Pathological granuloma fibrosis induced by agar-embedded Mycobacterium abscessus in C57BL/6JNarl mice.

Introduction: Pulmonary granuloma diseases caused by Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) have increased in past decades, and drug-resistance in this pathogen is a growing public health concern. Therefore, an animal model of chronic granuloma disease is urgently needed. Methods: In this study, M. abscessus embedded within agar beads (agar-AB) was used to develop such a model in C57BL/6JNarl mice. Results: Chronic infection was sustained for at least 3 months after agar-AB infection, visible granulomas spread in the lungs, and giant cells and foamy cells appeared in the granulomas. More importantly, pulmonary fibrosis progressed for 3 months, and collagen fibers were detected by Masson trichrome staining. Further, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was highly expressed within the alveolar space, and the fibrosis-mediator transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß) began to be expressed at 1 month. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α) expression also increased, which aided in normalizing oxygen partial pressure. Discussion: Although the transient fibrosis persisted for only 3 months, and the pulmonary structure resolved when the pathogen was cleard, this pulmonary fibrosis model for M. abscessus infection will provide a novel test platform for development of new drugs, regimens, and therapies.

Insight into the mechanism of indium toxicity in rice.

Indium is widely used in the technology industry and is an emerging form of environmental pollution. The presence of indium in soil and groundwater inhibits shoot and root growth in crops, thus reducing yields. However, the underlying mechanisms are unknown, making it difficult to design effective countermeasures. We explored the spatiotemporal effects of excess indium on the morphological, physiological and biochemical properties of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Indium accumulated mainly in the roots, severely restricting their growth and causing the acute perturbation of phosphorus, magnesium and iron homeostasis. Other effects included leaf necrosis and anatomical changes in the roots (thinned sclerenchyma and enlarged epidermal and exodermal layers). Whole-transcriptome sequencing revealed that rice immediately responded to indium stress by activating genes involved in heavy metal tolerance and phosphate starvation responses, including the expression of genes encoding phosphate-regulated transcription factors and transporters in the roots. Direct indium toxicity rather than phosphate deficiency was identified as the major factor affecting the growth of rice plants, resulting in the profound phenotypic changes we observed. The application of exogenous phosphate alleviated indium toxicity by reducing indium uptake. Our results suggest that indium immobilization could be used to prevent indium toxicity in the field.

Alginate-Capped Silver Nanoparticles as a Potent Anti-mycobacterial Agent Against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Although progress has been made in TB control, still about 10 million people worldwide develop TB annually and 1.5 million die of the disease. The rapid emergence of aggressive, drug-resistant strains and latent infections have caused TB to remain a global health challenge. TB treatments are lengthy and their side effects lead to poor patient compliance, which in turn has contributed to the drug resistance and exacerbated the TB epidemic. The relatively low output of newly approved antibiotics has spurred research interest toward alternative antibacterial molecules such as silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). In the present study, we use the natural biopolymer alginate to serve as a stabilizer and/or reductant to green synthesize AgNPs, which improves their biocompatibility and avoids the use of toxic chemicals. The average size of the alginate-capped AgNPs (ALG-AgNPs) was characterized as nanoscale, and the particles were round in shape. Drug susceptibility tests showed that these ALG-AgNPs are effective against both drug-resistant Mtb strains and dormant Mtb. A bacterial cell-wall permeability assay showed that the anti-mycobacterial action of ALG-AgNPs is mediated through an increase in cell-wall permeability. Notably, the anti-mycobacterial potential of ALG-AgNPs was effective in both zebrafish and mouse TB animal models in vivo. These results suggest that ALG-AgNPs could provide a new therapeutic option to overcome the difficulties of current TB treatments.

The relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and diabetic peripheral neuropathy in Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

To explore the relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in type 2 diabetes mellitus.A total of 557 newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients were recruited, including 397 T2DM patients without complication (DM group) as well as 160 T2DM patients complicated with DPN (DPN group). Student t test, Mann-Whitney U test, or χ test was applied to the data of the 2 groups, including the levels of neutrophils and lymphocytes as well as the NLR values of peripheral blood and other biochemistry indexes; Pearson correlation analysis was used to calculate the correlation of NLR and detected factors; risk factors of DPN were estimated via logistic regression analysis and multivariate analysis.The values of triglyceride (TG), neutrophils, fasting insulin, urinary albumin, and 2 hour postglucose in DPN group were significantly higher than those of the DM group, whereas the number of lymphocytes of DPN group was considerably lower than that of the DM group (P < .05 respectively); NLR values were remarkably higher in DPN group compared with those of DM group (2.58 ±â€Š0.50 vs 2.18 ±â€Š0.61, P < .001); logistic regression analysis showed that NLR (P = .002, OR = 4.960, 95% CI = 1.843-13.349) was a risk factor of DPN. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that DPN was independently related to NLR (P = .002, OR = 4.960, 95% CI = 1.843-13.349). The ROC curve analysis confirmed that the optimal cut-off point, specificity, and sensitivity in diagnosing DPN by NLR were 2.13%, 48.1%, and 81.3% respectively.Our results showed that NLR is significantly correlated with DPN, which suggested that NLR may be an independent risk factor of DPN.

Perceptions of Older People Regarding Their Vision and Incident Causation.

PURPOSE: It is widely known that visual impairment (VI) is a risk factor for falls, but patients or their eye care practitioners may not recognize other kinds of incidents as being problematic because of their vision. Consequently, older people with VI may have unmet needs for advice on how to carry out activities of daily living safely. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand whether older people with VI consider their vision as a causative factor of incidents they experience and their perceptions regarding the prevention of future incidents. If sample size permitted, a secondary aim was to evaluate whether quantitative findings supported their perceptions. METHODS: The study design was a prospective cohort study evaluating injurious and damaging incidents and related near misses using open questions in a written 2-weekly large-print diary with active follow-up over 8 weeks in older people (>60 years, n = 80) with and without VI. Baseline measures included habitual binocular visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, visual fields, 3-m walk test, and Short Form 12 physical and mental component scores. Participants' diary entries were coded. Factor analysis and binary logistic analysis were used to investigate whether baseline measures were predictive of incident occurrence. Risk and preventative factors identified were compared. RESULTS: Participants perceived that their vision was implicated in bump and fall incidents. Quantitative analysis indicated that contrast sensitivity and fitness were significant predictors of incident occurrence. Six vision-related and five non-vision-related causative factors were identified by participants as contributing factors. Participants frequently stated "don't know" when asked to identify solutions to prevent incident recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Participants had unmet needs for advice in relation to incident prevention. It would be prudent for eye care practitioners to raise incident prevention in eye care consultations regardless of voiced patient concerns.

Acute pulmonary embolism after pneumonectomy.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) by occlusion of the pulmonary arterial bed may lead to acute life-threatening but potentially reversible right ventricular failure, one of the most severe complications of thoracic surgery. Still, the incidence of acute pulmonary embolism after surgery is reduced by comprehensive anticoagulant prevention, improved surgical techniques, appropriate perioperative management and early ambulation. However, there is difficulty in diagnosing PE after thoracic surgery due to the lack of specific clinical manifestations. So that optimal diagnostic strategy and management according to the clinical presentation and estimated risk of an adverse outcome is fundamental.