Gram stain to the rescue: a case report of cerebral phaeohyphomycosis by Cladophialophora bantiana in an immunocompetent 24-year-old.

Background: Fungal brain abscesses in immunocompetent patients are exceedingly rare. Cladophialophora bantiana is the most common cause of cerebral phaeohyphomycosis, a dematiaceous mold. Radiological presentation can mimic other disease states, with diagnosis through surgical aspiration and growth of melanized fungi in culture.

Artificial Intelligence in Plasma Cell Myeloma: Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines in the Classification of Plasma Cell Myeloma Data at Diagnosis.

Background: Plasma cell neoplasm and/or plasma cell myeloma (PCM) is a mature B-cell lymphoproliferative neoplasm of plasma cells that secrete a single homogeneous immunoglobulin called paraprotein or M-protein. Plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow (BM) leading to bone destruction and BM failure. Diagnosis of PCM is based on clinical, radiologic, and pathological characteristics.

Potential impact of oral flora dispersal on patients wearing face masks when undergoing ophthalmologic procedures.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the amount of oral flora dispersion towards the ocular surface in relation to various face mask scenarios.

Methods And Analysis: Thirty participants were recruited for this prospective cross-sectional study. Each participant was seated and instructed to hold a blood agar plate perpendicular to the bridge of their nose and facing downward.

PTEN expression and morphological patterns in prostatic adenocarcinoma.

Aims: Cribriform morphology, which includes intraductal carcinoma (IDCP) and invasive cribriform carcinoma, is an indicator of poor prognosis in prostate cancer. Phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) loss is a predictor of adverse clinical outcomes. The association between PTEN expression and morphological patterns of prostate cancer is unclear.

Ceftolozane-tazobactam- and ceftazidime-avibactam-resistant mastoiditis.

is an important bacterial cause of a variety of infections and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Infections caused by this bacterium are becoming more difficult to treat due to increasing resistance to many of the available antibiotics. Ceftolozane-tazobactam and ceftazidime-avibactam are two new cephalosporin/β-lactamase inhibitor combination antimicrobials that have demonstrated excellent activity against several multi-drug-resistant pathogens, including multi-drug-resistant .

Open thoracic cordotomy as a treatment option for severe, debilitating pain.

Objective: The treatment of patients with debilitating lower extremity or medically refractory quadrant pain presents a challenge for management. Contemporary neuromodulatory therapies may not be affordable or practical, especially in patients with limited life expectancy or from countries with limited resources. We present a small retrospective series to evaluate the role of open thoracic cordotomy as a practice option in the treatment of patients with severe, unilateral, medically refractory pain of the lower abdominal quadrant, hip, or leg.

A common structure for the potexviruses.

We have used fiber diffraction, cryo-electron microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy to confirm the symmetry of three potexviruses, potato virus X, papaya mosaic virus, and narcissus mosaic virus, and to determine their low-resolution structures. All three viruses have slightly less than nine subunits per turn of the viral helix. Our data strongly support the view that all potexviruses have approximately the same symmetry.

Rat model of blood-brain barrier disruption to allow targeted neurovascular therapeutics.

Endothelial cells with tight junctions along with the basement membrane and astrocyte end feet surround cerebral blood vessels to form the blood-brain barrier(1). The barrier selectively excludes molecules from crossing between the blood and the brain based upon their size and charge. This function can impede the delivery of therapeutics for neurological disorders.

Open surgical disconnection for congenital, multi-hole, pial arteriovenous fistulae in non-eloquent cortex.

Intracranial pial arteriovenous fistulae (pAVFs), a direct shunt between a feeding artery and a venous channel with the absence of a true nidus characteristic of other types of arteriovenous malformations, are rare. We report a seven-year-old girl with an incidental intracranial pAVF. Following partial embolization with a combination of platinum coils and liquid embolic material, this lesion was surgically disconnected and a definitive cure was achieved.