Dissemination of multidrug-resistant, particularly tigecycline-resistant, Acinetobacter baumannii is of critical importance, as tigecycline is considered a last-line antibiotic. Acquisition of ...tet(X), a tigecycline-inactivating enzyme mostly found in strains of animal origin, imparts tigecycline resistance to A. baumannii. Herein, we investigated the presence of tet(X) variants among 228 tigecycline-non-susceptible A. baumannii isolates from patients at a Taiwanese hospital via polymerase chain reaction using a newly designed universal primer pair. Seven strains (3%) carrying tet(X)-like genes were subjected to whole genome sequencing, revealing high DNA identity. Phylogenetic analysis based on the PFGE profile clustered the seven strains in a clade, which were thus considered outbreak strains. These strains, which were found to co-harbor the chromosome-encoded tet(X6) and the plasmid-encoded blaOXA-72 genes, showed a distinct genotype with an uncommon sequence type (Oxford ST793/Pasteur ST723) and a new capsular type (KL129). In conclusion, we identified an outbreak clone co-carrying tet(X6) and blaOXA-72 among a group of clinical A. baumannii isolates in Taiwan. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of tet(X6) in humans and the first report of a tet(X)-like gene in Taiwan. These findings identify the risk for the spread of tet(X6)-carrying tigecycline- and carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii in human healthcare settings.
Adult humans and mice possess significant classical brown adipose tissues (BAT) and, upon cold-induction, acquire brown-like adipocytes in certain depots of white adipose tissues (WAT), known as ...beige adipose tissues or WAT browning/beiging. Activating thermogenic classical BAT or WAT beiging to generate heat limits diet-induced obesity or type-2 diabetes in mice. Adiponectin is a beneficial adipokine resisting diabetes, and causing "healthy obese" by increasing WAT expansion to limit lipotoxicity in other metabolic tissues during high-fat feeding. However, the role of its receptors, especially adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1), on cold-induced thermogenesis in vivo in BAT and in WAT beiging is still elusive. Here, we established a cold-induction procedure in transgenic mice over-expressing AdipoR1 and applied a live 3-D
F fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/CT (
F-FDG PET/CT) scanning to measure BAT activity by determining glucose uptake in cold-acclimated transgenic mice. Results showed that cold-acclimated mice over-expressing AdipoR1 had diminished cold-induced glucose uptake, enlarged adipocyte size in BAT and in browned WAT, and reduced surface BAT/body temperature in vivo. Furthermore, decreased gene expression, related to thermogenic
, BAT-specific markers, BAT-enriched mitochondrial markers, lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation, and increased expression of whitening genes in BAT or in browned subcutaneous inguinal WAT of AdipoR1 mice are congruent with results of PET/CT scanning and surface body temperature in vivo. Moreover, differentiated brown-like beige adipocytes isolated from pre-adipocytes in subcutaneous WAT of transgenic AdipoR1 mice also had similar effects of lowered expression of thermogenic
, BAT selective markers, and BAT mitochondrial markers. Therefore, this study combines in vitro and in vivo results with live 3-D scanning and reveals one of the many facets of the adiponectin receptors in regulating energy homeostasis, especially in the involvement of cold-induced thermogenesis.
Global and local land-cover mapping products provide important data on land surface. However, the accuracy of land-cover products is the key issue for their further scientific application. There has ...been neglect of the relationship between inclusion probability and spatial heterogeneity in traditional spatially balanced sampling. The aim of this paper was to propose an improved spatially balanced sampling method using landscape pattern-based inclusion probability. Compared with other global land-cover datasets, Globeland30 has the advantages of high resolution and high classification accuracy. A two-stage stratified spatially balanced sampling scheme was designed and applied to the regional validation of GlobeLand30 in China. In this paper, the whole area was divided into three parts: the Tibetan Plateau region, the Northwest China region, and the East China region. The results show that 7242 sample points were selected, and the overall accuracy of GlobeLand30-2010 in China was found to be 80.46%, which is close to the third-party assessment accuracy of GlobeLand30. This method improves the representativeness of samples, reduces the classification error of remote sensing, and provides better guidance for biodiversity and sustainable development of environment.
•An in vitro fermentation of FCS-pg by human gut microflora was investigated.•FCS-pg can be digested by gut microflora from partial human fecal samples.•FCS-pg was mainly fermented by Bacteroides, ...Bifidobacterium and Clostridium.•It increased the content of probiotics bacteria in achieving health-enhancing effect.
A fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (FCS-pg) with highly repeated structure from Pearsonothuria graeffei was subjected to a in vitro fermentation model to investigate its fermentability and effects on human gut microflora. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) measurement found FCS-pg can be fermented to short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) by gut microflora from partial human fecal samples. 16S rRNA gene-based polymerase chain reaction-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) profiling and real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed that FCS-pg mainly increased the proportions of Clostridium cluster XI, Bacteriodes prevotella group, Bifidobacterium genus, Clostridium cluster I and Clostridium cluster XIVab, whereas the numbers of the Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacillus decreased. These results indicated that FCS-pg was mainly fermented by Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium and Clostridium. It increased the content of probiotics bacteria in achieving health-enhancing effect, was slightly different than most sulfated polysaccharides from marine animals. The current study provides useful new information on the mechanism of absorption and functional activity on FCS-pg within the gastrointestinal tract of the human body.
Monodispersed magnetite nanoparticles were obtained by investigating the different synthesis parameters of the solvothermal method. The morphology and chemical structure of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles ...were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Results indicated that without the addition of water, it forms the minor phase of iron instead of magnetite. Furthermore, the size of nanoparticles is tunable in the range of 117.7 to 217.6 nm by changing the amounts of water, PSSMA and NaOH. The amount of PSSMA restricts the growth of the nanoparticles and narrow the size distribution and a hydrophilic surface was obtained. Synthesized magnetite nanoparticles were successfully conjugated with carbon dots. The resulting nanoparticles exhibited good fluorescence characteristics. Cytotoxicity tests confirmed that nanoparticles are non-toxic. Both magnetite and C-dots/Fe3O4 nanoparticles are good potential candidates for biomedical applications specifically for bioimaging and biosensing in the future.
In this study, a new resin formulation method was developed to fabricate 3D printed conductive structures via digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing technology. Metal fillers, such as ...silver-coated copper flakes (AgCu) and silver nanoparticles (AgNP), were tested for conductive resin formulation. With low UV shielding and printing derivation, AgCu was selected as the conductive filler, and mixed with a photo curable acrylic resin. To resolve the sedimentation problem of metal fillers, carbon nanotubes (CNT) were added as a thickening agent to provide a supportive network to stop the metal fillers from settling. With the CNT addition, AgCu up to 70 wt% can be well dispersed in the acrylic resin with both fluidity and suspension stability. The resin can be printed into 3D metal circuitry structures with a conductivity up to 1000 S/cm without sintering. Multi-material stereolithography was also performed to produce conductive circuitry within insulation materials. The sectional view showed great connections between multiple layers of printed conductive tracks. Through-hole vias and blind vias were also built with great quality to demonstrate the capability of this conductive resin formulation.
High-level expression of ASC (Apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD) leads to lymph node metastasis in OSCC, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we show that ...HIF-1α participates in ASC-induced metastasis. We identified 195 cell-motion-associated genes that were highly activated in ASC-overexpressed SAS_ASC cells; of them, 14 representative genes were found to be overexpressed in OSCC tissues in our previously reported RNA-seq dataset, OSCC-Taiwan. Nine of the 14 genes were also upregulated in OSCC-TCGA samples. Among the nine genes, RRAS2, PDGFA, and VEGFA, were correlated with poor overall survival of patients in OSCC-TCGA dataset. We further demonstrated that the promoters of these 14 ASC-induced genes contained binding motifs for the transcription-regulating factor, HIF-1α. We observed that ASC interacted with and stabilized HIF-1α in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus under normoxia. Molecules involved in the HIF-1α pathway, such as VHL and PHD2, showed no difference in their gene and protein levels in the presence or absence of ASC, but the expression of HIF-1α-OH, and the ubiquitination of HIF-1α were both decreased in SAS_ASC cells versus SAS_con cells. The migration and invasion activities of SAS_ASC cells were reduced when cells were treated with the HIF-1α synthesis inhibitor, digoxin. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the novel ASC-HIF-1α regulatory pathway contributes to lymph node metastasis in OSCC, potentially suggesting a new treatment strategy for OSCC.
The exploration of carbonation routine utilizing BOFs, CRW and CO2 has a significant effect on terminated treatment of metallurgical wastes resourceful disposal at a low cost. This paper investigated ...the collaborative effect of CRW composition on slag carbonation degree and CRW decalcification rate in CO2 sequestration system, furthermore, the effect of reaction time etc. on both were also discussed under optimal composition. Moreover, the carbonation process was simulated by Aspen software for comparing with the experimental results. The results showed that slag carbonation degree and CRW decalcification rate increased as CRW hardness increased, and kept stable. The optimal calcium conversion was 50.4 %, corresponding to 15.9g CO2/100g slag, and the decalcification rate was 87.1 %, respectively, at 80 °C and 10 L/kg for 60 min. The Aspen simulation results showed the correlation degrees were 0.94 for calcium conversion and 0.98 for decalcification rate.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is currently the most commonly detected bacterial cause of childhood community-acquired pneumonia in several countries. Of note, clonal expansion of macrolide-resistant ST3 ...occurred in Japan and South Korea. An alarming surge in macrolide resistance complicates the treatment of pneumonia. We aimed to evaluate the clinical manifestation and clonal relatedness of M. pneumoniae circulating among children in Taiwan.
We prospectively enrolled 626 children with radiologically confirmed pneumonia between 2017 and 2019. An M. pneumoniae infection was suspected on clinical grounds, and tested by real-time PCR and oropharyngeal swab cultures. We used multilocus sequence typing and whole-genome sequencing to characterize the genetic features of M. pneumoniae.
A total of 226 children with M. pneumoniae pneumonia were enrolled. Macrolide resistance was found in 77% (174/226) of patients. Multi-locus sequence typing revealed that ST3 (n = 93) and its single-locus variant ST17 (n = 84) were the predominant clones among macrolide-resistant strains. ST17 presented clinical characteristics comparable to its ancestor ST3. On multivariate analysis, macrolide resistance (OR 3.5; 95% CI 1.4–8.5; p 0.007) was independently associated with fever >72 hours after macrolide treatment. By whole-genome sequencing, prediction analysis of recombination sites revealed one recombination site in ST3 and ST17 compared with M29 (a macrolide-sensitive ST3 strain isolated from China in 2005) containing cytadhesin MgpC-like protein, RepMP4 and RepMP5. ST17 had another recombination site containing an adhesin and RepMP2/3.
In addition to macrolide resistance, ST3 and its ST17 variant might evolve through recombination between repetitive sequences and non-P1 cytadhesins for persistent circulation in Taiwan.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality in Taiwan. To help clinical physicians to manage patients with HCC, the Taiwan Liver Cancer Association and the ...Gastroenterological Society of Taiwan produced the management consensus guideline for HCC.
The recommendations focus on nine important issues on management of HCC, including surveillance, diagnosis, staging, surgery, local ablation, transarterial chemoembolization/transarterial radioembolization/hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, systemic therapy, radiotherapy, and prevention.
The consensus statements were discussed, debated and got consensus in each expert team. And then the statements were sent to all of the experts for further discussion and refinement. Finally, all of the experts were invited to vote for the statements, including the level of evidence and recommendation.
With the development of the management consensus guideline, HCC patients could benefit from the optimal therapeutic modality.
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