Assessing the Effectiveness of Fast-Track Diagnostic Kit for Detecting Viral Gastroenteritis Agents.

Background: Viral gastroenteritis is a significant global health concern. An effective, rapid, and easy-to-use diagnostic tool is essential for screening causative viruses.

Methods: Forty-eight samples, known to be infected with one of the following viruses: norovirus, group A rotavirus, astrovirus, adenovirus, and sapovirus determined by reverse transcription-PCR and nucleotide sequencing, were evaluated by the Fast Track Diagnostics (FTD) viral gastroenteritis assay.

A Little-Known Vaginitis-Like Picture: Cytolytic Vaginosis.

Background: Cytolytic vaginosis (CV) is a condition characterized by an increase in lactobacilli in the vaginal flora, causing complaints of discharge, itching, dyspareunia, and dysuria. Since there are no antimicrobials in the treatment protocols of CV, the diagnostic and therapeutic criteria of which were first defined by Cibley, differential diagnosis of CV from other vaginitis agents will prevent unnecessary use of antimicrobials and recurrent com-plaints. In our study, we aimed to determine the frequency of CV in patients presenting with vaginitis complaints and the diagnostic accuracy of the diagnostic criteria.

Hyperproteinemia, Hematuria, and Squamous Cell Shedding in Elderly Cervical Cancer Patients and the Potential Alternative Screening Tool.

Background: In Saudi Arabia, cervical cancer, frequently caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, is a common cancer. The usual procedures for screening and diagnosing cervical cancer include Pap smears and HPV tests, even though they have considerable drawbacks, particularly for older women (> 60 years) who have limited access to or compliance with these tests. Urinalysis is a simple, noninvasive test that has been suggested as an alternative procedure.

New Directions for Ophthalmic OCT - Handhelds, Surgery, and Robotics.

The introduction of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the 1990s revolutionized diagnostic ophthalmic imaging. Initially, OCT's role was primarily in the adult ambulatory ophthalmic clinics. Subsequent advances in handheld form factors, integration into surgical microscopes, and robotic assistance have expanded OCT's utility and impact outside of its initial environment in the adult outpatient ophthalmic clinic.

Piezo1 Enhances Macrophage Phagocytosis and Pyrin Activation to Ameliorate Fungal Keratitis.

Purpose: Fungal keratitis (FK) remains a treatment challenge, necessitating new therapeutic targets. Piezo1, a mechanosensitive ion channel, regulates calcium signaling and immune cell function. This study investigates its role in macrophage-mediated antifungal responses in FK.

Enhancing the Use of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid in Fluorescence-guided Surgery for High-grade Glioma: An Expert Nurse Practitioner Opinion-based Approach.

Purpose: This report details the recommendations of a Nursing Best Practice Working Group, which aims to advance best practice in the use of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) in patients with high-grade glioma (HGG).

Design: Quality Improvement Project.

Methods: These recommendations were gathered during a meeting of a Nursing Best Practice Working Group comprising expert nurses and practice administrators from five US centers of excellence in the management of HGG.

Mitigating matrix effects in oil and gas wastewater analysis: LC-MS/MS method for ethanolamines.

The high salinity and organic content in oil and gas wastewaters can cause ion suppression during liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis, diminishing the sensitivity and accuracy of measurements in available methods. This suppression is severe for low molecular weight organic compounds such as ethanolamines (, monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEA), -methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), and ,-ethyldiethanolamine (EDEA)). Here, we deployed solid phase extraction (SPE), mixed-mode LC, triple quadrupole MS with positive electrospray ionization (ESI), and a suite of stable isotope standards (, one per target compound) to correct for ion suppression by salts and organic matter, SPE losses, and instrument variability.

Phase I Dose Volume Escalation of Rectally Administered PC-1005 to Assess Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Antiviral Pharmacodynamics as a Multipurpose Prevention Technology (MTN-037).

Background: On demand, topical PrEP is desired by those preferring episodic, nonsystemic PrEP. PC-1005 gel (MIV-150, zinc, and carrageenan) exhibits in vitro antiviral HIV-1, human papillomavirus (HPV), and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) activity, attractive for a multipurpose prevention technology candidate. We evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, and antiviral effect of rectally applied PC-1005.

Triple Threat: How Global Fungal Rice and Wheat Pathogens Utilize Comparable Pathogenicity Mechanisms to Drive Host Colonization.

Plant pathogens pose significant threats to global cereal crop production, particularly for essential crops like rice and wheat, which are fundamental to global food security and provide nearly 40% of the global caloric intake. As the global population continues to rise, increasing agricultural production to meet food demands becomes even more critical. However, the production of these vital crops is constantly threatened by phytopathological diseases, especially those caused by fungal pathogens such as , the causative agent of rice blast disease, , responsible for head blight (FHB) in wheat, and , the source of Septoria tritici blotch (STB).

Variable surface antigen expression, virulence, and persistent infection by malaria parasites.

SUMMARYThe human malaria parasite is known for its ability to maintain lengthy infections that can extend for over a year. This property is derived from the parasite's capacity to continuously alter the antigens expressed on the surface of the infected red blood cell, thereby avoiding antibody recognition and immune destruction. The primary target of the immune system is an antigen called PfEMP1 that serves as a cell surface receptor and enables infected cells to adhere to the vascular endothelium and thus avoid filtration by the spleen.

Evaluation of two MALDI-TOF MS systems and extraction methods for identification of filamentous fungi recovered from clinical specimens.

Unlabelled: Rapid and accurate identification of cultured molds is important to determine clinical significance and therapeutic decision-making. Conventional mold identification uses phenotypic macroscopic and microscopic characterization; however, this can take days or weeks for colony maturity and definitive microscopic structure formation, be limited to genus-level identification, and be misidentified due to morphologic mimics or similarities between closely related species. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) revolutionized bacterial and yeast identification but remains uncommon for molds in part because of limited reference libraries.

Impact of gut microbial diversity on egg production performance in chickens.

Unlabelled: Chickens are one of the most economically important poultry species, and their egg-laying performance is a crucial economic trait. The intestinal microbiome plays a significant role in the egg-laying performance. To clarify the diversity of chicken intestinal microbiota and its connection to egg-laying performance, this study utilized 16S rRNA sequencing technology to characterize the intestinal microbiomes of 101 chickens from 13 breeds with varying levels of egg production.

Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology for the Management of Adults With Congenital Heart Disease.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital anomaly in newborns. Advances in catheter and surgical techniques led to the majority of these patients surviving into adulthood, leading to evolving challenges due to the emergence of long-term complications such as arrhythmias. Interventional electrophysiology (EP) has had remarkable advances over the last few decades, and various techniques and devices have been explored to treat adult patients with CHD.

The endothelium at the interface between tissues and in the bloodstream.

SUMMARY is a major human pathogen. It can cause many types of infections, in particular bacteremia, which frequently leads to infective endocarditis, osteomyelitis, sepsis, and other debilitating diseases. The development of secondary infections is based on the bacterium's ability to associate with endothelial cells lining blood vessels.

Unmasking High-Output Heart Failure: Beyond Conventional Paradigms.

Heart failure (HF) poses a significant medical challenge, affecting millions of adults in the United States. High-output heart failure (HOHF) is a distinct subtype characterized by elevated cardiac output exceeding 8 L/min or a cardiac index >4 L/min/m². Patients with HOHF often present similarly to those with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

phylotypr: an R package for classifying DNA sequences.

The phylotypr R package implements the popular naive Bayesian classification algorithm that is frequently used to classify 16S rRNA and other gene sequences to taxonomic lineages. A companion data package, phylotyprrefdata, also provides numerous versions of taxonomic databases from the Ribosomal Database Project, SILVA, and greengenes.

Pulmonary granuloma formation during latent infection in C3HeB/FeJ mice involves progression through three immunological phases.

is a fungal pathogen that can cause lethal disease in immunocompromised patients. Immunocompetent host immune responses, such as formation of pulmonary granulomas, control the infection and prevent disseminated disease. Little is known about the immunological conditions establishing the latent infection granuloma in the lungs.

Emerging themes in microbial stress response and mechanistic insights: key findings from the fall 2024 ASM Theobald Smith Society meeting.

The annual fall meeting for the Theobald Smith Society was held in November 2024 on the campus of Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Eighty-six branch members from across New Jersey attended the meeting, composed of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral trainees, faculty members, and government and industry professionals. This report highlights the breadth and diversity of research conducted by American Society for Microbiology members in the Theobald Smith Society and celebrates their groundbreaking discoveries.

Reverse transcriptase inhibitors diminish systemic proinflammatory responses to bacterial pathogens.

Bacterial infections can induce exuberant immune responses that can damage host tissues. Previously, we demonstrated that systemic infection in mice causes tissue damage in the liver. This liver necrosis is associated with the expression of endogenous retroviruses, chromosomally integrated retroviruses that encode a reverse transcriptase.

Single-cell phenotyping of extracellular electron transfer via microdroplet encapsulation.

Electroactive organisms contribute to metal cycling, pollutant removal, and other redox-driven environmental processes via extracellular electron transfer (EET). Unfortunately, developing genotype-phenotype relationships for electroactive organisms is challenging because EET is necessarily removed from the cell of origin. Microdroplet emulsions, which encapsulate individual cells in aqueous droplets, have been used to study a variety of extracellular phenotypes but have not been applied to investigate EET.

Unveiling Microscopic Variations during Photodynamic Therapy via Polarity-Responsive Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging.

Photodynamic therapy is a highly promising method for cancer adjuvant treatment. However, the current research on the microscopic changes during the photodynamic therapy process is still quite limited, which seriously impedes the deep understanding of the procedure. For this purpose, a novel polarity-responsive probe, , with excellent mitochondrial targeting and anchoring capabilities has been rationally designed and synthesized.

TRIB1 facilitates the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells by inducing EMT progression.

Aim: Ovarian cancer (OC) is a fatal female malignant tumor that severely impacts the health of women worldwide. Due to the lack of diagnostic biomarkers, 70% of OC patients are considered in the advanced stage at the first diagnosis. Exploring novel biomarkers for OC diagnosis has become an urgent clinical need to address.

Exploring the Relationship Between Humoral and Cellular T Cell Responses Against SARS-CoV-2 in Exposed Individuals From Emilia Romagna Region and COVID-19 Severity.

COVID-19 remains a significant global health problem with uncertain long-term consequences for convalescents. We investigated the relationships between anti-N protein antibody levels, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2-associated TCR repertoire parameters, HLA type and epidemiological information from three cohorts of 524 SARS-CoV-2-infected subjects subgrouped in acute phase, seronegative and seropositive convalescents from the Emilia Romagna region. Epidemiological information and anti-N antibody index were associated with TCR repertoire data.