Long-term changes of pancreatic function in patients with complicated walled-off necrosis.

Objectives: Walled-off necrosis (WON) is a serious complication to necrotizing acute pancreatitis with a high morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term changes in pancreatic function, metabolic function and body composition in patients with WON.

Material And Methods: Observational study including patients with WON who underwent endoscopic transmural drainage and necrosectomy.

Endotracheal lactate reflects lower respiratory tract infections and inflammation in intubated patients.

The aim of this study was to assess L-lactate and D-lactate in endotracheal aspirate from intubated patients hospitalized at the intensive care unit and explore their use as diagnostic biomarkers for inflammation and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). Tracheal aspirates from 91 intubated patients were obtained at time of intubation and sent for microbiological analyses, neutrophil count, and colorimetric lactate measurements. We compared the concentration of lactate from patients with microbiological verified LRTI or clinical/radiological suspicion of LRTI with a control group.

Dietary intake of carbohydrates in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes-A narrative review.

In pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, a low but sufficient, intake of carbohydrates is important to aim for near normal glycemic control. However, knowledge about the carbohydrate intake in this group is limited. To assess the average quantity and quality of carbohydrate intake in pregnant women with type 1diabetes compared to healthy pregnant women and current dietary reference intakes.

Minimum information guideline for spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods to assess biofilm formation in microplates.

The lack of reproducibility of published studies is one of the major issues facing the scientific community, and the field of biofilm microbiology has been no exception. One effective strategy against this multifaceted problem is the use of minimum information guidelines. This strategy provides a guide for authors and reviewers on the necessary information that a manuscript should include for the experiments in a study to be clearly interpreted and independently reproduced.

Improving antibiotic treatment of bacterial biofilm by hyperbaric oxygen therapy: Not just hot air.

Bacteria and fungi show substantial increased recalcitrance when growing as infectious biofilms. Chronic infections caused by biofilm growing microorganisms is considered a major problem of modern medicine. New strategies are needed to improve antibiotic treatment of biofilms.

Into the well-A close look at the complex structures of a microtiter biofilm and the crystal violet assay.

The microtiter assay is one of the most widely used methods for assessing biofilm formation. Though it has high throughput, this assay is known for its substantial deviation from experiment to experiment, and even from well to well. Since the assay constitutes one of the pillars of biofilm research, it was decided to examine the wells of a microtiter plate directly during growth, treatment, and the steps involved in crystal violet (CV) measurements.

Management and 1-Year Outcomes of Patients With Newly Diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation and Chronic Kidney Disease: Results From the Prospective GARFIELD - AF Registry.

Background Using data from the GARFIELD - AF (Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD -Atrial Fibrillation), we evaluated the impact of chronic kidney disease ( CKD ) stage on clinical outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation ( AF ). Methods and Results GARFIELD - AF is a prospective registry of patients from 35 countries, including patients from Asia (China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand). Consecutive patients enrolled (2013-2016) were classified with no, mild, or moderate-to-severe CKD , based on the National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative guidelines.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment increases killing of aggregating Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis patients.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major pathogen of the chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. These persistent bacterial infections are characterized by bacterial aggregates with biofilm-like properties and are treated with nebulized or intravenous tobramycin in combination with other antibiotics. However, the chronic infections are close to impossible to eradicate due to reasons that are far from fully understood.

Burden of Uncontrolled Metabolic Risk Factors and Left Ventricular Structure and Function in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus is closely associated with metabolic risk factors that all contribute to impairment of the left ventricle. The implications of having type 2 diabetes mellitus with well-controlled metabolic risk factors compared to an increasing burden of uncontrolled metabolic risk factors on left ventricular structure and function are not known. Methods and Results We compared patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (n=751) with different degrees of uncontrolled metabolic risk factors present with a control group of individuals without present uncontrolled metabolic risk factors as recommended by the World Health Organization (n=80).

Somatostatin Analogue Treatment Primarily Induce miRNA Expression Changes and Up-Regulates Growth Inhibitory miR-7 and miR-148a in Neuroendocrine Cells.

Somatostatin (SST) analogues are used to control the proliferation and symptoms of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small non-coding RNAs that modulate posttranscriptional gene expression. We wanted to characterize the miRNAs operating under the control of SST to elucidate to what extent they mediate STT actions.

Microcystic macular oedema in optic neuropathy: case series and literature review.

Cavitations in the inner nuclear layer associated with severe optic atrophy and loss of retinal ganglion cells have clinically been termed microcystic macular oedema (MME). We describe a case series of MME in patients of all ages but predominantly younger patients with a wide range of optic atrophies ranging from acute onset optic disc drusen associated ischemic optic neuropathy to slowly progressive disease as glaucoma. There were no physical distinctions between MME in different causes of optic atrophy suggesting a common causative mechanism.

Usher syndrome in Denmark: mutation spectrum and some clinical observations.

Background: Usher syndrome (USH) is a genetically heterogeneous deafness-blindness syndrome, divided into three clinical subtypes: USH1, USH2 and USH3.

Methods: Mutations in 21 out of 26 investigated Danish unrelated individuals with USH were identified, using a combination of molecular diagnostic methods.

Results: Before Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) became available mutations in nine individuals (1 USH1, 7 USH2, 1 USH3) were identified by Sanger sequencing of , or or by Arrayed Primer EXtension (APEX) method.

Mitochondrial uncoupling proteins regulate angiotensin-converting enzyme expression: crosstalk between cellular and endocrine metabolic regulators suggested by RNA interference and genetic studies.

Uncoupling proteins (UCPs) regulate mitochondrial function, and thus cellular metabolism. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is the central component of endocrine and local tissue renin-angiotensin systems (RAS), which also regulate diverse aspects of whole-body metabolism and mitochondrial function (partly through altering mitochondrial UCP expression). We show that ACE expression also appears to be mitochondrial UCPs.

Self-reported dyspnea is associated with impaired global longitudinal strain in ambulatory type 1 diabetes patients with normal ejection fraction and without known heart disease - The Thousand & 1 Study.

Aims: Identification of early signs and symptoms of heart disease is important in type 1 diabetes (T1DM). Global longitudinal strain (GLS) by speckle-tracking echocardiography can detect subtle impairments in myocardial function. We investigated the association between myocardial function and degree of dyspnea in patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and without known heart disease.

Anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa IgY antibodies promote bacterial opsonization and augment the phagocytic activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils.

Moderation of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) as part of a critical defense against invading pathogens may offer a promising therapeutic approach to supplement the antibiotic eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in non-chronically infected cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. We have observed that egg yolk antibodies (IgY) harvested from White leghorn chickens that target P. aeruginosa opsonize the pathogen and enhance the PMN-mediated respiratory burst and subsequent bacterial killing in vitro.

The diagnostic accuracy of carcinoembryonic antigen to detect colorectal cancer recurrence - A systematic review.

Introduction: Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) has been used as a tumor marker in the follow-up of colorectal cancer for more than 40 years. Controversy exists regarding its diagnostic applicability due to a relatively low sensitivity and a questionable effect on mortality. The aim of this review was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of CEA in detecting recurrence after intended curative surgery for primary colorectal cancer.

Statins are independently associated with increased HbA1c in type 1 diabetes--The Thousand & 1 Study.

Aims: Statin use has been associated with increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and with impaired glycemic control in T2DM patients. The association between statin use and glycemic control in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is unknown. The association between use of statins and glycemic control in T1DM patients without known heart disease was examined.

Increased bactericidal activity of colistin on Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms in anaerobic conditions.

Tolerance towards antibiotics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms is recognized as a major cause of therapeutic failure of chronic lung infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. This lung infection is characterized by antibiotic-tolerant biofilms in mucus with zones of O2 depletion mainly due to polymorphonuclear leukocytic activity. In contrast to the main types of bactericidal antibiotics, it has not been possible to establish an association between the bactericidal effects of colistin and the production of detectable levels of OH ˙ on several strains of planktonic P.

Analysis of acetylation stoichiometry suggests that SIRT3 repairs nonenzymatic acetylation lesions.

Acetylation is frequently detected on mitochondrial enzymes, and the sirtuin deacetylase SIRT3 is thought to regulate metabolism by deacetylating mitochondrial proteins. However, the stoichiometry of acetylation has not been studied and is important for understanding whether SIRT3 regulates or suppresses acetylation. Using quantitative mass spectrometry, we measured acetylation stoichiometry in mouse liver tissue and found that SIRT3 suppressed acetylation to a very low stoichiometry at its target sites.

Anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa IgY antibodies augment bacterial clearance in a murine pneumonia model.

Background: Oral prophylactic therapy by gargling with pathogen-specific egg yolk immunoglobulins (IgY) may reduce the initial airway colonization with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. IgY antibodies impart passive immunization and we investigated the effects of anti-P. aeruginosa IgY antibodies on bacterial eradication in a murine pneumonia model.

Primary intracranial angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma presenting with anaemia and migraine-like headaches and aura as early clinical features.

A 17-year-old female with migraine with aura complained of fatigue and was diagnosed with anemia. Three years later, changes in her headache pattern prompted hospital referral. Brain MRI showed a bi-lobed extra-axial intracerebral tumor encroaching both parieto-occipital regions.

Anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa IgY Antibodies Induce Specific Bacterial Aggregation and Internalization in Human Polymorphonuclear Neutrophils.

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) are essential cellular constituents in the innate host response, and their recruitment to the lungs and subsequent ubiquitous phagocytosis controls primary respiratory infection. Cystic fibrosis pulmonary disease is characterized by progressive pulmonary decline governed by a persistent, exaggerated inflammatory response dominated by PMNs. The principal contributor is chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm infection, which attracts and activates PMNs and thereby is responsible for the continuing inflammation.

Denitrification by cystic fibrosis pathogens - Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is dormant in sputum.

Objective: Chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection is the most severe complication for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Infected endobronchial mucus of CF patients contains anaerobic zones mainly due to the respiratory burst of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. We have recently demonstrated ongoing denitrification in sputum from patients infected with P.