Ligand-Doped Copper Oxo-hydroxide Nanoparticles are Effective Antimicrobials.

Bacterial resistance to antimicrobial therapies is an increasing clinical problem. This is as true for topical applications as it is for systemic therapy. Topically, copper ions may be effective and cheap antimicrobials that act through multiple pathways thereby limiting opportunities to bacteria for resistance. However, the chemistry of copper does not lend itself to facile formulations that will readily release copper ions at biologically compatible pHs. Here we have developed nanoparticulate copper hydroxide adipate tartrate (CHAT) as a cheap, safe and readily synthesised material that should enable antimicrobial copper ion release in an infected wound environment. First, we synthesised CHAT and showed that this had disperse aquated particle sizes of 2-5 nm, and mean zeta potential of -40 mV. Next, when diluted into bacterial medium, CHAT demonstrated similar efficacy to copper chloride against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, with dose-dependent activity occurring mostly around 12.5-50 mg/L of copper. Indeed, at these levels, CHAT very rapidly dissolved and, as confirmed by a bacterial copper biosensor, showed identical intracellular loading to copper ions derived from copper chloride. However, when formulated at 250 mg/L in a topically-applied matrix, namely hydroxyethyl cellulose, the benefit of CHAT over copper chloride was apparent. The former yielded rapid sustained release of copper within the bactericidal range but the copper chloride, which formed insoluble precipitates at such concentration and pH, achieved a maximum release of 10 ± 7 mg/L copper by 24 hours. We provide a practical formulation for topical copper - based antimicrobial therapy. Further studies, especially in vivo, are merited

Uterine fluid extracellular vesicles proteome Is altered during the estrous cycle

Uterine environment is tightly and finely regulated via various signaling pathways mediated through endocrine, exocrine, autocrine, juxtacrine, and paracrine mechanisms. In utero signaling processes are paramount for normal and abnormal physiology which involves cell to cell, cells to gametes, cells to embryo, and even inter-kingdom communications due to presence of uterine microbiota. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the uterine fluid (UF) and their cargo components are known to be mediators of in utero signaling and communications. Interestingly, the changes in UF-EV proteome during the bovine estrous cycle and the effects of these differentially enriched proteins on embryo development are yet to be fully discovered. In this study, shotgun quantitative proteomics–based mass spectrometry was employed to compare UF-EV proteomes at day 0, 7, and 16 of the estrous cycle to understand the estrous cycle–dependent dynamics. Furthermore, different phase UF-EVs were supplemented in embryo cultures to evaluate their impact on embryo development. One hundred fifty-nine UF-EV proteins were differentially enriched at different time points indicating the UF-EV proteome is cycle-dependent. Overall, many identified pathways are important for normal uterine functions, early embryo development, and its nutritional needs, such as antioxidant activity, cell morphology and cycle, cellular homeostasis, cell adhesion, and carbohydrate metabolic process. Furthermore, the luteal phase UF-EVs supplementation increased in vitro blastocyst rates from 25.0 ± 5.9% to 41.0 ± 4.0% (p ≤ 0.05). Our findings highlight the importance of bovine UF-EV in uterine communications throughout the estrous cycle. Interestingly, comparison of hormone-synchronized EV proteomes to natural cycle UF-EVs indicated shift of signaling. Finally, UF-EVs can be used to improve embryo production in vitro

Implementation of the EU CCS Directive in Europe: results and development in 2013

Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament on the geological storage of carbon dioxide, entered into force on June 25th 2009. By the end 2013 the CCS Directive has been fully transposed into national law to the satisfaction of the EC in 20 out of 28 EU Member States, while six EU countries (Austria, Cyprus, Hungary, Ireland, Sweden and Slovenia) had to complete transposing measures. In July 2014 the European Commission closed infringement procedures against Cyprus, Hungary and Ireland, which have notified the EC that they have taken measures to incorporate the CCS Directive into national law. Among other three countries Sweden has updated its legislation and published a new law in their country in March 2014, permitting CO2 storage offshore. The evaluation of the national laws in Poland, which were accepted at national level in November 2013, and Croatia, which entered the EU on 7 July 2013 and simultaneously transposed the CCS directive, is still ongoing in 2014. The first storage permit under the Directive (for the ROAD Project in the offshore Netherlands) has been approved by the EC. While CO2 storage is permitted in a number of European countries, temporary restrictions were applied in Czech Republic, Denmark and Poland. CO2 storage is prohibited except for research and development in Estonia, Finland, Luxembourg, two regions in Belgium and Slovenia due to their geological conditions, but also forbidden in Austraia, Ireland and Latvia. The size of exploration areas for CO2 storage sites is limited in Bulgaria and Hungary. In Germany, only limited CO2 storage will be permitted until 2018 (up to 4 Mt CO2 annually)

Reconstructing promoter activity from Lux bioluminescent reporters

The bacterial Lux system is used as a gene expression reporter. It is fast, sensitive and non-destructive, enabling high frequency measurements. Originally developed for bacterial cells, it has also been adapted for eukaryotic cells, and can be used for whole cell biosensors, or in real time with live animals without the need for euthanasia. However, correct interpretation of bioluminescent data is limited: the bioluminescence is different from gene expression because of nonlinear molecular and enzyme dynamics of the Lux system. We have developed a computational approach that, for the first time, allows users of Lux assays to infer gene transcription levels from the light output. This approach is based upon a new mathematical model for Lux activity, that includes the actions of LuxAB, LuxEC and Fre, with improved mechanisms for all reactions, as well as synthesis and turn-over of Lux proteins. The model is calibrated with new experimental data for the LuxAB and Fre reactions from Photorhabdus luminescens --- the source of modern Lux reporters --- while literature data has been used for LuxEC. Importantly, the data show clear evidence for previously unreported product inhibition for the LuxAB reaction. Model simulations show that predicted bioluminescent profiles can be very different from changes in gene expression, with transient peaks of light output, very similar to light output seen in some experimental data sets. By incorporating the calibrated model into a Bayesian inference scheme, we can reverse engineer promoter activity from the bioluminescence. We show examples where a decrease in bioluminescence would be better interpreted as a switching off of the promoter, or where an increase in bioluminescence would be better interpreted as a longer period of gene expression. This approach could benefit all users of Lux technology

Are luminescent bacteria suitable for online detection and monitoring of toxic compounds in drinking water and its sources?

Biosensors based on luminescent bacteria may be valuable tools to monitor the chemical quality and safety of surface and drinking water. In this review, an overview is presented of the recombinant strains available that harbour the bacterial luciferase genes luxCDABE, and which may be used in an online biosensor for water quality monitoring. Many bacterial strains have been described for the detection of a broad range of toxicity parameters, including DNA damage, protein damage, membrane damage, oxidative stress, organic pollutants, and heavy metals. Most lux strains have sensitivities with detection limits ranging from milligrams per litre to micrograms per litre, usually with higher sensitivities in compound-specific strains. Although the sensitivity of lux strains can be enhanced by various molecular manipulations, most reported detection thresholds are still too high to detect levels of individual contaminants as they occur nowadays in European drinking waters. However, lux strains sensing specific toxic effects have the advantage of being able to respond to mixtures of contaminants inducing the same effect, and thus could be used as a sensor for the sum effect, including the effect of compounds that are as yet not identified by chemical analysis. An evaluation of the suitability of lux strains for monitoring surface and drinking water is therefore provided

Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change.Peer reviewe

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure

Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.</p

Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change

Anti-bacterial activity of inorganic nanomaterials and their antimicrobial peptide conjugates against resistant and non-resistant pathogens

This review details the antimicrobial applications of inorganic nanomaterials of mostly metallic form, and the augmentation of activity by surface conjugation of peptide ligands. The review is subdivided into three main sections, of which the first describes the antimicrobial activity of inorganic nanomaterials against gram-positive, gram-negative and multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. The second section highlights the range of antimicrobial peptides and the drug resistance strategies employed by bacterial species to counter lethality. The final part discusses the role of antimicrobial peptide-decorated inorganic nanomaterials in the fight against bacterial strains that show resistance. General strategies for the preparation of antimicrobial peptides and their conjugation to nanomaterials are discussed, emphasizing the use of elemental and metallic oxide nanomaterials. Importantly, the permeation of antimicrobial peptides through the bacterial membrane is shown to aid the delivery of nanomaterials into bacterial cells. By judicious use of targeting ligands, the nanomaterial becomes able to differentiate between bacterial and mammalian cells and, thus, reduce side effects. Moreover, peptide conjugation to the surface of a nanomaterial will alter surface chemistry in ways that lead to reduction in toxicity and improvements in biocompatibility