Articles: human.
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Is post-natal growth during the first 2 years of life in IVF singletons affected by type of medium used for culturing human embryos during an IVF treatment? ⋯ W.V. was funded with an unrestricted research grant from the Stichting Fertility Foundation. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Case Reports
Mycobacterium brisbanense species nova isolated from a patient with chronic cavitary lung infection.
We describe the first case, to our knowledge, of Mycobacterium brisbanense species nova with the type strain W6743T (=ATCC 49938T=DSM 44680T) isolated from the lungs of a man with a 6-month history of productive cough and intermittent fever presenting with acute hypoglycemia. A CT scan of the thorax revealed multiple small nodules and consolidation over both lungs with cavitation. ⋯ There was dramatic clinical and radiologic response to treatment with an empirical combination of rifampicin, ethambutol, and levofloxacin and subsequently clarithromycin and levofloxacin once sensitivity was known. This report is the first, to our knowledge, of the pathogen isolated in a patient with chronic cavitary lung infection since it was first identified from an antral sinus in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and the first time it is isolated from a human subject in Malaysia.
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Lung contusion injury produces a vulnerable window within the inflammatory defenses of the lung that predisposes the patient to pneumonia. Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is a known anti-inflammatory mediator produced by macrophages and capable of downregulating acute lung inflammation. We investigated the impact of increased levels of IL-10 within the lung on survival and the host response to trauma in the setting of lung contusion (LC) and gram-negative pneumonia. ⋯ Lung-specific IL-10 overexpression induces alternative activation of alveolar macrophages. This shift in macrophage phenotype decreases intracellular bacterial killing, resulting in a more pronounced bacteremia and accelerated mortality in a model of LC and pneumonia.
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Aim: L-arginine (LArg) is an amino acid that has immunomodulating and anti-tumor effects. It is possible that anti-tumor effects of L-Arg are due to induction of apoptosis in tumor cells. The present study assessed anti-proliferating and pro-apoptotic effects of L-Arg in human gastric cancer cell line SGC7901. ⋯ Results: L-Arg significantly inhibited growth of SCG-7901 gastric cancer cells and down-regulated expression of anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2 and survivin. By contrast, expression of p53 was upregulated by L-Arg. Conclusion: Regulation of apoptosis by L-Arg via down-regulation of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and surviving, and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic protein p53 may represent the mechanism behind antitumor effects of L-Arg.