Retention of virulence in viable but non-culturable halophilic Vibrio spp

The viable but non-culturable (VBNC) forms of two environmental strains of Vibrio alginolyticus 1 and Vibrio parahaemolyticus 66 and one strain of V. parahaemolyticus ATCC 43996 showing virulence characteristics (hemolysin production, adhesive and/or cytotoxic ability, in vivo enteropathogenicity) were obtained by culturing bacteria in a microcosm consisting of artificial sea water (ASW) and incubating at 5 degrees C with shaking. Every 2 days, culturability of the cells in the microcosm was monitored by spread plates on BHI agar and total count and the percentage of viable cells were determined by double staining with DAPI and CTC. When cell growth was not detectable (<0.1 CFU/ml), the population was considered non-culturable and, then, the VBNC forms were resuscitated in a murine model. For each strain, eight male Balb/C mice were intragastrically inoculated with 0.1 ml of concentrated ASW bacterial culture. Two mice from each group were sacrificed at 2, 4, 8, and 12 days after challenge for autopsy and re-isolation of the microorganisms from the intestinal tissue cultures. Isolation was obtained in 25% of the animals challenged with the VBNC V. alginolyticus strain, in 37.5% of those challenged with the VBNC V. parahaemolyticus strain of environmental origin and in 50% of the animals infected with VBNC V. parahaemolyticus ATCC 43996. The strains thus isolated were again subjected to biological assays to determine the retention of pathogenicity. The virulence characteristics that seemed to disappear after resuscitation in the mouse were subsequently reactivated by means of two consecutive passages of the strains in the rat ileal loop model. The results obtained indicate that VBNC forms of the strains examined can be resuscitated and retain their virulence properties.     

Mechanical behavior of quenched isotactic polypropylene crystallized by thermal and solvent treatments

Films of quenched isotactic polypropylene were either annealed at 80, 90, 100, 110°C for 30 min or kept in different liquids for 24 h at 25°C. The liquids were cyclohexane, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride. Both treatments induce crystallization of quenched films and the development of crystallinity was detected by carrying out density and wide-angle x-ray scattering measurements. Small-angle light scattering experiments, performed on the starting and on the crystallized samples, show that in the zones in which spherulites are present the basic gross morphology does not change after the treatments, although the increase of crystallinity is substantial for all the samples. The analysis of the mechanical behavior also indicates the absence of relevant morphological changes following the different treatments. On the other hand the increased crystallinity strongly influences the complex structural and molecular rearrangement characterizing the transition from the spherulitic to the fiber morphology. The results are discussed in terms of the great significance that structural modifications have on the physical properties.     

Crystallinity of isotactic polypropylene films annealed from the quenched state

Quenched isotactic polypropylene films were annealed at 130, 140 and 155 °C for 24 h. The structural organization, after annealing, was analysed by wide-angle X-ray diffractograms (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), density and sorption of dichloromethane vapour at low activity. The comparison of the different methods used to obtain the crystallinity shows that, even at the highest annealing temperature, the transformation of the smectic phase into the monoclinic phase, is not complete. WAXD and DSC give the amount of monoclinic phase, whereas the amorphous fraction was derived from sorption of dichloromethane vapour at low activity. From the density, it was possible to derive the residual smectic fraction in the different samples. The results indicate that, at temperatures higher than 150 °C, there is an accelerated decrease of smectic phase and an accelerated increase in the crystal dimensions and perfection.     

Amplification factor of echo signals in ferrimagnetic materials

It is known that spin echoes in ferrimagnetic materials can only be excited on the application of high-power microwave signals. The amplification factor of spin echoes is calculated for ferrimagnetic materials; long-range dipolar field, external RF-field couplings, and magnetization relaxations are included in the calculations. The inclusion of such interactions provides a mechanism by which realistic amplification of echoes may be calculable. The theoretical estimate of amplification is in reasonable agreement with previous experiments. Thus, the effects of carrier frequency, field gradient, and microwave power on echo amplification are calculated     

Model for the a.c. hall effect of high-Tcsuperconductors

The sign of the Cooper pairs in the superconducting state of the currently found high-T _c superconductors can be best measured by utilizing the so-called a.c. Hall effect. In this experiment a d.c. magnetic field is applied normal to the surface of the superconductor and a planar electromagnetic wave perpendicularly polarized incident upon the sample surface. By measuring the reflected electric field polarized in the incident plane, one could determine the sign as well as the magnitude of the a.c. Hall coefficient. The measurement provides a direct means to determine the sign and density of the Cooper pairs in the superconducting state of the high-T _c superconducting sample.     

Lanthionine,a Novel Uremic Toxin,in the Vascular Calcification of Chronic Kidney Disease: The Role of Proinflammatory Cytokines

Vascular calcification (VC) is a risk factor for cardiovascular events and mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Several components influence the occurrence of VC, among which inflammation. A novel uremic toxin, lanthionine, was shown to increase intracellular calcium in endothelial cells and may have a role in VC. A group of CKD patients was selected and divided into patients with a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of <45 mL/min/1.73 m² and ≥45 mL/min/1.73 m². Total Calcium Score (TCS), based on the Agatston score, was assessed as circulating lanthionine and a panel of different cytokines. A hemodialysis patient group was also considered. Lanthionine was elevated in CKD patients, and levels increased significantly in hemodialysis patients with respect to the two CKD groups; in addition, lanthionine increased along with the increase in TCS, starting from one up to three. Interleukin IL-6, IL-8, and Eotaxin were significantly increased in patients with GFR < 45 mL/min/1.73 m² with respect to those with GFR ≥ 45 mL/min/1.73 m². IL-1b, IL-7, IL-8, IL-12, Eotaxin, and VEGF increased in calcified patients with respect to the non-calcified. IL-8 and Eotaxin were elevated both in the low GFR group and in the calcified group. We propose that lanthionine, but also IL-8 and Eotaxin, in particular, are a key feature of VC of CKD, with possible marker significance.     

Casein proteolysis in human milk: tracing the pattern of casein breakdown and the formation of potential bioactive peptides

The protein and peptide fraction of human milk samples collected from mothers of pre- and full-term infants in the first week after parturition was analysed by use of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry. By characterising the peptide sequence, we defined the pathway of casein hydrolysis which leads to the formation of small peptides through intermediate oligopeptides. It was found that the action of a plasmin-like enzyme acting on specific lysine residues is the primary step in casein degradation. This is followed by endopeptidases and/or exopeptidases mediated cleavage of the oligopeptides which, in turn, produces a multiplicity of short peptides differing by one or more amino acid residues. In this process, a series of potentially bioactive peptides (opioid, phosphopeptides) and their precursors are produced.     

Study of TATP: Spontaneous Transformation of TATP to DADP

TATP, prepared in the presence of catalysts methanesulfonic, perchloric, or sulfuric acid, has been found to undergo transformation to DADP. However, no transformation occurs if TATP is purified or prepared involving catalysts such as hydrochloric acid, tin(IV) chloride, and nitric acid. The transformation has been monitored by the methods of DTA and HPLC.