Study on the correlation of C-reactive protein/albumin ratio with sudden sensorineural hearing loss complicated by hypertension: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the pathophysiology of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and identifying its clinical symptoms and associated risk factors are crucial for doctors in order to create effective prevention and therapeutic methods for this prevalent otolaryngologic emergency. METHODS: This study focuses on investigating the correlation between the C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) and SSNHL complicated by hypertension. In this study, 120 patients diagnosed with SSNHL were divided into groups with and without hypertension, and propensity score matching was used to compare and analyze the severity, type, prognosis, and CAR levels in SSNHL. RESULTS: The results showed that the SSNHL group with hypertension had significantly higher CAR levels, age, hearing curve abnormalities, and more severe hearing loss compared to the control group with isolated SSNHL. These differences were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Among different subtypes of SSNHL, CAR levels increased progressively with the advancement of the condition, and these differences were also statistically significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In summary, in patients with SSNHL, those with hypertension had higher CAR levels than those without a history of hypertension, and they experienced more severe hearing loss. Moreover, there was a clear correlation between CAR levels and the extent of SSNHL, indicating that greater CAR levels in patients with SSNHL are connected to more severe hearing loss in various hearing patterns and perhaps indicative of a poorer prognosis.

Persistent Colonization of Ciprofloxacin-Resistant and Extended-Spectrum ß-Lactamase (ESBL)-Producing Salmonella enterica Serovar Kentucky ST198 in a Patient with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Objective: Salmonella enterica serovar Kentucky ST198 has emerged as a global threat to humans. In this study, we aimed to characterize the prolonged carriage of ciprofloxacin-resistant and extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing S. Kentucky ST198 in a single patient with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods: Three S. Kentucky strains were collected from a single patient with IBD on 11th January, 23rd January, and 8th February, 2022, respectively. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, whole-genome sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis with 38 previously described Chinese S. Kentucky ST198 strains from patients and food were performed. Results: All three S. Kentucky isolates belonged to ST198. They carried identical 16 resistance genes, such as blaCTX-M-55, tet(A), and qnrS1, and had identical mutations within gyrA (S83F and D87N) and parC (S80I). Therefore, they exhibited identical multidrug-resistant profiles, including the clinically important antibiotics cephalosporins (ceftazidime and cefepime), fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin), and third-generation tetracycline (tigecycline). Our three S. Kentucky strains were classified into the subclade ST198.2-2, and were genetically identical (2-6 SNPs) to each other. They exhibited a close genetic similarity (15-20 SNPs) to the isolate NT-h3189 from a patient and AH19MCS1 from chicken meat in China, indicating a possible epidemiological link between these S. Kentucky ST198 isolates from the patients and chicken meat. Conclusion: Long-term colonization of ciprofloxacin-resistant and ESBL-producing S. Kentucky ST198 in a single patient is a matter of concern. Due to the potential transfer of S. Kentucky ST198 from food sources to humans, ongoing surveillance of this particular clone in animals, animal-derived food products, and humans should be strengthened.

Straw from Different Crop Species Recruits Different Communities of Lignocellulose-Degrading Microorganisms in Black Soil.

The biological degradation of plant residues in the soil or on the soil surface is an integral part of the natural life cycle of annual plants and does not have adverse effects on the environment. Crop straw is characterized by a complex structure and exhibits stability and resistance to rapid microbial decomposition. In this study, we conducted a microcosm experiment to investigate the dynamic succession of the soil microbial community and the functional characteristics associated with lignocellulose-degrading pathways. Additionally, we aimed to identify lignocellulose-degrading microorganisms from the straw of three crop species prevalent in Northeast China: soybean (Glycine max Merr.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), and maize (Zea mays L.). Our findings revealed that both the type of straw and the degradation time influenced the bacterial and fungal community structure and composition. Metagenome sequencing results demonstrated that during degradation, different straw types assembled carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and KEGG pathways in distinct manners, contributing to lignocellulose and hemicellulose degradation. Furthermore, isolation of lignocellulose-degrading microbes yielded 59 bacterial and 14 fungal strains contributing to straw degradation, with fungi generally exhibiting superior lignocellulose-degrading enzyme production compared to bacteria. Experiments were conducted to assess the potential synergistic effects of synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) comprising both fungi and bacteria. These SynComs resulted in a straw weight loss of 42% at 15 days post-inoculation, representing a 22% increase compared to conditions without any SynComs. In summary, our study provides novel ecological insights into crop straw degradation by microbes.

Insight into mitigation mechanisms of N2O emission by biochar during agricultural waste composting.

The effects and mitigation mechanisms of biochar added at different composting stages on N2O emission were investigated. Four treatments were set as follows: CK: control, BB10%: +10 % biochar at beginning of composting, BB5%&T5%: +5% biochar at beginning and + 5 % biochar after thermophilic stage of composting, BT10%: +10 % after thermophilic stage of composting. Results showed that treatment BB10%, BB5%&T5%, and BT10% reduced total N2O emissions by 55 %, 37 %, and 36 %, respectively. N2O emission was closely related to most physicochemical properties, while it was only related to amoA gene and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase. Different addition strategies of biochar changed the contributions of physicochemical properties, functional genes and enzymes to N2O emission. Organic matter and C/N contributed 23.7 % and 27.6 % of variations in functional gene abundances (P < 0.05), respectively. pH and C/N (P < 0.05) contributed 37.3 % and 17.3 % of variations in functional enzyme activities. These findings provided valuable insights into mitigating N2O emissions during composting.

Terminal modifications independent cell-free RNA sequencing enables sensitive early cancer detection and classification.

Cell-free RNAs (cfRNAs) offer an opportunity to detect diseases from a transcriptomic perspective, however, existing techniques have fallen short in generating a comprehensive cell-free transcriptome profile. We develop a sensitive library preparation method that is robust down to 100 µl input plasma to analyze cfRNAs independent of their 5'-end modifications. We show that it outperforms adapter ligation-based method in detecting a greater number of cfRNA species. We perform transcriptome-wide characterizations in 165 lung cancer, 30 breast cancer, 37 colorectal cancer, 55 gastric cancer, 15 liver cancer, and 133 cancer-free participants and demonstrate its ability to identify transcriptomic changes occurring in early-stage tumors. We also leverage machine learning analyses on the differentially expressed cfRNA signatures and reveal their robust performance in cancer detection and classification. Our work sets the stage for in-depth study of the cfRNA repertoire and highlights the value of cfRNAs as cancer biomarkers in clinical applications.

Myriocin enhances the clearance of M. tuberculosis by macrophages through the activation of PLIN2.

Myriocin is an inhibitor of de novo synthesis of sphingolipids and ceramides. In this research, we showed myriocin could significantly reduce Mtb burden and histopathological inflammation in mice. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. RNA-seq analysis revealed a significant increase in gene expression of PLIN2/CD36/CERT1 after myriocin treatment. The reduced bactericidal burden was only reversed after silencing the lipid droplets (LDs) surface protein PLIN2. This suggests that myriocin enhances the ability of macrophages to clear Mtb depending on the PLIN2 gene, which is part of the PPARγ pathway. Indeed, we observed a significant increase in the number of LDs following myriocin treatment.IMPORTANCEMycobacterium tuberculosis has the ability to reprogram host cell lipid metabolism and alter the antimicrobial functions of infected macrophages. The sphingolipids, such as ceramides, are the primary host lipids utilized by the bacteria, making the sphingomyelinase/ceramide system critical in Mtb infections. Surprisingly, the antimicrobial effect of myriocin was found to be independent of its role in reducing ceramides, but instead, it depends on the lipid droplets surface protein PLIN2. Our findings provide a novel mechanism for how myriocin enhances Mtb clearance in macrophages.