Chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC) is characterized by recurrent or persistent infections with
Candida
of the skin, nails, and mucous membranes (
e.g.
, mouth, esophagus, and vagina). Compared ...with that of other infectious diseases, the immune pathogenic mechanism of CMC is still poorly understood. We identified a signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 gain-of-function (c.Y289C) mutation in a CMC patient. Single-cell transcriptional profiling on peripheral blood mononuclear cells from this patient revealed decreases in immature B cells and monocytes. Further analysis revealed several differentially expressed genes related to immune regulation, including RGS1, TNFAIP3, S100A8/A9, and CTSS. In our review of the literature on signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 gain-of-function (c.Y289C) mutations, we identified seven cases in total. The median age of onset for CMC (n=4, data lacking for three cases) was 10.5 years (range: birth to 11 years), with an average onset age of 8 years. There were no reports linking tumors to the c.Y289C mutation, and the incidence of pre-existing clinical disease in patients with the c.Y289C mutation was similar to previous data.
causes deadly mycosis in immunocompromised individuals. Macrophages are key cells fighting against microbes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-to-cell communication mediators. The roles of EVs ...from infected host cells in the interaction with
remain uninvestigated. Here, EVs from viable
-infected macrophages reduced fungal burdens but led to shorter survival of infected mice.
, EVs induced naive macrophages to an inflammatory phenotype. Transcriptome analysis showed that EVs from viable
-infected macrophages activated immune-related pathways, including p53 in naive human and murine macrophages. Conserved analysis demonstrated that basic cell biological processes, including cell cycle and division, were activated by infection-derived EVs from both murine and human infected macrophages. Combined proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics of EVs from infected macrophages showed regulation of pathways such as extracellular matrix (ECM) receptors and phosphatidylcholine. This form of intermacrophage communication could serve to prepare cells at more distant sites of infection to resist
infection.
causes cryptococcal meningitis, which is frequent in patients with HIV/AIDS, especially in less-developed countries. The incidence of cryptococcal meningitis is close to 1 million each year globally. Macrophages are key cells that protect the body against microbes, including
Extracellular vesicles are a group of membrane structures that are released from cells such as macrophages that modulate cell activities via the transfer of materials such as proteins, lipids, and RNAs. In this study, we found that
-infected macrophages produce extracellular vesicles that enhance the inflammatory response in
-infected mice. These
-infected macrophage vesicles also showed higher fungicidal biological effects on inactivated macrophages. Using omics technology, unique protein and lipid signatures were identified in these extracellular vesicles. Transcriptome analysis showed that these vesicles activated immune-related pathways like p53 in naive macrophages. The understanding of this intermacrophage communication could provide potential targets for the design of therapeutic agents to fight this deadly mycosis.
To investigate the MRI features and clinical significance of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE).
Clinical records and MRI findings were retrospectively evaluated in nine HEHE patients ...from May 2010 to January 2020.
There were 121 lesions in nine patients with a predominantly peripheral distribution. Five lesions (4.13%) in two patients (22.22%) had evidence of capsular retraction, and three patients had lung metastasis (33.33%). Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI showed progressive enhancement, mainly in two ways: ring enhancement with hypovascularity in four patients (44.44%) and ring enhancement with hypervascularity in five patients (55.56%). Imaging demonstrated a multilayer ring appearance, which was typically observed on T2-weighted imaging (T2WI). The most common appearance consisted of two layers of varying signal, with some images displaying up to four layers. There were significant differences in the size of lesions between different layers of multilayer ring appearance (
< 0.001). All lesions exhibited a two-layer appearance on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), with hyperintensity at the periphery and a slightly high signal at the center (except for those with a single layer on T2WI). The "vascular penetration sign" was observed in most lesions, and the blood vessels of 112 lesions (92.56%) were portal vein branches, and five (4.13%) were hepatic vein branches. Pulmonary metastasis was found in three patients with the "vascular penetration sign" of hepatic vein branches.
The multilayer ring appearance on T2WI, the "vascular penetration sign", and the two enhancement patterns may be of great significance in the diagnosis and treatment of HEHE. The "vascular penetration sign" of hepatic vein branches may indicate extrahepatic metastasis.
The clinical profiles and outcomes of cryptococcal meningitis have been shown to vary depending on the underlying condition. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical characteristics and ...outcomes in patients with and without type II diabetes mellitus.
A retrospective study was performed. Clinical data of HIV-negative cryptococcal meningitis patients with type II diabetes mellitus (n = 26) and without type II diabetes mellitus (n = 52) referring to the Jiangxi Chest Hospital between January 2012 to December 2018 were analyzed. The data were analyzed using chi square, none-parametric tests, and logistic regression. P-values < 0.05 were considered significant.
In this study, cryptococcal meningitis patients suffering from type II diabetes mellitus had a higher mortality (23.08% vs. 7.69%; P = 0.055), and required longer hospitalization (59.58 vs. 42.88 days; P = 0.132). Moreover, cerebrospinal fluid examinations revealed that cryptococcal meningitis patients with type II diabetes mellitus had higher opening pressure (271.54 vs. 234.23 mmH
O; P = 0.125).The results of multivariate regression analysis revealed that cryptococcal meningitis patients with type II diabetes were more often presented with visual disorders (28.54% vs. 11.54%; 95% CI 0.056-0.705; p = 0.012), and had higher cerebrospinal fluid protein levels (1027.62 ± 594.16 vs. 705.72 ± 373.88 mg/l; 95% CI 1.000-1.002; p = 0.016). Among patients with type II diabetes mellitus, nausea and vomiting was more frequent at the initial visit in those died (100% vs. 50%; p = 0.027), and 66% of died type II diabetes mellitus patients were poorly controlled blood glucose level, compared with 30% in survival type II diabetes mellitus patients.
This study suggests that cryptococcal meningitis patients with type II diabetes mellitus differ significantly from cryptococcal meningitis patients without type II diabetes mellitus with respect to clinical symptoms such as visual disorders and cerebrospinal fluid examination. The presence of nausea and vomiting among type II diabetes mellitus patients could have implication in mortality.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this paper, the fatigue energy dissipation of Gravity Casting (GC) and Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) AlSi10Mg alloys under cyclic loading are investigated. The increase in surface ...temperature related to the energy dissipation effect is decoupled and used to predict the fatigue limits of GC and LPBF AlSi10Mg alloys as being 55.8% UTS and 33.9% UTS, respectively. The energy dissipation rate is obtained by solving the one-dimensional thermal diffusion problem. This energy dissipation is separated into related and unrelated fatigue damage using polynomial function fitting. The energy dissipation related to fatigue damage for LPBF specimens is observed to be higher than that of GC specimens, which indicates worse fatigue performance. The fatigue damage entropy is employed to predict the fatigue life of both GC and LPBF AlSi10Mg alloys, which has a good agreement with the results of a traditional fatigue experiment.
CircRNAs are a recently well-known regulator that mediates a variety of biological processes. Cryptococcus neoformans is an environmental fungal pathogen that can cause fatal cryptococcal meningitis ...in immunocompromised individuals. However, the involvement of circRNA in cryptococcal infection remains unclear. In this study, high-throughput microarray was performed to identify the circRNA expression profile in cryptococcal meningitis patients. Circ_0001806 was significantly decreased in cryptococcal meningitis individuals. Then the effects of circ_0001806 and its interaction with miRNAs were explored
in vivo
and
in vitro
. The knock-down of circ_0001806 led to higher fungal infection and shorter survival in an experimental murine cryptococcosis model. Transcriptome analysis showed that decreased circ_0001806 regulated pathways related to the host antimicrobe response in T cells. Furthermore,
in vitro
experiments showed that circ_0001806 positively modulates ADM level, decreasing cell apoptosis and G1S arrest in T cells. Finally, we found circ_0001806 exerted its effects by sponging miRNA-126 in T cells. Taken together, our results reveal the role of circRNA-1806/miRNA-126 in the regulation of cell cycle and apoptosis in cryptococcal infection and can provide a new insights of the pathogenesis of cryptococcal infection.
Cerebral ischemia is a major cause of mortality and long-term morbidity worldwide. NDRG4 has been shown to protect against cerebral ischemia, although the underlying mechanisms remain largely ...unclear. Here we found that NDRG4 expression was decreased in the brain tissues of ischemia/reperfusion (IR) rats, indicating increased apoptosis rates among cerebral cells. NDRG4 restoration via an adenovirus significantly attenuated cerebral infarct sizes and impairments in IR rats. Furthermore, adenovirus-mediated NDRG4 inhibited cell apoptosis in the brains of IR rats and regulated the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, and c-Fos. Moreover, we found that NDRG4 increased expression of BDNF, which is strongly related to cerebral ischemia and cellular apoptosis. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that NDRG4 protects cerebral IR injury by inhibiting cell apoptosis and regulates cerebral cell apoptosis by increasing BDNF expression. These results suggest that NDRG4 may be a therapeutic target for IR treatment.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A compound structure metamaterial containing a metal particles array embedded in a dielectric layer is designed and simulated. The absorption property is modulated through changing horizontal (H) or ...vertical (V) distances between two metallic particles. The interaction and coupling between LSP modes enhances of the absorption performance. Two absorption bands are revealed based on the maximum resonance strength of the coupling effect. The absorbing properties are modulated due to the Ge2Sb2Te5 layer is temperature sensitive. The effect of the thickness of the dielectric layer on the absorption performance is also revealed. Keywords: Metamaterial, LSP, Absorber
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The relationship between fruit, whole grain, and total energy consumption and the gut microbiome in the Chinese population remains unclear.
We investigated the relationship between intakes of fruits, ...whole grains, and energy, and the diversity and composition of gut microbiota.
This cross-sectional study included 167 subjects aged 40-75 years who underwent colonoscopy at Nankai Hospital in Tianjin, China. Each of the participants completed a personal history questionnaire, a 7-day dietary record, and donated a fecal sample. The V3-V4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNAgene was amplified and sequenced using Illumina Novaseq. The relationship between diet and gut microbiota was evaluated in terms of both the overall composition and the abundance of specific taxon.
Fruits intake was positively related to the abundance of Bacilli, Porphyromonadaceae, Streptococcaceae,
, and Bilophila in fecal samples. Higher whole grains intake was associated with higher microbial diversity, as measured by Shannon, Simpson, and Chao1 indices. Specifically, there was a significant increase inthe relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae and a decrease in Actinobacteria with increased whole grains intake. Moreover, higher intake of total energy was associated with a lower abundance of
and a higher abundance of Lactobacillales and
.
Whole grains intake was positively associated with gut microbial diversity. Fruits and total energy intake were related to the abundance of specifictaxon (e.g., Bacilli and Acidaminococcus). These findings highlight the potential importance of dietary interventions for modulating gut microbiota composition and promoting overall health.
In China, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common cancer in urban areas and first most common in rural areas. It ranks as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in males ...and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in females, with the total mortality rate of 26.26 per 100,000. Currently, people with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are a major population at risk of developing HCC in China. In fact, there are 93 million Chinese who are HBV carriers, and about 20 million of them have chronic HBV- infection. Several cohort studies have shown that screening high-risk patients with HBV- or HCV-related chronic liver disease may improve the rate of early HCC detection and the rate of curative treatment. However, a government-funded national program to screen for high-risk patients with HBV-related chronic liver disease has yet to be established in China. Although several remarkable advances in HCC management have been made during the past few decades, most patients with HCC still present with advanced-stage disease, thus reducing the chance of curative treatment. Based on firsthand experience in Japan and other countries or areas, this work examined the current status, challenges, and prospects for the future of early detection of HCC in China. Findings suggested the need for a systematic guideline for the standardized management of HCC, a government-funded nationwide screening and surveillance program for high-risk patients with HBV-related chronic liver disease, and extensive use of des-γ-carboxyprothrombin (DCP) as a screening tool in China in order to facilitate the early detection of HCC in China.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
PDF
