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Correction to: The Journal of Antibiotics (2013) 66, 89–95; doi:10.1038/ja.2012.102; published online 5 December 2012 The authors of the above Article noted an error in publication of this paper in Figures 2, 3 and 5, whereby the wrong bond was used to show the configuration of C-19 in macrolactin X(1).

An emerging body of research shows that perceived discrimination adversely influences the mental health of minority populations, but is it also deleterious to physical health? If yes, can marriage buffer the effect of perceived discrimination on physical health? We address these questions with data from Puerto Rican and Mexican American residents of Chicago. Multivariate regression analyses reveal that perceived discrimination is associated with more physical health problems for both Puerto Rican and Mexican Americans. In addition, an interaction effect between marital status and perceived discrimination was observed: married Mexican Americans with higher perceived discrimination had fewer physical health problems than their unmarried counterparts even after adjusting for differential effects of marriage by nativity. The findings reveal that perceived discrimination is detrimental to the physical health of both Puerto Rican and Mexican Americans, but that the stress-buffering effect of marriage on physical health exists for Mexican Americans only.

Compared with the relationship between neighborhood-level residential segregation and physical health of Hispanic Americans, less is known about how neighborhood residential segregation affects mental health. This study examines if, and how, neighborhood residential segregation is associated with the mental health of Puerto Rican and Mexican Americans in Chicago. Multilevel analyses reveal that neighborhood residential segregation is positively associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety in both groups. Neighborhood segregation, however, has more salient effects on the mental health of Mexican Americans. For Puerto Rican Americans, the effects of neighborhood segregation on mental health become nonsignificant after controlling for neighborhood-level income and individual-level covariates, whereas neighborhood segregation is strongly associated with the mental health of Mexican Americans even after controlling for other covariates. These findings show that living in a Mexican American-dominated community is not beneficial to mental health, in contrast to findings for physical health shown in previous studies.

Living alone has been considered to be an important and negative predictor of life satisfaction in older adults. Less is, however, known if and how the transition to living alone makes changes in the life satisfaction of older adults, and whether it has differential effects across men and women. The 2006 (wave 1) and 2008 (wave 2) Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) is used to examine the relationships between living arrangements, along with the transition to living alone, and life satisfaction as well as gender differences. Residualized regression analyses demonstrate that Korean older adults who experienced a transition to living alone between waves 1 and 2 had a lower level of life satisfaction than those who remained living with someone at wave 2 even after controlling for their economic situation and health status at wave 2 and life satisfaction at wave 1. The effect of the transition to living alone, however, becomes non-significant after controlling for spousal loss between waves 1 and 2. Examining the interaction effects between living arrangements and gender also shows that the transition to living alone does not have a significant differential effect between men and women, but living alone at both waves is more harmful to men than to women. These findings suggest that older Korean men are more vulnerable when it comes to living alone for a prolonged period than women are. Older women might adjust better to a new living environment after the transition to living alone than men

The purpose of this pilot study was to compare proliferation, collagen synthesis, and growth factor production, which are important contributing factors for wound healing, of the bone marrow stromal cells (BSCs) with those of dermal fibroblasts in vitro. Cultured human BSCs and dermal fibroblasts from the same patients were seeded in 96-well culture plates. At 1, 3, and 5 days postincubating, cell proliferation, collagen synthesis, and secretion of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and transforming growth factor beta (TFG-beta) were compared. We did not observe great differences in cell proliferation and TFG-beta secretion. In contrast, the amount of collagen synthesis and the levels of the bFGF and the VEGF were much higher in the BSC group than the fibroblast group at each time interval (P0.05). Our results suggest that the BSCs may have superior potential to accelerate wound healing than the fibroblasts.

Fermentation of a bacterium Bacillus subtilis isolated from the marine sediment sample collected at Gageocho, Republic of Korea in sea water based modified Bennett’s medium followed by double ethyl acetate (EA) extraction of the supernatant, sequential fractionations and purifications afforded three new glycosylated methoxymacrolactins (13). The characterization of these compounds was achieved by various spectroscopic techniques including HRESIMS and extensive 1D and 2D NMR data analyses. The stereoconfiguration was assigned based on the chemical derivatization studies and literature data reviews. Methoxymacrolactins were found to exhibit good antimicrobial properties when tested against bacteria and fungi. But, these compounds did not display any antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium falciparum (D10). INTRODUCTION To date, a number of pharmaceutically active compounds have been isolated from marine organisms and associated microorganisms with varying degrees of action, such as antibacterial, antifungal, anti-tumor, anti-cancer, anti-viral, cytotoxic, and immunosuppressive. Drug discovery research from marine organisms adjacent to terrestrial sources is increasing day by day and involves interdisciplinary research including biochemistry, biology, ecology, organic chemistry and pharmacology. Moreover, as the emergence of drug resistant pathogens is increasing enormously, there is a continuing interest on the microbial products by the pharmaceutical as well as agrochemical industries in the development of new therapeutic agents. Macrolactins are a group of 24-membered macrolides possessing potent antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities. Most of these macrolactins were derived as secondary metabolites from the marine microorganisms, while several of them were produced by some soil microorganisms as well. We have focused our attention on the isolation and biological activity investigation of secondary metabolites from the strain 109GGC020 that revealed 100% 16S rRNA sequencing similarity to B. subtilis. This bacterium was found to produce antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral compounds like peptides, macrolides, and unsaturated fatty acids. We found from these reviews that varieties of bioactive compounds have been isolated from the culture of the species B. subtilis at variable conditions and collected from different origins, which inspired us to advance further study on this species. And, in the course of our study three new glycosylated methoxymacrolactins (13) were isolated and revealed as good antimicrobial agents.

Reference ranges of standard experimental parameters are useful for comparisons in toxicology. The aim of this study was to collect data from 13-week repeated toxicity studies in Crl:CD (SD) rats, a strain widely used for toxicity and efficacy research, for establishing domestic reference values. Data on body weight, food consumption; urinalysis, hematological, and blood biochemical parameters; and organ weights were collected from 11 toxicity studies in 220 Crl:CD (SD) rats (110 males and 110 females). The studies had been performed at a single testing facility over the last 5 years and involved animals sourced from a single breeder. The findings were collated as means, standard deviations, percentages, and ranges. Urine volume, uterus weight, eosinophil, and basophil counts, and triglyceride, total bilirubin, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels showed standard deviations of 30% or more. These historical control data would help to interpret the effects of test substances in routine toxicity and efficacy studies.