Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization is an important risk factor for community and nosocomial infection. Despite the importance of S. aureus to human health, molecular mechanisms and host factors influencing nasal colonization are not well understood. To identify host factors contributing to nasal colonization, we collected human nasal secretions and analyzed their ability to promote S. aur...

Members of the RNaseA family are present in various tissues and secretions but their function is not well understood. Some of the RNases are proposed to participate in host defence. RNase4 and RNase5 are present in cows' milk and have antimicrobial activity. However, their presence in many tissues and secretions has not been characterised. We hypothesised that these two RNases are present in a ...

Introduction: Wounded warriors recovering from blast injuries face wound healing challenges rarely encountered within the civilian population. The need to reconstruct an individual’s muscle, skin, or bone on a massive scale has pushed the boundaries of our understanding of the biological signaling that underlies the healing process. Even the healing of a simple cut is an incredibly complex ende...

a polyamine-formaldehyde resin (Amberlite IR-4) as an anion exchange resin on the gastric secretions of rats. The acid neutralizing characteristics of the resin suggested its trial in the treatment of peptic ulcer but the large volume required to remove clinical amounts of acid from solution rendered its use impractical, even though feeding experiments showed the substance to be innocuous. Howe...

The present study was planned to test the efficacy of Moringa oleifera on undesirable skin sebum secreted by sebaceous glands during winter season in humans. For this purpose, an extract of Moringa leaves was prepared due to strong antioxidant activity. 3% Moringa leaves extract was incorporated in active cream and the base was without extract. The study was conducted during the winter season (...

During their long, approximately 350 million-year period of coexistence, plants, insects, and other arthropods evolved a variety of different interactions (Gatehouse, 2002). Some interactions can be beneficial for the plant, as in the case of insect-mediated pollination or seed dispersion, and others are deleterious, as in the case of attack by herbivorous insects (Fig. 1). To successfully comb...

This review focuses on the proteins and secretions of sedentary plant parasitic nematodes potentially important for plant-nematode interactions. These nematodes are well equipped for parasitism of plants. Having acquired the ability to manipulate fundamental aspects of plant biology, they are able to hijack host-cell development to make their feeding site. They feed exclusively from feeding sit...

The concept of plant venereal disease is examined from definitional, operational and axiomatic viewpoints. The transmission of many plant pathogens occurs during the flowering phase and is effected either by pollinators or by wind dispersal of spores from inflorescences. Attraction of insects by pseudo-flowers or sugary secretions also serves to spread many diseases. Given the diversity of proc...

alkaloids (PAs) by leaf beetles of the genus Platyphora were investigated. Tracer experiments with labeled alkaloids were performed with P. eucosma feeding on Koanophyllon panamense (Asteraceae, tribe Eupatorieae). P. eucosma catalyzes the same reactions previously demonstrated for P. boucardi specialized to Prestonia portobellensis (Apocynaceae): (i) epimerization of rinderine to intermedine; ...

Plant-herbivore interactions dominate the planet's terrestrial ecology. When it comes to host-plant specialization, insects are among the most versatile evolutionary innovators, able to disarm multiple chemical plant defenses. Sequestration is a widespread strategy to detoxify noxious metabolites, frequently for the insect's own benefit against predation. In this study, we describe the broad-sp...