Yeast-derived biosynthesis of silver/silver chloride nanoparticles and their antiproliferative activity against bacteria

Here, we provide the first evidence of yeast strains assisted Ag/AgCl-NPs production in vitro. The formed nanoparticles were characterized by spectroscopic and electron microscopy approaches. UV-vis supported the biosynthesis. TEM analysis evidenced that the nanoparticles mainly presented a circular shape and their diameters varied mostly being in the range 2 to 10 nm. XRD analysis showed a crystalline structure, with diffraction peaks corresponding to metallic silver and silver chloride nanoparticles, and when analyzed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), instead of being round, (111) (octahedral) and (200) (cubic) symmetry facets appeared systematically in one side of the nanoparticles. Analysis of ultra-thin sections by TEM indicated that the domain of the synthesis of Ag/AgCl-NPs was mainly between the cell wall and the plasma membrane. By using 3D reconstruction obtained from focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM) the spatial distribution of the domains of nanoparticle synthesis was mapped and nanoaggregates of Ag/AgCl-NPs up 35 nm in diameter were observed. Extracellular synthesis also occurred; in accordance with the fact that conditioned media from yeast isolates were as efficient at producing Ag/AgCl-NPs as live-cell cultures. Exposure of Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Klebsiella pneumoniae cultures to Ag/AgCl-NPs led to a strong growth inhibition as shown by optical density measurements. The Ag/AgCl-NPs described here have characteristics compatible with a strong potential for use in the biotechnology industry, particularly for biomedical applications

Colonial borders and hybrid identities: lessons from the case of Eritrea

Colonialism left numerous borders in its wake that subsequently became contested, either through legal processes or in all out wars, combinations of both and/or something in-between. These colonial borders have often been discussed as artificial, dividing communities, people or ethnicities that otherwise would belong together.Such an interpretation of colonial borders, I argue in this paper, overlooks another important aspect of colonial boundaries: their role in creating nations as ‘imagined communities’ who in making reference to such borders can lay claim to a distinct national identity. While such an identity can be exclusionary and trigger conflict, it can also have a much more positive and ultimately hybrid function.I use the case of Italian colonialism in the Horn of Africa to demonstrate these multiple roles colonial boundaries can occupy, and focus specifically on the creation and contestations of the borders of Eritrea. I will demonstrate how the colonial border has, at different points in time, served as the marker of a distinct national identity; how its contours became a rallying cry for war, a symbol of self-determination, as well as a trigger of inward-looking oppressive policies; but also how the acceptance of that same border under international law can lay the foundations for making it fluid in practice and contribute to cooperation and regional integration.The paper ultimately argues that the acceptance of borders as markers of identity can be a prerequisite for finding innovative ways to overcome exclusions in the everyday lives of borderland groups. As such, the example of Eritrea could hold wider lessons for addressing postcolonial disputes about borders and boundaries, if institutional arrangements are being put in place that allow fluidity in everyday encounters. <br/

Improved endothelial function after a modified harvesting technique of the internal thoracic artery

Objective: One of the most important factors in bypass surgery is the preservation of endothelial function in the arterial graft. It was of interest, therefore, whether a slightly modified preparation procedure during surgery could contribute to improved endothelial function of the graft. We compared the functional activity of internal thoracic arteries (ITA) prepared according to the traditional harvesting method with occlusion by a clip, dissection at the distal end and storage of the artery in papaverine until its implantation (CA) with the functional activity of arteries which were also prepared and wrapped in papaverine, but were left perfused and dissected immediately before their anastomoses (PA). Methods: Samples of ITA were obtained from a total number of 28 patients, undergoing bypass surgery, and randomly distributed into two groups. The arteries were cut into rings and suspended in organ baths, containing Krebs-Henseleit solution, for isometric tension recording. Cumulative concentration response curves were determined for the contractile agents endothelin-1 (ET-1), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), noradrenaline (NA) and potassium chloride (KCl) and the relaxant compounds acetylcholine (ACH) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) during active tone induced by 30 mM KCl. Results: ET-1 and 5-HT stimulated rings from both groups within the same concentration ranges but elicited significantly (P<0.05) higher contractile responses in CA compared to PA. By contrast, concentration response curves for KCl and NA where nearly superimposable. On the other hand, maximal endothelium-dependent relaxant responses to ACH proved to be significantly stronger in PA (0.84±0.20 g) as compared to CA (0.31±0.05 g, P<0.05) while endothelium independent relaxant responses to SNP where similar in both groups. Conclusion: These data suggest that leaving the ITA perfused during harvesting might improve considerably the endothelial function of the graf

Strange chiral nucleon form factors

We investigate the strange electric and magnetic form factors of the nucleon in the framework of heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory to third order in the chiral expansion. All counterterms can be fixed from data. In particular, the two unknown singlet couplings can be deduced from the parity-violating electron scattering experiments performed by the SAMPLE and the HAPPEX collaborations. Within the given uncertainties, our analysis leads to a small and positive electric strangeness radius, $= (0.05 \pm 0.09) fm^2$. We also deduce the consequences for the upcoming MAMI A4 experiment.Comment: 7 pp, REVTeX, uses epsf, minor correction

The Ethiopian-Eritrean Rapprochement After Year One:Cycles of Hope and Despair in Eritrea

The stalemate that followed the end of a two-year war between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 2000 was over when new Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed unconditionally offered the implementation of peace to Eritrea in July 2019. As a consequence of this rapprochement, many within Eritrea and observers from the outside expected political and economic changes to take hold in Eritrea. In this article I discuss how the first months after the peace agreement did result in a short-lived period of changing conditions of everyday life in Eritrea, largely triggered by the fact that the border between both countries was now open and could be crossed with relative ease

Distribution of graph-distances in Boltzmann ensembles of RNA secondary structures

Large RNA molecules often carry multiple functional domains whose spatial arrangement is an important determinant of their function. Pre-mRNA splicing, furthermore, relies on the spatial proximity of the splice junctions that can be separated by very long introns. Similar effects appear in the processing of RNA virus genomes. Albeit a crude measure, the distribution of spatial distances in thermodynamic equilibrium therefore provides useful information on the overall shape of the molecule can provide insights into the interplay of its functional domains. Spatial distance can be approximated by the graph-distance in RNA secondary structure. We show here that the equilibrium distribution of graph-distances between arbitrary nucleotides can be computed in polynomial time by means of dynamic programming. A naive implementation would yield recursions with a very high time complexity of O(n^11). Although we were able to reduce this to O(n^6) for many practical applications a further reduction seems difficult. We conclude, therefore, that sampling approaches, which are much easier to implement, are also theoretically favorable for most real-life applications, in particular since these primarily concern long-range interactions in very large RNA molecules.Comment: Peer-reviewed and presented as part of the 13th Workshop on Algorithms in Bioinformatics (WABI2013

Statistical mechanics of RNA folding: a lattice approach

We propose a lattice model for RNA based on a self-interacting two-tolerant trail. Self-avoidance and elements of tertiary structure are taken into account. We investigate a simple version of the model in which the native state of RNA consists of just one hairpin. Using exact arguments and Monte Carlo simulations we determine the phase diagram for this case. We show that the denaturation transition is first order and can either occur directly or through an intermediate molten phase.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Real and Virtual Compton Scattering off the Nucleon

A review is given of the very recent developments in the fields of real and virtual Compton scattering off the nucleon. Both real and virtual Compton scattering reactions are discussed at low outgoing photon energy where one accesses polarizabilities of the nucleon. The real Compton scattering at large momentum transfer is discussed which is asymptotically a tool to obtain information on the valence quark wave function of the nucleon. The rapid developments in deeply virtual Compton scattering and associated meson electroproduction reactions at high energy, high photon virtuality and small momentum transfer to the nucleon are discussed. A unified theoretical description of those processes has emerged over the last few years, which gives access to new, generalized parton distributions. The experimental status and perspectives in these fields are also discussed.Comment: 25 pages, 17 figure