Abundances of virus-like particles (VLPs, mostly bacteriophages) are high in aquatic environments; therefore, techniques for precise enumeration are essential in ecological monitoring. VLPs were determined after staining with SYBR Gold by conventional epifluorescence microscopy and compared to enumerations performed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). In order to assess the potential of CLSM for viral direct counts (VDCs), we processed samples from different freshwater and marine systems. Optical sectioning by CLSM and production of an overlay picture of multiple scans enables the often uneven whole investigated filter area to be brought to the plane of focus. This allows for subsequent image analysis of digitally created high-quality images. Another advantage using the CLSM was that the short spot excitation of the stain via laser beam minimized fading of the stain. The VDC results show that there is no significant difference between the two methods. Regarding the known difficulties of viral abundance estimates on particulate material, CLSM was further applied to enumerate VLPs on a small set of marine transparent exopolymeric particles sampled from the Atlantic Ocean. Our data suggest that CLSM is a useful tool to count viruses in water samples as well as attached to certain types of aquatic aggregates.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2955-8 | DOI Listing |
Cornea
January 2025
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cyprus Medical School, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Purpose: To assess the impact of autologous serum (AS) tears at a 50% concentration on the ocular surface of patients with refractory dry eye disease (DED) because of Sjogren syndrome.
Methods: Twenty eyes of ten patients with severe immune-mediated DED were contralaterally randomized to receive either AS tears 50% or artificial tears between June 2021 and May 2023. Changes in tear stability, ocular surface staining, and in the morphology of the corneal sub-basal nerves were evaluated before treatment and at 1, 2, and 3 months after treatment using objective tests for DED and confocal microscopy.
RSC Adv
January 2025
Department of Therapeutic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre Dokki Giza 12622 Egypt
A novel molecular design based on a quinazolinone scaffold was developed the attachment of aryl alkanesulfonates to the quinazolinone core through a thioacetohydrazide azomethine linker, leading to a new series of quinazolinone-alkanesulfonates 5a-r. The antimicrobial properties of the newly synthesized quinazolinone derivatives 5a-r were investigated to examine their bactericidal and fungicidal activities against bacterial pathogens like , (Gram-positive), , , (Gram-negative), in addition to (unicellular fungal). The tested compounds demonstrated reasonable bactericidal activities compared to standard drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Mater
January 2025
Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University, State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Shandong Key Laboratory of Eye Diseases, School of Ophthalmology, Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao, 266071, P. R. China.
Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria and their associated biofilms are major causative factors in eye infections, often resulting in blindness and presenting considerable global health challenges. Presently, mechano-bactericidal systems, which combine distinct topological geometries with mechanical forces to physically induce bacterial apoptosis, show promising potential. However, the physical interaction process between current mechano-bactericidal systems and bacteria is generally based on passive diffusion or Brownian motion and lacks the force required for biofilm penetration; thus, featuring low antibacterial efficacy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Pharm Sci
January 2025
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, 81377 Munich, Germany. Electronic address:
The frozen storage of biopharmaceuticals brings new challenges to the primary packaging material. Due to an increasing demand and the downsides of standard type I glass vials, such as vial breakage, novel vial types for special applications of parenteral drug products have been introduced to the market in the past years. Mechanical stresses due to dimensional changes experienced during freezing and thawing could change the material properties, hence affecting the interaction with the drug product stored in the vial or functionality such as overall integrity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrief Bioinform
November 2024
Department of Biology, University at Albany, SUNY, 1400 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12222, United States.
The accuracy of assigning fluorophore identity and abundance, known as spectral unmixing, in biological fluorescence microscopy images remains a significant challenge due to the substantial overlap in emission spectra among fluorophores. In traditional laser scanning confocal spectral microscopy, fluorophore information is acquired by recording emission spectra with a single combination of discrete excitation wavelengths. However, organic fluorophores possess characteristic excitation spectra in addition to their unique emission spectral signatures.
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