T4 Bacteriophage and E. coli Interaction in the Murine Intestine: A Prototypical Model for Studying Host-Bacteriophage Dynamics In Vivo.

Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacteria with species- and strain-level specificity and are the most abundant biological entities across all known ecosystems. Within bacterial communities, such as those found in the gut microbiota, phages are implicated in regulating microbiota population dynamics and driving bacterial evolution. There has been renewed interest in phage research in the last decade, in part due to the host-specific killing capabilities of lytic phages, which offer a promising tool to counter the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Furthermore, recent studies demonstrating that phages adhere to intestinal mucus suggest they may have a protective role in preventing bacterial invasion into the underlying epithelium. Importantly, like bacterial microbiomes, disrupted phageomes have been associated with worsened outcomes in diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. Previous studies have demonstrated that phages can modulate the microbiome of animals and humans through fecal filtrate transplants, benefiting the host's health. With this recent wave of research comes the necessity to establish and standardize protocols for studying phages in the context of the gut microbiome. This protocol provides a set of procedures to study isolated T4 phages and their bacterial host, Escherichia coli, in the context of the murine gastrointestinal tract. The methods described here outline how to start from a phage lysate, administer it to mice and assess effects on bacterial host and phage levels. This protocol can be modified and applied to other phage-bacterial pairs and provides a starting point for studying host-phage dynamics in vivo.

Stress induced by crude glycerol in a thermophilic digester: microbial community divergence and resilience, but slow process recovery.

Recovery from stress is an important property for anaerobic digestion (AD). Although AD is quite adaptable with regard to waste composition, new substrates added to stable systems may cause process decline. We tested whether crude glycerol would cause stress to a thermophilic AD microbiome previously stabilized long-term on a low C/N ratio feedstock. Three-percent (v/v) crude glycerol was added to the basal substrate (poultry litter) for two hydraulic retention time (HRT) periods. This caused stress where biogas volume and methane percentage dramatically decreased and VFA levels increased. When the basal substrate was resumed, secondary inhibition occurred, resulting in even greater stress (biogas production ceased, methane 3.6%). Unassisted recovery of system processes required eight HRT periods. In contrast, crude glycerol applied at a lower organic loading rate did not cause inhibition. Crude glycerol caused changes in dominance in the microbial community (16S rRNA pyrotags). Although process resilience was slow, the recovery of digester functions occurred in conjunction with the recovery of community structure, particularly putative syntrophic acetate-oxidizing bacteria. KEY POINTS: • Crude glycerol caused stress in thermophilic co-digestion with poultry litter. • Unassisted resilience of digester functions (methane) required 8 HRT. • Syntrophic acetate-oxidizing bacteria implicated for keystone resilience functions. Graphical abstract.

Severe corneal burn due to the accidental application of salicylic acid packed in a plastic dropper bottle. / Quemadura corneal grave debida a la aplicación accidental de ácido salicílico envasado en un frasco gotero plástico

Eye burns due to the accidental application of pharmacological or nonpharmacological substances packaged in plastic dropper bottles have been described for more than three decades and continue to occur. These burns can cause potentially serious corneal injuries. We report the case of a patient who mistakenly applied salicylic acid to the right eye after confusing it with an eye lubricant, which caused him a severe corneal burn. Fortunately, after aggressive medical and surgical management (including oxygen therapy and amniotic membrane grafting), the visual results were good. We suggest conducting educational campaigns and taking legislative measures in our country to avoid packaging corrosive substances in this type of dropper bottle to reduce the risk of accidental burns.

Las quemaduras oculares por aplicación accidental de sustancias farmacológicas o no farmacológicas envasadas en frascos goteros plásticos, se han descrito desde hace más de tres décadas y siguen ocurriendo. Estas quemaduras pueden causar lesiones potencialmente graves de la córnea. Se presenta el caso de un paciente que se aplicó ácido salicílico en el ojo derecho al confundir el envase con el de un lubricante ocular, lo que le causó una grave quemadura corneal. Afortunadamente, tras un manejo médico y quirúrgico agresivo (incluida oxigenoterapia e injerto de membrana amniótica) los resultados visuales fueron buenos. Se sugiere hacer campañas educativas y adoptar normas en el país para evitar el envase de sustancias corrosivas en este tipo de frascos goteros, con el fin de disminuir el riesgo de quemaduras accidentales.

Severe corneal burn due to the accidental application of salicylic acid packed in a plastic dropper bottle / Quemadura corneal grave debida a la aplicación accidental de ácido salicílico envasado en un frasco gotero plástico

Eye burns due to the accidental application of pharmacological or nonpharmacological substances packaged in plastic dropper bottles have been described for more than three decades and continue to occur. These burns can cause potentially serious corneal injuries. We report the case of a patient who mistakenly applied salicylic acid to the right eye after confusing it with an eye lubricant, which caused him a severe corneal burn. Fortunately, after aggressive medical and surgical management (including oxygen therapy and amniotic membrane grafting), the visual results were good. We suggest conducting educational campaigns and taking legislative measures in our country to avoid packaging corrosive substances in this type of dropper bottle to reduce the risk of accidental burns.

Las quemaduras oculares por aplicación accidental de sustancias farmacológicas o no farmacológicas envasadas en frascos goteros plásticos, se han descrito desde hace más de tres décadas y siguen ocurriendo. Estas quemaduras pueden causar lesiones potencialmente graves de la córnea. Se presenta el caso de un paciente que se aplicó ácido salicílico en el ojo derecho al confundir el envase con el de un lubricante ocular, lo que le causó una grave quemadura corneal. Afortunadamente, tras un manejo médico y quirúrgico agresivo (incluida oxigenoterapia e injerto de membrana amniótica) los resultados visuales fueron buenos. Se sugiere hacer campañas educativas y adoptar normas en el país para evitar el envase de sustancias corrosivas en este tipo de frascos goteros, con el fin de disminuir el riesgo de quemaduras accidentales.

Metagenome Sequences of a Thermophilic Anaerobic Digester Adapted to a Low C/N Ratio, High-Ammonia Feedstock (Poultry Litter).

We sequenced the metagenome of a pilot-scale thermophilic digester with long-term, stable performance on poultry litter feedstock which has a very low C/N ratio, a high ammonia level, and high lignocellulose content. Firmicutes were the dominant phylum (68.9%). Other abundant phyla included Bacteroidetes, Euryarchaeota, and Thermotogae This microbiome represents a hydrogenotrophic methanogenic community with high diversity.

Metagenome Sequences of Sediment from a Recovering Industrialized Appalachian River in West Virginia.

We sequenced two metagenomes from upper sediment layers (0 to 5 and 6 to 10 cm) from the Kanawha River, West Virginia. The watershed includes inputs from the forested Appalachian Mountains, surface coal mining, municipal residues, and extensive chemical manufacturing. The dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Chloroflexi Xenobiotic degradation pathways were present.

Derrame pericárdico y pericarditis purulenta por Salmonella: un caso excepcional / Pericardial effusion and purulent pericarditis caused by Salmonella: an exceptional case

Resumen Las complicaciones cardiovasculares asociadas a las infecciones por la Salmonella son raras y suceden entre el 1 a 5% de los pacientes. Las enfermedades del pericardio son extremadamente inusuales con pocos casos reportados en la literatura. Presentamos el caso de un adulto mayor con síntomas de derrame pericárdico y hallazgos de pericarditis purulenta en quien la etiología corresponde a infección por la Salmonella spp. confirmada por hallazgos clínicos, de imágenes diagnósticas, microbiológicos, quirúrgicos e histopatológicos.

Abstract Cardiovascular complications associated to Salmonella infections are rare and happen in around 1 to 5% of patients. Pericardium diseases are extremely unusual with few cases reported in literature. We report the case of an old adult with symptoms of pleural effusion and findings of purulent pericarditis where the etiology corresponded to an infection of Salmonella spp confirmed with clinical findings and imaging, microbiological, surgical and histopathological results.

Adenosquamous Cell Carcinoma of the Rectum in a Girl: First Case Reported and Review of the Literature.

Adenosquamous carcinoma is a rare colorectal tumor with few cases described in the literature; no children have been reported. A 12-year-old-girl presented tenesmus, diarrhea, and iron deficiency anemia. Intestinal bowel disease was suspected, colonoscopy and biopsy were performed and the diagnosis was a squamous cell carcinoma. Chemoradiation therapy based on last colorectal cancer guidelines was started. Complete regression of the primary tumor was observed with lymph node progression. The pathology report of the lymphadenectomy revealed metastasis of adenosquamous carcinoma, although there was not any adenomatous component in the first biopsy. The patient presented progression with liver metastases, despite stable local disease due to response to first-line treatment of the squamous component.