AIMS: To evaluate the phenotypic expression of auto‐aggregation, adhesion to mucin and biofilm formation of lactobacilli isolated from human vagina and the presence of related genes. METHODS AND ...RESULTS: Seven different strains of three Lactobacillus species (Lactobacillus gasseri, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri) were evaluated. The auto‐aggregation property was determined by spectrophotometric assay and flow cytometry. Adhesion and biofilm formation were assayed by crystal violet staining. The presence of the genes encoding sortases, pilin subunits and surface proteins was evaluated by polymerase chain reactions. The two Lact. reuteri strains assayed showed high auto‐aggregation, adhesion to mucin and biofilm formation ability. In these strains, the genes encoding three adhesion proteins were identified. In Lact. rhamnosus CRL (Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos Culture Collection) 1332, pilus‐encoding genes were detected. In all Lact. rhamnosus strains assayed, two genes encoding for other surface proteins related to adhesion and biofilm formation were detected. CONCLUSIONS: The vaginal lactobacilli assayed exhibited phenotypic and genetic characteristics that were specific for each strain. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first study on auto‐aggregation, adhesion and biofilm formation of vaginal Lactobacillus strains by phenotypic and genetic assays.
This study was aimed at the degradation of sulfonamides (SNs) via oxidation with Fe(VI). The reaction kinetics, identification of degradation byproducts and their toxicity were investigated. The pH ...solution and Fe(VI) loading had significant effects on the degradation of the sulfonamides. The maximum degradation rate occurred at pH 3.0 with a 6:1 ratio Fe(VI): sulfonamide, obtaining 100% degradation of 15 mg L−1 SN within 5 min. Although Fe(VI) also showed an appreciable reactivity towards SNs (kapp = 9.85–19.63 × 102 M−1 s−1) at pH 7. The influence of solution pH on the values of kapp can be explained considering the specific reaction between Fe(VI) and SNs. Degradation rates are also influenced by the presence of inorganic ions in different water matrixes. For this reason, ions present in groundwater enhanced the SNs degradation through a synergistic effect among carbonates, sulfates and Fe(VI).
Degradation byproducts identified, through UPLC analysis, allowed us to proposed three degradation pathways depending on pH. At acid pH there is a cleavage of C–S and S–N bonds. At neutral pH nitroso and nitro-derivates are formed. At basic pH hydroxylation is the main reaction.
The cytotoxicity assay of HEK-293 and J774 cell lines exposed to Fe(VI) indicated that transformation byproducts had a lower toxicity than SNs as baseline products. Accordingly, this research suggests that Fe(VI) can act as a chemical oxidant to remove SNs antibiotics and it can be used to treat antibiotic pollution in wastewater.
Display omitted
•The degradation of sulfonamides (SNs) via oxidation with Fe(VI) was determined.•pH solution and Fe(VI) concentration had significant effects on the degradation of SNs.•The oxidation pathways depend on pH and can follow three different mechanisms.•Cytotoxicity assay showed that the byproducts have a lower toxicity than original SNs.•Fe(IV) is a promising oxidant to be applied for the removal of sulfonamides from water.
We hypothesized that patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated with intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) would have lower symptom burdens, as measured by patient-reported outcome (PRO) surveys, ...than patients treated with intensity modulated photon therapy (IMRT).
Patients were treated for oropharyngeal cancer from 2006 to 2015 through prospective registries with concurrent chemotherapy and IMPT or chemotherapy and IMRT and completed the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for Head and Neck Cancer (MDASI-HN) module at various times before treatment (baseline), during treatment (acute phase), within the first 3 months after treatment (subacute phase), and afterward (chronic phase). Individual symptoms and the top 5 and top 11 most severe symptoms were summarized and compared between the radiation therapy modalities.
PRO data were collected and analyzed from 35 patients treated with chemotherapy and IMPT and from 46 treated with chemotherapy and IMRT. The baseline symptom burdens were similar between both groups. The overall top 5 symptoms were food taste problems (mean score 4.91 on a 0-10 scale), dry mouth (4.49), swallowing/chewing difficulties (4.26), lack of appetite (4.08), and fatigue (4.00). Among the top 11 symptoms, changes in taste and appetite during the subacute and chronic phases favored IMPT (all P<.048). No differences in symptom burden were detected between modalities during the acute and chronic phases by top-11 symptom scoring. During the subacute phase, the mean (±standard deviation) top 5 MDASI scores were 5.15 ± 2.66 for IMPT versus 6.58 ± 1.98 for IMRT (P=.013).
According to the MDASI-HN, symptom burden was lower among the IMPT patients than among the IMRT patients during the subacute recovery phase after treatment. A prospective randomized clinical trial is underway to define the value of IMPT for the management of head and neck tumors.
Abstract
The Mouse Genome Database (MGD; http://www.informatics.jax.org) is the community model organism genetic and genome resource for the laboratory mouse. MGD is the authoritative source for ...biological reference data sets related to mouse genes, gene functions, phenotypes, and mouse models of human disease. MGD is the primary outlet for official gene, allele and mouse strain nomenclature based on the guidelines set by the International Committee on Standardized Nomenclature for Mice. In this report we describe significant enhancements to MGD, including two new graphical user interfaces: (i) the Multi Genome Viewer for exploring the genomes of multiple mouse strains and (ii) the Phenotype-Gene Expression matrix which was developed in collaboration with the Gene Expression Database (GXD) and allows researchers to compare gene expression and phenotype annotations for mouse genes. Other recent improvements include enhanced efficiency of our literature curation processes and the incorporation of Transcriptional Start Site (TSS) annotations from RIKEN’s FANTOM 5 initiative.
Despite several decades of intense research focused on understanding function(s) and disease-associated malfunction of p53, there is no sign of any "mid-life crisis" in this rapidly advancing area of ...biomedicine. Firmly established as the hub of cellular stress responses and tumor suppressor targeted in most malignancies, p53's many talents continue to surprise us, providing not only fresh insights into cell and organismal biology, but also new avenues to cancer treatment. Among the most fruitful lines of p53 research in recent years have been the discoveries revealing the multifaceted roles of p53-centered pathways in the fundamental processes of DNA replication and ribosome biogenesis (RiBi), along with cellular responses to replication and RiBi stresses, two intertwined areas of cell (patho)physiology that we discuss in this review. Here, we first provide concise introductory notes on the canonical roles of p53, the key interacting proteins, downstream targets and post-translational modifications involved in p53 regulation. We then highlight the emerging involvement of p53 as a key component of the DNA replication Fork Speed Regulatory Network and the mechanistic links of p53 with cellular checkpoint responses to replication stress (RS), the driving force of cancer-associated genomic instability. Next, the tantalizing, yet still rather foggy functional crosstalk between replication and RiBi (nucleolar) stresses is considered, followed by the more defined involvement of p53-mediated monitoring of the multistep process of RiBi, including the latest updates on the RPL5/RPL11/5 S rRNA-MDM2-p53-mediated Impaired Ribosome Biogenesis Checkpoint (IRBC) pathway and its involvement in tumorigenesis. The diverse defects of RiBi and IRBC that predispose and/or contribute to severe human pathologies including developmental syndromes and cancer are then outlined, along with examples of promising small-molecule-based strategies to therapeutically target the RS- and particularly RiBi- stress-tolerance mechanisms to which cancer cells are addicted due to their aberrant DNA replication, repair, and proteo-synthesis demands.
The objective of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of UVC, UVC/H2O2 and UVC/K2S2O8 on the degradation of SAs. Rate constant values increased in the order SMZ < SDZ < SML and showed the ...higher photodegradation of sulfonamides with a penta-heterocycle. Quantum yields were 1.72 × 10−5 mol E−1, 3.02 × 10−5 mol E−1, and 6.32 × 10−5 mol E−1 for SMZ, SDZ and SML, respectively, at 60 min of treatment. R254 values show that the dose habitually utilized for water disinfection is inadequate to remove this type of antibiotic. The initial sulfonamide concentration has a major impact on the degradation rate. The degradation rates were higher at pH 12 for SMZ and SML. SMZ and SML photodegradation kλ values are higher in tap versus distilled water. The presence of radical promoters generates a greater increase in the degradation rate, UVC/K2S2O8 cost less energy, a mechanism was proposed, and the degradation by-products are less toxic than the original product.
Display omitted
•Efficiency of UVC, UVC/H2O2 and UVC/PDS systems were demonstrated to remove sulfonamides.•The degradation to 100% were achieved by presence of radicals OH and SO4-.•Degradation by-products identified are not toxic to normal cell line.•Sulfates, nitrates, and chlorides can exert a synergic effect on the photodegradation.•UVC/PDS shows a cost less energy that UVC and UVC/H2O2.
We present the first limits on inelastic electron-scattering dark matter and dark photon absorption using a prototype SuperCDMS detector having a charge resolution of 0.1 electron-hole pairs (CDMS ...HVeV, a 0.93 g CDMS high-voltage device). These electron-recoil limits significantly improve experimental constraints on dark matter particles with masses as low as 1 MeV/c^{2}. We demonstrate a sensitivity to dark photons competitive with other leading approaches but using substantially less exposure (0.49 g d). These results demonstrate the scientific potential of phonon-mediated semiconductor detectors that are sensitive to single electronic excitations.
Lung cancer in never smokers (LCINS) is a common cause of cancer mortality but its genomic landscape is poorly characterized. Here high-coverage whole-genome sequencing of 232 LCINS showed 3 subtypes ...defined by copy number aberrations. The dominant subtype (piano), which is rare in lung cancer in smokers, features somatic UBA1 mutations, germline AR variants and stem cell-like properties, including low mutational burden, high intratumor heterogeneity, long telomeres, frequent KRAS mutations and slow growth, as suggested by the occurrence of cancer drivers' progenitor cells many years before tumor diagnosis. The other subtypes are characterized by specific amplifications and EGFR mutations (mezzo-forte) and whole-genome doubling (forte). No strong tobacco smoking signatures were detected, even in cases with exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. Genes within the receptor tyrosine kinase-Ras pathway had distinct impacts on survival; five genomic alterations independently doubled mortality. These findings create avenues for personalized treatment in LCINS.
We report the result of a blinded search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) using the majority of the SuperCDMS Soudan data set. With an exposure of 1690 kg d, a single candidate event ...is observed, consistent with expected backgrounds. This analysis (combined with previous Ge results) sets an upper limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section of 1.4×10^{-44} (1.0×10^{-44}) cm^{2} at 46 GeV/c^{2}. These results set the strongest limits for WIMP-germanium-nucleus interactions for masses >12 GeV/c^{2}.
The adsorption equilibrium data of Cr(VI) from an aqueous solution on a surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ) was determined in a batch adsorber. The SMZ was prepared by adsorbing the cationic surfactant ...hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA) bromide on the external surface of the zeolite. The surface area and pore volume were determined by the N
2-BET method and it was found that the surface area and pore volume were reduced due to pore blocking caused by the surfactant molecules adsorbed on the zeolite. The Cr(VI) was adsorbed considerably on SMZ but not on the natural zeolite. The effects of the temperature and pH on the adsorption isotherm were investigated in this work. The Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of SMZ showed a maximum at pH 6 and diminished 18 and 2.7 times increasing pH from 6 to 10 and decreasing pH from 6 to 4, respectively. The adsorption capacity was reduced by increasing the temperature from 15 to 25
°C since the adsorption of Cr(VI) on SMZ was due to an exothermic reaction. Desorption studies showed that Cr(VI) was irreversibly adsorbed on SMZ corroborating that Cr(VI) was chemisorbed on the SMZ. A comparison of the Cr(VI) adsorption capacities revealed that the capacities decreased in the following order: commercial granular activated carbon
>
organobentonite
>
SMZ.
PDF
