Genotype MTBDRsl version 2 and phenotypic drug resistance detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides

Background

Information on genotypic with comparison of phenotypic drug sensitivity test of anti-tuberculosis (TB) has been reported in several studies, which have variable results. The present study aimed to assess the Genotype MTBDRsl version 2.0/Line probe assay (LPA) for the detection of fluoroquinolones (FQ) and aminoglycosides (AMGs) resistance mutations among drug-resistant Mycobacterium TB (MTB) strains and also to compare the patterns of genotypic mutations of gyrA/B, rrs, and eis with mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT 960).

Methods

A total of 1416 samples were subjected to Genotype MTBDRsl version 2.0 assay. One hundred and twenty sputum smear positive MTB isolates and 37 sputum smear negative MTB isolates confirmed multiple drug resistance resistant to FQ and AMG by the Genotype MTBDRsl version 2.0 were subjected to phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) were analyzed.

Results

The association sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy for the resistance detection between MGIT (DST) and the Genotype MTBDRsl version 2.0 assay was significant (P < 0.01) of moxifloxacin (MFX) concentration. Sensitivity and specificity value for kanamycin (KAN) resistance was 76% and 89%; 47% and 94% for capreomycin (CAP); and 60% and 76% for low-level KAN, respectively.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that MFX (0.25and 1 μg/mL), KAN (2.5 μg/mL), and CAP (2.5 μg/mL) significantly (P < 0.01) and support the World Health Organization guidance to test FQ and AMG by genotypic test.

Blockchain-Based Deep Learning to Process IoT Data Acquisition in Cognitive Data

Remote health monitoring can help prevent disease at the earlier stages. The Internet of Things (IoT) concepts have recently advanced, enabling omnipresent monitoring. Easily accessible biomarkers for neurodegenerative disorders, namely, Alzheimer's disease (AD) are needed urgently to assist the diagnoses at its early stages. Due to the severe situations, these systems demand high-quality qualities including availability and accuracy. Deep learning algorithms are promising in such health applications when a large amount of data is available. These solutions are ideal for a distributed blockchain-based IoT system. A good Internet connection is critical to the speed of these system responses. Due to their limited processing capabilities, smart gateway devices cannot implement deep learning algorithms. In this paper, we investigate the use of blockchain-based deep neural networks for higher speed and delivery of healthcare data in a healthcare management system. The study exhibits a real-time health monitoring for classification and assesses the response time and accuracy. The deep learning model classifies the brain diseases as benign or malignant. The study takes into account three different classes to predict the brain disease as benign or malignant that includes AD, mild cognitive impairment, and normal cognitive level. The study involves a series of processing where most of the data are utilized for training these classifiers and ensemble model with a metaclassifier classifying the resultant class. The simulation is conducted to test the efficacy of the model over that of the OASIS-3 dataset, which is a longitudinal neuroimaging, cognitive, clinical, and biomarker dataset for normal aging and AD, and it is further trained and tested on the UDS dataset from ADNI. The results show that the proposed method accurately (98%) responds to the query with high speed retrieval of classified results with an increased training accuracy of 0.539 and testing accuracy of 0.559.

Neural temporal dynamics of contingency judgement

The present study captures the dynamics of neural processing across positively contingent, negatively contingent, and noncontingent relations. In the setting of a hypothetical chat room conversation, participants rated the contingency of emotional response between two individuals. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were time-locked to the onset of each emotional event. Although each event alone was ambiguous regarding contingency, its neural response was characteristic of the overall contingent relation and the subsequent contingency rating. Very early displays of contingency modified the ERP anterior N1 (AN1) component amplitude. In contrast, the ERP selection negativity (SN) component amplitude seemed to be more sensitive to display properties than contingency. Our results point to the recruitment of early attentional processes for contingency judgement and highlight the efficiency of statistical information processing.

The sad truth about depressive realism

In one form of a contingency judgement task individuals must judge the relationship between an action and an outcome. There are reports that depressed individuals are more accurate than are non-depressed individuals in this task. In particular, nondepressed individuals are influenced by manipulations that affect the salience of the outcome, especially outcome probability. They overestimate a contingency if the probability of an outcome is high--the "outcome-density effect". In contrast, depressed individuals display little or no outcome-density effect. This apparent knack for depressives not to be misled by outcome density in their contingency judgements has been termed "depressive realism", and the absence of an outcome-density effect has led to the characterization of depressives as "sadder but wiser". We present a critical summary of the depressive realism literature and provide a novel interpretation of the phenomenon. We suggest that depressive realism may be understood from a psychophysical analysis of contingency judgements.

The consequences of surrendering a degree of freedom to the participant in a contingency assessment task

Many studies of contingency judgments have used a task in which, on each trial, the participant is free either to respond or not to respond, and an outcome may, or may not, be presented. Typically, the experimenter specifies a nominal value for the contingency between responding and outcome, but the actual values of a variety of variables experienced by a particular participant depend on that participant's frequency of responding. The results of computer simulations of various strategies for implementing the contingency manipulation, and the results of an experiment, indicate that the same nominal contingency value will lead to considerable variability in the actual contingency experienced by participants. Moreover, nominal contingency manipulations are confounded with the probability that the subject experiences an outcome. While researchers might be aware of these issues, not enough attention has been paid to their potential impact.

Feature representations and analytic/nonanalytic processing

Lee Brooks' original formulation of instance theory embedded the notion of an instance within the larger conception of a distinction between analytic and nonanalytic processing. Brooks has recently argued that features can be represented either in terms of their specific feature appearance, or in terms of the abstract information some particular instantiation embodies. This work reviews some recent studies that link reliance on different types of feature representations to different decision-making processes, and to different patterns of categorization behaviour. This in turn complicates the analytic/nonanalytic distinction, suggesting a more precise reformulation.

Synthesis of a metal-free texaphyrin

The synthesis of a metal-free form of texaphyrin, an aromatic porphyrin-like macrocycle, is described. Previously, texaphyrins could only be obtained reproducibly in the form of metal complexes. Using ferrocenium cation as the oxidizing agent and starting with a reduced porphyrinogen-like nonaromatic form of texaphyrin, we isolated, in good yield, the metal-free oxidized texaphyrin as its HPF(6) salt. This product was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, UV-vis spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. [structure: see text]

Temperature-dependent arrest of neutrophil apoptosis. Failure of Bax insertion into mitochondria at 15 degrees C prevents the release of cytochrome c

Apoptosis is essential for the resolution of neutrophilic inflammation. To define the mechanisms triggering the execution phase of apoptosis we developed and utilized a model in which culture of human neutrophils at 15 degrees C for 20 h arrested apoptosis and subsequent warming to 37 degrees C triggered a synchronous burst of apoptosis. Treatment of 15 degrees C cultured neutrophils with the pan-caspase inhibitor zVAD-fmk just before warming to 37 degrees C inhibited the morphological changes associated with apoptosis, but did not prevent the insertion of the proapoptotic protein Bax into mitochondria nor the inhibition of secretion and the externalization of phosphatidylserine, indices of neutrophil apoptosis. In both intact neutrophils and a cell-free extract, cytochrome c released from mitochondria induced proteolytic cleavage of procaspase-3. At 15 degrees C the binding of Bax to mitochondria was uncoupled from Bax insertion into the mitochondrial membrane required for the release of cytochrome c. Apoptosis was also inhibited by low pH during warming to 37 degrees C, suggesting that changes to the conformation of Bax, necessary for membrane insertion, were being inhibited. Bax insertion was only sensitive to zVAD-fmk when added at the start of the 15 degrees C culture period, suggesting that a cytoplasmic substrate of the effector caspases may mediate in the mechanism of Bax insertion into mitochondria.

An instrument evaluation framework: description and application to assessments of hand function

An instrument evaluation framework outlining a process for selecting measurement instruments for use in hand therapy is presented. Each section of the framework--including clinical utility, standardization, purpose, psychometric properties, and patient's perspective--is explained in detail. The framework is applied to four hand function assessments that measure functional limitation, specifically, the Test Evaluant les Membres Supèrieurs des Personnes Agèes (Upper Extremity Performance Evaluation Test for the Elderly; TEMPA), the Jebsen Test of Hand Function, the Smith Hand Function Test, and the Quantitative Test of Upper Extremity Function. The therapists who developed and applied the framework selected the TEMPA as the most appropriate measure for their setting. This framework will assist hand therapists in justifying the selection of measurement instruments and will facilitate a consistent, comprehensive, and critical evaluation approach.

A survey of Canadian hand therapists: demographics, roles, and educational needs

A questionnaire was mailed to 236 occupational therapists (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) practicing hand rehabilitation in Canada, to develop a demographic profile of practitioners, determine the scope of practice in Canada, and study educational and certification issues. The response rate was 78%, which provided an accurate profile. Sixty-two percent of respondents were OTs, 35% PTs, and 3% combined P/OTs. While 82% of respondents supported a certification process, only 13% were certified hand therapists. Forty-two percent practice with both OT and PT skills. Most respondents held bachelor's degrees and reported formal OT or PT education as their primary mode of acquiring knowledge. The high response rate indicated that commitment to and interest in the practice of hand therapy are strong in Canada. Therapists would like to see more continuing education offered in Canada, and a certification process to ensure professional standards.

Constitutive neutrophil apoptosis in culture is modulated by cell density independently of beta2 integrin-mediated adhesion

Although inflammatory mediators modulate the rate of constitutive neutrophil apoptosis in vitro the effects of micro-environmental conditions have not been fully investigated. In this study, we demonstrate that the rate of constitutive neutrophil apoptosis is affected by the number of cells per unit surface area, with enhanced survival at high cell density. Furthermore, the presence of protein or serum in the culture medium also enhances neutrophil survival. These effects were independent of beta2 integrin-mediated adhesion and were not influenced by specific adhesion to extracellular matrix components. Thus, the rate of neutrophil apoptosis is fundamentally influenced by microenvironmental conditions and indicates that factors such as cell density and extracellular protein concentration must be considered when investigating mechanisms regulating inflammatory cell apoptosis in vitro.

Reliability of isometric wrist extension torque using the LIDO WorkSET for late follow-up of postoperative wrist patients

The objectives of this study were to determine interobserver, intraobserver, and overall reliability of isometric wrist extension torque using the LIDO WorkSET and then to estimate the minimal level of detectable change using the standard error of measurement. A generalizability study was conducted on 18 postoperative patients. Primary outcome was mean torque of three trials. Variance components were used to calculate generalizability coefficients for intraobserver (G = 0.96), interobserver (G = 0.94), and overall reliability (G = 0.92). When the same therapist is evaluating a patient on different days, a change of more than 16 inch-lb is needed to be 90% confident that true change has occurred. A greater value for change (23 inch-lb) is required when different therapists evaluate a patient on different days. The LIDO WorkSET measures wrist torque in a reproducible manner in an applied setting. The testing protocol is sensitive to differences in wrist torque between individuals and tolerated in the late postoperative period.

Inhibition of neuropeptide-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation and tyrosine kinase activity stimulates apoptosis in small cell lung cancer cells

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell growth is sustained by multiple autocrine and paracrine growth loops involving neuropeptides. The bombesin family of peptides are autocrine growth factors in H345 SCLC cells and provide a paradigm for the study of growth factors and mitogenic signaling in SCLC cells. We show that bombesin (and other neuropeptides) stimulates protein tyrosine phosphorylation (particularly focal adhesion kinase) and protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) activity in intact SCLC cells. Furthermore, the broad spectrum neuropeptide receptor antagonist [D-Arg, D = Phe, D-Trp, Leu11]substance P inhibits all neuropeptide-mediated signals (including PTK activation), SCLC cell growth in vivo and in vitro, and also increases the natural rate of apoptosis seen in growing SCLC cell lines. Hence the effect of selective PTK inhibition on SCLC cell growth and apoptosis was examined. We show that selective inhibition of PTK activity, with genistein and (3,4,5-tri-hydroxyphenyl)-methylene(-propanedinitrile) tyrphostin-25 inhibits basal and neuropeptide-stimulated SCLC cell growth. Genistein and tyrphostin-25 also stimulate apoptosis in SCLC cells. Inhibition of proliferation in these cells is intimately linke to apoptosis, because these changes occurred without any effect on SCLC cell cycle kinetics, suggesting that apoptosis occurs independently of the cell cycle and that failure to progress through the cell cycle results in apoptosis. Because tyrphostin-25 fails to influence p53 or Bcl-2 expression in these cells, this mode of programmed cell death appears to be via a p53- and Bcl-2-independent mechanism. These results provide evidence that tyrosine phosphorylation is a mitogenic signal in SCLC cells and suggest that regulation of the level of protein tyrosine phosphorylation represents a critical determinant of whether SCLC cells survive and proliferate or die by apoptosis. Thus PTK inhibition may provide a novel therapeutic option in SCLC that has become resistant to conventional chemotherapeutic agents.

Hypoxia prolongs neutrophil survival in vitro

Neutrophil apoptosis represents a major mechanism involved in the resolution of inflammation. Since hypoxia induces apoptosis in several cell lines and is of particular relevance in many disease states, we studied the effect of oxygen concentration on neutrophil survival in vitro. Hypoxia caused a dramatic decrease in neutrophil apoptosis (% apoptosis 20 h: 78.7 +/- 2.2% in 21% O2, 61.4 +/- 6.5% in 2.5% O2, 23.1 +/- 3.2% in 0% O2, n = 5). This was additive to the effect of GM-CSF (50 U/ml), not associated with induction of bcl-2 expression, and was not mimicked by methionine (5 mM), superoxide dismutase (200 micrograms/ml) or Trolox (10 mM) but was mimicked by catalase (250 micrograms/ml). Hence, hypoxia has a bcl-2-independent effect on neutrophil apoptosis that may adversely affect the clearance of these cells from an inflammatory focus.

Sequence and functional characterization of the terminal exon of the human insulin receptor gene

We present 5.1 kb of the 3' noncoding region sequence of the human insulin receptor gene and identification of four functional polyadenylation domains responsible for 3'-end processing of the 5.4, 6.9, 8.0 and 9.4 kb human insulin receptor mRNA, respectively. The insulin receptor gene contains five putative polyadenylation sites (P1-P5), located 5160, 6502, 7488, 8945 and 8957 base pairs (bp) downstream from the translational initiation site. All putative polyadenylation sites are flanked by upstream AU rich and downstream GU rich regions which regulate mRNA stability and mRNA cleavage, respectively. Also, two RNA stem-loop structures have been identified. To determine its role on gene expression, a reporter gene was constructed containing various lengths of the insulin receptor 3' UTR and transiently transfected into COS 7 cells. A 539 bp fragment (4897-5436 bp downstream from the IR translational initiation site) inhibited CAT expression by 5-6 fold. Further downstream addition of 1169 bp of the insulin receptor 3' untranslated region enhanced gene expression by 2-fold. These studies provide evidence that the insulin receptor 3' untranslated region can modulate gene expression.

Influence of zeranol and breed on growth, composition of gain, and plasma hormone concentrations

Seven Angus and six Brangus steers averaging 225 and 245 kg, respectively, were assigned randomly to zeranol (36 mg) implant (I) and no implant (NI) treatments. Steers had ad libitum access to a corn silage diet plus .68 kg of a soybean meal-based supplement fed daily. Steers were bled via jugular catheters on d 0, 28, 56, and 84 at 15-min intervals for 4 h before and 4 h after feeding. Concentrations of growth hormone (GH), insulin (INS), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), and glucose were determined. Whole-body protein and fat contents were monitored. A breed x I interaction (for d 56 to 84 and d 0 to 84) was observed for ADG (P less than .05 and P less than .07, respectively), feed conversion (P less than .05 and P less than .07, respectively), and protein deposition (for d 0 to 29 and d 0 to 84; P less than .07 and P less than .05, respectively). These interactions were attributed to a greater response to I by Angus than by Brangus steers. A feeding x period interaction (P less than .10) was observed for mean GH concentration, and INS, T4, and T3 concentrations were higher (P less than .05) during the 4-h postfeeding period than during the 4-h prefeeding period. The implant increased (P less than .08) mean GH concentration but did not alter the frequency, duration, or amplitude of plasma GH peaks. Steers that were implanted had lower (P less than .05) plasma T3. Brangus steers had lower (P less than .05) plasma glucose, T3, and T4 concentrations than Angus steers. Results indicate that growth factors beyond those measured are responsible for the anabolic response to zeranol.