Personalization of pharmacotherapy with sirolimus based on volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) in pediatric renal transplant recipients-from LC-MS/MS method validation to clinical application.

Background: The benefits of pharmacotherapy with sirolimus (SIR) in pediatric transplant recipients are well established. Traditionally, whole blood samples have been used to measure SIR concentrations. Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling (VAMS) is an alternative sampling strategy suitable for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM).

Evaluation of ballistics euthanasia applied to stranded cetaceans using ethological and post-mortem computed tomography assessment.

Debilitated stranded cetaceans with low survival likelihood, may require euthanasia to avoid further suffering. Euthanasia can involve chemical or physical methods, including ballistics. Ballistics should cause instantaneous, permanent insensibility through brainstem disruption.

Assessment of Dried Serum Spots (DSS) and Volumetric-Absorptive Microsampling (VAMS) Techniques in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of (Val)Ganciclovir-Comparative Study in Analytical and Clinical Practice.

Ganciclovir (GCV) and its prodrug valganciclovir (VGCV) are antiviral medications primarily used to treat infections caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV), particularly in immunocompromised individuals such as solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Therapy with GCV is associated with significant side effects, including bone marrow suppression. Therefore, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is mandatory for an appropriate balance between subtherapeutic and toxic drug levels.

Illustrated cross-sectional computed tomography of the cetacean abdomino-pelvic organs.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) is a non-invasive diagnostic imaging modality which can be used to study the anatomy and morphology of live or deceased animals in-situ. In cetaceans, existing CT anatomy studies mostly focused on the head and thoracic regions. Using postmortem CT (PMCT) scans of Indo-Pacific finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides), this study describes the cross-sectional imaging anatomy of the cetacean abdomino-pelvic organs for the first time.

A novel approach to therapeutic drug monitoring of Ciclosporin in pediatric renal transplant recipients using volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) - Teaching old dog new tricks.

Background And Aims: Ciclosporin (CSA) is an immunosuppressive agent that requires therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). High partitioning in erythrocytes indicates that whole blood (WB) is a suitable matrix for CSA determination. Alternative sampling strategies, such as volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS), are novel possibilities for blood collection during TDM for various analytes, including immunosuppressants.

Changes in the Level of DNA Methylation in under the Influence of Physical and Chemical Factors.

The effects of physical factors such as radiation (electromagnetic, microwave, infrared, laser, UVC, and X-ray) and high temperature, as well as chemical factors (controlled atmosphere) on the level of global DNA cytosine methylation in ATCC 10231 cells were investigated. Prolonged exposure to each type of radiation significantly increased the DNA methylation level. In addition, the global methylation level in cells increased with the incubation temperature.

Similarity Analysis of Producing Carbapenemases Isolated from UTI and Other Infections.

is an important opportunistic pathogen responsible for severe infections, mainly urinary tract infections (UTIs) and pneumonia. Hospital epidemic infections caused by multiresistant strains of carbapenemase-producing are the most concerning. NDM-producing strains are resistant to a wide range of antibiotics and have become the most significant threat.

Temporal Trends and Suspect Screening of Halogenated Flame Retardants and Their Metabolites in Blubbers of Cetaceans Stranded in Hong Kong Waters during 2013-2020.

Halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) are a large class of chemical additives intended to meet flammability safety requirements, and at present, they are ubiquitous in the environment. Herein, we conducted the target analysis and suspect screening of legacy and novel HFRs and their metabolites in the blubber of finless porpoises (; = 70) and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (; = 35) stranded in Hong Kong, a coastal city in the South China Sea, between 2013 and 2020. The average concentrations of total target HFRs (ΣHFRs) were 6.

Virulence analysis and antibiotic resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from hospitalised patients in Poland.

Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) is a nosocomial pathogen causing difficult-to-treat infections. The presence of virulence genes and antibiotic resistance of 109 KP isolates from hospitalized patients were investigated. Among them, 68.

An Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) severely injured by vessel collision: live rescue at sea, clinical care, and postmortem examination using a virtopsy-integrated approach.

Background: Vessel collision induces blunt and sharp force traumas to aquatic animals and is a leading anthropogenic impact affecting cetaceans worldwide. Vessel collision is an important threat affecting vulnerable coastal cetaceans such as the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) which reside in coastal waters of Hong Kong amongst heavy marine traffic.

Case Presentation: A severely injured subadult S.

First Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Observation of Epimeletic Behavior in Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins.

Epimeletic behavior has been reported in various species of cetaceans and sometimes in wild populations during vessel-based surveys. Epimeletic behavior in cetaceans involves complex social interactions which have been described using observational and acoustic studies. The recent advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology allowed its application in wildlife research and frequently in cetaceans in conjunction with vessel-based surveys.

Characterisation of nematode infection in Indo-Pacific finless porpoises () using postmortem computed tomography.

Nematodes of the genus are parasites that infect various body tissues of cetaceans, including the mammary glands which can influence the reproductive output and hence threaten the survival of endangered cetacean populations. In this study, postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) was used to characterise lesions related to infections in stranded Indo-Pacific finless porpoises () from Hong Kong waters. Using PMCT and subsequently verified by conventional necropsy, -related lesions were found in 52% of finless porpoises examined (n = 13/25), including both males and females.

The prevalence of virulence determinants in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from different infections in hospitalized patients in Poland.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is responsible for hard-to-treat infections. The presence of 19 virulence genes in 120 MRSA isolates obtained from hospitalized patients and genetic relationships of these isolates were investigated. The eno (100%) and ebps (93.

Antibacterial and Anti-Biofilm Activities of Essential Oil Compounds against New Delhi Metallo-β-Lactamase-1-Producing Uropathogenic Strains.

The World Health Organization points out that the opportunistic pathogen that causes various infections among others, urinary tract infections (UTIs), is one of the high-priority species due to a global problem of antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities of chosen constituents of essential oils against NDM-1-producing, uropathogenic strains. The genes encoding lipopolysaccharide (, ), adhesin gene (type I fimbriae) and gene encoding carbapenemase () for all tested strains were detected by PCR amplification.

Visual Assessment of Contusion-Like Lesions Caused by Live Sharksucker (Echeneis naucrates) Attachment in an Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin (Sousa chinensis).

We observed contusion-like lesions caused by live sharksucker (Echeneis naucrates) attachment in an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis). Our report assists in differentiating epidermal lesions for visual health assessment in this vulnerable species and other cetaceans, and this adds new host and epibiont records for E. naucrates and S.

Hematological and Hematopoietic Effects of Bactericidal Doses of -Cinnamaldehyde and Thyme Oil on Juveniles.

The effects of two potential antibacterial agents of plant origin: -cinnamaldehyde (TC) and thyme oil (TO) on the peripheral blood parameters and cellular composition of hematopoietic tissue of were studied. Both phytochemicals were used in the doses based on the bactericidal concentrations against spp. developed earlier in study.

Antibiotic Resistance of Uropathogens Isolated from Patients Hospitalized in District Hospital in Central Poland in 2020.

The aim of this study was to determine antibiotic resistance patterns and the prevalence of uropathogenes causing urinary tract infections (UTIs) in patients hospitalized in January-June 2020 in central Poland. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disk-diffusion method. (52.

Effects of Oxytetracycline and Gentamicin Therapeutic Doses on Hematological, Biochemical and Hematopoietic Parameters in Juveniles.

Hematological, biochemical and hematopoietic effects of therapeutic doses of two antibiotics, oxytetracycline (OTC) and gentamicin (GEN), in clinically healthy common carp juveniles were studied. The fish were divided into four groups: controls 1 and 2 (untreated or injected with 0.6% NaCl solution), and two groups treated with antibiotics (orally with 75 mg/kg OTC four times every two days or injected with a single dose (4 mg/kg) of GEN dissolved in 0.

Image Rendering Techniques in Postmortem Computed Tomography: Evaluation of Biological Health and Profile in Stranded Cetaceans.

With 6 years of experience in implementing virtopsy routinely into the Hong Kong cetacean stranding response program, standardized virtopsy procedures, postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) acquisition, postprocessing, and evaluation were successfully established. In this pioneer cetacean virtopsy stranding response program, PMCT was performed on 193 stranded cetaceans, providing postmortem findings to aid necropsy and shed light on the biological health and profile of the animals. This study aimed to assess 8 image rendering techniques in PMCT, including multiplanar reconstruction, curved planar reformation, maximum intensity projection, minimum intensity projection, direct volume rendering, segmentation, transfer function, and perspective volume rendering.

Photogrammetric Three-dimensional Modeling and Printing of Cetacean Skeleton using an Omura's Whale Stranded in Hong Kong Waters as an Example.

The preparation of cetacean, in particular baleen whale, skeletons presents a great challenge due to their high lipid content and uncommon size. Documentation of the skeletal morphology is important to produce accurate and reliable models for both research and educational purposes. In this paper, we used a 10.

Antibacterials in Aquatic Environment and Their Toxicity to Fish.

Antibacterial agents are commonly present in aquatic environment at low concentrations. Terrestrial animal farms, human medicine and aquaculture are main sources of water contamination with antibacterials. Antibiotics were proved to be directly toxic to fish causing oxidative stress, general stress response, histopathological lesions, hematological, metabolic, and reproductive disorders, as well as immunosuppressive and genotoxic effects.

Effect of manuka honey on biofilm-associated genes expression during methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are among the most important biofilm-forming pathogens responsible for hard-to-treat infections. Looking for alternatives to antibiotics that prevent biofilm formation, we investigated the effects of manuka honey on the transcriptional profile of genes essential for staphylococcal biofilm formation using qRT-PCR. mRNA from two hospital MRSA strains (strong and weak biofilm producer) were isolated after 4, 8, 12 and 24 h from cells grown in biofilm.

Sleep difficulties among South Sudanese former refugees settled in Australia.

This quantitative study investigated self-reported sleep, mental health and trauma related nocturnal behaviours among South Sudanese Australians (SSA), examined sex differences in their responses, and sought to determine risk factors for insomnia in this population. Comparisons were also made to a general Australian (AUS) sample of 1,512 respondents, obtained in a previously published study using the same questions regarding sleep difficulties. Self-reports of sleep difficulties, psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, K10), and nocturnal post-traumatic stress symptoms (Pittsburgh Sleep Questionnaire Inventory-Addendum, PSQI-A) were obtained from 117 former refugees (aged 16-60 years) who had been resettled for a decade on average.

New Approaches for Genotyping.

Easy-to-perform, fast, and inexpensive methods of differentiation of strains beyond the species level are highly required. Herein two new, original tools for genotyping of E. coli isolates are proposed.