Co-infection with Neisseria mucosa in a patient with tuberculous otitis media.

Tuberculous otitis media (TOM) is a rare manifestation caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis with low incidence rates among extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases. Diagnosis is often delayed because of the presence of several clinical manifestations and the high prevalence of secondary bacterial infections. Few reports have attributed secondary bacterial infections in patients with TOM to commensal Neisseria. Thus, understanding the pathogenic mechanisms and clinical features of commensal Neisseria is important, considering its recent presentation as an infection-causing pathogen. Neisseria mucosa is a commensal inhabitant in humans and is generally considered non-pathogenic but can cause infection in rare cases. Here, we report an atypical secondary infection caused by Neisseria mucosa in an 81-year-old woman with TOM being treated for pulmonary tuberculosis. Direct purulent otorrhea smear microscopy revealed no acid-fast bacilli using Ziehl-Neelsen staining, whereas the phagocytosis of gram-negative cocci by white blood cells was confirmed using Gram staining. Otorrhea culture revealed the growth of N. mucosa. Subsequently, M. tuberculosis infection in the otorrhea was identified using a culture-based method. Vigilance is critical for the early detection of TOM to prevent further complications. This report raises awareness regarding TOM and provides insight into the pathogenicity of N. mucosa in otitis media.

Enantioseparation of phenethylamines by using high-performance liquid chromatography column permanently coated with methylated ß-cyclodextrin.

Cyclodextrins and their derivatives have been used for chiral high-performance liquid chromatography selectors, while they are costly to use as mobile phase additives in high-performance liquid chromatography. Here, we report application of phenyl column coated permanently with methylated ß-cyclodextrin for chiral high-performance liquid chromatography. A 0.1% (v/v) phosphoric acid solution containing 1 M NaCl and 0.5% (w/v) methylated ß-cyclodextrin was subjected to a phenyl column at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min at 30°C for 2 h. Using the precoating phenyl column, all the enantiomers of the four phenethylamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine, octopamine, and synephrine) were successfully separated simultaneously by high-performance liquid chromatography with a mobile phase without methylated ß-cyclodextrin at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min at 30°C. The enantioseparation ability was retained for successive analyses during 1 week. It is suggested that inclusion complex of methylated ß-cyclodextrin with a phenyl group on the surface of the stationary phase could be formed and that the inclusion complex could form the ternary complex with the injected analytes. The longer retention time of (S)-enantiomers of analytes than corresponding (R)-enantiomers for high-performance liquid chromatography could be explained from the higher stability of the methylated ß-cyclodextrin complexes with (S)-enantiomers, which were confirmed by capillary electrophoresis and 1 H NMR spectroscopy experiments.

A Simple Screening Method for Extra Virgin Olive Oil Adulteration by Determining Squalene and Tyrosol.

A simple screening method for discrimination between commercial extra virgin olive oils and their blends with other vegetable oils was developed. Squalene, which was contained relatively high amounts in virgin olive oil, was determined by HPLC after a simple pretreatment that was carried out by dilution of oil samples with 2-propanol. Tyrosol, which was contained at relatively high concentration in virgin olive oil among phenolic compounds, was determined by HPLC after a simple liquid-liquid extraction. When using squalene and tyrosol contents as axes, extra virgin olive oils could be discriminated from pure olive oils, blended oils (extra virgin olive oils with sunflower oil or grapeseed oil) and other vegetable oils. These results suggest that determining squalene and tyrosol in seed oil samples could be useful in distinguishing between extra virgin olive oil and blended oils as a screening method.

Direct enantioseparation of mandelic acid by high-performance liquid chromatography using a phenyl column precoated with a small amount of cyclodextrin additive in a mobile phase.

Direct enantioseparation of mandelic acid by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a reversed phase column and a mobile phase containing a small amount of hydroxylpropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HP-ß-CD) was studied as an efficient method for saving consumption of the CD additive. As a result, it was proposed that racemic mandelic acid can be analyzed with a phenyl column by using a mobile phase composed of 10 mM ammonium acetate buffer (pH 4.2) and 0.02% (w/v) HP-ß-CD at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min at 40°C after the passage of 10 mM ammonium acetate buffer (pH 4.2) containing 0.1% (w/v) HP-ß-CD as a precoating mobile phase for 60 min. It is suggested that HP-ß-CD is bound with a phenyl group on the surface of the stationary phase to allow a phenyl column to act as a transient chiral column, and injected mandelic acid can form the ternary complex with the adsorbed HP-ß-CD. The longer retention time of D-mandelic acid than the L-isomer for HPLC can be explained from the higher stability of the HP-ß-CD complex with D-mandelic acid, which was confirmed by CE experiment with HP-ß-CD as a selector. The efficiency of a phenyl column compared with other stationary phases was also discussed.

Separation of Synephrine Enantiomers in Citrus Fruits by a Reversed Phase HPLC after Chiral Precolumn Derivatization.

Racemic synephrine, which was transformed into diastereomers by derivatization with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-ß-D-glucopyranosil isothiocyanate, was resolved by a reversed phase HPLC with UV detection at 254 nm. The total contents of synephrine enantiomers in citrus fruit samples were exocarp > mesocarp > endocarp > sarcocarp, suggesting that synephrine content of outer side of citrus fruits was higher than that of the inner side. (R)-Synephrine was detected in exocarp of eleven fresh citrus fruits, except for lemon, lime, and grapefruit samples. (S)-Synephrine was determined in the exocarp of four citrus fruits (mikan, orange, bitter orange, and ponkan samples) and the ratio of (S)-synephrine to total synephrine was 0.5 - 0.9%. The racemization of (R)-synephrine in aqueous solution during heating at 100°C was also examined. An increase in the heating time brought about an increase in the (S)-synephrine content in a linear fashion. The racemization was found to be significantly reduced by the addition of D-fructose, D-maltose, D-glucose, D-mannose or D-galactose, but not D-sucrose or D-mannitol. It is suggested that the reducibility of sugars may result in the inhibition of racemization.

Mimicking the lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (GPx4) by using fatty acid conjugates of a water-soluble selenolane.

A series of fatty acid conjugates of trans-3,4-dihydroxy-1-selenolane (DHS) were synthesized by reacting DHS with appropriate acid chlorides. The obtained monoesters were evaluated for their antioxidant capacities by the lipid peroxidation assay using a lecithin/cholesterol liposome as a model system. The observed antioxidant capacities against accumulation of the lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH) increased with increasing the alkyl chain length and became saturated for dodecanoic acid (C12) or higher fatty acid monoesters, for which the capacities were much greater than those of DHS, its tridecanoic acid (C13) diester, and PhSeSePh. On the other hand, the bacteriostatic activity of myristic acid (C14) monoester, evaluated through the colony formation assay using Bacillus subtilis, indicated that it has higher affinity to bacterial cell membranes than parent DHS. Since DHS-fatty acid conjugates would inhibit lipid peroxidation through glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like 2e- mechanism, higher fatty acid monoesters of DHS can mimic the function of GPx4, which interacts with LOOH to reduce it to harmless alcohol (LOH). Importance of the balance between hydrophilicity and lipophilicity for the design of effective GPx4 mimics was suggested.

Disulphide linkage in mouse ST6Gal-I: determination of linkage positions and mutant analysis.

All cloned sialyltransferases from vertebrates are classified into four subfamilies and are characterized as having type II transmembrane topology. The catalytic domain has highly conserved motifs known as sialylmotifs. Besides sialylmotifs, each family has several unique conserved cysteine (Cys) residues mainly in the catalytic domain. The number and loci of conserved amino acids, however, differ with each subfamily, suggesting that the conserved Cys-residues and/or disulphide linkages they make may contribute to linkage specificity. Using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF)-mass spectrometry, the present study performed disulphide linkage analysis on soluble mouse ST6Gal-I, which has six Cys-residues. Results confirmed that there were no free Cys-residues, and all six residues contributed to disulphide linkage formation, C(139)-C(403), C(181)-C(332) and C(350)-C(361). Study of single amino acid-substituted mutants revealed that the disulphide linkage C(181)-C(332) was necessary for molecular expression of the enzyme, and that the disulphide linkage C(350)-C(361) was necessary for enzyme activity. The remaining disulphide linkage C(139)-C(403) was not necessary for enzyme expression or for activity, including substrate specificity. Crystallographic study of pig ST3Gal I has recently been reported. Interestingly, the loci of disulphide linkages in ST6Gal-I differ from those in ST3Gal I, suggesting that the linkage specificity of sialyltransferase may results from significant structural differences, including the loci of disulphide linkages.

Bioremediation potential of formaldehyde by the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata ST-3 strain.

The present work is intended to investigate biodegradation of formaldehyde by the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata ST-3 strain. Formaldehyde concentration in the medium decreased with the growth of the ST-3 strain. It is observed that the degradation of formaldehyde concentration depends on the increased cell number of the ST-3 strain. The ST-3 strain which was adapted to formaldehyde stepwise was able to tolerate to 19.9 ppm formaldehyde and degrade 99.3% of it in the medium for 22 days. Tolerance and degradation ability of formaldehyde by the ST-3 strain was improved by stepwise increasing of the formaldehyde concentration. Transformation of [13C]formaldehyde in the medium with the passage of incubation was monitored by using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. Formaldehyde was transformed into formate, and these two substances degraded in the medium with the passage of incubation as clearly shown by the NMR spectrum.

Efficient preparation of cationized gelatin for gene transduction.

We previously reported gene therapy using cationized gelatin microspheres of φ20-32 µm, prepared from pig skin, as a transducing agent, but although the gelatin offered various advantages, its yield was extremely low (only 0.1%). In this study, we markedly improved the yield of φ20-32 µm cationized gelatin microspheres and prepared a newly less than φ20 µm cationized gelatin. Conventionally, cationized gelatin is prepared by cationization, particulation by agitation, and cross-linking. The yield is determined by the particulation step, for which we had used a three-necked distillation flask of 500 mL and an agitation speed of 420 rpm. The yield was significantly increased from 0.13 ± 0.02% to 8.80 ± 1.90% by using a smaller flask of 300 mL and an agitation speed of 25000 rpm (p ＜ 0.01). We could also prepare cationized gelatin of less than φ20 µm, which had not been possible previously. We confirmed that efficient gene introduction into peritoneal macrophages could be achieved with the new cationized gelatin.