57 research outputs found
MODERN VIEWS ON MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF PLAGUE PATHOGENESIS
The review presents brief analysis of the published over the past decade results of investigations devoted to studies of currently known molecular action mechanisms of Yersinia pestis virulence factors. Analyzed are different Y. pestis components, synthesized by the bacteria at four stages of infectious process in case of bubonic plague: in derma, lymph nodes, parenchymal organs, and blood. Described are the factors and mechanisms that induce microbe protection from bactericidal action of humoral and cell factors of innate host immunity, which effect the organism of animals in different ways, stimulating pro- or anti-inflammatory reaction of a host to the infection, and contribute to the shift of bacterial life cycle inside the host, providing for the transfer from intracellular propagation in phagocytes at early stages to extracellular propagation in lymph node, spleen, liver and blood at later stages. Discussed are only those factors of Y. pestis the interaction of which with host molecules and cells at different stages of infectious process in case of bubonic plague is experimentally proved
Recent Developments of NEMO: Detection of Solar Eruptions Characteristics
The recent developments in space instrumentation for solar observations and
telemetry have caused the necessity of advanced pattern recognition tools for
the different classes of solar events. The Extreme ultraviolet Imaging
Telescope (EIT) of solar corona on-board SOHO spacecraft has uncovered a new
class of eruptive events which are often identified as signatures of Coronal
Mass Ejection (CME) initiations on solar disk. It is evident that a crucial
task is the development of an automatic detection tool of CMEs precursors. The
Novel EIT wave Machine Observing (NEMO) (http://sidc.be/nemo) code is an
operational tool that detects automatically solar eruptions using EIT image
sequences. NEMO applies techniques based on the general statistical properties
of the underlying physical mechanisms of eruptive events on the solar disc. In
this work, the most recent updates of NEMO code - that have resulted to the
increase of the recognition efficiency of solar eruptions linked to CMEs - are
presented. These updates provide calculations of the surface of the dimming
region, implement novel clustering technique for the dimmings and set new
criteria to flag the eruptive dimmings based on their complex characteristics.
The efficiency of NEMO has been increased significantly resulting to the
extraction of dimmings observed near the solar limb and to the detection of
small-scale events as well. As a consequence, the detection efficiency of CMEs
precursors and the forecasts of CMEs have been drastically improved.
Furthermore, the catalogues of solar eruptive events that can be constructed by
NEMO may include larger number of physical parameters associated to the dimming
regions.Comment: 12 Pages, 5 figures, submitted to Solar Physic
The Role of the Yersiniachelin Siderophore in the Physiology of <i>Yersinia pestis</i>
Pathogenic bacteria use low-molecular-weight iron chelators – siderophores – to assimilate iron in the host body. Being recognized as virulence factors, these molecules, differing in structural and functional properties, are the subject of the most intensive research in medical microbiology. The present study is devoted to the investigation of yersiniachelin siderophore (Ych) found in the causative agent of plague, Yersinia pestis. The aim of the work was to clarify the role of Ych in the physiology of Y. pestis by comparing the properties of three strains of the plague microbe, differing in Ych production. Materials and methods. Three variants of Y. pestis EV76 strain were used in the experiments: parent strain Y. pestis EV76, its mutant that does not produce Ych due to deletion of three siderophore biosynthesis genes (analogues of ypo1530–1532 in Y. pestis CO92 strain) and a complemented mutant that was transformed by a recombinant pSC-A-5EV plasmid containing Ych biosynthesis genes cloned into the high-copy plasmid vector pSC-A-amp/kan. Comparative analysis of the three strains was carried out in terms of colony morphology, siderophore activity, growth rate, and sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide. Results and discussion. The comparison of these strains has revealed that the secretion of Ych by bacteria at 26 °С ensures the assimilation of iron. At 37 °С, Ych is not secreted into the medium and protects bacteria from the bactericidal action of reactive oxygen compounds. Thus, the study shows that yersiniachelin is able to stimulate the assimilation of iron by bacteria under iron-deficit conditions and has antioxidant properties
Quiet Sun coronal heating: analyzing large scale magnetic structures driven by different small-scale uniform sources
Recent measurements of quiet Sun heating events by Krucker and Benz (1998)
give strong support to Parker's (1988) hypothesis that small scale dissipative
events make the main contribution to the quiet heating. Moreover, combining
their observations with the analysis by Priest et al. (2000), it can be
concluded that the sources driving these dissipative events are also small
scale sources, typically of the order of (or smaller than) 2000 km and the
resolution of modern instruments. Thus arises the question of how these small
scale events participate into the larger scale observable phenomena, and how
the information about small scales can be extracted from observations. This
problem is treated in the framework of a simple phenomenological model
introduced in Krasnoselskikh et al. (2001), which allows to switch between
various small scale sources and dissipative processes. The large scale
structure of the magnetic field is studied by means of Singular Value
Decomposition (SVD) and a derived entropy, techniques which are readily
applicable to experimental data.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Bacterial Siderophores: Structure, Functions, and Role in the Pathogenesis of Infections
This review systematizes and analyzes the data published over the past decade, devoted to the study of low-molecular-weight high affinity iron chelators – siderophores. Siderophores, which are found in bacteria, fungi and mammals, are able to extract iron from insoluble inorganic compounds, and in the host organism – from complexes with proteins that perform the function of nonspecific protection of mammals from infections. The extracted iron is delivered to cells through surface protein receptors specific for each siderophore, as well as various protein transport systems that make up membranes. Siderophores play an important role in virulence in pathogenic bacteria, performing many functions in the host organism, in addition to providing microbes with iron and other biological metals. They participate in the storage of excess iron, toxic to cells, protect bacteria from reactive oxygen compounds, compete for iron with phagocytes, and have a harmful effect on host cells, acting as secreted bacterial toxin in some cases. Bacterial siderophores perform a signaling function and regulate both, their own synthesis and the synthesis of other virulence factors. Many pathogenic bacteria produce several siderophores that are active under different conditions, against various sources of iron in the host organism and at different stages of infectious process. The review presents the results of the experimental studies aimed at elucidating the structure and diverse functions of bacterial siderophores, the mechanisms of their biosynthesis and regulation of expression, as well as the role of these molecules in the physiology and virulence of pathogenic bacteria. Special emphasis is put on siderophores of bacteria causing particularly dangerous infections
Quiet Sun coronal heating: statistical model
Recent observations of Krucker & Benz (1998) give strong support to Parker's
hypothesis (Parker 1988) that small scale dissipative events make the main
contribution to quiet Sun coronal heating. They also showed that these small
scale events are associated not only with the magnetic network, but also with
the cell interiors (Benz & Krucker, 1998). Taking into account in addition the
results of the analysis performed by Priest with co-authors (Priest et al.
2000) who demonstrated that the heating is quasi-homogeneous along the arcs we
come to the conclusion that the sources driving these dissipative events are
also small scale sources. Typically they are of the order of or smaller than
the linear scale of the events observed, that is smaller than 2000 km. To
describe statistical properties of quiet Sun corona heating by microflares,
nanoflares, and even smaller events, we consider a cellular automata model
subject to uniform small scale driving and dissipation. The model consists of
two elements, the magnetic field source supposed to be associated with the
small scale hydrodynamic turbulence convected from the photosphere and local
dissipation of small scale currents. The dissipation is assumed to be provided
by either anomalous resistivity, when the current density exceeds a certain
threshold value, or by the magnetic reconnection. The main problem considered
is how the statistical characteristics of dissipated energy flow depend upon
characteristics of the magnetic field source and on physical mechanism
responsible for the magnetic field dissipation. As the threshold value of
current is increased, we observe the transition from Gaussian statistics to
power-law type. In addition, we find that the dissipation provided by
reconnection results in stronger deviations from Gaussian distribution.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, submitted to A&
THE ROLE OF YERSINIA PESTIS RESIDENT PLASMIDS PMT1, PCD1, AND PPCP1 IN THE PRODUCTION OF LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE EXTRACELLULAR FORM
Objective of the study is to investigate the role of resident plasmids pMT1, pCD1, and pPCP1 in the production of extracellular form of Yersinia pestis lipopolysaccharide (LPS).Materials and methods. The experiments have been performed using Y. pestis strain EV76 (pMT1, pCD1, pPCP1), carrying the whole plasmid set, as well as plasmid-free Y. pestis variant EV76 (pMT1-, pCD1-, pPCP1-), and isogenic clones, harbouring only one plasmid: Y. pestis EV76 (pMT1); Y. pestis EV76 (pCD1); Y. pestis EV76 (pPCP1). The presence of extracellular LPS in the incubation medium of Y. pestis EV76 cells has been confirmed by supernatant toxicity for laboratory animals and also by LAL-test reaction.Results and conclusions. It has been established that LPS extracellular form is produced by 37 °C Y. pestis EV76 cultures of the initial strain and its variants, carrying pMT1 or pPCP1 plasmid. Plasmid-free cultures and variant harbouring pCPP1 plasmid are deprived of such ability. The results of LAL-test has shown that the process of LPS separation from cell wall membrane into the environment is associated with translocation of proteins encoded by pMT1 and pCD1 plasmids and constitutes a natural form of existence of Y. pestis cells. The involvement of pCD1 plasmid in realization of the toxic potential of Y. pestis LPS has been established for the first time ever
The dependence of the EIT wave velocity on the magnetic field strength
"EIT waves" are a wavelike phenomenon propagating in the corona, which were
initially observed in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength by the EUV
Imaging Telescope (EIT). Their nature is still elusive, with the debate between
fast-mode wave model and non-wave model. In order to distinguish between these
models, we investigate the relation between the EIT wave velocity and the local
magnetic field in the corona. It is found that the two parameters show
significant negative correlation in most of the EIT wave fronts, {\it i.e.},
EIT wave propagates more slowly in the regions of stronger magnetic field. Such
a result poses a big challenge to the fast-mode wave model, which would predict
a strong positive correlation between the two parameters. However, it is
demonstrated that such a result can be explained by the fieldline stretching
model, \emph{i.e.,} that "EIT waves" are apparently-propagating brightenings,
which are generated by successive stretching of closed magnetic field lines
pushed by the erupting flux rope during coronal mass ejections (CMEs).Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Solar Phy
Large-scale Bright Fronts in the Solar Corona: A Review of "EIT waves"
``EIT waves" are large-scale coronal bright fronts (CBFs) that were first
observed in 195 \AA\ images obtained using the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging
Telescope (EIT) onboard the \emph{Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)}.
Commonly called ``EIT waves", CBFs typically appear as diffuse fronts that
propagate pseudo-radially across the solar disk at velocities of 100--700 km
s with front widths of 50-100 Mm. As their speed is greater than the
quiet coronal sound speed (200 km s) and comparable to the
local Alfv\'{e}n speed (1000 km s), they were initially
interpreted as fast-mode magnetoacoustic waves ().
Their propagation is now known to be modified by regions where the magnetosonic
sound speed varies, such as active regions and coronal holes, but there is also
evidence for stationary CBFs at coronal hole boundaries. The latter has led to
the suggestion that they may be a manifestation of a processes such as Joule
heating or magnetic reconnection, rather than a wave-related phenomena. While
the general morphological and kinematic properties of CBFs and their
association with coronal mass ejections have now been well described, there are
many questions regarding their excitation and propagation. In particular, the
theoretical interpretation of these enigmatic events as magnetohydrodynamic
waves or due to changes in magnetic topology remains the topic of much debate.Comment: 34 pages, 19 figure
What is the Nature of EUV Waves? First STEREO 3D Observations and Comparison with Theoretical Models
One of the major discoveries of the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope
(EIT) on SOHO were intensity enhancements propagating over a large fraction of
the solar surface. The physical origin(s) of the so-called `EIT' waves is still
strongly debated. They are considered to be either wave (primarily fast-mode
MHD waves) or non-wave (pseudo-wave) interpretations. The difficulty in
understanding the nature of EUV waves lies with the limitations of the EIT
observations which have been used almost exclusively for their study. Their
limitations are largely overcome by the SECCHI/EUVI observations on-board the
STEREO mission. The EUVI telescopes provide high cadence, simultaneous
multi-temperature coverage, and two well-separated viewpoints. We present here
the first detailed analysis of an EUV wave observed by the EUVI disk imagers on
December 07, 2007 when the STEREO spacecraft separation was .
Both a small flare and a CME were associated with the wave cadence, and single
temperature and viewpoint coverage. These limitations are largely overcome by
the SECCHI/EUVI observations on-board the STEREO mission. The EUVI telescopes
provide high cadence, simultaneous multi-temperature coverage, and two
well-separated viewpoints. Our findings give significant support for a
fast-mode interpretation of EUV waves and indicate that they are probably
triggered by the rapid expansion of the loops associated with the CME.Comment: Solar Physics, 2009, Special STEREO Issue, in pres
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