Human Amnion-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: A New Potential Treatment for Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales in Decompensated Cirrhosis

Background: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a severe and often fatal infection in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and ascites. The only cure for SBP is antibiotic therapy, but the emerging problem of bacterial resistance requires novel therapeutic strategies. Human amniotic mesenchymal stromal cells (hA-MSCs) possess immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties that can be harnessed as a therapy in such a context. Methods: An in vitro applications of hA-MSCs in ascitic fluid (AF) of cirrhotic patients, subsequently infected with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, was performed. We evaluated the effects of hA-MSCs on bacterial load, innate immunity factors, and macrophage phenotypic expression. Results: hA-MSCs added to AF significantly reduce the proliferation of both bacterial strains at 24 h and diversely affect M1 and M2 polarization, C3a complement protein, and ficolin 3 concentrations during the course of infection, in a bacterial strain-dependent fashion. Conclusion: This study shows the potential usefulness of hA-MSC in treating ascites infected with carbapenem-resistant bacteria and lays the foundation to further investigate antibacterial and anti-inflammatory roles of hA-MSC in in vivo models.     

红色物语——旧厂房成为新办公楼的改造方案

红色和黑色是具有历史意义的先锋颜色,在上个世纪它们代表着大胆不羁的意识形态和由革新方式表选的道德与文化信念所构成的艺术运动.这是那种能代表某种针对对象本质引发的潮流和张力的颜色,而白色代表用来罗列它们意义和内涵的虚无空间.     

Effects of proton irradiation on glass filter substrates for the Rosetta mission

The Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) instrument on board the Rosetta spacecraft, a misson of the European Space Agency to comet P/Wirtanen, includes two cameras for acquiring images of the comet. A set of interference filters deposited upon glass and fused-silica substrates will be added to the cameras for wavelength tuning. For this mission of more than 10/years in an interplanetary environment, the requirement of preserving the optical characteristics of the filters is a critical one. We checked the variation in the transmission of some filter substrates after proton irradiation that simulated the solar wind. To produce a situation that is representative of the interplanetary environment, we irradiated proton fluences at three energies: 1.5 x 10(11) protons/cm2 at 4 MeV, 1.9 x 10(10) protons/cm2 at 8 MeV, and 7.1 x 10(9) protons/cm2 at 18 MeV. Seven substrates were tested: three Suprasil-1; three colored glasses, namely, OG590, KG3, and RG9; and one quartz. In addition, two interference filters were checked. The results obtained show that Suprasil-1 is rather insensitive to this irradiation, whereas very small reductions in transmission, of the order of a few percent, occur for colored glasses. The transmission of these filters was remeasured 2 years after the irradiation, and showed a general decrease in the transmission reduction.     

Dose-rate dependence of swelling and damage in ion-irradiated nickel

The results of an irradiation experiment using 46 MeV Ni⁶⁺ ions from the Variable-Energy Cyclotron facility in Harwell are presented. The dose rate was varied, at a constant total dose, by a factor of 20 and the damage produced examined in the peak region of damage and at smaller depths. The temperature range 450–700°C was investigated. It was found that the temperature dependence of swelling varies with both the dose rate and the dose.     

Solubilization and solid-state characterization of a poorly soluble 5-alpha reductase inhibitor

GI197111X is a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. Equilibrium solubilities of GI197111X were determined in multiple solvents or cosolvents. A polymorph screen was conducted using suspension equilibration and solution recrystallization methods. Single crystals were grown from pyridine/water and crystal structure was determined using a Bruker SMART diffractometer. Crystal structure data were imported into Cerius2 to provide visualization of the crystal structure and calculation of the simulated X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) pattern. The solubility of GI19711IX was low at 25 degrees C in all vehicles suitable for animal and human dosing. The solubility of 6.4 mg/mL in Capmul MCM made it the only choice for a soft gel dosage form for phase I/II. Solution recrystallization and suspension equilibration of GI197111X have produced only one crystal form. Crystal structure data: orthorhombic P2(1) 2(1) 2(1); a= 10.8960(6) A, b=11.5683(6) A, c=20.9019(11) A; unit cell volume 2634.65(24) A3; Z=4; calculated density= 1.248 g/cc. The molecule has seven chiral centers, and single-crystal analysis eliminated all possible stereo-isomers except the expected conformation or its enantiomer. Hydrogen bonds occur from both carbonyl oxygens to an H-N group. Simulated vacuum-based crystal morphology (habit) calculated using the Bravais-Friedel-Donnay-Harker, Growth Morphology, and Hartman-Perdok modules in Cerius2 was a close match to the morphology observed by light microscopy.     

Detection of Escherichia coli O157 in bovine meat products in northern Italy

Tests for Escherichia coli and E. coli O157 were carried out on meat samples collected from randomly chosen stores throughout the city of Bologna and suburban areas. The samples consisted of 25 g of loose minced beef, sometimes already shaped into meatballs or hamburgers, some of which were mixed with vegetables. The meat was purchased from retail outlets, open market stalls, and supermarket chains during 25 sampling visits from October 2000 to December 2001. For E. coli detection, Tryptone soya broth (TSB) supplemented with novobiocin and C-EC agar were used. Immunomagnetic separation with SMAC-BCIG-CT agar and chromogenic E. coli O 157 agar, API 20E system and agglutination latex test were used to detect E. coli O157; Vero cell assay and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to assess toxin production and the presence of virulence genes.

E. coli were detected in 45 (30.2%) of the 149 samples examined, mainly in the hamburger samples mixed with vegetables and in the loose minced beef. E. coli O157 was found in one sample of hamburger and two samples of hamburger mixed with vegetables (2%) collected from three different butcher's stores between July and October. All the strains of E. coli O157 and most cases of E. coli were found in meat from small retailers.

The three strains of E. coli O157 were positive for verocytotoxin production. PCR analysis revealed genes coding for vt2 and one strain possessed the gene for eae A. Chromogenic E. coli O157 agar was found to be more selective and differential, allowing easier identification of suspected colonies with mixed flora and producing less false-positive colonies.     

Cytidine deaminase from two extremophilic bacteria: cloning, expression and comparison of their structural stability

We cloned, purified and characterized two extremophilic cytidinedeaminases: CDA_Bcald and CDA_Bpsy, isolated from Bacillus caldolyticus(growth at 72°C) and Bacillus psychrophilus (growth at 10°C),respectively. We compared their thermostability also with themesophilic counterpart, CDA_Bsubt, isolated from Bacillus subtilis(growth at 37°C). The DNA fragments encoding CDA_Bcald andCDA_Bpsy were sequenced and the deduced amino acid sequencesshowed 70% identity. High sequence similarity was also foundwith the mesophilic CDA_Bsubt. Both enzymes were found to behomotetramers of approximately 58 kDa. CDA_Bcald was found tobe highly thermostable, as expected, up to 65°C, whereasCDA_Bpsy showed higher specific activity at lower temperaturesand was considerably less thermostable than CDA_Bcald. Afterpartial denaturation at 72°C for 30 min, followed by renaturationon ice, CDA_Bcald recovered 100% of its enzymatic activity, whereasCDA_Bpsy as well as CDA_Bsubt were irreversibly inactivated. Circulardichroism (CD) spectra of CDA_Bcald and CDA_Bpsy at temperaturesranging from 10 to 95°C showed a markedly different thermostabilityof their secondary structures: at 10 and 25°C the CD spectrawere indistinguishable, suggesting a similar overall structure,but as temperature increases up to 50–70°C, the -helicesof CDA_Bpsy unfolded almost completely, whereas its ß-structureand the aromatic amino acids core remained pretty stable. Nosignificant differences were seen in the secondary structuresof CDA_Bcald with increase in temperature.     

Role of the perirhinal cortex in rats' conditioned taste aversion response memorization.

The role of the perirhinal cortex (PC) in conditioned taste aversion (CTA) learning was investigated in Long-Evans rats. CTA was induced by the intraperitoneal administration of LiCl 60 min after saccharin-sweetened water drinking. The PC was reversibly inactivated by the stereotaxic administration of tetrodotoxin (TTX) 60 min before saccharin drinking, immediately after saccharin drinking (Experiment 1), 6 or 24 hr after LiCl administration (Experiment 2), and 60 min before CTA retrieval testing (Experiment 3). Only pre-saccharin drinking PC inactivation disrupted CTA. Thus, PC integrity is necessary only during the earliest phases of CTA mnemonic processing, that is, taste information acquisition and early gustatory memory elaboration. The results are discussed in relation to PC connectivity and PC temporal involvement in the memorization process of other aversive responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biogenic amine content and microbiological profile of Pecorino di Farindola cheese

“Pecorino di Farindola” is a traditional ewes’ milk cheese produced in the Abruzzo region (Italy) and ripened for a minimum of 90 days. The main objective of this research was to characterize the microbiological and chemical composition of this cheese, manufactured in ten dairy farms during the winter cheese-making season (December through March). By using classical enumeration system on specific media variability was observed in the viable numbers of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, enterobacteria, coagulase-negative staphylococci, yeasts, enterococci, mesophilic and thermophilic lactobacilli, lactococci and thermophilic streptococci. Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 resulted to be absent in all the samples. Among compounds possibly impacting on human health, the isomer cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), was determined in high levels in all samples, ranging from 9.2 to 12.7 mg/g fat. Great diversity was also found in biogenic amine contents with a relevant presence of tyramine in all the cheeses. This work represents the first study on Pecorino di Farindola cheese and could contribute to deepen the knowledge on its microbiological and biochemical features, focusing on hygiene and consumer health aspects.