A novel autotransporter of uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis is both a cytotoxin and an agglutinin

One of the six predicted Proteus mirabilis autotransporters (ATs), ORF c2341, is predicted to contain a serine protease motif and was earlier identified as an immunogenic outer membrane protein in P. mirabilis . The 3.2 kb gene encodes a 117 kDa protein with a 58-amino-acid-long signal peptide, a 75-kDa-long N-terminal passenger domain and a 30-kDa-long C-terminal translocator. Affinity-purified 110 kDa AT exhibited chymotrypsin-like activity and hydrolysed N -Suc–Ala–Ala–Pro–Phe– p Na and N -Suc–Ala–Ala–Pro–Leu– p Na with a K M of 22 μM and 31 μM, respectively, under optimal pH of 8.5–9.0 in a Ca 2+ -dependent manner. Activity was inhibited by subtilase-specific inhibitors leupeptin and chymostatin. Both the cell-associated and purified form elicited cytopathic effects on cultured kidney and bladder epithelial cells. Substrate hydrolysis as well as cytotoxicity was associated with the passenger domain and was compromised upon mutation of any of the catalytic residues (Ser366, His147 and Asp533). At alkaline pH and optimal cell density, the AT also promoted autoaggregation of P. mirabilis and this function was independent of its protease activity. Cytotoxicity, autoaggregation and virulence were significantly reduced in an isogenic pta mutant of P. mirabilis . Proteus toxic agglutinin (Pta) represents a novel autotransported cytotoxin with no bacterial homologues that works optimally in the alkalinized urinary tract, a characteristic of urease-mediated urea hydrolysis during P. mirabilis infection.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73221/1/j.1365-2958.2008.06199.x.pd

The liquid-vapor interface of an ionic fluid

We investigate the liquid-vapor interface of the restricted primitive model (RPM) for an ionic fluid using a density-functional approximation based on correlation functions of the homogeneous fluid as obtained from the mean-spherical approximation (MSA). In the limit of a homogeneous fluid our approach yields the well-known MSA (energy) equation of state. The ionic interfacial density profiles, which for the RPM are identical for both species, have a shape similar to those of simple atomic fluids in that the decay towards the bulk values is more rapid on the vapor side than on the liquid side. This is the opposite asymmetry of the decay to that found in earlier calculations for the RPM based on a square-gradient theory. The width of the interface is, for a wide range of temperatures, approximately four times the second moment correlation length of the liquid phase. We discuss the magnitude and temperature dependence of the surface tension, and argue that for temperatures near the triple point the ratio of the dimensionless surface tension and critical temperature is much smaller for the RPM than for simple atomic fluids.Comment: 6 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

A new approach for the limit to tree height using a liquid nanolayer model

Liquids in contact with solids are submitted to intermolecular forces inferring density gradients at the walls. The van der Waals forces make liquid heterogeneous, the stress tensor is not any more spherical as in homogeneous bulks and it is possible to obtain stable thin liquid films wetting vertical walls up to altitudes that incompressible fluid models are not forecasting. Application to micro tubes of xylem enables to understand why the ascent of sap is possible for very high trees like sequoias or giant eucalyptus.Comment: In the conclusion is a complementary comment to the Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamics paper. 21 pages, 4 figures. Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamics 20, 5 (2008) to appea

Amplitude measurements of Faraday waves

A light reflection technique is used to measure quantitatively the surface elevation of Faraday waves. The performed measurements cover a wide parameter range of driving frequencies and sample viscosities. In the capillary wave regime the bifurcation diagrams exhibit a frequency independent scaling proportional to the wavelength. We also provide numerical simulations of the full Navier-Stokes equations, which are in quantitative agreement up to supercritical drive amplitudes of 20%. The validity of an existing perturbation analysis is found to be limited to 2.5% overcriticaly.Comment: 7 figure

Evidence of Final-State Suppression of High-p_T Hadrons in Au + Au Collisions Using d + Au Measurements at RHIC

Transverse momentum spectra of charged hadrons with ${p_{T} <}$ 6 GeV/c have been measured near mid-rapidity (0.2 $< \eta <$ 1.4) by the PHOBOS experiment at RHIC in Au + Au and d + Au collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} = \rm {200 GeV}}$. The spectra for different collision centralities are compared to ${p + \bar{p}}$ collisions at the same energy. The resulting nuclear modification factor for central Au + Au collisions shows evidence of strong suppression of charged hadrons in the high-$p_{T}$ region (${>2}$ GeV/c). In contrast, the d + Au nuclear modification factor exhibits no suppression of the high-$p_{T}$ yields. These measurements suggest a large energy loss of the high-$p_{T}$ particles in the highly interacting medium created in the central Au + Au collisions. The lack of suppression in d + Au collisions suggests that it is unlikely that initial state effects can explain the suppression in the central Au + Au collisions.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, International Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics EPS (July 17th-23rd 2003) in Aachen, German

Pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a spectrum of disease ranging from hepatocellular steatosis through steatohepatitis to fibrosis and irreversible cirrhosis. The prevalence of NAFLD has risen rapidly in parallel with the dramatic rise in obesity and diabetes, and is rapidly becoming the most common cause of liver disease in Western countries. Indeed, NAFLD is now recognized to be the aetiology in many cases previously labelled as cryptogenic cirrhosis

The importance of age effects on performance in the assessment of clinical trials

Forty young adult normal subjects, 10 Parkinson's disease patients and their 10 matched normal subjects, and 10 multiple sclerosis patients and their 10 matched normal subjects were evaluated in the Quantitative Examination of Neurological Function to determine age effects and the importance of selecting closely matched normal control groups for assessing the performance of patients. Where there are significant differences among the three normal subject groups, it is the oldest normal subject group that differs from the two younger subject groups. Significant decreases in performance with increasing age were found for the steadiness tests performed in the supported position, the sensation tests, two or five tests in the Neuro-Psychological Examination and tests requiring fine skilled movements primarily with the dominant hand. It was found that older subjects made fewer errors in coordinated tasks.A normalization technique, expressing performance as a percentage of normal function, was introduced. A method was developed to provide quantitative and meaningful indices of neurological function. The measure is obtained by averaging the percentage of normal function scores over several tests that belong to a primary category of neurological function.Young adult normal subjects do not perform significantly better than normal subjects in the age range of multiple sclerosis patients; however, young adult normal subjects do perform significantly better than normal subjects in the age range of Parkinson's disease patients, especially on tasks requiring fine skilled movements of the dominant hand and coordinated activities of the lower extremities. These results indicate that the performance of multiple sclerosis patients can be expressed as a percentage of the function of either age-matched normal controls or young adult normal controls. However, the performance of Parkinson's disease patients should be expressed only as a percentage of the function of age-matched normal controls.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33791/1/0000046.pd

Monte Carlo Methods for Estimating Interfacial Free Energies and Line Tensions

Excess contributions to the free energy due to interfaces occur for many problems encountered in the statistical physics of condensed matter when coexistence between different phases is possible (e.g. wetting phenomena, nucleation, crystal growth, etc.). This article reviews two methods to estimate both interfacial free energies and line tensions by Monte Carlo simulations of simple models, (e.g. the Ising model, a symmetrical binary Lennard-Jones fluid exhibiting a miscibility gap, and a simple Lennard-Jones fluid). One method is based on thermodynamic integration. This method is useful to study flat and inclined interfaces for Ising lattices, allowing also the estimation of line tensions of three-phase contact lines, when the interfaces meet walls (where "surface fields" may act). A generalization to off-lattice systems is described as well. The second method is based on the sampling of the order parameter distribution of the system throughout the two-phase coexistence region of the model. Both the interface free energies of flat interfaces and of (spherical or cylindrical) droplets (or bubbles) can be estimated, including also systems with walls, where sphere-cap shaped wall-attached droplets occur. The curvature-dependence of the interfacial free energy is discussed, and estimates for the line tensions are compared to results from the thermodynamic integration method. Basic limitations of all these methods are critically discussed, and an outlook on other approaches is given

Bubble Entrainment, Spray and Splashing at Hydraulic Jumps

The sudden transition from a high-velocity, supercritical open channel flow into a slow-moving sub-critical flow is a hydraulic jump. Such a flow is characterised by a sudden rise of the free-surface, with some strong energy dissipation and air entrainment, waves and spray. New two-phase flow measurements were performed in the developing flow region using a large-size facility operating at large Reynolds numbers. The experimental results demonstrated the complexity of the flow with a developing mixing layer in which entrained bubbles are advected in a high shear stress flow. The relationship between bubble count rates and void fractions was non-unique in the shear zone, supporting earlier observations of some form of double diffusion process between momentum and air bubbles. In the upper region, the flow consisted primarily of water drops and packets surrounded by air. Visually significant pray and splashing were significant above the jump roller. The present study is the first comprehensive study detailing the two-phase flow properties of both the bubbly and spray regions of hydraulic jumps, a first step towards understanding the interactions between bubble entrainment and droplet ejection processes