Detection of Neisseria meningitidis and unknown Gammaproteobacteria in cerebrospinal fluid using the two-step universal method

Bacterial meningitis is insufficiently diagnosed based on microscopic, cultural, and multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR). The use of already established universal method (UM) offers the ultimate solution to the detection and potential identification of bacteria in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. We have applied the UM together with a newly established Anchored Multiplex PCR (AMD4; Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Listeria monocytogenes) to screen 130 CSF samples obtained from suspected meningitis cases for any bacterium. This two-stage UM approach was able to show that three of the samples contained bacterial DNA, only one of the three samples (K1) was shown to contain N. meningitidis whereas the other two samples (A35 and H1) were negative with AMD4. Nucleotide sequencing and BLAST analyses of 16S amplicons obtained by the UM from samples A35 and H1 showed no significant homology (<90%) to any available 16S sequence, yet indicated both bacteria (A35 and H1) to share 94.2% similarity. Both bacteria belonged to Gammaproteobacteria. The bacterium from sample K1 was isolated by culture and identified as N. meningitidis. The other two samples were negative by culture according to the clinical laboratories at both hospitals; A35 was from a patient who had received empirical antimicrobial therapy prior to sample collection. The remaining 127 samples were shown by the UM to be negative in accordance with clinical and laboratory findings. The UM can contribute significantly to the identification of bacterial meningitis cases to initiate empirical antimicrobial therapy within 3 h of sample collection. Simultaneously, bacterial meningitis can be ruled out from samples producing negative UM results. AMD4 application will detect and identify the major pathogens of bacterial meningitis whereas the UM will detect any bacterium, UM can potentially identify any bacterium as long as it is represented in the nucleotide databases; if not represented, it is labeled as unknown. We recommend the utilization of the UM in clinical testing; we also recommend culturing, characterization and identification of these unknown bacterial agents of meningitis as well as others.We would like to thank the Administrations, Doctors, and Nurses and meningitis patients of The Alia Hospital, Al-Ahli Hospital, and The Caritas Hospital, West Bank, Palestine for their unwavering support and help in collecting CSF samples used in this study

On the Diffraction Model Approach to Cluster Stripping Nuclear Reactions

Abstract. In this study, the diffraction model is employed to study the clus-ter stripping nuclear reaction on the basis of the Regge-pole method. A for-mula for the angular distribution is derived. The angular distribution spectra for the cluster stripping nuclear reactions 40Ca(3He,p)42Sc, 40Ca(t, p)42Ca and 54Fe(t, p)56Fe at various energies have been well reproduced with projectile energies varying between 10 MeV and 15 MeV. The predicted theoretical re-sults for the cluster stripping reactions 40Ca(3He,p)42Sc with 10 MeV, 12 MeV and 15 MeV incident 3He; 40Ca(t, p)42Ca with 10.1 MeV incident triton; and 54Fe(t, p)56Fe with 12 MeV incident triton were compared with the experimen-tal data and good agreement was observed. Also a comparison between the diffraction model prediction of the angular distribution values for the cluster stripping reaction 40Ca(3He,p)42Sc at energy 12 MeV of 3He and that of the distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) is implemented and a satisfactory agreement between the two methods has been attained. PACS number: 24.10.Ht

Effect of protonation state and N-acetylation of chitosan on its interaction with xanthan gum: a molecular dynamics simulation study

Hydrophilic matrices composed of chitosan (CS) and xanthan gum (XG) complexes are of pharmaceutical interest in relation to drug delivery due to their ability to control the release of active ingredients. Molecular dynamics simulations (MDs) have been performed in order to obtain information pertaining to the effect of the state of protonation and degree of N-acetylation (DA) on the molecular conformation of chitosan and its ability to interact with xanthan gum in aqueous solutions. The conformational flexibility of CS was found to be highly dependent on its state of protonation. Upon complexation with XG, a substantial restriction in free rotation around the glycosidic bond was noticed in protonated CS dimers regardless of their DA, whereas deprotonated molecules preserved their free mobility. Calculated values for the free energy of binding between CS and XG revealed the dominant contribution of electrostatic forces on the formation of complexes and that the most stable complexes were formed when CS was at least half-protonated and the DA was ≤50%. The results obtained provide an insight into the main factors governing the interaction between CS and XG, such that they can be manipulated accordingly to produce complexes with the desired controlled-release effect

Synthesis, physicochemical, conformation and quantum calculation of novel N-(1-(4-bromothiophen-2-yl)ethylidene)-2-(piperazin-1-yl)ethanamine Schiff base

N-(1-(4-bromothiophen-2-yl)ethylidene)-2-(piperazin-1-yl)ethanamine Schiff base ligand was prepared in very good yield by condensation of equimolar amounts of 1-(4-bromothiophen-2-yl)ethanone with 2-(piperazin-1-yl)ethanamine under reflux condition using alcohol media. The desired Schiff base was analyzed on the basis of its MS, elemental analysis, UV-visible, FT-IR and NMR analysis. The E and Z optimization was performed to figure out the most stable isomer. Several DFT quantum calculation like: TD-SCF, MPE, IR-vibration, NMR, Mulliken population were carried out by B3LYP level of theory. The experimental analyses of the compound were compared to their theoretical coordinates

Mouse genome-wide association and systems genetics identifies Lhfp as a regulator of bone mass.

Bone mineral density (BMD) is a strong predictor of osteoporotic fracture. It is also one of the most heritable disease-associated quantitative traits. As a result, there has been considerable effort focused on dissecting its genetic basis. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a panel of inbred strains to identify associations influencing BMD. This analysis identified a significant (P = 3.1 x 10-12) BMD locus on Chromosome [email protected] Mbp that replicated in two separate inbred strain panels and overlapped a BMD quantitative trait locus (QTL) previously identified in a F2 intercross. The association mapped to a 300 Kbp region containing four genes; Gm2447, Gm20750, Cog6, and Lhfp. Further analysis found that Lipoma HMGIC Fusion Partner (Lhfp) was highly expressed in bone and osteoblasts. Furthermore, its expression was regulated by a local expression QTL (eQTL), which overlapped the BMD association. A co-expression network analysis revealed that Lhfp was strongly connected to genes involved in osteoblast differentiation. To directly evaluate its role in bone, Lhfp deficient mice (Lhfp-/-) were created using CRISPR/Cas9. Consistent with genetic and network predictions, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) from Lhfp-/- mice displayed increased osteogenic differentiation. Lhfp-/- mice also had elevated BMD due to increased cortical bone mass. Lastly, we identified SNPs in human LHFP that were associated (P = 1.2 x 10-5) with heel BMD. In conclusion, we used GWAS and systems genetics to identify Lhfp as a regulator of osteoblast activity and bone mass

Modeling solar zenith angle effects on the polar wind

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95680/1/jgra21673.pd

The red leg dilemma: a scoping review of the challenges of diagnosing lower limb cellulitis

Background: Suspected lower limb cellulitis presentations are commonly misdiagnoses, resulting in avoidable antibiotic prescribing or hospital admissions. Understanding the challenges posed in diagnosing cellulitis may help enhance future care.Objectives: To examine and map out the challenges and facilitators identified by patients and health professionals in diagnosing lower limb cellulitis.Methods: A scoping systematic review was performed in MEDLINE and Embase in October 2017. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes. Quantitative data was summarised by narrative synthesis.Results: Three themes were explored: (i) clinical case reports of misdiagnosis, (ii) service development and (iii) diagnostic aids. Forty‐seven different pathologies were misdiagnosed, including seven malignancies. Two different services have been piloted to reduce the misdiagnosis rates of lower limb cellulitis and save costs. Four studies have looked at biochemical markers, imaging and a scoring tool to aid diagnosis.Conclusions: This review highlights the range of alternative pathologies that can be misdiagnosed as cellulitis, and emerging services and diagnostic aids developed to minimise misdiagnosis. Future work should focus on gaining a greater qualitative understanding of the diagnostic challenges from the perspective of patients and clinicians.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved