The outer membrane (OM) of gram-negative bacteria is an unusual asymmetric bilayer with an external monolayer of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and an inner layer of phospholipids. The LPS layer is rigid and stabilized by divalent cation cross-links between phosphate groups on the core oligosaccharide regions. This means that the OM is robust and highly impermeable to toxins and antibiotics. During t...

Nutrients usually cross the outer membrane of Escherichia coli by diffusion through water-filled channels surrounded by a specific class of protein, porins. In this study, the rates of diffusion of hydrophilic nonelectrolytes, mostly sugars and sugar alcohols, through the porin channels were determined in two systems, (a) vesicles reconstituted from phospholipids and purified porin and (b) inta...

Dependable distributed systems are diÆcult to build. This is particularly true if they have dependability requirements that change during the execution of an application and are built with commercial o -the-shelf hardware. In that case, fault tolerance can be achieved using middleware, and mechanisms must be provided to communicate the dependability requirements of a distributed application to ...

This study assessed health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and musculoskeletal function in patients with musculoskeletal disorders after participation in group-based aqua-exercising, compared to before participation. Physiotherapists instructed group-based aqua-exercising for 30 min twice a week for 8 weeks in 39 patients (81% women, mean age 55 ± 12 years), with musculoskeletal disorders locat...

In the structure of the title complex, [Cs(C7H4NO2)(H2O)2] n , the caesium salt of 4-nitro-benzoic acid, the irregular CsO9 coordination sphere comprises three bridging nitro O-atom donors, a bidentate carboxyl-ate O,O'-chelate inter-action, a triple-bridging water mol-ecule and a monodentate water mol-ecule. A three-dimensional framework polymer is generated, within which there are water-carbo...

In the crystal structure of the polymeric title compound, [Sr(C(10)H(6)O(6)S(2))(H(2)O)(2)](n), the naphthalene-2,7-disulfonate dianion uses one -SO(3) unit to bind to two Sr(II) cations and the other -SO(3) unit to bind to three Sr(II) cations; of the two coordinated water mol-ecules, one is monodentate to one Sr(II) cation, whereas the other bridges two Sr(II) cations. The μ(5)-bridging mode ...

In the title polymeric complex, [Sr(C(7)H(3)NO(4))(H(2)O)(2)](n), the Sr(II) atom is eight-coordinated by four O atoms and one N atom of four pyridine-2,4-dicarboxyl-ate (py-2,4-dc) ligands and three O atoms of three coordinated water mol-ecules in a dodeca-hedral geometry. These units are connected via the carboxyl-ate O atoms and water mol-ecules, building polymeric layers parallel to (100). ...

Anaplasma phagocytophilum causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis. Infection with this zoonotic pathogen affects gene expression in both the vertebrate host and the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis. Here, we identified new genes, including spectrin alpha chain or alpha-fodrin (CG8) and voltage-dependent anion-selective channel or mitochondrial porin (T2), that are involved in A. phagocytophilum in...

TolB is a periplasmic protein of the cell envelope Tol complex. It is partially membrane associated through an interaction with the outer membrane lipoprotein PAL (peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein), which also belongs to the Tol system. The interaction of TolB with outer membrane porins of Escherichia coli was investigated with a purified TolB derivative harboring a six-histidine tag. TolB ...

BACKGROUND Multi-drug resistant (MDR) infections have become a major concern in hospitals worldwide. This study investigates membrane translocation, which is the first step required for drug action on internal bacterial targets. beta-lactams, a major antibiotic class, use porins to pass through the outer membrane barrier of Gram-negative bacteria. Clinical reports have linked the MDR phenotype ...