Repeated isolation of Cryptococcus laurentii from the oropharynx of an immunocompromized patient

Cryptococcus laurentii is one of the non-neoformans cryptococci that have rarely been isolated from humans. We report a case of repeated colonization of the oropharynx by Cr. laurentii in a patient with erythroleukaemia. The isolate was identified by phenotypic and genotypic tests and showed resistance to fluconazole. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Case Report: Genetic Alterations Associated with the Progression of Carotid Paraganglioma

Paragangliomas (PGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors that can develop from any paraganglion across the body. The carotid body is the most often location of PGLs in the head and neck region. Carotid PGLs (CPGLs) are characterized by predominantly non-aggressive behavior; however, all tumors have the potential to metastasize. To date, molecular mechanisms of paraganglioma progression remain elusive. We report a case of a 38-year-old woman with metastatic CPGL manifesting as a recurrent tumor with lymph node metastasis. The tumor was fast-growing and had a high Ki-67 proliferation index. Immunohistochemical (IHC) examination and whole-exome sequencing were performed for both recurrent tumor and metastasis. A germline pathogenic splice acceptor variant in the SDHB gene was found in the patient. Immunoreactivity of the SDHB subunit was weak diffuse in both samples, indicating deficiency of the succinate dehydrogenase. Moreover, the recurrent tumor exhibited loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the SDHB locus, that is according to Knudson’s "two-hit" hypothesis of cancer causation. We also identified a rare somatic promotor mutation in the TERT gene associated with the tumor progression. Obtained results confirmed the indicative role of the germline SDHB mutation for metastatic CPGLs, as well as the potential prognostic value of the TERT promoter mutation.     

中国串珠藻属新记录

记述了我国串珠藻属的6个新记录种,即灌丛串珠藻(Batrachospermum lochmodes Skuja),内卷串珠藻(B. involutum Vis et Sheath),博雷串珠藻(B. boryanum Sirodot),下位串珠藻(B. hypogynum Kumano et Ratnasabapathy),阿比串珠藻(B. abilii Reis)和茶溪串珠藻(B. theaquum Skuja ex Entwisle et Foard)     

Evidence for the formation of a gamma-phosphorylated glutamyl residue in the Escherichia coli acetate kinase reaction

Studies of phosphorylated $\text{Escherichia coli}$ acetate kinase, which has been reduced with [³H]sodium borohydride and subjected to acid hydrolysis, suggest that [³H] α-amino-δ-hydroxyvaleric acid is formed with a 20–25% overall yield. This finding is compatible with the formation of a γ-phosphorylated glutamyl residue upon incubation of enzyme with acetyl-P.     

Report on the Infinium 450k Methylation Array Analysis Workshop

A new platform for DNA methylome analysis is Illumina's Infinium HumanMethylation450. This technology is an extension of the previous HumanMethylation27 BeadChip and allows the methylation status of 12 samples per chip and 4 to 8 chips (total of 48 to 96 samples) to be assessed simultaneously for more than 480,000 cytosines across the genome. The platform incorporates two different probe types using different assay designs (InfiniumI and InfiniumII). Although this has allowed the assessment of more CpG sites, it has also introduced technical variation between the two probe types, which has complicated the analysis process. Many groups are working on normalization methods and analysis pipelines while many others are struggling to make sense of their new data sets. This motivated the organization of a meeting held at University College London that focused solely on the analysis methods and problems related to this new platform. The meeting was attended by 125 computational and bench scientists from 11 countries. There were 10 speakers, a small poster session and a discussion session.     

Yellow fever vaccine: Comparison of the neurovirulence of new 17D-204 Stamaril™ seed lots and RK 168-73 strain

The neurovirulence of two new candidate 17D-204 Stamaril? working seed lots and that of two reference preparations were compared. The Stamaril? working seed lots have been used for more than twenty years for the manufacturing of vaccines of acceptable safety and efficacy. The preparation designated RK 168-73 and provided by the Robert Koch Institute was used as a reference. It was confirmed that RK 168-73 strain was not a good virus control in our study because it has a very low neurovirulence regarding both the clinical and histopathological scores in comparison with Stamaril? strain and is not representative of a vaccine known to be satisfactory in use. The results were reinforced by the phenotypic characterization by plaque assay demonstrating that RK 168-73 was very different from the Stamaril? vaccine, and by sequencing results showing 4 mutations between Stamaril? and RK 168-73 viruses leading to amino acid differences in the NS4B and envelop proteins.     

成人腹膜后节细胞神经纤维瘤1 例暨文献复习

原发性腹膜后节细胞神经纤维瘤在临床上是属于极少见的病例,通常患者就诊时无明显临床症状。本文报道1例43岁成年男性的腹膜后节细胞神经纤维瘤并进行相关文献的复习。已有研究证实影像学检查可对原发性腹膜后肿瘤的良恶性鉴别提供重要依据,节细胞神经纤维瘤的影像学检查亦具有其特征性表现,但最终本病的确诊仍依赖病理及免疫组化技术。影像学检查是确定原发性腹膜后肿瘤的治疗计划的必要措施。目前手术已成为治疗腹膜后节细胞神经纤维瘤的首选治疗。辅以血管外科技术,肿瘤的根治性切除已在临床上广泛开展。通过手术治疗后尽管有二次复发可能,但腹膜后节细胞神经瘤预后仍较好。     

Demographic consequences of prey availability and diet of Red-billed Choughs Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Capsule Variation in prey availability appears to influence Chough fledging success and juvenile survival.

Aims To determine seasonal and annual variations in Chough prey and how these influence fledging success and juvenile survival.

Methods Chough faeces (n = 437, 3905 invertebrates) were collected year-round and analysed to determine diet composition. Seasonal and annual variation in prey abundance in Chough foraging habitat was assessed using pitfall trapping (n = 747, 27 124 invertebrates) between 1996 and 2003. Fledging success was estimated for a population of 12 breeding pairs; juvenile survival was estimated by year-round resighting (n < 2500) of individual birds that were colour-ringed as nestlings.

Results From April to June a high biomass of prey and a great variety of species were observed. Between July and October, both biomass and species diversity were reduced; prey consisted mainly of ants and a few beetle species. From November to March, biomass availability was intermediate, with the diet consisting mostly of Tipulidae larvae, plants and dung beetles. Chough juvenile monthly survival was low in August, November and December. Annual variation in fledging success was correlated with prey biomass availability in May.

Conclusion Seasonal variation in the availability of prey species and their biomass influences Chough demography.     

Gnathostoma spinigerum Infection in the Upper Lip of a Korean Woman: An Autochthonous Case in Korea

Autochthonous human gnathostomiasis had never been reported in the Republic of Korea. We report here a case of Gnathostoma spinigerum infection in a 32-year-old Korean woman, presumed to have been infected via an indigenous route. The patient had experienced a painful migratory swelling near the left nasolabial fold area of the face for a year, with movement of the swelling to the mucosal area of the upper lip 2 weeks before surgical removal of the lesion. Histopathological examinations of the extracted tissue revealed inflammation with heavy eosinophilic infiltrations and sections of a nematode suggestive of a Gnathostoma sp. larva. The larva characteristically revealed about 25 intestinal cells with multiple (3-6) nuclei in each intestinal cell consistent with the 3rd-stage larva of G. spinigerum. The patient did not have any special history of travel abroad except a recent trip, 4 months before surgery, to China where she ate only cooked food. The patient is the first recorded autochthonous case of G. spinigerum infection in Korea.     

Measuring Activity Patterns Using Actigraphy in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease resulting in impairments in motor and mental performance and restrictions in activities. Self‐report instruments are commonly used to measure activity patterns; alternatively, actigraphs can be placed on several parts of the body. The aims of this study were to evaluate the superiority and specificity of actigraph placement (wrist vs. ankle) in subjects with MS and healthy controls and explore the relationship between self‐report and objective activity patterns. A total of 19 subjects with definite MS and 10 healthy volunteers wore actigraphs on the non‐dominant wrist and ankle for three days while they kept a log to register performed activities every. 5 h. Wrist and ankle actigraphs produced similar activity patterns during the most active hours (09∶00–20∶30 h) (ANOVA, time×location interaction: F=.901, df=23, p=.597) in individuals with MS and healthy controls (between subjects factor F=3.275, p=.083). Wrist placement of the actigraphs was better tolerated than ankle placement. Wrist actigraph data corresponded to a higher degree with self‐reported activities of the upper limbs in the early afternoon, whereas ankle data seem to reflect better whole body movements in the later afternoon/early evening. Overall, actigraph data correlated moderately with self‐reported activity (r=.57 for ankle and r=.59 for wrist). The regression model revealed that self‐reported activities explained 44% of the variance in ankle and 50% of wrist data. Wrist and ankle actigraphs produce similar activity patterns in subjects with MS and in healthy controls; however, the placement of actigraphs on the wrist is better tolerated. Ankle actigraphs reflect general movement but underestimate upper body activity. Subjective registration of activity level partly matches with objective actigraph measurement. A combination of both objective and subjective activity registration is recommended to evaluate the physical activity pattern of subjects with MS.