Subtelomeric secondary metabolite (SM) gene clusters are frequently surrounded by DNA repeats and transposon-like elements. The A. nidulans penicillin cluster, 30 kb from the telomere of chromosome VI, is bordered by such elements. Deletions of penicillin telomere proximal and distal border regions resulted in decreased penicillin production. A 3.7 kb distal region called PbIa, consisting of the putative transposable element DNA-2, was examined further where its replacement by a pyrG marker presented a similar phenotype as loss of the global SM regulator LaeA, resulting in a decrease in penicillin gene expression and product formation. In contrast, placement of the pyrG marker on either side of PbIa had no effect on penicillin synthesis. A requirement for PbIa in penicillin production was also apparent in a histone deacetylase mutant, ΔhdaA, enhanced for penicillin production. Trans complementation of the PbIa element near and within the terrequinone A cluster on chromosome V did not restore penicillin biosynthesis or increase production of terrequinone A. Taken together, this data provides evidence for transposon involvement in SM cluster regulation.

The aim of this work is to assess the association between vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) and coronary artery disease in men above the age of 40 y. The study included 40 patients above 40 y of age with vasculogenic ED of more than 3 months duration. A dynamic duplex study after intracavernosal injection of a bimix solution (60 mg papaverine þ 2 mg phentolamine mesylate) was carried out using a color ultrasound machine. The patients underwent a stress ECG test, carried out on a motor-driven treadmill according to the 'Bruce Protocol'. A total of 12 patients were diagnosed with positive ischemic heart disease (IHD). Their mean peak systolic velocity (PSV) was PSV ¼ 19.58 cm/s. In all, patients were diagnosed with negative IHD; their mean PSV was 36.21 cm/s. A statistically significant difference was observed between patients with positive IHD and patients with negative IHD regarding PSV (P ¼ 0.003). The sensitivity of a PSV of less than 35 cm/s in predicting IHD was 50% with a specificity of 100%. Positive predictive value for abnormal stress ECG to predict a PSV of less than 35 cm/s was 100%. In conclusion, the PSV of cavernosal arteries is a reliable measure for predicting IHD in patients with vasculogenic ED. Patients with a PSV of less than 35 cm/s should be referred for cardiologic assessment as they carry a real risk of having silent IHD.

Background Early and accurate risk assessment is an important clinical demand in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are independent predictors of prognosis in many infectious and cardiovascular diseases. Very limited studies have been conducted to evaluate the prognostic role of these markers in IE. Results We analyzed clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic data and outcomes throughout the whole period of hospitalization for a total of 142 consecutive patients with definitive IE. The overall in-hospital mortality was 21%. Major complications defined as central nervous system embolization, fulminant sepsis, acute heart failure, acute renal failure, and major artery embolization occurred in 38 (27%), 34 (24%), 32 (22.5%), 40 (28%), and 90 (63.4%) patients, respectively. The NLR, total leucocyte count (TLC), neutrophil percentage, creatinine, and C-reactive protein (CRP) level obtained upon admission were significantly higher in the mortality group [p ≤ 0.001, p = 0.008, p = 0.001, p = 0.004, and p = 0.036, respectively]. A higher NLR was significantly associated with fulminant sepsis and major arterial embolization [p = 0.001 and p = 0.028, respectively]. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the NLR for predicting in-hospital mortality showed that an NLR > 8.085 had a 60% sensitivity and an 84.8% specificity for an association with in-hospital mortality [area under the curve = 0.729, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.616–0.841; p = 0.001]. The ROC curve of the NLR for predicting severe sepsis showed that an NLR > 5.035 had a 71.8% sensitivity and a 68.5% specificity for predicting severe sepsis [area under the curve 0.685, 95% CI 0.582–0.733; p = 0.001]. The PLR showed no significant association with in-hospital mortality or in-hospital complications. Conclusion A higher NLR, TLC, neutrophil percentage, creatinine level, and CRP level upon admission were associated with increased in-hospital mortality and morbidity in IE patients. Furthermore, a lower lymphocyte count/percentage and platelet count were strong indicators of in-hospital mortality among IE patients. Calculation of the NLR directly from a CBC upon admission may assist in early risk stratification of patients with IE.

Our data showed that mice immunized with OprF/OprI or OprF/OprI and flagellin B are significantly protected from infection caused by mucoid and nonmucoid strains of P. aeruginosa.

Bioactivity-guided fractionation of an alcohol extract of the soft coral Sarcophyton sp. collected from the intertidal areas and the fringing coral reefs near Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt afforded a new lactone cembrane diterpene, sarcophytolide 1. The structure was deduced based on its spectroscopic data and from comparison with the spectral data of known closely related cembrane-type compounds. This compound exhibits good antimicrobial activity towards Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae activity.

Background Myocardial recovery following primary percutaneous coronary intervention is often suboptimal despite of restoration of thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) 3 flow, in part due to thrombus embolization which results in impairing microvascular reperfusion besides increasing infarct size. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the effect of aspiration thrombectomy followed by intracoronary delivery of tirofiban on decreasing the infarct size utilizing cardiac MRI (cMR) in large anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. Patients A prospective randomized controlled study of 100 patients with large anterior STEMI were randomized to (Study group) using intracoronary tirofiban (intracoronary) and (control group) without intocoronary tirofiban. A 6 F thrombus aspiration catheter was used in all patients. Tirofiban was injected locally at the place of the highly thrombus burden through the aspiration device after flushing the aspiration device well. Results Patients of intracoronary tirofiban group compared with control group had a significant difference in decreasing the infarct size at 30 days [median, 15.451 g – interquartile range (IQR), 17.404 gm – n = 50] vs (median, 43.828 g – IQR, 49.599 g – n = 50) P value = 0.002. Conclusion In patients early presented with large anterior STEMI, infarct size at 30 days was significantly decreased by intracoronary tirofiban delivered to the infarct lesion site followed aspiration thrombectomy.

Pretreatment with irbesartan tends to have a significant protective effect against the occurrence of AF during the post-operative period in patients undergoing CABG.

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