Infection risk in hemodialysis patient

Chronic care patients undergoing hemodialysis for treatment of end-stage renal failure experience higher rates of bloodstream-associated infection due to the patients' compromised immune system and management of the bloodstream through catheters. Staphylococcus species are a common cause of hemodialysis catheter-related bloodstream infections. We investigated environmental bacterial contamination of dialysis wards and contamination of hemodialysis devices to determine the source of bacteria for these infections. All bacterial samples were collected by the swab method and the agarose stamp method. And which bacterium were identified by BBL CRYSTAL Kit or 16s rRNA sequences. In our data, bacterial cell number of hemodialysis device was lower than environment of patient surrounds. But Staphylococcus spp. were found predominantly on the hemodialysis device (46.8%), especially on areas frequently touched by healthcare-workers (such as Touch screen). Among Staphylococcus spp., Staphylococcus epidermidis was most frequently observed (42.1% of Staphylococcus spp.), and more surprising, 48.2% of the Staphylococcus spp. indicated high resistance for methicillin. Our finding suggests that hemodialysis device highly contaminated with bloodstream infection associated bacteria. This study can be used as a source to assess the risk of contamination-related infection and to develop the cleaning system for the better prevention for bloodstream infections in patients with hemodialysis

硝子体手術後に網膜静脈分枝閉塞症を来したタモキシフェン内服患者の1例

タモキシフェンは主に乳癌治療薬として使用されているが,眼副作用の報告は非常に少ない.今回,タモキシフェン内服患者における,硝子体手術後に発症した網膜静脈分岐閉塞症(branch retinal vein occlusion,以下BRVO)の1例を経験したので報告する.症例は51歳女性,乳癌の術後1日量20mgのタモキシフェンによるアジュバント療法を受けていた.2年後に左眼の黄斑円孔が発見され硝子体手術を行った.後部硝子体剥離を起こしている際にアーケード血管から出血を認めたため出血部位の圧迫及び眼内灌流圧を上げることで止血を行った.術翌日には黄斑円孔の閉鎖が確認されたが,術後15日目に出血部位を閉塞起点とするBRVOを認めた.視力は左矯正0.7pと術前と比べほぼ変わりはなかったが,光干渉断層計で黄斑浮腫を認めたためベバシズマブ硝子体内投与を行った.同時にタモキシフェンによる副作用を疑い,内服を中止した.タモキシフェンの眼副作用として,BRVOも念頭におく必要がある.Tamoxifen is often used for treating breast cancer. However, tamoxifen-induced ocular complications are very rare. We will report on a case of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) associated with tamoxifen use. A fifty-one year old female was receiving peroral tamoxifen with daily doses of 20 mg following surgery for breast cancer. A macular hole was detected in her left eye two years later and vitreous surgery was performed. It was observed that there was bleeding from the inferior arcade vessels after inducing the posterior vitreous detachment. Hemostasis of the vein was performed by raising the intraocular perfusion pressure and by compression of the bleeding site. The macular hole was closed on a postoperative day. A fundus examination revealed that the left branch retinal vein occlusion started bleeding fifteen days after the surgery. There was almost no change compared with preoperative visual acuity, but optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed a macular edema. Therefore, intravitreal injections of bevacizumab and tamoxifen therapy were discontinued. Although BRVO is rare, ophthalmologists should be alerted to this type of ocular side effect

Lovastatin insensitive 1, a novel pentatricopeptide repeat protein, is a potential regulatory factor of isoprenoid biosynthesis in Arabidopsis

Higher plants have two metabolic pathways for isoprenoid biosynthesis: the cytosolic mevalonate (MVA) pathway and the plastidal non-mevalonate (MEP) pathway. Despite the compartmentalization of these two pathways, metabolic flow occurs between them. However, little is known about the mechanisms that regulate the two pathways and the metabolic cross-talk. To identify such regulatory mechanisms, we isolated and characterized the Arabidopsis T-DNA insertion mutant lovastatin insensitive 1 (loi1), which is resistant to lovastatin and clomazone, inhibitors of the MVA and MEP pathways, respectively. The accumulation of the major products of these pathways, i.e. sterols and chlorophyll, was less affected by lovastatin and clomazone, respectively, in loi1 than in the wild type. Furthermore, the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) activity analysis showed higher activity of HMGR in loi1-1 treated with lovastatin than that in the WT. We consider that the lovastatin-resistant phenotype of loi1-1 was derived from this post-transcriptional up-regulation of HMGR. The LOI1 gene encodes a novel pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein. PPR proteins are thought to regulate the expression of genes encoded in organelle genomes by post-transcriptional regulation in mitochondria or plastids. Our results demonstrate that LOI1 is predicted to localize in mitochondria and has the ability to bind single-stranded nucleic acids. Our investigation revealed that the post-transcriptional regulation of mitochondrial RNA may be involved in isoprenoid biosynthesis in both the MVA and MEP pathways.Peer reviewe

Associations between the orexin (hypocretin) receptor 2 gene polymorphism Val308Ile and nicotine dependence in genome-wide and subsequent association studies

Impact of the HCRTR2 gene risk variant on schizotypal personality traits (mean ± SD). (DOC 54 kb

Intraoperative Identification of the Shunt Point of Spinal Arteriovenous Malformations by a Selective Arterial Injection of Saline to Subtract Signals of Indocyanine Green : Technical Note

BACKGROUND: It is crucial to identify a shunt point for spinal arteriovenous malformation (AVM) treatment. For this purpose, some intraoperative supports have been reported & mdash;intravenous injection of indocyanine green (ICG), selective arterial injection of ICG, and selective arterial injection of saline with a high frame rate digital camera. However, there are difficulties in accurately identifying the shunt point, especially if the lesion has multiple feeders. The aim of this technical note was to report a novel method, selective arterial injection of saline to subtract signals of ICG, to precisely identify perimedullary arteriovenous fistula shunt points having multiple feeding arteries. METHODS: After exposing the lesion, a 4-F catheter was cannulated into the origins of the segmental artery. ICG was injected intravenously as a first step, and then heparinized saline solution was flushed from the catheter. RESULTS: Compared with other methods, this method could identify the exact shunt point and was effective for certain shunt point obliterations. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having similar invasiveness, selective arterial injection of saline to subtract signals of ICG is superior to previously described techniques, such as selective arterial injection of ICG. Therefore, it will be useful in spinal arteriovenous malformation surgical treatment

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of the Rieske-type [2Fe–2S] ferredoxin component of biphenyl dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain KKS102

BphA3, a Rieske-type [2Fe–2S] ferredoxin, was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. A molecular-replacement calculation yielded a satisfactory solution

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of the electron-transfer complex of Rieske-type [2Fe–2S] ferredoxin and NADH-dependent ferredoxin reductase derived from Acidovorax sp. strain KKS102

The electron-transfer complex of BphA3, a Rieske-type [2Fe–2S] ferredoxin, and BphA4, a NADH-dependent ferredoxin reductase, was crystallized by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method under anaerobic conditions