Risk Factors for Infection-Attributable Mortality in Patients With Bacteremia: A Competing Risk Analysis.

Background: Identifying risk factors for mortality in patients with bacteremia (SAB) is crucial due to its high fatality. However, data on risk factors for infection-attributable deaths considering competing risk events such as non-infection-attributable deaths remain limited. We performed a competing risk analysis to elucidate risk factors associated with 30-day infection-attributable mortality in a large cohort of patients with SAB.

Predicting persistent SARS-CoV-2 shedding in immunocompromised patients: a probability-based approach.

Background: Although recommended isolation periods for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been shortened as the pandemic has subsided, prolonged Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) shedding remains common in immunocompromised patients. This study estimated the probability of viral clearance in these patients based on elapsed days and specific risk factors.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled immunocompromised patients with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis from January 2022 to May 2023 during the Omicron variant era.

Genome-wide phenotypic profiling of transcription factors and identification of novel targets to control the virulence of Vibrio vulnificus.

For successful infection, the life-threatening pathogen Vibrio vulnificus elaborately regulates the expression of survival and virulence genes using various transcription factors (TFs). In this study, a library of the V. vulnificus mutants carrying specific signature tags in 285 TF genes was constructed and subjected to 16 phenotypic analyses.

Marmosets as model systems for the study of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: Substantiation of physiological tau 3R and 4R isoform expression and phosphorylation.

Introduction: Marmosets spontaneously develop pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) including amyloid beta plaques. However, tau expression in the marmoset brain has been understudied.

Methods: Isoforms of tau were examined by western blot, mass spectrometry, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemical staining.

ChIP-seq and structural analyses delineating the regulatory mechanism of master regulator EsrB in .

Unlabelled: As a response regulator of the EsrA-EsrB two-component system, EsrB is conserved in and plays a crucial role in virulence and pathogenicity. EsrB possesses DNA binding abilities, enabling it to regulate the transcription of virulence genes to confront different stresses and achieve systematic infections. Here, ChIP-seq analysis of EsrB in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) (mimicking environments) revealed that EsrB preferred to bind to virulence-associated promoters with a distinct 7'-4-7'' pseudopalindromic DNA motif and interact with metabolic-related promoters with a high AT DNA motif.

Discovery of a Small-Molecule Inhibitor Targeting the Biofilm Regulator BrpT in .

, an opportunistic human pathogen, employs biofilm formation as a key survival and virulence mechanism. BrpT, a transcriptional regulator, is essential for biofilm development by regulating the expression of biofilm-related genes. In this study, we aimed to identify a small molecule inhibitor of BrpT to combat biofilm formation.

Identification and characterization of a small molecule BFstatin inhibiting BrpR, the transcriptional regulator for biofilm formation of .

Many pathogenic bacteria form biofilms that are resistant to not only host immune defenses but also antibiotics, posing a need for the development of strategies to control biofilms. In this study, to prevent biofilm formation of the fulminating foodborne pathogen , chemical libraries were extensively screened to identify a small molecule inhibiting the activity of BrpR, a transcriptional regulator for biofilm genes. Accordingly, the BrpR inhibitor BFstatin [N1-(2-chloro-5-fluorophenyl)-N3-propylmalonamide], with a half-maximal effective concentration of 8.

Effect of Severe Fever With Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus Genotype on Disease Severity, Viral Load, and Cytokines in South Korea.

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by (SFTS virus [SFTSV]). Recently, at least 6 different genotypes of SFTSV have been identified, with genotypes A, D, and F dominant in China and B dominant in Japan and Korea. This study investigated the effect of SFTSV genotypes circulating in South Korea on disease severity, viral load, and cytokine profile.

Viral, Immunologic, and Laboratory Parameters in Patients With and Without Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC).

Background: The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the post-acute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection (PASC) are not well understood. Our study aimed to investigate various aspects of theses mechanisms, including viral persistence, immunological responses, and laboratory parameters in patients with and without PASC.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled adults aged ≥ 18 years diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) between August 2022 and July 2023.

Spiking neural networks for biomedical signal analysis.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has had a significant impact on human life because of its pervasiveness across industries and its rapid development. Although AI has achieved superior performance in learning and reasoning, it encounters challenges such as substantial computational demands, privacy concerns, communication delays, and high energy consumption associated with cloud-based models. These limitations have facilitated a paradigm change in on-device AI processing, which offers enhanced privacy, reduced latency, and improved power efficiency through the direct execution of computations on devices.

Clinical evaluation of the T2Candida assay for the rapid diagnosis of candidemia.

We evaluated the clinical performance of the T2Candida assay. The overall agreement of the T2Candida assay results with the blood culture results was 95.3 % (121/127).

Clinical and microbiological characteristics of persistent Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, risk factors for mortality, and the role of CD4 T cells.

This study evaluated the determinants of mortality and the T cell immune response in patients with persistent Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB). This was a prospective cohort study and patients with confirmed SAB were enrolled from 2008 to 2020. We compared clinical, microbiological, and genotypic features between surviving and deceased patients with persistent SAB.

Marmosets as model systems for the study of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: substantiation of physiological Tau 3R and 4R isoform expression and phosphorylation.

Introduction: Marmosets have been shown to spontaneously develop pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) during advanced age, including amyloid-beta plaques, positioning them as a model system to overcome the rodent-to-human translational gap for AD. However, Tau expression in the marmoset brain has been understudied.

Methods: To comprehensively investigate Tau isoform expression in marmosets, brain tissue from eight unrelated marmosets across various ages was evaluated and compared to human postmortem AD tissue.

Fur-mediated regulation of hydrogen sulfide synthesis, stress response, and virulence in Edwardsiella piscicida.

The production of endogenous hydrogen sulfide (HS) is an important phenotype of bacteria. HS plays an important role in bacterial resistance to ROS and antibiotics, which significantly contributes to bacterial pathogenicity. Edwardsiella piscicida, the Gram-negative pathogen causing fish edwardsiellosis, has been documented to produce hydrogen sulfide.

Comparison of the Clinical Outcomes Between Early and Delayed Transplantation After SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Our study analyzed 95 solid organ transplant (SOT) and 78 hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients with prior coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients who underwent transplantation within 30 days of COVID-19 infection comprised the early group, and those who underwent transplantation post-30 days of COVID-19 infection comprised the delayed group. In the early transplantation group, no patient, whether undergoing SOT and HSCT, experienced COVID-19-associated complications.

Early molecular events of autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease in marmosets with PSEN1 mutations.

Introduction: Fundamental questions remain about the key mechanisms that initiate Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the factors that promote its progression. Here we report the successful generation of the first genetically engineered marmosets that carry knock-in (KI) point mutations in the presenilin 1 (PSEN1) gene that can be studied from birth throughout lifespan.

Methods: CRISPR/Cas9 was used to generate marmosets with C410Y or A426P point mutations in PSEN1.