Metastatic colorectacal carcinoma, associated with pyogenic liver abscess

Introduction: A liver abscess represents capsulated purulent focus in the liver parenchyma, due to bacterial, fungal or parasite invasion. In the recent years their frequency rate related to malignant diseases has increased, including abscesses in liver metastases. Aim: We present four cases of metastatic colorectacal carcinoma, associated with pyogenic liver abscess, which were treated in the Second Department of Surgery, St. Marina University Hospital, Varna.Results:  We registered synchronous metastases and in two patients and the remaining two had metachronous metastases. The average age of our patients was 60 years (range 45-80). The patients were operated on and the following interventions were performed – in one - segmentectomy; in two - liver resection with right hemicolectomy; in one - incision, biopsy and drainage; and in one – percutaneous drainage. We established the following systemic complications: pleural effusion in one patient, in one – arrhythmia, subphrenic abscess – in two patients.  The bacterial strains showed K. pneumoniae  in one patient, two – sterile and in one S. epidermidis.Discussion:  In the recent years a lasting tendency of increasing of the frequency rate of malignant diseases of the GIT has been observed.  The liver abscesses complicating a malignant disease can be treated like an abscess due to benign pathology – via aspiration, drainage and antimicrobial therapy.  Surgical treatment is applied in larger (more than 5 cm) abscesses or with colorectal cancer. The prognosis in these cases is unfavorable due to the malignant diseases and the higher frequency rate of the septic complications

Effect of different light intensities on prolactin and cortisol plasma concentration in farming African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in RAS with low-water exchange

In the Bulgarian aquaculture sector, focusing research efforts on the technical specifications of the cultivation of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) is important due to the need for more information. We aimed to assess the impact of light intensities on prolactin and cortisol levels as stress markers in African catfish. Fish were acclimated over an appropriate period to the short photoperiod (16D and 8L) and then distributed randomly to three groups, each separated by sex. Fish exposed to different light intensities (63, 51, and 40 lux, respectively) were followed for 45 days by lux meter. Blood samples were collected from the caudal vein using a 2 ml K2EDTA-coated syringe. A laser fluorescence reader assayed plasma prolactin and cortisol. The pituitary was removed from anesthetized fish and fixed for histological examinations. The results of our study suggest that increasing light intensity increases prolactin and cortisol levels in African catfish

Revista de información de la Comisión Nacional Española de Cooperación con la UNESCO

Título anterior de la publicación : Boletín de la Comisión Española de la UNESCOSe hace un repaso a la historia de la iconografía religiosa de Bulgaria. A lo largo de los siglos se han ido concibiendo y encontrando multitud de imágenes religiosas así como escenas inspiradas en los temas más importantes de los libros teológicos. En este artículo, se hace una revisión a los hallados en territorio búlgaro, cómo se realizaron, con qué fin, sus características y su conservación.Ministerio Educación CIDEBiblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín, 5 - 3 Planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; [email protected]

PYOGENIC LIVER ABSCESS - ETIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM AND SENSITIVITY TO ANTIBIOTICS

Introduction: Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is a serious challenge in modern medical practice. The aim of this study was to investigate the etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of PLA-associated microbial pathogens, diagnosed in hospitalized patients at St. Marina University Hospital of Varna during the period between 2001 and 2016.Materials and Methods: A total of 84 clinical samples (pus aspirates, n=72, bile samples, n=7, and blood cultures, n=5), collected from PLA patients, hospitalized in the Second Surgery Clinic were analyzed. Species identification was performed by conventional methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility was studied by disk diffusion method and Phoenix 100 (BD). The results were interpreted according to CLSI and EUCAST standards.Results: Causative bacterial agents belonging to 15 different species were isolated in 59 cases (in 70%). E. coli (23.7%), K. pneumoniae (20%), E. cloacae (13.5%), E. faecalis (8.5%), P. mirabilis (5%) and P. aeruginosa (5%) dominated in the etiological spectrum. E. coli demonstrated the following levels of antimicrobial susceptibility: imipenem, amikacin, piperacillin/tazobactam, 100%; ceftazidime, cefepime, 90.9%; cefuroxime, 83.3%; amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 77.8%; gentamicin, 75%; levofloxacin, cefalothin, 66.6%; ciprofloxacin, 63.6%; piperacillin, 58.3%; ampicillin, 45.5%. The following antimicrobial susceptibility rates were determined for K. pneumoniae: imipenem, 100%; amikacin, 92.3%; ceftazidime, cefepime, 80%; cefalothin, cefuroxime, 75%; levofloxacin, gentamicin, 66.6%; ciprofloxacin, 62.5%; piperacillin/tazobactam, 57.1%; piperacillin, 25% and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 22.2%.Conclusions: E. coli and K. pneumonia are the predominant pathogens in PLA patients. Carbapenems are the most active antimicrobial agents followed by ceftazidime and cefepime. In the aminoglycoside group, amikacin demonstrates the best in vitro activity

Piogenic liver abscess in a patient with pre-existing biliary carcinoma

Пиогенният чернодробен абсцес е сериозен и труден за диагностициране проблем. Едни от най-честите причини за чернодробни абсцеси са бенигнени и малигнени обструкции на били- арното дърво. В наши дни смъртността варира 5-26%. При повече от 90% от пациентите с би- лио-дигестивни анастомози е налице ретроград- но чревно бактериално замърсяване на жлъчни- те пътища. Такова заразяване протича често асимптоматично, но е основен рисков фактор за формирането на чернодробен абсцес след из- вършването на БДА, особено при наличието на туморен процес, ангажиращ дисталната част на жлъчните пътища, който чрез кървене, обра- зуване на зони на некроза и туморен разпад уле- снява възникването и разпространението на ин- фекциозния процесPyogenic liver abscess is a serious and difficult to diagnose problem. One of the most common causes of liver abscesses are benign and malignant obstruction of the biliary tract. Nowadays mortality varies from 5 to 26%. In more than 90% of patients with biliary-en- teric anastomosis there is retrograde intestinal bacte- rial contamination of bile ducts. Such infection often occurs asymptomatically, but is a major risk factor for the formation of a liver abscess after BEA, especial- ly in the presence of a tumor of the distal part of the bile ducts, which by bleeding, necroticareas and tumor breakdown facilitates the onset and spread of the in- fectious proces

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field