49 research outputs found
Structural properties of various sodium thiogermanate glasses through DFT-based molecular dynamics simulations
We present a study of the structural properties of (x)NaS-(1-x)GeS
glasses through DFT-based molecular dynamics simulations, at different sodium
concentrations (). We computed the radial pair correlation functions
as well as the total and partial structure factors. We also analyzed the
evolution of the corner- and edge-sharing intertetrahedral links with the
sodium concentration and show that the sodium ions exclusively destroy the
former. With the increase of the sodium concentration the ``standard'' FSDP
disappears and a new pre-peak appears in the structure factor which can be
traced back in the Na-Na partial structure factor. This self organization of
the sodium ions is coherent with Na-rich zones that we find at high modifier
concentration.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures; to be published in Phys. Rev.
Energy-dependent accumulation of fluoroquinolones in quinolone- resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains
The intracellular accumulation of norfloxacin and perloxacin in Klebsiella pneumoniae was evaluated. The roles of lipopolysaccharide, capsule, and outer membrane proteins were not important for the intrabacterial accumulation of fluoroquinolones in isogenic strains with known outer membrane alterations. In fluoroquinolone-resistant clinical isolates also expressing GyrA alterations, an active efflux leading to decreased accumulation of the drugs enhanced their resistance to these agents.Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología PB96-019
Activities of imipenem and cephalosporins against clonally related strains of Escherichia coli hyperproducing chromosomal β-lactamase and showing altered porin profiles
Forty clonally related clinical isolates of Escherichia coli from hospitalized patients were resistant to cefoxitin (MICs, >256 μg/ml) and ceftazidime (MICs, 32 to 256 μg/ml) and were intermediate or resistant to cefotaxime (MICs, 16 to 128 μg/ml) but susceptible to both cefepime (MICs, 0.5 to 2 μg/ml) and imipenem (MICs, 0.125 to 0.25 μg/ml). Resistance to β-lactams was related to high-level production of AmpC β-lactamase and loss of OmpF porin
Theta dependence of SU(N) gauge theories in the presence of a topological term
We review results concerning the theta dependence of 4D SU(N) gauge theories
and QCD, where theta is the coefficient of the CP-violating topological term in
the Lagrangian. In particular, we discuss theta dependence in the large-N
limit.
Most results have been obtained within the lattice formulation of the theory
via numerical simulations, which allow to investigate the theta dependence of
the ground-state energy and the spectrum around theta=0 by determining the
moments of the topological charge distribution, and their correlations with
other observables. We discuss the various methods which have been employed to
determine the topological susceptibility, and higher-order terms of the theta
expansion. We review results at zero and finite temperature. We show that the
results support the scenario obtained by general large-N scaling arguments, and
in particular the Witten-Veneziano mechanism to explain the U(1)_A problem. We
also compare with results obtained by other approaches, especially in the
large-N limit, where the issue has been also addressed using, for example, the
AdS/CFT correspondence.
We discuss issues related to theta dependence in full QCD: the neutron
electric dipole moment, the dependence of the topological susceptibility on the
quark masses, the U(1)_A symmetry breaking at finite temperature.
We also consider the 2D CP(N) model, which is an interesting theoretical
laboratory to study issues related to topology. We review analytical results in
the large-N limit, and numerical results within its lattice formulation.
Finally, we discuss the main features of the two-point correlation function
of the topological charge density.Comment: A typo in Eq. (3.9) has been corrected. An additional subsection
(5.2) has been inserted to demonstrate the nonrenormalizability of the
relevant theta parameter in the presence of massive fermions, which implies
that the continuum (a -> 0) limit must be taken keeping theta fixe
The porin and the permeating antibiotic: A selective diffusion barrier in gram-negative bacteria
Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for a large proportion of antibiotic resistant bacterial diseases. These bacteria have a complex cell envelope that comprises an outer membrane and an inner membrane that delimit the periplasm. The outer membrane contains various protein channels, called porins, which are involved in the influx of various compounds, including several classes of antibiotics. Bacterial adaptation to reduce influx through porins is an increasing problem worldwide that contributes, together with efflux systems, to the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. An exciting challenge is to decipher the genetic and molecular basis of membrane impermeability as a bacterial resistance mechanism. This Review outlines the bacterial response towards antibiotic stress on altered membrane permeability and discusses recent advances in molecular approaches that are improving our knowledge of the physico-chemical parameters that govern the translocation of antibiotics through porin channel
Transient and sustained bacterial adaptation following repeated sublethal exposure to microbicides and a novel human antimicrobial peptide
Microbicides (biocides) play an important role in the prevention and treatment of infections. While there is currently little evidence for in-use treatment failures attributable to acquired reductions in microbicide susceptibility, the susceptibility of some bacteria can be reduced by sublethal laboratory exposure to certain agents. In this investigation, a range of environmental bacterial isolates (11 genera, 18 species) were repeatedly exposed to four microbicides (cetrimide, chlorhexidine, polyhexamethylene biguanide [PHMB], and triclosan) and a cationic apolipoprotein E-derived antimicrobial peptide (apoEdpL-W) using a previously validated exposure system. Susceptibilities (MICs and minimum bactericidal concentrations [MBCs]) were determined before and after 10 passages (P10) in the presence of an antimicrobial and then after a further 10 passages without an antimicrobial to determine the stability of any adaptations. Bacteria exhibiting >4-fold increases in MBCs were further examined for alterations in biofilm-forming ability. Following microbicide exposure, ≥4-fold decreases in susceptibility (MIC or MBC) occurred for cetrimide (5/18 bacteria), apoEdpL-W (7/18), chlorhexidine (8/18), PHMB (8/18), and triclosan (11/18). Of the 34 ≥4-fold increases in the MICs, 15 were fully reversible, 13 were partially reversible, and 6 were nonreversible. Of the 26 ≥4-fold increases in the MBCs, 7 were fully reversible, 14 were partially reversible, and 5 were nonreversible. Significant decreases in biofilm formation in P10 strains occurred for apoEdpL-W (1/18 bacteria), chlorhexidine (1/18), and triclosan (2/18), while significant increases occurred for apoEdpL-W (1/18), triclosan (1/18), and chlorhexidine (2/18). These data indicate that the stability of induced changes in microbicide susceptibility varies but may be sustained for some combinations of a bacterium and a microbicide
Digital Narratives of COVID-19: A Twitter Dataset for Text Analysis in Spanish
'Digital Narratives of COVID-19' (DHCovid) offers a curated Twitter corpus of digital conversations about the Coronavirus pandemic. The dataset is collected through a script via Twitter’s Application Programming Interface (API) starting on April 24th, 2020, and stored on GitHub as an open access repository of tweet identifiers that can be consulted, downloaded, and reused by scholars interested in Natural Language Processing (NLP), topic modelling, and other quantitative methods. A stable version of the dataset has also been released through Zenodo. Twitter datasets are structured in three main collections: tweets in Spanish worldwide; geolocated tweets in six Spanish-speaking areas spanning North and Central America (Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador), South America (Argentina, Peru), and Europe (Spain); and geolocated tweets in English and Spanish from the greater Miami area in South Florida
Development of Resistance during Antimicrobial Therapy Caused by Insertion Sequence Interruption of Porin Genes
Identification and Characterization of a New Porin Gene of Klebsiella pneumoniae: Its Role in β-Lactam Antibiotic Resistance
Klebsiella pneumoniae porin genes were analyzed to detect mutations accounting for the porin deficiency observed in many β-lactam-resistant strains. PCR and Southern blot analysis revealed the existence of a third porin gene in addition to the OmpK36 and OmpK35 porin genes previously described. This new porin gene was designated ompK37 and is present in all of the clinical isolates tested. The OmpK37 porin gene was cloned, sequenced, and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. In contrast to that of the major porins, OmpK37 porin expression was only detectable by Western blot analysis in porin-deficient β-lactam-resistant strains, suggesting strong down regulation under standard laboratory conditions. Functional characterization suggested a narrower pore for the OmpK37 porin than for K. pneumoniae porins OmpK36 and OmpK35. This correlated with the susceptibility to certain β-lactam antibiotics, since a K. pneumoniae strain expressing porin OmpK37, but not porin OmpK36 or OmpK35, was less susceptible to β-lactam antibiotics than the same strain expressing either porin OmpK36 or OmpK35