Herb-resistant UPEC strains have different biofilm formation abilities and different expression of certain biofilm related genes

Background: The mechanisms and patterns of drug resistances of E. coli strains that cause uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) vary considerably. The emerging herbresistance of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) has been a serious health problem, yet with unknown underlying mechanisms.Methods: To explore the potential herb-resistance mechanisms of E. coli strains that cause uncomplicated UTIs, three clinically isolated herb-resistant UPEC strains (1351, 4996, 5028) were analyzed for their abilities to form biofilms and the expressions of the pga ABCD and luxS genes.Results: We found that the expression of pgaA and pgaB are very different between 1351 and 5028, and the loss-offunction of luxS in 4996 has impact on biofilm formation.Conclusions: 1. Herb-resistance of the strains is related to their abilities of biofilm formation. 2. Biofilm formation capabilities of herb-resistant strains show different responses to the presence of glucose. 3. luxS encoded AI-2 is not essential for biofilm formation in this strain but may help with more biofilm formation.Keywords: Herb-resistance; Biofilm formation; Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC); pga ABCD; lux

Global existence of solutions for fuzzy second-order differential equations under generalized H-differentiability

AbstractIn this paper, we study the global existence of solutions for second-order fuzzy differential equations with initial conditions under generalized H-differentiability. Second derivative of the H-difference of two functions under generalized H-differentiability is obtained. Two theorems which assure global existence of solutions for second-order fuzzy differential equations are given and proved. Some examples are given to illustrate these results

Efficient Procedures of Sensitivity Analysis for Structural Vibration Systems with Repeated Frequencies

Derivatives of eigenvectors with respect to structural parameters play an important role in structural design, identification, and optimization. Particularly, calculation of eigenvector sensitivity is considered when the eigenvalues are repeated. A relaxation factor embedded in the combined approximations (CA) method makes it effective to the structural response at various modified designs. The proposed method is feasible after overcoming the defection of irreversibility of the characteristic matrix. Numerical examples show that it is easy to implement the computational procedure, and the method presented in this paper is efficient for the general linear vibration damped systems with repeated frequencies

Output Feedback Stabilization for Stochastic Nonholonomic Systems under Arbitrary Switching

The output feedback controllers of stochastic nonholonomic systems under arbitrary switching are discussed. We adopt an observer which can simplify the design process. The designed control laws cause the calculation of the gain parameter to be very convenient since the denominator of virtual controllers does not contain the gain parameter. Finally, an example is given to show the effectiveness of controllers

HERB-RESISTANT UPEC STRAINS HAVE DIFFERENT BIOFILM FORMATION ABILITIES AND DIFFERENT EXPRESSION OF CERTAIN BIOFILM RELATED GENES

Background: The mechanisms and patterns of drug resistances of E. coli strains that cause uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) vary considerably. The emerging herbresistance of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) has been a serious health problem, yet with unknown underlying mechanisms. Methods: To explore the potential herb-resistance mechanisms of E. coli strains that cause uncomplicated UTIs, three clinically isolated herb-resistant UPEC strains (1351, 4996, 5028) were analyzed for their abilities to form biofilms and the expressions of the pga ABCD and luxS genes. Results: We found that the expression of pgaA and pgaB are very different between 1351 and 5028, and the loss-offunction of luxS in 4996 has impact on biofilm formation. Conclusions: 1. Herb-resistance of the strains is related to their abilities of biofilm formation. 2. Biofilm formation capabilities of herb-resistant strains show different responses to the presence of glucose. 3. luxS encoded AI-2 is not essential for biofilm formation in this strain but may help with more biofilm formation

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of folate receptor-targeting amphiphilic copolymer-modified liposomes loaded with docetaxel

Xiang Li1, Xin Tian2, Jing Zhang3, Xu Zhao1, Xiaohui Chen1, Youhong Jiang2, Dongkai Wang1, Weisan Pan11Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang; 2The Second Laboratory of Cancer Research Institution, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang; 3Key Laboratory of Modern Preparation of TCM, Ministry of Education, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, ChinaBackground: The purpose of this study was to develop folate-poly (PEG-cyanoacrylate-co-cholesteryl cyanoacrylate) (FA-PEG-PCHL)-modified freeze-dried liposomes for targeted chemotherapy using docetaxel as a model drug.Methods: FA-PEG-PCHL was synthesized and its cytotoxicity was evaluated by CCK-8 assay in L929. Docetaxel-loaded liposomes modified by FA-PEG-PCHL were prepared by an organic solvent injection method and lyophilized to obtain freeze-dried FA-PEG-PCHL-docetaxel liposomes (FA-PDCT-L). Two carcinoma cell lines (MCF-7 and A-549 cells) were cultured with docetaxel solution, conventional docetaxel-loaded liposomes, or FA-PDCT-L, and the cytotoxicity and apoptosis was evaluated for each preparation. The uptake of the docetaxel preparations into MCF-7 cells was studied by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to study the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution characteristics of the preparations.Results: The existence of an enlarged fixed aqueous layer on the surface of the liposomes was affirmed by zeta potential analysis. The entrapment efficiency and particle size distribution were almost the same as those of docetaxel-loaded liposomes. The drug release profile showed that the release rate was faster at higher molecular weight of the polymer. Compared with docetaxel solution and docetaxel-loaded liposomes, FA-PDCT-L demonstrated the strongest cytotoxicity against two carcinoma cell lines, the greatest intracellular uptake especially in the nucleus, as well as the most powerful apoptotic efficacy. In pharmacokinetic studies, the area under the plasma concentration-time curve of FA-PDCT-L was increased 3.82 and 6.23 times in comparison with the values for the docetaxel-loaded liposomes and docetaxel solution, respectively. Meanwhile, a lower concentration of docetaxel was observed for FA-PDCT-L in the liver and spleen, and a significantly higher concentration of FA-PDCT-L in tumors suggested that the presence of FA-PEG-PCHL on the liposomes resulted in greater accumulation of the drug in tumor tissue.Conclusion: Liposomes modified by FA-PEG-PCHL could be one of the promising suspensions for the delivery of antitumor drugs in cancer.Keywords: folate-poly (PEG-cyanoacrylate-co-cholesteryl cyanoacrylate), docetaxel, freeze-dried liposomes, tumor targetin

FLUOROQUINOLONE-RESISTANT UNCOMPLICATED URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS, CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE MAY PROVIDE HELP

We assessed the effects of Chinese herbs on the uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women caused by fluoroquinolone-resistant strains. A total of 56 pre-menopausal women with uncomplicated UTIs caused by fluoroquinolone-resistant strains were included. Urine cultures were carried out. All organisms were proved to be fluoroquinolone-resistant at baseline. The patients were orally administrated Chinese herbal concoction for ten days. Chinese herbal concoction eradicated the primary pathogen in 71.4% of the patients at the 1-week follow-up. Among the 20 patients who had bacteriologic failures in the Day 5 of treatment, 2 developed superinfection. Of the failures in the group, Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Providencia rettgeri were implicated in 50.0%, 50.0% and 100.0% of the failures, respectively. The clinical outcomes were also good, with cure or improvement for more than 80% of all subjects. About 14% of the study subjects reported at least one potential adverse event. The adverse events most frequently reported were nausea and diarrhea. All patients tolerated the symptoms. The adverse reactions did not prevail after discontinuation of the medication. Chinese herbal therapy may be an acceptable alternative for the treatment of uncomplicated UTIs caused by fluoroquinolone-resistant uropathogens

OmniForce: On Human-Centered, Large Model Empowered and Cloud-Edge Collaborative AutoML System

Automated machine learning (AutoML) seeks to build ML models with minimal human effort. While considerable research has been conducted in the area of AutoML in general, aiming to take humans out of the loop when building artificial intelligence (AI) applications, scant literature has focused on how AutoML works well in open-environment scenarios such as the process of training and updating large models, industrial supply chains or the industrial metaverse, where people often face open-loop problems during the search process: they must continuously collect data, update data and models, satisfy the requirements of the development and deployment environment, support massive devices, modify evaluation metrics, etc. Addressing the open-environment issue with pure data-driven approaches requires considerable data, computing resources, and effort from dedicated data engineers, making current AutoML systems and platforms inefficient and computationally intractable. Human-computer interaction is a practical and feasible way to tackle the problem of open-environment AI. In this paper, we introduce OmniForce, a human-centered AutoML (HAML) system that yields both human-assisted ML and ML-assisted human techniques, to put an AutoML system into practice and build adaptive AI in open-environment scenarios. Specifically, we present OmniForce in terms of ML version management; pipeline-driven development and deployment collaborations; a flexible search strategy framework; and widely provisioned and crowdsourced application algorithms, including large models. Furthermore, the (large) models constructed by OmniForce can be automatically turned into remote services in a few minutes; this process is dubbed model as a service (MaaS). Experimental results obtained in multiple search spaces and real-world use cases demonstrate the efficacy and efficiency of OmniForce

Aeration Biofilter Filler Screening and Experimental Research on Nitrogen and Phosphorus Purification in Rural Black Water

In rural toilets, black water still remains polluted by nitrogen and phosphorus after being pre-treated by septic tanks. This study uses aerated biofilters to purify black water, screen the biofilter filler, and determine its effect on nitrogen and phosphorus purification in rural black water. This study introduced the concept of the “shape factor” into the Langmuir and Freundlich equations and optimized the isotherm adsorption model to better fit the actual dynamics of nitrogen and purification in black water. Combined with the first-order kinetic equation, the double constant equation, and the Elovich equation, the adsorption performance of seven kinds of biofilter fillers (i.e., zeolite, volcanic rock, sepiolite, ceramsite, anthracite, vermiculite, and peat) was studied. Then, the biofilter was constructed using a combination of fillers with better adsorption properties, and its ability to purify rural black water was studied. Results showed that vermiculite and zeolite had little effect on nitrogen and a high saturated adsorption of 654.50 and 300.89 mg·kg−1, respectively; peat and ceramsite had little effect on phosphorus and a high saturated adsorption of 282.41 mg·kg−1 and 233.89 mg·kg−1, respectively. The adsorption rate of nitrogen from fast to slow was vermiculite > peat > zeolite > volcanic rock > sepiolite > ceramsite > anthracite. The adsorption rate of phosphorus from fast to slow was peat > ceramsite > zeolite > sepiolite > vermiculite > volcanic rock > anthracite. Four combined biological filter fillers aided the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from rural high-concentration black water. The combination of zeolite and ceramsite filler had a good nitrogen and phosphorus removal effect in high-concentration black water. After the system was stable, the nitrogen removal rate attained 71–73%, and the phosphorus removal rate attained 73–76% under the influent condition of total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of 150–162 and 10–14 mg·L−1, respectively. This study provides technical support and reference for the purification and treatment of rural black water

Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections, Chinese Herbal Medicine May Provide Help

We assessed the effects of Chinese herbs on the uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women caused by fluoroquinolone-resistant strains. A total of 56 pre-menopausal women with uncomplicated UTIs caused by fluoroquinolone-resistant strains were included. Urine cultures were carried out. All organisms were proved to be fluoroquinolone-resistant at baseline. The patients were orally administrated Chinese herbal concoction for ten days. Chinese herbal concoction eradicated the primary pathogen in 71.4% of the patients at the 1-week follow-up. Among the 20 patients who had bacteriologic failures in the Day 5 of treatment, 2 developed superinfection. Of the failures in the group, Proteus mirabilis , Staphylococcus epidermidis and Providencia rettgeri were implicated in 50.0%, 50.0% and 100.0% of the failures, respectively. The clinical outcomes were also good, with cure or improvement for more than 80% of all subjects. About 14% of the study subjects reported at least one potential adverse event. The adverse events most frequently reported were nausea and diarrhea. All patients tolerated the symptoms. The adverse reactions did not prevail after discontinuation of the medication. Chinese herbal therapy may be an acceptable alternative for the treatment of uncomplicated UTIs caused by fluoroquinolone-resistant uropathogens