Sterilization of hydrogen peroxide resistant bacterial spores with stabilized chlorine dioxide

Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 spores isolated from a clean room environment are known to exhibit enhanced resistance to peroxide, desiccation, UV radiation and chemical disinfection than other spore-forming bacteria. The survival of B. pumilus SAFR-032 spores to standard clean room sterilization practices requires development of more stringent disinfection agents. Here, we report the effects of a stabilized chlorine dioxide-based biocidal agent against spores of B. pumilus SAFR-032 and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051. Viability was determined via CFU measurement after exposure. Chlorine dioxide demonstrated efficacy towards sterilization of spores of B. pumilus SAFR-032 equivalent or better than exposure to hydrogen peroxide. These results indicate efficacy of chlorine dioxide delivered through a stabilized chlorine dioxide product as a means of sterilization of peroxide- and UV-resistant spores.This work is supported by the National Institutes of Health (1R01GM090064-01), a NASA EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Development (RID) grant NN07AL49A, and the University of Oklahoma.Ye

Turn-over orbital septal flap and levator recession for upper-eyelid retraction secondary to thyroid eye disease

BackgroundA turn-over septal flap has been reported as a spacer for levator lengthening in a single case report. This study reports the preliminary outcomes of this technique in a series of patients with upper-lid retraction (ULR) associated with thyroid eye disease (TED) causing symptomatic exposure keratopathy (EK).MethodsRetrospective, multicenter study of 12 eyelids of 10 patients with TED undergoing a transcutaneous levator-lengthening technique using the reflected orbital septum (OS) as a spacer. Change in palpebral aperture (PA) and contour, position of the skin crease (SC), symptoms of EK, and complications were recorded.ResultsThe average age was 47.5 years. Two patients were excluded, as their septa were found to be very thin at surgery. At an average of 13 months postoperatively, the PA was reduced by 2.5 mm on average (PConclusionsThe turn-over orbital septal flap technique may be a viable option as an autogenous spacer for the treatment of ULR in TED. This technique may be possible in cases where the OS has been opened by previous surgery but may not be feasible in patients in whom the septum is very thin.A Watanabe, PN Shams, N Katori, S Kinoshita and D Selv

Mechanistic insights into allosteric regulation of the A2A adenosine G protein-coupled receptor by physiological cations

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are membrane receptors and are important drug targets, whose regulation by cations is poorly understood. Here authors use NMR to elucidate effects of cations on functional states of the GPCR, adenosine A2Areceptor (A2AR)