A Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of α-Viniferin in Staphylococcus aureus – Specific Decolonization without Depleting the Normal Microbiota of Nares

Staphylococcus aureus is currently a significant multidrug-resistant bacterium, causing severe healthcare-associated and community-acquired infections worldwide. The current antibiotic regimen against this pathogen is becoming ineffective due to resistance, in addition, they disrupt the normal microbiota. It highlights the urgent need for a pathogen-specific drug with high antibacterial efficacy against S. aureus. α-Viniferin, a bioactive phytochemical compound, has been reported to have excellent anti-Staphylococcus efficacy as a topical agent. However, so far, there were no clinical trials that have been conducted to elucidate its efficacy. The present study aimed to investigate the antibacterial efficacy of α-viniferin against S. aureus in a ten-day clinical trial. Based on the results, α-viniferin showed 50% minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC₅₀ values) of 7.8 μg/ml in culture broth medium. α-Viniferin was administered in the nares three times a day for ten days using a sterile cotton swab stick. Nasal swab specimens were collected before (0 days) and after finishing the trial (10^th day), and then analyzed. In the culture and RT-PCR-based analysis, S. ureus was reduced significantly: 0.01. In addition, 16S ribosomal RNA-based amplicon sequencing analysis showed that S. aureus reduced from 51.03% to 23.99% at the genus level. RNA-seq analysis was also done to gain insights into molecular mechanisms of α-viniferin against S. aureus, which revealed that some gene groups were reduced in 5-fold FC cutoff at two times MIC conditions. The study results demonstrate α-viniferin as a potential S. aureus-specific drug candidate.     

Larval descriptions of five Byctiscus species (Coleoptera: Rhynchitidae) in Korea

The genus Byctiscus reported in Korea in five of nine species (B. lacunipennis, B. rugosus, B. puberulus puberulus, B. princeps and B. coerulans) is described for the last instar larvae. In addition, the cradle structure and host‐plants are provided.     

New Observations on the Choreotrich Ciliate Strombidinopsis acuminata Fauré-Fremiet 1924, and Comparison with Strombidinopsis jeokjo Jeong et al., 2004

ABSTRACT. A choreotrich ciliate collected in waters off Geoje Island, on the eastern coast of the South Sea of the southern coastal water of Korea was morphologically and biometrically investigated through observations of permanent preparations after protargol impregnations. Morphological data and ciliary patterns indicated that the ciliate should be identified as Strombidinopsis acuminata based on the number of somatic kineties. The vertical distribution of the population abundance was also examined in relation to environmental conditions: higher abundances occurred in surface water with higher temperature (22–23 °C), lower salinity (32 psu), and higher concentration (ca 10 μg/L) of chlorophyll a . The 18S rRNA gene of specimens from clonal cultures isolated from natural assemblages was sequenced. While this isolate of S. acuminata is closer to Strombidinopsis jeokjo (99.6–99.8%) than other isolates of S. acuminata (<99.0%), monophyly of S. acuminata was not rejected by the AU test. We discuss the discordance between morphological and molecular data for Strombidinopsis . In order to confirm the species level of the Strombidinopsis specimens, additional information is required based on genealogical analyses of multiple loci.     

Chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM): an alternative predictive model in acute toxicological studies for anti-cancer drugs

The chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a preclinical model widely used for vascular and anti-vascular effects of therapeutic agents in vivo. In this study, we examine the suitability of CAM as a predictive model for acute toxicology studies of drugs by comparing it to conventional mouse and rat models for 10 FDA-approved anticancer drugs (paclitaxel, carmustine, camptothecin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, cisplatin, aloin, mitomycin C, actinomycin-D, melphalan). Suitable formulations for intravenous administration were determined before the average of median lethal dose (LD₅₀) and median survival dose (SD₅₀) in the CAM were measured and calculated for these drugs. The resultant ideal LD₅₀ values were correlated to those reported in the literature using Pearson’s correlation test for both intravenous and intraperitoneal routes of injection in rodents. Our results showed moderate correlations (r²=0.42 − 0.68, P<0.005–0.05) between the ideal LD₅₀ values obtained using the CAM model with LD₅₀ values from mice and rats models for both intravenous and intraperitoneal administrations, suggesting that the chick embryo may be a suitable alternative model for acute drug toxicity screening before embarking on full toxicological investigations in rodents in development of anticancer drugs.     

Phylogeny of Australasian agamid lizards based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes: implications for morphological evolution and biogeography

Recent mtDNA phylogenies of Australasian agamid lizards are highly incongruent with existing morphological views. To resolve this discrepancy we sequenced two nuclear gene regions, c- mos and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). These were highly concordant with each other and the mtDNA phylogeny, but not the morphology. A combined molecular analysis reveals substantial hidden support (additional phylogenetic signal that emerges only when the data sets interact in a combined analysis). Bayesian posteriors, and a partitioned bootstrap procedure introduced here, indicate strong support for most nodes. The resultant tree implies extensive morphological homoplasy, with many genera emerging as non-monophyletic ( Amphibolurus , Rankinia , Ctenophorus , Physignathus , Diporiphora ). The water and forest dragons ( Physignathus and Hypsilurus ) form a paraphyletic basal assemblage to the more derived Australian forms such as Amphibolurus and Ctenophorus , which include almost all the xeric taxa. However, the thorny devil Moloch horridus is a basal lineage and not closely related to the other arid forms. Tree topology, inferred divergence dates, palaeogeographical and palaeoclimatic data are all consistent with Miocene immigration into Australia from the north by mesic forest ecomorphs, followed by initial diversification in mesic habitats before radiation into xeric habitats facilitated by increasing aridity.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 93 , 343–358.     

The ultrastructure of the alimentary tract of the skin-penetrating larva of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (Nematoda)

The structure of the alimentary tract of the third stage infective larva of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis has been described. The cuticle which lines the buccal cavity and oesophagus differs from that which lines the mouth and covers the external surface of the nematode. The oesophagus is a cellular structure and is not, as previously thought, a syncytium. The secretory granules of the oesophageal glands are surrounded by multi-layered membranes which give a myelinated appearance to the granules. The cells of the oesophago-intestinal junction are lined with cuticle and are presumably part of the stomodaeum. The intestine is thin-walled and the cells bear short, widely spaced microvilli. The lumen of the intestine contains whorls of membranes which are probably phospholipid and could act as a food reserve for the larva. The rectum and anus are lined with cuticle.     

Reproduction and life strategies in the Paleozoic tabulate coral Paleofavosites capax (Billings)

Asexual and sexual modes of colony formation in a tabulate coral Paleofavosites capax are recognized from the early Silurian Gun River Formation of Anticosti Island. Québee. Colonies produced by asexual fragmentation comprise monospecific 'clumped populations'. They are characterized by circular and concave bases, and lack a protocorallite origin of colony growth. Sexually produced colonies, where in situ , are always dispersed and characterized by conical bases with a definite protocorallite point origin of colony growth. Asexual colony formation by fragmentation in P. capax appears to have been an adaptation to a habitat of muddy substrates. Sexual reproduction in this species probably played a minor role but was necessary for the maintenance of gene diversity and long-distance dispersal. A comparison of corallite size distributions between populations demonstrates that intrapopulation variation in the 'dispersed population' and the conical colonies in 'transported populations' of P. capax is significantly larger than the variation in the 'clumped populations'. It is suggested that this difference reflects the two modes of reproduction. The above observations are significant to systematic studies because they show that estimates of species morphologic parameters can he seriously biased even when based on a relatively large sample size from a well-defined population if that population is largely a result of asexual colony formation.     

Serological evidence on the distinctness of the monocotyledonous families Flagellariaceae, Hanguanaceae and Joinvilleaceae

Serological comparisons of the seed proteins of Flagellaria indica L., Joinvillea bomeensis Becc. and Hanguana malayanum Merr. were made in order to provide evidence for the systematic evaluation of these taxa. Lack of serological cross-reactivity suggests the placement of these genera in three separate monogeneric families, Flagellariaceae, Joinvilleaceae and Hanguanaceae. Additional serological analyses are needed to evaluate their systematic position in the monocotyledons.