Alien invasive neophytes of the Southeastern part of the Pannonian Plain

Floristic diversity in the Pannonian Plain is the result of mosaic habitat composition, characterized by steppes, saline meadows, and lowland forests along major rivers. In the last few centuries, the flora has become enriched by species introduced by human activities, such as colonization and industrialization. Presently it consists of nearly 1800 species. As a result of 30 years of field research as well as herbarium and literature searches, a list of invasive alien neophytes has been compiled and is presented here. The list includes 152 species, classified as either naturalized, casual, or unknown. One of the species is listed in Red Book of Serbian Flora. Eighty species are naturalized, and 61 are casual species. The majority of the introduced flora originates from North America (66) and the Old World (43). Most alien invasive species of the Southeastern part of the Pannonian Plain, were introduced accidentally by seed material or deliberately by nursery saplings. The annual and perennial herbaceous plants, which flower in the summer and summer-autumn periods, are represented in the greatest numbers. The alien flora was further analyzed with respect to taxonomy, life forms, pollination, and seed dispersal mode. The greatest number of alien species appears in anthropogenic and semi-natural habitats (59). In natural habitats, 45 invasive taxa were recorded, representing a conservation threat to biodiversity.     

Outbreak of Multi-Drug Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bloodstream Infection in the Haematology Unit of a South African Academic Hospital

Objective

To describe an outbreak of multi-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infections (MRPA-BSI) that occurred in the haematology ward of a tertiary academic hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, and determine risk factors for acquisition of MRPA-BSI.

Methods

The outbreak investigation included a search for additional cases, review of patient records, environmental and staff screening, molecular typing using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and Multi-locus sequencing (MLST) and a retrospective case-control study.

Results

Ten MRPA-BSI cases occurred in the haematology ward between January 2010 and January 2011. The case fatality rate was 80%. Staff screening specimens were negative for MRPA and an environmental source was not identified. PFGE showed that 9/10 isolates were related. MLST showed that 3 of these 9 isolates belonged to Sequence type (ST) 233 while the unrelated isolate belonged to ST260.

Conclusion

We have described an outbreak of MRPA-BSI occurring over an extended period of time among neutropenic haematology patients. Molecular typing confirms that the outbreak was predominantly due to a single strain. The source of the outbreak was not identified, but the outbreak appears to have been controlled following intensive infection control measures.     

Synthesis of new functionalized aziridine-2- and azetidine-3-carboxylic acid derivatives of potential interest for biological and foldameric applications

A short synthesis of alkyl 2-(bromomethyl)aziridine-2-carboxylates and alkyl 3-bromoazetidine-3-carboxylates was developed involving amination, bromination, and base-induced cyclization of alkyl 2-(bromomethyl)acrylates. The aziridines are the kinetically favored cyclization products and could be transformed into 3-bromoazetidine-3-carboxylic acid derivatives via thermal isomerization. The new small-membered azaheterocyclic α- and β-amino acid derivatives contain a bromo-substituted carbon center as a useful moiety for functionalization. Transformation of these functionalized azaheterocycles via nucleophilic substitution with carbon, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen nucleophiles and via elaboration of the amino and carboxyl group provided a broad range of new conformationally constrained aziridine-2- and azetidine-3-carboxylic acid derivatives, which are of interest from a biological point-of-view as well as for applications in the field of foldamers.     

Synthesis, spectroscopy, electrochemistry and thermal study of vanadyl unsymmetrical Schiff base complexes

The new tetradentate unsymmetrical N₂O₂ Schiff base ligands and VO(IV) complexes were synthesised and characterized by using IR, UV-Vis and elemental analysis. The electrochemical properties of the vanadyl complexes were investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry. The oxidation potentials are increased by increasing the electron-withdrawing properties of functional groups of the Schiff base ligands according to the trend of MeO < H < Br < NO₂. The thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermoanalysis (DTA) of the VO(IV) complexes were carried out in the range of 20-700 °C. The complexes were decomposed in two stages. Also decomposition of synthesised complexes is related to the Schiff base characteristics. The thermal decomposition of the studied reactions was first order.     

Design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship studies of thiophene-3-carboxamide derivatives as dual inhibitors of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase

We report comprehensive structure-activity relationship studies on a novel series of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitors. Intriguingly, the compounds have a dual inhibitory activity by functioning as both ATP and JIP mimetics, possibly by binding to both the ATP binding site and to the docking site of the kinase. Several of such novel compounds display potent JNK inhibitory profiles both in vitro and in cell.     

Impairment of proprioception after whiplash injury

Whiplash injury usually occurs in traffic accidents. Persons experienced this injury might have an impairment of proprioception clinically expressed as inability to determine the exact position of their heads. The aim of this study was to examine the loss of proprioception in people who had a whiplash injury. The study included 60 subjects with cervical spine injury, aged 20 to 50 years and 60 healthy volunteers matched by sex and age. The instrument used for cervical spine mobility assessment was the Cervical Measurement System (CMS), which determines the ability of subjects to return their head in the exact position as it was before they turned it 30 degrees left or right. Patients with cervical spine injury showed significant impairment of proprioception in comparison with healthy subjects (P < 0.001). The results support the hypothesis that subject with recent cervical spine injury have incorrect perception of their head position. Therefore, their rehabilitation should include the correction of proprioception and head coordination.     

Histone H1-like, lysine-rich low complexity amino acid extensions in mosquito ribosomal proteins RpL23a and RpS6 have evolved independently

Histone H1-like amino acid extensions have been described at the amino terminus of Drosophila RpL22 and RpL23a, and at the carboxyl terminus of mosquito ribosomal protein RpS6. An in silico search suggested that RpL23a, but not RpL22, in Anopheles gambiae has an amino-terminal extension. Because low complexity amino acid extensions are not common on eukaryotic ribosomal proteins, and their functions are unknown, we cloned cDNAs encoding RpL23a from Aedes albopictus and Anopheles stephensi mosquito cell lines. RpL23a proteins in Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes are rich in lysine (approximately 25%), alanine (approximately 21%), and proline (approximately 8%), have a mass of approximately 40 kDa, a pI of 11.4 to 11.5, and contain an N-terminal extension of approximately 260 amino acid residues. The N-terminal extension in mosquito RpL23a is about 100 amino acids longer than that in the Drosophila RpL23a homolog, and contains several repeated amino acid motifs. Analysis of exon-intron organization in the An. gambiae and in D. melanogaster genes suggests that a short first exon encodes a series of 11 amino acid residues conserved in RpL23a proteins from Drosophila, mosquitoes, and the moth, Bombyx mori. The histone H1-like sequence in RpL23a is encoded entirely within the second exon. The C-terminal 126 amino acid residues of the RpL23a protein, encoded by exon 3 in Drosophila, and by exons 3 and 4 in Anopheles gambiae, are well conserved, and correspond to Escherichia coli RpL23 with the addition of the eukaryotic N-terminal nuclear localization sequence. Sequence comparisons indicate that the histone H1-like extensions on mosquito RpS6 and RpL23a have evolved independently of each other, and of histone H1 proteins.     

Synthesis and antiplasmodial activity of new N-[3-(4-{3-[(7-chloroquinolin-4-yl)amino]propyl}piperazin-1-yl)propyl]carboxamides

The parallel acylation of N-{3-[4-(3-aminopropyl)piperazin-1-yl]propyl}-7-chloroquinolin-4-amine with polymer-bound carboxylic acids opened straightforward access to novel aminoquinolines with activity against Plasmodium falciparum strains in vitro. Using this amino scaffold prepared in solution and polymer-bound carboxylic, we have synthesized a series of 29 new compounds in good to excellent yield and purity. Biological evaluation included determination of the activity against a chloroquine (CQ) sensitive strain and a CQ resistant mutant. Most of the novel structures presented here displayed activity against both strains in the lower nanomolar range, four compounds showed an at least fourfold increase in the ratio of inhibition of CQ resistant to sensitive strains over CQ itself. These results suggest that this derivatization technique is a useful method to speed up structure-activity relationship studies on aminoquinolines toward improved activity versus CQ resistant strains of P. falciparum in vitro.