Pneumococcal gene expression in Δ<i>idtr</i> in vitro and in vivo.

<p>Expression of ten pneumococcal genes in Δ<i>idtr</i> relative to TIGR4 in CDM (A) and from nasopharyngeal washes, lung homogenates and blood samples (B) was quantified by RT-PCR. Each experiment was performed using three separate biological sample, each done in triplicate.</p

Schematic representation of Δ<i>idtr</i> construction.

<p>H-<i>HindIII</i>, B-<i>BamHI</i>. T1, T2 amplify the <i>tmp</i> cassette (495 bp); T1 and T2 have H and B at 5′ end. I1, I2 and I3, I4 amplify 5′ and 3′ end of <i>idtr</i>. I2 and I3 have H and B at 5′ end. I1, I2 amplify a 945 bp product and I3, I4 amplify a product of 489 bp.</p

Survival of mice infected with TIGR4 and Δ<i>idtr</i>.

<p>CBA/CaHN-Btk<i>^xid</i>/J mice were inoculated (A) intranasally with 10⁶ CFU and (B) intravenously with 10⁵ CFU of TIGR4 and Δ<i>idtr</i>. Kaplan Meier curves shown are a representative of triplicate experiments (n = 5 in each experiment).</p

Growth of TIGR4 and Δ<i>idtr</i> and Gram stain morphology of Δ<i>idtr</i> in vitro.

<p>The growth of TIGR4 and Δ<i>idtr</i> in CDM and iron depleted CDM was monitored by measuring absorbance at 600 nm. B) The morphology of Δ<i>idtr</i> was observed in (I) Iron depleted CDM (II) CDM by Gram staining. The results shown are average of three independent experiments cells grown in iron.</p

Average bacterial counts from mouse blood TIGR4 and Δ<i>idtr</i>.

<p>A group of 5 mice each were infected intravenously with 10⁵ CFU of TIGR4 or Δ<i>idtr</i>. Blood samples at different time points were plated to determine bacterial counts. The error bars represent standard error of mean. ^**Significantly decreased as compared to TIGR4 infected blood counts (P<0.01).</p

Fabrication and Application of Low-Cost Thiol Functionalized Coal Fly Ash for Selective Adsorption of Heavy Toxic Metal Ions from Water

A novel thiol modified coal fly ash (CFA-SH) is successfully synthesized by a facile, efficient, and environmentally friendly process using 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS). Various techniques have been used to characterize thoroughly the structure, the surface property, and the presence of the mercaptopropyl groups. The synthesized material proves to be an effective and selective adsorbent for removal of Hg²⁺ and Cd²⁺ ions from aqueous solution. The effect of time, pH, sample dose, speed, temperature, and metal ion concentrations were investigated thoroughly to optimize the sorption process. The kinetics data fitted in accordance with the pseudo-second-order model. It is also noticed that the Langmuir equation provides an accurate description of these sorption data, implying that monolayer sorption took place during adsorption. The quick and excellent uptake capacities (<i>q</i>_m of 361.01 mg g^–1 for Hg²⁺ within 50 min at pH 8 and 106.38 mg g^–1 for Cd²⁺ within 60 min at pH 8) of the sorbent can be described on the basis of the hard and soft acid–base principle (HSAB) and electrostatic attraction. Moreover, both adsorbents and adsorbates can be reused using concentrated HCl. Finally, the low cost of the developed sorbent is also the prime point of interest in this experiment