9 research outputs found
Lactoferrin for the Prevention of Post-antibiotic Diarrhoea
Antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality. Older individuals in long-term care facilities are particularly vulnerable due to multisystem illnesses and the prevailing conditions for nosocomial infections. Lactoferrin, an antimicrobial protein in human breastmilk, was tested to determine whether it would prevent or reduce AAD, including Clostridium difficile in tube-fed long-term care patients. Thirty patients were enrolled in a randomized double-blind study, testing eight weeks of human recombinant lactoferrin compared to placebo for the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in long-term care patients. Fewer patients in the lactoferrin group experienced diarrhoea compared to controls (p=0.023). Based on the findings, it is concluded that human lactoferrin may reduce post-antibiotic diarrhoea
Lactoferrin for the Prevention of Post-antibiotic Diarrhoea
Antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) is a common cause of morbidity
and mortality. Older individuals in long-term care facilities are
particularly vulnerable due to multisystem illnesses and the prevailing
conditions for nosocomial infections. Lactoferrin, an antimicrobial
protein in human breastmilk, was tested to determine whether it would
prevent or reduce AAD, including Clostridium difficile in tube-fed
long-term care patients. Thirty patients were enrolled in a randomized
double-blind study, testing eight weeks of human recombinant
lactoferrin compared to placebo for the prevention of
antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in long-term care patients. Fewer
patients in the lactoferrin group experienced diarrhoea compared to
controls (p=0.023). Based on the findings, it is concluded that human
lactoferrin may reduce post-antibiotic diarrhoea
Where is mineral ballast important for surface export of particulate organic carbon in the ocean?
Correlations between particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral fluxes in the deep ocean have inspired the inclusion of âballast effectâ parameterizations in carbon cycle models. A recent study demonstrated regional variability in the effect of ballast minerals on the flux of POC in the deep ocean. We have undertaken a similar analysis of shallow export data from the Arctic, Atlantic and Southern Oceans. Mineral ballasting is of greatest importance in the high-latitude North Atlantic, where 60% of the POC flux is associated with ballast minerals. This fraction drops to around 40% in the Southern Ocean. The remainder of the export flux is not associated with minerals, and this unballasted fraction thus often dominates the export flux. The proportion of mineral-associated POC flux often scales with regional variation in export efficiency (the proportion of primary production that is exported). However, local discrepancies suggest that regional differences in ecology also impact the magnitude of surface export. We propose that POC export will not respond equally across all high-latitude regions to possible future changes in ballast availability
Using Covalent Labeling and Mass Spectrometry To Study Protein Binding Sites of Amyloid Inhibiting Molecules
Amyloid
aggregates are associated with several debilitating diseases,
and there are numerous efforts to develop small molecule treatments
against these diseases. One challenge associated with these efforts
is determining protein binding site information for potential therapeutics
because amyloid-forming proteins rapidly form oligomers and aggregates,
making traditional protein structural analysis techniques challenging.
Using ÎČ-2-microglobulin (ÎČ2m) as a model amyloid-forming
protein along with two recently identified small molecule amyloid
inhibitors (i.e., rifamycin SV and doxycycline), we demonstrate that
covalent labeling and mass spectrometry (MS) can be used to map small-molecule
binding sites for a rapidly aggregating protein. Specifically, three
different covalent labeling reagents, namely diethylpyrocarbonate,
2,3-butanedione, and the reagent pair EDC/GEE, are used together to
pinpoint the binding sites of rifamycin SV, doxycycline, and another
molecule, suramin, which binds but does not inhibit CuÂ(II)-induced
ÎČ2m amyloid formation. The labeling results reveal binding sites
that are consistent with the known effects of these molecules on ÎČ2m
amyloid formation and are in general agreement with molecular docking
results. We expect that this combined covalent labeling approach will
be applicable to other protein/small molecule systems that are difficult
to study by traditional means