52 research outputs found
Failed Escape: Solid Surfaces Prevent Tumbling of Escherichia coli
Understanding how bacteria move close to surfaces is crucial for a broad range of microbial processes including biofilm formation, bacterial dispersion, and pathogenic infections. We used digital holographic microscopy to capture a large number (>10[superscript 3]) of three-dimensional Escherichia coli trajectories near and far from a surface. We found that within 20  μm from a surface tumbles are suppressed by 50% and reorientations are largely confined to surface-parallel directions, preventing escape of bacteria from the near-surface region. A hydrodynamic model indicates that the tumble suppression is likely due to a surface-induced reduction in the hydrodynamic force responsible for the flagellar unbundling that causes tumbling. These findings imply that tumbling does not provide an effective means to escape trapping near surfaces.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1-R21-EB008844-01)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant OCE-0744641-CAREER)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CBET-1066566
Succeed escape: Flow shear promotes tumbling of Escherichia colinear a solid surface
Understanding how bacteria move close to a surface under various stimuli is crucial for a broad range of microbial processes including biofilm formation, bacterial transport and migration. While prior studies focus on interactions between single stimulus and bacterial suspension, we emphasize on compounding effects of flow shear and solid surfaces on bacterial motility, especially reorientation and tumble. We have applied microfluidics and digital holographic microscopy to capture a large number (>10(5)) of 3D Escherichia coli trajectories near a surface under various flow shear. We find that near-surface flow shear promotes cell reorientation and mitigates the tumble suppression and re-orientation confinement found in a quiescent flow, and consequently enhances surface normal bacterial dispersion. Conditional sampling suggests that two complimentary hydrodynamic mechanisms, Jeffrey Orbit and shear-induced flagella unbundling, are responsible for the enhancement in bacterial tumble motility. These findings imply that flow shear may mitigate cell trapping and prevent biofilm initiation
Measuring response functions of active materials from data
From flocks of birds to biomolecular assemblies, systems in which many
individual components independently consume energy to perform mechanical work
exhibit a wide array of striking behaviors. Methods to quantify the dynamics of
these so called active systems generally aim to extract important length or
time scales from experimental fields. Because such methods focus on extracting
scalar values, they do not wring maximal information from experimental data. We
introduce a method to overcome these limitations. We extend the framework of
correlation functions by taking into account the internal headings of
displacement fields. The functions we construct represent the material response
to specific types of active perturbation within the system. Utilizing these
response functions we query the material response of disparate active systems
composed of actin filaments and myosin motors, from model fluids to living
cells. We show we can extract critical length scales from the turbulent flows
of an active nematic, anticipate contractility in an active gel, distinguish
viscous from viscoelastic dissipation, and even differentiate modes of
contractility in living cells. These examples underscore the vast utility of
this method which measures response functions from experimental observations of
complex active systems
Clinical evaluation of the effect of gingival thickness on increasing the width of keratinized and attached gingiva with and without preserving periosteum in an animal study
BACKGROUND AND AIM: The present study was performed in order to assess the effect of gingival thickness on amount of gingival augmentation with and without preserving periosteum. METHODS: The study was conducted on 8 ecotype dogs aged 1-5 years. At the beginning, clinical probing depth and keratinized and attached gingiva width were measured. Totally, 64 sites were operated in this study. Periosteal fenestration and denuded beds were randomly created on opposite sides of upper and lower jaws (4 sites each side). The thickness of gingiva was measured in mucogingival junction after preparation of the beds. The clinical parameters were evaluated 2 months after the surgery. The data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon, and Pearson correlation tests. RESULTS: The results showed the average increased width of keratinized and attached gingiva was 1.8 mm and 2 mm in periosteal fenestration sites and 1.9 mm and 2.3 mm in denudation sites, respectively at 2 months post-surgery. The difference between the width of keratinized gingiva and attached gingiva before and 2 months after operation was significant in both groups (P < 0.001). However, no significant difference was shown between the two groups in terms of attached and keratinized gingival width (P = 0.100 and P = 0.720, respectively). There was no correlation between the thickness of gingiva and the amount of increased width of keratinized and attached gingiva. CONCLUSION: A gingival thickness of 0.8 to 2 mm does not affect the increment of the attached and keratinized gingival width with and without preserving periosteum. KEYWORDS: Gingiva; Denudation; Surger
Experimental observations of fractal landscape dynamics in a dense emulsion
Many soft and biological materials display so-called 'soft glassy' dynamics;
their constituents undergo anomalous random motions and complex cooperative
rearrangements. A recent simulation model of one soft glassy material, a
coarsening foam, suggested that the random motions of its bubbles are due to
the system configuration moving over a fractal energy landscape in
high-dimensional space. Here we show that the salient geometrical features of
such high-dimensional fractal landscapes can be explored and reliably
quantified, using empirical trajectory data from many degrees of freedom, in a
model-free manner. For a mayonnaise-like dense emulsion, analysis of the
observed trajectories of oil droplets quantitatively reproduces the
high-dimensional fractal geometry of the configuration path and its associated
energy minima generated using a computational model. That geometry in turn
drives the droplets' complex random motion observed in real space. Our results
indicate that experimental studies can elucidate whether the similar dynamics
in different soft and biological materials may also be due to fractal landscape
dynamics.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures with Appendice
Amniotic Membrane Transplantation for Persistent Epithelial Defects and Ulceration due to Pseudomonas Keratitis in a Rabbit Model
Purpose: The use of amniotic membrane has been suggested in the treatment ofinfectious keratitis for its intrinsic anti-infective properties probably mediated by its antiinflammatory effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) along with ciprofloxacin to cure the primary stages of Pseudomonas keratitis.
Methods: In total, 28 rabbits were selected and divided in four groups as follows: group 1 as control, group 2 with amniotic membrane, group 3 with ciprofloxacin, and group 4 with amniotic membrane combined with ciprofloxacin. About 0.05 cc suspension of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 27853 ATCC was injected into corneal stroma.
Results: The results showed groups of AMT, AMT + ciprofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin had 0% perforation while the control group had 85.6%. Average infiltration of 5.5 mm was observed in ciprofloxacin group, 5 mm in AMT + ciprofloxacin group, 24 mm in AMT group, and finally 23.75 mm for control. Amniotic membrane showed to be effective in prevention of cornea perforation as well as remission of Pseudomonas keratitis. There was no significant difference between ciprofloxacin groups in comparison with ciprofloxacin + AMT group. However, regarding the anti-inflammatory effect, the process of improvement of inflammation in ciprofloxacin + AMT group was faster.
Conclusion: Transplantation of amniotic membrane in the primary stages of Pseudomonas keratitis treatment remarkably prevents the disease and it can be used to control its process
Motor crosslinking augments elasticity in active nematics
In active materials, uncoordinated internal stresses lead to emergent
long-range flows. An understanding of how the behavior of active materials
depends on mesoscopic (hydrodynamic) parameters is developing, but there
remains a gap in knowledge concerning how hydrodynamic parameters depend on the
properties of microscopic elements. In this work, we combine experiments and
multiscale modeling to relate the structure and dynamics of active nematics
composed of biopolymer filaments and molecular motors to their microscopic
properties, in particular motor processivity, speed, and valency. We show that
crosslinking of filaments by both motors and passive crosslinkers not only
augments the contributions to nematic elasticity from excluded volume effects
but dominates them. By altering motor kinetics we show that a competition
between motor speed and crosslinking results in a nonmonotonic dependence of
nematic flow on motor speed. By modulating passive filament crosslinking we
show that energy transfer into nematic flow is in large part dictated by
crosslinking. Thus motor proteins both generate activity and contribute to
nematic elasticity. Our results provide new insights for rationally engineering
active materials
Clinical Report Multiple Cutaneous Inverted Papilloma in a German shepherd Dog
Abstract Case Description-In this clinical report, occurrence of a rare case of canine cutaneous inverted papilloma was discussed. A 4-year-old, intact, male German shepherd dog was presented with multiple skin lesions, located on the inguinal region near the root of penis, which have been progressively growing since two months ago. In close examination of the lesions multiple, firm, painful, and cup-shaped nodules in different sizes with a central pore filled with keratin were observed. Treatment and Outcome-Surgical excision and histological evaluation was done. Histologically this tumor was characterized by endophytic projections of the epidermis extending into dermis.Cytopathic effects included ballooning degeneration of keratinocytes, koilocytosis, irregularity of keratohyalin granules, and margination of nuclear chromatin. Numerous eosinophilic intranuclear inclusions were present within keratinocytes of endophytic lesion. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were intensely positive for pancytokeratin. On the basis of histopathological and clinical findings, the tumor was diagnosed as multiple cutaneous inverted papilloma. There was no recurrence or any other complications in post operative monitoring. Clinical Relevance-Inverted papillomas are relatively uncommon in dogs; whereas, the incidence of this tumor in the inguinal region is uncommon. Treatment of inverted papilloma was completed by surgical excision in ablating the tumor masses and preventing re-growth. 92 Case Description A 4-year-old, intact, male German shepherd dog was presented for treatment of multiple skin lesions, located on the inguinal region near the root of penis. The owner declared that the masses have been growing up rapidly through two months prior to presentation. On clinical examination; all vital signs (heart Rate, respiratory rate and rectal temperature) were in the normal range. On dermatological examination, multiple, firm, painful, and cup-shaped nodules in different sizes with a central pore filled with keratin were observed and the masses had well-demarcated border Treatment and Outcome Based on the clinical examination, cutaneous neoplasia was suspected and complete surgical excision of the masses was recommended. The dog was premedicated with 0/05 mg/kg acepromazine (KELA Laboratoria) intramusculary and anesthesia intravenously was induced with 10 mg/kg thiopental sodium (Sandoz) and was maintained with halothane 2% (Halothane BP, Nicholas Piramal). An elliptical incision was made in the skin around the lesion and the masses were dissected from subcutaneous tissues. The skin was sutured with Nylon (Monofil Polyamid, Supa) USP: 2/0 in interrupted suture pattern. Postoperative care included Cefazoline (Exir Pharmaceutrical Co.) at 20 mg/kg intramuscularly, every 12 hours for 3 days. The removed masses were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, processed routinely, embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 5 µm thickness, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and studied with a routine light microscope. Immunohistochemistry of additional section was performed with Avidin-Biotin complex method by using monoclonal antibodies for pancytokeratin antibody (1/500). Microscopic examination at the nodules revealed cupshaped epidermal proliferation with centripetal papillary projections into dermi
Amniotic Membrane Transplantation for Persistent Epithelial Defects and Ulceration due to Pseudomonas Keratitis in a Rabbit Model
Purpose: The use of amniotic membrane has been suggested in the treatment of
infectious keratitis for its intrinsic anti-infective properties probably mediated by its antiinflammatory effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of amniotic
membrane transplantation (AMT) along with ciprofloxacin to cure the primary stages of
Pseudomonas keratitis.
Methods: In total, 28 rabbits were selected and divided in four groups as follows: group
1 as control, group 2 with amniotic membrane, group 3 with ciprofloxacin, and group
4 with amniotic membrane combined with ciprofloxacin. About 0.05 cc suspension of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 27853 ATCC was injected into corneal stroma.
Results: The results showed groups of AMT, AMT + ciprofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin had
0% perforation while the control group had 85.6%. Average infiltration of 5.5 mm was
observed in ciprofloxacin group, 5 mm in AMT + ciprofloxacin group, 24 mm in AMT
group, and finally 23.75 mm for control. Amniotic membrane showed to be effective
in prevention of cornea perforation as well as remission of Pseudomonas keratitis.
There was no significant difference between ciprofloxacin groups in comparison with
ciprofloxacin + AMT group. However, regarding the anti-inflammatory effect, the process
of improvement of inflammation in ciprofloxacin + AMT group was faster.
Conclusion: Transplantation of amniotic membrane in the primary stages of
Pseudomonas keratitis treatment remarkably prevents the disease and it can be used
to control its process.
Keywords: Ciprofloxacin; Human Amniotic Membrane; Keratitis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Rabbi
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