257 research outputs found
Fragments of the nonlytic proline-rich antimicrobial peptide Bac5 kill Escherichia coli cells by inhibiting protein synthesis
Unlike most antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), the main mode of action of
the subclass of proline-rich antimicrobial peptides (PrAMPs) is not based on disruption
of the bacterial membrane. Instead, PrAMPs exploit the inner membrane transporters
SbmA and YjiL/MdtM to pass through the bacterial membrane and enter the
cytosol of specific Gram-negative bacteria, where they exert an inhibitory effect on
protein synthesis. Despite sharing a high proline and arginine content with other
characterized PrAMPs, the PrAMP Bac5 has a low sequence identity with them. Here
we investigated the mode of action of three N-terminal Bac5 fragments, Bac5(1-15),
Bac5(1-25), and Bac5(1-31). We show that Bac5(1-25) and Bac5(1-31) retained excellent
antimicrobial activity toward Escherichia coli and low toxicity toward eukaryotic
cells, whereas Bac5(1-15) was inactive. Bac5(1-25) and Bac5(1-31) inhibited bacterial
protein synthesis in vitro and in vivo. Competition assays suggested that the binding
site of Bac5 is within the ribosomal tunnel, where it prevents the transition from the
initiation to the elongation phase of translation, as reported for other PrAMPs, such
as the bovine PrAMP Bac7. Surprisingly, unlike Bac7, Bac5(1-25) exhibited speciesspecific
inhibition, being an excellent inhibitor of protein synthesis on E. coli ribosomes
but a poor inhibitor on Thermus thermophilus ribosomes. This indicates that
while Bac5 most likely has an overlapping binding site with Bac7, the mode of interaction
is distinct, suggesting that Bac5 fragments may be interesting alternative lead
compounds for the development of new antimicrobial agents
Determining the Thickness and Completeness of the Shell of Polymer Core\u2013Shell Nanoparticles by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, and Transmission Scanning Electron Microscopy
Shape modeling technique KOALA validated by ESA Rosetta at (21) Lutetia
We present a comparison of our results from ground-based observations of
asteroid (21) Lutetia with imaging data acquired during the flyby of the
asteroid by the ESA Rosetta mission. This flyby provided a unique opportunity
to evaluate and calibrate our method of determination of size, 3-D shape, and
spin of an asteroid from ground-based observations. We present our 3-D
shape-modeling technique KOALA which is based on multi-dataset inversion. We
compare the results we obtained with KOALA, prior to the flyby, on asteroid
(21) Lutetia with the high-spatial resolution images of the asteroid taken with
the OSIRIS camera on-board the ESA Rosetta spacecraft, during its encounter
with Lutetia. The spin axis determined with KOALA was found to be accurate to
within two degrees, while the KOALA diameter determinations were within 2% of
the Rosetta-derived values. The 3-D shape of the KOALA model is also confirmed
by the spectacular visual agreement between both 3-D shape models (KOALA pre-
and OSIRIS post-flyby). We found a typical deviation of only 2 km at local
scales between the profiles from KOALA predictions and OSIRIS images, resulting
in a volume uncertainty provided by KOALA better than 10%. Radiometric
techniques for the interpretation of thermal infrared data also benefit greatly
from the KOALA shape model: the absolute size and geometric albedo can be
derived with high accuracy, and thermal properties, for example the thermal
inertia, can be determined unambiguously. We consider this to be a validation
of the KOALA method. Because space exploration will remain limited to only a
few objects, KOALA stands as a powerful technique to study a much larger set of
small bodies using Earth-based observations.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in P&S
Identification of pathogenic bacteria in complex samples using a smartphone based fluorescence microscope
Diagnostics based on fluorescence imaging of biomolecules is typically performed in well-equipped laboratories and is in general not suitable for remote and resource limited settings. Here we demonstrate the development of a compact, lightweight and cost-effective smartphone-based fluorescence microscope, capable of detecting signals from fluorescently labeled bacteria. By optimizing a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) based fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay, we demonstrate the use of the smartphone-based microscope for rapid identification of pathogenic bacteria. We evaluated the use of both a general nucleic acid stain as well as species-specific PNA probes and demonstrated that the mobile platform can detect bacteria with a sensitivity comparable to that of a conventional fluorescence microscope. The PNA-based FISH assay, in combination with the smartphone-based fluorescence microscope, allowed us to qualitatively analyze pathogenic bacteria in contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF) at initial concentrations prior to cultivation as low as 10 CFU per 30 g of PIF. Importantly, the detection can be done directly on the smartphone screen, without the need for additional image analysis. The assay should be straightforward to adapt for bacterial identification also in clinical samples. The cost-effectiveness, field-portability and simplicity of this platform will create various opportunities for its use in resource limited settings and point-of-care offices, opening up a myriad of additional applications based on other fluorescence-based diagnostic assays
Limit on the Radiative Neutrinoless Double Electron Capture of Ar from GERDA Phase I
Neutrinoless double electron capture is a process that, if detected, would
give evidence of lepton number violation and the Majorana nature of neutrinos.
A search for neutrinoless double electron capture of Ar has been
performed with germanium detectors installed in liquid argon using data from
Phase I of the GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment at the Gran Sasso
Laboratory of INFN, Italy. No signal was observed and an experimental lower
limit on the half-life of the radiative neutrinoless double electron capture of
Ar was established: 3.6 10 yr at 90 % C.I.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Multiplicities of charged pions and unidentified charged hadrons from deep-inelastic scattering of muons off an isoscalar target
Multiplicities of charged pions and unidentified hadrons produced in
deep-inelastic scattering were measured in bins of the Bjorken scaling variable
, the relative virtual-photon energy and the relative hadron energy .
Data were obtained by the COMPASS Collaboration using a 160 GeV muon beam and
an isoscalar target (LiD). They cover the kinematic domain in the photon
virtuality > 1(GeV/c, , and . In addition, a leading-order pQCD analysis was performed using the
pion multiplicity results to extract quark fragmentation functions
Model-independent evidence for contributions to decays
The data sample of decays acquired with the
LHCb detector from 7 and 8~TeV collisions, corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 3 fb, is inspected for the presence of or
contributions with minimal assumptions about
contributions. It is demonstrated at more than 9 standard deviations that
decays cannot be described with
contributions alone, and that contributions play a dominant role in
this incompatibility. These model-independent results support the previously
obtained model-dependent evidence for charmonium-pentaquark
states in the same data sample.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures (including the supplemental section added at the
end
Quantum numbers of the state and orbital angular momentum in its decay
Angular correlations in decays, with , and , are used to measure
orbital angular momentum contributions and to determine the value of
the meson. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.0
fb of proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector. This
determination, for the first time performed without assuming a value for the
orbital angular momentum, confirms the quantum numbers to be .
The is found to decay predominantly through S wave and an upper limit
of at C.L. is set on the fraction of D wave.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Concepts and Controversies in Haemostasis and Thrombosis Associated with Liver Disease: Proceedings of the 7th International Coagulation in Liver Disease Conference
Expected Performance of the ATLAS Experiment - Detector, Trigger and Physics
A detailed study is presented of the expected performance of the ATLAS
detector. The reconstruction of tracks, leptons, photons, missing energy and
jets is investigated, together with the performance of b-tagging and the
trigger. The physics potential for a variety of interesting physics processes,
within the Standard Model and beyond, is examined. The study comprises a series
of notes based on simulations of the detector and physics processes, with
particular emphasis given to the data expected from the first years of
operation of the LHC at CERN
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