Mycoplasma genitalium prevalence, co-infection and macrolide resistance-associated mutations in Southern Vietnam.

Mycoplasma genitalium is an emerging sexually transmitted infection, with increasing rates of macrolide resistance and some ways of treatments being recommended by many countries. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of M. genitalium infection, M. genitalium co-infection with other sexually transmitted organisms, and the frequency of macrolide antibiotic resistance genotypes identified in urethral specimens collected from male and urethral, vaginal and cervical specimens from female who visited the STIs clinic of HCMC Hospital of Dermato-Venereology, Vietnam. The results obtained positive samples for C. trachomatis was 8.46%, N. gonorrhoeae was 6.28%, and M. genitalium was 5.95%. Fifty-five out of 90 M. genitalium samples were found to have mutations in the 23S rRNA gene associated with macrolide resistance (61.11%). M. genitalium/C. trachomatis co-infection was 6.19%, and M. genitalium/N. gonorrhoeae was 1.22%. The percentage of M. genitalium carrying the macrolide resistance mutant gene co-infected with C. trachomatis accounted for 37.50%. The high prevalence of the M. genitalium mutations associated with macrolide resistance showed the importance of M. genitalium testing.

Temperature Changes during Implant Osteotomy Preparations in Human Cadaver Tibiae Comparing MIS® Straight Drills with Densah® Burs.

(1) Background: Several studies showed a sustained temperature of 47 °C or 50 °C for one minute resulted in vascular stasis and bone resorption with only limited bone regrowth over a 3-4-week healing period. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the temperature changes (ΔΤ) that occur during the preparation of dental implant osteotomies using MIS® straight drills versus Densah® burs in a clockwise (cutting) drilling protocol. (2) Methods: Two hundred forty (240) osteotomies of two different systems' drills were prepared at 6 mm depth at 800, 1000, and 1200 revolutions per minute (RPM), in fresh, unembalmed tibiae, obtained by a female cadaver. ΔΤ was calculated by subtracting the baseline temperature on the tibial surface, from the maximum temperature-inside the osteotomy (ΔT = Tmax - Tbase). The variables were evaluated both for their individual and for their synergistic effect on ΔΤ with the use of one-, two-, three- and four-way interactions; (3) Results: An independent and a three-way interaction (drill design, drill width, and RPM) was found in all three RPM for the Densah® burs and at 1000 RPM for the MIS® straight drills. As Densah® burs diameter increased, ΔΤ decreased. The aforementioned pattern was seen only at 1000 RPM for the MIS® straight drills. The usage of drills 20 times more than the implant manufacturers' recommendation did not significantly affect the ΔΤ. A stereoscopic examination of the specimens confirmed the findings. (4) Conclusions: The independent and synergistic effect of drills' diameter, design and RPM had a significant effect on ΔΤ in human tibiae, which never exceeded the critical threshold of 47 °C.

Rumdul (Sphaerocoryne affinis) Antioxidant Activity and Its Potential for Parkinson's Disease Treatment.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive deterioration of motor function and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Although PD is more common in people over 60 years old, people with young-onset PD tend to increase recently. Up to now, there is no cure for PD; therapies mainly focus on reducing symptoms and improving patient quality of life. Thus, the requirement of exploring new medications is needed. There is a strong relationship between oxidative stress and PD. Therefore, antioxidant compounds have been considered as a novel therapy for PD. In this study, we indicated a new potential candidate for PD treatment, rumdul fruit (Sphaerocoryne affinis-a member of the Annonaceae family), due to evaluating its activities on the fly model of Parkinson. Our experimental results showed that rumdul fruit water extract (RFWE) has a strong antioxidant capacity with IC50 value in DPPH assay which was 85.62 ± 1.05 µg/mL. The use of RFWE at concentrations of 3, 6, and 12 mg/mL could strongly ameliorate the locomotor disabilities and dopaminergic neuron degeneration. Although the RFWE at high concentrations like 12 mg/mL and 18 mg/mL could induce some side effects on fly development and viability, our data strongly demonstrated that RFWE effectively rescued PD phenotypes on the fly model. Although component in the plant extract, as well as the molecular mechanism helping to recover the phenotype, has not been elucidated yet, the research contributed strong scientific evidence for further research on applying rumdul as a novel natural source for PD treatment.

Cerebrospinal fluid cytokine, chemokine, and SARS-CoV-2 antibody profiles in children with neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Neuropsychiatric symptoms and CSF cytokine, chemokine, and SARS-COV-2 antibody profiles are unknown in pediatric patients with COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), (NP-COVID-19). METHODS: Children at a single pediatric institution quaternary referral center with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 or MIS-C and neuropsychiatric symptoms were included in this retrospective case series. Clinical symptoms, ancillary testing data, treatments and outcomes are described. Multiplexed electrochemiluminescence assays for cytokines, chemokines and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were tested in the CSF NP-COVID-19 patients compared to five controls and were analyzed using the Student's t-test. RESULTS: Three of five NP-COVID-19 patients had psychiatric symptoms, and two patients had encephalopathy and seizures. All patients had full or near resolution of neuropsychiatric symptoms by discharge. One patient received intravenous steroids for treatment for psychiatric symptoms; 3/5 other patients received immunotherapy for MIS-C, including IVIG, high-dose steroids, anakinra, and tocilizumab. Pro-inflammatory chemokines, including MIG, MPC, MIP-1ß, and TARC were significantly elevated in NP-COVID-19 patients compared to controls. Two of five patients had elevated CSF neurofilament light chain. CSF SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers to the full-length spike, receptor binding domain and N-terminal domain were significantly elevated. SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers strongly correlated with pro-inflammatory chemokines/cytokines, including IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-8, TNF-α, and IFN-γ (P≤0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: A spectrum of neuropsychiatric clinical manifestations can occur in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection. CSF pro-inflammatory chemokines and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies may serve as biomarkers of SARS-CoV-2 mediated NP-COVID-19. Additional study is required to understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms of neuroinflammation in children with COVID-19 and MIS-C.