Ferrous ion as reducing agent in the generation of antibiofilm nitric oxide from copper-based catalytic system.

The work found that the electron-donating properties of ferrous ions (Fe2+) can be used for the conversion of nitrite (NO2-) into the biofilm-dispersing signal nitric oxide (NO) by a copper(II) complex (CuDTTCT) catalyst, a potentially applicable biofilm control technology for the water industries. The availability of Fe2+ varied depending on the characteristics of the aqueous systems (phosphate- and carbonate-containing nitrifying bacteria growth medium, NBGM and phosphate buffered saline, PBS at pH 6 to 8, to simulate conditions typically present in the water industries) and was found to affect the production of NO from nitrite by CuDTTCT (casted into PVC). Greater amounts of NO were generated from the CuDTTCT-nitrite-Fe2+ systems in PBS compared to those in NBGM, which was associated with the reduced extent of Fe2+-to-Fe3+ autoxidation by the iron-precipitating moieties phosphates and carbonate in the former system. Further, acidic conditions at pH 6.0 were found to favor NO production from the catalytic system in both PBS and NBGM compared to neutral or basic pH (pH 7.0 or 8.0). Lower pH was shown to stabilize Fe2+ and reduce its autoxidation to Fe3+. These findings will be beneficial for the potential implementation of the NO-generating catalytic technology and indeed, a 'non-killing' biofilm dispersal activity of CuDTTCT-nitrite-Fe2+ was observed on nitrifying bacteria biofilms in PBS at pH 6

Differential Dynamics of Transposable Elements during Long-Term Diploidization of Nicotiana Section Repandae (Solanaceae) Allopolyploid Genomes

PubMed ID: 23185607This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

GelMA Hydrogel Reinforced with 3D Printed PEGT/PBT Scaffolds for Supporting Epigenetically-Activated Human Bone Marrow Stromal Cells for Bone Repair

Epigenetic approaches using the histone deacetylase 2 and 3 inhibitor-MI192 have been reported to accelerate stem cells to form mineralised tissues. Gelatine methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels provide a favourable microenvironment to facilitate cell delivery and support tissue formation. However, their application for bone repair is limited due to their low mechanical strength. This study aimed to investigate a GelMA hydrogel reinforced with a 3D printed scaffold to support MI192-induced human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) for bone formation. Cell culture: The GelMA (5 wt%) hydrogel supported the proliferation of MI192-pre-treated hBMSCs. MI192-pre-treated hBMSCs within the GelMA in osteogenic culture significantly increased alkaline phosphatase activity (p ≤ 0.001) compared to control. Histology: The MI192-pre-treated group enhanced osteoblast-related extracellular matrix deposition and mineralisation (p ≤ 0.001) compared to control. Mechanical testing: GelMA hydrogels reinforced with 3D printed poly(ethylene glycol)-terephthalate/poly(butylene terephthalate) (PEGT/PBT) scaffolds exhibited a 1000-fold increase in the compressive modulus compared to the GelMA alone. MI192-pre-treated hBMSCs within the GelMA–PEGT/PBT constructs significantly enhanced extracellular matrix collagen production and mineralisation compared to control (p ≤ 0.001). These findings demonstrate that the GelMA–PEGT/PBT construct provides enhanced mechanical strength and facilitates the delivery of epigenetically-activated MSCs for bone augmentation strategies

Evidence for Efimov quantum states in an ultracold gas of cesium atoms

Systems of three interacting particles are notorious for their complex physical behavior. A landmark theoretical result in few-body quantum physics is Efimov's prediction of a universal set of bound trimer states appearing for three identical bosons with a resonant two-body interaction. Counterintuitively, these states even exist in the absence of a corresponding two-body bound state. Since the formulation of Efimov's problem in the context of nuclear physics 35 years ago, it has attracted great interest in many areas of physics. However, the observation of Efimov quantum states has remained an elusive goal. Here we report the observation of an Efimov resonance in an ultracold gas of cesium atoms. The resonance occurs in the range of large negative two-body scattering lengths, arising from the coupling of three free atoms to an Efimov trimer. Experimentally, we observe its signature as a giant three-body recombination loss when the strength of the two-body interaction is varied. We also detect a minimum in the recombination loss for positive scattering lengths, indicating destructive interference of decay pathways. Our results confirm central theoretical predictions of Efimov physics and represent a starting point with which to explore the universal properties of resonantly interacting few-body systems. While Feshbach resonances have provided the key to control quantum-mechanical interactions on the two-body level, Efimov resonances connect ultracold matter to the world of few-body quantum phenomena.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure

Sepsis Reduces Bone Strength Before Morphologic Changes Are Identifiable

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Puthucheary, Z. A., et al. (2017). "Sepsis Reduces Bone Strength Before Morphologic Changes Are Identifiable." Critical Care Medicine 45(12): e1254-e1261., which has been published in final form at doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000002732Supported, in part, by Medicine-Engineering seed grant from National University Health System and Faculty of Engineering at National University Singapore (R-265-000-532-112) (to Drs. Puthucheary, Zeng, and Cove). Singapore National Medical Research Council Transitional Award funding, NMRC/TA/0015/2013 (to Dr. Cove). Ministry of Education (Singapore) Academic Research Grant (R-265-000-495-112) (to Dr. Zeng and Ms. Sun)

Estimating the workload associated with symptoms-based ovarian cancer screening in primary care: an audit of electronic medical records

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynaecological malignancy in the United Kingdom (UK). Studies have found that many women with ovarian cancer have symptoms for several months before diagnosis. Using a symptoms-based tool to diagnose ovarian cancer (OC) earlier is appealing, but may increase general practitioner (GP) workload because the symptoms are typically vague and non-specific. This study aimed to provide estimates of the GP workload associated with offering symptoms-based ovarian cancer screening. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis of electronic records from four general practices in England, UK. We downloaded anonymous data on women aged 45–74 who consulted over one week to estimate the proportion who would be offered ‘screening’ according to the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and a symptoms index (Index 2) over one year. We used previous consultations (censoring women with no prior symptom at the date of their last recorded consultation) to estimate the proportion of women presenting with a new (not recorded in previous 12 months) NICE symptom each year. RESULTS: Data were obtained from 19,558 women. The proportion presenting over one week varied between practices (5%-14%), however, the proportion with an OC symptom was similar (17% overall). Over one year, an estimated 51.8% (95% CI 44.0%-59.7%) would present with an OC symptom, 26.6% (95% CI 19.3%-35.1%) with a NICE symptom and 20.3% (95% CI 13.7%-28.5%) with an Index 2 symptom. Each year, an estimated 11.9% (95% CI 5.0%-18.3%) of women would present with a new NICE symptom. CONCLUSION: One in two women aged 45–74 present to primary care at least once a year with an OC symptom, 11.9% with a new NICE symptom. This would be comparable to 2 to 8 yearly screening (depending on what symptoms triggered testing)

Quantum Dot Infrared Photodetectors: Photoresponse Enhancement Due to Potential Barriers

Potential barriers around quantum dots (QDs) play a key role in kinetics of photoelectrons. These barriers are always created, when electrons from dopants outside QDs fill the dots. Potential barriers suppress the capture processes of photoelectrons and increase the photoresponse. To directly investigate the effect of potential barriers on photoelectron kinetics, we fabricated several QD structures with different positions of dopants and various levels of doping. The potential barriers as a function of doping and dopant positions have been determined using nextnano3 software. We experimentally investigated the photoresponse to IR radiation as a function of the radiation frequency and voltage bias. We also measured the dark current in these QD structures. Our investigations show that the photoresponse increases ~30 times as the height of potential barriers changes from 30 to 130 meV

Resection of the liver for colorectal carcinoma metastases - A multi-institutional study of long-term survivors

In this review of a collected series of patients undergoing hepatic resection for colorectal metastases, 100 patients were found to have survived greater than five years from the time of resection. Of these 100 long-term survivors, 71 remain disease-free through the last follow-up, 19 recurred prior to five years, and ten recurred after five years. Patient characteristics that may have contributed to survival were examined. Procedures performed included five trisegmentectomies, 32 lobectomies, 16 left lateral segmentectomies, and 45 wedge resections. The margin of resection was recorded in 27 patients, one of whom had a positive margin, nine of whom had a less than or equal to 1-cm margin, and 17 of whom had a greater than 1-cm margin. Eighty-one patients had a solitary metastasis to the liver, 11 patients had two metastases, one patient had three metastases, and four patients had four metastases. Thirty patients had Stage C primary carcinoma, 40 had Stage B primary carcinoma, and one had Stage A primarycarcinoma. The disease-free interval from the time of colon resection to the time of liver resection was less than one year in 65 patients, and greater than one year in 34 patients. Three patients had bilobar metastases. Four of the patients had extrahepatic disease resected simultaneously with the liver resection. Though several contraindications to hepatic resection have been proposed in the past, five-year survival has been found in patients with extrahepatic disease resected simultaneously, patients with bilobar metastases, patients with multiple metastases, and patients with positive margins. Five-year disease-free survivors are also present in each of these subsets. It is concluded that five-year survival is possible in the presence of reported contraindications to resection, and therefore that the decision to resect the liver must be individualized. © 1988 American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons