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Anesthesia serves as a pivotal tool in modern medicine, creating a transient state of sensory deprivation to ensure a pain-free surgical or medical intervention. While proficient in alleviating pain, anesthesia significantly modulates brain dynamics, metabolic processes, and neural signaling, thereby impairing typical cognitive functions. Furthermore, anesthesia can induce notable impacts such as memory impairment, decreased cognitive function, and diminished intelligence, emphasizing the imperative need to explore the concealed repercussions of anesthesia on individuals. In this investigation, we aggregated gene expression profiles (GSE64617, GSE141242, GSE161322, GSE175894, and GSE178995) from public repositories following second-generation sequencing analysis of various anesthetics. Through scrutinizing post-anesthesia brain tissue gene expression utilizing Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Robust Rank Aggregation (RRA), and Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), this research aims to pinpoint pivotal genes, pathways, and regulatory networks linked to anesthesia. This undertaking not only enhances comprehension of the physiological changes brought about by anesthesia but also lays the groundwork for future investigations, cultivating new insights and innovative perspectives in medical practice., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None Declared., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

In the present work, a delicate CFD research of a multi-street canyon model with varying thermal stratifications and non-uniformities of buildings was conducted to investigate the street ventilation and pollutant dispersion between the compact urban blocks. Non-isothermal turbulent wind flow, temperature field and pollutant dispersion in a two-dimensional computational domain were solved by the Renormalization Group (RNG) k-ε turbulence model along with the enhanced wall treatment. Present numerical results indicated that the variation of ground heating intensity has a significant influence on the airflow pattern in the step-down case, and the distribution of pollutants in the street canyons mainly depends on the variation of the upper clockwise vortex. The canyon ventilation performance became better as the unstable thermal stratification strengthened. Similarly, the increase of ground heating intensity could reduce ADF (atmospheric dispersion factor) in the step-down case and ADF became the lowest when Ri = -3.92 was maintained. Additionally, the increase of building unevenness further complicated the canyon airflow structure, which aggravated the pollution of the canyon. In the step-down configuration, as the standard deviation of adjacent building height gradually increases, canyon ventilation could be further enhanced. For the step-up configuration, the best ventilation performance was found at σ H = 16.7 %. ADF of adjacent canyons also varied greatly. When σ H = 33.3 % was maintained, the peak and bottom values of ADF were discovered in the step-up and step-down cases, respectively. Present research has provided a theoretical reference for guiding urban design and improve living environment in modern compact cities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None declared., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: High glutaminase (GLS;EC3.5.1.2) activity is an important pathophysiological phenomenon in tumorigenesis and metabolic disease. Insight into the metabolic consequences of high GLS activity contributes to the understanding of the pathophysiology of both oncogenic pathways and inborn errors of glutamate metabolism. Glutaminase catalyzes the conversion of glutamine into glutamate, thereby interconnecting many metabolic pathways., Methods: We developed a HEK293-based cell-model that enables tuning of GLS activity by combining the expression of a hypermorphic GLS variant with incremental GLS inhibition. The metabolic consequences of increasing GLS activity were studied by metabolic profiling using Direct-Infusion High-Resolution Mass-Spectrometry (DI-HRMS)., Results and Conclusions: Of 12,437 detected features [m/z], 109 features corresponding to endogenously relevant metabolites were significantly affected by high GLS activity. As expected, these included strongly decreased glutamine and increased glutamate levels. Additionally, increased levels of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) intermediates with a truncation of the TCA cycle at the level of citrate were detected as well as increased metabolites of transamination reactions, proline and ornithine synthesis and GABA metabolism. Levels of asparagine and nucleotide metabolites showed the same dependence on GLS activity as glutamine. Of the nucleotides, especially metabolites of the pyrimidine thymine metabolism were negatively impacted by high GLS activity, which is remarkable since their synthesis depend both on aspartate (product of glutamate) and glutamine levels. Metabolites of the glutathione synthesizing γ-glutamyl-cycle were either decreased or unaffected., General Significance: By providing a metabolic fingerprint of increasing GLS activity, this study shows the large impact of high glutaminase activity on the cellular metabolome., (Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The characteristics of patients with recurrent bacteraemia caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae (EK) are rarely described. Flomoxef belongs to the cephamycins group and demonstrates in vitro activity against ESBL-producing organisms. Whether flomoxef may be used for the treatment of such infections remains controversial. This retrospective case-control study enrolled adult patients who had bacteraemia caused by ESBL-EK during 2005-2011. Case patients were those who had more than one episode of ESBL-EK bacteraemia. Controls were those who were matched for age and interval time of blood sampling and had only one episode of ESBL-EK bacteraemia with subsequent bacteraemia episodes caused by other non-ESBL-EK bacteria. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and microbiologic profiles of the initial and subsequent ESBL-EK isolates were analysed. During the study period, 424 patients were found to have at least one positive blood culture after the first ESBL-EK bacteraemia episode, and 67 (15.8%) had a second episode of ESBL-EK bacteraemia. Bacteraemia resulting from vascular catheter-related infection (odds ratio, 3.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.31-8.05), and definitive therapy with flomoxef (odds ratio, 2.99; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-8.15) were both independent risk factors for the recurrence. Among the 56 patients with available ESBL-EK isolates for analysis, 38 (67.8%) were infected by genetically similar strains. In three of these 38 recurrent ESBL-EK bacteraemia cases caused by an identical strain, the minimum inhibitory concentrations of carbapenem for the subsequent K. pneumoniae isolates were fourfold or higher than the initial isolates. Recurrent bacteraemia was not uncommon in our patients with ESBL-EK bacteraemia, and most of the episodes were caused by identical strains., (Copyright © 2015 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A novel technology of photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) combining with cationic exchange membrane (CEM) was proposed for simultaneous reduction of chromium(VI) and oxidization of EDTA. The application of CEM was used to enhance the efficiency for prevention of the re-oxidation of reduced chromium with the electron-hole pairs. In this study, effects of current density, pH, TiO2 dosage, hydraulic retention time (HRT), light intensity and EDTA/Cr(VI) molar ratio were all investigated. The results showed that the optimum conversion efficiency occurred at 4mA/cm(2) with the presence of CEM. Higher conversion efficiencies were observed at lower pH due to the electrostatic attractions between positive charged TiOH2(+), and negatively charged Cr(VI) and EDTA. The optimum TiO2 loading of 1g/L was depended mainly on the acidic pH range, especially at higher HRT and irradiation intensity. In addition, higher EDTA/Cr(VI) molar ratio enhanced the reduction efficiency of Cr(VI), indicating EDTA plays the role of hole scavenger in this system. Moreover, incomplete EDTA decomposition contributes to the occurrence of intermediates, including nitrilotriacetic acid, iminodiacetic acid, glycine, oxamic acid, lyoxylic acid, oxalic acid, acetic acid and formic acid, as identified by GC/MS. Consequently, transformation pathway was determined from these analyzed byproducts and molecular orbital package analysis., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: IFN-γ was documented to be commonly associated with acute rejection. In the present study, we investigated the role of IFN-γ in the transplant long-surviving induced by blocking CD40-CD40 ligand (CD40-CD40L) costimulation and its mechanisms., Methods: IFN-γ expression in cardiac allografts and spleens from syngeneic and allogeneic recipients with or without anti-CD40L monoclonal antibody (MR-1) treatment was examined by real-time RT-PCR. The grafts survival time in Wild type (IFN-γ(+/+)) and IFN-γ deficient (IFN-γ(-/-)) recipients was investigated. Mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) of CD4(+) T cells and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) assay of CD8(+) T cells were also studied. FoxP3 expression in allografts and spleens from IFN-γ(+/+) or IFN-γ(-/-) recipients with MR-1 treatment was examined. Furthermore, FoxP3, IL-10 and CTLA-4 expressions and the suppressive capability of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells were examined., Results: Rejected allografts showed significantly higher IFN-γ expression than long-surviving allografts. Allograft survival was not prolonged in nonimmunosuppressed IFN-γ(-/-) mice. Administration of MR-1 induced long-term survival in 90.1% of IFN-γ(+/+) recipients (98±6.6 days) but failed to do so in IFN-γ(-/-) group (16.2±4.0 days). IFN-γ(-/-) recipients facilitated the proliferation and CTL generation of T cells. The allografts and spleens from IFN-γ(+/+) recipients contained higher FoxP3 expression than IFN-γ(-/-) recipients. Moreover, CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells from IFN-γ(+/+) recipients displayed a higher FoxP3 and IL-10 expression and suppressive capability., Conclusion: IFN-γ plays an important role in the long-surviving induced by blocking CD40-CD40L through inhibiting the function of activated T cells and increasing suppressive capability of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We report the case of a patient with vertebral osteomyelitis and concurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in which extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (EC(1)) isolated from urine culture was ciprofloxacin-resistant and ertapenem/imipenem-susceptible. The empirically used oral form of ciprofloxacin was switched to parenteral ertapenem based on the antimicrobial susceptibility. However, vertebral osteomyelitis deteriorated, and despite the disappearance of pyuria and a negative urine culture, ESBL-producing E. coli was isolated from a biopsy of the bony material from the fifth lumbar vertebra (EC(2)) and blood culture (EC(3)) at 10 and 12 days after starting ertapenem, respectively. Ertapenem was switched to imipenem, and defervescence occurred 2 days later; a subsequent blood culture was negative. Genotyping indicated that EC(1), EC(2), and EC(3) were of the same clone, with the ESBL being CTX-M-14. The tested antibiotics had identical minimum inhibitory concentrations against each of these isolates. From the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics points of view, it is reasonable to attribute the ertapenem treatment failure in vertebral osteomyelitis due to ESBL-producing E. coli in this case to the suboptimal ertapenem concentration in the inflammatory bone tissue of the host., (Copyright © 2009. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: To better understand the clinical characteristics of soft tissue infections caused by Shewanella in humans., Methods: We report a case of Shewanella soft tissue infection and review the English literature from a search of PubMed., Results: A total of 27 adults (mean age 61.1+/-16.0 years) with soft tissue infections caused by Shewanella were included for analysis. Limb involvement was found in 22 (81.5%) patients, while scalp, face, perineum, lacrimal sac, and abdominal wall involvement were each found in one patient. Chronic ulcer over the leg (14 cases (51.9%)), steroid use (four cases (14.8%)), and liver cirrhosis (three cases (11.1%)) were the major underlying conditions. Shewanella bacteremia was found in 14 out of 22 patients with soft tissue infections involving the limbs. Two patients died of septicemia, giving a mortality rate of 7.4%., Conclusions: Shewanella soft tissue infections usually develop in immunocompromised patients with a preexisting cutaneous ulcer (particularly over the legs) after marine environment or seawater exposure. In view of the possible catastrophic consequences, education on the prevention of Shewanella soft tissue infections in at-risk people (e.g., the immunocompromised or elderly with a cutaneous ulcer) relating the need to avoid exposure to the marine environment or seawater may be of importance.

Oval cells, putative hepatic stem cells, can differentiate into a wide range of cell types including hepatocytes, bile epithelial cells, pancreatic cells and intestinal epithelial cells. In this study, we used different growth factor combinations to induce oval cells to differentiate into mature hepatocytes. We isolated and purified oval cells utilizing selective enzymatic digestion and density gradient centrifugation. Oval cells were identified by their morphological characteristics and the strong expressions of OV-6, albumin, cytokeratin (CK)-19 and CK-7. Using a 2-step induction protocol, we demonstrated that oval cells first changed into small hepatocytes, then differentiated into mature hepatocytes. Small hepatocytes were distinguished from oval cells by their morphological features (e.g. round shape and nuclei) and the lack of CK-19 mRNA expression. Mature hepatocytes were identified by their ultrastructural traits and their expressions of albumin, CK-18, tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT), and alpha-1-antitrypsin (alpha-1-AT). Differentiated cells acquired the functional attributes of hepatocytes in that they secreted albumin and synthesized urea at a high level throughout differentiation. Oval cells can thus differentiate into cells with the morphological, phenotypic and functional characteristics of hepatocytes. This 2-step induction procedure could provide an abundant source of hepatocytes for cell transplantation and tissue engineering.