Isolation of a Novel Phage with Activity against Streptococcus mutans Biofilms

peer-reviewedStreptococcus mutans is one of the principal agents of caries formation mainly, because of its ability to form biofilms at the tooth surface. Bacteriophages (phages) are promising antimicrobial agents that could be used to prevent or treat caries formation by S. mutans. The aim of this study was to isolate new S. mutans phages and to characterize their antimicrobial properties. A new phage, ɸAPCM01, was isolated from a human saliva sample. Its genome was closely related to the only two other available S. mutans phage genomes, M102 and M102AD. ɸAPCM01 inhibited the growth of S. mutans strain DPC6143 within hours in broth and in artificial saliva at multiplicity of infections as low as 2.5x10-5. In the presence of phage ɸAPCM01 the metabolic activity of a S. mutans biofilm was reduced after 24 h of contact and did not increased again after 48 h, and the live cells in the biofilm decreased by at least 5 log cfu/ml. Despite its narrow host range, this newly isolated S. mutans phage exhibits promising antimicrobial properties

Advancing a theoretical model for public health and health promotion indicator development: Proposal from the EUHPID consortium

This paper discusses the work of the EUHPID Project to develop a European Health Promotion Monitoring System based on a common set of health promotion indicators. The Project has established three working groups to progress this task - health promotion policy and practice-driven, data-driven and theory-driven. The work of the latter group is reviewed in particular. EUHPID has taken a systems theory approach in order to develop a model as a common frame of reference and a rational basis for the selection, organization and interpretation of health promotion indicators. After reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of those health promotion models currently proposed for indicator development, the paper proposes a general systems model of health development, and specific analytical, socio-ecological models related to public health and health promotion. These are described and discussed in detail. Taking the Ottawa Charter as the preferred framework for health promotion, the socio-ecological model for health promotion adopts its five action areas to form five types of systems. The structure and processes for each of these five systems are proposed to form the basis of a classification system for health promotion indicators. The paper goes on to illustrate such a system with reference to indicators in the workplace setting. The EUHPID Consortium suggest that their socio-ecological model could become a common reference point for the public health field generally, and offer an invitation to interested readers to contribute to this developmen

Genome sequence of jumbo phage vB_AbaM_ME3 of Acinetobacter baumanni

Bacteriophage (phage) vB_AbaM_ME3 was previously isolated from wastewater effluent using the propagating host Acinetobacter baumannii DSM 30007. The full genome was sequenced, revealing it to be the largest Acinetobacter bacteriophage sequenced to date with a size of 234,900 bp and containing 326 open reading frames (ORFs)

The advantages of partialling perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns: Critical issues and recommendations

According to the two-factor theory of perfectionism (Stoeber & Otto, 2006), perfectionism comprises two superordinate dimensions—perfectionistic strivings (PS) and perfectionistic concerns (PC)—that show different, and often opposite, relations with psychological adjustment and maladjustment, particularly when their overlap is partialled out. Recently, Hill (2014) raised concerns about the interpretation of the relations that PS show after partialling. The present article aims to alleviate these concerns. First, we address the concern that partialling changes the conceptual meaning of PS. Second, we explain how the relations of residual PS (i.e., PS with PC partialled out) differ from those of PS, and how to interpret these differences. In this, we also discuss suppressor effects and how mutual suppression affects the relations of both PS and PC with outcomes. Furthermore, we provide recommendations of how to report and interpret findings of analyses partialling out the effects of PS and PC. We conclude that, if properly understood and reported, there is nothing to be concerned about when partialling PS and PC. On the contrary, partialling is essential if we want to understand the shared, unique, combined, and interactive relations of the different dimensions of perfectionism

Metabolic analyses reveal common adaptations in two invasive Haemophilus influenzae strains

Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a major pathogen in upper and lower respiratory tract infections in humans, and is increasingly also associated with invasive disease. We have examined two unrelated NTHi invasive disease isolates, R2866 and C188, in order to identify metabolic and physiological properties that distinguish them from respiratory tract disease isolates such as Hi2019. While the general use of the Hi metabolic network was similar across all three strains, the two invasive isolates secreted increased amounts of succinate which can have anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, they showed a common shift in their carbon source utilization patterns, with strongly enhanced metabolism of nucleoside substrates, glucose and sialic acid. The latter two are major compounds present in blood and CSF. Interestingly, C188 and R2866 also shared a reduced ability to invade or survive intracellularly in 16HBE14 bronchial epithelial cells relative to Hi2019 (4-fold (4 h), 25-fold (24 h) reduction). Altered metabolic properties such as the ones observed here could arise from genomic adaptations that NTHi undergo during infection. Together these data indicate that shifts in substrate preferences in otherwise conserved metabolic pathways may underlie strain niche specificity and thus have the potential to alter the outcomes of host-NTHi interactions

The prompt to late-time multiwavelength analysis of GRB 060210

We present our analysis of the multiwavelength photometric & spectroscopic observations of GRB 060210 and discuss the results in the overall context of current GRB models. All available optical data underwent a simultaneous temporal fit, while X-ray and gamma-ray observations were analysed temporally & spectrally. The results were compared to each other and to possible GRB models. The X-ray afterglow is best described by a smoothly broken power-law with a break at 7.4 hours. The late optical afterglow has a well constrained single power-law index which has a value between the two X-ray indices, though it does agree with a single power-law fit to the X-ray. An evolution of the hardness of the high-energy emission is demonstrated and we imply a minimum host extinction from a comparison of the extrapolated X-ray flux to that measured in the optical. We find that the flaring gamma-ray and X-ray emission is likely due to internal shocks while the flat optical light curve at that time is due to the external shock. The late afterglow is best explained by a cooling break between the optical and X-rays and continued central engine activity up to the time of the break. The required collimation corrected energy of ~ 2x10^52 erg, while at the high end of the known energy distribution, is not unprecedented.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted to Astronomy & Astrophysics after minor change

Directed Energy Deposition of Low‐Alloyed Steels: An Insight on Microstructural and Mechanical Properties

Low‐alloyed steels are used for a variety of different applications like bearings or gears. Additive manufacturing technologies like directed energy deposition (DED‐LB/M) allow for a fast and close‐to‐contour fabrication of sophisticated products without excessive waste of material. However, the DED‐LB/M process cannot be considered as state‐of‐the‐art for this group of materials. This study presents findings on the material properties of the additively manufactured low‐alloyed steel Bainidur AM by means of DED‐LB/M. This includes studies on the mechanical properties (hardness, compression strength) as well as the microstructural properties (scanning electron microscopy [SEM]). The microstructure in the as‐built state appears like a bainitic–martensitic one with shares of retained austenite which is not fully transformed during cooling. As a differentiation is barely possible from the SEM images, a plethora of investigations is further used to assess the microstructure. As‐built samples possess a good combination of ductility and hardness. Furthermore, the specimens are characterized by a good tempering stability up to 600 °C. This tempering stability is characterized by a homogeneous hardness of around 400 HV1 for all temperatures. In contrast, the conventionally hardened specimens show a drop‐off in material hardness, further indicating the excellent material properties of additively manufactured Bainidur AM. This work shows key findings on the processing of case‐hardening steels by means of directed energy deposition (DED‐LB/M). By applying different investigations methods, it can be found that the underlying microstructure is bainite‐dominated rather than a tempered martensitic one, which results in excellent material properties both in the as‐built and tempered state. image © 2023 WILEY‐VCH GmbH Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/50110000636

Three New Escherichia coli Phages from the Human Gut Show Promising Potential for Phage Therapy

peer-reviewedWith the emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria the use of bacteriophages (phages) is gaining renewed interest as promising anti-microbial agents. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize phages from human fecal samples. Three new coliphages, ɸAPCEc01, ɸAPCEc02 and ɸAPCEc03, were isolated. Their phenotypic and genomic characteristics, and lytic activity against biofilm, and in combination with ciprofloxacin, were investigated. All three phages reduced the growth of E. coli strain DPC6051 at multiplicity of infection (MOI) between 10−3 and 105. A cocktail of all three phages completely inhibited the growth of E. coli. The phage cocktail also reduced biofilm formation and prevented the emergence of phage-resistant mutants which occurred with single phage. When combined with ciprofloxacin, phage alone or in cocktail inhibited the growth of E. coli and prevented the emergence of resistant mutants. These three new phages are promising biocontrol agents for E. coli infections

Phonon scattering in ortho-para hydrogen solid solutions (role of configurational relaxation)

The experimental data on the thermal conductivity of ortho-parahydrogen solutions are analyzed on the basis of a relaxation-time model taking account of configurational relaxation of the ortho subsystem. The influence of configurational relaxation on the thermal conductivity is analyzed using resonance scattering of phonons by pair clusters of orthomolecules taking account of their rotational spectrum.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure