• Cobb Jernigan posted an update 1 week, 2 days ago

    Fibroblasts under the influence of LL showed decrease in their viability and increase in apoptosis level and A-375 melanoma cells showed an increase in relative viability and decrease in apoptosis. ROS level in bacterial cells was elevated in higher LL concentrations and decreased in lower LL concentrations. In human cells, ROS content was rather high in both tested cell lines. Presented results indicate cytotoxic potential of analyzed LL and the necessity of LL monitoring because it may pose a health hazard for exposed human populations and the whole human environment.A Gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile, pleomorphic, red-pigmented bacterium, designated HNSRY-1T, was isolated from the blood sample of a near drowning patient in Republic of China. Strain HNSRY-1T grew at 15-37 °C (optimum, 35 °C), with pH 6.0-8.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and 0-1.5% (W/V) NaCl (optimum, 1%). The predominant fatty acids (> 5%) in HNSRY-1T cells are iso-C150, C170, C171 ω8c, C160, and C161 ω6c/C161 ω7c. The major respiratory quinone is MK-8. The polar lipids are phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, three unidentified lipids and four unidentified aminolipids. The 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain HNSRY-1T belonged to the family Silvanigrellaceae, forming a distinct phylogenetic line distantly related ( less then  96.4% sequence similarity) to known species of the family. The ANI values of strain HNSRY-1T compared to the closely related species were below the determined genus division threshold limit (92-94% ANI), and AAI values were lower than the determined genus division threshold limit (80% AAI). Whole genome sequencing revealed a genome size of 3.63 Mb with a DNA G + C content at 29.6%. The half-lethal dose of strain HNSRY-1T on KM mice is about 1.12 × 108 CFU/ml. Virulence gene analysis showed that the pathogenicity of HNSRY-1T may be related to tufA, htpB, katA, wbtL, wbtM, pseB, clpP, cheY, cheV3, acpXL, pilB, fliN, ggt, flgG, fliP, nueB, pseA, bioB and flil. Based on these findings from the polyphasic taxonomy studies, a novel genus and species of the family Silvanigrellaceae. Pigmentibacter ruber gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed, with type strain HNSRY-1T (= KCTC 72920T = CGMCC 1.18525T).Individuals attending residential rehabilitation programs for substance misuse are particularly vulnerable to treatment disruptions spurred by the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We describe adaptations to services within a large residential rehabilitation program for under-resourced veterans, report veterans’ experiences with these changes, and outline successes and challenges encountered throughout adjustment to the pandemic. Data collected from two focus groups with nine veterans engaged in this program during the pandemic highlight experiences of inconsistent communication about residential policies, interruptions to medical and addiction services, and feelings of confinement and social isolation. Overall, these findings suggest the need for health systems to support clients in taking an active role in communications, provide additional technical and social support in transitioning to virtual health services, and offer alternative means for clients to maintain social connection during a pandemic. Understanding clients’ perspectives can inform strategies to promote continuity of care and enhanced care experiences.Calanoid copepods are integral to aquatic food webs and may drive the bioaccumulation of toxins and heavy metals, spread of infectious diseases, and occurrence of toxic cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater aquatic systems. However, interrelationships between copepod and cyanobacterial population dynamics and ecophysiology remain unclear. Insights into these relationships are important to aquatic resource management, as they may help guide mitigation efforts. We developed a calanoid copepod qPCR assay to investigate how copepod abundance and physiological status relate to the abundance of cyanobacteria and the concentration of total microcystin in a HAB-prone freshwater multi-use eutrophic lake. SCH900353 molecular weight Through in silico and in vitro validation of primers and analyses of time series, we demonstrate that our assay can be used as a reliable tool for environmental monitoring. Importantly, copepod RNADNA ratios on and shortly after the day when microcystin concentration was at its highest within the lake were not significantly lower (or higher) than before or after this period, suggesting that copepods may have been tolerant of microcystin levels observed and capable of perpetuating bloom events by consuming competitors of toxic cyanobacteria.Rhodopseudomonas palustris is a model microorganism for studying the anaerobic metabolism of aromatic compounds. While it is well documented which aromatics can serve as sole organic carbon sources, co-metabolism of other aromatics is poorly understood. This study used kinetic modeling to analyze the simultaneous degradation of aromatic compounds present in corn stover hydrolysates and model the co-metabolism of aromatics not known to support growth of R. palustris as sole organic substrates. The simulation predicted that p-coumaroyl amide and feruloyl amide were hydrolyzed to p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid, respectively, and further transformed via p-coumaroyl-CoA and feruloyl-CoA. The modeling also suggested that metabolism of p-hydroxyphenyl aromatics was slowed by substrate inhibition, whereas the transformation of guaiacyl aromatics was inhibited by their p-hydroxyphenyl counterparts. It also predicted that substrate channeling may occur during degradation of p-coumaroyl-CoA and feruloyl-CoA, resulting in no detectable accumulation of p-hydroxybenzaldehyde and vanillin, during the transformation of these CoA ligated compounds to p-hydroxybenzoic acid and vanillic acid, respectively. While the simulation correctly represented the known transformation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid via the benzoyl-CoA pathway, it also suggested co-metabolism of vanillic acid and syringic acid, which are known not to serve as photoheterotrophic growth substrate for R. palustris.