Factors affecting the synthesis and distribution of beta-lactamase in Mycobacterium smegmatis SN2 cultures

A high level of extracellular beta-lactamase activity was detected in cultures ofMycobacterium smegmatis SN2. The extracellular distribution of the enzyme varied with growth conditions such as additional carbon source and pH of the medium. Addition of chloramphenicol tothe culture inhibited the increase in the extracellular beta-lactamase activity. Cell wall damage or autolysis may be responsible for the extracellular beta-lactamase activity.

Synthesis and characterization of a new sulfate derivative of hydrazine, n2h5hso4

Hydrazinium(1 +) hydrogensulphate, N2H5HS04, has been prepared for the first time by the reaction of solid ammonium hydrogensulphate with hydrazine monohydrate. The compound has been characterized by chemical analysis, infrared spectra, and X-ray powder diffraction. Thermal properties of N2H5HS04 have been investigated using differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis and compared with those of N2H6S04 and (N2H5)2S04.

Vanadate inhibits mevalonate synthesis and activates NADH oxidation in microsomes

Abstract is not available.

Inpatient hospital care and its costs among type 1 diabetic patients in Finland : a nationwide longitudinal study

Background. In Finland, the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is the highest in the world, and it continues to increase steadily. No effective preventative interventions exist either for individuals at high risk or for the population as a whole. In addition to problems with daily lifelong insulin replacement therapy, T1DM patients with long-lasting disease suffer from various diabetes related complications. The complications can lead to severe impairments and reductions in functional capacity and quality of life and in the worst case they can be fatal. Longitudinal studies on the costs of T1DM are extremely rare, especially in Finland. Typically, in these studies, distinctions between the various types of diabetes have not been made, and costs have not been calculated separately for the sexes. Aims. The aim of this study was to describe inpatient hospital care and costs of inpatient care in a cohort of 5,166 T1DM patients by sex during 1973-1998 in Finland. Inpatient care and costs of care due to T1DM without complications, due to T1DM with complications and due to other causes were calculated separately. Material and Methods. The study population consisted of all Finnish T1DM patients diagnosed before the age of 18 years between January 1st in 1965 and December 31st in 1979 and derived from the Finnish population based T1DM register (N=5,120 in 1979 and N=4,701 in 1997). Data on hospitalisations were obtained from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. Results. In the early stages of T1DM, the majority of the use of inpatient care was due to the treatment of T1DM without complications. There were enormous increases in the use of inpatient care for certain complications when T1DM lasted longer (from 9.5 years to 16.5 years). For women, the yearly number of bed-days for renal complications increased 4.8-fold, for peripheral vascular disease 4.3-fold and for ophthalmic complications 2.5-fold. For men, the corresponding increases were as follows: 5-fold, 6.9-fold and 2.5-fold. The yearly bed-days for glaucoma increased 8-fold, nephropathy 7-fold and microangiopathy 6-fold in the total population. During these 7 years, the yearly numbers of bed-days for T1DM without complications dropped dramatically. The length of stay in inpatient care decreased notably, but hospital visits became more frequent when the length of duration of T1DM increased from 9.5 years to 16.5 years. The costs of treatments due to complications increased when T1DM lasted longer. Costs due to inpatient care of complications in the cohort 2.5-folded as duration of T1DM increased from 9.5 years to 16.5 years, while the total costs of inpatient care in the cohort dropped by 22% due to an 80% decrease in the costs of care of T1DM without complications. Treating complications of female patients was more expensive than treating complications of men when T1DM had lasted 9.5 years; the mean annual costs for inpatient care of a female diabetic (any cause) were 1,642 , and the yearly costs of care of complications were 237 . The corresponding yearly mean costs for a male patient were 1,198 and 167 . Treating complications of female patients was more expensive than that of male patients also when the duration of diabetes was 16.5 years, although the difference in average annual costs between sexes was somewhat smaller. Conclusions. In the early phases of T1DM, the treatment of T1DM without complications causes a considerable amount of hospital bed-days. The use of inpatient care due to complications of T1DM strongly increases with ageing of patients. The economic burden of inpatient care of T1DM is substantial.

Pharmacist vaccination – an Australian first, but what was the impact?

Introduction/background/issues The Queensland Pharmacist Immunisation Pilot is Australia’s first to allow pharmacists vaccination. The pilot ran between April 1st 2014 and August 31st 2014, with pharmacists administering influenza vaccination during the flu season. The aim of this work was to investigate the benefits of trained registered pharmacists administering vaccinations in a community pharmacy setting. Methods Participant demographics and previous influenza vaccination experiences were recorded using GuildCare software. Participants also completed a ‘post-vaccination satisfaction survey’ following their influenza vaccination. Results/discussions A total of 10,889 participant records were analysed. Females accounted for 63% of participants, with the majority of participants aged between 45-64 years (53%). Overall, 49% of participants had been vaccinated before, the majority at a GP clinic (60%). Most participants reported receiving their previous influenza vaccination from a nurse (61%). Interestingly, 1% thought a pharmacist had administered their previous vaccination, while 7% were unsure which health professional had administered it. It was also of note that approximately 10% of all participants were eligible to receive a free vaccination from the National Immunisation Program, but still opted to receive their vaccine in a pharmacy. Over 8,000 participants took part in the post-vaccination survey, 93% were happy to receive their vaccination from a pharmacy in the future while 94% would recommend this service to other people. The remaining 7% and 6% respectively had omitted to fill in those questions. Conclusions/implications These findings have helped pave the way for expanding the scope of practice for pharmacists with the aim to increase vaccination rates across Australia. Key message • Scope of practice and ability for health providers like pharmacists to provide services such as vaccination in primary care. • New service delivery to improve access to service, and increase immunisation rates.

Reproduction of World War I portrait of Dr. Nathan Wolf of the 2nd Company of the 1st Landsturm Infantry Regiment Portraits Men

Dr. Nathan Wolf's medals: (bottom left) silver Wound Badge; Iron Cross 2nd Class; Iron Cross 1st Class; Zaehringer Loewe (Baden); (on right) Medal of the Turkish Crescent

Small amplitude cyclic voltammetry - a simple fourier synthesis approach

Abstaract is not available.

Tetrahydroquinoxaline based squaraines: Synthesis and photophysical properties

Tetrahydroquinoxaline based squaraine dyes synthesized by the condensation reaction between squaric acid and different tetrahydroquinoxaline derivatives are described. The squaraines gave a strong intense peak at 700 nm and were found to exhibit good molar extinction coefficient (>105 M−1 cm−1). Metal binding studies were carried out with different metal ions and it was found that it was selective in the case of copper metal. Using Job's plot it was ascertained that the squaraines bind to the copper metal in the ratio of 2:1.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 1-(4-methoxyphenethyl)-1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylic acid derivatives and their precursors as antileukemic agents

We report here the synthesis and preliminary evaluation of novel 1-(4-methoxyphenethyl)-1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylic acid derivatives 6(a–k) and their precursors 5(a–k) as potential chemotherapeutic agents. In each case, the structures of the compounds were determined by FTIR, 1H NMR and mass spectroscopy. Among the synthesized molecules, methyl 1-(4-methoxyphenethyl)-2-(4-fluoro-3-nitrophenyl)-1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylate (5a) induced maximum cell death in leukemic cells with an IC50 value of 3 μM. Using FACS analysis we show that the compound 5a induces S/G2 cell cycle arrest, which was further supported by the observed down regulation of CDK2, Cyclin B1 and PCNA. The observed downregulation of proapoptotic proteins, upregulation of antiapoptotic proteins, cleavage of PARP and elevated levels of DNA strand breaks indicated the activation of apoptosis by 5a. These results suggest that 5a could be a potent anti-leukemic agent.

Tubulin synthesis and auxin-induced root initiation in phaseolus

The auxin-induced formation of roots in the hypocotyls of Phaseolus vulgaris can be prevented by treatment with actinomycin D, colchicine or cytochalasin B if applied within 40 hr of initiation. Shortly after auxin pretreatment, there is an increase in translatable messenger RNA activity. Analysis of the labelled cell-free products indicate, among other changes, a striking increase in a protein co-migrating with tubulin, in the case of RNA isolated from indolebutyric acid (IBA) pretreated hypocotyls. An increase in tubulin content in vivo can also be demonstrated on the basis of SDS-polyacrylamide gel analysis of membrane proteins and functional assays for tubulin polymerization. An increase in the synthesis of tubulin in vivo can also be demonstrated after IBA pretreatment. In addition, the auxin is also able to promote tubulin polymerization when added in vitro. It is suggested that tubulin synthesis and microtubule assembly are early events in auxin-mediated root differentiation.

3-Amino-1,2,4-triazole is an inhibitor of protein synthesis on mitoribosomes in Neurospora crassa

The effects of the herbicide, 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole, an inhibitor of heme synthesis in rat liver, have been examined in the mold Neurospora crassa. The drug is a potent inhibitor of the growth of the mold and produces biochemical changes identical to those produced by chloramphenicol. 3-Amino-1,2,4-triazole, like chloramphenicol, is a direct and specific inhibitor of protein synthesis on mitoribosomes. A decrease in the levels of mitochondrial proteins which are completely or partly made on mitoribosomes and an accumulation in the levels of mitochondrial proteins of cytosolic origin have been observed. Both drugs depress porphyrin and heme levels, but there is actually an elevation in the levels of δ-aminolevulinate dehydratase, the rate-limiting enzyme of the heme-biosynthetic pathway in Neurospora crassa. In liver the enzyme is present in non-limiting amounts and the levels are depressed under conditions of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole treatment. In Neurospora crassa the ‘derepression’ of δ-aminolevulinate dehydratase under conditions of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole or chloramphenicol treatment is only partial because the drugs inhibit protein synthesis on mitoribosomes. It is concluded that an optimal rate of protein synthesis on mitoribosomes is necessary to maintain an adequate rate of heme synthesis.