scholarly journals Migration promotes plasmid stability under spatially heterogeneous positive selection

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1879) ◽  
pp. 20180324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie Harrison ◽  
James P. J. Hall ◽  
Michael A. Brockhurst

Bacteria–plasmid associations can be mutualistic or antagonistic depending on the strength of positive selection for plasmid-encoded genes, with contrasting outcomes for plasmid stability. In mutualistic environments, plasmids are swept to high frequency by positive selection, increasing the likelihood of compensatory evolution to ameliorate the plasmid cost, which promotes long-term stability. In antagonistic environments, plasmids are purged by negative selection, reducing the probability of compensatory evolution and driving their extinction. Here we show, using experimental evolution of Pseudomonas fluorescens and the mercury-resistance plasmid, pQBR103, that migration promotes plasmid stability in spatially heterogeneous selection environments. Specifically, migration from mutualistic environments, by increasing both the frequency of the plasmid and the supply of compensatory mutations, stabilized plasmids in antagonistic environments where, without migration, they approached extinction. These data suggest that spatially heterogeneous positive selection, which is common in natural environments, coupled with migration helps to explain the stability of plasmids and the ecologically important genes that they encode.

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1870) ◽  
pp. 20172497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cagla Stevenson ◽  
James P. J. Hall ◽  
Michael A. Brockhurst ◽  
Ellie Harrison

Plasmids accelerate bacterial adaptation by sharing ecologically important traits between lineages. However, explaining plasmid stability in bacterial populations is challenging owing to their associated costs. Previous theoretical and experimental studies suggest that pulsed positive selection may explain plasmid stability by favouring gene mobility and promoting compensatory evolution to ameliorate plasmid cost. Here we test how the frequency of pulsed positive selection affected the dynamics of a mercury-resistance plasmid, pQBR103, in experimental populations of Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25. Plasmid dynamics varied according to the frequency of Hg 2+ positive selection: in the absence of Hg 2+ plasmids declined to low frequency, whereas pulses of Hg 2+ selection allowed plasmids to sweep to high prevalence. Compensatory evolution to ameliorate the cost of plasmid carriage was widespread across the entire range of Hg 2+ selection regimes, including both constant and pulsed Hg 2+ selection. Consistent with theoretical predictions, gene mobility via conjugation appeared to play a greater role in promoting plasmid stability under low-frequency pulses of Hg 2+ selection. However, upon removal of Hg 2+ selection, plasmids which had evolved under low-frequency pulse selective regimes declined over time. Our findings suggest that temporally variable selection environments, such as those created during antibiotic treatments, may help to explain the stability of mobile plasmid-encoded resistance.


1979 ◽  
Vol 42 (04) ◽  
pp. 1135-1140 ◽  
Author(s):  
G I C Ingram

SummaryThe International Reference Preparation of human brain thromboplastin coded 67/40 has been thought to show evidence of instability. The evidence is discussed and is not thought to be strong; but it is suggested that it would be wise to replace 67/40 with a new preparation of human brain, both for this reason and because 67/40 is in a form (like Thrombotest) in which few workers seem to use human brain. A �plain� preparation would be more appropriate; and a freeze-dried sample of BCT is recommended as the successor preparation. The opportunity should be taken also to replace the corresponding ox and rabbit preparations. In the collaborative study which would be required it would then be desirable to test in parallel the three old and the three new preparations. The relative sensitivities of the old preparations could be compared with those found in earlier studies to obtain further evidence on the stability of 67/40; if stability were confirmed, the new preparations should be calibrated against it, but if not, the new human material should receive a calibration constant of 1.0 and the new ox and rabbit materials calibrated against that.The types of evidence available for monitoring the long-term stability of a thromboplastin are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Cristina Martín-Sabroso ◽  
Mario Alonso-González ◽  
Ana Fernández-Carballido ◽  
Juan Aparicio-Blanco ◽  
Damián Córdoba-Díaz ◽  
...  

Accumulation of cystine crystals in the cornea of patients suffering from cystinosis is considered pathognomonic and can lead to severe ocular complications. Cysteamine eye drop compounded formulations, commonly prepared by hospital pharmacy services, are meant to diminish the build-up of corneal cystine crystals. The objective of this work was to analyze whether the shelf life proposed for six formulations prepared following different protocols used in hospital pharmacies is adequate to guarantee the quality and efficacy of cysteamine eye drops. The long-term and in-use stabilities of these preparations were studied using different parameters: content of cysteamine and its main degradation product cystamine; appearance, color and odor; pH and viscosity; and microbiological analysis. The results obtained show that degradation of cysteamine was between 20% and 50% after one month of storage in the long-term stability study and between 35% and 60% in the in-use study. These data confirm that cysteamine is a very unstable molecule in aqueous solution, the presence of oxygen being the main degradation factor. Saturation with nitrogen gas of the solutions offers a means of reducing cysteamine degradation. Overall, all the formulae studied presented high instability at the end of their shelf life, suggesting that their clinical efficacy might be dramatically compromised.


2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 2129-2154 ◽  
Author(s):  
HÉLÈNE BARUCQ ◽  
JULIEN DIAZ ◽  
VÉRONIQUE DUPRAT

This work deals with the stability analysis of a one-parameter family of Absorbing Boundary Conditions (ABC) that have been derived for the acoustic wave equation. We tackle the problem of long-term stability of the wave field both at the continuous and the numerical levels. We first define a function of energy and show that it is decreasing in time. Its discrete form is also decreasing under a Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) condition that does not depend on the ABC. Moreover, the decay rate of the continuous energy can be determined: it is exponential if the computational domain is star-shaped and this property can be illustrated numerically.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Yichen Bao ◽  
Kai Liu ◽  
Quan Zheng ◽  
Lulu Yao ◽  
Yufu Xu

Abstract Pickering emulsion is a new type of stable emulsion made by ultra-fine solid particles instead of traditional surfactants as stabilizers, which has received widespread attention in recent years. The preparation methods of stator-rotor homogenization, high-pressure homogenization, and ultrasonic emulsification were compared with others in this work. The main factors affecting the stability of Pickering emulsion are the surface humidity of the solid particles, the polarity of the oil phase, and the oil-water ratio. These factors could affect the nature of the solid particles, the preparation process of Pickering emulsion and the external environment. Consequently, the long-term stability of Pickering emulsion is still a challenge. The tribological investigations of Pickering emulsion were summarized, and the multifunctional Pickering emulsion shows superior prospects for tribological applications. Moreover, the latest development of Pickering emulsion offers a new strategy for smart lubrication in the near future.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 (CICMT) ◽  
pp. 000371-000376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Santo Zarnik ◽  
Darko Belavic

This paper discusses the stability of a piezoresistive, LTCC-based, pressure sensor that was designed for measurements in a low-pressure range below 100 mbar. The intrinsic stability of the sensor's offset was evaluated at a constant ambient temperature and different conditions regarding the atmospheric humidity. The sensors were also subjected to functional fatigue tests, which included a full-scale and an overload pressure cycling. The results of the fatigue testing revealed the vulnerability of the sensor's structure from the point of view of the long-term stability and the life-cycle. Nevertheless, the stability of the key characteristics of the prototype sensors was found to be satisfactory for accurate measurements in the low-pressure ranges.


1995 ◽  
Vol 377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohan K. Bhan

ABSTRACTWe have systematically investigated the effects of addition of sub-ppm levels of boron on the stability of a-Si:H films and p-i-n devices, deposited by PE-CVD technique. The films thus produced with appropriate amounts of boron, show a significant improvement in stability, when soaked under both AM 1.5 (short-term) as well as 10×sun (long-term) illumination conditions. The opto-electronic properties of the films are quite respectable It is concluded that boron compensates the native impurities by forming donor-acceptor pairs, which reduces the “fast” defects and hence the initial degradation of the films. It is also speculated that boron may also be improving the short-term stability, by reducing the recombination of light generated electrons and holes, by converting D° into D+ states. The long-term stability appears to get affected by hydrogen dilution which seems to reduce the amount of “slow” defects. As a result of B doping of i-layer, the initial conversion efficiency of the devices decreases. It is presumed that our devices may contain an enhanced level of boron impurity, than expected, making them as worse material and to degrade less.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Andrade Rocha ◽  
Renato Rodrigues de Almeida ◽  
José Fernando Castanha Henriques ◽  
Carlos Flores-Mir ◽  
Marcio Rodrigues de Almeida

Objective: To evaluate the stability of mesiodistal inclination of maxillary molars produced by a pendulum appliance, five years after completion of orthodontic treatment. Angulation changes were compared to an untreated sample. Methods: The sample consisted of 20 patients (14 females and 6 males) with Class II, Division 1 malocclusion that was treated through molar distalization with a pendulum appliance followed by cervical headgear and full fixed appliances. Maxillary molar inclination was evaluated through panoramic radiograph. The mean age at pretreatment was 14.3 ± 1.6 years, whereas at immediate post-treatment it was 18.6 ± 1.8 years, and at long-term post-treatment it was 23.8 ± 2.0 years. A control group of 16 untreated individuals with untreated normocclusion ranging in age from 12 to 17 years old were used as comparison group. Data were statistically analyzed with independent t-tests and ANOVA test followed by Tukey post-hoc tests. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between T1 (94.50) and T2 (98.80) as well as between T2 and T3 (94.70) for maxillary first molars. Maxillary second molars did not show any statistically significant positional changes during the evaluated time periods T1 (107.50), T2 (109.30) and T3 (106.90). Conclusion: Although maxillary first molars underwent distal crown inclination immediately after treatment, approximately five years thereafter their roots tended to upright close to the pretreatment positions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-151
Author(s):  
Sophie Huvelle ◽  
Marie Godet ◽  
Laurence Galanti ◽  
Mélanie Closset ◽  
Benoît Bihin ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundPiperacillin-Tazobactam is frequently infused in hospitals. The use of a generic version was considered after the out of stock of the brand name Tazocin®. The stability of 4 g of Tazocin®in 120 mL of dextrose 5 % (D5) was demonstrated during 35 days at 5 °C ± 3 °C after freezing (−20 °C) and microwave thawing (FMT). The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the long-term stability of Tazocin®and a generic product in the same conditions.MethodsFive polyolefin bags of 4 g of Piperacillin/Tazobactam®Sandoz and 5 bags of 4 g of Tazocin®were prepared under aseptic conditions in 120 mL of D5 and stored 3 months at 20 °C then thawed and stored 58 days at 5 ± 3 °C.Spectrophotometric absorbance at different wavelengths, pH measurement, visual and microscopic observations were also performed.The concentrations were measured by HPLC, at 211 nm for tazobactam and 230 nm for piperacilline.ResultsNo significant change in pH values or optic densities, no crystals were detected. The lower confidence limit at 95 % of the concentration for the solutions remains superior to 90 % of the initial concentration until 58 days of storage at 5 ± 3 °C.ConclusionUnder these conditions, 4 g/120 mL of Piperacillin/Tazobactam®Sandoz or Tazocin®in D5 infusion in polyolefin bags remains stable at least for 58 days at 5 ± 3 °C after FMT


2014 ◽  
Vol 1073-1076 ◽  
pp. 2488-2492
Author(s):  
Hong Li Yang ◽  
Ping Li ◽  
Xiao Li Guo

With the deepening of economic globalization, cooperation has become a mainstream trend, revealing the discipline of cooperation has become a key scientific issue. As a content of cooperation, international energy cooperation is a system of relations constituted by different energy cooperation agents, it reflects the composition of agents. Ability divergence and their capability system have an effect on the long-term stability and development of cooperation. Based on the theories, this paper put forward the main connotation of cooperation capacity structure, building capability evaluation system, clearing affect the stability of the key indicators of cooperation, exploring the relationship between cooperation agents’ capability structure and cooperative stability in order to study the whole process of international energy cooperation fluctuations trajectory.


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