Clinical Characteristics of Snakebite Envenomings in Taiwan.

Snakebite envenomings continue to represent a major public health concern in Taiwan because of the presence of various venomous snakes whose habitats intersect with human activities. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the clinical characteristics, complications, and management strategies associated with snakebite envenomings in Taiwan. Taiwan is inhabited by six principal venomous snakes: , , , , , and , each presenting distinct clinical challenges.

Exploring Oxidative Stress and Metabolic Dysregulation in Lung Tissues of Offspring Rats Exposed to Prenatal Polystyrene Microplastics: Effects of Melatonin Treatment.

Metabolomics research provides a clearer understanding of an organism's metabolic state and enables a more accurate representation of its functional performance. This study aimed to investigate changes in the metabolome of lung tissues resulting from prenatal exposure to polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) and to understand the underlying mechanisms of lung damage in rat offspring. We conducted metabolomic analyses of lung tissue from seven-day-old rat pups exposed to prenatal PS-MPs.

Post-COVID-19 Condition and Pulmonary Embolism.

Purpose: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes post-acute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including pulmonary vasculopathy, increasing thrombotic risk. Screening and treating survivors are essential to reduce associated disabilities. We aim to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with post-COVID-19 condition and pulmonary embolism, as well as their health-related quality of life one year after COVID-19 diagnosis.

Comprehensive pathogen identification and antimicrobial resistance prediction from positive blood cultures using nanopore sequencing technology.

Background: Blood cultures are essential for diagnosing bloodstream infections, but current phenotypic tests for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) provide limited information. Oxford Nanopore Technologies introduces nanopore sequencing with adaptive sampling, capable of real-time host genome depletion, yet its application directly from blood cultures remains unexplored. This study aimed to identify pathogens and predict AMR using nanopore sequencing.

Multi-omics analysis reveals regime shifts in the gastrointestinal ecosystem in chickens following anticoccidial vaccination and challenge.

Coccidiosis, caused by parasites, significantly impacts poultry farm economics and animal welfare. Beyond its direct impact on health, infection disrupts enteric microbial populations leading to dysbiosis and increases vulnerability to secondary diseases such as necrotic enteritis, caused by . The impact of infection or anticoccidial vaccination on host gastrointestinal phenotypes and enteric microbiota remains understudied.

Surveillance of pathogenic yeasts in hospital environments in Taiwan in 2020.

Background: A predominate azole-resistant Candida tropicalis clade 4 genotype causing candidemia has been detected in not only Taiwan but also China, Singapore, and Australia. It can also be detected on fruit surfaces. In addition to determining distribution and drug susceptibilities of pathogenic yeasts in environments of intensive care units of 25 hospitals in Taiwan, we would also like to investigate whether the azole-resistant C.

Pathogenic Detection by Metagenomic Next-generation Sequencing in Skin and Soft Tissue Infection.

Background/aim: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) can be life-threatening, but the conventional bacterial cultures have low sensitivity and are time-consuming. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is widely used as a diagnostic tool for detecting pathogens from infection sites. However, the use of mNGS for pathogen detection in SSTIs and related research is still relatively limited.

Impact of Esophageal Motility on Microbiome Alterations in Symptomatic Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Patients With Negative Endoscopy: Exploring the Role of Ineffective Esophageal Motility and Contraction Reserve.

Background/aims: Ineffective esophageal motility (IEM) is common in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and can be associated with poor esophageal contraction reserve on multiple rapid swallows. Alterations in the esophageal microbiome have been reported in GERD, but the relationship to presence or absence of contraction reserve in IEM patients has not been evaluated. We aim to investigate whether contraction reserve influences esophageal microbiome alterations in patients with GERD and IEM.

Bloodstream Coinfections and Antimicrobial Resistance in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Single-center Retrospective Study.

Background/aim: Bloodstream infections in patients with COVID-19 are linked to higher mortality rates, whilst data on epidemiology and resistance patterns remains scarce to guide management and prevent antibiotic resistance. This research focuses on the prevalence, clinical features, causative microorganisms, and antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial and fungal secondary bloodstream co-infections in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Patients And Methods: In this retrospective study analysis of 230 patients with COVID-19 from Central Taiwan (June 2021 to June 2022), pathogens were identified via MALDI-TOF MS and Vitek 2 system with Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) standards.

Identification of Gut Microbiome Signatures Associated with Indole Pathway in Tryptophan Metabolism in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis.

Microbiota tryptophan metabolism and the biosynthesis of indole derivatives play an important role in homeostasis and pathogenesis in the human body and can be affected by the gut microbiota. However, studies on the interplay between gut microbiota and tryptophan metabolites in patients undergoing dialysis are lacking. This study aimed to identify the gut microbiota, the indole pathway in tryptophan metabolism, and significant functional differences in ESRD patients with regular hemodialysis.

Tracing the footprints of MPXV in Asia: phylogenetic insights and lineage dynamics.

Objectives: The 2022 global outbreak of monkeypox virus (MPXV), previously confined to Central and West Africa, necessitates an enhanced understanding of its spread. Comprehensive genomic surveillance to understand the virus's evolution and spread is needed, particularly in Asia.

Methods: Genomic data from 169 MPXV genome sequences in Asia were analysed.

Common dietary emulsifiers promote metabolic disorders and intestinal microbiota dysbiosis in mice.

Dietary emulsifiers are linked to various diseases. The recent discovery of the role of gut microbiota-host interactions on health and disease warrants the safety reassessment of dietary emulsifiers through the lens of gut microbiota. Lecithin, sucrose fatty acid esters, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), and mono- and diglycerides (MDG) emulsifiers are common dietary emulsifiers with high exposure levels in the population.

In vitro induction and selection of fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants in Elizabethkingia anophelis.

For 29 parent strains, recognized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, the MICs multiplied significantly in the ciprofloxacin group than levofloxacin group, following the first and third induction cycle. Ser83Arg in GyrA was the most common site of mutations. No mutation in ParC nor ParE was identified in the selected mutants.

A Phase 3, Randomized, Controlled Trial Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Ropeginterferon Alfa-2b in Patients with Moderate COVID-19.

Introduction: Ropeginterferon alfa-2b is a novel mono-pegylated proline-interferon. This clinical study aimed to evaluate its antiviral efficacy of ropeginterferon alfa-2b against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods: This is a multicenter, randomized, open-label study.

Abundance of Prevotella copri in gut microbiota is inversely related to a healthy diet in patients with type 2 diabetes.

While the gut microbiota is known to be influenced by habitual food intake, this relationship is seldom explored in type 2 diabetes patients. This study aims to investigate the relationship between dietary patterns and gut microbial species abundance in 113 type 2 diabetes patients (mean age, 58 years; body mass index, 29.1; glycohemoglobin [HbA1c], 8.

Metagenomic insight to apprehend the fungal communities associated with leaf blight of Welsh onion in Taiwan.

Plants are associated with a large diversity of microbes, and these complex plant-associated microbial communities are critical for plant health. Welsh onion ( L.) is one of the key and oldest vegetable crops cultivated in Taiwan.

alleviate metabolic disorders via converting methionine to 5'-methylthioadenosine.

Dietary patterns and corresponding gut microbiota profiles are associated with various health conditions. A diet rich in polyphenols, primarily plant-based, has been shown to promote the growth of probiotic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, subsequently reducing the risk of metabolic disorders in the host. The beneficial effects of these bacteria are largely due to the specific metabolites they produce, such as short-chain fatty acids and membrane proteins.

A gauge of coral physiology: re-examining temporal changes in abundance correlated with natural coral bleaching.

Bacteria contribute to many physiological functions of coral holobionts, including responses to bleaching. The bacterial genus, , dominates the microbial flora of many coral species and its abundance appears to be correlated with coral bleaching. However, evidences for decoupling of bleaching and abundance changes have also been reported.

In Vitro and In Vivo Antimicrobial Activities of Vancomycin and Rifampin against .

has emerged as a critical human pathogen, and a number of isolated reports have described the successful treatment of infections with vancomycin, a drug that is typically used to target Gram-positive bacteria. This study employed in vitro broth microdilution checkerboard and time-kill assays, as well as in vivo zebrafish animal models to evaluate the individual and combination antimicrobial effects of vancomycin and rifampin against . The minimum inhibitory concentration ranges of vancomycin and rifampin against 167 isolates of were 16-256 mg/L and 0.

Similar but different: Characterization of gene-mediated DMSP metabolism among coral-associated .

are often predominant bacteria and prominently important in coral health. Their role in dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) degradation has been a subject of discussion for over a decade. A previous study found that degraded DMSP through the pathway.

SARS-CoV-2 primed platelets-derived microRNAs enhance NETs formation by extracellular vesicle transmission and TLR7/8 activation.

Background: Hyperactive neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of severe COVID-19. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are vehicles which carry cellular components for intercellular communication. The association between COVID-19 patients-derived EVs and NETs formation remains elusive.

Carbapenem resistance in extensively drug-resistant serovar Agona and AmpC β-lactamase-producing Infantis.

Carbapenem resistance arising from the loss of porins is commonly observed in extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and AmpC β-lactamase-producing strains of certain genera, including , , and . However, this resistance mechanism is rarely reported in the genus. To address this knowledge gap, our study offers genetic evidence demonstrating that the loss of two specific porins (OmpC_378 and OmpD) is crucial for the development of carbapenem resistance in ESBL and AmpC β-lactamase-producing strains.

Use of 16S rRNA gene sequences to identify cyanobacteria that can grow in far-red light.

Although most cyanobacteria use visible light (VL; λ = 400-700 nm) for photosynthesis, some have evolved strategies to use far-red light (FRL; λ = 700-800 nm). These cyanobacteria are defined as far-red light-utilizing cyanobacteria (FRLCyano), including two groups: (1) chlorophyll d-producing Acaryochloris spp. and (2) polyphyletic cyanobacteria that produce chlorophylls d and f in response to FRL.

Infection in an AIDS Patient with Cryptococcal Meningitis.

Concurrent infections caused by multiple fungal pathogens in immunocompromised patients can pose diagnostic and treatment challenges. Here, we presented the first reported case in Taiwan of an AIDS patient who had concurrent infection with meningitis and lymphadenopathy. The patient presented with an enlarged inguinal lymph node and was diagnosed with lymphadenitis.