Complex Microbiome in Brain Abscess Revealed by Whole-Genome Culture-Independent and Culture-Based Sequencing.

Brain abscess is a severe infectious disease with high mortality and mobility. Although culture-based techniques have been widely used for the investigation of microbial composition of brain abscess, these approaches are inherent biased. Recent studies using 16S ribosomal sequencing approaches revealed high complexity of the bacterial community involved in brain abscess but fail to detect fungal and viral composition. In the study, both culture-independent nanopore metagenomic sequencing and culture-based whole-genome sequencing using both the Illumina and the Nanopore platforms were conducted to investigate the microbial composition and genomic characterization in brain abscess. Culture-independent metagenomic sequencing revealed not only a larger taxonomic diversity of bacteria but also the presence of fungi and virus communities. The culture-based whole-genome sequencing identified a novel species in Prevotella and reconstructs a Streptococcus constellatus with a high GC-skew genome. Antibiotic-resistance genes CfxA and ErmF associated with resistance to penicillin and clindamycin were also identified in culture-based and culture-free sequencing. This study implies current understanding of brain abscess need to consider the broader diversity of microorganisms

4β-Hydroxywithanolide E from Physalis peruviana (golden berry) inhibits growth of human lung cancer cells through DNA damage, apoptosis and G2/M arrest

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The crude extract of the fruit bearing plant, <it>Physalis peruviana </it>(golden berry), demonstrated anti-hepatoma and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the cellular mechanism involved in this process is still unknown.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Herein, we isolated the main pure compound, 4β-Hydroxywithanolide (4βHWE) derived from golden berries, and investigated its antiproliferative effect on a human lung cancer cell line (H1299) using survival, cell cycle, and apoptosis analyses. An alkaline comet-nuclear extract (NE) assay was used to evaluate the DNA damage due to the drug.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>It was shown that DNA damage was significantly induced by 1, 5, and 10 μg/mL 4βHWE for 2 h in a dose-dependent manner (<it>p </it>< 0.005). A trypan blue exclusion assay showed that the proliferation of cells was inhibited by 4βHWE in both dose- and time-dependent manners (<it>p </it>< 0.05 and 0.001 for 24 and 48 h, respectively). The half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) of 4βHWE in H1299 cells for 24 and 48 h were 0.6 and 0.71 μg/mL, respectively, suggesting it could be a potential therapeutic agent against lung cancer. In a flow cytometric analysis, 4βHWE produced cell cycle perturbation in the form of sub-G₁accumulation and slight arrest at the G₂/M phase with 1 μg/mL for 12 and 24 h, respectively. Using flow cytometric and annexin V/propidium iodide immunofluorescence double-staining techniques, these phenomena were proven to be apoptosis and complete G₂/M arrest for H1299 cells treated with 5 μg/mL for 24 h.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study, we demonstrated that golden berry-derived 4βHWE is a potential DNA-damaging and chemotherapeutic agent against lung cancer.</p

Impact of Smoking Status on Lung Cancer Characteristics and Mortality Rates between Screened and Non-Screened Lung Cancer Cohorts: Real-World Knowledge Translation and Education

This was a retrospective hospital-based cohort study of participants diagnosed with lung cancer in the lung cancer register database, and our goal was to evaluate the impact of smoking and screening status on lung cancer characteristics and clinical outcomes. According to the hospital-based lung cancer register database, a total of 2883 lung cancers were diagnosed in 2883 patients between January 2007 and September 2017, which were divided into four groups according to smoking and screening status. A comparison was performed in terms of clinical characteristics and outcomes of lung cancer between the four groups. For non-smokers, age, gender, screened status, tumor size, targeted therapy, and curative surgery were independent prognostic factors of overall survival for lung cancer subjects. However, screened status and gender were not significant prognostic factors for lung cancer survival in smokers with lung cancer. For the non-smoker group, about 4.9% of lung cancer subjects (N = 81) were detected by screening. However, only 0.97% of lung cancer subjects (N = 12) were detected by screening in smokers. This could be attributed to smokers’ negative attitudes and low socioeconomic status preventing LDCT lung cancer screening. In summary, our real-world data suggest that effectively encouraging smokers to be more willing to participate in lung cancer screening programs with screening allowance and educational training in the future is an important issue

Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells c Is a Target of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in T Cells

p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) is essential for T-cell activation. Here we demonstrated that nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) is a direct target of p38 MAPK. Inhibition of p38 MAPK led to selective inactivation of NFAT in T cells. We further linked a strict requirement of p38 MAPK to activation of NFATc. A stimulatory effect of p38 MAPK on at least four other stages of NFATc activation was found. First, the p38 MAPK cascade activated the NFATc promoter and induced the transcription of NFATc mRNA. Second, p38 MAPK mildly increased the mRNA stability of NFATc. Third, p38 MAPK enhanced the translation of NFATc mRNA. Fourth, p38 MAPK promoted the interaction of NFATc with the coactivator CREB-binding protein. In contrast, p38 MAPK moderately enhanced the expulsion of NFATc from the nucleus in T cells. Therefore, p38 MAPK has opposite effects on different stages of NFATc activation. All together, the overall effect of p38 MAPK on NFATc in T cells is clear activation

Physical Inactivity and Possible Sarcopenia in Rural Community Daycare Stations of Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Physical inactivity and possible sarcopenia pose a challenge for long-term care, especially in rural areas. We aimed to examine the prevalence of and associated factors for physical inactivity and possible sarcopenia in rural community daycare stations. A total of 275 adults aged 55&ndash;98 years (75% women) were recruited from all 11 rural community daycare stations in Northern Hualien, Taiwan. Physical inactivity was defined as less than 150 min/week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity. Possible sarcopenia was defined according to the Asian-specific criteria from 2019. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were used to determine associated factors for physical inactivity and possible sarcopenia. The prevalence of physical inactivity and possible sarcopenia was 29.1% and 68.7%, respectively. About 86.8% of possible sarcopenia were ascribed to poor five-times-sit-to-stand performance. After adjusting for covariates, poor lower-limb muscle function, e.g., slow gait speed, was associated with possible sarcopenia and physical inactivity. However, physical inactivity was not independently associated with possible sarcopenia (adjusted odds ratio 1.95, 95% confidence interval 0.88&ndash;4.30, p = 0.100). Our results indicated that individuals with poor lower-limb muscle function were more likely to have possible sarcopenia and physical inactivity. Improving lower-limb muscle function would be a priority task in rural community daycare stations

The Associations among Gender, Age, eHealth Literacy, Beliefs about Medicines and Medication Adherence among Elementary and Secondary School Teachers

Background: A lack of health literacy may negatively impact patient adherence behavior in health care delivery, leading to a major threat to individual health and wellbeing and an increasing financial burden on national healthcare systems. Therefore, how to cultivate citizens&rsquo; health literacy, especially electronic health (eHealth) literacy that is closely related to the Internet, may be seen as a way to reduce the financial burden of the national healthcare systems, which is the responsibility of every citizen. However, previous studies on medication adherence have mostly been conducted with chronic disease patient samples rather than normal samples. Teachers are not only the main body of school health efforts, but also role models for students&rsquo; healthy behavior. Therefore, understanding differences in eHealth literacy beliefs among schoolteachers would be helpful for improving the existing health promoting programs and merit specific research. Aims: The present study identified the relationships among gender, age, electronic health (eHealth) literacy, beliefs about medicines, and medication adherence among elementary and secondary school teachers. Methods: A total of 485 teachers aged 22&ndash;51 years completed a pen-and-paper questionnaire. The instruments included an eHealth literacy scale, a belief about medicines scale and a medication adherence scale. Results: The results showed a significant difference between genders in necessity beliefs about medication (t = 2.00, p &lt; 0.05), and a significant difference between ages in functional eHealth literacy (F = 3.18, p &lt; 0.05) and in necessity beliefs about medication (Welch = 7.63, p &lt; 0.01). Moreover, age (&beta; = 0.09), functional eHealth literacy (&beta; = 0.12), and necessity beliefs about medication (&beta; = 0.11) positively predicted medication adherence, while concerns about medication (&beta; = &minus;0.23) negatively predicted medication adherence. Conclusions: The results showed that male teachers had stronger concerns about medication than female teachers. Teachers aged 42&ndash;51 years had lower functional eHealth literacy and stronger necessity beliefs about medication than teachers aged 22&ndash;31 years. In addition, teachers who were older, had higher functional eHealth literacy, had stronger necessity beliefs about medication, and had fewer concerns about medication tended to take their medications as prescribed. These findings revealed that helping teachers develop high eHealth literacy and positive beliefs about medicines is an effective strategy for improving medication adherence

Radiomics in Early Lung Cancer Diagnosis: From Diagnosis to Clinical Decision Support and Education

Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer-related death around the world. With the recent introduction of low-dose lung computed tomography for lung cancer screening, there has been an increasing number of smoking- and non-smoking-related lung cancer cases worldwide that are manifesting with subsolid nodules, especially in Asian populations. However, the pros and cons of lung cancer screening also follow the implementation of lung cancer screening programs. Here, we review the literature related to radiomics for early lung cancer diagnosis. There are four main radiomics applications: the classification of lung nodules as being malignant/benign; determining the degree of invasiveness of the lung adenocarcinoma; histopathologic subtyping; and prognostication in lung cancer prediction models. In conclusion, radiomics offers great potential to improve diagnosis and personalized risk stratification in early lung cancer diagnosis through patient–doctor cooperation and shared decision making

Cooperative C(sp³)–H and C(sp²)–H Activation of 2‑Ethylpyridines by Copper and Rhodium: A Route toward Quinolizinium Salts

A method for the synthesis of substituted quinolizinium salts from 2-ethylpyridines and alkynes is demonstrated. The transformation is conveniently achieved using 1 mol % of a Rh­(III) catalyst along with an excess amount of copper­(II) salt. The reaction gives high product yields with broad substrate scope and functional group tolerance. Detailed mechanistic studies suggest that 2-vinylpyridine is formed in situ from 2-ethylpyridine by a copper-promoted C­(sp³)–H hydroxylation, followed by dehydration. Later, a Rh­(III)-catalyzed pyridine-directed vinylic C­(sp²)–H activation and annulation with alkynes provided the final product