Biomedical applications of nisin Shin, J.M.; Gwak, J.W.; Kamarajan, P. ...
Journal of applied microbiology,
June 2016, Letnik:
120, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Summary
Nisin is a bacteriocin produced by a group of Gram‐positive bacteria that belongs to Lactococcus and Streptococcus species. Nisin is classified as a Type A (I) lantibiotic that is synthesized ...from mRNA and the translated peptide contains several unusual amino acids due to post‐translational modifications. Over the past few decades, nisin has been used widely as a food biopreservative. Since then, many natural and genetically modified variants of nisin have been identified and studied for their unique antimicrobial properties. Nisin is FDA approved and generally regarded as a safe peptide with recognized potential for clinical use. Over the past two decades the application of nisin has been extended to biomedical fields. Studies have reported that nisin can prevent the growth of drug‐resistant bacterial strains, such as methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococci and Clostridium difficile. Nisin has now been shown to have antimicrobial activity against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative disease‐associated pathogens. Nisin has been reported to have anti‐biofilm properties and can work synergistically in combination with conventional therapeutic drugs. In addition, like host‐defence peptides, nisin may activate the adaptive immune response and have an immunomodulatory role. Increasing evidence indicates that nisin can influence the growth of tumours and exhibit selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells. Collectively, the application of nisin has advanced beyond its role as a food biopreservative. Thus, this review will describe and compare studies on nisin and provide insight into its future biomedical applications.
The planar bipedal testbed MABEL contains springs in its drivetrain for the purpose of enhancing both energy efficiency and agility of dynamic locomotion. While the potential energetic benefits of ...springs are well documented in the literature, feedback control designs that effectively realize this potential are lacking. In this paper, we extend and apply the methods of virtual constraints and hybrid zero dynamics, originally developed for rigid robots with a single degree of underactuation, to MABEL, a bipedal walker with a novel compliant transmission and multiple degrees of underactuation. A time-invariant feedback controller is designed such that the closed-loop system respects the natural compliance of the open-loop system and realizes exponentially stable walking gaits. Five experiments are presented that highlight different aspects of MABEL and the feedback design method, ranging from basic elements such as stable walking and robustness under perturbations, to energy efficiency and a walking speed of 1.5 m s−1 (3.4 mph). The experiments also compare two feedback implementations of the virtual constraints, one based on PD control of Westervelt et al., and a second that implements a full hybrid zero dynamics controller. On MABEL, the full hybrid zero dynamics controller yields a much more faithful realization of the desired virtual constraints and was instrumental in achieving more rapid walking.
The behavior of CrCoFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (Cantor) during cyclic deformation at room temperature was compared with those of a twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steel and 304 stainless steel ...(SS304). The three materials with similar grain sizes (~65 μm) were made by controlled heat treatment and tested to evaluate tensile and low-cycle fatigue (LCF) properties. The tensile strength and ductility of Cantor were much lower than those of TWIP steel and SS304. Cantor and TWIP steel revealed cyclic hardening and then softening; SS304 showed secondary hardening at the latest stage of cyclic deformation due to formation of α′-martensite, which led to a significant decrease in its LCF life. At high total strain amplitudes >0.4% LCF life was longer in Cantor than in SS304, but shorter than in TWIP steel. However, at total strain amplitudes ≤0.4%, Cantor showed the shortest LCF life. It was found that the Coffin-Manson plot of Cantor followed the trend of TWIP steel rather than that of SS304. Microstructural analysis of the Cantor with increasing cycles revealed the formation of twins and well-defined cell structures, the latter of which is the evidence of wavy slip.
•The LCF life of Cantor alloy was higher than that of SS304 at high strain amplitude, but lower than that of TWIP at all strain amplitudes.•In Cantor alloy, mechanical twinning formation was evidenced by TEM images.•The most active mechanism during cyclic loading of Cantor alloy was the rearrangement of dislocations in cell structures.
A mathematical formalism for designing running gaits in bipedal robots with compliance is introduced and subsequently validated experimentally on MABEL, a planar biped that contains springs in its ...drivetrain. The methods of virtual constraints and hybrid zero dynamics are used to design a time-invariant feedback controller that respects the natural compliance of the open-loop system. In addition, it also enables active force control within the compliant hybrid zero dynamics allowing within-stride adjustments of the effective stance leg stiffness. The proposed control strategy was implemented on and resulted in a kneed-biped running record of 3.06 m/s (10.9 kph or 6.8 mph).
Although the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is known to play a crucial role in rodent social behavior, little is known about mPFC neural correlates of social behavior. In the present study, we ...examined single-neuron activity in the mPFC of mice performing a modified version of the three-chamber test. We found that a subset of mPFC neurons elevate discharge rates when approaching a stranger mouse but not when approaching an inanimate object or an empty chamber. Our results reveal mPFC neural activity that is correlated with social approach behavior in a widely used social-interaction paradigm. These findings might be helpful for future investigations of mPFC neural processes underlying social interaction in health and disease.
Although the prefrontal cortex is known to play a crucial role in rodent social behavior, little is known about prefrontal neural correlates of social behavior. This study shows that the activity of a subset of prefrontal neurons increases in association with social approach behavior during a three-chamber test-a widely used behavioral paradigm. Such responses might be a signature of prefrontal neural processes underlying social approach behavior.
Aims: The objective of the present study was to determine the optimal culture conditions for mycelial biomass and exo‐polysaccharide (EPS) by Cordyceps militaris C738 in submerged culture.
Methods ...and Results: The optimal temperatures for mycelial biomass and EPS production were 20°C and 25°C, respectively, and corresponding optimal initial pHs were found to be 9 and 6, respectively. The suggested medium composition for EPS production was as follows: 6% (w/v) sucrose, 1% (w/v) polypeptone, and 0·05% (w/v) K2HPO4. The influence of pH on the fermentation broth rheology, morphology and EPS production of C. militaris C738 was carried out in a 5‐l stirred‐tank fermenter. The morphological properties were comparatively characterized by pellet roughness and compactness by use of image analyser between the culture conditions with and without pH control. The roughness and compactness of the pellets indicated higher values at pH‐stat culture (pH 6·0), suggesting that larger and more compact pellets were desirable for polysaccharide production (0·91 g g−1 cell d−1).
Conclusions: Under the optimized culture conditions (with pH control at 6), the maximum concentration of biomass and EPS were 12·7 g l−1 and 7·3 g l−1, respectively, in a 5‐l stirred‐tank fermenter.
Significance and Impact of the Study: The critical effect of pH on fungal morphology and rheology presented in this study can be widely applied to other mushroom fermentation processes.
Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (MIRV), a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate targeting folate receptor α (FRα), is approved for the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer in the United ...States.
We conducted a phase 3, global, confirmatory, open-label, randomized, controlled trial to compare the efficacy and safety of MIRV with the investigator's choice of chemotherapy in the treatment of platinum-resistant, high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Participants who had previously received one to three lines of therapy and had high FRα tumor expression (≥75% of cells with ≥2+ staining intensity) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive MIRV (6 mg per kilogram of adjusted ideal body weight every 3 weeks) or chemotherapy (paclitaxel, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, or topotecan). The primary end point was investigator-assessed progression-free survival; key secondary analytic end points included objective response, overall survival, and participant-reported outcomes.
A total of 453 participants underwent randomization; 227 were assigned to the MIRV group and 226 to the chemotherapy group. The median progression-free survival was 5.62 months (95% confidence interval CI, 4.34 to 5.95) with MIRV and 3.98 months (95% CI, 2.86 to 4.47) with chemotherapy (P<0.001). An objective response occurred in 42.3% of the participants in the MIRV group and in 15.9% of those in the chemotherapy group (odds ratio, 3.81; 95% CI, 2.44 to 5.94; P<0.001). Overall survival was significantly longer with MIRV than with chemotherapy (median, 16.46 months vs. 12.75 months; hazard ratio for death, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.50 to 0.89; P = 0.005). During the treatment period, fewer adverse events of grade 3 or higher occurred with MIRV than with chemotherapy (41.7% vs. 54.1%), as did serious adverse events of any grade (23.9% vs. 32.9%) and events leading to discontinuation (9.2% vs. 15.9%).
Among participants with platinum-resistant, FRα-positive ovarian cancer, treatment with MIRV showed a significant benefit over chemotherapy with respect to progression-free and overall survival and objective response. (Funded by ImmunoGen; MIRASOL ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04209855.).
A transparent heater is produced from single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with a high thermal conductivity. A transparent conducting SWCNT film is fabricated on glass or polymer substrates by ...using a vacuum infiltration method. SWCNT films with a transparency of 65–97 % and a sheet resistance of 230–3500 Ω square–1 are demonstated. These films are good candidates for many applications that require transparent film heaters.
This paper presents a feedback controller that allows MABEL, which is a kneed planar bipedal robot with 1-m-long legs, to accommodate terrain that presents large unexpected increases and decreases in ...height. The robot is provided no information regarding where the change in terrain height occurs and by how much. A finite-state machine is designed that manages transitions among controllers for flat-ground walking, stepping-up and -down, and a trip reflex. If the robot completes a step, the depth of a step-down or the height of a step-up can be immediately estimated at impact from the lengths of the legs and the angles of the robot's joints. The change in height can be used to invoke a proper control response. On the other hand, if the swing leg impacts an obstacle during a step, or has a premature impact with the ground, a trip reflex is triggered on the basis of specially designed contact switches on the robot's shins, contact switches at the end of each leg, and the current configuration of the robot. The design of each control mode and the transition conditions among them are presented. This paper concludes with experimental results of MABEL (blindly) accommodating various types of platforms, including ascent of a 12.5-cm-high platform, stepping-off an 18.5-cm-high platform, and walking over a platform with multiple ascending and descending steps.
PDF
