An ex vivo study of infections of vascular grafts and endografts with scanning electron microscopy.

Objective: Vascular graft and endograft infections (VGEIs) are complicated by high morbidity, mortality, and recurrence rates, notably due to biofilm formation on the graft surface, hardly dislodgeable by the sole anti-infectious treatment. The characteristics of this biofilm are still poorly documented. The aim of this study was to evaluate ex vivo biofilm on removed infected vascular grafts and endografts (VGEs).

Staphylococcus aureus Adhesion and Biofilm Formation on Vascular Polyester Grafts are Inhibited In Vitro by Triclosan.

Objective: This study evaluated Staphylococcus aureus adhesion and biofilm formation on vascular grafts, which has seldom been investigated.

Methods: Adhesion and biofilm formation capabilities of three methicillin susceptible S. aureus strains (one biofilm forming reference strain and two clinical isolates) on five different vascular biomaterials were evaluated in vitro, including polyester (P), P + gelatin (PG), P + collagen (PC), PC + silver (PCS), and PCS + triclosan (PCST).

Preservation of exopolymeric substances in estuarine sediments.

The surface of intertidal estuarine sediments is covered with diatom biofilms excreting exopolymeric substances (EPSs) through photosynthesis. These EPSs are highly reactive and increase sediment cohesiveness notably through organo-mineral interactions. In most sedimentary environments, EPSs are partly to fully degraded by heterotrophic bacteria in the uppermost millimeters of the sediment and so they are thought to be virtually absent deeper in the sedimentary column.

Nucleoside-Derived Low-Molecular-Weight Gelators as a Synthetic Microenvironment for 3D Cell Culture.

For the last few decades, many efforts have been made in developing cell culture methods in order to overcome the biological limitations of the conventional two-dimensional culture. This paradigm shift is driven by a large amount of new hydrogel-based systems for three-dimensional culture, among other systems, since they are known to mimic some living tissue properties. One class of hydrogel precursors has received interest in the field of biomaterials, low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs).

Biological, geological and chemical effects of oxygen injection in underground gas storage aquifers in the setting of biomethane deployment.

The last few years have seen the proliferation of anaerobic digestion plants to produce biomethane. Oxygen (O) traces added to biogas during the desulfurization process are co-injected in the gas network and can be stored in Underground Gas Storage (UGS). However, there are no data available for the undesirable effects of O on these anoxic environments, especially on deep aquifers.

Hydrogel based lipid-oligonucleotides: a new route to self-delivery of therapeutic sequences.

Synthetic OligoNucleotides (ON) provide promising therapeutic tools for controlling specifically genetic expression in a broad range of diseases from cancers to viral infections. Beside their chemical stability and intracellular delivery, the controlled release of therapeutic sequences remains an important challenge for successful clinical applications. In this work, Lipid-OligoNucleotide (LON) conjugates stabilizing hydrogels are reported and characterized by rheology and cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM).

Isolated straight hair nevus in a White child.

We report a 6-month-old girl born with a fronto-parietal patch of hair straighter than the remainder of the scalp hairs. We took a biopsy to rule out a congenital melanocytic nevus. We concluded after additional scanning electron microscopy study of the hair shafts that the lesion corresponds to a possible local mosaicism causing an isolated straight hair nevus phenotype.