Staphylococcus epidermidis is an important cause of nosocomial infections. Virulence is attributable to elaboration of biofilms on medical surfaces that protect the organisms from immune system clearance. Even though leukocytes can penetrate biofilms, they fail to phagocytose and kill bacteria. The properties that make biofilm bacteria resistant to the immune system are not well characterized. ...

Colacium vesiculosum (Euglenophyceae) is an epibiont common on planktonic microcrustaceans of continental waters. The interaction between epibionts and substrate organisms is not very well known, particularly in subtropical environments of South America. In the present work, we analyzed the prevalence, density, biomass and attachment sites of C. vesiculosum on planktonic microcrustaceans from P...

Heterocystous, planktonic cyanobacteria capable of fixing atmospheric N2 into available nitrogen (N) are common and critically important to nutrient cycling in many lakes, yet they are rarely observed in estuaries at salinities >10 ppt, even when strongly N limited. In a series of mesocosm experiments using water from Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island), we manipulated top-down (grazing) and bottom...

We determined the assimilation efficiencies (AEs) and efflux rate constants of Cd, Cr, and Se in barnacles Balanus amphitrite feeding on &verse planktonic prey. The measured AEs of Cd, Cr. and Se for zooplankton prey (brine shrimp Artemia salina larvae and copepods Canthocalanuspauper and Temora turbinata) were 53 to 88, 32 to 59, and 63 to 76%, respectively, and for diatom diets were 35 to 86,...

Background & Aims: Microorganisms are protected from antimicrobial agents when placed in biofilm structure. Biofilm-producing microorganisms are responsible for many problems in industry and medicine; therefore, it is essential to find new techniques for removing and inhibiting biofilms. This study aimed to examine the antimicrobial effect of Eucalyptus camaldulensis alcoholic extracts against ...