407 research outputs found
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of heavy-metal transport and fate in an artificial biofilm
Unlike planktonic systems, reaction rates in biofilms are often limited by mass transport, which controls the rate of supply of contaminants into the biofilm matrix. To help understand this phenomenon, we investigated the potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to spatially quantify copper transport and fate in biofilms. For this initial study we utilized an artificial biofilm composed of a 50:50 mix of bacteria and agar. MRI successfully mapped Cu2+ uptake into the artificial biofilm by mapping T2 relaxation rates. A calibration protocol was used to convert T2 values into actual copper concentrations. Immobilization rates in the artificial biofilm were slow compared to the rapid equilibration of planktonic systems. Even after 36 h, the copper front had migrated only 3 mm into the artificial biofilm and at this distance from the copper source, concentrations were very low. This slow equilibration is a result of (1) the time it takes copper to diffuse over such distances and (2) the adsorption of copper onto cell surfaces, which further impedes copper diffusion. The success of this trial run indicates MRI could be used to quantitatively map heavy metal transport and immobilization in natural biofilms
Low pH enhances the action of maximin H5 against Staphylococcus aureus and helps mediate lysylated phosphatidylglycerol induced resistance
Maximin H5 (MH5) is an amphibian antimicrobial peptide specifically targeting Staphylococcus aureus. At pH 6, the peptide showed an increased ability to penetrate (âĐ = 6.2 mN m-1) and lyse (lysis = 48 %) S. aureus membrane mimics, which incorporated physiological levels of lysylated phosphatidylglycerol (Lys-PG, 60 %) as compared to pH 7 (âĐ = 5.6 mN m-1 and lysis = 40 % at pH 7) where levels of Lys-PG are lower (40 %). The peptide therefore appears to have optimal function at pH levels known to be optimal for the organismâs growth. MH5 killed S. aureus (minimum inhibitory concentration = 90 ”M) via membranolytic mechanisms that involved the stabilization of α-helical structure (circa 45-50 %) and which showed similarities to the âCarpetâ mechanism based on its ability to increase the rigidity (Cs-1 = 109.94 mN m-1) and thermodynamic stability (âGmix = -3.0) of physiologically relevant S. aureus membrane mimics at pH 6. Based on theoretical analysis this mechanism may involve the use of a tilted peptide structure and efficacy was noted to vary inversely with the Lys-PG content of S. aureus membrane mimics for each pH studied (R2 circa 0.97), which led to the suggestion that under biologically relevant conditions, low pH helps mediate Lys-PG induced resistance in S. aureus to MH5 antibacterial action. The peptide showed a lack of haemolytic activity (< 2 % haemolysis) and merits further investigation as a potential template for development as an anti-staphylococcal agent in medically and biotechnically relevant areas
Quantum Cryptography Based on the Time--Energy Uncertainty Relation
A new cryptosystem based on the fundamental time--energy uncertainty relation
is proposed. Such a cryptosystem can be implemented with both correlated photon
pairs and single photon states.Comment: 5 pages, LaTex, no figure
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Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU: Final report
Trafficking in human beings is the buying and selling of women, girls, men, and boys. It has hugely deleterious consequences for individuals, society, and the economy. This is the fourth report published by the European Commission that presents a compilation of statistics at the EU Member State level on trafficking in human beings. This data collection exercise approached all 28-Member States and covers the years 2015 and 2016and updates the 2014 data collection as relevant
Time dependent partial waves and vortex rings in the dynamics of wave packets
We have found a new class of time dependent partial waves which are solutions
of time dependent Schr\"odinger equation for three dimensional harmonic
oscillator. We also showed the decomposition of coherent states of harmonic
oscillator into these partial waves. This decomposition appears perticularly
convenient for a description of the dynamics of a wave packet representing a
particle with spin when the spin--orbit interaction is present in the
hamiltonian. An example of an evolution of a localized wave packet into a torus
and backwards, for a particular initial conditions is analysed in analytical
terms and shown with a computer graphics.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, 6 postscript figures, submitted to J. Phys. A: Math.
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Multilingual gendered identities: female undergraduate students in London talk about heritage languages
In this paper I explore how a group of female university students, mostly British Asian and in their late teens and early twenties, perform femininities in talk about heritage languages. I argue that analysis of this talk reveals ways in which the participants enact âculturally intelligibleâ gendered subject positions. This frequently involves negotiating the norms of âheteronormativityâ, constituting femininity in terms of marriage, motherhood and maintenance of heritage culture and language, and âgirl powerâ, constituting femininity in terms of youth, sassiness, glamour and individualism. For these young women, I ask whether higher education can become a site in which they have the opportunities to explore these identifications and examine other ways of imagining the self and what their stories suggest about âdoing beingâ a young British Asian woman in London
The cooperative behaviour of antimicrobial peptides in model membranes
A systematic analysis of the hypothesis of the antimicrobial peptides' (AMPs) cooperative action is performed by means of full atomistic molecular dynamics simulations accompanied by circular dichroism experiments. Several AMPs from the aurein family (2.5,2.6, 3.1), have a similar sequence in the first ten amino acids, are investigated in different environments including aqueous solution, trifluoroethanol (TFE), palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (POPE), and palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylglycerol (POPG) lipid bilayers. It is found that the cooperative effect is stronger in aqueous solution and weaker in TFE. Moreover, in the presence of membranes, the cooperative effect plays an important role in the peptide/lipid bilayer interaction. The action of AMPs is a competition of the hydrophobic interactions between the side chains of the peptides and the hydrophobic region of lipid molecules, as well as the intra peptide interaction. The aureins 2.5-COOH and 2.6-COOH form a hydrophobic aggregate to minimize the interaction between the hydrophobic group and the water. Once that the peptides reach the water/lipid interface the hydrophobic aggregate becomes smaller and the peptides start to penetrate into the membrane. In contrast, aurein 3.1-COOH forms only a transient aggregate which disintegrates once the peptides reached the membrane, and it shows no cooperativity in membrane penetratio
Time evolution of the Rabi Hamiltonian from the unexcited vacuum
The Rabi Hamiltonian describes a single mode of electromagnetic radiation
interacting with a two-level atom. Using the coupled cluster method, we
investigate the time evolution of this system from an initially empty field
mode and an unexcited atom. We give results for the atomic inversion and field
occupation, and find that the virtual processes cause the field to be squeezed.
No anti-bunching occurs.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, RevTe
Motherhood on ice? A media framing analysis of older mothers in the UK news
Changing gender roles and increased sexual and economic freedom have created opportunities for women to give birth relatively late in life. However, stigma and misplaced fears about physical capacity are often reported as sources of anxiety among older, and in vitro fertilisation-induced mothers. In this study, we apply a specially adapted method for analysing news media content to a week's selection of material in the British media following the dissemination of research at an international medical conference. Our findings suggest, despite some positive commentaries, that much negative discourse is circulated by the media about older mothers, from implied claims of selfishness (older mothers as 'delaying' conception) to violations of the 'natural order'. These latter claims reflect the long-standing ambivalence by the media generally towards scientific advancement, but they also reveal continuing resistance towards unorthodox lifestyles
Optically trapped bacteria pairs reveal discrete motile response to control aggregation upon cellâcell approach
Aggregation of bacteria plays a key role in the formation of many biofilms. The critical first step is cellâcell approach, and yet the ability of bacteria to control the likelihood of aggregation during this primary phase is unknown. Here, we use optical tweezers to measure the force between isolated Bacillus subtilis cells during approach. As we move the bacteria towards each other, cell motility (bacterial swimming) initiates the generation of repulsive forces at bacterial separations of ~3 ÎŒm. Moreover, the motile response displays spatial sensitivity with greater cellâcell repulsion evident as inter-bacterial distances decrease. To examine the environmental influence on the inter-bacterial forces, we perform the experiment with bacteria suspended in Tryptic Soy Broth, NaCl solution and deionised water. Our experiments demonstrate that repulsive forces are strongest in systems that inhibit biofilm formation (Tryptic Soy Broth), while attractive forces are weak and rare, even in systems where biofilms develop (NaCl solution). These results reveal that bacteria are able to control the likelihood of aggregation during the approach phase through a discretely modulated motile response. Clearly, the force-generating motility we observe during approach promotes biofilm prevention, rather than biofilm formation
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