Mitogenic effect contributes to increased virulence of Streptococcus suis sequence type 7 to cause streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 sequence type 7 strains emerged in 1996 and caused a streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome in 1998 and 2005 in China. Evidence indicated that the virulence of S. suis sequence type 7 had increased, but the mechanism was unknown. The sequence type 7 strain SC84, isolated from a patient with streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome during the Sichuan outbreak, and the sequence type 1 strain 31533, a typical highly pathogenic strain isolated from a diseased pig, were used in comparative studies. In this study we show the mechanisms underlying cytokine production differed between the two types of strains. The S. suis sequence type 7 strain SC84 possesses a stronger capacity to stimulate T cells, naive T cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation than does S. suis sequence type 1 strain 31533. The T cell response to both strains was dependent upon the presence of antigen-presenting cells. Histo-incompatible antigen-presenting cells were sufficient to provide the accessory signals to naive T cell stimulated by the two strains, indicating that both sequence type 7 and 1 strains possess mitogens; however, the mitogenic effect was different. Therefore, we propose that the difference in the mitogenic effect of sequence type 7 strain SC84 compared with the sequence type 1 strain 31533 of S. suis may be associated with the clinical, epidemiological and microbiological difference, where the ST 7 strains have a larger mitogenic effect.

A facile method for effective doping of Tb3+ into ZnO nanocrystals

A technical challenging issue in rare-earth ion doping in ZnO nanocrystals has been tackled in this communication by a novel isocrystalline core-shell protocol, and the fabricated ZnO:Tb(3+)/ZnO core/shell nanocrystals showed efficient doping and excellent optical properties.

An intelligent mobile vehicle navigator based on fuzzy logic and reinforcement learning

In this paper, an alternative training approach to the EEM-based training method is presented and a fuzzy reactive navigation architecture is described. The new training method is 270 times faster in learning speed; and is only 4% of the learning cost of the EEM method. It also has very reliable convergence of learning; very high number of learned rules (98.8%); and high adaptability. Using the rule base learned from the new method, the proposed fuzzy reactive navigator fuses the obstacle avoidance behaviour and goal seeking behaviour to determine its control actions, where adaptability is achieved with the aid of an environment evaluator. A comparison of this navigator using the rule bases obtained from the new training method and the EEM method, shows that the new navigator guarantees a solution and its solution is more acceptable.

Crystal orientation-ordered ZnS nanobelt quasi-arrays and their enhanced field-emission

Crystal orientation-ordered ZnS nanobelt quasi-arrays were fabricated using a non-catalytic and template-free thermal evaporation process; field-emission measurements show that these novel arrays are decent field emitters possessing a current density more than 20 times higher than that of randomly-oriented ZnS nanobelt ensembles at a macroscopic field of 5.5 V microm(-1).

Thickness-Dependent Photocatalytic Performance of ZnO Nanoplatelets

In this paper, we report the large-scale synthesis of ZnO nanoplatelets as thin as 10 nm. The nanoplatelets show higher efficiency in photodegrading organic dyes than ZnO nanorods do, and for the nanoplatelets, the thinner they are, the higher the performance. The photocatalytic decomposition of organic dyes (eosin B) by ZnO nanoplatelets compares favorably to the performances of ZnS porous nanoparticles and commercial Degussa P25 titania particles. This finding may have significant implications in the environment remediation and the fabrication of functional nanodevices.

Periodically twinned nanowires and polytypic nanobelts of ZnS: The role of mass diffusion in vapor-liquid-solid growth

There are two mass diffusion processes regarding the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth of nanostructures: one is inside the catalyst droplet toward the liquid-solid interface; the other is along the side surface planes of the growing nanostructures. In this letter, microscale, modulated mass diffusion scenarios are exhibited through the synthesis of two types of ZnS nanostructures in an Au-catalyzed VLS process: periodically twinned nanowires originated from periodical fluctuation between diffusion rate inside the catalytic droplet and the growth rate on the liquid-solid interface; the formation of asymmetrically polytypic nanobelts is related to one certain side surface bounded by high surface-energy plane, which serves as a preferential diffusion direction of reactant adatoms. The results may have important impact on the understanding of the physical and chemical process of the VLS mechanism. These longitudinally and latitudinally tunable crystalline structures enrich the family of one-dimensional nano-building blocks, and may find potential applications in nanotechnology.

Synthesis, characterization and field-emission properties of bamboo-like beta-SiC nanowires

Single-crystalline bamboo-like beta-SiC nanowires with hexagonal cross-sections were synthesized by thermal evaporation of mixed SiO+C+GaN powders in an Ar atmosphere. The as-synthesized nanowires were studied by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Studies found that the as-synthesized SiC nanowires are composed of hexagonal stems decorated with larger diameter knots along their whole length with the [Formula: see text] growth direction. The growth of bamboo-like SiC nanowires is governed by the vapour-liquid-solid mechanism. Field-emission properties of the peculiar nanostructures were also explored, showing a turn-on field of about 10.1 V microm(-1).

Zinc Oxide Nanostructures: Morphology Derivation and Evolution

Zinc oxide nanostructures of various types, including nanobelts, nanoplatelets, nanowires, and nanorods, have been synthesized via well-developed routes by many research groups. However, so far, the underlying mechanism for the morphology derivation and evolution of the nanostructures has not been elucidated in depth. In this article, we report the systematic investigation of the morphology evolution characteristics of ZnO nanostructures from dense rods to dense nanoplatelets, nanoplatelet flowers, dense nanobelt flowers, and nanowire flowers in an evaporation-physical transport-condensation approach. Through the use of crystal growth theory, the determining factors for the formation of different nanostructural morphologies were found to be gas-phase supersaturation and the surface energy of the growing surface planes. Other experimental parameters such as the temperature at the source and the substrate, the temperature difference and the distance between the source and the substrate, the heating rate of the furnace, the gas flow rate, the ceramic tube diameter, and the starting material are all correlated with supersaturation and impose an effect on the morphology evolution. This finding may have an important impact on the qualitative understanding of the morphology evolution of nanostructures and the achieving of desired nanostructures controllably.

Kinetics-Driven Growth of Orthogonally Branched Single-Crystalline Magnesium Oxide Nanostructures

Orthogonally branched single-crystalline magnesium oxide nanostructures were synthesized through a simple chemical vapor transport and condensation process in a flowing Ar/O(2) atmosphere. Other morphologies, such as cubes and nanowires, can also be obtained under different controlled conditions. The formation of different types of nanostructures can be tuned by modifying oxygen partial pressure during the synthesis. All the nanostructures are cubic single-crystalline enclosed by low-index {100} facets. Growth mechanisms for the nanostructures are discussed in detail: different supersaturation ratios, relatively high substrate temperatures, and surface defects in certain crystallographic planes cooperatively take important effects on determining the product morphologies. Structural defect-related blue light emission of the three types of MgO nanostructures was investigated. The MgO nanostructures with abundant morphologies may find applications in various nanodevices, and the kinetics-driven methodology might be exploited to synthesize similar nanostructures of other functional oxide materials.

Quantitation of SU11248, an oral multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and its metabolite in monkey tissues by liquid chromatograph with tandem mass spectrometry following semi-automated liquid–liquid extraction

SU11248 is a potent inhibitor of PDGFR, VEGFR, KIT, and Flt3, and is currently under Phase I clinical evaluation as an anticancer drug. A sensitive and specific analytical method for the quantitation of SU11248 and its metabolite in several monkey tissues (liver, kidney, brain and white fat) using LC-MS-MS following semi-automated liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) was developed and validated. Amounts of 50 mg of tissue were homogenized using an ultrasonic processor. After addition of the stable labelled internal standard (IS) and ammonium hydroxide (0.3%), samples were extracted with 2.5 ml of tert-butyl methyl ether. Following centrifugation, aliquots of 1.8 ml of the organic phase were transferred into a 96-well plate. The Packard Multiprobe II robotic liquid handler was used to perform all steps mentioned above. The organic phase was dried and the residue was reconstituted with 800 microl of 15 mM ammonium formate buffer solution (pH 3.25) using a Tomtec Quadra 96 workstation. Aliquots of 10 microl of the resulting solution were injected into the LC-MS-MS system. A Symmetry Shield C8 column (50 mm x 2.1 mm, 3.5 microm) was used to perform the chromatographic analysis. The mobile phase was 15 mM ammonium formate buffer solution (pH 3.25)-acetonitrile (74:26 (v/v)) with a flow-rate of 0.35 ml/min. Retention times of the metabolite and SU11248 were about 2.5 and 3.5 min, respectively. Total cycle time was 5 min. MS detection used the Applied Biosystems-MDS Sciex API 3000 with TurbolonSpray interface and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) operated in positive ion mode. The method was validated for both compounds over the calibration range of about 2 and 2000 ng/g. The suitability and robustness of the method for in vivo samples were confirmed by analysis of monkey tissues from animals dosed with SU11248.