Pulmonary Nocardiosis in Suspected Tuberculosis Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cross-Sectional Studies

Background: nocardiosis is an opportunistic infectious disease in immunocompromised patients. The most common form of nocardiosis infection in humans is pulmonary nocrdiosis caused by inhaling Nocardia species from the environment. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the pulmonary nocardiosis in patients with suspected tuberculosis using systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We conducted a systematic search for cross-sectional studies focused on the pulmonary nocardiosis among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) published from January 2001 to October 2019. The search was conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Science Direct databases, and Iranian databases. Medical subject headings (MeSH) and text words were searched: "pulmonary nocardiosis", "nocardiosis", OR "nocardial infection", "pulmonary nocardial infections/agents", AND "pulmonary tuberculosis", OR "pulmonary TB", AND "Iran". Two of the reviewers enrolled independently articles published in English and Persian languages according to the inclusion and the exclusion criteria. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (Version 3.3.070) was used for meta-analysis. Results: Only 4 studies met the eligibility criteria. The pulmonary nocardiosis prevalence varied from 1.7 to 6.7. The combined prevalence of nocardiosis among patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis in Iran was 4.8 (95 CI: 3-7.3, Q=5.8, Z=12.7). No heterogeneity was observed between studies because I2 was 48.3. N. cyriacigeorgica and N. asteroides were reported as the prevalent isolates, respectively. Conclusions: This review showed in patients suspected TB when they were negative in all diagnosis laboratory tests, nocardiosis cases which be considered. © 2020 Susan MM., et al

Epinecidin-1, a highly potent marine antimicrobial peptide with anticancer and immunomodulatory activities

Background: Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are an emerging threat in this century. Epinecidin-1 is a multi-functional Antimicrobial Peptide (AMP) produced by Orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) has been shown to have extensive potentials as an alternative for current antibiotics. Due to the huge costs for the study and the production of a new drug, if an antimicrobial peptide has other beneficial functions in addition to antimicrobial activities, it would be preferred. Methods: In this study, properties and applications of Epinecidin-1 were investigated and addressed comprehensively. To achieve this, the Google Scholar search engine and three databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were used. Results: Epinecidin-1 is a cationic AMP with an alpha-helical structure. Seven functional usages of this peptide have been reported in the literature including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiprotozoal, anticancer, immunomodulatory, and wound healing properties. Moreover, this peptide has high potential to be used as an active ingredient in cleaning solutions as well as application in vaccine production. Conclusion: Due to significant antimicrobial activities tested on bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Helicobacter pylori and also wound healing properties, Epi-1 has high potential to be considered as an important candidate for the production of new drugs and treatment of various infections including diabetic foot ulcer and peptic ulcer. Moreover, adjuvant-like properties of Epi-1 make it a suitable candidate for the studies related to an adjuvant. Other attractive properties such as anticancer effects have also been reported for this peptide which encourages further studies on this peptide. © 2019 The Author(s)

AC and DC Differential Bridge Structure Suitable for Electrochemical Interfacial Capacitance Biosensing Applications

This paper presents a capacitive differential bridge structure with both AC and DC excitation and balancing capability for low cost electrode-solution interfacial capacitance biosensing applications. The proposed series RC balancing structure offers higher sensitivity, lower susceptibility to common-mode interferences, and drift control. To evaluate the bridge performance in practice, possible effects of initial bridge imbalance due to component mismatches are investigated considering the required resolution of the balancing networks, sensitivity, and linearity. This evaluation is also a guideline to designing the balancing networks, balancing algorithm and the proceeding readout interface circuitry. The proposed series RC bridge structure is implemented along with a custom single frequency real-time amplification/filtering readout board with real-time data acquisition and sine fitting. The main specifications for the implemented structure are 8-bit detection resolution if the total expected fractional capacitance change at the interface is roughly 1%. The characterization and measurement results show the effectiveness of the proposed structure in achieving the design target. The implemented structure successfully achieves distinct detection levels for tiny total capacitance change at the electrode-solution interface, utilizing Microcystin-(Leucine-Arginine) toxin dilutions as a proof of concept

LL-37: Review of antimicrobial profile against sensitive and antibiotic-resistant human bacterial pathogens

Background: By the development of drug-resistant bacterial infections, the world is rapidly heading toward the post-antibiotic era. Antimicrobial peptides are highly potential to be used as a promising alternative to antibiotics. One of the most widely known members of this group is a cationic peptide with an alpha-helical structure, called LL-37, naturally produced by many human cells. The aim of this study was the quantitative determination of the antimicrobial profile of LL-37 against human pathogens. Methods: All articles in which the antimicrobial activity of LL-37 was evaluated quantitatively were selected and assessed using the Google Scholar search engine and three databases of Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed. Results: LL-37 was able to combat a wide range of resistant and sensitive bacterial pathogens which classified into three groups. 1. Gram-positive: at least one of the species in the genus of Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Clostridium, Listeria, Nocardia, Bacillus, Aggregatibacter, Peptostreptococcus, Capnocytophaga, and Actinomyces. 2. Gram-negative: at least one of the species in the genus of Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Escherichia, Salmonella, Klebsiella, Yersinia, Vibrio, Neisseria, Moraxella, Haemophilus, Porphyromonas, Helicobacter, Campylobacter, Fusobacterium, Prevotella, Eikenella, Tanerella, Burkholderia, and Stenotrophomonas. 3. Other bacterial pathogens (non-detectable or poor results of gram-staining): at least one of the species in the genus Leptospira, Borrelia, Treponema, Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma, and Mycobacterium. Conclusion: Due to the broad-spectrum activity, ability to combat drug-resistant bacterial pathogens, and having a human source, LL-37 could be an appropriate candidate for research, development, and production of novel antimicrobial drugs based on antimicrobial peptides. © 2019 Elsevier Inc