Multiple sclerosis patients have reduced resting and increased activated CD4⁺CD25⁺FOXP3⁺T regulatory cells

Resting and activated subpopulations of CD4+CD25+CD127loT regulatory cells (Treg) and CD4+CD25+CD127+ effector T cells in MS patients and in healthy individuals were compared. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated using Ficoll Hypaque were stained with monoclonal antibodies and analysed by flow cytometer. CD45RA and Foxp3 expression within CD4+ cells and in CD4+CD25+CD127loT cells identified Population I; CD45RA+Foxp3+, Population II; CD45RA−Foxp3hi and Population III; CD45RA−Foxp3+ cells. Effector CD4+CD127+ T cells were subdivided into Population IV; memory /effector CD45RA− CD25−Foxp3− and Population V; effector naïve CD45RA+CD25−Foxp3−CCR7+ and terminally differentiated RA+ (TEMRA) effector memory cells. Chemokine receptor staining identified CXCR3+Th1-like Treg, CCR6+Th17-like Treg and CCR7+ resting Treg. Resting Treg (Population I) were reduced in MS patients, both in untreated and treated MS compared to healthy donors. Activated/memory Treg (Population II) were significantly increased in MS patients compared to healthy donors. Activated effector CD4+ (Population IV) were increased and the naïve/ TEMRA CD4+ (Population V) were decreased in MS compared to HD. Expression of CCR7 was mainly in Population I, whereas expression of CCR6 and CXCR3 was greatest in Populations II and intermediate in Population III. In MS, CCR6+Treg were lower in Population III. This study found MS is associated with significant shifts in CD4+T cells subpopulations. MS patients had lower resting CD4+CD25+CD45RA+CCR7+ Treg than healthy donors while activated CD4+CD25hiCD45RA−Foxp3hiTreg were increased in MS patients even before treatment. Some MS patients had reduced CCR6+Th17-like Treg, which may contribute to the activity of MS

Learning Motion-Difference Features using Gaussian Restricted Boltzmann Machines for Efficient Human Action Recognition

publicationstatus: publishe

Phytophthora antagonism of endophytic bacteria isolated from roots of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.).

[[abstract]]Abstract: In this study, 90 root samples were collected from 30 black pepper farms in three provinces in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. A total of 352 endophytic bacteria were isolated and their morphology described. An in vitro assay on the ntifungal activity of these isolates was then conducted and 47 isolates were found to have antagonistic activity on Phytophthora fungi. The antifungal activity of the 47 isolates was evaluated in vivo by shoot assay. Among these 47 isolates, 6 were selected for further investigation. The six isolates were classified and identified by sequencing the 16S RNA gene and phylogeny. The results showed that all six endophytic bacteria belong to the following species of Bacillus genus: B. siamensis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. velezenis, and B. methylotrophiycus. Enzymatic activity related to the antifungal activity of the six potent isolates was determined; it showed that they possessed high chitinase and protease activities. These isolates were applied for black pepper seedlings in greenhouse. The results showed three promising isolates: B. siamensis EB.CP6, B. velezensis EB.KN12, and B. methylotrophycus EB.KN13. Black pepper seedlings treated with the promising bacteria had the lowest rate of root disease (8.45–11.21%) and lower fatal rate (11.11–15.55%) compared to the control group (24.81% and 24.44%). In addition, the three promising isolates strongly affected the growth of the black pepper seedlings in greenhouse. The plant height, length of roots, and fresh biomass of the seedlings in the treated plots were higher than those in the control plots. Thus, the endophytic bacterial isolates have the potential to act as biocontrol agent for the sustainable production of black pepper.[[sponsorship]]科技部[[notice]]補正完

Resection of a juxtarenal aneurysm complicated by rupture. Clinical case

Caz clinic. Se prezintă un caz clinic de tratament chirurgical soldat cu succes al unui anevrism de aortă juxtarenal complicat cu ruptură al unui pacient de 76 ani. Boala a debutat de 3 zile cu dureri puternice în regiunea lombară, cu iradiere în abdomen. Internat în spitalul orășenesc, unde la CT angiografie s-a depistat un anevrism al aortei abdominale complicat cu ruptură in spațiul retroperitoneal. Pacientul a fost transferat în SCR ,,T. Moșneaga” operat în mod urgent. La laparotomie xifopubiană s-a depistat circa un litru de lichid sero-sangvinolent, anevrism juxtarenal cu hematom retroperitoneal. După clamparea aortei suprarenale s-a efectuat rezecția anevrismului rupt, cu protezare aorto-femurală pe dreapta și iliacă pe stânga. Perioada postoperatorie fără complicații. Externat la a 11-a zi în stare satisfăcătoare. CT angiografie de control peste 6 luni- proteza aortală funcțională, fără alte patologii. Concluzie. În cazul anevrismelor aortei abdominale complicate cu ruptură, care nu pot fi rezolvate endovascular din diferite motive (anatomie nepotrivită, lipsa utilajului necesar la moment etc) este necesar tratamentul chirurgical deschis în mod urgent. Posedarea metodelor deschise nu trebuie exclusă din arsenalul chirurgului vascular.Clinical case. We present a clinical case of a successful surgical treatment of a ruptured juxtarenal aortic aneurysm in a 76-year-old patient. The disease started three days ago with severe pain in the lower back, radiating to the abdomen. The patient was transferred to the local hospital, where a CT angiography revealed an abdominal aortic aneurysm complicated by retroperitoneal rupture. The patient was urgently transferred to the "T. Moșneaga'' Intensive Care Unit for surgery. Xipho-pubic laparotomy revealed approximately one liter of serosanguinous fluid, a juxtarenal aneurysm with a retroperitoneal hematoma. After clamping the suprarenal aorta, resection of the ruptured aneurysm was performed, followed by aortic-femoral grafting on the right side and iliac grafting on the left side. The postoperative period was uneventful. The patient was discharged in satisfactory condition on the 11th day. A follow-up CT angiography after 6 months showed a functional aortic graft without any other pathologies. Conclusions. In cases of abdominal aortic aneurysms complicated by rupture, which cannot be resolved endovascularly due to various reasons (inappropriate anatomy, lack of necessary equipment at the moment, etc.), urgent open surgical treatment is necessary. Proficiency in open surgical techniques should not be excluded from the vascular surgeon's armamentarium

Optimizing surgical techniques in extra-anatomical ilio-femoral bypasses

Scopul lucrării. Bypass-ul extraanatomic ilio-femural crossover este o procedura chirurgicala utilizată pentru revascularizarea segmentului aorto-femural, când intervențiile endovasculare nu sunt posibile, iar aplicarea unui bypass aorto sau ilio-femural este dificilă sau chiar imposibilă din cauza condițiilor tehnice sau a stării pacientului. Scopul este studierea rezultatelor precoce și tardive pentru favorizarea unor schimbări și implementarea unor gesturi tehnice în aplicarea bypass-urilor crossover ilio-femural, pentru a crea o geometrie cât mai fiziologică ce poate oferi o soluție durabilă pe termen lung. Materiale și metode. Pe parcursul anilor 2001-2022 au fost efectuate 142 bypass-uri crossover ilio-femurale. Rezultate. În perioada postoperatorie a fost un singur deces și s-au efectuat 3 amputații. Au fost analizate duplex scanările și CT angiografiile în primele 12 luni postoperatorii, pentru aprecierea altor leziuni aterosclerotice, care ar necesita revascularizare deschisă s-au endovasculară atît in bazinul recipient cât și cel donator. Totodată, a fost apreciata poziția și forma bypass-ului ce a dus la folosirea ulterioară a unor noi procedee tehnice ce diferă de cele descrise anterior. Concluzii. Optimizarea tehnicilor chirurgicale creând o geometrie cât mai fiziologică, excluderea maximală a angulărilor stenozante ale grefei poate oferi bypass-ului extraanatomic crossover ilio-femural o durabilitate îndelungată. Acest lucru poate favoriza creșterea frecvenței indicațiilor la folosirea bypass-urilor crossover ilio-femural.Aim of study. The extra-anatomic ilio-femoral crossover bypass is a surgical procedure used for revascularizing the aorto-femoral segment when endovascular interventions are not possible, and when applying an aorto- or ilio-femoral bypass is difficult or even impossible due to technical conditions or the patient's condition. The aim was to study the early and late outcomes to promote changes and implement technical gestures in the application of ilio-femoral crossover bypasses, aiming to create a more physiological geometry that can provide a durable long-term solution. Materials and methods. Between 2001 and 2022, a total of 142 ilio-femoral crossover bypasses were performed. Results. There was one death and three amputations in the postoperative period. Duplex scans and CT angiography were analyzed in the first 12 months postoperatively to assess other atherosclerotic lesions that would require open or endovascular revascularization in both the recipient and donor areas. Additionally, the position and shape of the bypass were evaluated, leading to the subsequent use of new technical procedures that differ from those previously described. Conclusions. Optimizing surgical techniques by creating a more physiological geometry and minimizing stenotic angles of the graft can provide the extra-anatomic ilio-femoral crossover bypass with long-lasting durability. This may increase the frequency of indications for using ilio-femoral crossover bypasses

Pathological elongation of the internal carotid artery: surgical treatment and immediate postoperative results

Scopul lucrării. În structura cauzelor dezvoltării insuficienței cerebrovasculare, elongarea patologică a arterei carotide interne ocupă locul 2, după afectarea aterosclerotică. Prevalența dolicoarteriopatiei la populația generală se estimează a fi de la 10 la 40 %, iar de la 16% până la 56 % din pacienți au în anamnestic deficit neurologic tranzitor sau permanent. Scopul lucrării este optimizarea tehnicilor chirurgicale și aprecierea eficienței postoperatorii imediate la pacienții cu elongare patologică a arterei carotide interne. Materiale și metode. Studiul efectuat reprezintă o analiză retrospectivă a 243 pacienți, tratați în cadrul IMSP SCR ,,Timofei Moșneaga”, secția de Chirurgie Vasculară în perioada 2002-2022. Rezultate. La pacienții supuși studiului s-a efectuat 258 intervenții chirurgicale. Rezultatele imediate au fost: la 230 pacienți (89.14 %) a dispărut simptomatologia preoperatorie, AVC ischemic s-a înregistrat la 1 pacient, sindrom coronarian acut sau deces nu s-a înregistrat la nici un pacient din lotul studiat. Concluzii. Luând în considerare rata mică de complicații periprocedurale precum și eficacitatea postoperatorie imediată evidentă, putem spune că intervenția chirurgicală în tratamentul elongărilor patologice ale arterelor carotide interne reprezintă o metoda sigură și eficientă pentru prevenirea accidentelor vasculare cerebrale acute și îmbunătățirea calității vieții pacienților.Aim of study. Among the causes contributing to the development of cerebrovascular insufficiency, pathological elongation of the internal carotid artery ranks second after atherosclerotic involvement. The prevalence of dolichoarteriopathy in the general population is estimated to range from 10% to 40%, and between 16% and 56% of patients have a history of transient or permanent neurological deficits. The aim of this study was to optimize surgical techniques and assess immediate postoperative efficacy in patients with pathological elongation of the internal carotid artery. Materials and methods. This study represents a retrospective analysis of 243 patients treated at the State Medical and Pharmaceutical University "Timofei Moșneaga", Department of Vascular Surgery, between 2002 and 2022. Results. A total of 258 surgical interventions were performed in the study group. The immediate results were as follows: symptomatology disappeared in 230 patients (89.14%), one patient experienced an ischemic stroke, and no cases of acute coronary syndrome or death were recorded among the studied patients. Conclusions. Considering the low rate of periprocedural complications and the evident immediate postoperative effectiveness, it can be concluded that surgical intervention for the treatment of pathological elongation of the internal carotid artery is a safe and efficient method for preventing acute cerebrovascular accidents and improving the quality of life for patients

Conversion of shrimp head waste for production of a thermotolerant, detergent-stable, alkaline protease by Paenibacillus sp.

[[abstract]]Fishery processing by-products have been of great interest to researchers due to their beneficial applications in many fields. In this study, five types of marine by-products, including demineralized crab shell, demineralized shrimp shell, shrimp head, shrimp shell, and squid pen, provided sources of carbon and nitrogen nutrition by producing a protease from Paenibacillus sp. TKU047. Strain TKU047 demonstrated the highest protease productivity (2.98 U/mL) when cultured for two days on a medium containing 0.5% of shrimp head powder (SHP). The mass of TKU047 protease was determined to be 32 kDa (approximately). TKU047 protease displayed optimal activity at 70–80 °C and pH 9, with a pH range of stability from 6 to 11. TKU047 protease also showed stability in solutions containing surfactants and detergents. Based on its excellent properties, Paenibacillus sp. TKU047 protease may be a feasible candidate for inclusion in laundry detergents.[[sponsorship]]MOST[[notice]]補正完

An exochitinase with N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase activity from shrimp heads conversion by Streptomyces speibonae and its application in hydrolyzing β-chitin powder to produce N-acetyl-d-glucosamine

[[abstract]]Marine chitinous byproducts possess significant applications in many fields. In this research, different kinds of fishery chitin-containing byproducts from shrimp (shrimp head powder (SHP) and demineralized shrimp shell powder), crab (demineralized crab shell powder), as well as squid (squid pen powder) were used to provide both carbon and nitrogen (C/N) nutrients for the production of an exochitinase via Streptomyces speibonae TKU048, a chitinolytic bacterium isolated from Taiwanese soils. S. speibonae TKU048 expressed the highest exochitinase productivity (45.668 U/mL) on 1.5% SHP-containing medium at 37 °C for 2 days. Molecular weight determination analysis basing on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed the mass of TKU048 exochitinase was approximately 21 kDa. The characterized exochitinase expressed some interesting properties, for example acidic pH optima (pH 3 and pH 5–7) and a higher temperature optimum (60 °C). Furthermore, the main hydrolysis mechanism of TKU048 exochitinase was N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase-like activity; its most suitable substrate was β-chitin powder. The hydrolysis experiment revealed that TKU048 exochitinase was efficient in the cleavage of β-chitin powder, thereby releasing N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc, monomer unit of chitin structure) as the major product with 0.335 mg/mL of GlcNAc concentration and a yield of 73.64% after 96 h of incubation time. Thus, TKU048 exochitinase may have potential in GlcNAc production due to its N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase-like activity.[[sponsorship]]科技部[[notice]]補正完

On-device Scalable Image-based Localization via Prioritized Cascade Search and Fast One-Many RANSAC.

We present the design of an entire on-device system for large-scale urban localization using images. The proposed design integrates compact image retrieval and 2D-3D correspondence search to estimate the location in extensive city regions. Our design is GPS agnostic and does not require network connection. In order to overcome the resource constraints of mobile devices, we propose a system design that leverages the scalability advantage of image retrieval and accuracy of 3D model-based localization. Furthermore, we propose a new hashing-based cascade search for fast computation of 2D-3D correspondences. In addition, we propose a new one-many RANSAC for accurate pose estimation. The new one-many RANSAC addresses the challenge of repetitive building structures (e.g. windows, balconies) in urban localization. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our 2D-3D correspondence search achieves state-of-the-art localization accuracy on multiple benchmark datasets. Furthermore, our experiments on a large Google Street View (GSV) image dataset show the potential of large-scale localization entirely on a typical mobile device

Outcomes by Cardiac Stage in Patients With Newly Diagnosed AL Amyloidosis: Phase 3 ANDROMEDA Trial

BACKGROUND: Patients with amyloid light chain amyloidosis and severe cardiac dysfunction have a poor prognosis. Treatment options that induce rapid and deep hematologic and organ responses, irrespective of cardiac involvement, are needed. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of baseline cardiac stage on efficacy and safety outcomes in the phase 3 ANDROMEDA trial. METHODS: Rates of overall complete hematologic response and cardiac and renal response at 6 months and median major organ deterioration–progression-free survival and major organ deterioration–event-free survival were compared across cardiac stages (I, II, or IIIA) and treatments (daratumumab, bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamethasone [D-VCd] or bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamethasone [VCd]). Rates of adverse events (AEs) were summarized for patients with and without baseline cardiac involvement and by cardiac stage. RESULTS: Median follow-up duration was 15.7 months. The proportions of stage I, II, and IIIA patients were 23.2%, 40.2%, and 36.6%. Across cardiac stages, hematologic and organ response rates were higher and major organ deterioration–progression-free survival and major organ deterioration–event-free survival were longer with D-VCd than VCd. AE rates were similar between treatments and by cardiac stage; serious AE rates were higher in patients with cardiac involvement and increased with increasing cardiac stage. The incidence of cardiac events was numerically greater with D-VCd vs VCd, but the rate of grade 3 or 4 events was similar. The exposure-adjusted incidence rate for cardiac events was lower with D-VCd than VCd (median exposure 13.4 and 5.3 months, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate the efficacy of D-VCd over VCd in patients with newly diagnosed amyloid light chain amyloidosis across cardiac stages, thus supporting its use in patients with cardiac involvement. (NCT03201965