The Antibacterial Drug Candidate SBC3 is a Potent Inhibitor of Bacterial Thioredoxin Reductase

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem for public health and associated with increasing economic costs and mortality rates. Silver and silver-related compounds have been used for centuries due to their antimicrobial properties. In this work, we show that 1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenyl-imidazol-2-ylidene silver(I) acetate/NHC*-Ag-OAc (SBC3) is a reversible, high affinity inhibitor of E. coli thioredoxin reductase (TrxR; K_i=10.8±1.2 nM). Minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) tests with different E. coli and P. aeruginosa strains demonstrated that SBC3 can efficiently inhibit bacterial cell growth, especially in combination with established antibiotics like gentamicin. Our results show that SBC3 is a promising antibiotic drug candidate targeting bacterial TrxR.     

水泥窑余热发电系统用耐磨材料的研制与应用

本研究针对水泥窑余热发电系统的工作条件,根据耐磨材料的损毁机理,采用高铝矾土、煅烧氧化铝粉、黏土、硅微粉等为原料,以磷酸二氢铝为结合剂,以铝酸钙水泥为促硬剂,通过添加掩蔽剂和优化配料工艺,制备了水泥窑余热发电系统用耐磨材料,并对不同处理温度对耐磨材料的性能影响进行了分析。结果表明增强骨料与基质的结合能力有利于耐磨性的提高,磷酸及磷酸盐与氧化铝之间会随着温度的升高生成不同的磷酸铝相,都能够起到结合作用,比采用水泥结合更有利于提高材料在不同温度下的强度和耐磨性。使用结果表明,制备的耐磨材料施工性能优良,凝结硬化时间适当,强度高,抗冲刷性能好,在水泥窑余热发电系统中取得了良好的使用效果。     

Use of heat-moisture treated maize starch to modify the properties of wheat flour and the quality of noodles

Waxy, normal and high-amylose maize starches were subjected to heat-moisture treatment (HMT) and then added to wheat flour (WF) in different ratios (1%, 5% and 10%). The properties of blends and their cooked noodles were studied to investigate the effects of HMT starches. The incorporation of HMT starch in WF led to an increase in swelling power, peak viscosity and breakdown and to a decrease in setback, thus inhibiting retrogradation, hence enhancing resultant noodle softness. Compared to the same addition ratio of native starch to WF, HMT starch led to higher tensile strength and extensibility in resultant noodles. WF with added HMT starch had higher resistant starch than with native starch. This study showed that addition of HMT maize starch has potential to bring nutritional benefits. However, it is necessary to select the proper blending ratio and amylose content of starch to add, in consideration of its effect on noodle quality.     

5-Benzylidene-4-Oxazolidinones Are Synergistic with Antibiotics for the Treatment of Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms

The failure of frontline antibiotics in the clinic is one of the most serious threats to human health and requires a multitude of novel therapeutics and innovative approaches to treatment so as to curtail the growing crisis. In addition to traditional resistance mechanisms resulting in the lack of efficacy of many antibiotics, most chronic and recurring infections are further made tolerant to antibiotic action by the presence of biofilms. Herein, we report an expanded set of 5-benzylidene-4-oxazolidinones that are able to inhibit the formation of Staphylococcus aureus biofilms, disperse preformed biofilms, and, in combination with common antibiotics, are able to significantly reduce the bacterial load in a robust collagen-matrix model of biofilm infection.     

Methyltransferase Contingencies in the Pathway of Everninomicin D Antibiotics and Analogues

Everninomicins are orthoester oligosaccharide antibiotics with potent activity against multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens. Everninomicins act by disrupting ribosomal assembly in a distinct region in comparison to clinically prescribed drugs. We employed microporous intergeneric conjugation with Escherichia coli to manipulate Micromonospora for targeted gene-replacement studies of multiple putative methyltransferases across the octasaccharide scaffold of everninomicin effecting the A₁, C, F, and H rings. Analyses of gene-replacement and genetic complementation mutants established the mutability of the everninomicin scaffold through the generation of 12 previously unreported analogues and, together with previous results, permitted assignment of the ten methyltransferases required for everninomicin biosynthesis. The in vitro activity of A₁- and H-ring-modifying methyltransferases demonstrated the ability to catalyze late-stage modification of the scaffold on an A₁-ring phenol and H-ring C-4’ hydroxy moiety. Together these results establish the potential of the everninomicin scaffold for modification through mutagenesis and in vitro modification of advanced biosynthetic intermediates.     

土石过水围堰过水期最不利工况及其流量确定

本文系统分析了影响土石过水围堰溢流工况的主要因素，提出衡量最不利工况的指标和确定员不利流量的方法，为土石过水围堰堰体下游护坡结构及消能防冲设施设计提供了理论依据。通过理论计算结果与模型试验现场观测资料数据对比分析，说明提出的过水期最不利流量判别方法是符合实际情况的。     

Verbal Representation and Therapeutic Change in Anaclitic and Introjective Inpatients.

This study examined the relation between changes in clinical functioning and changes in verbal expression in 81 seriously disturbed and treatment-resistant young adults seen in a comprehensive, psychoanalytically oriented inpatient treatment. Clinical functioning was evaluated with a battery of clinical and social measures. Verbal representations were assessed using computer-assisted scoring of Thematic Apperception Test responses. Changes in the frequency of verbal content and style in the narratives of these patients covaried with changes in clinical functioning. Significantly different covariations of verbal and clinical change, particularly differences in covariates of referential activity, were found for patients with anaclitic versus introjective personality configurations. The implications of these findings for understanding and treating severe psychopathology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)