Omics Analysis of Blood-Responsive Regulon in Bordetella pertussis Identifies a Novel Essential T3SS Substrate

Bacterial pathogens sense specific cues associated with different host niches and integrate these signals to appropriately adjust the global gene expression. Bordetella pertussis is a Gram-negative, strictly human pathogen of the respiratory tract and the etiological agent of whooping cough (pertussis). Though B. pertussis does not cause invasive infections, previous results indicated that this reemerging pathogen responds to blood exposure. Here, omics RNA-seq and LC–MS/MS techniques were applied to determine the blood-responsive regulon of B. pertussis. These analyses revealed that direct contact with blood rewired global gene expression profiles in B. pertussis as the expression of almost 20% of all genes was significantly modulated. However, upon loss of contact with blood, the majority of blood-specific effects vanished, with the exception of several genes encoding the T3SS-secreted substrates. For the first time, the T3SS regulator BtrA was identified in culture supernatants of B. pertussis. Furthermore, proteomic analysis identified BP2259 protein as a novel secreted T3SS substrate, which is required for T3SS functionality. Collectively, presented data indicate that contact with blood represents an important cue for B. pertussis cells.     

Formulation of sage essential oil (Salvia officinalis,L.) monoterpenes into chitosan hydrogels and permeation study with GC-MS analysis

This study deals with the formulation of natural drugs into hydrogels. For the first time, compounds from the sage essential oil were formulated into chitosan hydrogels. A sample preparation procedure for hydrophobic volatile analytes present in a hydrophilic water matrix along with an analytical method based on the gas chromatography coupled with the mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed and applied for the evaluation of the identity and quantity of essential oil components in the hydrogels and saline samples. The experimental results revealed that the chitosan hydrogels are suitable for the formulation of sage essential oil. The monoterpene release can be effectively controlled by both chitosan and caffeine concentration in the hydrogels. Permeation experiment, based on a hydrogel with the optimized composition [3.5% (w/w) sage essential oil, 2.0% (w/w) caffeine, 2.5% (w/w) chitosan and 0.1% (w/w) Tween-80] in donor compartment, saline solution in acceptor compartment, and semi-permeable cellophane membrane, demonstrated the useful permeation selectivity. Here, (according to lipophilicity) an enhanced permeation of the bicyclic monoterpenes with antiflogistic and antiseptic properties (eucalyptol, camphor and borneol) and, at the same time, suppressed permeation of toxic thujone (not exceeding its permitted applicable concentration) was observed. These properties highlight the pharmaceutical importance of the developed chitosan hydrogel formulating sage essential oil in the dermal applications.     

Correction to: EKLT: Asynchronous Photometric Feature Tracking Using Events and Frames

International Journal of Computer Vision - The original version of this article was unfortunately omitted to publish the footnote “The best result per row is highlighted in bold” in...     

Accelerated multi-contrast high isotropic resolution 3D intracranial vessel wall MRI using a tailored k-space undersampling and partially parallel reconstruction strategy

Objective

To develop a 3D multi-contrast IVW protocol with 0.5-mm isotropic resolution and a scan time of 5 min per sequence.

Materials and methods

Pre-contrast T1w VISTA, DANTE prepared PDw VISTA, SNAP, and post-contrast T1w VISTA were accelerated using cartesian undersampling with target ordering method (CUSTOM) and self-supporting tailored k-space estimation for parallel imaging reconstruction (STEP). CUSTOM + STEP IVW was compared to full-sample IVW, SENSE-accelerated IVW, and CUSTOM + zero-filled Fourier reconstruction in normal volunteers and subjects with intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD). Image quality, vessel delineation, CSF suppression, and blood suppression were compared.

Results

CUSTOM + STEP vessel wall delineation was comparable to full-sample IVW and better than SENSE IVW for vessel wall delineation on T1w VISTA and luminal contrast on SNAP. Average image quality and wall depiction were significantly improved using STEP reconstruction compared with zero-filled Fourier reconstruction, with no significant difference in CSF or blood suppression.

Conclusions

CUSTOM + STEP allowed multi-contrast 3D 0.5-mm isotropic IVW within 30 min. Although some quantitative and qualitative scores for CUSTOM − STEP were lower than fully sampled IVW, CUSTOM + STEP provided comparable vessel wall delineation as full-sample IVW and was superior to SENSE. CUSTOM + STEP IVW was well tolerated by patients and showed good delineation of ICAD plaque.

     

Polyetherimide-LaNi5 composite films for hydrogen storage applications

This study investigates the preparation of polyetherimide (PEI) – LaNi₅ composites films for hydrogen storage. Prior to the polymer addition, LaNi₅ was ball-milled at different conditions (250, 350, and 450 RPM) and annealed at 500 °C for 1 h under vacuum. The composites were produced with BM-LaNi₅-350 (PEI/LaNi₅-350) and annealed BM-LaNi₅-350 (PEI/LaNi₅-350-TT). Membranes were successfully produced through solvent casting assisted by an ultrasonic bath. The particles dispersion and the film morphology did not change after hydrogenation cycles. In the H₂ sorption experiments at 43 °C and 20 bar, the films stored H₂ without incubation time; both samples reached a capacity of ~0.6 wt%. The H₂ sorption kinetics of PEI/LaNi₅-350 was comparable to that of BM-LaNi₅-350, whereas PEI/LaNi₅-350-TT presented significantly slower kinetics. LaNi₅ oxidation was hindered by PEI, showing that it can be explored to improve metal hydrides air resistance. The results demonstrated that PEI films filled with LaNi₅ are promising materials for hydrogen storage.     

Software assurance practices for mobile applications

Mobile software applications have to cope with a particular environment that involves small size, limited resources, high autonomy requirements, competitive business models and many other challenges. To provide development guidelines that respond to these needs, several practices have been introduced; however, it is not clear how these guidelines may contribute to solve the issues present in the mobile domain. Furthermore, the rapid evolution of the mobile ecosystem challenges many of the premises upon which the proposed practices were designed. In this paper, we present a survey of the literature on software assurance practices for mobile applications, with the objective of describing them and assessing their contribution and success. We identified, organized and reviewed a body of research that spans in three levels: software development processes, software product assurance practices, and software implementation practices. By carrying out this literature survey, we reviewed the different approaches that researchers on Software Engineering have provided to address the needs that raise in the mobile software development arena. Moreover, we review the evolution of these practices, identifying how the constant changes and modernization of the mobile execution environment has impacted the methods proposed in the literature. Finally, we introduced discussion on the application of these practices in a real productive setting, opening an area for further research that may determine if practitioners have followed the proposed assurance paradigms.