Prevention of Dermal Abscess Formation Caused by Staphylococcus aureus Using Phage JD007 in Nude Mice

Aim: In this study, Staphylococcus phage JD007 bactericidal activity and induced immune responses during treatment were assessed in a dermal abscess model.Materials and Methods: Dermal abscesses in nude mice were established by injecting a clinical isolate of S. aureus SA325 isolated from the back under-dermal abscess of an in-patient.Results: Phage JD007 was able to inhibit the growth of S. aureus SA325 at MOI = 1 or 10, significantly preventing the formation of dermal abscesses. Moderate immune responses were observed in the prevention group through detection of cytokines.Conclusion: Phage JD007 inhibits the formation of dermal abscesses caused by a clinical S. aureus strain in nude mice without robust immune responses

Concentrations of osmotically related constituents in plasma and urine of finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis

AbstractBackgroundMost cetaceans inhabit the hyperosmotic marine environment with only a few species living in freshwater habitats. The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) is the only freshwater subspecies of the genus. Our aim was to study whether the osmoregulation mechanism of the Yangtze finless porpoise is different from the marine subspecies, the East Asian finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis sunameri). We assayed and compared the concentrations of the constituents involved in osmoregulation in the blood and urine in the Yangtze finless porpoise and the East Asian finless porpoise. We also compared the corresponding urine constituents of the porpoises with existing data on fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).ResultsThe mean plasma osmolality of Yangtze finless porpoise was significantly lower than that of the marine subspecies (P?<?0.01). Similarly, the urine osmolality of Yangtze finless porpoise was also significantly lower than that of its marine counterpart (P?<?0.05). However, the urine sodium concentration of freshwater finless porpoise was significantly lower than that in the marine subspecies (P?<?0.01), even though their serum sodium has no significant difference. Moreover, the freshwater porpoise has significantly lower urine urea concentration but much higher serum urea than in the marine finless porpoise (P?<?0.05).ConclusionsThese results suggest that the freshwater finless porpoise does have different osmoregulatory mechanism from marine cetaceans. Conserving sodium by excreting urine with low ion levels may be an essential strategy to maintain the serum electrolyte balance for the freshwater subspecies that also appears to be more susceptible to hyponatremia

Se···N Chalcogen Bond and Se···X Halogen Bond Involving F₂CSe: Influence of Hybridization, Substitution, and Cooperativity

Quantum-chemical calculations have been performed for the chalcogen- and halogen-bonded complexes of F₂CSe with a series of nitrogen bases (N₂, NCH, NH₃, NHCH₂, NCLi, and NMe₃) and dihalogen molecules (BrCl, ClF, and BrF), respectively. Both types of interactions are mainly driven by the electrostatic and orbital interactions. The chalcogen bond becomes stronger in the order of NCH (sp) < NH₃ (sp³) < NHCH₂ (sp²), showing some inconsistence with the electronegativity of the hybridized N atom. The Li and methyl groups have an enhancing effect on the strength of chalcogen bond; however, the former is jointly achieved through the electrostatic and orbital interactions, whereas the orbital interaction has dominant contribution to the latter enhancement. The halogen bond with F₂CX (X = O, S, Se) as the electron donor is stronger for the heavier chalcogen atom, exhibiting a reverse dependence on the chalcogen atom with that in hydrogen bonds. The halogen bond is further strengthened by the presence of chalcogen bond in the ternary complexes. In addition, CSD research confirms the abundance of Se···N interaction in crystal materials

Effective enhancement of gas separation performance in mixed matrix membranes using core/shell structured multi-walled carbon nanotube/graphene oxide nanoribbons

Novel core/shell structured multi-walled carbon nanotube/graphene oxide nanoribbons (MWCNT@GONRs) nanohybrids were successfully prepared using a modified chemical longitudinal unzipping method. Subsequently, the MWCNT@GONRs nanohybrids were used as fillers to enhance the gas separation performance of polyimide based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs). It is found that MMMs concurrently exhibited higher gas selectivity and higher gas permeability compared to pristine polyimide. The high gas selectivity could be attributed to the GONRs shell, which provided a selective barrier and large gas adsorbed area, while the high gas permeability resulted from the hollow structured MWCNTs core with smooth internal surface, which acted as a rapid transport channel. MWCNT@GONRs could be promising candidates to improve gas separation performance of MMMs due to the unique microstructures, ease of synthesis and low filling loading

Reactive Oxygen Species in Vascular Formation and Development

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are derived from the metabolism of oxygen and are traditionally viewed as toxic byproducts that cause damage to biomolecules. It is now becoming widely acknowledged that ROS are key modulators in a variety of biological processes and pathological states. ROS mediate key signaling transduction pathways by reversible oxidation of certain signaling components and are involved in the signaling of growth factors, G-protein-coupled receptors, Notch, and Wnt and its downstream cascades including MAPK, JAK-STAT, NF-κB, and PI3K/AKT. Vascular formation and development is one of the most important events during embryogenesis and is vital for postnasal tissue repair. In this paper, we will discuss how ROS regulate different steps in vascular development, including smooth muscle cell differentiation, angiogenesis, endothelial progenitor cells recruitment, and vascular cell migration

The complete chloroplast genome of Vaccinium duclouxii, an endemic species in China

Vaccinium duclouxii is an endemic species in China, which is distributed in Sichuan and Yunnan province of China. The chloroplast (cp) genome of V. duclouxii is 168,953 bp in size containing 123 unique genes, including 8 rRNA genes, 38 tRNA genes, and 77 protein-coding genes (PCGs). Phylogenetic analysis exhibited that V. duclouxii and V. macrocarpon were most related to Arbutus unedo

Multi-responsive nanocomposite hydrogels with high strength and toughness

Multi-responsive hydrogels with high strength have great significance for potential applications in smart soft devices. However, it remains a challenge to incorporate multiple responsive moieties with energy dissipation mechanisms. Herein, multi-responsive nanocomposite hydrogels with high compressive strength and toughness were synthesized via in situ copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and acryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (DAC) in an aqueous dispersion of exfoliated LAPONITE (R) RDS with a minute amount of N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAA) as a crosslinker. The combined use of clay and MBAA is demonstrated to be favorable for the high strength and toughness, and helped in avoiding precipitation of clay nanosheets, which otherwise occurred upon addition of cationic DAC. The effect of the NIPAM/DAC molar ratio, MBAA and clay contents on the properties of the hydrogels has been systematically investigated. Compression tests showed a compressive strength up to 6.2 MPa, with fracture strain higher than 90%. The presence of ionic DAC moieties in the hydrogels rendered a very high swelling ratio up to 40 (g g(-1)). These hydrogels were responsive to temperature changes due to the presence of NIPAM units, with the transition temperature (T-trans) dependent on the molar ratio of NIPAM and DAC monomers. The internal electrostatic repulsion of the NIPAM/DAC copolymer network changed upon exposure to solutions with different pH and/or ion strength. Cyclic swelling-shrinking was demonstrated by shuttling the gels between pure water and 0.1 mol L-1 NaCl solution