Complication of Salmonella Bacteremia in a Case of Treated Fungal Endophthalmitis

This is to report a case of bacteremia caused by Salmonella typhi in a treated unilateral fungal endogenous endophthalmitis in an 18-year-old male from one of the South Asian countries. Microbiological and molecular investigations were carried out on the eviscerated material and routine blood culture was carried out. Direct examination of eviscerated material revealed the presence of fungal filaments. However, Salmonella typhi was isolated from both specimens, which was confirmed by Polymerase chain reaction targeting the 16SrRNA gene, sequencing, and random amplification of polymorphic DNA showed that they belonged to the same clone. The presence of Salmonella bacteremia in a treated unilateral fungal endophthalmitis, among young adult patients is rare and systemic symptoms should be investigated

Comparing inclination-dependent analyses of kilonova transients

The detection of the optical transient AT2017gfo proved that binary neutron star mergers are progenitors of kilonovae (KNe).Using a combination of numerical-relativity and radiative-transfer simulations, the community has developed sophisticated models for these transients for a wide portion of the expected parameter space. Using these simulations and surrogate models made from them, it has been possible to perform Bayesian inference of the observed signals to infer properties of the ejected matter. It has been pointed out that combining inclination constraints derived from the KN with gravitational-wavemeasurements increases the accuracy with which binary parameters can be estimated, in particular breaking the distance-inclination degeneracy from gravitational wave inference. To avoid bias from the unknown ejecta geometry, constraints on the inclination angle for AT2017gfo should be insensitive to the employed models. In this work, we compare different assumptions about the ejecta and radiative reprocesses used by the community and we investigate their impact on the parameter inference. While most inferred parameters agree, we find disagreement between posteriors for the inclination angle for different geometries that have been used in the current literature. According to our study, the inclusion of reprocessing of the photons between different ejecta types improves the modeling fits to AT2017gfo and, in some cases, affects the inferred constraints. Our study motivates the inclusion of large ~1-mag uncertainties in the KN models employed for Bayesian analysis to capture yet unknown systematics, especially when inferring inclination angles, although smaller uncertainties seem appropriate to capture model systematics for other intrinsic parameters. We can use this method to impose soft constraints on the ejecta geometry of the KN AT2017gfo

A new measurement of the Hubble constant using Type Ia supernovae calibrated with surface brightness fluctuations

We present a new calibration of the peak absolute magnitude of SNe Type Ia based on the Surface Brightness Fluctuations (SBF) method, aimed at measuring the value of the Hubble constant. We build a sample of calibrating anchors consisting of 24 SNe hosted in galaxies having SBF distance measurements. Applying a hierarchical Bayesian approach, we calibrate the SNe luminosity and extend it into the Hubble flow by using a sample of 96 SNe Ia in the redshift range $0.02 < z < 0.075$, extracted from the Combined Pantheon Sample. We estimate a value of $H_0 = 70.50 \pm 2.37(stat) \pm 3.38(sys)$ $\text{km}\ \text{s}^{-1}\ \text{Mpc}^{-1}$(i.e.$3.4\% stat, 4.8\% sys$), which is in agreement with the value obtained using the tip of the red giant branch calibration, and consistent within the errors with the value obtained from SNe Type Ia calibrated with Cepheids and the one inferred from the analysis of the cosmic microwave background. We find that the SNe Ia distance moduli calibrated with SBF are on average larger by 0.07 mag than the ones calibrated with Cepheids. Our results point to possible differences among SNe in different types of galaxies, which could originate from different local environments and/or SNe Ia progenitor properties. Sampling different host galaxy type, SBF offers a complementary approach to Cepheids which is important in addressing possible systematics. As the SBF method has the ability to reach larger distances than Cepheids, the impending entry of LSST and JWST into operation will increase the number of SNe Ia hosted in galaxies where SBF distances can be measured, making SBF measurements attractive for improving the calibration of SNe Ia, and in the estimation of$H_0$.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, 9 tables. Comments are very welcom

Ciprofloxacin, diclofenac, ibuprofen and 17α-ethinylestradiol differentially affect the activity of acetogens and methanogens in anaerobic communities

Pharmaceutical compounds end up in wastewater treatment plants but little is known on their effect towards the different microbial groups in anaerobic communities. In this work, the effect of the antibiotic Ciprooxacin (CIP), the non-steroidal anti-inammatory drugs Diclofenac (DCF) and Ibuprofen (IBP), and the hormone 17-ethinylestradiol (EE2), on the activity of acetogens and methanogens in anaerobic communities, was investigated. Microbial communities were more affected by CIP, followed by EE2, DCF and IBP, but the response of the different microbial groups was dissimilar. For concentrations of 0.01 to 0.1 mg/L, the specic methanogenic activity was not affected. Acetogenic bacteria were sensitive to CIP concentrations above 1 mg/L, while DCF and EE2 toxicity was only detected for concentrations higher than 10 mg/L, and IBP had no effect in all concentrations tested. Acetoclastic methanogens showed higher sensitivity to the presence of these micropollutants, being affect by all the tested pharmaceutical compounds although at different degrees. Hydrogenotrophic methanogens were not affected by any concentration, indicating their lower sensitivity to these compounds when compared to acetoclasts and acetogens.e Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2019 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Ana Rita Silva holds a Grant from FCT, reference SFRH/BD/131905/2017info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bi-directional cell-pericellular matrix interactions direct stem cell fate

Modifiable hydrogels have revealed tremendous insight into how physical characteristics of cells’ 3D environment drive stem cell lineage specification. However, in native tissues, cells do not passively receive signals from their niche. Instead they actively probe and modify their pericellular space to suit their needs, yet the dynamics of cells’ reciprocal interactions with their pericellular environment when encapsulated within hydrogels remains relatively unexplored. Here, we show that human bone marrow stromal cells (hMSC) encapsulated within hyaluronic acid-based hydrogels modify their surroundings by synthesizing, secreting and arranging proteins pericellularly or by degrading the hydrogel. hMSC’s interactions with this local environment have a role in regulating hMSC fate, with a secreted proteinaceous pericellular matrix associated with adipogenesis, and degradation with osteogenesis. Our observations suggest that hMSC participate in a bi-directional interplay between the properties of their 3D milieu and their own secreted pericellular matrix, and that this combination of interactions drives fate