Long Noncoding RNAs in Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium

Background. Schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma parasites is one of the most common parasitic infections worldwide. Genetic regulation of the genus Schistosoma, which has different developmental stages throughout its life, is quite complex. In these parasites, thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) estimated to be functional were identified. Identifying the transcripts expressed in common and detecting their functions for better understanding of the role of these lncRNAs require a comparative study. Methods. Assembled RNA-seq datasets belonging to S. mansoni and S. haematobium were obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology. A basic local alignment search tool (BLASTN) analysis was conducted against previously constructed lncRNA library to identify the common lncRNAs between two species. LncRNAs target genes and their gene ontology annotation was performed. Results. In S. mansoni and S. haematobium, 5132 and 3589 lncRNA transcripts were detected, respectively. These two species had 694 lncRNAs in common. A significant number of lncRNAs was determined to be transcribed from sex chromosomes. The frequently expressed lncRNAs appear to be involved in metabolic and biological regulation processes. Conclusions. These two species share similar lncRNAs; thus, this finding is a clue that they might have similar functions. In sexual development, they especially might play important roles. Our results will provide important clues to further studies about interactions between human hosts and parasites and the infection mechanisms of Schistosoma parasites

Optimization of culture conditions for Aspergillus sojae expressing an Aspergillus fumigatus alpha-galactosidase

Using Response Surface Methodology, carbon and nitrogen sources and agitation speed for cultivation of Aspergillus sojae expressing the alpha-galactosidase gene, aglB of Aspergillus fumigatus IMI 385708 were optimized. Compared to cultivation in modified YpSs medium, cultivation in 250-mL Erlenmeyer flasks agitated at 276 rpm and containing 100 mL of optimized medium consisting of 10.5% molasses (w/v) and 1.3% NH4NO3 (w/v), 0.1% K2HPO4, and 0.005% MgSO4 center dot 7H(2)0 achieved a 4-fold increase in alpha-galactosidase production (10.4 U/mL). These results suggest the feasibility of industrial large scale production of an alpha-galactosidase known to be valuable in galactomannan modification

Cloning and heterologous expression of the extracellular alpha-galactosidase from Aspergillus fumigatus in Aspergillus sojae under the control of gpdA promoter

Aspergillus fumigatus is highly pathogenic especially for immunocompromised people however it can efficiently produce many industrially important enzymes. The gene coding et-galactosidase enzyme (aglB) of A. fumigatus IMI 385708 has been cloned onto pAN52-4 fungal expression vector and expressed in a GRAS organism, Aspergillus sojae ATCC11906 under the control of constitutive glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpdA) promoter. pAN52-4 fungal expression system allowed high level alpha-galactosidase production in media with simple sugar glucose as the sole carbon source and without a requirement for an inducer with a yield of 2.45 U/ml which is nearly 3-fold higher than the yield obtained from A. fumigatus grown in locust bean gum containing medium

Identification and sequence analysis of alkaloid biosynthesis genes in Papaver section Oxytona

The benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIA) are secondary metabolites that are produced by many of the Papaver species including Papaver bracteatum, Papaver pseudo-orientale, and Papaver orientale, three representative members of the section Oxytona Bernh. The sequences and expression levels of the genes positioned on the BIA biosynthesis pathway were previously defined in opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), one of the mostly studied species of the same genus. Nevertheless, the majority of predicted BIA-related gene sequences in the section Oxytona have not been specified. Here we are presenting new cDNA sequences that belong to the Oxytona species. In this study, partial sequences of norcoclaurine-6-O methyltransferase (6OMT), NADPH-dependent codeinone reductase (COR), salutaridinol 7-O-acetyltransferase (SalAT), and (S)-tetrahydroprotoberberine cis-N methyltransferase (TNMT) in P. pseudo-orientale; 3-hydroxy-N-methylcoclaurine 4´-O-methyltransferase (4OMT) in P. bracteatum; and TNMT and 6OMT in P. orientale were identified for the first time, and some of the previously sequenced genes were resequenced in the section Oxytona. Furthermore, expressions of those genes were also detected by using qRT-PCR in leaves. The findings were used to construct phylogenetic trees demonstrating the evolutionary relationships of BIA-related genes among Oxytona species