Acanthamoeba Infection in a Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipient: Challenges in Diagnosis, Management, and Source Identification.

We report a case of Acanthamoeba infection in an HCT recipient with steroid-refractory GVHD. We highlight the multiple challenges that free-living ameba infections present to the clinician, the clinical laboratory, transplant infectious disease for review, hospital epidemiology if nosocomial transmission is considered, and public health officials, as exposure source identification can be a significant challenge. Transplant physicians should include Acanthamoeba infections in their differential diagnosis of a patient with skin, sinus, lung, and/or brain involvement.

Unveiling root nodulation in Tribulus terrestris and Roystonea regia via metagenomics analysis.

Root nodule symbiosis is traditionally recognized in the Fabales, Fagales, Cucurbitales, and Rosales orders within the Rosid I clade of angiosperms. However, ambiguous root nodule formation has been reported in Zygophyllaceae and Roystonea regia (Arecaceae), although a detailed analysis has yet to be conducted. We aimed to perform morphological analyses of root structures in these plants and utilize metagenomic techniques to identify and characterize the bacterial populations within the nodule-like structures.

The Effectiveness and Safety of the Short-Course Therapy in Liver Transplant Recipients With Uncomplicated Gram-Negative Bacteremia: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: The appropriate duration of therapy for uncomplicated gram-negative bloodstream infection (GN-BSI) in liver transplant (LTx) recipients remains unknown. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of a short-course antimicrobial therapy.

Methods: This retrospective study was performed in a single LTx center in Japan.

Leifsonia stereocauli sp. nov., Isolated from Stereocaulon tomentosum Fr. Lichen.

A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, yellow-pigmented, catalase-positive, oxidase-positive, non-motile with no flagella and irregularly rod-shaped, denominated strain YIM 134122, was isolated from a Stereocaulon tomentosum Fr. lichen gathered on Baima Snow Mountain in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The novel strain grew at pH 6.

Latent Tuberculosis Infection Amongst Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients: The Impact of Routine Pretransplant Review by a Transplant Infectious Diseases Physician.

Background: Identifying patients with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is challenging. This is particularly true amongst immunocompromised hosts, in whom the diagnostic accuracy of available tests is limited. The authors evaluated the impact of routine pretransplant review by a transplant infectious diseases (TID) physician on LTBI screening in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHSCT) recipients.

Assessing the impact of clerkships on the growth of clinical knowledge.

Purpose: This study quantified the impact of clinical clerkships on medical students' disciplinary knowledge using the Comprehensive Clinical Science Examination (CCSE) as a formative assessment tool.

Methods: This study involved 155 third-year medical students in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University who matriculated in 2016. Disciplinary scores on their individual Comprehensive Clinical Science Examination reports were extracted by digitizing the bar charts using image processing techniques.

Holistic monitoring of Campylobacter jejuni biofilms with NanoLuc bioluminescence.

Campylobacter jejuni, a major cause of foodborne zoonotic infections worldwide, shows a paradoxical ability to survive despite its susceptibility to environmental and food-processing stressors. This resilience is likely due to the bacterium entering a viable but non-culturable state, often within biofilms, or even initiating biofilm formation as a survival strategy. This study presents an innovative application of NanoLuc bioluminescence to accurately monitor the development of C.

Genomic analysis and virulence of human Streptococcus suis serotype 14.

Purpose: Streptococcus suis serotype 14 is the second most prevalent serotype being highly prevalent in Southeast Asia. This study aimed to characterize genetic background, population structure, virulent genes, antimicrobial-resistant genes, and virulence of human S. suis serotype 14.

Arvimicrobium flavum gen. nov., sp. nov., A Novel Genus in the Family Phyllobacteriaceae Isolated From Forest Soil.

During the study of microbial diversity of forest soil in the Republic of Korea, a yellow pigment-producing, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, motile bacterium was isolated and designated as strain 1W2. This strain grew at temperature of 10-37 °C, at pH of 5.0-9.

Discovery of a Chimeric Polyketide Family as Cancer Immunogenic Chemotherapeutic Leads.

Discovery of cancer immunogenic chemotherapeutics represents an emerging, highly promising direction for cancer treatment that uses a chemical drug to achieve the efficacy of both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Herein, we report a high-throughput screening platform and the subsequent discovery of a new class of cancer immunogenic chemotherapeutic leads. Our platform integrates informatics-based activity metabolomics for the rapid identification of microbial natural products with both novel structures and potent activities.

Arginine depletion-induced autophagy and metabolic dysregulation are involved in the disease severity of hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Amino acid metabolism provides significant insight into the development and prevention of many viral diseases. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the amino acid profiles of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) patients with those of healthy individuals and to further reveal the molecular mechanisms of HFMD severity. Using UPLC-MS/MS, we determined the plasma amino acid expression profiles of pediatric patients with HFMD (mild,  = 42; severe, = 43) and healthy controls ( = 25).

Oncolytic measles virus-induced cell killing in radio-resistant and drug-resistant nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Introduction: The current first-line therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is often associated with long-term complications. Oncolytic measles virus (MV) therapy offers a promising alternative to cancer therapy. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of MV in killing NPC cells in vitro, both with or without resistance to radiation and drug therapy.

Epidemiology of late-onset sepsis in Malaysian neonatal intensive care units, 2015-2020.

Introduction: To determine the epidemiology of blood culture-positive late-onset sepsis (LOS, >72 hours of age) in 44 Malaysian neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

Materials And Methods: Study Design: Multicentre retrospective observational study using data from the Malaysian National Neonatal Registry.

Participants: 739486 neonates (birthweight ≥500g, gestation ≥22 weeks) born and admitted in 2015-2020.

Design and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of a Cancer-targeting Immunotoxin Based on a Camelid Nanobody-PE Fusion Protein.

Background: Developing effective targeted treatment approaches to overcome drug resistance remains a crucial goal in cancer research. Immunotoxins have dual functionality in cancer detection and targeted therapy.

Objective: This study aimed to engineer a recombinant chimeric fusion protein by combining a nanobody-targeting domain with an exotoxin effector domain.

Pruritic Vulvovaginitis in a Young Girl: A Case of Vulvovaginal Enterobiasis.

Vulvovaginal enterobiasis is underreported and an often-missed diagnosis in prepubertal girls presenting with isolated nocturnal vulvar pruritus. An 8-year-old-girl with intense nocturnal vulvar itching for 4 months was diagnosed with enterobiasis after microscopy of a vaginal swab revealed Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) ova. The child and her family were treated with two doses of oral albendazole, 2 weeks apart, resulting in symptom resolution.

Transcriptional analysis reveals the suppression of RAD51 and disruption of the homologous recombination pathway during PEDV infection in IPEC-J2 cells.

PEDV is a highly contagious enteric pathogen that can cause severe diarrhea and death in neonatal pigs. Despite extensive research, the molecular mechanisms of host's response to PEDV infection remain unclear. In this study, differentially expressed genes (DEGs), time-specific coexpression modules, and key regulatory genes associated with PEDV infection were identified.

Pulmonary infection caused by Tropheryma whipplei: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Tropheryma whipplei pneumonia is an infrequent medical condition. The clinical symptoms associated with this disease are nonspecific, often resulting in misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis. Therefore, sharing and summarizing the experiences in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease can deepen global understanding and awareness of it.

Isolation and characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from bovine mastitis in North West Cameroon: public health implications.

Objectives: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a zoonotic pathogen that poses a serious threat to veterinary and public health worldwide. We investigated mastitis milk samples for contamination with MRSA and also characterized the MRSA isolates by investigating antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors.

Result: We confirmed MRSA in 69 of 201 (34.

Canid alphaherpesvirus 1 infection alters the gene expression and secretome profile of canine adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in vitro.

Background: Canine adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (cAD-MSCs) demonstrate promising tissue repair and regeneration capabilities. However, the procurement and preservation of these cells or their secreted factors for therapeutic applications pose a risk of viral contamination, and the consequences for cAD-MSCs remain unexplored. Consequently, this research sought to assess the impact of canid alphaherpesvirus 1 (CHV) on the functional attributes of cAD-MSCs, including gene expression profiles and secretome composition.

Propensity matching analysis of left upper tri-segmentectomy versus lobectomy for stage I non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The equivalence between left upper lobectomy (LUL) and left upper tri-segmentectomy (LUTS) for stage I left upper non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. This study compares the perioperative and oncological outcomes of LUL and LUTS in this patient population.

Methods: This study included patients who underwent LUL or LUTS at West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Sichuan ShangJin Hospital between August 2018 and November 2023.

Metagenome-validated combined amplicon sequencing and text mining-based annotations for simultaneous profiling of bacteria and fungi: vaginal microbiota and mycobiota in healthy women.

Background: Amplicon sequencing of kingdom-specific tags such as 16S rRNA gene for bacteria and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region for fungi are widely used for investigating microbial communities. So far most human studies have focused on bacteria while studies on host-associated fungi in health and disease have only recently started to accumulate. To enable cost-effective parallel analysis of bacterial and fungal communities in human and environmental samples, we developed a method where 16S rRNA gene and ITS1 amplicons were pooled together for a single Illumina MiSeq or HiSeq run and analysed after primer-based segregation.

Distinct microbes, metabolites, and the host genome define the multi-omics profiles in right-sided and left-sided colon cancer.

Background: Studies have reported clinical heterogeneity between right-sided colon cancer (RCC) and left-sided colon cancer (LCC). However, none of these studies used multi-omics analysis combining genetic regulation, microbiota, and metabolites to explain the site-specific difference.

Methods: Here, 494 participants from a 16S rRNA gene sequencing cohort (50 RCC, 114 LCC, and 100 healthy controls) and a multi-omics cohort (63 RCC, 79 LCC, and 88 healthy controls) were analyzed.

Potential of nanopore sequencing for tuberculosis diagnosis and drug resistance detection.

Objectives: This study evaluates the effectiveness of nanopore sequencing for accurate detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogens and drug resistance mutations in clinical specimens.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 2,421 specimens from suspected tuberculosis patients admitted to Xi'an Chest Hospital from 2022 to 2023 was conducted, with 131 specimens undergoing via real-time, fluorescence-based quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR), simultaneous amplification and testing RNA (RNA), Mycobacterium culture, Mycobacterium smear, and nanopore sequencing. Employing clinical tuberculosis diagnoses as the gold standard, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, concordance rate, and Kappa coefficient were measured for the five detection techniques.

Exploring the potential of soapstock over a glycerol in vitamin K2 production by Bacillus subtilis natto: a comparative analysis.

Background: Vitamin K2 is an essential nutrient for blood coagulation and cardiovascular health and mainly produced by bacteria strain like B. subtilis. researchers have explored producing strain improvement, cultivation mode, environmental optimization, increased secretion, and using cheaper carbon and nitrogen sources in order to increase vitamin K2 productivity.

Indole derivatives and their associated microbial genera are associated with the 1-year changes in cardiometabolic risk markers in Chinese adults.

Background: Although emerging evidence suggests that indole derivatives, microbial metabolites of tryptophan, may improve cardiometabolic health, the effective metabolites remain unclear. Also, the gut microbiota that involved in producing indole derivatives are less studied. We identified microbial taxa that can predict serum concentrations of the key indole metabolite indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) at population level and investigated the associations of indole derivatives and IPA-predicting microbial genera with cardiometabolic risk markers.