PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

P Teixeira

Publications and source records attributed to P Teixeira.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Staphylococcus epidermidis adhesion on modified urea/urethane elastomers.

Block urea/urethane co-polymer films present elastomeric properties with the possible tuning of their surface properties within a wide range and are therefore considered relevant surfaces for possible medical applications. In particular, thin free standing films of urea/urethane elastomers with two soft segments, polypropylene oxide and more hydrophobic polybutadiene, develop multistable states with surface topography features with remarkable regularity. Moreover, complex surface structures may be obtained by UV radiation treatment followed by suitable mechanical action and also by extraction of the elastomer with a suitable solvent. In the present work, different modified elastomer samples were assayed for Staphylococcus epidermidis adhesion during 2 h and the extent of bacterial adhesion was evaluated by automatic cell enumeration. Bacterial adhesion assays demonstrate that the typical trend relating the increase in the number of adhered bacteria with the increase of the surface roughness does not hold for all materials. Results may be interpreted taking into account both the surface topography and the different types of micro-phase segregation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts of the elastomer.

Bacterial Adhesion↗
PubMed2005

Effect of the pH of growth on the survival of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus to stress conditions during spray-drying.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to optimize survival of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus during spray-drying and subsequent storage through optimizing the pH of growth conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cell concentrates previously grown without or with pH controlled were spray-dried and stored at 20 degrees C and heat treated at 57 degrees C. Cells grown under noncontrolled pH were more resistant to both drying and heating than cells grown under controlled pH but no significant differences were observed during storage. The intracellular proteins profile of cells grown under both conditions was studied by two-dimensional SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Eight proteins were identified using automated mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data acquisition. Of the identified proteins, only cochaperonin GroES corresponded to a known heat shock protein (HSP). The other proteins identified are proteins involved in glycolysis. For cells grown under noncontrolled pH the expression of the Hsp70, GroES and GroEL, measured by Western blotting, was enhanced. CONCLUSIONS: The higher resistance of cells grown under noncontrolled pH correlates with the enhanced production of heat shock proteins. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Growth of L. bulgaricus under controlled pH (commonly used by the starter cultures production industry) results in cells more sensitive to stresses frequently encountered by the cells during starter cultures preparation/storage/utilization.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed2003

Effect of various growth media upon survival during storage of freeze-dried Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus durans.

AIMS: The effects of three different growth media (MRS, M17 and Lee's) on survival during freeze-drying and subsequent storage of six strains of Enterococcus faecalis and two strains of E. durans were investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS: Distinct Enterococcus spp. strains were grown on M17, MRS and Lee's broth, freeze-dried and stored at 20 degrees C in air under darkness. At regular intervals throughout storage, freeze-dried samples were rehydrated and then plated on M17 agar. CONCLUSIONS: A higher survival rate during storage of dried E. durans was obtained when growth occurred in MRS. The same effect was not observed, however, for the majority of E. faecalis strains, which clearly survived better in the dried state when this organism had been grown in M17 or Lee's medium. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: The survival of the dried Enterococcus spp. tested during storage was shown to be strain-specific and dependent on the growth medium.

Culture Media↗
PubMed2002

Metabolism of Alcaligenes denitrificans in biofilm vs planktonic cells.

AIMS: To compare the effect of phosphorous concentration (200 mg P l(-1) and 20 mg P l(-1)) on the denitrifying efficiency of Alcaligenes denitrificans when in the form of planktonic cells or in the form of a biofilm, and to select the most adequate C/N ratio. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two types of assays were carried out: with planktonic cells and with cells in biofilm form. Anoxic bottles with the appropriate C/N and phosphorous concentration were incubated at 30 degrees C and submitted to orbital shaking at 150 rev min(-1). The specific activity of cells in biofilm form, in terms of substrate consumption, was significantly higher than cells in planktonic form. With regard to the effect of increasing phosphorous concentration, an increase in specific activity was also only evident when the cells were in biofilm form. CONCLUSIONS: The two forms showed different performances and phosphorous concentration only markedly affected the biofilm form. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The importance of the C/N/P ratio in the denitrification process is demonstrated. As there was no report in the literature about the stoichiometric relationship of heterotrophic denitrification with citrate, its stoichiometry, including the requirement for cell synthesis, was determined.

Alcaligenes↗
PubMed2002

Bacteriocin production by spray-dried lactic acid bacteria.

AIMS: Cell survival and antagonistic activity against Listeria innocua, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus were investigated after spray-drying three bacteriocin-producing strains of lactic acid bacteria: Carnobacterium divergens, Lactobacillus salivarius and Lactobacillus sakei. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bacterial cell concentrates were spray-dried and stored at 4 degrees C and 18 degrees C and 0.3% ERH (equilibrium relative humidity). Enumeration and antagonistic activity were evaluated before and after spray-drying and at regular intervals during storage. CONCLUSIONS: A higher survival rate was obtained when survival was performed at 4 degrees C. With the exception of Carnobacterium divergens which lost the inhibitory activity against Staph. aureus after drying, antagonistic production was not affected by the process nor by the storage. Of the three species studied, Lact. salivarius showed the highest resistance to the spray-drying and storage processes. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Spray-drying is a potentially useful process for large scale production of dried powders containing viable organisms with antagonistic activity against pathogens.

Aerosols↗
PubMed2001

Improved methods for the enumeration of heterotrophic bacteria in bottled mineral waters.

At this time the European Union regulations require that the heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) of mineral waters be assessed at two recovery temperatures: 22 degrees C for 72 h and 37 degrees C for 24 h. This procedure is time consuming and expensive. Development of new rapid methods for microbiological assessment of the microbial flora in the bottled water is an industry-driven need. The objectives of this work were to develop a method for the HPC that utilises only one recovery temperature and one incubation period and evaluate the use of, the LIVE/DEAD(R) BacLight Bacterial Viability Kit, 5-cyano-2,3-ditotyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) and impedance methods to enumerate viable bacteria in bottled mineral water. Results showed that incubation at 30 degrees C could be used instead of incubation at 22 degrees C and 37 degrees C. Good correlation exists between counts at 30 degrees C and counts at 22 degrees C (r>0.90) and all the pathogens important in mineral water analyses grow similarly at 30 degrees C and 37 degrees C during 24 h. It was demonstrated that impedance methods might be useful to the mineral water industry as a rapid indicator of microbiological quality of the water. Results obtained with BacLight and CTC were similar to those obtained with plate counts.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2001

Hydraulic characteristics of an anoxic rotating biological contactor: influence of biofilm.

The hydraulic characteristics of an anoxic rotating biological contactor were studied under different flow rates. The experiments were carried out with the reactor clean (without biomass) and containing denitrifying biofilm (Alcaligenes denitrificans) covering the disks. Residence Time Distribution (RTD) experiments were performed by the stimulus-response technique using lithium chloride as tracer. Experiments without biomass revealed the existence of hydraulic dead volumes (around 40% for hydraulic residence time of 0.94 and 2 hours) that occur in corners, where stagnant eddies form. When in normal operation, with the disks covered by biofilm and with biogas production, these values decreased significantly. For hydraulic residence time (HRT) of 2 hours a minimum dead volume was observed, being appropriate to run the reactor under this condition, from the hydraulic viewpoint. The Dispersion number decreased with increasing HRT from 0.94 h on, for both types of experiment, without, and in the presence of biomass. For this HRT the dispersion number was maximal in both situations. A considerable diffusion of tracer into the biofilm was detected, being faster in the more hydrated biofilm, and Justifying the long tails observed in the RTD experimental curves.

Biofilms↗
PubMed1997

Identification of sites of injury in Lactobacillus bulgaricus during heat stress.

Heat resistance of Lactobacillus bulgaricus in skimmed milk at 62 degrees, 64 degrees, 65 degrees and 66 degrees C was studied. The response to increasing temperatures in this range was not linear, with temperatures at 65 degrees C and above giving a lower survival rate than would be predicted from experiments at lower temperatures. To identify sites of injury at these temperatures, chemical markers were used. Heating at 64 degrees C and below resulted in damage to the cytoplasmic membrane. At temperatures of 65 degrees C and above chemical markers also indicated damage in the cell wall and proteins. Using differential scanning calorimetry analysis of whole cells of Lact. bulgaricus seven main peaks were observed (1-51, m1-61, m2-73, n-80, p-89, q-100, r-112 degrees C). Three of these peaks (l(r), m(r) and p(r)) were the result of reversible reactions. Analysis of cell fractions identified the cell structure involved in giving rise to each of the three reversible peaks; l(r), cell membrane lipids, m(r), ribosomes, and p(r), DNA. The evidence presented in this paper shows that irreversible reactions in the cell ribosomes are a critical site of damage in Lact. bulgaricus during heat stress in liquid media at 65 degrees C and above.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Methylene blue sensitizes E. coli cells to X-rays.

Methylene blue (MB) is shown to sensitize E. coli cells to the effects of X-rays. This sensitization is dependent on factors such as dye concentration, incubation temperature, membrane permeability, and repair capacities, suggesting that the binding and/or penetration of the dye into the cells determines the potentiation of the lethal effects of X-rays by MB. It is also demonstrated that the presence of the polymerase 1 enzyme is essential for this sensitization to take place. Since MB is known to penetrate, accumulate, and be retained preferentially in some malignant tissues, the possibility of using this dye as a specific sensitizer to X-rays in the radiotherapy of some cancers is discussed.

Coloring Agents↗
PubMed1995

[Primary lymphomas of the brain not related to immunodeficiency].

Primary brain lymphoma (PBL) is a rare disease, the study of which is based on small series and case reports. The AA review new cases of PBL not associated to immunodeficiency at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto since 1978. Five male patients were found with lymphoma primarily located in the brain, with aggressive histology, IE staging, detected by CAT, NMR or brain scintigraphy and with histologic material collected by stereotaxic biopsy (3 cases) or by craniotomy (2 cases). Three patients were in complete remission (25,5 and 1 year) and 2 were dead with a survival of 12 and 17 months. The cases and literature are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lethal interaction between heat and methylene blue in Escherichia coli.

Hyperthermia treatment is shown to act synergistically with methylene blue (MB), from the end point of lethality in Gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria. That this lethality is correlated to the damage produced in DNA by the dye is deduced from the fact that bacteria differing in capacity for repair are almost equally sensitive to heat, but differ considerably in sensitivity to concomitant heat and dye treatment. It is demonstrated that the damage is repairable by the excision-repair system. The role of temperature seems to be that of facilitating the incorporation of the dye, which enables the latter to intercalate into the DNA. Ability of the outer membrane of E. coli AB1157 bacteria to act as a barrier to the penetration of MB remains almost intact up to 46 degrees C, but above this temperature it seems to disrupt abruptly (but reversibly), leading to inactivation of the cells by the dye. Since hyperthermia is in current use for the treatment of cancer, it is suggested that if this synergism also exists in mammalian cells, MB could eventually be used independently of its photodynamic action as an adjuvant in cancer therapy.

DNA Damage↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Orbital lymphoma misdiagnosed as Graves' ophthalmopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of bilateral orbital lymphoma mistakenly diagnosed as Graves' ophthalmopathy. METHODS: We present a case report, with laboratory data and photographic documentation, and discuss the differential diagnosis in patients with orbital masses. RESULTS: A 65-year-old man with bilateral exophthalmos and substantial weight loss was referred to the Endocrine Clinic for evaluation of possible Graves' disease. A 6-cm mass was detected in the left axilla. Biopsy of this mass revealed the histopathologic diagnosis of anaplastic B-cell lymphoma. Treatment with intrathecally administered methotrexate and orally administered dexamethasone promptly resulted in decreased proptosis. CONCLUSION: The most frequent cause of bilateral proptosis is Graves' ophthalmopathy, and when it is associated with weight loss in an elderly patient, the initial diagnostic consideration is thyrotoxic Graves' disease. This case should remind physicians that bilateral orbital lymphoma, although uncommon, may mimic Graves' ophthalmopathy.

Aged↗