Diagnosis of Mycobacterium marinum infection based on photochromogenicity: a case report

A 35-year-old immunocompetent woman from southern China went to the hand surgery clinic with a six-month history of progressive swelling in her right index finger. She had been pinched by a lobster and had received several treatments without any improvement. Pus specimens were taken from the swollen parts of her finger, and the pathology showed granulomatous inflammation. Ziehl–Neelsen staining revealed positive bacillus in the pus specimens. The bacteria grew well on Columbia blood agar. However, the MALDI-TOF MS and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were not able to distinguish between Mycobacterium marinum and Mycobacterium ulcerans because of their close genetic relationship. Photochromogenicity testing can help differentiate between these species based on the alteration in colony color after light exposure. For our patient, the colonies turned yellow after 18h of incubation in the sun, identifying the species as M. marinum. Besides surgical drainage, the patient received rifampicin and clarithromycin for three months, and her symptoms resolved without relapse after six months of follow-up

EGFR exon 19-deletion aberrantly regulate ERCC1 expression that may partly impaired DNA damage repair ability in non-small cell lung cancer

Background Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activating mutations are usually associated with DNA damage repair (DDR) deficiency. However, the precise mechanism has remained elusive. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether EGFR exon 19 deletion mutation downstream signals contributed to DDR deficiency by downregulation of excision repair cross-complementation group-1 (ERCC1), a key factor in DDR, expression and function. Methods We first measured cell survival, DNA damage (gamma-H2AX foci formation) and damage repair (ERCC1 and RAD51 foci formation) ability in response to DNA cross-linking drug in EGFR exon 19 deletion and EGFR wild-type cells separately. We then investigated the involvement of EGFR downstream signals in regulating ERCC1 expression and function in EGFR exon 19 deletion cells as compared with EGFR wild-type ones. Results We observed increased gamma-H2AX, but impaired ERCC1 and RAD51 nuclear foci formation in EGFR exon 19 deletion cells as compared with EGFR wild-type ones treated with DNA cross-linker. In addition, we identified that inhibition of EGFR exon 19 deletion signals increased ERCC1 expression, whereas blocked wild-type EGFR signals decreased ERCC1 expression, on both mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, EGFR exon 19 deletion downstream signals not only inhibited ERCC1 expression but also influenced ERCC1 foci formation in response to DNA cross-linker. Conclusion Our findings indicated that the aberrant EGFR exon 19 deletion signals were not only associated with decreased expression of ERCC1 but were also involved in impaired ERCC1 recruitment in response to DNA cross-link damage, thereby providing us with more evidence for exploring the mechanism of DDR deficiency in EGFR mutant NSCLC.Peer reviewe

ANGIOTENSIN-(1-7)/MAS AXIS AND VASCULAR INFLAMMATION

Atherosclerosis, as a potentially serious condition, has become one of the most prevalent causes of mortality over the world. RAS (Reninangiotensin- system) is recognized to be a key role in the development of atherosclerosis, which considered as a chronic inflammatory disease. Ang II (angiotensin II) is proven to cause atherosclerosis, hypertension and aortic aneurysms. While activation of Mas receptors by Ang-(1-7) [angiotensin-(1- 7)] shows an important role in prevention of atherosclerosis. The activation of Ang-(1-7)/Mas receptor axis counteracts Ang II-induced hypertension, inflammation, fibrosis and apoptosis responses. We have concluded that, the relationship between Ang-(1-7)/Mas axis and vascular inflammation could be the paving-stone of the avoidance and novel treatment for atherosclerosis. The scope of this study is to review the relationship between Ang-(1-7)/Mas axis and vascular inflammation in the development of atherosclerosis

An Analytical Solution to the One-Dimensional Heat Conduction–Convection Equation in Soil

Soil heat transfer occurs by conduction and convection. Soil temperatures below infiltrating water can provide a signal for water flux. In earlier work, analysis of field measurements with a sine wave model indicated that convection heat transfer made significant contributions to the subsurface temperature oscillations. In this work, we used a Fourier series to describe soil surface temperature variations with time. The conduction and convection heat transfer equation with a multi-sinusoidal wave boundary condition was solved analytically using a Fourier transformation. Soil temperature values calculated by the single sine wave model and by the Fourier series model were compared with field soil temperature values measured at depths of 0.1 and 0.3 m below an infiltrating ponded surface. The Fourier series model provided better estimates of observed field temperatures than the sine wave model. The new model provides a general way to describe soil temperature under an infiltrating water source

Analysis of multidrug-resistant bacteria in 3223 patients with hospital-acquired infections (HAI) from a tertiary general hospital in China

The frequency of antimicrobial resistance has increased globally due to misuse and overuse of antibiotics, and multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria are now recognized as a major cause of hospital-acquired infections (HAI). Our aim was to investigate the prevalence, distribution, and antimicrobial susceptibility rates of MDR bacteria in patients with HAI from a tertiary hospital in China. We retrospectively evaluated all patients with a confirmed diagnosis of bacterial infection at a tertiary general hospital in Jining, for the period between January 2012 and December 2014. The following clinical and demographic data were collected: age, sex, specimens, treatment, microbiology results, and antibiotic resistance patterns of isolates. Bacterial identification and susceptibility testing were performed using VITEK 2 COMPACT system. We screened a total of 15,588 patients, out of which 7579 (48.6%) had an HAI. MDR showed 3223 out of 7579 isolates (42.5%). The most frequently isolated MDR bacteria in patients with HAI were extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (n = 1216/3223, 37.7%), MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 627/3223, 19.5%) and MDR Acinetobacter baumannii (n = 588/3223, 18.2%). MDR-HAI were more common in males (2074/3223, 64.4%) and in elderly patients (≥60 years; 1196/3223, 37.1%). Sputum was the main source of MDR isolates (2056/3223, 63.8%). Patients with MDR-HAI were predominantly distributed in different types of intensive care units. MDR strains in our study showed resistance to most current antibiotics. Overall, patients with HAI infections attributed to MDR bacteria were widely distributed in our hospital. Enhanced surveillance of MDR bacteria is critical for guiding the rational use of antibiotics and reducing the incidence of HAI

Next-generation sequencing of homologous recombination genes could predict efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer

BackgroundWith the widespread use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in clinical practice, an increasing number of biomarkers that predict a response to anti-tumor therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been identified. However, validated biomarkers that can be used to detect a response to platinum-based chemotherapy remain unavailable. Several studies have suggested that homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) may occur in response to platinum-based chemotherapy in ovarian cancer and breast cancer. However, currently there is a lack of proven and reliable HRD markers that can be used to screen for patients who may benefit from platinum-based chemotherapy, especially in NSCLC.MethodsNGS was used to screen for gene mutations, including homologous recombination (HR) genes and common driver gene mutations in NSCLC. Cox regression analysis was performed to identify potential clinicopathological or gene mutation factors associated with survival in patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy, while Kaplan–Meier analysis with the log-rank test was performed to assess the effect of HR gene mutations on progression-free survival (PFS).ResultsIn a retrospective cohort of 129 patients with advanced NSCLC, 54 who received platinum-based chemotherapy with or without anti-angiogenic therapy were included in the analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses showed that HR gene mutations were associated with platinum-based chemotherapy sensitivity. Efficacy results indicated that the objective response rates (ORR) for patients with BRCA1/2 mutations and BRCA1/2 wild type were 75% and 30.4% (p=0.041), while the median PFS was 7.5 and 5.5 months (hazard ratio [HR], 0.52; 95% CI, 0.27–1.00; p=0.084), respectively. The ORRs of patients with HR gene mutations and HR gene wild type were 60% and 23.6% (p=0.01), and the median PFS was 7.5 and 5.2 months (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.32–0.97; p=0.033), respectively.ConclusionsHR gene mutations show potential as promising biomarkers that may predict sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced and metastatic NSCLC

Coarse-graining research of the thermal infrared anomalies before earthquakes in the Sichuan area on Google Earth engine

Seismo-induced Thermal infrared (TIR) anomalies has been proposed as a significant precursor of earthquakes. Several methods have been proposed to detect Thermal infrared anomalies that may be associated with earthquakes. However, there is no comparison of the influence for Thermal infrared extraction methods with a long time statistical analysis. To quantify the effects of various techniques used in Thermal infrared anomaly extraction, in this paper, we offer a complete workflow of their comparative impacts. This study was divided into three parts: anomaly detection, statistical analysis, and tectonic factor research. For anomaly detection, daily continuous nighttime surface temperature (ConLST) data was obtained from the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, and each different anomaly detection method was used to detect Thermal infrared outliers in the Sichuan region (27°-37°N, 97°-107°E). During statistical analysis, The heated core model was applied to explore Thermal infrared anomalies which is to filter anomalies unrelated to earthquakes by setting time-space-intensity conditions. The 3D error diagram offers scores to assume the best parameter set using training-test-validation steps. In the final part, we considered information on stresses, active faults, and seismic zones to determine the optimal parameters for extracting the Thermal infrared anomalies. The Kalman filter method detected the highest seismic anomaly frequency without considerating the heating core condition. The Autoencoder and Isolation Forest methods obtain the optimal alert type and parameter set to determine if the anomaly is likely earthquake-related. The RST method performs optimally in the final part of the workflow when it considers physical factors such as active faults, seismic zones, and stresses. However, The six methods we have chosen are not sufficient to contain the entire Thermal infrared anomaly extraction. The consideration of tectonic factors in the research remains poorly developed, as statistical methods were not employed to explore the role of constructive factors. Nevertheless, it is a significant factor in comparing anomaly extraction methods and precursor studies