Search results for "Copy"

Super-resolved linear fluorescence localization microscopy using photostable fluorophores: A virtual microscopy study

2017

Abstract Current approaches to overcome the conventional limit of the resolution potential of light microscopy (of about 200 nm for visible light), often suffer from non-linear effects, which render the quantification of the image intensities in the reconstructions difficult, and also affect the quantification of the biological structure under investigation. As an attempt to face these difficulties, we discuss a particular method of localization microscopy which is based on photostable fluorescent dyes. The proposed method can potentially be implemented as a fast alternative for quantitative localization microscopy, circumventing the need for the acquisition of thousands of image frames and…

Mucoadhesive solid lipid microparticles for controlled release of a corticosteroid in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment.

2017

Therapeutic efficacy of inhaled drugs is limited by rapid clearance from the site of action due to absorption into systemic circulation or metabolic degradation by alveolar macrophages. Drug delivery systems offer new solutions to clinical problems especially in the treatment of pulmonary diseases. In particular, Solid Lipid Microparticles (SLM) in the range of 3-5 µm are suggested as systems for delivery of therapeutics to the lung as, because of their size, they are able to deposit into secondary bronchi, avoiding systemic absorption typical of alveolar regions. Here, we describe two novel different SLMs prepared with chitosan and alginate for sustained release of fluticasone propionate (…

Advances in Integrating Traditional and Omic Biomarkers When Analyzing the Effects of the Mediterranean Diet Intervention in Cardiovascular Prevention

2016

Intervention with Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has provided a high level of evidence in primary prevention of cardiovascular events. Besides enhancing protection from classical risk factors, an improvement has also been described in a number of non-classical ones. Benefits have been reported on biomarkers of oxidation, inflammation, cellular adhesion, adipokine production, and pro-thrombotic state. Although the benefits of the MedDiet have been attributed to its richness in antioxidants, the mechanisms by which it exercises its beneficial effects are not well known. It is thought that the integration of omics including genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and metabolomics, into studies a…

Drosophila melanogaster Models of Metal-Related Human Diseases and Metal Toxicity

2017

Iron, copper and zinc are transition metals essential for life because they are required in a multitude of biological processes. Organisms have evolved to acquire metals from nutrition and to maintain adequate levels of each metal to avoid damaging effects associated with its deficiency, excess or misplacement. Interestingly, the main components of metal homeostatic pathways are conserved, with many orthologues of the human metal-related genes having been identified and characterized in Drosophila melanogaster. Drosophila has gained appreciation as a useful model for studying human diseases, including those caused by mutations in pathways controlling cellular metal homeostasis. Flies have m…

The diagnosis of chronic endometritis in infertile asymptomatic women: a comparative study of histology, microbial cultures, hysteroscopy, and molecu…

2017

Background Chronic endometritis is a persistent inflammation of the endometrial mucosa caused by bacterial pathogens such as Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Mycoplasma, and Ureaplasma. Although chronic endometritis can be asymptomatic, it is found in up to 40% of infertile patients and is responsible for repeated implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage. Diagnosis of chronic endometritis is based on hysteroscopy of the uterine cavity, endometrial biopsy with plasma cells being identified histologically, while specific treatment is determined based on microbial culture. However, not all microorganisms implicated are easily or readily culturable needing …

Validate or falsify: Lessons learned from a microscopy method claimed to be useful for detecting Borrelia and Babesia organisms in human blood.

2016

A modified microscopy protocol (the LM-method) was used to demonstrate what was interpreted as Borrelia spirochetes and later also Babesia sp., in peripheral blood from patients. The method gained much publicity, but was not validated prior to publication, which became the purpose of this study using appropriate scientific methodology, including a control group.Blood from 21 patients previously interpreted as positive for Borrelia and/or Babesia infection by the LM-method and 41 healthy controls without known history of tick bite were collected, blinded and analysed for these pathogens by microscopy in two laboratories by the LM-method and conventional method, respectively, by PCR methods i…

2021

The microbiota impacts mesenteric ischemia-reperfusion injury, aggravating the interaction of leukocytes with endothelial cells in mesenteric venules. The role of defined gut microbiomes in this life-threatening pathology is unknown. To investigate how a defined model microbiome affects the adhesion of leukocytes in mesenteric ischemia-reperfusion, we took advantage of gnotobiotic isolator technology and transferred altered Schaedler flora (ASF) from C3H/HeNTac to germ-free C57BL/6J mice. We were able to detect all eight bacterial taxa of ASF in fecal samples of colonized C57BL/6J mice by PCR. Applying qRT-PCR for quantification of species-specific 16S rDNA sequences of ASF bacteria, we fou…

Aerobic growth of Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1 using selected naphthenic acids as the sole carbon and energy sources

2018

Naphthenic acids (NAs) are an important group of toxic organic compounds naturally occurring in hydrocarbon deposits. This work shows that Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1 cells not only utilize a mixture of eight different NAs (8XNAs) for growth but they are also capable of marked degradation of two model NAs, cyclohexanecarboxylic acid (CHCA) and cyclopentanecarboxylic acid (CPCA) when supplied at concentrations from 50 to 500 mgL−1 . The growth curves of BCP1 on 8XNAs, CHCA, and CPCA showed an initial lag phase not present in growth on glucose, which presumably was related to the toxic effects of NAs on the cell membrane permeability. BCP1 cell adaptation responses that allowed survi…

Physical–chemical properties of biogenic selenium nanostructures produced by stenotrophomonas maltophilia SeITE02 and ochrobactrum sp. MPV1

2018

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia SeITE02 and Ochrobactrum sp. MPV1 were isolated from the rhizosphere soil of the selenium-hyperaccumulator legume Astragalus bisulcatus and waste material from a dumping site for roasted pyrites, respectively. Here, these bacterial strains were studied as cell factories to generate selenium-nanostructures (SeNS) under metabolically controlled growth conditions. Thus, a defined medium (DM) containing either glucose or pyruvate as carbon and energy source along with selenite (SeO23−) was tested to evaluate bacterial growth, oxyanion bioconversion and changes occurring in SeNS features with respect to those generated by these strains grown on rich media. Transmissi…

Field performance of the Abbott RealTime MTB assay for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in a low-prevalence setting

2020

Introduction: The sensitivities of conventional mycobacterial culture in solid or liquid media and acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear microscopy for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) detection in extrapulmonary specimens are suboptimal. We evaluated the field performance of the Abbott RealTime MTB assay for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in a low-prevalence setting. Methods: The total number of extrapulmonary specimens with mycobacterial culture and PCR results was 566: sterile fluids (n = 278), non-sterile fluids (n = 147), lymph node material (n = 69) tissue biopsies (n = 63), and abscess aspirates (n = 9). A composite standard consisting of mycobacterial culture results,…