Bioinformatic analysis reveals the association between bacterial morphology and antibiotic resistance using light microscopy with deep learning.

Although it is well known that the morphology of Gram-negative rods changes on exposure to antibiotics, the morphology of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the absence of antibiotics has not been widely investigated. Here, we studied the morphologies of 10 antibiotic-resistant strains of and used bioinformatics tools to classify the resistant cells under light microscopy in the absence of antibiotics. The antibiotic-resistant strains showed differences in morphology from the sensitive parental strain, and the differences were most prominent in the quinolone-and β-lactam-resistant bacteria.

Giant gallbladder cyst with acute cholecystitis: a case report.

Background: Gallbladder cysts are rare diseases with very few reported cases, and no clinical or histological definition has been established. Furthermore, cases of giant cysts outside the gallbladder wall are extremely rare. We report a rare case of giant gallbladder cyst with acute cholecystitis.

Electrospun Ibuprofen-Loaded Blend PCL/PEO Fibers for Topical Drug Delivery Applications.

Electrospun drug-eluting fibers have demonstrated potentials in topical drug delivery applications, where drug releases can be modulated by polymer fiber compositions. In this study, blend fibers of polycaprolactone (PCL) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) at various compositions were electrospun from 10 wt% of polymer solutions to encapsulate a model drug of ibuprofen (IBP). The results showed that the average polymer solution viscosities determined the electrospinning parameters and the resulting average fiber diameters.

Subtle radiographic progression at 6 months can be detected using automated quantitative software in rheumatoid arthritis while receiving tocilizumab.

Objectives: We investigated whether our in-house software equipped with partial image phase-only correlation (PIPOC) can detect subtle radiographic joint space narrowing (JSN) progression at 6 months and predict JSN progression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients receiving Tocilizumab.

Methods: The study included 39 RA patients who were treated with Tocilizumab. Radiological progression of the finger joints was evaluated according to the Genant-modified Sharp score (GSS) at 0, 6, and 12 months.

Bacteriophage therapy for the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections in humanized mice.

The continuing emergence of new strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has renewed interest in phage therapy; however, there has been limited progress in applying phage therapy to multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infections. In this study, we show that bacteriophage strains D29 and DS6A can efficiently lyse Mtb H37Rv in 7H10 agar plates. However, only phage DS6A efficiently kills H37Rv in liquid culture and in Mtb-infected human primary macrophages.

Ectopic pancreatic adenocarcinoma in Meckel's diverticulum: a case report.

Background: Malignant neoplasms arising from Meckel's diverticulum are rare and an adenocarcinoma in Meckel's diverticulum originating from ectopic pancreatic tissue is even rarer. Herein, we report a patient with an ectopic pancreatic adenocarcinoma in Meckel's diverticulum who was successfully treated with surgery and chemotherapy.

Case Presentation: A woman in her sixties presented to another hospital with abdominal pain.

Myocardin regulates fibronectin expression and secretion from human pleural mesothelial cells.

During the progression of pleural fibrosis, pleural mesothelial cells (PMCs) undergo a phenotype switching process known as mesothelial-mesenchymal transition (MesoMT). During MesoMT, transformed PMCs become myofibroblasts that produce increased extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, including collagen and fibronectin (FN1) that is critical to develop fibrosis. Here, we studied the mechanism that regulates FN1 expression in myofibroblasts derived from human pleural mesothelial cells (HPMCs).

Corrections to "A Sub-Pixel Accurate Quantification of Joint Space Narrowing Progression in Rheumatoid Arthritis".

Presents corrections to the article "A Sub-Pixel Accurate Quantification of Joint Space Narrowing Progression in Rheumatoid Arthritis".

Role of ZIP kinase in development of myofibroblast differentiation from HPMCs.

During the development of pleural fibrosis, pleural mesothelial cells (PMCs) undergo phenotypic switching from differentiated mesothelial cells to mesenchymal cells (MesoMT). Here, we investigated how external stimuli such as TGF-β induce HPMC-derived myofibroblast differentiation to facilitate the development of pleural fibrosis. TGF-β significantly increased di-phosphorylation but not mono-phosphorylation of myosin II regulatory light chain (RLC) in HPMCs.

The mTORC2/SGK1/NDRG1 Signaling Axis Is Critical for the Mesomesenchymal Transition of Pleural Mesothelial Cells and the Progression of Pleural Fibrosis.

Progressive lung scarring because of persistent pleural organization often results in pleural fibrosis (PF). This process affects patients with complicated parapneumonic pleural effusions, empyema, and other pleural diseases prone to loculation. In PF, pleural mesothelial cells undergo mesomesenchymal transition (MesoMT) to become profibrotic, characterized by increased expression of α-smooth muscle actin and matrix proteins, including collagen-1.

A deep registration method for accurate quantification of joint space narrowing progression in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease that leads to progressive articular destruction and severe disability. Joint space narrowing (JSN) has been regarded as an important indicator for RA progression and has received significant attention. Radiology plays a crucial role in the diagnosis and monitoring of RA through the assessment of joint space.

Fully automatic software for detecting radiographic joint space narrowing progression in rheumatoid arthritis: phantom study and comparison with visual assessment.

Purpose: We have developed an in-house software equipped with partial image phase-only correlation (PIPOC) which can automatically quantify radiographic joint space narrowing (JSN) progression. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the software in phantom and clinical assessments.

Materials And Methods: In the phantom assessment, the software's performance on radiographic images was compared to the joint space width (JSW) difference using a micrometer as ground truth.

A Sub-Pixel Accurate Quantification of Joint Space Narrowing Progression in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that primarily affects peripheral synovial joints, like fingers, wrists and feet. Radiology plays a critical role in the diagnosis and monitoring of RA. Limited by the current spatial resolution of radiographic imaging, joint space narrowing (JSN) progression of RA for the same reason above can be less than one pixel per year with universal spatial resolution.

Maximum Diameter of the Gallbladder Determined Presurgically Using Computed Tomography as a Risk Factor for Difficult Emergency Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Patients With Mild to Moderate Acute Cholecystitis.

Background: Early or emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) was recommended in the 2018 Tokyo Guidelines for patients with mild to moderate acute cholecystitis (AC). Although surgical difficulty is frequently encountered during these surgeries, risk factors for predicting surgical difficulties have not been fully investigated, especially based on computed tomography (CT) findings.

Materials And Methods: We investigated 72 patients who underwent emergency LC with mild (n=45) to moderate (n=27) AC.

Prognostic significance of intrahepatic lymphatic invasion in colorectal liver metastases.

Background: Intrahepatic lymphatic invasion is an adverse prognostic factor after hepatectomy for colorectal liver metastases (CLMs). However, most patients in previous reports had liver resection before the era of FOLFOX/FIRI-based chemotherapy.

Methods: Forty-six patients who underwent hepatectomy for CLMs from 2004 to 2020 were evaluated.

Structural Analysis of Human Fascin-1: Essential Protein for Actin Filaments Bundling.

Fascin, a major actin cross-linking protein, is expressed in most vertebrate epithelial tissues. It organizes actin filaments into well-ordered bundles that are responsible for the extension of dynamic membrane protrusions, including microspikes, filopodia, and invadopodia from cell surfaces, which are involved in cell migration and invasion as critical components of cancer metastasis. However, it is not well-understood how fascin-1 induces actin binding/bundling and where fascin-1 localizes along the actin filaments, thus facilitating actin bundle formation.

Myo5b Transports Fibronectin-Containing Vesicles and Facilitates FN1 Secretion from Human Pleural Mesothelial Cells.

Pleural mesothelial cells (PMCs) play a central role in the progression of pleural fibrosis. As pleural injury progresses to fibrosis, PMCs transition to mesenchymal myofibroblast via mesothelial mesenchymal transition (MesoMT), and produce extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins including collagen and fibronectin (FN1). FN1 plays an important role in ECM maturation and facilitates ECM-myofibroblast interaction, thus facilitating fibrosis.

Mitochondria-associated myosin 19 processively transports mitochondria on actin tracks in living cells.

Mitochondria are fundamentally important in cell function, and their malfunction can cause the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neuronal disorders. Myosin 19 (Myo19) shows discrete localization with mitochondria and is thought to play an important role in mitochondrial dynamics and function; however, the function of Myo19 in mitochondrial dynamics at the cellular and molecular levels is poorly understood. Critical missing information is whether Myo19 is a processive motor that is suitable for transportation of mitochondria.

Elevated Preoperative DUPAN-2 Level Predicts Locoregional Recurrence After Pancreatectomy in Patients With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Background/aim: The diagnostic value of serum DUPAN-2 level has been reported; however, the relationship between preoperative DUPAN-2 level and recurrence pattern has not been fully investigated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 50 patients with PDAC who underwent pancreatectomy. The relationships between clinicopathologic factors and site-specific disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed using Cox proportional hazard and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.

Caveolin-1-Derived Peptide Reduces ER Stress and Enhances Gelatinolytic Activity in IPF Fibroblasts.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal disease characterized by an excess deposition of extracellular matrix in the pulmonary interstitium. Caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide (CSP) has been found to mitigate pulmonary fibrosis in several animal models. However, its pathophysiological role in IPF is obscure, and it remains critical to understand the mechanism by which CSP protects against pulmonary fibrosis.

Clinicopathological features and prognosis of gastric tube cancer after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer: a nationwide study in Japan.

Background: Survivors of esophageal cancer post-esophagectomy may sometimes develop gastric tube cancer (GTC). However, its clinical characteristics have not been elucidated. We conducted a retrospective nationwide survey of GTCs to clarify them.

PD-L1 mediates lung fibroblast to myofibroblast transition through Smad3 and β-catenin signaling pathways.

Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is an immune checkpoint protein that has been linked with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and fibroblast to myofibroblast transition (FMT). However, it remains largely unclear how PD-L1 mediates this process. We found significantly increased PD-L1 in the lungs of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients and mice with pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin and TGF-β.

DOCK2 Promotes Pleural Fibrosis by Modulating Mesothelial to Mesenchymal Transition.

Mesothelial to mesenchymal transition (MesoMT) is one of the crucial mechanisms underlying pleural fibrosis, which results in restrictive lung disease. DOCK2 (dedicator of cytokinesis 2) plays important roles in immune functions; however, its role in pleural fibrosis, particularly MesoMT, remains unknown. We found that amounts of DOCK2 and the MesoMT marker α-SMA (α-smooth muscle actin) were significantly elevated and colocalized in the thickened pleura of patients with nonspecific pleuritis, suggesting the involvement of DOCK2 in the pathogenesis of MesoMT and pleural fibrosis.