Global overview of the management of acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic (CHOLECOVID study)

Background: This study provides a global overview of the management of patients with acute cholecystitis during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: CHOLECOVID is an international, multicentre, observational comparative study of patients admitted to hospital with acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on management were collected for a 2-month study interval coincident with the WHO declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and compared with an equivalent pre-pandemic time interval. Mediation analysis examined the influence of SARS-COV-2 infection on 30-day mortality. Results: This study collected data on 9783 patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to 247 hospitals across the world. The pandemic was associated with reduced availability of surgical workforce and operating facilities globally, a significant shift to worse severity of disease, and increased use of conservative management. There was a reduction (both absolute and proportionate) in the number of patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 3095 patients (56.2 per cent) pre-pandemic to 1998 patients (46.2 per cent) during the pandemic but there was no difference in 30-day all-cause mortality after cholecystectomy comparing the pre-pandemic interval with the pandemic (13 patients (0.4 per cent) pre-pandemic to 13 patients (0.6 per cent) pandemic; P = 0.355). In mediation analysis, an admission with acute cholecystitis during the pandemic was associated with a non-significant increased risk of death (OR 1.29, 95 per cent c.i. 0.93 to 1.79, P = 0.121). Conclusion: CHOLECOVID provides a unique overview of the treatment of patients with cholecystitis across the globe during the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study highlights the need for system resilience in retention of elective surgical activity. Cholecystectomy was associated with a low risk of mortality and deferral of treatment results in an increase in avoidable morbidity that represents the non-COVID cost of this pandemic

Glycosylated yellow laccases of the basidiomycete Stropharia aeruginosa

Here we describe the identification, purification and characterisation of glycosylated yellow laccase proteins from the basidiomycete fungus Stropharia aeruginosa. Biochemical characterisation of two yellow laccases, Yellp and Yel3p, show that they are both secreted, monomeric, N-glycosylated proteins of molecular weight around 55 kDa with substrate specificities typical of laccases, but lacking the absorption band at 612 nm typical of the blue laccase proteins. Low coverage, high throughput 454 transcriptome sequencing in combination with inverse-PCR was used to identify cDNA sequences. One of the cDNA sequences has been assigned to the Yell p protein on the basis of identity between the translated protein sequence and the peptide data from the purified protein, and the full length gene sequence has been obtained. Biochemical properties, substrate specificities and protein sequence data have been used to discuss the unusual spectroscopic properties of S. aeruginosa proteins in the context of recent theories about the differences between yellow and blue laccases. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000336464600001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Biotechnology & Applied MicrobiologySCI(E)[email protected]

Spatial scale modulates stochastic and deterministic influence on biogeography of photosynthetic biofilms in Southeast Asian hot springs

Abstract Hot springs, with their well-characterized major abiotic variables and island-like habitats, are ideal systems for studying microbial biogeography. Photosynthetic biofilms are a major biological feature of hot springs but despite this large-scale studies are scarce, leaving critical questions about the drivers of spatial turnover unanswered. Here, we analysed 395 photosynthetic biofilms from neutral-alkaline hot springs (39–66 °C, pH 6.4–9.0) across a 2100 km latitudinal gradient in Southeast Asia. The Cyanobacteria-dominated communities were categorized into six biogeographic regions, each characterized by a distinct core microbiome and biotic interactions. We observed a significant decline in the explanatory power of major abiotic variables with increasing spatial scale, from 62.6% locally, 55% regionally, to 26.8% for the inter-regional meta-community. Statistical null models revealed that deterministic environmental filtering predominated at local and regional scales, whereas stochastic ecological drift was more influential at the inter-regional scale. These findings enhance our understanding of the differential contribution of ecological drivers and highlight the importance of spatial scale in shaping biogeographic distributions for microorganisms