A study was designed to define the osmol gap in patients whose serum ethanol concentrations are known, to reevaluate several accepted equations for calculating osmolarity, and to apply the results to the theoretical clinical scenario of a toxic alcohol ingestion. The design for the study used consecutive, prospective enrollment of all patients presenting to a large inner city hospital who clinically required determination of their serum ethanol and electrolytes. Three hundred and twenty one consecutive adult patients were enrolled in the study, sixteen were excluded from the final analysis. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the best coefficients for sodium, blood urea nitrogen, and ethanol from the data set. Osmolarity was then calculated using these coefficients and traditional models. The osmol gap (measured osmolality minus calculated osmolarity [2*Na + BUN/2.8 + Glu/18 + Etoh/4.6]) was -2 +/- 6 mOsm. Although different equations produced different osmol gaps (ranging from -5 to + 15 mOsm) the standard deviations and correlation coefficients were similar. Large variations exist in the range of osmol gaps. Absolute values are very dependent on the equations used to calculate osmolarity. Because of the larger range of values, small osmol gaps should not be used to eliminate the possibility of toxic alcohol ingestion.

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MicroRNA-383 is a tumor suppressor in human lung cancer, which functions to inhibit tumorigenesis of lung cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. This inhibitory effect is mediated by direct targeting of EPAS1 mRNA and subsequent repressing of its expression. Both microRNA-383 and EPAS1 could serve as potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of lung cancer.

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A Gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterium, designated MS1-4, was isolated from mangrove sediment of the Jiulong River Estuary, Fujian Province, China. The isolate formed yellow colonies on ZB 2216E agar. Optimal growth was observed at pH 6.0, at 34 °C and in the presence of 4 % (w/v) NaCl. Strain MS1-4 shared highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 97.7 % with Altererythrobacter mangrovi C9-11, followed by Altererythrobacter ishigakiensis JPCCMB0017 (97.2 %). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain MS1-4 formed a clade with A. mangrovi C9-11 within the genus Altererythrobacter. The main cellular fatty acid was summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c) and the sole respiratory quinone was ubiquinone Q-10. The main polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and glycolipids. The G+C content of the DNA was 60.4 mol%. Based on data from this polyphasic characterization, strain MS1-4 should be classified as representing a novel species in the genus Altererythrobacter, for which the name Altererythrobacter flavus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MS1-4 (=MCCC 1K02683=NBRC 112977).

When dealing with infectious pathogens, the point-of-care screening and diagnosis strategy should be low-cost, simple, rapid and accurate. Here, we report a multifunctional rapid PCR platform allowing both simultaneous screening...

No abstract

Soil salinity has become a serious threat to crop growth and productivity and has aggravated the gap between sustainable food supply and population growth. Application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) has emerged as a novel way of alleviating the harmful effects of salt stress and improving soil nutrients. The aim of this study was to study the effects of exposure cucumber seedlings at one co-inoculation of Bacillus licheniformis and B. subtilis, a mitigation of salt stress in cucumber seedlings. In this study, we isolated salt tolerant (NX-3 and NX-4) and growth-promoting (NX-48, NX-59, and NX-62) bacteria from the rhizosphere of cucumber. NX-3 and NX-59 were identified as B. licheniformis, and NX-4, NX-48 and NX-62 were identified as B. subtilis. Under salt stress, relative to non-inoculation, co-inoculation with B. licheniformis and B. subtilis increased stem diameter and plant fresh weight. Moreover, the concentration of substrate available phosphorus increased (except for NX4-59). The catalase and sucrase activities of NX4-62 were the highest. Meanwhile, NX3-62 and NX3-59 had the highest phosphorus content and NX3-59 had the highest urease activities. Comprehensive analysis indicated that NX4-62 and NX3-59 showed the best effect on promoting cucumber seedlings growth, activating substrate nutrients, and alleviate salt stress in seedlings of cucumber.