Soft Tissue Infection of Immunocompetent Man with Cat-Derived Globicatella Species.

We report a novel Globicatella species causing extensive soft tissue infection in a man bitten by a stray domestic cat in the United Kingdom. We identified this bacterium by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, whole-genome sequencing, and biochemical profiling and determined antimicrobial drug susceptibility.

Quality of MALDI-TOF mass spectra in routine diagnostics: results from an international external quality assessment including 36 laboratories from 12 countries using 47 challenging bacterial strains.

Objectives: Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) is a widely used method for bacterial species identification. Incomplete databases and mass spectral quality (MSQ) still represent major challenges. Important proxies for MSQ are the number of detected marker masses, reproducibility, and measurement precision.

infection in a patient with aortic root abscess and endocarditis.

Introduction: species are increasingly recognized as agents of culture-negative endocarditis. However, to date, almost all human cases have been associated with two members of the genus, and infections are zoonotic, with domestic cats serving as reservoir hosts for the pathogen. also exploits cats as reservoir hosts, but its zoonotic potential is far less established.

Branding Dynamics for the Esthetic Dentist: Building Your Brand to Build Your Practice.

The objective of this article is to introduce the concept of branding to dentists interested in implementing elective esthetic treatment into their practice. For many, this will serve as an introduction to begin; for others, it can provide a road map for revising and reinforcing a branding program already in place.

The relationship between emotional experience with dyslexia and work self-efficacy among adults with dyslexia.

This study responds to a call for more research on working adults with dyslexia investigating how employment-related factors affect and relate to one another. Two important work-related factors are self-efficacy and emotional experience with dyslexia. Work self-efficacy is viewed one of the most vital intrapersonal capacities in the work environment.

rpoB gene sequencing highlights the prevalence of an E. miricola cluster over other Elizabethkingia species among UK cystic fibrosis patients.

Difficulties in distinguishing species of the Elizabethkingia genus by MALDI-TOF prompted use of rpoB sequencing to investigate species distribution among 44 isolates from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Forty-three isolates from 38 patients formed a cluster comprising E. miricola and proposed novel species E.

Sphingobacterium spiritivorum infection in a patient with end stage renal disease on haemodialysis.

Background: Sphingobacterium spiritivorum is a microorganism that is ubiquitously found in the environment. However, it is rarely isolated from human clinical specimens. There are few reports to date of Sphingobacterium spiritivorum causing disease in humans.

Case report: Actinomycetoma caused by Nocardia aobensis from Lao PDR with favourable outcome after short-term antibiotic treatment.

Background: Mycetoma is a neglected, chronic, localized, progressively destructive, granulomatous infection caused either by fungi (eumycetoma) or by aerobic actinomycetes (actinomycetoma). It is characterized by a triad of painless subcutaneous mass, multiple sinuses and discharge containing grains. Mycetoma commonly affects young men aged between 20 and 40 years with low socioeconomic status, particularly farmers and herdsmen.

Actinomycetoma in SE Asia: the first case from Laos and a review of the literature.

Background: Mycetoma is a chronic, localized, slowly progressing infection of the cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues caused either by fungi (eumycetoma or implantation mycosis) or by aerobic actinomycetes (actinomycetoma). It is acquired by traumatic implantation, most commonly in the tropics and subtropics, especially in rural agricultural communities. Although well recognized elsewhere in Asia, it has not been reported from the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos).

Utility of real-time amplification of selected 16S rRNA gene sequences as a tool for detection and identification of microbial signatures directly from clinical samples.

The potential of incorporating a real-time PCR for amplification and detection of 16S rRNA gene signatures directly from clinical samples was assessed as a tool for diagnostics. Universal PCR primers spanning short variable regions (~500 bp) were optimized for real-time PCR and tested in comparison with a longer fragment (~1400 bp) generated from block-based amplification. Real-time PCR had improved sensitivity of detection (8% increase), decreased amplification time and simplified downstream processing.

Dyslexic entrepreneurs: the incidence; their coping strategies and their business skills.

This comparative study explores the incidence of dyslexia in entrepreneurs, corporate managers and the general population. It examines the suggestion that dyslexic entrepreneurs develop coping strategies to manage their weaknesses, which are subsequently of benefit in the new venture creation process. Results of this study suggest that there is a significantly higher incidence of dyslexia in entrepreneurs than in the corporate management and general US and UK populations and some of the strategies they adopt to overcome dyslexia (such as delegation of tasks) may be useful in business.

Beating-heart percutaneous mitral valve repair using a transcatheter endovascular suturing device in an animal model.

Background: The edge-to-edge (Alfieri) technique for mitral valve repair is a versatile method of treating mitral insufficiency. Because of its simplicity, it has been applied in minimally invasive surgery, and recently, in the design of endovascular closed-heart devices.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acute in-vivo safety and feasibility of a novel percutaneous mitral valve repair system based on Alfieri technique in an animal model.

Flagellin gene sequence evolution in Salmonella.

Salmonella exhibits 70 serologically distinct flagellins, used internationally to diagnose and track infections. The terminal sequences of flagellin protein subunits are conserved in a range of bacteria and are here used as evolutionary markers to reveal how new serotypes arise. Terminal sequences of flagellins that exhibit factors g or m (G-group) were distinct from other Salmonella antigens (Non-G-group) and cluster more closely with Escherichia coli.

Intracardiac echocardiography for percutaneous mitral valve repair in a swine model.

Background: High-quality live imaging assessment of cardiac valves and cardiac anatomy is crucial for the success of percutaneous catheter-based mitral valve (MV) repair techniques. We examined the use of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) in providing online ICE images necessary for successful perctunaneous MV repair by Alfieri stitch technique-based percutaneous edge-to-edge device in a swine model.

Methods: ICE was performed in 20 healthy adult pigs (90 +/- 8 kg, mean +/- SEM).

Towards the development of a DNA-sequence based approach to serotyping of Salmonella enterica.

Background: The fliC and fljB genes in Salmonella code for the phase 1 (H1) and phase 2 (H2) flagellin respectively, the rfb cluster encodes the majority of enzymes for polysaccharide (O) antigen biosynthesis, together they determine the antigenic profile by which Salmonella are identified. Sequencing and characterisation of fliC was performed in the development of a molecular serotyping technique.

Results: FliC sequencing of 106 strains revealed two groups; the g-complex included those exhibiting "g" or "m,t" antigenic factors, and the non-g strains which formed a second more diverse group.

Fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism genotyping of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains and its relationship with host specificity, serotyping, and phage typing.

Fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (FAFLP) analysis was applied to 276 Campylobacter jejuni strains and 87 Campylobacter coli strains isolated from humans, pigs, cattle, poultry, and retail meats to investigate whether certain FAFLP genotypes of C. jejuni and C. coli are associated with a particular host and to determine the degree of association between FAFLP-defined genotypes and heat-stable serotypes and/or phage types.