Higher Counts Research Articles

The prevalence of pathogenic E coli in food sold at government primary schools in Kombo central district, the Gambia using biochemical tests

Background: Recently, pathogenic bacteria have evolved that can contaminate food and, when consumed by people, frequently result in life-threatening illnesses. The study aimed to detect and determine the prevalence of pathogenic E coli in food sold at government primary schools in the Kombo Central district using biochemical tests. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which 104 food samples were collected using the aseptic method and laboratory analysis was done to determine the prevalence of pathogenic E. coli using the biochemical method. Results: Out of the 104 analyzed food samples, 92.3% of food samples had microbial contamination, 43.3% of food samples had extremely high microbial count (≥ 107cfu/g), and all food types showed microbial contamination with no significant difference. E. coli was detected in 34 samples (32.7 %). The “Gorong” soup sample type had the highest percentage of E. coli contamination (75 %), followed by the steamed fish food sample type (50 %). Ice (local beverage) had the least E. coli contamination (15.8 %). Of the 34 isolated E. coli, 73.5 % were found to be pathogenic and biofilm-producing while 26.5 % were non-pathogenic and non-biofilm-producing E. coli. Percentage wise “gorong” soup has the highest prevalence (75.0%) of pathogenic E. coli followed by steamed fish sauce (44.4%), Cake (33.3%), and Puff-puff 33%. Conclusion: There was a considerably high prevalence of pathogenic E. coli therefore all food vendors should be trained/educated and certified on food hygiene and safety practices before he/she starts operating as food vendors to reduce this microbial contamination.

Diversity, abundance and habitat association of small mammals in Maze National Park, Ethiopia

We investigated species composition, relative abundance, habitat association and density of small mammals in Maze National Park, Ethiopia. Data were collected using the capture-mark-recapture technique in three representative habitat types (grassland, bushland and riverine forest) from November 2021 to August 2022. Descriptive statistics and indices for diversity and evenness were used to analyse the data. A total of 679 rodents and insectivores were collected during a span of 2 646 trap nights. Of these, 534 (76.64%) individuals were newly captured, while 145 (23.36%) were recaptures. Overall trap success was 20.18%. Five species of rodents were captured: four from the family Muridae (Mastomys natalensis, Arvicanthis niloticus, Rattus rattus and Lemniscomys macculus) and one (Xerus rutilus) from the family Sciuridae; and one insectivore species (Elephantulus rufescens) from the family Macroscelididae. Mastomys natalensis (178; 33.3%) was the most abundant, while X. rutilus (1; 0.2%) and E. rufescens (1; 0.2%) were the least abundant. Small mammal species varied significantly with habitat types (χ2 = 6.101, df = 2, p ≤ 0.05), with the highest count in the bushland habitat (197; 36.89 %) and the lowest in riverine forest (152; 28.46%). The bushland and riverine forest habitats supported the highest (H’ = 1.04) and the lowest (H’ = 0.506) diversity of small mammal species, respectively. A relatively high number of small mammal species were caught during the wet season (n = 336) compared to the dry season (n = 198). Future studies using more trapping grids covering additional habitat types and genetic analyses for small mammal species confirmation are necessary for a better understanding of the Park’s small mammal fauna.

Synthesis of a novel carboxymethyl chitosan-silver - ginger nanocomposite, characterization, and antimicrobial efficacy

Over 70 % of bacterial infections are resistant to one or more of the antibiotics are generally used to eliminate infections. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), ginger oil, and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) are among the materials and the green natural products that possess antimicrobial properties. In this study, combinations of the medicinal properties of CMC, AgNPs, and ginger oil were put together in one product via the synthesis of CMC-Ag-Ginger-nanocomposite. To increase the miscibility of ginger oil -used in the synthesis-, different surfactants were applied to the synthesis aqueous medium. Thus, the nanocomposite synthesized in such way assumed a new method. In addition, the nanocomposite produced using ginger oil, silver nitrate, CMC, and surfactants assumed a new nanocomposite synthesized for the first time in this research work. The Optimum reaction conditions that brought the highest AgNPs absorbance and the formation of CMC-Ag-Ginger-nanocomposite were studied. For better miscibility of ginger oil, glycerin, Tween 80, or Egyptol were applied to the synthesis aqueous medium. AgNPs obtained were evaluated by the absorbance of the nanocomposite colloidal solution. Optimum conditions: 0.5 % (w/v) Egyptol, 0.01M AgNO3, 0.5 % (w/v) ginger oil, 3 % (w/v) carboxymethyl chitosan, 95°C for 3h. A decrease in N % of CMC-Ag-G-nanocomposite (3.04 %) compared with N % of CMC (4.03 %) confirmed the formation of the nanocomposite. TEM showed spherical shape AgNPs with size range of 8–35 nm, whereas highest count % was 12–25 nm. SAED of AgNPs exhibited ring patterns with bright spots displaying polycrystallinity which agreed with XRD. SEM of CMC-Ag-G-nanocomposite showed porous structure and well distribution of AgNPs within CMC polymer. TGA showed that CMC-Ag-G-nanocomposite is more thermally stable than CMC. CMC-Ag-G-nanocomposite showed higher antibacterial efficacy against S. Aureus and E. coli and higher antimicrobial efficacy against Aspergillus Niger and Candida albicans compared to CMC. These findings render the newly prepared nanocomposite suitable for medical and other applications.

Immune Cell Profiles of Patients with Sickle Cell Disease during Parvovirus B19-Induced Transient Red Cell Aplasia.

Parvovirus B19 frequently infects children and targets cells of the erythroid lineage. Although healthy children rarely suffer severe disease, children with sickle cell disease (SCD) can experience transient red cell aplasia (TRCA), hospitalization, and life-threatening anemia upon first virus exposure. Given that children with SCD can also suffer chronic inflammation and that parvovirus B19 has been associated with autoimmune disease in other patient populations, we asked if parvovirus B19 infections contributed to acute and chronic immune abnormalities in children with SCD. Nineteen hospitalized patients with SCD and parvovirus B19-induced TRCA were evaluated. Blood tests included CBC, flow cytometry, and total antibody isotype analyses. Cytokine/chemokine analyses were performed on nasal wash (NW) samples, representing a common site of viral entry. Unusually high white blood cell count (WBC) and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) values were observed in some patients. A correlation matrix with Day 0 values from the 19 patients then identified two mutually exclusive phenotype clusters. Cluster 1 included WBC, ANC, absolute reticulocyte count (ARC), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), NW cytokines/chemokines, % naïve cells among B cell and T cell populations, and parvovirus-specific IgG. This cluster was negatively associated with virus load, suggesting a signature of successful adaptive immunity and virus control. Cluster 2 included virus load, % CD38+CD24- cells among CD19+ B cells (termed 'plasmablasts' for simplicity), % HLA-DRlow cells among CD19+ B cells, IgG4, and % memory phenotypes among B cell and T cell populations. Plasmablast percentages correlated negatively with parvovirus-specific IgG, possibly reflecting a non-specific trigger of cell activation. All patients were released from the hospital within 1 week after admission, and the highest WBC and ANC values were eventually reduced. Nonetheless, a concern remained that the acutely abnormal immune profiles caused by parvovirus B19 infections could exacerbate chronic inflammation in some patients. To avoid the numerous sequelae known to affect patients with SCD following hospitalizations with parvovirus B19, rapid development of a parvovirus B19 vaccine is warranted.

Application of the grading system for "nociplastic pain" in chronic primary and chronic secondary pain conditions: a field study.

The concept "nociplastic pain" has been developed for patients with features of nociceptive system sensitization that are not explained as nociceptive or neuropathic. Here, we tested how well the recently published grading system differentiates between chronic primary and secondary pain conditions. We recruited patients with fibromyalgia (FMS, n = 41), complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS, n = 11), osteoarthritis (OA, n = 21), or peripheral nerve injury (PNI, n = 8). We used clinical history, pain drawings, quantitative sensory testing (QST), and questionnaires to classify their pains as possibly or probably "nociplastic." All patients with chronic primary pain exhibited widespread/regional pain not explainable by either nociceptive or neuropathic mechanisms. Widespread pain occurred in 12 patients with OA but was identified as nociceptive in 11 of 12. Regional pain occurred in 4 patients with PNI but was identified as neuropathic in 3 of 4. At this step, the grading system had 100% sensitivity and 93% specificity. Clinical evidence for pain hypersensitivity by QST, and history of hypersensitivity and mental comorbidities did not differentiate between chronic primary pain (QST: 36/52 = 69%, history: 43/52 = 83%) and secondary pain conditions (QST: 20/29 = 69%, history: 24/29 83%). Based on these data, specificity remained excellent (93%), but sensitivity dropped substantially (60%) due to lacking evidence for pain hypersensitivity in many patients with FMS. This low sensitivity suggests that the published grading system is not suitable for screening purposes. We suggest structural and content modifications to improve sensitivity, including placement of patient history before clinical examination and addition of a high tender point count as evidence for widespread pain hypersensitivity.

U-shaped correlation of lymphocyte count with all-cause hospital mortality in sepsis and septic shock patients: a MIMIC-IV and eICU-CRD database study

BackgroundIn sepsis, the relationship between lymphocyte counts and patient outcomes is complex. Lymphocytopenia and lymphocytosis significantly influence survival, illustrating the dual functionality of lymphocytes in responding to infections. This study investigates this complex interaction, focusing on how variations in lymphocyte counts correlate with all-cause hospital mortality among sepsis patients.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study analyzed data from two extensive critical care databases: the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV 2.0 (MIMIC-IV 2.0) from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, and the eICU Collaborative Research Database (eICU-CRD), which was Multi-center database from over 200 hospitals across the United States conducted by Philips eICU Research Institute. We included adult patients aged 18 years and older who met the Sepsis-3 criteria, characterized by documented or suspected infection and a Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score of 2 or higher. Sepsis patients were categorized into quartiles based on lymphocyte counts. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality in the hospital, with 90 and 60-day all-cause mortality as the secondary outcomes. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regressions were utilized to assess lymphocyte counts' impact on hospital mortality. An adjusted restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis was performed to elucidate this relationship further. Subgroup analyses were also conducted to explore the association across various comorbidity groups among sepsis and septic shock patients.ResultsOur study included 37,054 patients, with an observed in-hospital mortality rate of 16.6%. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models showed that lymphocyte counts were independently associated with in-hospital mortality (HR = 1.04, P < 0.01; HR = 1.06, P < 0.01). RCS regression analysis revealed a U-shaped relationship between lymphocyte levels and hospital mortality risk in sepsis and septic shock patients (P for overall < 0.001, P for nonliner < 0.01; P for overall = 0.002, P for nonliner = 0.014). Subgroup analyses revealed that elevated lymphocyte counts correlated with increased hospital mortality among sepsis patients with liver disease and requiring renal replacement therapy (P for overall = 0.021, P for nonliner = 0.158; P for overall = 0.025, P for nonliner = 0.759). These findings suggest that lymphocytes may have enhanced prognostic value in specific subsets of critically ill sepsis patients.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate that lymphocyte counts are a significant independent predictor of hospital mortality in sepsis and septic shock patients. We observed a U-shaped association between lymphocyte levels and mortality risk, indicating that high and low counts are linked to increased mortality. This result highlights the complex role of lymphocytes in sepsis outcomes and suggests the need for further investigation into the underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic approaches. Integrating lymphocyte count assessment into risk stratification algorithms and clinical decision support tools could enhance the early identification of high-risk sepsis patients.

Immunological and virological response to fostemsavir in routine US clinical care: An OPERA cohort study.

Fostemsavir is a novel attachment inhibitor used with other antiretrovirals in heavily treatment-experienced (HTE) adults with multidrug-resistant HIV-1. Real-world immunological and virological responses were assessed in individuals starting fostemsavir in the OPERA cohort. Among adults with HIV-1 starting fostemsavir between 2 July 2020 and 1 September 2022, 6-month and 12-month changes in CD4 T-cell count and CD4%, and maintenance/achievement of viral load (VL) <50 copies/mL were described and stratified by baseline VL (suppressed: <50 copies/mL; viraemic: ≥50 copies/mL) and CD4 count (high: ≥350 cells/μL; low: <350 cells/μL). Of 182 individuals starting fostemsavir, 64% were viraemic (34% low CD4, 30% high CD4) and 36% were suppressed (16% low CD4, 20% high CD4). The suppressed/low CD4 group had the largest median increases in CD4 count (6-month: 30 cells/μL [interquartile range {IQR} 9-66], 12-month: 66 cells/μL [IQR 17-125]), and CD4% (6-month: 1.0% [IQR -0.3-2.8], 12-month: 1.9% [IQR 1.3-3.9]). Regardless of baseline VL, those with a high baseline CD4 count experienced a greater variability in immunological response than those with low CD4 counts (12-month standard deviation range 172-231 cells/μL vs. 69-90 cells/μL). VL <50 copies/mL was maintained in most suppressed individuals; nearly half of the viraemic/high CD4 group and a third of the viraemic/low CD4 group achieved a VL <50 copies/mL at either timepoint. After 6 or 12 months of fostemsavir use, virological response was low in viraemic individuals, although most suppressed individuals did maintain suppression. While immunological response varied across individuals, virologically suppressed HTE individuals with low CD4 counts may benefit from immunological improvements with fostemsavir.

Correlated variability and its attentional modulation depend on anatomical connectivity

Visual cortical neurons show variability in their responses to repeated presentations of a stimulus and a portion of this variability is shared across neurons. Attention may enhance visual perception by reducing shared spiking variability. However, shared variability and its attentional modulation are not consistent within or across cortical areas, and depend on additional factors such as neuronal type. A critical factor that has not been tested is actual anatomical connectivity. We measured spike count correlations among pairs of simultaneously recorded neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) for which anatomical connectivity was inferred from spiking cross-correlations. Neurons were recorded in monkeys performing a contrast-change discrimination task requiring covert shifts in visual spatial attention. Accordingly, spike count correlations were compared across trials in which attention was directed toward or away from the visual stimulus overlapping recorded neuronal receptive fields. Consistent with prior findings, attention did not significantly alter spike count correlations among random pairings of unconnected V1 neurons. However, V1 neurons connected via excitatory synapses showed a significant reduction in spike count correlations with attention. Interestingly, V1 neurons connected via inhibitory synapses demonstrated high spike count correlations overall that were not modulated by attention. Correlated variability in excitatory circuits also depended upon neuronal tuning for contrast, the task-relevant stimulus feature. These results indicate that shared variability depends on the type of connectivity in neuronal circuits. Also, attention significantly reduces shared variability in excitatory circuits, even when attention effects on randomly sampled neurons within the same area are weak.

Achieving More with Less: A Lightweight Deep Learning Solution for Advanced Human Activity Recognition (HAR).

Human activity recognition (HAR) is a crucial task in various applications, including healthcare, fitness, and the military. Deep learning models have revolutionized HAR, however, their computational complexity, particularly those involving BiLSTMs, poses significant challenges for deployment on resource-constrained devices like smartphones. While BiLSTMs effectively capture long-term dependencies by processing inputs bidirectionally, their high parameter count and computational demands hinder practical applications in real-time HAR. This study investigates the approximation of the computationally intensive BiLSTM component in a HAR model by using a combination of alternative model components and data flipping augmentation. The proposed modifications to an existing hybrid model architecture replace the BiLSTM with standard and residual LSTM, along with convolutional networks, supplemented by data flipping augmentation to replicate the context awareness typically provided by BiLSTM networks. The results demonstrate that the residual LSTM (ResLSTM) model achieves superior performance while maintaining a lower computational complexity compared to the traditional BiLSTM model. Specifically, on the UCI-HAR dataset, the ResLSTM model attains an accuracy of 96.34% with 576,702 parameters, outperforming the BiLSTM model's accuracy of 95.22% with 849,534 parameters. On the WISDM dataset, the ResLSTM achieves an accuracy of 97.20% with 192,238 parameters, compared to the BiLSTM's 97.23% accuracy with 283,182 parameters, demonstrating a more efficient architecture with minimal performance trade-off. For the KU-HAR dataset, the ResLSTM model achieves an accuracy of 97.05% with 386,038 parameters, showing comparable performance to the BiLSTM model's 98.63% accuracy with 569,462 parameters, but with significantly fewer parameters.

Effects of benralizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA): A plain language summary of the ANANKE study.

This summary outlines the findings from the ANANKE study on the treatment of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) with benralizumab. SEA is an inflammatory disease of the lungs caused by eosinophils. Patients with SEA may experience asthma attacks (exacerbations) and decreased ability to breathe (lung function) despite taking medications. Benralizumab (Fasenra®) is a biologic therapy (a medicine produced using living cells) approved for the treatment of SEA.The ANANKE study was conducted in Italy and evaluated the characteristics of patients with SEA who received benralizumab as prescribed by their doctors. It also described the effects of benralizumab on participants in terms of frequency of exacerbations, lung function and overall control of asthma, and their need to take oral corticosteroids (OCS) to control symptoms. The effects of benralizumab have been observed in participants treated for: 1) an average of 10.3months, and 2) up to 96weeks (approximately 2years). The effects were also compared between different groups: 1) participants with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and those without, and 2) participants who received other biologics before benralizumab (bio-experienced) and those who started with benralizumab as their first biologic (naïve). CRSwNP is an inflammatory condition that makes breathing even more difficult. Before receiving benralizumab, participants showed a high blood eosinophil count (the number of eosinophils in the bloodstream), frequent exacerbations, insufficient lung function, and poor disease control (symptom management). After 96weeks, benralizumab almost eliminated exacerbations, improved lung function, reduced the use of OCS, and increased the control of SEA symptoms while lowering blood eosinophil count. Comparable effects were observed between participants with and without CRSwNP and between naïve and bio-experienced participants. The ANANKE study showed that participants had frequent exacerbations and were characterized by eosinophilic inflammation before starting benralizumab. Overall, benralizumab improved the control of the disease for up to 2years and induced similar beneficial effects regardless of the presence of CRSwNP and the use of previous biologics. These findings highlight the long-lasting and broad action of benralizumab.Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04272463 (ANANKE) (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Techno-economic evaluation of mode division multiplexing in subsea transmission systems

We model few-mode transmission as a potential cost/bit improvement solution in long-haul subsea systems. Without including the costs and complexities of MIMO transponders, we see some potential reduction relative to high fiber count cables with current subsea single-core/single-mode fibers, but only at the expense of much higher electric power requirements. Very high mode counts do not appear to offer significant advantages.

Incidence Rate and Risk Factors for Developing Active Tuberculosis Among People Living With HIV in Georgia 2019-2020 Cohort.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among people with HIV (PHIV) globally. Our study is the first to evaluate TB incidence and its risk factors among PHIV in the country of Georgia, where previously no data were available. A retrospective cohort study was conducted among persons newly diagnosed with HIV in Georgia during 2019-2020. Active TB incidence was calculated within a minimum of 2-year follow-up period from HIV diagnosis. Cox proportional hazard model was used for evaluating risk factors for TB development. The median age in the final cohort of 1165 PHIV was 38 (interquartile range, 30-48) and 76.3% were male. Twenty-nine percent of patients had a CD4 cell count <200 at HIV diagnosis and 89.9% initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART). TB incidence rate was 10/1000 person-years (p-y; 95% confidence interval [CI], 9.6-10.4), with rates being higher within several subgroups, mainly: PHIV aged 40-49 years (17.5/1 000 p-y [95% CI, 16.8-18.2]); those not receiving ART (22/1000 p-y [95% CI, 20.9-23.1]); those with CD4 < 200 at baseline (28/1000 p-y [95% CI, 27.4-28.6]); and those who developed AIDS (29.1/1 000 p-y [95% CI, 28.6-29.6]). Age (aHR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.03-1.39; P = .01) and AIDS diagnosis (aHR, 3.2; 95% CI, 3.06-27.9; P = .001) were associated with TB development, whereas high CD4 count was protective against TB (aHR, 0.18; 95% CI, .06-.61; P = .005). Study results highlight an imperative role of CD4 cell count management and the need for early HIV diagnosis and timely initiation of ART to ensure an effective immune response against tuberculosis, stressing the need for further in-depth evaluation of the TB preventive treatment delivery system's efficiency and gaps.

A pilot study of diet lifestyle on complete blood picture, elements, and biological profile in females

Obesity, a prevalent global health issue, is characterized by elevated lipid levels, altered hematological parameters, inflammation, and other related symptoms. A biological profile and complete blood count (CBC) are essential tools for assessing overall health and detecting various dysfunctions, including anemia, infections, leukemia, and heart diseases. In obese patients of both sexes, a high white blood cell count is a reliable indicator of leukemia risk, coronary complications, and inflammation. Notably, dietary and lifestyle changes can significantly improve obesity-related conditions and hematological disorders. This study examines the effects of a six-month dietary program on anthropometric measurements, biological profiles, elemental composition, and complete blood counts in 43 obese females with white blood cell counts above the normal range. Participants underwent comprehensive hematological, biochemical, and anthropometric assessments at the beginning and end of the diet program. The findings revealed a significant weight loss and substantial improvements in laboratory parameters and blood profiles. These improvements are likely due to the nutrient composition of the diet program. The investigation confirmed that modifying dietary intake by reducing consumption of high-acidic foods, fast foods, animal-derived lipids, refined carbohydrates, red meats, and non-seasonal produce, in favor of a nutrient-dense regimen comprising fruits, vegetables (consumed raw or steamed), fish, poultry, and whole grains, resulted in significant enhancements in hematological indices and biological markers. These enhancements substantially surpassed baseline measurements for complete blood count and biological profiles. However, alterations in the elemental profile were not statistically significant. Further studies are being conducted to examine these outcomes with greater specificity. Ongoing research aims to further understand these effects according to personal medical history, age, and sex.

Preoperative platelet count as an independent predictor of long-term outcomes among patients undergoing resection for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

An elevated platelet count may reflect neoplastic and inflammatory states, with cytokine-driven overproduction of platelets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic utility of high platelet count among patients undergoing curative-intent liver surgery for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). An international, multi-institutional cohort was used to identify patients undergoing curative-intent liver resection for ICC (2000-2020). A high platelet count was defined as platelets >300 *109/L. The relationship between preoperative platelet count, cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) was examined. Among 825 patients undergoing curative-intent resection for ICC, 139 had a high platelet count, which correlated with multifocal disease, lymph nodes metastasis, poor to undifferentiated grade, and microvascular invasion. Patients with high platelet counts had worse 5-year (35.8% vs. 46.7%, p = 0.009) CSS and OS (24.8% vs. 39.8%, p < 0.001), relative to patients with a low platelet count. After controlling for relevant clinicopathologic factors, high platelet count remained an adverse independent predictor of CSS (HR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.02-2.09) and OS (HR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.14-2.22). High platelet count was associated with worse tumor characteristics and poor long-term CSS and OS. Platelet count represents a readily-available laboratory value that may preoperatively improve risk-stratification of patients undergoing curative-intent liver resection for ICC.

Delineation of features, responses, outcomes, and prognostic factors in pediatric PDGFRB-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients: A retrospective multicenter study.

PDGFRB fusions in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is rare. The authors identified 28 pediatric PDGFRB-positive ALL. They analyzed the features, outcomes, and prognostic factors of this disease. This multicenter, retrospective study included 6457 pediatric patients with newly diagnosed PDGFRB fusion ALL according to the CCCG-ALL-2015 and CCCG-ALL-2020 protocols from April 2015 to April 2022 in 20 hospitals in China. Of these patients, 3451 were screened for PDGFRB fusions. Pediatric PDGFRB-positive ALL accounted for only 0.8% of the 3451 cases tested for PDGFRB. These patients included 21 males and seven females and 24 B-ALL and 4 T-ALL; the median age was 10 years; and the median leukocyte count was 29.8 × 109/L at baseline. Only one patient had eosinophilia. Three patients had an IKZF1 deletion, three had chromosome 5q31-33 abnormalities, and one suffered from a complex karyotype. The 3-year event-free survival (EFS), overall survival (OS), and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) were 33.1%, 65.5%, and 32.1%, respectively, with a median follow-up of 25.5 months. Twenty patients were treated with chemotherapy plus tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and eight were treated without TKI. Complete remission (CR) rates of them were 90.0% and 63.6%, respectively, but no differences in EFS, OS, or CIR. Univariate analyses showed patients with IKZF1 deletion or measurable residual disease (MRD) ≥0.01% after induction had inferior outcomes (p<.05). Pediatric PDGFRB-positive ALL has a poor outcome associated with high-risk features. Chemotherapy plus TKIs can improve the CR rate, providing an opportunity for lower MRD levels and transplantation. MRD ≥0.01% was a powerful adverse prognostic factor, and stratified treatment based on MRD may improve survival for these patients. Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients with PDGFRB fusions are associated with high-risk clinical features such as older age, high white blood cell count at diagnosis, high measurable residual disease after induction therapy, and increased risk of leukemia relapse. Chemotherapy plus tyrosine-kinase inhibitors can improve the complete remission rate and provide an opportunity for lower measurable residual disease (MRD) levels and transplantation for pediatric PDGFRB-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients. The MRD level was also a powerful prognostic factor for pediatric PDGFRB-positive ALL patients.

Proximate Analysis and Occurrence of Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia coli in Street Vended Ready to Eat Edible Larvae of Rhynchophorus phoenicis in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Rhynchophorus phoenicis, known as the African palm tree larva weevil or edible worm, is a popular edible insect in southern Nigeria and other African countries. These larvae, by-products of oil palm and palm trees, are consumed roasted or boiled and are known for their nutritional and medicinal properties. In Nigeria, they are widely sold along highways in states like Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Imo, Rivers, and the upper Cross River basin. Preparation methods include consuming them raw, boiled, fried, smoked, or in stews and soups. Typically, the larvae are washed, skewered, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and grilled. They are juicy and have a taste reminiscent of Torzo or cow intestines. Despite their popularity, edible worms pose safety and health concerns due to contamination and the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The indiscriminate use of antimicrobials in animals and humans has led to the development of resistant microorganisms, including multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli, which has been increasingly reported in food poisoning outbreaks. There is limited data on the incidence and antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli in ready-to-eat foods in Nigeria, prompting this study. The study aimed to determine the proximate composition, occurrence, and antibiotic-resistant pattern of Escherichia coli from edible larvae (Rhynchophorus phoenicis). Objectives included determining the proximate composition of the larvae, the occurrence of Escherichia coli in them, and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern. Fifty ready-to-eat food samples of edible larvae were randomly collected from hawkers. These samples, often partially exposed and poorly packaged, were transported to the microbiology laboratory for analysis. Sterilized glassware and media were used, including Nutrient Agar, Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) Agar, and Mueller Hinton Agar. Samples were diluted using peptone water, and bacteriological determination involved homogenizing 25 grams of the sample in 225 ml of peptone water, followed by serial dilutions. Aliquots were inoculated on EMB Agar plates, and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours, and colonies were counted and recorded as colony-forming units per gram (cfu/g). Isolates were identified using standard microbiological methods and biochemical tests. Proximate analysis revealed moisture (35.49%), carbohydrate (6.01%), protein (20.73%), ash (1.25%), lipid (22.3%), and fiber (14.23%) content. Bacterial counts ranged from 8.1 x 10^7 to 6.34 x 10^8 cfu/g, with the highest count at the Checkpoint sample and the lowest at Elele-Alumini. Of the 27 isolates, 15 (55.56%) were confirmed as E. coli, with 18.52% of samples exceeding the acceptable microbiological limit (≥10^7 CFU/g). Antibiotic susceptibility tests showed all isolates resistant to augmentin, penicillin, cephalosporin, and ofloxacin, with 46.67% resistance to sulfamethoxazole and streptomycin.

Ultrahigh-channel-count OAM mode conversion utilizing a hybrid few-mode fiber configuration.

We propose and demonstrate a hybrid few-mode fiber configuration (HFMFC) that enables ultrahigh-channel-count orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode conversion. The HFMFC consists of periodically twisted graded-index few-mode fiber segments and a step-index few-mode fiber segment. Our proposed HFMFC-based multichannel OAM mode converter (OAM-MC) offers an exceptionally high channel count in a wide bandwidth, with customizable channel spacing down to 50 GHz (∼0.4 nm), achieved through optimization of the structural parameters of the HFMFC. By employing this methodology, we have successfully demonstrated 10, 32, 117, and 233 channel OAM mode conversions covering the entire C + L band, representing the highest performance among all reported fiber-based multichannel OAM-MCs to date, for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The suggested ultrahigh-channel-count OAM-MC exhibits promising potential for applications in various fields such as OAM fiber communication, OAM holography, OAM information processing, and OAM metrology.

FSDedup: Feature-Aware and Selective Deduplication for Improving Performance of Encrypted Non-Volatile Main Memory

Enhancing the endurance, performance, and energy efficiency of encrypted Non-Volatile Main Memory (NVMM) can be achieved by minimizing written data through inline deduplication. However, existing approaches applying inline deduplication to encrypted NVMM suffer from substantial performance degradation due to high computing, memory footprint, and index-lookup overhead to generate, store, and query the cryptographic hash (fingerprint). In the preliminary ESD [ 14 ], we proposed the Error Correcting Code (ECC) assisted selective deduplication scheme, utilizing the ECC information as a fingerprint to identify similar data effectively and then leveraging the selective deduplication technique to eliminate a large amount of redundant data with high reference counts. In this article, we proposed FSDedup. Compared with ESD, FSDedup could leverage the prefetch cache to reduce the read overhead during similarity comparison and utilize the cache refresh mechanism to identify further and eliminate more redundant data. Extensive experimental evaluations demonstrate that FSDedup can enhance the performance of the NVMM system further than the ESD. Experimental results show that FSDedup can improve both write and read speed by up to 1.8×, enhance Instructions Per Cycle by up to 1.5×, and reduce energy consumption by up to 2.0×, compared to ESD.

Exploring probiotic potential and antimicrobial properties of lactic acid bacteria from cow's milk

One of the most important foods in the world is milk, due to its nutrients and composition. Milk also contains lactic acid bacteria (LABs), which can produce antimicrobial compounds and organic acids; an essential factor in developing different methods to control other bacteria. Another critical factor is that several species of LABs are considered potential probiotics, offering several health benefits. This study aimed to isolate, identify LABs, characterize the antimicrobial susceptibility profile, and evaluate the inhibition potential against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 7644), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Salmonella Typhimurium (ATCC 14028); as well as verifying the acidification capacity, survival of simulated in vitro gastrointestinal conditions and identification of virulence genes and bacteriocin-producing genes. The study was carried out with LABs previously isolated from milk of cows with clinical mastitis, low and high (Somatic Cells Count) in herds from all regions of Brazil (South, Southeast, Central-West, North, and Northeast). One hundred and ten strains were selected for identification using the MALDI-TOF technique. The genera with the most significant spectrum of action were Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus in the antimicrobial action test against pathogens, concluding that Lactobacillus showed resistance to several antibiotics. The analysis of antimicrobial action made it possible to verify the potential production of antimicrobial compounds by LABs against the primary pathogens of food origin. The most significant reduction in pH could be observed from 24 h to 48 h, ranging from 6.8 (0 h) to 4.74 (48 h) for Lactobacillus and Lactococcus. All isolates survived tolerance tests at pH=3.0 and bile salts (0.5 %), with survival rates ranging from 34.2 to 69.9 % at pH = 3.0 and above 82 % at 0.5 % bile salts. Lacotococcus and Lactobacillus isolates presented the plnEF and plnNC8 genes. This study contributes to the search for alternatives in the treatment of bacterial infections with a reduction in the use of antibiotics, which, due to the increase in bacterial resistance, is causing difficulties in treating diseases caused by these microorganisms. pH is an important parameter when it comes to food safety and conservation. Tolerance to acid stress and bile salts are important properties in evaluating probiotic potential and the ability to maintain high counts under these conditions. The presence of the plnEF and plnNC8 genes suggests bacteriocin production.

Chitosan and inulin synergized with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LPP95 to improve the quality characteristics of low-salt pickled tuber mustard

Low-salt pickled vegetables are in line with a healthier diet, yet ensuring consistent quality of such products is challenging. In this study, low-salt tuber mustard pickles fermented with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LPP95 in the presence of chitosan and inulin were analyzed over a 30-day period, and quality changes were evaluated. Total acid productions along with high bacterial counts (106 CFU/mL) were observed in the initial 20 days during indoor storage temperature, in which the reduced fiber aperture was found significantly lead to an increase in crispness (16.94 ± 1.87 N) and the maintenance of a low nitrate content (1.23 ± 0.01 mg/kg). Moreover, the combined pickling treatment resulted in higher malic acid content, lower tartaric acid content, and a decrease in the content of bitter amino acids (e.g., isoleucine and leucine), thus leading to an increase in the proportion of sweet amino acids. Additionally, combined pickling led to the production of unique volatile flavor compounds, especially the distinct spicy flavor compounds isothiocyanates. Moreover, the combined pickling treatment resulted in an increase in the abundance of Lactiplantibacillus and promoted microbial diversity within the fermentation system. Thus, the synergistic effect among chitosan, inulin, and L. plantarum LPP95 significantly enhanced the quality of pickles. The study offers a promising strategy to standardize the quality of low-salt fermented vegetables.