Clostridium difficile infection.

Infection of the colon with the Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium difficile is potentially life threatening, especially in elderly people and in patients who have dysbiosis of the gut microbiota following antimicrobial drug exposure. C. difficile is the leading cause of health-care-associated infective diarrhoea. The life cycle of C. difficile is influenced by antimicrobial agents, the host immune system, and the host microbiota and its associated metabolites. The primary mediators of inflammation in C. difficile infection (CDI) are large clostridial toxins, toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB), and, in some bacterial strains, the binary toxin CDT. The toxins trigger a complex cascade of host cellular responses to cause diarrhoea, inflammation and tissue necrosis - the major symptoms of CDI. The factors responsible for the epidemic of some C. difficile strains are poorly understood. Recurrent infections are common and can be debilitating. Toxin detection for diagnosis is important for accurate epidemiological study, and for optimal management and prevention strategies. Infections are commonly treated with specific antimicrobial agents, but faecal microbiota transplants have shown promise for recurrent infections. Future biotherapies for C. difficile infections are likely to involve defined combinations of key gut microbiota

GC Separation of cis-Eicosenoic Acid Positional Isomers on an Ionic Liquid SLB-IL100 Stationary Phase

Gas chromatography (GC) of cis-eicosenoic acid (20:1) positional isomers has been investigated on a capillary column of ionic liquid 1,9-di(3-vinyl-imidazolium)nonane bis(trifluoromethyl)sulfonylimidate stationary phase (SLB-IL100). A test mixture of isomeric 20:1 methyl esters was prepared from flathead flounder flesh lipids. On a 60-m column operated at 150-180 °C, six peaks appeared in the elution order of 20:ln-15 → 20:ln-13 → 20:ln-11 → 20:ln-9 → 20:ln-7 → 20:ln-5. These peaks were baseline resolved within 20 min at 180 °C. The 20:ln-13 and 20:ln-11 isomers, poorly resolved on conventional polar polysiloxane stationary phases, were completely separated from each other with separation factor α = 1.02 and peak resolution (Rs) >- 1.57. When equivalent chain length (ECL) values were compared between the SLB-IL100 and CP-Sil 88 (biscyanopropyl polysiloxane), those of 20:ln-15 and 20:ln-13 exceptionally tended to be lower on the SLB-IL100. The excellent separation of 20:1 isomers seems due to less retention of 20:ln-15 and 20:ln-13 on SLB-IL100 rather than simply due to its high polarity. Analysis of herring oil 20:1 revealed the occurrence of 20:ln-13 in the Pacific herring but not in the Atlantic herring. The ionic liquid stationary phase, SLB-IL100, is effective for analyzing 20:1 isomers occurring in fish and other natural oils

Return to sport after muscle injury

Skeletal muscle injuries are among the most common sports-related injuries that result in time lost from practice and competition. The cellular response to muscle injury can often result in changes made to the muscle fibers as well as the surrounding extracellular matrix during repair. This can negatively affect the force and range of the injured muscle even after the patient’s return to play. Diagnosis of skeletal muscle injury involves both history and physical examinations; imaging modalities including ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can also be used to assess the extent of injury. Current research is investigating potential methods, including clinical factors and MRI, by which to predict a patient’s return to sports. Overall, function of acutely injured muscles seems to improve with time. Current treatment methods for skeletal muscle injuries include injections of steroids, anesthetics, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Other proposed methods involve inhibitors of key players in fibrotic pathways, such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß and angiotensin II, as well as muscle-derived stem cells