Stewartmahmoud5433

Dalbavancin (DAL) is a lipoglycopeptide with bactericidal activity against a very wide range of Gram-positive microorganisms. It also has unique pharmacokinetic properties, namely a prolonged half-life (around 181 h), which allows a convenient weekly dosing regimen, and good diffusion in bone tissue. These features have led to off-label use of dalbavancin in the setting of bone and joint infection, including prosthetic joint infections (PJI). In this narrative review, we go over the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of DAL, along with published in vitro and in vivo experimental models evaluating its activity against biofilm-embedded bacteria. We also examine published experience of osteoarticular infection with special attention to DAL and PJI.Limited literature has investigated the association between food insecurity and sarcopenia in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between food insecurity and sarcopenia among adults aged ≥65 years in six LMICs. Community-based cross-sectional data of the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health were analyzed. Sarcopenia was defined as the presence of low skeletal muscle mass based on indirect population formula, and either slow gait or low handgrip strength. In the past, 12-month food insecurity was assessed with two questions on frequency of eating less and hunger due to lack of food. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted. The final sample consisted of 14,585 individuals aged ≥65 years (mean (SD) age 72.6 (11.5) years; 55.0% females). The prevalence of sarcopenia among those with no food insecurity was 13.0% but this increased to 24.4% among those with severe food insecurity. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared to no food insecurity, severe food insecurity was associated with 2.05 (95%CI = 1.12-3.73) times higher odds for sarcopenia. In this large representative sample of older adults from multiple LMICs, it was found that severe food insecurity is associated with higher odds for sarcopenia. Addressing food insecurity in such settings may be an effective strategy to curb the high prevalence of sarcopenia in LMICs.Pompe disease is caused by the accumulation of glycogen in the lysosomes due to a deficiency of the lysosomal acid-α-glucosidase (GAA) enzyme. Depending on residual enzyme activity, the disease manifests two distinct phenotypes. In this study, we assess an enzymatic and genetic analysis of Hungarian patients with Pompe disease. Twenty-four patients diagnosed with Pompe disease were included. Enzyme activity of acid-α-glucosidase was measured by mass spectrometry. Sanger sequencing and an MLPA of the GAA gene were performed in all patients. Twenty (83.33%) patients were classified as having late-onset Pompe disease and four (16.66%) had infantile-onset Pompe disease. Fifteen different pathogenic GAA variants were detected. The most common finding was the c.-32-13 T > G splice site alteration. Comparing the α-glucosidase enzyme activity of homozygous cases to the compound heterozygous cases of the c.-32-13 T > G disease-causing variant, the mean GAA activity in homozygous cases was significantly higher. The lowest enzyme activity was found in cases where the c.-32-13 T > G variant was not present. The localization of the identified sequence variations in regions encoding the crucial protein domains of GAA correlates with severe effects on enzyme activity. see more A better understanding of the impact of pathogenic gene variations may help earlier initiation of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) if subtle symptoms occur. Further information on the effect of GAA gene variation on the efficacy of treatment and the extent of immune response to ERT would be of importance for optimal disease management and designing effective treatment plans.We appreciate the interest in our review and we are grateful for the comment by Gambazza S. [...].High sensitivity detection of terahertz waves can be achieved with a graphene nanomesh as grating to improve the coupling efficiency of the incident terahertz waves and using a graphene nanostructure energy gap to enhance the excitation of plasmon. Herein, the fabrication process of the FET THz detector based on the rectangular GNM (r-GNM) is designed, and the THz detector is developed, including the CVD growth and the wet-process transfer of high quality monolayer graphene films, preparation of r-GNM by electron-beam lithography and oxygen plasma etching, and the fabrication of the gate electrodes on the Si3N4 dielectric layer. The problem that the conductive metal is easy to peel off during the fabrication process of the GNM THz device is mainly discussed. The photoelectric performance of the detector was tested at room temperature. The experimental results show that the sensitivity of the detector is 2.5 A/W (@ 3 THz) at room temperature.Nile tilapia Juveniles (19.50 ± 0.5 g) were fed on a basal diet (control group (CTR)) and a diet supplemented with 1 g Aspergillus oryzae (ASP) per kg diet for 12 weeks. Fish were then subjected to different salinity levels (0, 10, 15, and 20 practical salinity units (psu)) for another 15 days. Two-way ANOVA analysis revealed that the individual effects of ASP in Nile tilapia exposed to salinity levels presented a significant decrease (p less then 0.05) in values of haemato-biochemical indices (such as glucose, cortisol, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and malondialdehyde) compared to those in the CTR group exposed to the same salinity levels. Moreover, significant increases (p less then 0.05) of blood protein profile (albumin, globulin, and total protein), non-specific immune responses (lysozyme activity, phagocytic activity, and phagocytic index), and antioxidant enzymes activities (glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase) were observed in ASP-supplemented groups. Interestingly, there was significant (p less then 0.05) downregulation of the mRNA expression values of heat shock protein 70 and interferon-gamma genes, alongside upregulation of the mRNA expression values of interleukin 1 beta and interleukin 8 genes, in the hepatic tissues of Nile tilapia in ASP-supplemented groups exposed to different salinities compared to those in the CTR group exposed to the same salinity levels. Taken together, these findings supported the potential efficacy of dietary supplementation with ASP in alleviating salinity stress-induced haemato-biochemical alterations, immune suppression, and oxidative stress in the exposed Nile tilapia.Clinical isolates of Candida yeast are the most common cause of opportunistic fungal infections resistant to certain antifungal drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to detect more effective antifungal agents that would be successful in overcoming such infections. Among them are some herbal products and their active constituents.The purpose of this review is to summarize the current state of knowledge onherbal products and their active constituents havingantifungal activity against drug-resistant Candida sp. used alone and in combination with antifungal drugs.The possible mechanisms of their action on drug-resistant Candida sp. including (1) inhibition of budding yeast transformation into hyphae; (2) inhibition of biofilm formation; (3) inhibition of cell wall or cytoplasmic membrane biosynthesis; (4) ROS production; and (5) over-expression of membrane transporters will be also described.Concerns arising from accidental and occasional releases of novel industrial nanomaterials to the environment and waterbodies are rapidly increasing as the production and utilization levels of nanomaterials increase every day. In particular, two-dimensional nanosheets are one of the most significant emerging classes of nanomaterials used or considered for use in numerous applications and devices. This study deals with the interactions between 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets and beneficial soil bacteria. It was found that the log-reduction in the survival of Gram-positive Bacillus cereus was 2.8 (99.83%) and 4.9 (99.9988%) upon exposure to 16.0 mg/mL bulk MoS2 (macroscale) and 2D MoS2 nanosheets (nanoscale), respectively. For the case of Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the log-reduction values in bacterial survival were 1.9 (98.60%) and 5.4 (99.9996%) for the same concentration of bulk MoS2 and MoS2 nanosheets, respectively. Based on these findings, it is important to consider the potential toxicity of MoS2 nanosheets on beneficial soil bacteria responsible for nitrate reduction and nitrogen fixation, soil formation, decomposition of dead and decayed natural materials, and transformation of toxic compounds into nontoxic compounds to adequately assess the environmental impact of 2D nanosheets and nanomaterials.The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of supplementing the diet of laying hens with linseed meal and carotenoids from different sources on egg characteristics, yolk fatty acid and carotenoid profile, and lipid peroxidation. A 4-week experiment was conducted on 168 Lohmann Brown layers (43 weeks of age), assigned to four dietary treatments (42 hens/group; 21 replicate/groups with 2 birds/pen) consisting of a control diet (C) and three diets simultaneously supplemented with 6% linseed meal and 2% dried kapia pepper (E1), 2% dried sea buckthorn pomace (E2) and 2% dried carrot (E3). Every 2 weeks, 18 eggs/group/period were collected randomly from each group and used to determine the egg quality and nutritional parameters. The results showed that dietary linseed meal and carotenoids sources improved egg color, carotenoids' accumulation in egg yolk and fatty acid profile, especially the n-3 PUFA content. Dietary carotenoids supplementation reduced, n-6/n-3 ratio, cholesterol content of the egg yolk and improved yolk pH, egg thickness and yolk oxidative stability. In conclusion, the use of these sources of carotenoids in the linseed meal enriched diets could be an effective way to improve the nutritional properties of the eggs without affecting their quality and consumer's safety.This work reports the design of a novel plastic antibody for cystatin C (Cys-C), an acute kidney injury biomarker, and its application in point-of-care (PoC) testing. The synthetic antibody was obtained by tailoring a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) on a carbon screen-printed electrode (SPE). The MIP was obtained by electropolymerizing pyrrole (Py) with carboxylated Py (Py-COOH) in the presence of Cys-C and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Cys-C was removed from the molecularly imprinted poly(Py) matrix (MPPy) by urea treatment. As a control, a non-imprinted poly(Py) matrix (NPPy) was obtained by the same procedure, but without Cys-C. The assembly of the MIP material was evaluated in situ by Raman spectroscopy and the binding ability of Cys-C was evaluated by the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) electrochemical techniques. The MIP sensor responses were measured by the DPV anodic peaks obtained in the presence of ferro/ferricyanide. The peak currents decreased linearly from 0.5 to 20.0 ng/mL of Cys-C at each 20 min successive incubation and a limit of detection below 0.5 ng/mL was obtained at pH 6.0. The MPPy/SPE was used to analyze Cys-C in spiked serum samples, showing recoveries less then 3%. This device showed promising features in terms of simplicity, cost and sensitivity for acute kidney injury diagnosis at the point of care.