Cerebellar syndrome with meningoencephalitis due to Mycoplasma Pneumoniae

We report a 24-year-old woman with a Mycoplasma pneumonitis associated with subacute meningoencephalitis and acute cerebellitis that caused a cerebellar atrophy. Electroencephalogram showed diffuse dysfunction in the brain. There was few white blood cell but normal glucose and protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Brain MRI showed bilateral atrophy of cerebellum

Comparison of antibiotics and bacteriocins antibacterial activity on Xanthomonas citri subsp.citri

Citrus canker is a citrus disease species created by the bacterium Xanthomonas citri subsp.citri. Many citrus, such as oranges, lime, and grapefruit are affected by the infectious bacteria and stems, leaves and fruits are experiencing loss. In this experiment antibacterial effects of five kinds of antibiotics including ampicillin, kanamycin, chloramphenicol, penicillin, streptomycin, Cronobacteriocin DGH2 and Enterobacteriocin DGH4 were evaluated on 107 strains of Xanthomonas citri subsp.citri. MIC and MBC data for antibiotics and bacteriocins against Xanthomonas strains were performed. According to this project, Xanthomonas strains were comparatively susceptible and resistant to Cronobacteriocin DGH2, Enterobacteriocin DGH4, ampicillin, kanamycin, chloramphenicol, penicillin and streptomycin. NIGEB-183 strain is the most sensitive to these antibiotics and bacteriocins. However, only the NIGEB-242R1 strain is resistant to chloramphenicol. Penicillin has minimum inhibitory effects on Xanthomonas strains. Based on this case study, chloramphenicol is the most antibacterial activity among antibacterial agents and this compound is a good candidate for inhibitory activity. Cronobacteriocin DGH2 has a moderate antibacterial activity against Xanthomonas strains

Cardiosphere-derived cells suppress allogeneic lymphocytes by production of PGE2 acting via the EP4 receptor

derived cells (CDCs) are a cardiac progenitor cell population, which have been shown to possess cardiac regenerative properties and can improve heart function in a variety of cardiac diseases. Studies in large animal models have predominantly focussed on using autologous cells for safety, however allogeneic cell banks would allow for a practical, cost-effective and efficient use in a clinical setting. The aim of this work was to determine the immunomodulatory status of these cells using CDCs and lymphocytes from 5 dogs. CDCs expressed MHC I but not MHC II molecules and in mixed lymphocyte reactions demonstrated a lack of lymphocyte proliferation in response to MHC-mismatched CDCs. Furthermore, MHC-mismatched CDCs suppressed lymphocyte proliferation and activation in response to Concanavalin A. Transwell experiments demonstrated that this was predominantly due to direct cell-cell contact in addition to soluble mediators whereby CDCs produced high levels of PGE2 under inflammatory conditions. This led to down-regulation of CD25 expression on lymphocytes via the EP4 receptor. Blocking prostaglandin synthesis restored both, proliferation and activation (measured via CD25 expression) of stimulated lymphocytes. We demonstrated for the first time in a large animal model that CDCs inhibit proliferation in allo-reactive lymphocytes and have potent immunosuppressive activity mediated via PGE2

Imaging Breast Microcalcifications Using Dark-Field Signal in Propagation-Based Phase-Contrast Tomography

Breast microcalcifications are an important primary radiological indicator of breast cancer. However, microcalcification classification and diagnosis may be still challenging for radiologists due to limitations of the standard 2D mammography technique, including spatial and contrast resolution. In this study, we propose an approach to improve the detection of microcalcifications in propagation-based phase-contrast X-ray computed tomography of breast tissues. Five fresh mastectomies containing microcalcifications were scanned at different X-ray energies and radiation doses using synchrotron radiation. Both bright-field (i.e. conventional phase-retrieved images) and dark-field images were extracted from the same data sets using different image processing methods. A quantitative analysis was performed in terms of visibility and contrast-to-noise ratio of microcalcifications. The results show that while the signal-to-noise and the contrast-to-noise ratios are lower, the visibility of the microcalcifications is more than two times higher in the dark-field images compared to the bright-field images. Dark-field images have also provided more accurate information about the size and shape of the microcalcifications

Microseismic Full Waveform Modeling in Anisotropic Media with Moment Tensor Implementation

Seismic anisotropy which is common in shale and fractured rocks will cause travel-time and amplitude discrepancy in different propagation directions. For microseismic monitoring which is often implemented in shale or fractured rocks, seismic anisotropy needs to be carefully accounted for in source location and mechanism determination. We have developed an efficient finite-difference full waveform modeling tool with an arbitrary moment tensor source. The modeling tool is suitable for simulating wave propagation in anisotropic media for microseismic monitoring. As both dislocation and non-double-couple source are often observed in microseismic monitoring, an arbitrary moment tensor source is implemented in our forward modeling tool. The increments of shear stress are equally distributed on the staggered grid to implement an accurate and symmetric moment tensor source. Our modeling tool provides an efficient way to obtain the Green’s function in anisotropic media, which is the key of anisotropic moment tensor inversion and source mechanism characterization in microseismic monitoring. In our research, wavefields in anisotropic media have been carefully simulated and analyzed in both surface array and downhole array. The variation characteristics of travel-time and amplitude of direct P- and S-wave in vertical transverse isotropic media and horizontal transverse isotropic media are distinct, thus providing a feasible way to distinguish and identify the anisotropic type of the subsurface. Analyzing the travel-times and amplitudes of the microseismic data is a feasible way to estimate the orientation and density of the induced cracks in hydraulic fracturing. Our anisotropic modeling tool can be used to generate and analyze microseismic full wavefield with full moment tensor source in anisotropic media, which can help promote the anisotropic interpretation and inversion of field data