Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection are often non-specific, and there is no definitive test for the accurate diagnosis of infection. The 'omics' approaches to identifying biomarkers from the host-response to bacterial infection are promising. In this study, lipidomic analysis was carried out with plasma samples obtained from febrile children with confirmed bacterial infection (n = 20) and confirmed viral infection (n = 20). We show for the first time that bacterial and viral infection produces distinct profile in the host lipidome. Some species of glycerophosphoinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol sulfate were higher in the confirmed virus infected group, while some species of fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, glycerophosphoserine, lactosylceramide and bilirubin were lower in the confirmed virus infected group when compared with confirmed bacterial infected group. A combination of three lipids achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.911 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.98). This pilot study demonstrates the potential of metabolic biomarkers to assist clinicians in distinguishing bacterial from viral infection in febrile children, to facilitate effective clinical management and to the limit inappropriate use of antibiotics

Identification of regulatory variants associated with genetic susceptibility to meningococcal disease.

Non-coding genetic variants play an important role in driving susceptibility to complex diseases but their characterization remains challenging. Here, we employed a novel approach to interrogate the genetic risk of such polymorphisms in a more systematic way by targeting specific regulatory regions relevant for the phenotype studied. We applied this method to meningococcal disease susceptibility, using the DNA binding pattern of RELA - a NF-kB subunit, master regulator of the response to infection - under bacterial stimuli in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. We designed a custom panel to cover these RELA binding sites and used it for targeted sequencing in cases and controls. Variant calling and association analysis were performed followed by validation of candidate polymorphisms by genotyping in three independent cohorts. We identified two new polymorphisms, rs4823231 and rs11913168, showing signs of association with meningococcal disease susceptibility. In addition, using our genomic data as well as publicly available resources, we found evidences for these SNPs to have potential regulatory effects on ATXN10 and LIF genes respectively. The variants and related candidate genes are relevant for infectious diseases and may have important contribution for meningococcal disease pathology. Finally, we described a novel genetic association approach that could be applied to other phenotypes

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection ar

Morphometric and Structural Properties of a Sustainable Plant Biomass with Water Purification Potentials

The leaf, stem, and root of wild sesame with eco-physiological functions of water and mineral sorption were targeted for water treatment. Morphometric properties of the plant sections were investigated by light microscopy. Structural and surface characteristics of pulverized samples were studied by thermogravimetry (TGA), Raman spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and Scanning electron microscopy. Wettability and sorption potentials were studied by sessile drop analysis, while a methylene blue dye polluted water treated with the plant’s sorbents was assessed by UV–Vis spectroscopy. The presence of parenchyma cells, trichomes, vessels, fibres, cellulose, lignin, and other pore-containing structures was confirmed. The stem and root biomasses possessed comparatively higher pore sizes (0.011 and 0.124 µm, respectively), surface energy (33.32 and 31.8 mN/m), and dispersive components (32.45 and 31.65 mN/m). The leaf was high in polar components and had a biomass surface area of 3.19 m2/g. Water treated with the root and stem sorbents gave the lowest dye concentration (0.19 mg/L and 0.20 mg/L, respectively) in treated effluent at 120 mins. It was noted that eco-physiological properties informed water purification potentials of the sampled biomasses and could be used for bioprospecting of useful plant materials for water purification. This study established that functional components of plants, porous characteristics, and surface properties of the materials studied are important factors when considering plant sorbents for water purification