The comparative effect of propolis and chlorhexidine mouthwash on oral nitrite-producing bacteria and blood pressure regulation.

Background: Propolis mouthwash (PROP-M) has demonstrated antibacterial properties like those of chlorhexidine mouthwash (CHX-M). However, its impact on the abundance of oral nitrite-producing species (NPS) and nitrite-producing activity (NPA) remains unexplored.

Methods: Forty-five healthy individuals were randomised into 2 groups to rinse their mouth twice a day for seven days with either CHX-M ( = 21) or PROP-M ( = 24).

Amplifying PCR productivity and environmental sustainability through shortened cycling protocols.

Since its inception in the 1980s, advancements in PCR technology using improved thermal cyclers, engineered DNA polymerases and commercial master mixes, have led to increased PCR productivity. Despite these advancements, PCR cycling protocols have largely remained unchanged over the same period. This study aimed to systemically evaluate the effect of reduced PCR cycling parameters on amplicon production.

Nuclear RNA catabolism controls endogenous retroviruses, gene expression asymmetry, and dedifferentiation.

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are remnants of ancient parasitic infections and comprise sizable portions of most genomes. Although epigenetic mechanisms silence most ERVs by generating a repressive environment that prevents their expression (heterochromatin), little is known about mechanisms silencing ERVs residing in open regions of the genome (euchromatin). This is particularly important during embryonic development, where induction and repression of distinct classes of ERVs occur in short temporal windows.

Noncoding variants alter GATA2 expression in rhombomere 4 motor neurons and cause dominant hereditary congenital facial paresis.

Hereditary congenital facial paresis type 1 (HCFP1) is an autosomal dominant disorder of absent or limited facial movement that maps to chromosome 3q21-q22 and is hypothesized to result from facial branchial motor neuron (FBMN) maldevelopment. In the present study, we report that HCFP1 results from heterozygous duplications within a neuron-specific GATA2 regulatory region that includes two enhancers and one silencer, and from noncoding single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) within the silencer. Some SNVs impair binding of NR2F1 to the silencer in vitro and in vivo and attenuate in vivo enhancer reporter expression in FBMNs.

Whole genomes of deep-sea sponge-associated bacteria exhibit high novel natural product potential.

Global antimicrobial resistance is a health crisis that can change the face of modern medicine. Exploring diverse natural habitats for bacterially-derived novel antimicrobial compounds has historically been a successful strategy. The deep-sea presents an exciting opportunity for the cultivation of taxonomically novel organisms and exploring potentially chemically novel spaces.

Long-Read DNA Sequencing: Recent Advances and Remaining Challenges.

DNA sequencing has revolutionized medicine over recent decades. However, analysis of large structural variation and repetitive DNA, a hallmark of human genomes, has been limited by short-read technology, with read lengths of 100-300 bp. Long-read sequencing (LRS) permits routine sequencing of human DNA fragments tens to hundreds of kilobase pairs in size, using both real-time sequencing by synthesis and nanopore-based direct electronic sequencing.

OXA-66 structure and oligomerisation of OXA enzymes.

The OXA β-lactamases are responsible for hydrolysing β-lactam antibiotics and contribute to the multidrug-resistant phenotype of several major human pathogens. The OXA enzymes are intrinsic to and can confer resistance to carbapenem antibiotics. Here we determined the structure of the most prevalent OXA enzyme, OXA-66.

Impact of growth media and pressure on the diversity and antimicrobial activity of isolates from two species of hexactinellid sponge.

Access to deep-sea sponges brings with it the potential to discover novel antimicrobial candidates, as well as novel cold- and pressure-adapted bacteria with further potential clinical or industrial applications. In this study, we implemented a combination of different growth media, increased pressure and high-throughput techniques to optimize recovery of isolates from two deep-sea hexactinellid sponges, and sp., in the first culture-based microbial analysis of these two sponges.

Variability in carbapenemase activity of intrinsic OxaAb (OXA-51-like) β-lactamase enzymes in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Objectives: To measure the variability in carbapenem susceptibility conferred by different OxaAb variants, characterize the molecular evolution of oxaAb and elucidate the contribution of OxaAb and other possible carbapenem resistance factors in the clinical isolates using WGS and LC-MS/MS.

Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed on 10 clinical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates. Carbapenem MICs were evaluated for all oxaAb variants cloned into A.

Photoluminescence of ZnO/ZnMgO heterostructure nanobelts grown by MBE.

ZnO nanobelts may grow with their polar axis perpendicular to growth direction. Heterostructured nanobelts therefore contain hetero-interfaces along the polar axis of ZnO where polarisation mismatch may induce electron confinement. These interfaces run along the length of the nanobelts.

Vapour-liquid-solid growth of ZnO-ZnMgO core-shell nanowires by gold-catalysed molecular beam epitaxy.

Nanowire heterostructures, combining multiple phases within a single nanowire, modify functional properties and offer a platform for novel device development. Here, ZnO/ZnMgO core-shell nanowires are grown by molecular beam epitaxy. At growth temperatures above 750 °C, Mg diffuses into ZnO making heterostructure growth impossible; at lower shell-growth temperatures (500 °C), the core-shell structure is retained.

Mapping the Origins of Luminescence in ZnO Nanowires by STEM-CL.

In semiconductor nanowires, understanding both the sources of luminescence (excitonic recombination, defects, etc.) and the distribution of luminescent centers (be they uniformly distributed, or concentrated at structural defects or at the surface) is important for synthesis and applications. We develop scanning transmission electron microscopy-cathodoluminescence (STEM-CL) measurements, allowing the structure and cathodoluminescence (CL) of single ZnO nanowires to be mapped at high resolution.

Emergence of Quantum Phase-Slip Behaviour in Superconducting NbN Nanowires: DC Electrical Transport and Fabrication Technologies.

Superconducting nanowires undergoing quantum phase-slips have potential for impact in electronic devices, with a high-accuracy quantum current standard among a possible toolbox of novel components. A key element of developing such technologies is to understand the requirements for, and control the production of, superconducting nanowires that undergo coherent quantum phase-slips. We present three fabrication technologies, based on using electron-beam lithography or neon focussed ion-beam lithography, for defining narrow superconducting nanowires, and have used these to create nanowires in niobium nitride with widths in the range of 20⁻250 nm.

Assessing hydrogen peroxide vapor exposure from hospital sterilizers.

This study examines the hydrogen peroxide concentrations measured near four models of hydrogen peroxide sterilizers, from two manufacturers, monitored in seven hospitals across the U.S. and Canada over several years.

Effect of lithographically-induced strain relaxation on the magnetic domain configuration in microfabricated epitaxially grown FeGa.

We investigate the role of lithographically-induced strain relaxation in a micron-scaled device fabricated from epitaxial thin films of the magnetostrictive alloy FeGa. The strain relaxation due to lithographic patterning induces a magnetic anisotropy that competes with the magnetocrystalline and shape induced anisotropies to play a crucial role in stabilising a flux-closing domain pattern. We use magnetic imaging, micromagnetic calculations and linear elastic modelling to investigate a region close to the edges of an etched structure.

Early treatment intensification with R-ICE and 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin)-BEAM stem cell transplantation in patients with high-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients and positive interim PET after 4 cycles of R-CHOP-14.

In the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a persistently positive [F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) scan typically carries a poor prognosis. In this prospective multi-center phase II study, we sought to establish whether treatment intensification with R-ICE (rituximab, ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide) chemotherapy followed by 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan-BEAM (BCNU, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) for high-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients who are positive on interim PET scan after 4 cycles of R-CHOP-14 (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone) can improve 2-year progression-free survival from a historically unfavorable rate of 40% to a rate of 65%. Patients received 4 cycles of R-CHOP-14, followed by a centrally-reviewed PET performed at day 17-20 of cycle 4 and assessed according to International Harmonisation Project criteria.

At-line validation of a process analytical technology approach for quality control of melamine-urea-formaldehyde resin in composite wood-panel production using near infrared spectroscopy.

The reactivity of melamine-urea-formaldehyde resins is of key importance in the manufacture of engineered wood products such as medium density fibreboard (MDF) and other wood composite products. Often the MDF manufacturing plant has little available information on the resin reactivity other than details of the resin specification at the time of batch manufacture, which often occurs off-site at a third-party resin plant. Often too, fresh resin on delivery at the MDF plant is mixed with variable volume of aged resin in storage tanks, thereby rendering any specification of the fresh resin batch obsolete.

A Direct Mapping of Max k-SAT and High Order Parity Checks to a Chimera Graph.

We demonstrate a direct mapping of max k-SAT problems (and weighted max k-SAT) to a Chimera graph, which is the non-planar hardware graph of the devices built by D-Wave Systems Inc. We further show that this mapping can be used to map a similar class of maximum satisfiability problems where the clauses are replaced by parity checks over potentially large numbers of bits. The latter is of specific interest for applications in decoding for communication.