Complete genome sequence of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus containing a heterogeneic staphylococcal cassette chromosome element

Staphylococcus aureus is a common human bacterium that sometimes becomes pathogenic, causing serious infections. A key feature of S. aureus is its ability to acquire resistance to antibiotics. The presence of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) element in serotypes of S. aureus has been confirmed using multiplex PCR assays. The SCC element is the only vector known to carry the mecA gene, which encodes methicillin resistance in S. aureus infections. Here, we report the genome sequence of a novel methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) strain: SCC-like MSSA463. This strain was originally erroneously serotyped as methicillin-resistant S. aureus in a clinical laboratory using multiplex PCR methods. We sequenced the genome of SCC-like MSSA463 using pyrosequencing techniques and compared it with known genome sequences of other S. aureus isolates. An open reading frame (CZ049; AB037671) was identified downstream of attL and attR inverted repeat sequences. Our results suggest that a lateral gene transfer occurred between S. aureus and other organisms, partially changing S. aureus infectivity. We propose that attL and attR inverted repeats in S. aureus serve as frequent insertion sites for exogenous genes.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000316747000011&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701BiologySCI(E)PubMed0ARTICLE3268-2745

Low-LUMO acceptor polymers for high-gain all-polymer photodiodes

In this work, we report three acceptor polymers with low levels of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energies and studies on all-polymer photodiodes. By employing these polymers as electron acceptors and PTB7-Th as electron donors, we prepared all-polymer photodiodes that exhibited a high gain in external quantum efficiency (EQE) and high detectivity. In particular, P3-based devices showed EQE over 40 000%, responsivity over 110 A W−1 and a specific detectivity of 3.5 × 1014 Jones, representing the best result of all-polymer photodiodes reported to date. Our work has demonstrated that high gain all-polymer photodiodes could be readily achieved by using appropriate interlayers and low-LUMO acceptor polymers

Low-Bandgap Polymers for High-Performance Photodiodes with Maximal EQE near 1200 nm and Broad Spectral Response from 300 to 1700 nm

Polymer photodiodes with broad spectral response above 1500 nm can be used for imaging in the near-infrared window of the atmosphere. Three low-bandgap polymers based on 3,6-dithiophen-2-yl-2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione (DPP), [1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline (TQ), benzobisthiadiazole (BBT), and dithienopyrrole (DTP) are designed and synthesized. No-gain and gain polymer photodiodes with polymers:PC71BM as active layer materials and with aluminum doped ZnO nanoparticles:2,9-bis(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)anthra[2,1,9-def:6,5,10-d'e'f']diisoquinoline-1,3,8,10(2H,9H)-tetraone (AZO:PDIN), MoO3, and 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP) as interlayer materials are prepared. No-gain photodiodes based on polymer P1 exhibit the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 7.8% at 1200 nm, which is among the best values of polymer photodiodes known to date. Gain photodiodes based on P1 and P3 also exhibit a maximal EQE near 1200 nm. In addition, gain photodiodes based on P1 have a specific detectivity over 1013 Jones in 300-1360 nm and spectral response in the region of 300-1700 nm

Low-Bandgap Terpolymers for High-Gain Photodiodes with High Detectivity and Responsivity from 300 nm to 1600 nm

Three strong electron-withdrawing monomers and one electron-donating monomer were chosen by design to impart some desirable properties to the target terpolymers (P1-P3) for use in the photodiodes, such as strong donor-acceptor charge transfer, low bandgap, high mobility and good film morphology. Photodiodes with a device structure of ITO/ZnO/active layer/BCP/Al exhibited a significant increase of EQE only under forward bias. In particular, the P2-based device had the specific detectivity greater than 1013 Jones from 330 nm to 1060 nm and 1011 Jones from 300 nm to 1600 nm under 0.5 V and linear dynamic range over 100 dB under 2.0 V. In comparison, after the UV light treatment to the ZnO layer, the P2-based photodiodes exhibited a high gain in photocurrent under both forward and reverse bias and had specific detectivity above 1013 Jones at 320–1140 nm, 1012 Jones at 300–1460 nm and 1011 Jones at 300–1600 nm under 0.5 V. Our wor

Phosphorylation of Pirh2 by Calmodulin-dependent kinase II impairs its ability to ubiquitinate p53

Although the recently identified Pirh2 protein is known as a p53-induced ubiquitin-protein E3 ligase, which negatively regulates p53, the detailed mechanism underlying the regulation of Pirh2 remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that while Pirh2 is mostly detected in the phosphorylated form in normal tissues, it is predominantly present in the unphosphorylated form in majority of tumor cell lines and tissues examined. Phosphorylated Pirh2 is far more unstable than its unphosphorylated form. We further identified that Calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMK II) phosphorylates Pirh2 on residues Thr-154 and Ser-155. Phosphorylation of Pirh2 appears to be regulated through cell cycle-dependent mechanism. CaMK II-mediated Pirh2 phosphorylation abrogates its E3 ligase activity toward p53. Together, our data suggest that phosphorylation of Pirh2 may act as a fine-tuning to maintain the balance of p53-Pirh2 autoregulatory feedback loop, which facilitates the tight regulation of p53 stability and tumor suppression