Viability study of clinical bacterial strains by capillary electrophoresis and flow cytometry approaches

One of the challenges medicine faces is the constantly growing resistance of pathogens to various classes of antibiotics. In this study, we investigated the use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) to characterize and assess the physiological states of three clinical bacterial strains—methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA), and Escherichia coli extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESβL)—exposed to different antibiotics. All chosen bacteria are the leading causes of healthcare-associated and hospital-acquired invasive infections in adults. In the first part of the research, it was determined the optimal incubation time of the tested strains with antibiotics, represented as an optimal time of 24 h. In the second part, we have compared two approaches: flow cytometry (FC) as a standard method and CE as a proposed alternative approach. The viability of clinical strains treated with different class antibiotics calculated in CE measurements was strongly correlated (>0.83 for MSSA, >0.92 for ESβL and MRSA) with the viability obtained on the basis of FC measurements. As a result, CE has a chance to become a modern diagnostic method used in clinical practice. The CE cutoff was found to be 50%; above this value, the strain shows resistance to the action of the antibiotic.     

Enantioselective Syntheses of Heteroyohimbine Natural Products: A Unified Approach through Cooperative Catalysis

Alstonine and serpentine are pentacyclic indoloquinolizidine alkaloids (referred to as “anhydronium bases”) containing three contiguous stereocenters. Each possesses interesting biological activity, with alstonine being the major component of a plant‐based remedy to treat psychosis and other nervous system disorders. This work describes the enantioselective total syntheses of these natural products with a cooperative hydrogen bonding/enamine‐catalyzed Michael addition as the key step.     

Evaluation of gas chromatography coupled with ion mobility spectrometry for monitoring vinyl chloride and other chlorinated and aromatic compounds in air samples

The objective of this research was to evaluate, in the laboratory, the potential of gas chromatography/ion mobility spectrometry (GC/IMS) for monitoring vinyl chloride and other organic compounds in air samples in the field. It was determined that GC/IMS has the potential to directly detect vinyl chloride in air at the 2 ppbv level, and when concentrated on an adsorbent trap from a 1 L sample of air, detection could be lowered to the 0.02 ppbv level. From a comparative investigation of 18 EPA priority pollutants and 34 common vapor-phase organic compounds, many compounds were found to provide a more sensitive response in IMS than vinyl chloride, indicating that GC/IMS would be broadly applicable to the direct detection of vapor-phase organics in air. Operating parameters including drift gas, spectrometer temperature, and sample-inlet position were evaluated and discussed with respect to sensitivity and resolution. High temperature dramatically increased sensitivity to vinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride was shown to produce both negative and positive ion mobility spectra, with the negative-mode spectra resulting from electron-capture dissociation of the vinyl chloride. The limit of detection for vinyl chloride was found to be 7 pg/s. Limits of detection for 18 EPA priority pollutants were determined and compared to vinyl chloride. The responses of 34 other vapor-phase organic compounds were also compared to that of vinyl chloride. Non-selective, positive-ion detection of 30 of the 34 compounds was demonstrated along with selective, electron-capture-type detection of 29 of them. Chloride-specific and bromide-specific detection illustrated the advantages of selected-ion monitoring in IMS.     

Synthesis and Characterisation of Polyamides Containing 1,4‐Dithiin‐2,3 : 5,6‐tetrayl Diimide Structures

Polyamides containing 1,4‐dithiin‐2,3 : 5,6‐tetrayl diimide structures were synthesised by condensation reaction of bis[N,N′‐(4‐chlorocarbonylphenyl)‐1,4‐dithiin‐2,3 : 5,6‐tetrayl diimide] ( 3 ) with various aromatic diamines. Monomer 3 was synthesised by nucleophilic substitution of N‐(4‐carboxyphenyl)‐3,4‐dichloromaleimide ( 1 ) with sodium sulfide nonahydrate. Their structures were confirmed by IR and UV spectroscopy, as well as elemental analysis. The polymers were characterised by viscometric measurements, softening points and thermogravimetric data. They showed good solubility in aprotic solvents and high thermal stability with the decomposition temperature being in the range 392–415°C.     

The Effect of Sodium Total Substitution on the Quality Characteristics of Green Pickled Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Green pickled tomatoes are a traditional fermented product in Romania. This study was focused on the effect of total substitution of NaCl with KCl and MgCl₂ on physicochemical and microbiological quality; bioactive compounds; and microstructural, textural, and sensorial properties of fresh and pickled green tomatoes during 28 days of fermentation. By the means of physicochemical composition, the NaCl addition induced the most stable characteristics for the pickles compared to the other two types of salts. The content of total flavonoids in green pickled tomatoes with NaCl (34.72 ± 0.43 mg CE/g DW) was significantly lower compared with the control sample (63.80 ± 0.55 mg CE/g DW). The total number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) at the final stage of fermentation varied between 4.11 and 4.63 log CFU for all variants. The textural analysis revealed that the NaCl has the lowest influence on the textural parameters. Finally, the overall acceptance of green pickled tomatoes containing KCl and MgCl₂ was found to be proper to be consumed as a substitute for pickles with NaCl.     

Thermal analysis of binary liquid crystals eutectic system cholesteril p-phenoxi phenyl carbamate–cholesteril p-biphenyl carbamate

For a binary mixture of two liquid crystals, cholesteril p-phenoxi phenyl carbamate and cholesteril p-biphenyl carbamate, the solidus?Cliquidus equilibrium was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the thermodynamic parameters were obtained. Simple eutectic point was observed for this system, situated approximately at the same temperature for all the studied compositions. This behavior is favored by grinding and is more evident in the composition 50:50. The excess functions G ^E and S ^E for the pre-, post-, and eutectic composition have been calculated using the phase diagram data. Comparing the experimental data with the existing theoretical data, the system deviation from the ideal behavior is observed. The structure of pure compounds was elucidated using FT-IR and hot-stage polarizing microscopy.     

Exceptional Pairs in Hereditary Categories

We study the category 𝒞(X, Y) generated by an exceptional pair (X, Y) in a hereditary category ?. If r = dim _k Hom(X, Y) ≥ 1 we show that there are exactly 3 possible types for 𝒞(X, Y), all derived equivalent to the category of finite dimensional modules mod(H _r ) over the r-Kronecker algebra H _r . In general 𝒞(X, Y) will not be equivalent to a module category. More specifically, if ? is the category of coherent sheaves over a weighted projective line 𝕏, then 𝒞(X, Y) is equivalent to the category of coherent sheaves on the projective line ?¹ or to mod(H _r ) and, if 𝕏 is wild, then every r ≥ 1 can occur in this way.     

HPLC separation of acetaminophen and its impurities using a mixed-mode reversed-phase/cation exchange stationary phase

Determination of acetaminophen and its main impurities: 4-nitrophenol, 4'-chloroacetanilide, as well as 4-aminophenol and its degradation products, p-benzoquinone and hydroquinone has been developed and validated by a new high-performance liquid chromatography method. Chromatographic separation has been obtained on a Hypersil Duet C18/SCX column, using gradient elution, with a mixture of phosphate buffer (pH = 4.88) and methanol as a mobile phase. Analysis time did not exceed 14.5 min and good resolutions, peak shapes and asymmetries have resulted. The linearity of the method has been tested in the range of 5.0-60 μg/mL for acetaminophen and 0.5-6 μg/mL for the other compounds. The limits of detection and quantification have been also established to be lower than 0.1 μg/mL and 0.5 μg/mL, respectively. The method has been successfully applied for the analysis of commercial acetaminophen preparations.