Differential antifungal activity of human and cryptococcal melanins with structural discrepancies

Indexación: Scopus.Melanin is a pigment found in all biological kingdoms, and plays a key role in protection against ultraviolet radiation, oxidizing agents, and ionizing radiation damage. Melanin exerts an antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and parasites. We demonstrated an antifungal activity of synthetic and human melanin against Candida sp. The members of the Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii species complexes are capsulated yeasts, which cause cryptococcosis. For both species melanin is an important virulence factor. To evaluate if cryptococcal and human melanins have antifungal activity against Cryptococcus species they both were assayed for their antifungal properties and physico-chemical characters. Melanin extracts from human hair and different strains of C. neoformans (n = 4) and C. gattii (n = 4) were investigated. The following minimum inhibitory concentrations were found for different melanins against C. neoformans and C. gattii were (average/range): 13.7/(7.8-15.6) and 19.5/(15.6-31.2) μg/mL, respectively, for human melanin; 273.4/(125- > 500) and 367.2/(125.5- > 500) μg/mL for C. neoformans melanin and 125/(62.5-250) and 156.2/(62-250) μg/mL for C. gattii melanin. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy we observed that human melanin showed a compact conformation and cryptococcal melanins exposed an amorphous conformation. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed some differences in the signals related to C-C bonds of the aromatic ring of the melanin monomers. High Performance Liquid Chromatography established differences in the chromatograms of fungal melanins extracts in comparison with human and synthetic melanin, particularly in the retention time of the main compound of fungal melanin extracts and also in the presence of minor unknown compounds. On the other hand, MALDI-TOF-MS analysis showed slight differences in the spectra, specifically the presence of a minor intensity ion in synthetic and human melanin, as well as in some fungal melanin extracts. We conclude that human melanin is more active than the two fungal melanins against Cryptococcus. Although some physico-chemical differences were found, they do not explain the differences in the antifungal activity against Cryptococcus of human and cryptococcal melanins. More detailed studies on the structure should be considered to associate structure and antifungal activity.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01292/ful

First and second order optimality conditions for optimal control problems of state constrained integral equations

This paper deals with optimal control problems of integral equations, with initial-final and running state constraints. The order of a running state constraint is defined in the setting of integral dynamics, and we work here with constraints of arbitrary high orders. First and second-order necessary conditions of optimality are obtained, as well as second-order sufficient conditions

Many-body effects in 16O(e,e'p)

Effects of nucleon-nucleon correlations on exclusive $(e,e'p)$ reactions on closed-shell nuclei leading to single-hole states are studied using $^{16}O(e,e'p)^{15}N$ ($6.32$ MeV, $3/2^-$) as an example. The quasi-hole wave function, calculated from the overlap of translationally invariant many-body variational wave functions containing realistic spatial, spin and isospin correlations, seems to describe the initial state of the struck proton accurately inside the nucleus, however it is too large at the surface. The effect of short-range correlations on the final state is found to be largely cancelled by the increase in the transparency for the struck proton. It is estimated that the values of the spectroscopic factors obtained with the DWIA may increase by a few percent due to correlation effects in the final state.Comment: 21 Pages, PHY-7849-TH-9

Making Butter and Cheese on the Farm

If a person is interested, and is equipped, the making of farm butter and cheese can be made a profitable way of handling the milk and cream. There is no place where so high a quality of butter and cheese can be produced as on the farm, if properly done. The health and cleanliness of the cows, the kind of feed, barn sanitation, the handling of the milk and cream, and all the conditions under which butter and cheese are manufactured can be controlled better on one farm than on many farms. By manufacturing and offering for sale a good and uniform quality of butter and cheese a high class market can be obtained. There is always a class of customers willing to pay a premium on dairy products provided they can be assured they are strictly first-class. The making of butter and cheese on the farm involves many details and considerable work. For this reason most dairy farmers prefer to sell their raw material rather than to make it into butter and cheese on the farm. Many dairy farmers, however, make butter and cheese enough to supply the home demand. It is of equal importance to supply this demand with products of the best possible quality. The curd of milk contains much human food value. Often this is not at all made use of as a human food. Soft cheeses can be made on the farm that are palatable and that supply protein nutrients cheaply. These directions for making butter and cheese on the farm are published in response to the many inquiries received on this subject

Strontium isotope systematics of experimentally produced melts: understanding magma-carbonate interaction at Merapi volcano, Indonesia

There is considerable evidence for ongoing, late-stage interaction between the magmatic system at Merapi volcano, Indonesia, and local crustal carbonate. In order to resolve the interaction processes in detail, we have performed a series of time-variable carbonate dissolution experiments in silicate melt using Merapi basaltic-andesite and local limestone as starting materials, at magmatic pressure and temperature. Major element profiling of the experimental products has identified strongly contrasting compositional domains of glass: a Ca-enriched zone containing up to 36 wt% CaO, and an unaffected, Ca-normal zone containing 8 to 10 wt% CaO. To investigate the systematics of strontium isotopes and trace elements (TE) during carbonate assimilation, we have used micro-sampling and high-precision analytical techniques to measure 87Sr/86Sr ratios and TE concentrations over the magma-carbonate and intra-melt interfaces in two of our experimental products. The isotope variation between the different glass compositions is distinct, with 87Sr/86Sr ranging from 0.705641 in the Ca-normal glass to 0.706532 in the Ca-enriched glass. The upper end of this range is considerably more radiogenic than the range reported for Merapi whole rock volcanic products (0.70501 to 0.70583, Gertisser & Keller, 2003 J Pet, 44, 457-489). Our data hence support a model of assimilation of crustal carbonate with highly radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr (0.708799) at Merapi volcano. Given that the starting materials used in the experiments have markedly distinct 87Sr/86Sr values we here present new and detailed insights about the behaviour of Sr isotopes during carbonate assimilation, with a focus on the processes that operate across the carbonate-melt interface and the intra-melt transitions. Strontium is a reliable tracer of magma-crust interaction and so we anticipate that our results will significantly help to quantify our comprehension of magma-carbonate interaction processes occurring at Merapi volcano

Magma–Carbonate Interaction Processes and Associated CO2 Release at Merapi Volcano, Indonesia: Insights from Experimental Petrology

There is considerable evidence for ongoing, late-stage interaction between the magmatic system at Merapi volcano, Indonesia, and local crustal carbonate (limestone). Calc-silicate xenoliths within Merapi basaltic-andesite eruptives display textures indicative of intense interaction between magma and crustal carbonate, and Merapi feldspar phenocrysts frequently contain individual crustally contaminated cores and zones. In order to resolve the interaction processes between magma and limestone in detail we have performed a series of time-variable de-carbonation experiments in silicate melt, at magmatic pressure and temperature, using a Merapi basaltic-andesite and local Javanese limestone as starting materials. We have used in-situ analytical methods to determine the elemental and strontium isotope composition of the experimental products and to trace the textural, chemical, and isotopic evolution of carbonate assimilation. The major processes of magmacarbonate interaction identified are: i) rapid decomposition and degassing of carbonate, ii) generation of a Ca-enriched, highly radiogenic strontium contaminant melt, distinct from the starting material composition, iii) intense CO2 vesiculation, particularly within the contaminated zones, iv) physical mingling between the contaminated and unaffected melt domains, and v) chemical mixing between melts. The experiments reproduce many of the features of magmacarbonate interaction observed in the natural Merapi xenoliths and feldspar phenocrysts. The Carich, high 87Sr/86Sr contaminant melt produced in the experiments is considered as a pre-cursor to the Ca-rich (often “hyper-calcic”) phases found in the xenoliths and the contaminated zones in Merapi feldspars. The xenoliths also exhibit micro-vesicular textures which can be linked to the CO2 liberation process seen in the experiments. This study, therefore, provides well-constrained petrological insights into the problem of crustal interaction at Merapi and points toward the substantial impact of such interaction on the volatile budget of the volcano

A cyclical period variation detected in the updated orbital period analysis of TV Columbae

The two CCD photometries of the intermediate polar TV Columbae are made for obtaining the two updated eclipse timings with high precision. There is an interval time \sim 17yr since the last mid-eclipse time observed in 1991. Thus, the new mid-eclipse times can offer an opportunity to check the previous orbital ephemerides. A calculation indicates that the orbital ephemeris derived by Augusteijn et al. (1994) should be corrected. Based on the proper linear ephemeris (Hellier, 1993), the new orbital period analysis suggests a cyclical period variation in the O-C diagram of TV Columbae. Using Applegate's mechanism to explain the periodic oscillation in O-C diagram, the required energy is larger than that a M0-type star can afford over a complete variation period \sim 31.0(\pm 3.0)yr. Thus, the light travel-time effect indicates that the tertiary component in TV Columbae may be a dwarf with a low mass, which is near the mass lower limit \sim 0.08Msun as long as the inclination of the third body high enough.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

In Vitro Efficacy of Essential Oils from Melaleuca Alternifolia and Rosmarinus Officinalis, Manuka Honey-based Gel, and Propolis as Antibacterial Agents Against Canine Staphylococcus Pseudintermedius Strains

Abstract: Essential oils (EOs) and honeybee products (e.g., honey and propolis) are natural mixtures of dierent volatile compounds that are frequently used in traditional medicine and for pathogen eradication. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial properties of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) EO (TTEO), Rosmarinus ocinalis EO (ROEO), manuka-based gel, and propolis against 23 strains of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (SP) isolated from canine pyoderma. Antimicrobial resistance screening was assessed using a panel of nine antimicrobial agents coupled with a PCR approach. An aromatogram was done for both EOs, using the disk diusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for all the compounds. Among the 23 SP strains, 14 (60.9%) were multidrug-resistant (MDR), 11 strains (47.8%) were methicillin-resistant (MRSP), and 9 (39.1%) were non-MDR. The mean diameter of the inhibition zone for Melaleuca and Rosmarinus were 24.5 8.8 mm and 15.2 8.9 mm, respectively, resulting as statistically dierent (p = 0.0006). MIC values of TTEO and ROEO were similar (7.6 3.2% and 8.9 2.1%, respectively) and no statistical significances were found. Honeybee products showed lower MIC compared to those of EOs, 0.22 0.1% for Manuka and 0.8 0.5% for propolis. These findings reveal a significant antibacterial eect for all the tested products