Granulomatous lobular mastitis treated by a combined internal and external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine: A case report.

Background: Granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM) is a rare benign inflammatory disease of the breast and is classified under comedo mastitis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The etiology of this disease is unknown, and it mainly occurs in women of childbearing age. The diagnosis depends on histopathological biopsy.

Nasal cathelicidin is expressed in early life and is increased during mild, but not severe respiratory syncytial virus infection.

Respiratory syncytial virus is the major cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections in young children, causing extensive mortality and morbidity globally, with limited therapeutic or preventative options. Cathelicidins are innate immune antimicrobial host defence peptides and have antiviral activity against RSV. However, upper respiratory tract cathelicidin expression and the relationship with host and environment factors in early life, are unknown.

Nasopharyngeal microbiota in children is associated with severe asthma exacerbations.

Background: The respiratory microbiome has been associated with the etiology and disease course of asthma.

Objective: We sought to assess the nasopharyngeal microbiota in children with a severe asthma exacerbation and their associations with medication, air quality, and viral infection.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among children aged 2 to 18 years admitted to the medium care unit (MCU; n = 84) or intensive care unit (ICU; n = 78) with an asthma exacerbation.

16S rRNA-Based Microbiota Profiling Assists Conventional Culture Analysis of Airway Samples from Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Patients.

16S-based sequencing provides broader information on the respiratory microbial community than conventional culturing. However, it (often) lacks species- and strain-level information. To overcome this issue, we used 16S rRNA-based sequencing results from 246 nasopharyngeal samples obtained from 20 infants with cystic fibrosis (CF) and 43 healthy infants, which were all 0 to 6 months old, and compared them to both standard (blind) diagnostic culturing and a 16S-sequencing-informed "targeted" reculturing approach.

Development and evaluation of an assay for HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase drug resistance genotyping of all major group-M subtypes.

Background: High cost and varying sensitivity for non-B HIV-1 subtypes limits application of current commercial kits for HIV-1 drug resistance genotyping of all major HIV-1 group-M subtypes.

Objectives: Our research aimed to develop and validate an assay specific for all major HIV-1 group-M subtypes for use as an alternative to commercial assays for HIV-1 protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) drug resistance genotyping.

Study Design: A nested RT-PCR encompassing the entire PR and RT up to amino acid 321 of HIV-1 was designed to detect HIV-1 group-M subtypes.

Simultaneously monitoring the particle size distribution, morphology and suspended solids concentration in wastewater applying digital image analysis (DIA).

The efficiency of particle sedimentation in wastewater treatment is seriously affected by particle size distribution and morphology. A laser particle size analyzer is typically to analyze particle size distribution in wastewater. However, using this analyzer for on-line monitoring is difficult.

Evidence for an increasing presence of Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes in The Netherlands.

Echinococcus multilocularis, a tapeworm causing alveolar echinococcosis which is considered a serious zoonosis known to affect humans, appears to be expanding its geographical range in Europe. We studied the emergence of the parasite in the European westernmost edge of its geographical distribution, based on two consecutive parasitological examinations of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) sampled between 1996 and 2003 in The Netherlands. The average worm count increased from 2.

Measurements of wastewater true color by 4/6 wavelength methods and artificial neural network.

The ADMI (American Dye Manufactures' Institute) 3 and 31 wavelength (WL) methods are the most popular measurements of the wastewater true color. However, significantly different measured results were found between the ADMI 3 and 31 WL methods for the same sample. This finding indicates that the ADMI 3 and 31 WL values should not be directly substituted for each other, resulting in the incomparability of these two color values.