UNLABELLED We use a suspended microchannel resonator to characterize the water and small-molecule permeability of Bacillus subtilis spores based on spores' buoyant mass in different solutions. Consistent with previous results, we found that the spore coat is not a significant barrier to small molecules, and the extent to which small molecules may enter the spore is size dependent. We have devel...

BACKGROUND The first step of the bacterial lifecycle is the germination of bacterial spores into their vegetative form, which requires the presence of specific nutrients. In contrast to closely related Bacillus anthracis spores, Bacillus cereus spores germinate in the presence of a single germinant, inosine, yet with a significant lag period. METHODS AND FINDINGS We found that the initial lag...

AIMS To determine the mechanism of wet heat killing of spores of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus megaterium. METHODS AND RESULTS Bacillus cereus and B. megaterium spores wet heat-killed 82-99% gave two bands on equilibrium density gradient centrifugation. The lighter band was absent from spores that were not heat-treated and increased in intensity upon increased heating times. These spores lacke...

Spores are widely present in the environment and are common contaminants in the food chain, creating a challenge for food industry. Nowadays, heat treatments conventionally applied in food processing may become milder to comply with consumer desire for products with higher sensory and nutritional values. Consequently subpopulations of spores may emerge that are sublethally damaged rather than i...

Porous yttria-stabilised zirconia ceramics have been gaining popularity throughout the years in various fields, such as energy, environment, medicine, etc. Although yttria-stabilised zirconia is a well-studied material, voided yttria-stabilised zirconia powder particles have not been demonstrated yet, and might play an important role in future technology developments. A sol-gel synthesis accomp...

Hematophanite, ideally Pb~FeaOsC1, is tetragonal, space group P4mm, with a = 3'92 and c = 15"3I/~. The crystal structure, which has been refined to an R-factor of 9"t %, may be described as an interlayering of perovskite-like units with a cesium chloride or, alternatively, a nadoritelike unit. The nadorite-like part consists of a double layer of PbO4CI4 distorted square antiprisms. Iron atoms a...

conclusions bacillus thuringiensis is very sensitive to the interaction of p. fluorescens, however is capable to survive in soil due to its capacity of sporulate. some of the cells in the form of spores germinated and folded slightly and remained in a constant cycle of sporulation and germination. this confirms that b. thuringiensis ips82 can germinate, grow and sporulate in soil. results the a...

Metal sulfate formation is one of the major challenges to the emission aftertreatment catalysts. Unlike the incredibly sulfation prone nature of Pd to form PdSO4, no experimental evidence exists for PtSO4 formation. Given the mystery of nonexistence of PtSO4, we explore PtSO4 using a combined approach of an evolutionary algorithm based search technique and quantum mechanical computations. Exper...

Recent bioterrorism concerns have prompted renewed efforts towards understanding the biology of bacterial spore resistance to radiation with a special emphasis on the spores of Bacillus anthracis. A review of the literature revealed that B. anthracis Sterne spores may be three to four times more resistant to 254-nm-wavelength UV than are spores of commonly used indicator strains of Bacillus sub...