Characterization of Bacillus strains of marine origin

A total of twenty aerobic endospore-forming bacilli, isolated from marine invertebrates and sea water of different areas of the Pacific Ocean, were taxonomically characterized. Most of the bacilli (11 strains) of marine origin belonged to the species Bacillus subtilis, according to their phenotypic characteristics, antibiotic susceptibility profiles, and fatty acids patterns. A group of four alkaliphilic strains formed a separate cluster that was tentatively classified as B. horti. One isolate, KMM 1717, associated with a sponge from the Coral Sea was identified as B. pumilus. Two strains, Bacillus KMM 1916 and KMM 1918, showed antibiotic sensitivity profiles similar to B. licheniformis, but they had a distinct fatty acid composition and peculiar phenotypic traits. The taxonomic affiliation of KMM 1810 and KMM 1763 remained unclear since their fatty acid composition and antibiotic sensitivity patterns were not resembled with none of these obtained for Bacillus strains

Discovery of a Bloch point quadrupole constituting hybrid topological strings

Topological magnetic (anti)skrymions are robust string-like objects heralded as potential components in next-generation topological spintronics devices due to their manipulability via low-energy stimuli such as magnetic fields, heat, and electric/thermal current. While these two-dimensional (2D) topological objects are widely studied, intrinsically three-dimensional (3D) electron-spin real-space topology remains less explored despite its prevalence in bulky magnets. Here, we capture the 3D structure of antiskyrmions in a single-crystal, precision-doped (Fe_{0.63}Ni_{0.3}Pd_{0.07})_{3}P lamellae using holographic vector field electron tomography at room temperature and zero field. Our measurements reveal hybrid string-like solitons composed of skyrmions with topological number W = -1 on the lamellae's surfaces and an antiskyrmion (W = +1) connecting them. High resolution images uncover a Bloch point (BP) quadrupole (four magnetic (anti)monopoles) positioned along the rectangular antiskyrmion's four corners (Bloch lines), which enable the observed lengthwise topological transitions. Furthermore, we calculate and compare the energy densities of hybrid strings with ideal (anti)skyrmion strings using micromagnetic simulations, which suggest that this composite (anti)BP structure stabilizes via the subtle interplay between the magnetostatic interaction and anisotropic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The discovery of these hybrid spin textures enables topological tunabilty, a tunable topological Hall effect, and the suppression of skyrmion Hall motion, disrupting existing paradigms within spintronics.Comment: 11 pages, 4 main figures, 7 extended data figures, 1 extended data tabl

Prospective study of daily low-dose nedaplatin and continuous 5-fluorouracil infusion combined with radiation for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protracted low-dose concurrent chemotherapy combined with radiation has been proposed for enhanced treatment results for esophageal cancer. We evaluated the efficacy and the toxicity of a novel regimen of daily low-dose nedaplatin (cis-diammine-glycolatoplatinum) and continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with radiation in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Between January 2003 and June 2008, 33 patients with clinical stage I to IVB esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were enrolled. Nedaplatin (10 mg/body/day) was administered daily and 5-FU (500 mg/body/day) was administered continuously for 20 days. Fractionated radiotherapy for a total dose of 50.4-66 Gy was administered together with chemotherapy. Additional chemotherapy with nedaplatin and 5-FU was optionally performed for a maximum of 5 courses after chemoradiotherapy. The primary end-point of this study was to evaluate the tumor response, and the secondary end-points were to evaluate the toxicity and the overall survival.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-two patients (72.7%) completed the regimen of chemoradiotherapy. Twenty patients (60.6%) achieved a complete response, 10 patients (30.3%) a partial response. One patient (3.0%) had a stable disease, and 2 (6.1%) a progressive disease. The overall response rate was 90.9% (95% confidence interval: 75.7%-98.1%). For grade 3-4 toxicity, leukopenia was observed in 75.8% of the cases, thrombocytopenia in 24.2%, anemia in 9.1%, and esophagitis in 36.4%, while late grade 3-4 cardiac toxicity occurred in 6.1%. Additional chemotherapy was performed for 26 patients (78.8%) and the median number of courses was 3 (range, 1-5). The 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates were 83.9%, 76.0% and 58.8%, respectively. The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 94.7% and 88.4% in patients with T1-3 M0 disease, and 66.2% and 55.2% in patients with T4/M1 disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The treatment used in our study may yield a high complete response rate and better survival for each stage of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00197444</p

Response of the fluorescence of tagged proteins on light-assisted modified polymer surfaces

Abstract not available

Protein and cell patterning using bilayer lithography and confocal microscopy

Protein patterns were printed using conventional microlithographic materials in a bilayer arrangement and unconventional exposure tools. The bilayer resist stack consists of a bottom Poly(tertButylMethAcrylate) layer and a top DNQ/novolak layer. The protein features were printed in 'step &amp; repeat' mode, that is a flow-cell, 'real-time' process, as follows: (i) the exposure step is carried out by the focused beam of a confocal microscope tuned to 488nm wavelength; (ii) the development step is performed flowing the photoresist developer through the cell; (iii) the selective deposition of the protein (a green fluorescent protein, FITC avidin for visualisation) is achieved via the flow of the protein solution through the cell until a desired contrast has been reached; (iv) the control step consists of an on-line monitoring of the red fluorescence for the control of the development of the top layer, and of the green fluorescence for the control of the protein patterning, respectively. The techniques have of a seamless portability in a biomedical environment, and for 'step &amp; repeat' protein patterning the advantage of a high and controllable resolution. The process can be applied for the in-house fabrication of model biomolecular and cellular devices. Examples for the patterning of neuronal cells are also given

A comparative review on neuroethical issues in neuroscientific and neuroethical journals

This study is a pilot literature review that compares the interest of neuroethicists and neuroscientists. It aims to determine whether there is a significant gap between the neuroethical issues addressed in philosophical neuroethics journals and neuroscience journals. We retrieved 614 articles from two specialist neuroethics journals (Neuroethics and AJOB Neuroscience) and 82 neuroethics-focused articles from three specialist neuroscience journals (Neuron, Nature Neuroscience, and Nature Reviews Neuroscience). We classified these articles in light of the neuroethical issue in question before we compared the neuroethical issues addressed in philosophical neuroethics with those addressed by neuroscientists. A notable result is a parallelism between them as a general tendency. Neuroscientific articles cover most neuroethical issues discussed by philosophical ethicists and vice versa. Subsequently, there are notable discrepancies between the two bodies of neuroethics literature. For instance, theoretical questions, such as the ethics of moral enhancement and the philosophical implications of neuroscientific findings on our conception of personhood, are more intensely discussed in philosophical-neuroethical articles. Conversely, neuroscientific articles tend to emphasize practical questions, such as how to successfully integrate ethical perspectives into scientific research projects and justifiable practices of animal-involving neuroscientific research. These observations will help us settle the common starting point of the attempt at “ethics integration” in emerging neuroscience, contributing to better governance design and neuroethical practice