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Journal of Medical Microbiology Jul 2024is an invasive organism that frequently causes severe tissue damage in diabetic foot ulcers. The characterisation of P. aeruginosa strains isolated from diabetic foot...
is an invasive organism that frequently causes severe tissue damage in diabetic foot ulcers. The characterisation of P. aeruginosa strains isolated from diabetic foot infections has not been carried out in Tunisia. The aim was to determine the prevalence of isolated from patients with diabetic foot infections (DFIs) in Tunisia and to characterize their resistance, virulence and molecular typing. Patients with DFIs admitted to the diabetes department of the International Hospital Centre of Tunisia, from September 2019 to April 2021, were included in this prospective study. were obtained from the wound swabs, aspiration and soft tissue biopsies during routine clinical care and were confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, serotyping, integron and OprD characterization, virulence, biofilm production, pigment quantification, elastase activity and molecular typing were analysed in all recovered isolates by phenotypic tests, specific PCRs, sequencing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing. Sixteen isolates (16.3 %) were recovered from 98 samples of 78 diabetic patients and were classified into 6 serotypes (O:11 the most frequent), 11 different PFGE patterns and 10 sequence types (three of them new ones). The high-risk clone ST235 was found in two isolates. The highest resistance percentages were observed to netilmicin (69 %) and cefepime (43.8 %). Four multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates (25 %) were detected, three of them being carbapenem-resistant. The ST235-MDR strain harboured the In51 class 1 integron (). According to the detection of 14 genes involved in virulence or quorum sensing, 5 virulotypes were observed, including 5 -positive, 9 -positive and 2 -positive strains. The gene was truncated by IS insertion sequence in one isolate, and a deletion of 64 bp in the gene was detected in the ST235-MDR strain. Low biofilm, pyoverdine and elastase production were detected in all ; however, the -truncated strain showed a chronic infection phenotype characterized by loss of serotype-specific antigenicity, high production of phenazines and high biofilm formation. Our study demonstrated for the first time the prevalence and the molecular characterization of strains from DFIs in Tunisia, showing a high genetic diversity, moderate antimicrobial resistance, but a high number of virulence-related traits, highlighting their pathological importance.
Topics: Humans; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Diabetic Foot; Tunisia; Pseudomonas Infections; Male; Female; Middle Aged; Aged; Prospective Studies; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Biofilms; Virulence; Multilocus Sequence Typing; Adult; Virulence Factors; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Aged, 80 and over; Prevalence
PubMed: 38963417
DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.001851 -
Parasite (Paris, France) 2024Enterocytozoon bieneusi is an obligate intracellular microsporidian parasite with a worldwide distribution. As a zoonotic pathogen, E. bieneusi can infect a wide range...
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is an obligate intracellular microsporidian parasite with a worldwide distribution. As a zoonotic pathogen, E. bieneusi can infect a wide range of wildlife hosts through the fecal-oral route. Although the feces of flying squirrels (Trogopterus xanthipes) are considered a traditional Chinese medicine (as "faeces trogopterori"), no literature is available on E. bieneusi infection in flying squirrels to date. In this study, a total of 340 fresh flying squirrel fecal specimens from two captive populations were collected in Pingdingshan city, China, to detect the prevalence of E. bieneusi and assess their zoonotic potential. By nested PCR amplification of the ITS gene, six specimens tested positive, with positive samples from each farm, with an overall low infection rate of 1.8%. The ITS sequences revealed three genotypes, including known genotype D and two novel genotypes, HNFS01 and HNFS02. Genotype HNFS01 was the most prevalent (4/6, 66.7%). Phylogenetic analysis showed that all genotypes clustered into zoonotic Group 1, with the novel genotypes clustering into different subgroups. To our knowledge, this is the first report of E. bieneusi infection in flying squirrels, suggesting that flying squirrels could act as a potential reservoir and zoonotic threat for E. bieneusi transmission to humans in China.
Topics: Animals; Sciuridae; Enterocytozoon; China; Microsporidiosis; Phylogeny; Feces; Genotype; Prevalence; Zoonoses; Polymerase Chain Reaction; DNA, Fungal; Rodent Diseases; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; Animals, Wild
PubMed: 38963405
DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2024037 -
Reverse network diffusion to remove indirect noise for better inference of gene regulatory networks.Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) Jul 2024Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are vital tools for delineating regulatory relationships between transcription factors and their target genes. The boom in computational...
MOTIVATION
Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are vital tools for delineating regulatory relationships between transcription factors and their target genes. The boom in computational biology and various biotechnologies has made inferring GRNs from multi-omics data a hot topic. However, when networks are constructed from gene expression data, they often suffer from false-positive problem due to the transitive effects of correlation. The presence of spurious noise edges obscures the real gene interactions, which makes downstream analyses, such as detecting gene function modules and predicting disease-related genes, difficult and inefficient. Therefore, there is an urgent and compelling need to develop network denoising methods to improve the accuracy of GRN inference.
RESULTS
In this study, we proposed a novel network denoising method named REverse Network Diffusion On Random walks (RENDOR). RENDOR is designed to enhance the accuracy of GRNs afflicted by indirect effects. RENDOR takes noisy networks as input, models higher-order indirect interactions between genes by transitive closure, eliminates false-positive effects using the inverse network diffusion method, and produces refined networks as output. We conducted a comparative assessment of GRN inference accuracy before and after denoising on simulated networks and real GRNs. Our results emphasized that the network derived from RENDOR more accurately and effectively captures gene interactions. This study demonstrates the significance of removing network indirect noise and highlights the effectiveness of the proposed method in enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of noisy networks.
AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
The R package RENDOR is provided at https://github.com/Wu-Lab/RENDOR and other source code and data are available at https://github.com/Wu-Lab/RENDOR-reproduce.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
PubMed: 38963312
DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae435 -
British Journal of Community Nursing Jul 2024Many people living with dementia will also have multimorbidity comprising several other intercurrent, long-term and comorbid conditions. This article examines the... (Review)
Review
Many people living with dementia will also have multimorbidity comprising several other intercurrent, long-term and comorbid conditions. This article examines the relationship between such conditions in the context of dementia, giving an overview of the literature, including prevalence and some of the common conditions that can coexist with dementia. The theory and evidence-base will be tied together using a case study approach, to illustrate the complexity of managing comorbid conditions and multimorbidity alongside dementia, and explore some of the approaches that can be used by community nurses to support the overall health of people living with dementia that they work with.
Topics: Humans; Dementia; Multimorbidity; Comorbidity; Aged; Community Health Nursing; Prevalence; Female
PubMed: 38963276
DOI: 10.12968/bjcn.2024.0053 -
Georgian Medical News Apr 2024In Georgia, the number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus were 1,85,5289. Among them, 17 132 patients died. Information on risk factors for mortality is insufficient. The...
In Georgia, the number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus were 1,85,5289. Among them, 17 132 patients died. Information on risk factors for mortality is insufficient. The purpose of our research is to evaluate clinical features of heavy patients with severe COVID and determine prognostic factors of outcome. Factors associated with critical COVID-19 included older age and certain chronic medical conditions. The clinical material of 250 chronically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit was retrospectively studied. We divided the patients into two groups. The dead and the survivors. Demographic data, comorbidities, chronic diseases, results of ultrasound, cardiography, computed tomography and laboratory characteristics were studied. In patients with chronic diseases, in the intensive care unit during COVID-19, the relative chance of survival decreases: CRP3 - OR=0.98(95% CI:0.97-0.99Hydrothorax- OR=0.24(95% CI:0.06-0.95); Sepsis/Septic shock - OR=0.07(95% CI:0.01-0.39); WBC - OR=0.86(95% CI:0.74-0.99); Mechanical lung ventilation - OR=0.01(95% CI:0.00-0.05)); increase survival relative chance- pO2 - OR=1.03(95% CI:1.0-1.06). Predictors of mortality in patients with chronic diseases: coagulation characteristics, inflammatory markers, sepsis, and artificial lung ventilation. Risk factors for covid-19 mortality need to be studied to increase pandemic preparedness.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; Male; Female; Middle Aged; Aged; Retrospective Studies; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; SARS-CoV-2; Hospitalization; Intensive Care Units; Georgia (Republic); Comorbidity; Prognosis; Adult; Hospital Mortality; Aged, 80 and over
PubMed: 38963203
DOI: No ID Found -
Arhiv Za Higijenu Rada I Toksikologiju Jun 2024Pedagogical work, especially with preschool children, is one of the most stressful professions, and the incidence of stress-related illnesses among preschool teachers is...
Pedagogical work, especially with preschool children, is one of the most stressful professions, and the incidence of stress-related illnesses among preschool teachers is higher than in the general population. The aim of this cross-sectional study, conducted between October 2018 and April 2019, was to examine the prevalence of the burnout syndrome in a representative sample of 482 preschool teachers in Serbia and the factors associated with it. For this purpose, the participants completed a questionnaire composed of six sections: the socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics, health and lifestyle characteristics, workplace and employment characteristics; Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI); Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). The frequency of the total burnout was 27.1 %. The frequency of burnout on the CBI was 25.4 % for personal burnout, 27.0 % for work-related burnout, and 23.4 % for client-related burnout. Multivariate logistic regression analysis with total burnout as an outcome variable showed that being single (OR: 0.18; 95 % CI: 0.05-0.58), having poor (OR: 6.05; 95 % CI: 1.05-34.91), or average (OR: 3.60; 95 % CI: 1.57-8.25) self-rated health, not having didactic/play tools (OR: 2.71; 95 % CI: 1.21-6.04), having a higher score on the BDI (OR: 1.19; 95 % CI: 1.09-1.29) or SAS (OR: 1.10; 95 % CI: 1.03-1.18) was significantly associated with the total burnout among our participants. Our study shows the worryingly high prevalence of the burnout syndrome among preschool teachers in Serbia and points to its association with mental health issues, depression, and anxiety.
Topics: Humans; Serbia; Female; Male; Burnout, Professional; School Teachers; Cross-Sectional Studies; Adult; Middle Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires; Prevalence
PubMed: 38963143
DOI: 10.2478/aiht-2024-75-3825 -
Cancer Medicine Jul 2024Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is an aggressive malignancy that is usually diagnosed at a late stage. Prior data showed increasing incidence of GBC in the US. However, little...
BACKGROUND
Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is an aggressive malignancy that is usually diagnosed at a late stage. Prior data showed increasing incidence of GBC in the US. However, little is known about race/ethnic-specific incidence and mortality trends of GBC per stage at diagnosis. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a time-trend analysis of GBC incidence and mortality rates categorized by race/ethnicity and stage-at-diagnosis.
METHODS
Age-adjusted GBC incidence and mortality rates were calculated using SEER*Stat software from the United States Cancer Statistics database (covers ~98% of US population between 2001 and 2020) and NCHS (covers ~100% of the US population between 2000 and 2020) databases, respectively. Race/Ethnic groups were Non-Hispanic-White (NHW), Non-Hispanic-Black (NHB), Hispanic, Non-Hispanic-Asian/Pacific-Islander (NHAPI), and Non-Hispanic-American-Indian/Alaska-Native (NHAIAN). Stage-at-diagnoses were all stages, early, regional, and distant stages. Joinpoint regression was used to generate time-trends [annual percentage change (APC) and average APC (AAPC)] with parametric estimations and a two-sided t-test (p-value cut-off 0.05).
RESULTS
76,873 patients were diagnosed with GBC with decreasing incidence rates in all races/ethnicities except NHB who experienced an increasing trend between 2001 and 2014 (APC = 2.08, p < 0.01) and plateauing afterward (APC = -1.21, p = 0.31); (AAPC = 1.03, p = 0.03). Among early-stage tumors (9927 patients), incidence rates were decreasing only in Hispanic (AAPC = -4.24, p = 0.006) while stable in other races/ethnicities (NHW: AAPC = -2.61, p = 0.39; NHB: AAPC = -1.73, p = 0.36). For regional-stage tumors (29,690 patients), GBC incidence rates were decreasing only in NHW (AAPC = -1.61, p < 0.001) while stable in other races/ethnicities (NHB: AAPC = 0.73, p = 0.34; Hispanic: AAPC = -1.58, p = 0.24; NHAPI: AAPC = -1.22, p = 0.07). For distant-stage tumors (31,735 patients), incidence rates were increasing in NHB (AAPC = 2.72, p < 0.001), decreasing in Hispanic (AAPC = -0.64, p = 0.04), and stable in NHW (AAPC = 0.07, p = 0.84) and NHAPI (AAPC = 0.79, p = 0.13). There were 43,411 deaths attributed to GBC with decreasing mortality rates in all races/ethnicities except NHB who experienced a stable trend (AAPC = 0.25, p = 0.25).
CONCLUSION
Nationwide data over the last two decades show that NHB patients experienced increasing GBC incidence between 2001 and 2014 followed by stabilization of the rates. This increase was driven by late-stage tumors and occurred in the first decade. NHB also experienced non-improving GBC mortality, compared to other race and ethnic groups who had decreasing mortality. This can be due to lack of timely-access to healthcare leading to delayed diagnosis and worse outcomes. Future studies are warranted to investigate contributions to the revealed racial and ethnic disparities, especially in NHB, to improve early detection.
Topics: Humans; Gallbladder Neoplasms; United States; Incidence; Female; Male; SEER Program; Middle Aged; Aged; Ethnicity; Health Status Disparities; Adult; Racial Groups; Neoplasm Staging; Hispanic or Latino; Aged, 80 and over
PubMed: 38963040
DOI: 10.1002/cam4.7457 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2024
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; Brazil; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Child; Male; Anxiety; Surveys and Questionnaires; Prevalence; SARS-CoV-2; Pandemics
PubMed: 38962769
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1372853 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2024The increasingly frequent occurrence of urban heatwaves has become a significant threat to human health. To quantitatively analyze changes in heatwave characteristics...
The increasingly frequent occurrence of urban heatwaves has become a significant threat to human health. To quantitatively analyze changes in heatwave characteristics and to investigate the return periods of future heatwaves in Wuhan City, China, this study extracted 9 heatwave definitions and divided them into 3 mortality risk levels to identify and analyze historical observations and future projections of heatwaves. The copula functions were employed to derive the joint distribution of heatwave severity and duration and to analyze the co-occurrence return periods. The results demonstrate the following. (1) As the concentration of greenhouse gas emissions increases, the severity of heatwaves intensifies, and the occurrence of heatwaves increases significantly; moreover, a longer duration of heatwaves correlated with higher risk levels in each emission scenario. (2) Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions result in significantly shorter heatwave co-occurrence return periods at each level of risk. (3) In the 3 risk levels under each emission scenario, the co-occurrence return periods for heatwaves become longer as heatwave severity intensifies and duration increases. Under the influence of climate change, regional-specific early warning systems for heatwaves are necessary and crucial for policymakers to reduce heat-related mortality risks in the population, especially among vulnerable groups.
Topics: China; Humans; Risk Assessment; Climate Change; Extreme Heat; Cities; Hot Temperature; Mortality; Environmental Monitoring
PubMed: 38962759
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1409563 -
Cureus Jun 2024Among oral diseases, oral cancer is the primary cause of death and poses a serious health risk. Primary tumor (T) - regional lymph node (N) - distant metastasis (M)...
BACKGROUND
Among oral diseases, oral cancer is the primary cause of death and poses a serious health risk. Primary tumor (T) - regional lymph node (N) - distant metastasis (M) comprising (TNM) staging is crucial for planning treatment strategies for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
AIM
This study evaluated the predictive accuracy of clinical TNM staging of OSCC to histopathological staging (pTNM) in an institutional setting.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fifty-four consecutive histologically confirmed, surgically treated OSCC cases were evaluated for TNM staging. The study compared the clinical staging at the time of surgery with the pathological staging obtained from excisional biopsy reports. Microsoft Excel (Microsoft® Corp., Redmond, WA, USA) was used for the data compilation and descriptive analysis. The chi-square test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey's Honest Significant Difference (HSD) posthoc test were used to compare the data for statistical significance with p value <0.05 using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, IBM Corp., Version 23.0, Armonk, NY).
RESULTS
The alveolar mucosa (n=22, 40.74%) was the most frequently occurring site, followed by the tongue (n=17, 31.48%). Out of the 54 included cases, based on clinical tumor size, there were T1 (n=6), T2 (n=13), T3 (n=13), T4a (n=16) and T4b (n=6). T2 tumors were usually upstaged (n=7) while T4a (n=8) tumors were most often downstaged. T4a (n=8) had the best concordance between clinical and histopathological staging, followed by T2, T3, and T1. In nodal status, N1 showed the most variation. The chi-squared test showed statistical significance for tumor size comparison (p <0.001) and nodal status comparison (p=0.002). ANOVA test did not show any statistical significance. Tukey's HSD posthoc test showed statistical significance (p=0.034) for N0 and N1 status. The highest concordance was shown by N0 and N1 followed by N2b.
CONCLUSION
Preoperative radiological and clinical assessments are essential for deciding on a patient's course of treatment. However, not all patients may require radiographs to determine tumor size or nodal status assessment. Accurate diagnosis is vital for the treatment planning of OSCC.
PubMed: 38962622
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.61584