Use of sirolimus for Epstein-Barr virus-positive smooth-muscle tumour

Lancet Oncology711955-95

First report of the benthic dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus belizeanus (Gonyaulacales: Dinophyceae) for the east coast of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Species of the genus Gambierdiscus Adachi & Fukuyo, toxicus Adachi & Fukuyo are known producers of neurotoxins associated with ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP). In this study live samples were collected from seaweed beds of the east coast of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo and a strain of Gambierdiscus was isolated and cultured. Examination of the thecal fine morphology was undertaken using light, epifluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy. Observed morphological features and their associated morphometric information enabled identification to Gambierdiscus belizeanus Faust. This represents the first report for the occurrence of G. belizeanus in the Asia Pacific region

Expression of EBV latent antigens, mammalian target of rapamycin, and tumor suppression genes in EBV-positive smooth muscle tumors: Clinical and therapeutic implications

10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-2979Clinical Cancer Research15175350-5358CCRE

Near-IR photon emission spectroscopy on strained and unstrained 60 nm silicon nMOSFETs

Conference Proceedings from the International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis81-8

Cost-effectiveness of transcatheter aortic valve implantation in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis of intermediate surgical risk in Singapore

Objective The objective was to assess the cost-effectiveness of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in patients with severe aortic stenosis with intermediate surgical risk in Singapore. Methods A de novo Markov model with three health states – stroke with long-term sequelae, no stroke, and death – was developed and simulated using Monte Carlo simulations with 10,000 iterations over a five-year time horizon from the Singapore healthcare system perspective. A 3% annual discount rate for costs and outcomes and monthly cycle lengths were used. By applying the longest available published clinical evidence, simulated patients received either TAVI or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and were at risk of adverse events (AEs) such as moderate-to-severe paravalvular aortic regurgitation (PAR). Results When five-year PARTNER 2A data was applied, base-case analyses showed that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for TAVI compared to SAVR was US$315,760 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. The high ICER was due to high incremental implantation and procedure costs of TAVI compared to SAVR, and marginal improvement of 0.10 QALYs as simulated mortality of TAVI exceeded SAVR at 3.75 years post-implantation. One-way sensitivity analysis showed that the ICERs were most sensitive to cost of PAR, utility values of SAVR patients, and cost of TAVI and SAVR implants and procedures. When disutilities for AEs were additionally applied, the ICER decreased to US$300,070 per QALY gained. TAVI was dominated by SAVR when the time horizon increased to 20 years. Clinical outcomes projected from one-year PARTNER S3i data further reduced the ICER to US$86,337 per QALY gained for TAVI, assuming early all-cause mortality benefits from TAVI continued to persist. This assumption was undermined when longer term data showed that TAVI’s early mortality benefits diminished at five years. Limitations and conclusion TAVI is unlikely to be cost-effective in intermediate surgical-risk patients compared to SAVR in Singapore

Identification and characterization of a rare fungus, quambalana cyanescens, isolated from the peritoneal fluid of a patient after nocturnal intermittent peritoneal dialysis

Peritonitis is the leading complication of peritoneal dialysis, which is primarily caused by bacteria rather than fungi. Peritonitis is responsible for approximately 18% of the infection-related mortality in peritoneal dialysis patients. In this paper, we report the isolation of a rare fungus, Quambalaria cyanescens, from the peritoneal fluid of a man after he switched from continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis to nocturnal intermittent peritoneal dialysis. Based on the morphological examination and multigene phylogeny, the clinical isolate was confirmed as Q. cyanescens. This pathogen exhibited low sensitivity to all tested echinocandins and 5-flucytosine. Interestingly, morphological characterization revealed that Q. cyanescens UM 1095 produced different pigments at low temperatures (25 degrees C and 30 degrees C) on various culture media. It is important to monitor the emergence of this rare fungus as a potential human pathogen in the tropics. This study provides insight into Q. cyanescens UM 1095 phenotype profiles using a Biolog phenotypic microarray (PM). Of the 760 nutrient sources tested, Q. cyanescens UM 1095 utilized 42 compounds, and the fungus can adapt to a broad range of osmotic and acidic environments. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation of Q. cyanescens from peritoneal fluid, revealing this rare fungus as a potential human pathogen that may be misidentified using conventional methods. The detailed morphological, molecular and phenotypic characterization of Q. cyanescens UM 1095 provides the basis for future studies on its biology, lifestyle, and potential pathogenicity

Insight into different environmental niches adaptation and allergenicity from the Cladosporium sphaerospermum genome, a common human allergy-eliciting Dothideomycetes

Cladosporium sphaerospermum, a dematiaceous saprophytic fungus commonly found in diverse environments, has been reported to cause allergy and other occasional diseases in humans. However, its basic biology and genetic information are largely unexplored. A clinical isolate C. sphaerospermum genome, UM 843, was re-sequenced and combined with previously generated sequences to form a model 26.89 Mb genome containing 9,652 predicted genes. Functional annotation on predicted genes suggests the ability of this fungus to degrade carbohydrate and protein complexes. Several putative peptidases responsible for lung tissue hydrolysis were identified. These genes shared high similarity with the Aspergillus peptidases. The UM 843 genome encodes a wide array of proteins involved in the biosynthesis of melanin, siderophores, cladosins and survival in high salinity environment. In addition, a total of 28 genes were predicted to be associated with allergy. Orthologous gene analysis together with 22 other Dothideomycetes showed genes uniquely present in UM 843 that encode four class 1 hydrophobins which may be allergens specific to Cladosporium. The mRNA of these hydrophobins were detected by RT-PCR. The genomic analysis of UM 843 contributes to the understanding of the biology and allergenicity of this widely-prevalent species

A study protocol for HEalth-Related quality of life-intervention in survivors of Breast and other cancers experiencing cancer-related fatigue using TraditionAL Chinese Medicine: the HERBAL trial

10.1186/s13063-020-04810-4Trials21190