Quorum quenching acylase impacts the viability and morphological change of Agrobacterium tumefaciens cells

Acylase is known as a quorum quenching enzyme that degrades N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs), a key signaling molecule in a quorum sensing (QS) mechanism. Acylase I cleaves the acyl-chain in the chemical structures of AHLs, thereby exerting an anti-biofilm effect by the inhibition of bacterial cell-cell communication and resultant secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). However, the physical and physiological impacts of acylase on bacterial cells remain to be systematically elucidated. This study, therefore, investigated the effect of active and inactive acylase addition on the growth, viability, and cell morphologies of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. For comparison, active and inactive lysozymes were taken as positive controls. The results showed that active acylase inhibited A. tumefaciens cell growth at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1000 μg mL^-1, and so did active lysozyme. Fluorescent detection by Live/Dead staining underpinned that cell viability of A. tumefaciens decreased at concentrations higher than 0.1 μg mL^-1 for both acylase and lysozyme, although lysozyme inflicted higher degree of cellular damage. Moreover, atomic force microscopy unraveled a noticeable distortion of A. tumefaciens cells by both acylase and lysozyme. Together, the results showed that acylase not only blocked AHLs-based QS mechanisms but also compromised cell viability and altered surface morphology of A. tumefaciens cells, as observed by the addition of hydrolase.

Motor function of infants with athetoid cerebral palsy

The motor function of 35 children with athetoid cerebral palsy was examined retrospectively using videotape recordings made at five to eight months of age. Many infants showed asymmetric tonic neck, Moro and Galant reflexes. Movements shown to be difficult included: keeping a symmetric supine posture, isolated movements of the hips and knees, forward extension of the upper extremity, extension of neck and trunk in the prone position and in ventral suspension, flexion of the neck in the traction response, and weight support by the upper extremities. Asymmetric or excessive opening of the mouth was present in all infants. The grade of difficulty for each posture and movement might reflect subsequent motor disability at three years of age.

Assessment of upper and lower extremity movements in hemiplegic children

Upper and lower extremity movements were assessed in 26 children with spastic hemiplegia according to the modified Brunnstrom method. Of the upper extremity movements, supinating the forearm was most difficult, followed in order by pronating the forearm, flexing the shoulder to 90 degrees, flexing the shoulder to 180 degrees, abducting the shoulder to 90 degrees or putting the hand on the lumbar spine, putting the hand behind the ipsilateral ear (flexor synergy), and putting the hand on the contralateral knee (extensor synergy). The extensor and flexor synergies were easier than the other movements in the hemiplegic children as well as in hemiplegic adults, but the order of difficulty in the other movements in children was not the same as in adults. The difficulty in the lower extremity movements was uniform in the subjects. None of the children could dorsi-flex the ankles and many could not rotate the hips internally. A small number of the children could not flex the knees or perform straight leg raising. All children could flex the hips and knees, extend the hips and knees, and abduct the hips. The difficulty in isolated hip abduction and flexion was less prominent in the hemiplegic children, compared to in hemiplegic adults.

Leg movements in the supine position of infants with spastic diplegia

Leg movements in the supine position of 49 infants with spastic diplegia (three to 11 months corrected age) were examined. Only simultaneous flexion and extension of the hips and knees were seen, with exceptional isolated hip movements; the simultaneous movements had synergic features. When the knees were flexed, the hips were flexed, abducted and externally rotated, and the ankles were dorsiflexed. When the knees were extended, the hips were extended, adducted and internally rotated and the ankles were plantar-flexed. Hip flexion combined with knee extension (leg elevation) and isolated knee movements were not seen in diplegic infants, but were seen in all control preterm infants with a good prognosis, after five and six months corrected age, respectively. The absence of these movements is a useful diagnostic item for spastic diplegia.

Gross motor patterns in children with cerebral palsy and spastic diplegia

Rolling, sitting, and crawling patterns were motoscopically analyzed in 72 children with cerebral palsy and spastic diplegia; the relation between these patterns and the severity of the locomotive disability was studied. In rolling, trunk rotation and elbow support were difficult for the most severely diplegic children. When sitting, most patients had a between-heel sitting pattern in which the thighs were adducted and the knees were flexed. When crawling, the reciprocal thigh movements were insufficient and accompanied by lateral bending of the trunk in many patients. In the more impaired patients, the thighs supported the weight in flexion and did not move reciprocally. Creeping on the elbows without reciprocal leg movements was demonstrated in the most severely affected children after 2 years of age.

Dominant use of the left hand by athetotic cerebral palsied children

Hand preference was studied in 57 children with athetotic cerebral palsy. A left-sided preference was seen in 61% of the subjects. In more severely affected children for whom the possible cause was asphyxia, the left-sided preference was especially common. The perinatal brain damage causing athetosis may affect a motor system controlling movement on the right side more severely.

Motoscopic analysis of gross motor patterns in athetotic cerebral palsied children

Rolling, sitting, and crawling patterns were motoscopically analyzed in 51 athetotic cerebral palsied children. In rolling, rotation of the trunk and support on the elbows were difficult in some subjects. When sitting, most of the subjects had a "W" sitting pattern in which the hips were adducted and the knees were flexed. As for crawling, reciprocal movements of the four extremities were disturbed. The reciprocal hip movements were insufficient and accompanied the lateral bending of the trunk in many of the children. The hips supported the weight in flexion, and the synchronized extension of the hips, with or without lateral bending of the trunk, propelled the body in some. Creeping on the elbows was shown only in the younger children.

Developmental changes in hepatic esterase activity towards chloramphenicol succinate and its Michaelis-Menten constant of liver, kidney and lung in human

The hepatic esterase activities towards chloramphenicol succinate were determined in the tissues from 45 human subjects, including 18 electively aborted fetuses, 5 premature and 8 full-term newborn babies, 8 infants and 6 adults. The enzyme activities in the tissues from the fetuses and neonates were significantly lower compared with those obtained from the infants and adults. This suggests that the activity showed postnatal development. Kinetic studies of the esterase activity revealed that hepatic Km values were similar to those of the lung, but renal Km values were about 3 times higher than those of the liver and lung. In each organ, no age-related changes in Km values were observed. However, all the Vmax values in each organ showed developmental increases. Therefore, the liver plays the most important role in hydrolysis of chloramphenicol succinate when the weight of the organ is taken into consideration.

Distribution of phenobarbital in serum, brain and other organs from pediatric patients

The present study was performed to determine whether serum levels of phenobarbital were representative of their concentrations in the brains obtained from 11 autopsied patients, including premature and full-term babies, infants and children. Estimation of phenobarbital concentrations in plasma and organs was performed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Brain phenobarbital concentrations correlated well with serum levels (r = 0.82, p less than 0.01, n = 11), giving a regression line with a slope of 0.75. It can be concluded that estimating the serum phenobarbital concentration during clinical pediatric practice gives a good indication of the brain concentration.

[Study of cefamandole in neonatal purulent meningitis caused by E. coli (author's transl)]

Cefamandole (CMD) was intravenously drip infusion administered at daily dose of 400 mg/kg to the neonate with purulent meningitis caused by E. coli which was resistant to ABPC. In clinical application, CMD was evaluated as effective, although 6 mg/kg/day of GM given concomitantly. No adverse effect and abnormal laboratory findings were observed. This study would support the clinical usefulness of CMD in severe neonatal infection especially like meningitis.