Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections pose a serious health threat. Bacteriophage-antibiotic combination therapy is a promising candidate for combating these infections. A 5-phage P. aeruginosa cocktail, PAM2H, was tested in combination with antibiotics (ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, meropenem) to determine if PAM2H enhances antibiotic activity. Combination treatment in vitro resulted in a significant increase in susceptibility of MDR strains to antibiotics. Treatment with ceftazidime (CAZ), meropenem, gentamicin, or ciprofloxacin in the presence of the phage increased the number of P. aeruginosa strains susceptible to these antibiotics by 63%, 56%, 31%, and 81%, respectively. Additionally, in a mouse dorsal wound model, seven of eight mice treated with a combination of CAZ and PAM2H for three days had no detectable bacteria remaining in their wounds on day 4, while all mice treated with CAZ or PAM2H alone had ~107 colony forming units (CFU) remaining in their wounds. P. aeruginosa recovered from mouse wounds post-treatment showed decreased virulence in a wax worm model, and DNA sequencing indicated that the combination treatment prevented mutations in genes encoding known phage receptors. Treatment with PAM2H in combination with antibiotics resulted in the re-sensitization of P. aeruginosa to antibiotics in vitro and a synergistic reduction in bacterial burden in vivo.Plants are continuously subjected to the unfavorable impact of abiotic stress factors, of which soil salinity is among the most adverse. Although away from direct soil contact throughout most of their lifecycle, stem parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta, family Convolvulaceae are also affected by salinity. The present study aimed to assess salt stress impact on germination and early establishment of three Cuscuta species, in comparison to related nonparasitic vines of the same family. It was found, that Cuscuta spp. are highly sensitive to NaCl concentration within the range of 200 mM. Germination was delayed in time and reduced by nearly 70%, accompanied by decrease in further seedling growth, ability to infect host plants and growth rate of established parasites. The nonparasitic vines showed similar sensitivity to salinity at germination level, but appeared to adapt better after the stress factor was removed. However, the negative effect of salinity did not fully prevent some of the Cuscuta species from infecting hosts, probably a beneficial characteristic at a species level, allowing the parasite to successfully thrive under the scarce host availability under saline conditions.Plastid inheritance in angiosperms is presumed to be largely maternal, with the potential to inherit plastids biparentally estimated for about 20% of species. In Passiflora, maternal, paternal and biparental inheritance has been reported; however, these studies were limited in the number of crosses and progeny examined. To improve the understanding of plastid transmission in Passiflora, the progeny of 45 interspecific crosses were analyzed in the three subgenera Passiflora, Decaloba and Astrophea. Plastid types were assessed following restriction digestion of PCR amplified plastid DNA in hybrid embryos, cotyledons and leaves at different developmental stages. Clade-specific patterns of inheritance were detected such that hybrid progeny from subgenera Passiflora and Astrophea predominantly inherited paternal plastids with occasional incidences of maternal inheritance, whereas subgenus Decaloba showed predominantly maternal and biparental inheritance. Biparental plastid inheritance was also detected in some hybrids from subgenus Passiflora. Heteroplasmy due to biparental inheritance was restricted to hybrid cotyledons and first leaves with a single parental plastid type detectable in mature plants. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/aristolochic-acid-a.html This indicates that in Passiflora, plastid retention at later stages of plant development may not reflect the plastid inheritance patterns in embryos. Passiflora exhibits diverse patterns of plastid inheritance, providing an excellent system to investigate underlying mechanisms in angiosperms.In the current global context, cellulose fulfills those characteristics that give it clear advantages over synthetic fibers, having a huge potential for substituting fossil-based materials which are polluting and harmful to ecosystems. Research conducted in most laboratories around the world in the field of cellulose is overwhelmingly aimed at industrial needs because features such as renewability and low cost are the most important attributes for economic success. In this global effort, Romanian researchers contribute through achievements that are briefly reviewed in this paper. These refer to the main achievements reported after 2000 in the field of cellulose characterization and cellulose functionalization, as well as the main areas where cellulose-based materials were applied.Primary aorto-enteric fistula (AEF) resulting from abdominal malignancy is a rare and often fatal complication. The few reports to date are mostly secondary to solid tumors. We present a case of a patient with refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma who developed life-threatening AEF. We describe the diagnostic and therapeutic efforts, requiring a multi-disciplinary team of interventional radiology, gastroenterology, and transfusion medicine, resulting in a favorable outcome. Importantly, we offer several insights regarding the identification and management of high-risk patients, with an emphasis on pre-treatment considerations and urgent diagnosis and intervention.Background and Objectives There is an increasing focus on the effect of the gut microbiome on developing atherosclerosis, but there is still no unified standpoint. We aimed to find associations between intestinal microbiome diversity and a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). Materials and Methods Recruited from the Hungarian Twin Registry, 108 monozygotic (MZ) twins (mean age 52.4 ± 14.1 years, 58% female) underwent a comprehensive carotid ultrasound examination (Samsung RS85). Of the 108 MZ twins, 14 pairs (mean age 65 ± 6.4 years, 71% female) discordant for carotid IMT were selected to undergo a stool sample collection. A special stool sampling container was mailed and received from each participant. After DNA extraction, library construction was performed specifically for the V3-V4 hypervariable region of microbial 16S rRNA. Next, the microbiome composition of the samples was determined using Kraken software. Two hypotheses were tested with the exact permutation test (1) in the group with normal IMT, the Shannon index of the phyla is higher; and (2) the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio is greater in the group with high IMT values.