Genotypic and phenotypic properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida parapsilosis</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">sensu strictu</Emphasis> strains isolated from different geographic regions and body sites

Background  

Candida parapsilosis is known to show limited genetic variability, despite different karyotypes and phenotypes have been described. To further investigate this aspect, a collection of 62 sensu strictu C. parapsilosis independent isolates from 4 geographic regions (Italy, n = 19; New Zealand, n = 15; Argentina, n = 14; and Hungary, n = 14) and different body sites (superficial and deep seated) were analysed for their genetic and phenotypic traits. Amplification fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was used to confirm species identification and to evaluate intraspecific genetic variability. Phenotypic characterisation included clinically relevant traits, such as drug susceptibility, in vitro biofilm formation and aspartyl protease secretion.     

Induction of autoantibodies against lung matrix proteins and smoke-induced inflammation in mice

Background

Despite recommendations for outpatient management, low risk patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are often hospitalized. This survey analyzed perceptions of physicians, nurses, patients and relatives about feasibility of outpatient management and required duration of hospital stay.

Methods

We performed a prospective, observational questionnaire survey in hospitalized patients with LRTI as part of a multicenter trial. Treating physicians and nurses, patients and their relatives were asked on admission and before discharge about feasibility of outpatient treatment over 5 dimensions (medical, nursing, organizational factors, and patients' and relatives' preferences) using continuous scales.

Results

On admission, 12.6% of physicians, 15.1% of nurses, 18.0% of patients and 5.2% of relatives believed that outpatient treatment would be possible. Before hospital discharge, 31.1% of physicians, 32.2% of nurses, 11.6% of patients and 4.1% of relatives thought that earlier discharge would have been feasible. Medical factors were the most frequently perceived motives for inpatient management. These perceptions were similar in all LRTI subgroups and independent of disease severity and associated expected mortality risks as assessed by the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI).

Conclusion

Independent of type and severity of respiratory tract infection, the misperceived high severity and expected mortality and morbidity were the predominant reasons why treating physicians, nurses, patients and their relatives unanimously believed that inpatient management was necessary. Better assessment and communication about true expected medical risks might contribute to a pathway to shorten in-hospital days and to introduce a more risk-targeted and individually tailored allocation of health-care resources.

Trial Registration

NCT00350987     

Testing statistical significance scores of sequence comparison methods with structure similarity

Background  

In the past years the Smith-Waterman sequence comparison algorithm has gained popularity due to improved implementations and rapidly increasing computing power. However, the quality and sensitivity of a database search is not only determined by the algorithm but also by the statistical significance testing for an alignment. The e-value is the most commonly used statistical validation method for sequence database searching. The CluSTr database and the Protein World database have been created using an alternative statistical significance test: a Z-score based on Monte-Carlo statistics. Several papers have described the superiority of the Z-score as compared to the e-value, using simulated data. We were interested if this could be validated when applied to existing, evolutionary related protein sequences.     

Bone fluoride concentrations in beluga whales from Canada

Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence Estuary have been reported to have dental and bone abnormalities. To determine whether these lesions could be caused by high exposure to fluorides, we measured bone fluoride levels in eight beluga whales stranded on the shores of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Quebec, Canada), and in nine beluga whales killed by Inuit hunters in the Hudson Bay (North Western Territories, Canada). In both groups, fluoride concentrations were higher than those found in terrestrial mammals intoxicated by fluorides. Unexpectedly, fluoride concentration was significantly higher in beluga whales from the Hudson Bay (mean +/- SD: 10.365 +/- 1.098 ppm) than in beluga whales from the St. Lawrence Estuary (4.539 +/- 875 ppm) and was positively correlated with age in the latter population. Differences in diet might explain the differences in fluoride concentrations found between these two populations.     

Direct immobilization of gangliosides onto gold-carboxymethyldextran sensor surfaces by hydrophobic interaction: applications to antibody characterization

We describe a novel immobilization technique to investigate interactions between immobilized gangliosides (GD3, GM1, and GM2) and their respective antibodies, antibody fragments, or binding partners using an optical biosensor. Immobilization was performed by direct injection onto a carboxymethyldextran sensor chip and did not require derivatization of the sensor surface or the ganglioside. The ganglioside appeared to bind to the sensor surface by hydrophobic interaction, leaving the carbohydrate epitope available for antibody or, in the case of GM1, cholera toxin binding. The carboxyl group of the dextran chains on the sensor surface did not appear to be involved in the immobilization as evidenced by equivalent levels of immobilization following conversion of the carboxyl groups into acyl amino esters, but rather the dextran layer provided a hydrophilic coverage of the sensor chip which was essential to prevent nonspecific binding. This technique gave better reactivity and specificity for anti- ganglioside monoclonal antibodies (anti-GD3: KM871, KM641, R24; and anti-GM2: KM966) than immobilization by hydrophobic interaction onto a gold sensor surface or photoactivated cross-linking onto carboxymethydextran. This rapid immobilization procedure has facilitated detailed kinetic analysis of ganglioside/antibody interactions, with the surface remaining viable for a large number of cycles (>125). Kinetic constants were determined from the biosensor data using linear regression, nonlinear least squares and equilibrium analysis. The values of kd, ka, and KAobtained by nonlinear analysis (KAKM871 = 1.05, KM641 = 1.66, R24 = 0.14, and KM966 = 0.65 x 10(7) M- 1) were essentially independent of concentration and showed good agreement with data obtained by other analytical methods.      

Influence of a natural and a synthetic inhibitor of factor XIIIa on fibrin clot rheology

We investigated the origins of greater clot rigidity associated with FXIIIa-dependent cross-linking. Fibrin clots were examined in which cross-linking was controlled through the use of two inhibitors: a highly specific active-center-directed synthetic inhibitor of FXIIIa, 1,3-dimethyl-4,5-diphenyl-2[2(oxopropyl)thio]imidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonate, and a patient-derived immunoglobulin directed mainly against the thrombin-activated catalytic A subunits of thrombin-activated FXIII. Cross-linked fibrin chains were identified and quantified by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunostaining with antibodies specific for the alpha- and gamma-chains of fibrin. Gamma-dimers, gamma-multimers, alpha(n)-polymers, and alpha(p)gamma(q)-hybrids were detected. The synthetic inhibitor was highly effective in preventing the production of all cross-linked species. In contrast, the autoimmune antibody of the patient caused primarily an inhibition of alpha-chain cross-linking. Clot rigidities (storage moduli, G') were measured with a cone and plate rheometer and correlated with the distributions of the various cross-linked species found in the clots. Our findings indicate that the FXIIIa-induced dimeric cross-linking of gamma-chains by itself is not sufficient to stiffen the fibrin networks. Instead, the augmentation of clot rigidity was more strongly correlated with the formation of gamma-multimers, alpha(n)-polymers, and alpha(p)gamma(q)-hybrid cross-links. A mechanism is proposed to explain how these cross-linked species may enhance clot rigidity.     

Food environment and diabetes mellitus in South Asia: A geospatial analysis of health outcome data

BackgroundThe global epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) renders its prevention a major public health priority. A key risk factor of diabetes is obesity and poor diets. Food environments have been found to influence people’s diets and obesity, positing they may play a role in the prevalence of diabetes. Yet, there is scant evidence on the role they may play in the context of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We examined the associations of food environments on T2DM among adults and its heterogeneity by income and sex.Methods and findingsWe linked individual health outcome data of 12,167 individuals from a network of health surveillance sites (the South Asia Biobank) to the density and proximity of food outlets geolocated around their homes from environment mapping survey data collected between 2018 and 2020 in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Density was defined as share of food outlets within 300 m from study participant’s home, and proximity was defined as having at least 1 outlet within 100 m from home. The outcome variables include fasting blood glucose level, high blood glucose, and self-reported diagnosed diabetes. Control variables included demographics, socioeconomic status (SES), health status, healthcare utilization, and physical activities. Data were analyzed in ArcMap 10.3 and STATA 15.1. A higher share of fast-food restaurants (FFR) was associated with a 9.21 mg/dl blood glucose increase (95% CI: 0.17, 18.24; p < 0.05). Having at least 1 FFR in the proximity was associated with 2.14 mg/dl blood glucose increase (CI: 0.55, 3.72; p < 0.01). A 1% increase in the share of FFR near an individual’s home was associated with 8% increase in the probability of being clinically diagnosed as a diabetic (average marginal effects (AMEs): 0.08; CI: 0.02, 0.14; p < 0.05). Having at least 1 FFR near home was associated with 16% (odds ratio [OR]: 1.16; CI: 1.01, 1.33; p < 0.05) and 19% (OR: 1.19; CI: 1.03, 1.38; p < 0.05) increases in the odds of higher blood glucose levels and diagnosed diabetes, respectively. The positive association between FFR density and blood glucose level was stronger among women than men, but the association between FFR proximity and blood glucose level was stronger among men as well as among those with higher incomes. One of the study’s key limitations is that we measured exposure to food environments around residency geolocation; however, participants may source their meals elsewhere.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the exposure to fast-food outlets may have a detrimental impact on the risk of T2DM, especially among females and higher-income earners. Policies should target changes in the food environments to promote better diets and prevent T2DM.

Dian Kusuma and colleagues investigate the associations between exposure to the density and proximity of healthy and unhealthy food outlets and diabetes in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.