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•The average prevalence of Enterococcusspp was approximately 70%.•E. faecaliswas the most frequent isolated species, followed by E. faecium.•Resistance to tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones and macrolides were frequent.•Enterococcusspecies harbored oxazolidinones-resistance genes.•Need to include seafood in the surveillance of antibiotic resistance.

ABSTRACTNon-toxigenic V. parahaemolyticusisolates (tdh−/trh−/T3SS2−) have recently been isolated from patients with gastroenteritis. In this study we report that the larvae of the wax moth (Galleria mellonella) are susceptible to infection by toxigenic or non-toxigenic clinical isolates of V. parahaemolyticus. In comparison larvae inoculated with environmental isolates of V. parahaemolyticusdid not succumb to disease. Whole genome sequencing of clinical non-toxigenic isolates revealed the presence of a gene encoding a nudix hydrolase, identified as mutT. A V. parahaemolyticus mutTmutant was unable to kill G. mellonellaat 24 h post inoculation, indicating a role of this gene in virulence. Our findings show that G. mellonellais a valuable model for investigating screening of possible virulence genes of V. parahaemolyticusand can provide new insights into mechanisms of virulence of atypical non-toxigenic V. parahaemolyticus. These findings will allow improved genetic tests for the identification of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticusto be developed and will have a significant impact for the scientific community.

AbstractThe exhibition Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural, held at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, between 20 October 2016 and 15 January 2017, provided the opportunity to reconsider some of the parameters employed in largescale Islamic art exhibitions. The subject of the show – select divinatory and amuletic practices, itself a break from more conventional themes – was explored by adopting a more inclusive and critical approach, drawing evidence from a wide social spectrum and transcending classifications of ‘ethnographic material’ and ‘fine art’. Attention was also given to daily practice, creating a fresh vantage point to reflect on the role and forms of devotion and broader notions of belief. While presenting practices and evidence that many might deem marginal (and that have certainly been marginalized over time), the exhibition ultimately offered a new analytical lens to challenge hierarchies of higher and lower culture, as well as sanctioned versus heterodox religious practices that continue to structure museum presentations and inform public perception of Islamic culture. By exploring the difficulties, achievements, and shortcomings of the project, and by incorporating insights from audience evaluations and impact questionnaires, this article reflects on the range of factors that shape today’s presentations of Islamic art and culture in the museum, as well as on the unprecedented challenges faced by specialists of Islam in western institutions at this critical historical moment. Furthermore, by considering the exhibition in the context of the current, revitalized museological interest in religions, it offers a contribution to the broader debate about religious objects in secular institutions and the need to reconcile multiple views and expectations.

•Occurrence of V. parahaemolyticusin shellfish between 2011 and 2018 was investigated.•The prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus increased between 2011–2014 and 2015–2018.•The occurrence was related to the sampling period and the shellfish species.•A total of 208 potentially enteropathogenic V. parahaemolyticusstrains were identified.•10 trh+ and 6 tdh+ isolates have been found.

•POEMS syndrome could represent a cause of pre-sinusoidal portal hypertension.•In literature only a few reports found association between POEMS syndrome and PSVD.•The relationship may be underrecognized due to the overlap of their manifestations.•It is fundamental to collect data on PSVD patients using international networks.

The article previews the exhibition "Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural," to be shown at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England from October 20, 2016 to January 15, 2017, which will include art pieces that represent Muslim society divination and talisman-related practices, such as a fragment from the illustrated book of astrology "Kitab al-mawalid" and talismanic shirts called jama.

Abstract‘Qalam: The art of Beautiful Writing’, Birmingham Museums and art Galleries, Birmingham, UK, November 2, 2013–January 26, 2014‘How Architects, Experts, Politicians, International Agencies and Citizens Negotiate Modern Planning: Casablanca Chandigarh’, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal, November 26, 2013–April 20, 2014‘Robertson: Photographer and Engraver in the Ottoman Capital’, Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations, Istanbul, November 27, 2013–February 20, 2014‘“The Map is not the Territory”: Parallel Paths – Palestinians, Native Americans, Irish’, Levantine Center, Los Angeles, May 15–June 22, 2014

Levels of Hsp90 and Hsp27 in CLL patients correlate with stage of disease or apoptosis, while Hsp72 in serum is affected by corticosteroid treatment. Mechanisms behind carcinogenesis and resistance of tumor cells to treatment regimes remain elusive. The major stress proteins Hsp72, Hsp90, and Hsp27 are credible candidates to provide this resistance, as their overexpression in many cancer types is well documented. In addition to being present inside tumor cells, where they confer resistance to apoptosis, Hsp72, in particular, is presented externally, embedded in the cell membrane of cancer cells. This study aimed to investigate the localization of Hsp72, Hsp90, and Hsp27 in leukocytes from patients with CLL and age‐matched control subjects. CLL patients were found to express significantly higher levels of iHsp90 (CLL=2463 MFI; control=748 MFI) and iHsp27 (CLL=2190 MFI; control=1031 MFI) in lymphocytes than that expressed by lymphocytes from control subjects. Furthermore, expression of iHsp90 was shown to be related to stage of disease, and expression of iHsp27 correlated with levels of active caspase‐3. Patients were found to express very high levels or very low levels of sHsp72 and iHsp72 in CD5+/CD19+cells, although surface and intracellular datasets did not correlate. Levels of extracellular Hsp72 circulating in the serum were found to correlate with internal levels of Hsp72 and were also found to be significantly lower in patients receiving corticosteroid treatment than in patients not receiving corticosteroid treatment. Finally, analysis of the number of circulating Tregs revealed significantly elevated numbers in CLL patients compared with control subjects.

ABSTRACTCryptosporidium parvumand Cryptosporidium hominisisolates from sporadic, drinking water-associated, and intrafamilial human cases together with C. parvumisolates from sporadic cases in livestock were collected in the United Kingdom between 1995 and 1999. The isolates were characterized by analysis of three microsatellite markers (ML1, GP15, and MS5) using PCR amplification. Within C. hominis, four alleles were detected within the GP15 and MS5 loci, and a single type was detected with ML1. C. parvumwas more polymorphic; 12 alleles were detected with GP15, 6 were detected with MS5, and 3 were detected with ML1. Multilocus analysis of polymorphisms within the three microsatellite loci was combined with those reported previously for an extrachromosomal small double-stranded RNA. Forty multilocus types were detected within these two species: 9 were detected in C. hominis, and 31 were detected in C. parvum. In C. hominis, heterogeneity was almost exclusively found in samples from sporadic cases. Similarity analysis identified three main groups within C. parvum, and the group that predominated in human infection was also found in livestock. Multilocus types of C. parvumpreviously identified only in humans were not detected in livestock. Isolates of both C. hominisand C. parvumfrom separate waterborne outbreaks were genetically homogeneous, suggesting preferential or point source transmission of certain types of these two species of parasites.

ABSTRACTTwo extrachromosomal double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) elements occur in Cryptosporidiumparvum. A heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) was developed for the rapid characterization of sequence diversity in a 173-bp fragment of the small dsRNA element of Cryptosporidiumwith either a natural sequence from Cryptosporidiummeleagridisor a synthetic sequence as reference DNA. The 173-bp fragment was generated from 265 samples of whole feces (242 from humans and 18 from livestock with C. parvumgenotype 1 or 2, 4 from humans with Cryptosporidiumfelis, and 1 from a human with C. meleagridis). The HMA method identified 21 patterns in C. parvum(8 in genotype 1, 12 in genotype 2, and a type common to both genotypes), 4 patterns in C. felis, and 1 pattern in C. meleagridis. All patterns were confirmed as distinct by DNA sequencing. For genotype 1, a single HMA type was found in 89% of samples: 64 of 65 cases from three waterborne outbreaks, all 16 cases from eight intrafamilial outbreaks, and 17 of 28 sporadic cases. Among the remaining 11 sporadic cases due to genotype 1, seven other HMA types were detected. For genotype 2, a single HMA type was found in 72% of samples: 36 of 43 cases from three waterborne outbreaks, 11 of 15 cases from seven intrafamilial outbreaks, 44 of 75 sporadic cases, and all 18 samples from livestock. Within the intrafamilial outbreaks, two other HMA types were identified: the same HMA type was detected in samples from cases within the same outbreak. Among the sporadic cases due to genotype 2, 10 additional HMA types were detected.

ABSTRACTWe investigated the virulence properties of four Vibrio parahaemolyticusstrains causing acute gastroenteritis following consumption of indigenous mussels in Italy. The isolated strains were cytotoxic and adhesive but, surprisingly, lacked tdh, trh, and type three secretion system 2 (T3SS2) genes. We emphasize that nontoxigenic V. parahaemolyticuscan induce acute gastroenteritis, highlighting the need for more investigation of the pathogenicity of this microorganism.

ABSTRACTWe report a case of necrotizing fasciitis caused by Vibrio choleraeO137 in an immunocompromised 49-year-old man. The infection was acquired following a minor traumatic injury and exposure to seawater during the summer of 2009 in Italy. Although highly immunocompromised, the patient survived. The strain was cytotoxic, invasive, and adhesive and contained a fragment of the El Tor-like hemolysin (El Tor hlyA) gene.

The article reviews the exhibition "Cairo under Wraps: Early Islamic Textiles" at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario from 21 June 2014 to 25 January 2015.

The article discusses May H. Beattie's collection and research dedicated to textiles and carpets, which was bequeathed to Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. Topics discussed include the digitisation of Beattie's slides that contain pictures of carpets, the creation of a database to store the digitised slides along with analysis sheets and other information, and her dedication to determining the provenance of the carpets she studied.

Heat Shock Proteins (Hsps) are a highly conserved group of molecular chaperones, the over-expression of which has been well documented in many cancer types. However, the location of these proteins within the cancer cell appears to be crucial in terms of tumour progression. Intracellular Hsp70 expression in particular appears to confer resistance to apoptosis, while surface Hsp70 expression has been shown to aid immune recognition of the cancer cell by NK cells. High intracellular levels of Hsp90 and Hsp27 also contribute to cell survival, while surface Hsp90 and Hsp27 have been shown to be required for tissue invasion and metastasis. However, the importance of these stress proteins in CLL progression is still poorly understood. Using flow cytotmetry, we show that CLL patients express significantly higher levels of iHsp90 in lymphocytes (mean MFI CLL = 2463, Control = 748) and significantly higher levels of iHsp27 in lymphocytes (mean MFI CLL = 2138, Control = 760) than that expressed by age-matched control patients. The expression of iHsp90, but not Hsp27, in these patients was shown to be related to the stage of disease, and patients in Binet stage A appear to have a significantly higher expression than those in Binet stage C (p<0.001). Hsp70 expression in CD5+/CD19+ cells, both intracellular and extracellular, showed either a very high level or a very low level of Hsp70 (see figure below). The high expressing groups were found also to be significantly different (p<0.01) from both the non-malignant cells from the same patients, and normal lymphocytes from age-matched controls. This was not the case for the low expressing groups. iHsp70 expression was also seen to be related to stage of disease as patients in Binet stages A and B were found to express significantly lower levels than those patients in Binet stage C. Hsp expression was shown not to be associated with the apoptotic condition of the cell as analysis of active caspase-3 in CLL patients proved that the majority of the leukocytes were not apoptotic. Furthermore, the mean of fluorescence was significantly less in lymphocytes from CLL patients (mean MFI = 139) than those from control patients (mean MFI = 278). Taken together these results show that Hsp expression changes with the natural progression of the disease and therefore manipulation of Hsps may be beneficial in the treatment of CLL. Figure Figure

Heat Shock Proteins (Hsps) are a highly conserved group of molecular chaperones, the over-expression of which has been well documented in many cancer types. However, the location of these proteins within the cancer cell appears to be crucial in terms of tumour progression. Intracellular Hsp70 expression in particular appears to confer resistance to apoptosis, while surface Hsp70 expression has been shown to aid immune recognition of the cancer cell by NK cells. High intracellular levels of Hsp90 and Hsp27 also contribute to cell survival, while surface Hsp90 and Hsp27 have been shown to be required for tissue invasion and metastasis. However, the importance of these stress proteins in CLL progression is still poorly understood.