Compressive fatigue properties of a commercially available acrylic bone cement for vertebroplasty

Acrylic bone cements are widely used for fixation of joint prostheses as well as for vertebral body augmentation procedures of vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty, with the cement zone(s) being subjected to repeated mechanical loading in each of these applications. Although, in vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty, the cement zone is exposed to mainly cyclical compressive load, the compressive fatigue properties of acrylic bone cements used in these procedures are yet to be determined. The purposes of the present study were to determine the compressive fatigue properties of a commercially available cement brand used in vertebroplasty, including the effect of frequency on these properties; to identify the cement failure modes under compressive cyclical load; and to introduce a screening method that may be used to shorten the lengthy character of the standardized fatigue tests. Osteopal \({^\circledR } \mathrm{V}\) was used as the model cement in this study. The combinations of maximum stress and frequency used were 50.0, 55.0, 60.0, 62.5 and 75.5 MPa at 2 Hz; and of 40.0, 55.0, 60.0, 62.5 or 75.5 MPa at 10 Hz. Through analysis of nominal strain-number of loading cycles results, three cement failure modes were identified. The estimated mean fatigue limit at 2 Hz (55.4 MPa) was significantly higher than that at 10 Hz (41.1 MPa). The estimated fatigue limit at 2 Hz is much higher than stresses commonly found in the spine and also higher than that for other acrylic bone cements tested in a full tension–compression fatigue test, which indicates that tension–compression fatigue testing may substantially underestimate the performance of cements intended for vertebroplasty. A screening method was introduced which may be used to shorten the time spent in performing compressive fatigue tests on specimens of acrylic bone cement for use in vertebral body augmentation procedures.     

Sperm ubiquitination in epididymal feline semen

Ubiquitin is a 8.5-kDa peptide that tags other proteins for proteasomal degradation. It has been proposed that ubiquitination might be responsible for the elimination of defective spermatozoa during transit through the epididymis in humans and cattle, but its exact biological function in seminal plasma has not yet been clarified. In the domestic cat (Felis catus), the percentage of immature, unviable, and abnormal spermatozoa decreases during the epididymal transit, indicating the existence of a mechanism that removes defective spermatozoa. Magnetic cell separation techniques, based on the use of magnetic beads coated with anti-ubiquitin antibodies, may allow the selective capture of ubiquitinated spermatozoa from semen, thus contributing to the identification of a potential correlation between semen quality and ubiquitination process. Moreover, the selective identification of all the ubiquitinated proteins in different epididymal regions could give a better understanding of the ubiquitin role in feline sperm maturation. The aims of this study were as follows: (1) to verify the possibility of separating ubiquitinated spermatozoa with magnetic ubiquitin beads and identify the morphological and acrosomal differences between whole sample and unbound gametes, (2) to characterize all the ubiquitinated proteins in spermatozoa retrieved in the three epididymal regions by a proteomic approach. The data indicated the presence of ubiquitinated proteins in cat epididymal semen. However, a correlation between abnormal and ubiquitinated spermatozoa has not been found, and ubiquitin cannot be considered as a biomarker of quality of epididymal feline spermatozoa. To the author's knowledge, this is the first identification of all the ubiquitinated proteins of cat spermatozoa collected from different epididymal regions. The proteomic pattern allows a further characterization of cat epididymal semen and represents a contribute to a better understanding of the ubiquitin role in feline sperm maturation.     

The Na transport in gram-positive bacteria defect in the Mrp antiporter complex measured with Na nuclear magnetic resonance

²³Na nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has previously been used to monitor Na⁺ translocation across membranes in gram-negative bacteria and in various other organelles and liposomes using a membrane-impermeable shift reagent to resolve the signals resulting from internal and external Na⁺. In this work, the ²³Na NMR method was adapted for measurements of internal Na⁺ concentration in the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis, with the aim of assessing the Na⁺ translocation activity of the Mrp (multiple resistance and pH) antiporter complex, a member of the cation proton antiporter-3 (CPA-3) family. The sodium-sensitive growth phenotype observed in a B. subtilis strain with the gene encoding MrpA deleted could indeed be correlated to the inability of this strain to maintain a lower internal Na⁺ concentration than an external one.     

Fed‐batch synthesis of galacto‐oligosaccharides with Aspergillus oryzae β‐galactosidase using optimal control strategy

Fed‐batch synthesis of galacto‐oligosaccharides (GOS) from lactose with β‐galactosidase from Aspergillus oryzae was evaluated experimentally and reaction yield was maximized via optimal control technique. The optimal lactose and enzyme feed flow rate profiles were determined using a model for GOS synthesis previously reported by the authors. Experimentally it was found that fed‐batch synthesis allowed an increase on the maximum total GOS concentration from 115 (batch synthesis) to 218 g L^?1 as consequence of the increase in total sugars concentration from 40 to 58% w/w. Such high concentration of total sugars was not attainable in batch operation because of the low solubility of lactose at the reaction temperature (40°C). Simulations predicted a GOS yield of 32.5 g g^?1 in fed‐batch synthesis under optimal conditions, while experimentally the same yield as in batch synthesis was obtained (28 g g^?1). Besides, an enrichment of total oligosaccharides in GOS with a high polymerization degree (GOS‐5 and GOS‐6) was observed in the fed‐batch synthesis. Experimental profiles for all sugars were similar to the ones predicted by simulation, which supports the use of this methodology for the optimization of GOS synthesis. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 30:59–67, 2014     

A genomic island in Brucella involved in the adhesion to host cells: Identification of a new adhesin and a translocation factor

Adhesion to host cells is the first step in the virulence cycle of any pathogen. In Gram‐negative bacteria, adhesion is mediated, among other virulence factors such as the lipopolysaccharides, by specific outer‐membrane proteins generally termed adhesins that belong to a wide variety of families and have different evolutionary origins. In Brucella, a widespread zoonotic pathogen of animal and human health concern, adhesion is central as it may determine the intracellular fate of the bacterium, an essential stage in its pathogenesis. In the present paper, we further characterised a genomic locus that we have previously reported encodes an adhesin (BigA) with a bacterial immunoglobulin‐like domain (BIg‐like). We found that this region encodes a second adhesin, which we have named BigB; and PalA, a periplasmic protein necessary for the proper display in the outer membrane of BigA and BigB. Deletion of bigB or palA diminishes the adhesion of the bacterium and overexpression of BigB dramatically increases it. Incubation of cells with the recombinant BIg‐like domain of BigB induced important cytoskeletal rearrangements and affected the focal adhesion sites indicating that the adhesin targets cell–cell or cell–matrix proteins. We additionally show that PalA has a periplasmic localisation and is completely necessary for the proper display of BigA and BigB, probably avoiding their aggregation and facilitating their transport to the outer membrane. Our results indicate that this genomic island is entirely devoted to the adhesion of Brucella to host cells.     

The basic keratin 10-binding domain of the virulence-associated pneumococcal serine-rich protein PsrP adopts a novel MSCRAMM fold

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major human pathogen, and a leading cause of disease and death worldwide. Pneumococcal invasive disease is triggered by initial asymptomatic colonization of the human upper respiratory tract. The pneumococcal serine-rich repeat protein (PsrP) is a lung-specific virulence factor whose functional binding region (BR) binds to keratin-10 (KRT10) and promotes pneumococcal biofilm formation through self-oligomerization. We present the crystal structure of the KRT10-binding domain of PsrP (BR_187–385) determined to 2.0 Å resolution. BR_187–385 adopts a novel variant of the DEv-IgG fold, typical for microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules adhesins, despite very low sequence identity. An extended β-sheet on one side of the compressed, two-sided barrel presents a basic groove that possibly binds to the acidic helical rod domain of KRT10. Our study also demonstrates the importance of the other side of the barrel, formed by extensive well-ordered loops and stabilized by short β-strands, for interaction with KRT10.     

Interactions between different predator–prey states: a method for the derivation of the functional and numerical response

Journal of Mathematical Biology - In this paper we introduce a formal method for the derivation of a predator’s functional response from a system of fast state transitions of the prey or...     

Prevalent HLA Class II Alleles in Mexico City Appear to Confer Resistance to the Development of Amebic Liver Abscess

Amebiasis is an endemic disease and a public health problem throughout Mexico, although the incidence rates of amebic liver abscess (ALA) vary among the geographic regions of the country. Notably, incidence rates are high in the northwestern states (especially Sonora with a rate of 12.57/100,000 inhabitants) compared with the central region (Mexico City with a rate of 0.69/100,000 inhabitants). These data may be related to host genetic factors that are partially responsible for resistance or susceptibility. Therefore, we studied the association of the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles with resistance or susceptibility to ALA in two Mexican populations, one each from Mexico City and Sonora. Ninety ALA patients were clinically diagnosed by serology and sonography. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. To establish the genetic identity of both populations, 15 short tandem repeats (STRs) were analyzed with multiplexed PCR, and the allelic frequencies of HLA were studied by PCR-SSO using LUMINEX technology. The allele frequencies obtained were compared to an ethnically matched healthy control group (146 individuals). We observed that both affected populations differed genetically from the control group. We also found interesting trends in the population from Mexico City. HLA-DQB1*02 allele frequencies were higher in ALA patients compared to the control group (0.127 vs 0.047; p= 0.01; pc= NS; OR= 2.9, 95% CI= 1.09-8.3). The less frequent alleles in ALA patients were HLA-DRB1*08 (0.118 vs 0.238 in controls; p= 0.01; pc= NS; OR= 0.42, 95% CI= 0.19-0.87) and HLA-DQB1*04 (0.109 vs 0.214; p= 0.02; pc= NS; OR= 0.40, 95% CI= 0.20-0.94). The haplotype HLA-DRB1*08/-DQB1*04 also demonstrated a protective trend against the development of this disease (0.081 vs. 0.178; p=0.02; pc=NS; OR= 0.40, 95% CI= 0.16-0.93). These trends suggest that the prevalent alleles in the population of Mexico City may be associated with protection against the development of ALA.