Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) selectively kill bacteria by disrupting their cell membranes, and are promising compounds to fight drug-resistant microbes. Biophysical studies on model membranes have ...characterized AMP/membrane interactions and the mechanism of bilayer perturbation, showing that accumulation of cationic peptide molecules in the external leaflet leads to the formation of pores (“carpet” mechanism). However, similar quantitative studies on real cells are extremely limited. Here, we investigated the interaction of the dansylated PMAP23 peptide (DNS-PMAP23) with a Gram-positive bacterium, showing that 107 bound peptide molecules per cell are needed to kill it. This result is consistent with our previous finding for Gram-negative strains, where a similar high threshold for killing was determined, demonstrating the general relevance of the carpet model for real bacteria. However, in the case of the Gram-positive strain, this number of molecules even exceeds the total surface available on the bacterial membrane. The high affinity of DNS-PMAP23 for the anionic teichoic acids of the Gram-positive cell wall, but not for the lipopolysaccharides of Gram-negative bacteria, provides a rationale for this finding. To better define the role of anionic lipids in peptide/cell association, we studied DNS-PMAP23 interaction with E. coli mutant strains lacking phosphatidylglycerol and/or cardiolipin. Surprisingly, these strains showed a peptide affinity similar to that of the wild type. This finding was rationalized by observing that these bacteria have an increased content of other anionic lipids, thus maintaining the total membrane charge essentially constant. Finally, studies of DNS-PMAP23 association to dead bacteria showed an affinity an order of magnitude higher compared to that of live cells, suggesting strong peptide binding to intracellular components that become accessible after membrane perturbation. This effect could play a role in population resistance to AMP action, since dead bacteria could protect the surviving cells by sequestering significant amounts of peptide molecules. Overall, our data indicate that quantitative studies of peptide association to bacteria can lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of action of AMPs.
This paper relates to the upgrading of model biogas mixtures, typically 60/40 CH4/CO2, by clathrate (gas) hydrates, which have recently been considered as a safe alternative to high-pressure or ...liquefied gas storage, and as an economic, chemical-free process for the separation of gas mixtures. Several factors affecting the driving force to hydrate formation are considered, such as the degree of overpressurization and the presence of chemical promoters. Promoters used were several anionic and zwitterionic surfactants which are demonstrated to affect the hydrate-forming ability of water. Some lignin derivatives were also tested. Promoted hydrates were also compared to hydrate-based separation starting from nonpromoted water. Separation experiments were conducted under pressures of 4 and 2.5 MPa at 274 K, under either pressure-dropping or constant pressure conditions. Results show that the separation ability of clathrate hydrates as determined by the separation factor S is highest when no promoters are added to the water phase; the well-known promoter sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) shows a value of S which is approximately half the value of that in pure water while higher separations were obtained with some lignin derivatives and a non-surface-active naphthalenesulfonate derivative. We also show that the contribution of CO2 solubility in water to S is a main player in the overall process. Finally, the separation ability of hydrates seems to be inversely proportional to the amount of gas mixture enclathrated, i.e., the occupancy.
We present the development of resistive Micromegas with small pad readout aiming at precision tracking without efficiency loss up to several MHz/cm2. Several prototypes have been built with the spark ...protection resistive layer deposited with different techniques: a pad-patterned embedded resistor layout with screen printing, and a uniform layer by sputtering (Diamond Like Carbon structure). All detectors consist of a matrix of 48 × 16 rectangular shaped pads with a pitch of (1 × 3) mm2. The active surface is (48 × 48) mm2 with a total number of 768 channels, routed off-detector for readout. Characterization and performance studies of all prototypes have been carried out by means of radioactive sources, X-rays, cosmic rays and high energy particle beams. A comparison of prototypes with different resistivity layout will be presented.
Small-pads resistive Micromegas prototype Di Donato, C.; Alviggi, M.; Camerlingo, M.T. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
04/2020, Letnik:
958
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Detectors at future accelerators will require operation at rates up to three orders of magnitude higher than 15 kHz/cm2 the hit rates expected in the current upgrades forward muon detectors of LHC ...experiments. A resistive Micromegas detectors with modified readout system can achieve rate capability up to few MHz/cm2 low occupancy. We present the development of small-pad Micromegas detectors with a pad resistive readout of few mm2 in size, built with the spark protection resistive layer realized with different techniques.
The new generation of particle physics experiments at current and future colliders demands more and more robust detectors. A proposed solution to the stringent requirements are the Small-pad ...Resistive Micormegas. This technology is being developed during recent years, in the framework of the new R&D project RHUM. Different resistive schemes have been implemented. The different behaviours of the embedded resistor layout and the Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) uniform layers scheme have been studied. Results at very high rate are shown. HV stability studies with two different gases are reported.
We have measured the diffusion coefficients, D, of aqueous micelles formed by cetyltriethyl-, cetyltripropyl- and cetyltributyl-ammonium bromides (CTEABr, CTPABr and CTBABr, respectively) and ...cetyltriethyl- and cetyltripropyl-ammonium hydroxides (CTEAOH and CTPAOH, respectively) by dynamic light scattering (DLS) at several temperatures from 15 to 55 °C and a range of surfactant (0.01–0.05 M) and salt (0.02–0.06 M NaBr; 0.05–0.3 M NaOH) concentrations. From values of D, we derived the respective fractional ionization values of micellar surfaces. For surfactants with bromide counterion we obtained fits of the diffusivity data using the linear interaction/DLVO approach, thus yielding estimates of the micellar hydrodynamic radius, Rh, and the micellar fractional ionization, α, which ranged from 0.26 to 0.35. For CTEAOH and CTPAOH, the fits appeared to be poorly sensitive to changes in the London-Van der Waals interactions, as expressed by the Hamaker constant, and only a large fractional ionization could account for the observed diffusivities.
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•Cetyltrialkylammonium bromide and hydroxide micelles were investigated by dynamic light scattering.•Linear inteaction-DLVO theory was adopted as a simple approach to evaluate interaction behavior of micelles.•Micelles remained essentially spherical throughout the temperature and ionic strength ranges.•Fractional ionization, α, for Br- micelles ranged from 0.26 to 0.35, with Hamaker parameters increasing with the head group bulk.•Fractional ionization for OH- micelles is much higher (0.58 to 0.65); fits are rather insensitive to the Hamaker parameter.
Summary
In hemodialysis patients, vertebral fractures were associated with elevated sclerostin levels, suggesting that sclerostin could reflect bone fragility in these patients.
Introduction
...Fragility fractures are common in hemodialysis patients. The aims of our study were to determine the prevalence of vertebral fracture and analyze associations between sclerostin serum levels and vertebral fractures in hemodialysis patients.
Methods
Ninety-two hemodialysis patients and 100 controls matched for age and sex were studied. Bone mineral density was measured by ultrasonography at non-dominant heel. The markers of bone turnover included serum osteocalcin, C-terminal telopeptide, and sclerostin. All participants underwent radiography of the thoracic and lumbar spine to ascertain the presence of vertebral fractures.
Results
Bone ultrasound parameters at calcaneus were significantly lower in hemodialysis patients compared with controls; bone turnover markers and parathyroid hormone level were significantly higher, while serum of 25-OH-D3 was significantly lower in hemodialysis group. One or more moderate or severe vertebral fractures were found in 38 hemodialysis patients, whereas in control group, 10 patients had a vertebral fracture. In hemodialysis group, the comparison between patients with and without vertebral fractures showed that the patients with vertebral fractures had the serum sclerostin levels statistically higher than patients without vertebral, while serum levels of 25-OH-D3 was significantly lower in patients with vertebral fractures compared to the patients without vertebral fractures. Multivariate analysis disclosed that sclerostin levels were associated with an increased risk of vertebral fractures in hemodialysis patients after adjusting for multiple variables.
Conclusions
Our data shows high prevalence of vertebral fractures in hemodialysis patients and that it is associated with elevated sclerostin levels, reflecting bone fragility in these patients.
We propose a novel detector (Thick Groove Detector, TGD) designed for cosmic ray tomography with a spatial resolution of ~500μm, trying to keep the construction procedure as simple as possible and to ...reduce the operating costs. The TGD belongs to the category of MPGDs with an amplification region less than 1mm wide formed by alternate anode/cathode microstrips layers at different heights. A first 10×10cm2 prototype has been built, divided in four sections with different test geometries. We present the construction procedure and the first results in terms of gain and stability. Preliminary studies with cosmic rays are also reported.
•A new MPGD detector designed for cosmic ray tomography is presented.•With respect to existing detectors, the construction procedure is simpler and operating costs are lower.•Construction procedures and preliminary performance are shown.
We present the development of resistive Micromegas aiming at operation under high rates, up to tens MHz/cm2, focusing on the optimisation of the spark protection resistive layer and the ...miniaturisation of the readout elements. Several Micromegas detectors have been built with an anode plane matrix of 48x16 rectangular readout pads, each pad 0.8x2.8 mm2. The detectors differ for the spark protection resistive schemes being realised with the following techniques: a pad-patterned embedded resistor by screen printing, and uniform DLC (Diamond Like Carbon structure) layers. Characterisation and performance studies of the detectors have been carried out by means of radioactive sources, X-Rays, and test beam. A comparison of the performance obtained with the different resistive layouts is presented, in particular focusing on the response under high irradiation and high rate exposure.
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