The role of pneumococcal surface protein C (PspC; also called SpsA, CbpA, and Hic) in sepsis by Streptococcus pneumoniae was investigated in a murine infection model. The pspC gene was deleted in strains D39 (type 2) and A66 (type 3), and the mutants were tested by being injected intravenously into mice. The animals infected with the mutant strains showed a significant increase in survival, wit...

OBJECTIVES Polyphenol supplementation was tested as a countermeasure to inflammation and oxidative stress induced by 3-d intensified training. METHODS Water soluble polyphenols from blueberry and green tea extracts were captured onto a polyphenol soy protein complex (PSPC). Subjects were recruited, and included 38 long-distance runners ages 19-45 years who regularly competed in road races. Ru...

A questionnaire survey of 22 selected transfemoral amputees who were switched from pneumatic swing phase control knee joints (PSPC) to microprocessor controlled intelligent knee joints (IP) is presented. On overall rating all respondents considered the IP to be an improvement or a great improvement compared to the PSPC and none decided to revert back or wished to use their previous PSPC prosthe...

Today, an ethnobotanical approach makes sense for identifying new active bioactive chemicals from uses of indigenous plants. Two water-soluble enriched polysaccharide fractions (L-PSPN and S-PSPN) were extracted by hot water extraction the leaves seeds Plantago ciliata Desf. (1798), a Mzab herb currently used in Algeria traditional healers. Primary investigation was performed describing main st...

The phage-shock-protein (Psp) response maintains the proton-motive force (pmf) under extracytoplasmic stress conditions that impair the inner membrane (IM) in bacterial cells. In Escherichia coli transcription of the pspABCDE and pspG genes requires activation of σ(54)-RNA polymerase by the enhancer-binding protein PspF. A regulatory network comprising PspF-A-C-B-ArcB controls psp expression. O...

Pneumococcal surface protein C (PspC) binds to both human secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and complement factor H (FH). FH, a regulator of the alternative pathway of complement, can also mediate adherence of different host cells. Since PspC contributes to adherence and invasion of host cells, we hypothesized that the interaction of PspC with FH may also mediate adherence of pneumococci to hum...

The expression of lacZ has been analyzed and compared in a series of promoter cloning vectors by measuring the amount of lacZ mRNA by hybridization and the amount of beta-galactosidase by standard enzymatic assay. Expression was driven by the promoter, Pspc, of the spc ribosomal protein operon. The vectors contained either the standard W205 trp-lac fusion with the trp operon transcription termi...

Current global efforts are focused on exploring alternative pneumococcal vaccine strategies, aimed at addressing the shortcomings of existing formulations, without compromising efficacy. One such strategy involves the use of one or more pneumococcal protein antigens common to all serotypes, to provide cheap, non-serotype-dependent protection. In this study, we evaluated the protective efficacy ...

An excess over the extrapolation to the extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray ranges of the thermal emission from the hot intracluster medium has been detected in a number of clusters of galaxies. We briefly present each of the satellites (EUVE, ROSAT PSPC and BeppoSAX, and presently XMM-Newton, Chandra and Suzaku) and their corresponding instrumental issues, which are responsible for the fact tha...