Bacterial infection has traditionally been treated with antibiotics, but their overuse is leading to the development of antibiotic resistance. This may be mitigated by alternative approaches to ...prevent or treat bacterial infections without utilization of antibiotics. Among the alternatives is the use of photo-responsive antimicrobial nanoparticles and/or nanocomposites, which present unique properties activated by light. In this study, we explored the combined use of titanium oxide and polydopamine to create nanoparticles with photocatalytic and photothermal antibacterial properties triggered by visible or near-infrared light. Furthermore, as a proof-of-concept, these photo-responsive nanoparticles were combined with mussel-inspired catechol-modified hyaluronic acid hydrogels to form novel light-driven antibacterial nanocomposites. The materials were challenged with models of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. For visible light, the average percentage killed (PK) was 94.6 for E. coli and 92.3 for S. aureus. For near-infrared light, PK for E. coli reported 52.8 and 99.2 for S. aureus. These results confirm the exciting potential of these nanocomposites to prevent the development of antibiotic resistance and also to open the door for further studies to optimize their composition in order to increase their bactericidal efficacy for biomedical applications.
Abstract Background Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) often address normative behaviors. If a behavior is also common among clinicians, they may be skeptical about the necessity or effectiveness of ...an EBI. Alternatively, clinicians’ attitudes and behaviors may be misaligned, or they may lack the knowledge and self-efficacy to deliver the EBI. Several EBIs address unhealthy alcohol use, a common and often culturally acceptable behavior. But unhealthy alcohol use may be particularly harmful to people with HIV (PWH). Here, we present an implementation trial using an experiential implementation strategy to address clinicians’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Clinicians receive the experiential intervention before they begin delivering an evidence-based brief alcohol intervention (BAI) to PWH with unhealthy alcohol use. Methods Design : In this hybrid type 3 implementation-effectiveness cluster randomized controlled trial, ART clinics ( n = 30) will be randomized 1:1 to facilitation, a flexible strategy to address implementation barriers, or facilitation plus the experiential brief alcohol intervention (EBAI). In the EBAI arm, clinicians, irrespective of their alcohol use, will be offered the BAI as experiential learning. EBAI will address clinicians’ alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors and increase their knowledge and confidence to deliver the BAI. Participants : ART clinic staff will be enrolled and assessed at pre-BAI training, post-BAI training, 3, 12, and 24 months. All PWH at the ART clinics who screen positive for unhealthy alcohol use will be offered the BAI. A subset of PWH ( n = 810) will be enrolled and assessed at baseline, 3, and 12 months. Outcomes : We will compare implementation outcomes (acceptability, fidelity, penetration, costs, and sustainability) and effectiveness outcomes (viral suppression and alcohol use) between the two arms. We will assess the impact of site-level characteristics on scaling-up the BAI. We will also evaluate how experiencing the BAI affected clinical staff’s alcohol use and clinic-level alcohol expectations in the EBAI arm. Discussion This trial contributes to implementation science by testing a novel strategy to implement a behavior change intervention in a setting in which clinicians themselves may engage in the behavior. Experiential learning may be useful to address normative and difficult to change lifestyle behaviors that contribute to chronic diseases. Trial Registration NCT06358885 (04/10/2024), https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06358885 .
A new pathway to access pyrido-fused quinazolinones
via
a Cu(OAc)
2
-catalyzed domino sequential transformation between 2′-haloacetophenones and 2-aminopyridines was demonstrated. The solvent and ...base exhibited a remarkable effect on the transformation, in which the combination of DMSO and NaOAc emerged as the best system. Cu(OAc)
2
·H
2
O was more active towards the reaction than numerous other catalysts. This methodology is new and would be complementary to previous protocols for the synthesis of pyrido-fused quinazolinones.
A new pathway to access pyrido-fused quinazolinones
via
a Cu(OAc)
2
-catalyzed domino sequential transformation between 2′-haloacetophenones and 2-aminopyridines was demonstrated.
Methyl sulfur compounds are a rich source of environmental sulfur for microorganisms, but their use requires redox systems. The bacterial sfn and msu operons contain two-component flavin-dependent ...monooxygenases for dimethylsulfone (DMSO2) assimilation: SfnG converts DMSO2 to methanesulfinate (MSI–), and MsuD converts methanesulfonate (MS–) to sulfite. However, the enzymatic oxidation of MSI– to MS– has not been demonstrated, and the function of the last enzyme of the msu operon (MsuC) is unresolved. We employed crystallographic and biochemical studies to identify the function of MsuC from Pseudomonas fluorescens. The crystal structure of MsuC adopts the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase fold with putative binding sites for flavin and MSI–, and functional assays of MsuC in the presence of its oxidoreductase MsuE, FMN, and NADH confirm the enzymatic generation of MS–. These studies reveal that MsuC converts MSI– to MS– in sulfite biosynthesis from DMSO2.
•The crystal structure of MsuC from P. fluorescens was solved at 1.69 Å resolution.•MsuC adopts the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase fold and forms a tetramer.•Functional assays confirm MsuC is a two-component flavin-dependent monooxygenase.•Molecular docking identifies a putative methanesulfinate binding site.•Methanesulfinate is enzymatically oxidized in sulfur assimilation from DMSO2.
Background
Reports of pregnant women infected with avian influenza are rare. Studies showed that A/H5N1 virus can penetrate the placental barrier and infect the fetus. Of six documented cases, four ...died and two survivors had a spontaneous abortion.
Objectives
We report a clinical, outcome and epidemiological characteristics of a 36‐week pregnant woman infected with A/H5N1 and her newborn in Soc Trang province of Vietnam in 2012.
Methods
Epidemiological and laboratory investigations were conducted. Clinical manifestations, progress, treatment and outcome of the case‐patient and her newborn were collected. Human tracheal aspirate, throat swab and serum specimens were tested for influenza A/H5N1, A/H3N1, A/H1N1pdm09 and B by real‐time RT‐PCR and genome sequencing. Poultry throat and rectal swabs were tested by PCR and virus isolation.
Results
Case‐patient hospitalized with high fever and cough, and died after onset 6 days. She continuously slaughtered sick poultry 5 days before illness onset. Clinical manifestation showed rapid progressive severe pneumonia. Her tracheal aspirate sample was positive influenza A/H5N1 virus. Her new‐born was delivered by caesarean section with low birth weight and early onset pneumonia, however fully recovered after 16 days treatment. Neonate's throat swabs and paired serum samples tested negative for influenza A/H5N1. Clade 1.1 A/H5N1 virus was detected in poultry samples, was same clade and highly homogenous with the virus was detected in the mother.
Conclusions
This was the first documented a live birth from a pregnant woman infected with influenza A/H5N1 virus. Intensive studies are needed to better understand mother‐to‐child transmission of influenza A/H5N1 virus.
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We have developed a general method for reverse aromatic Finkelstein reactions. Good reaction yields were obtained when aryl iodides or aryl bromides were treated with copper halide ...salts as promoters in a 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (BMIMBr) ionic liquid (IL) solvent at 140 °C for 8 h. Preliminary investigation supported that the copper salts were also the halide sources in halogen exchange reactions. The optimized conditions are applicable to a variety of substrates and have excellent functional group tolerance. Additionally, the BMIMBr solvent showed good stability for at least 10 consecutive runs. Results indicated that the BMIMBr solvent was recyclable for reverse aromatic Finkelstein reactions.
Five new compounds, 16,23,29-trihydroxy-3-oxo-olean-12-en-28-oic acid (1), 4,23,29-trihydroxy-3,4-seco-olean-12-en-3-oate-28-oic acid (2), 3β,6β,23-trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid ...28-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (3), 3-O-2,3-di-O-acetyl-α-l-arabinopyranosylhederagenin 28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-d-glucopyranoside (4), and 3-O-3,4-di-O-acetyl-α-l-arabinopyranosylhederagenin 28-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-d-glucopyranoside (5), as well as 10 known compounds (6–15), were isolated from the stem bark of Kalopanax pictus. Compounds 1–5 and 7–14 inhibited TNFα-induced NF-κB transcriptional activity in HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner, with IC50 values ranging from 0.6 to 16.4 μM. Furthermore, the transcriptional inhibitory function of these compounds was confirmed on the basis of decreases in COX-2 and iNOS gene expression in HepG2 cells. The structure–activity relationship of the compounds with respect to anti-inflammatory activity is also discussed.
Abstract One of the majority of environmental pollution is caused by organic substances resulting from anthropogenic and industrial activities, such as dyes, antibiotics, and similar substances. Due ...to these pollutants’ strong stability, they are difficult to decompose, and their breakdown can only occur slowly through chemical or biological processes. Photocatalysis is a potential method for environmental clean-up with a significant oxidation capacity and a rapid response rate. Among them, double perovskite is an emerging alternative to single perovskite, which has recently shown comparable or even better performance for degrading organic pollutants. The first report on the synthesis of La 2 MnTiO 6 (LMTO) double perovskite for tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) degradation was made in this work. By using XRD, FE-SEM, BET, and EDX analysis, the crystalline structure morphology, and elemental composition of the samples were identified. According to the calcination temperature, only at temperatures greater than 700 °C could the LMTO material be successfully formed. The photocatalytic performances of the prepared samples were evaluated by degrading TC under a UV LED lamp at 365 nm. The 800 °C calcined sample exhibited the highest TC degradation performance, reaching around 62% in 120 min. Besides, the LMTO might eliminate another medicine such as Ciprofloxacin (CIP). Overall, these results offer a potential strategy for employing LMTO photocatalysts to remove various antibiotics.
One of the majority of environmental pollution is caused by organic substances resulting from anthropogenic and industrial activities, such as dyes, antibiotics, and similar substances. Due to these ...pollutants’ strong stability, they are difficult to decompose, and their breakdown can only occur slowly through chemical or biological processes. Photocatalysis is a potential method for environmental clean-up with a significant oxidation capacity and a rapid response rate. Among them, double perovskite is an emerging alternative to single perovskite, which has recently shown comparable or even better performance for degrading organic pollutants. The first report on the synthesis of La2MnTiO6 (LMTO) double perovskite for tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) degradation was made in this work. By using XRD, FE-SEM, BET, and EDX analysis, the crystalline structure morphology, and elemental composition of the samples were identified. According to the calcination temperature, only at temperatures greater than 700 °C could the LMTO material be successfully formed. The photocatalytic performances of the prepared samples were evaluated by degrading TC under a UV LED lamp at 365 nm. The 800 °C calcined sample exhibited the highest TC degradation performance, reaching around 62% in 120 min. Besides, the LMTO might eliminate another medicine such as Ciprofloxacin (CIP). Overall, these results offer a potential strategy for employing LMTO photocatalysts to remove various antibiotics.
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