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Inhalation of smoke from burn pits during military deployment is associated with several adverse pulmonary outcomes. We exposed human airway epithelial cells to smoke condensates from burn pit waste materials. Single and repeated exposure of condensates triggered unique and common responses in terms of gene expression, that sustained through the recovery phase. Source material and combustion condition influenced the outcome. Intensified response in female donor cells indicated a determining role of biological sex. The observations indicate a lasting impact of burn pit smoke exposure on epithelial gene expression, potentially contributing to disease pathogenesis., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Rapid initiation of optimal antimicrobial therapy is crucial for the management of Gram-negative (GN) bacteremia. We aimed to evaluate the impact of Accelerate PhenoTM (AxDx) system on change in therapy and length of stay among patients with GN bacteremia., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult patients hospitalized who had at least 1 blood culture with presence of Enterobacterales. We compared clinical outcomes among patients who had their blood cultures processed through standard methods alone vs AxDx., Results: We identified 255 bacteremia episodes among 243 unique patients. In the AxDx group, 31.1% of patients had deescalation of antibiotics within 48 h from blood culture collection compared to 20.0% of patients in the control group (P = 0.09). We found no impact of AxDx on the odds of deescalation at 48 h from blood culture collection [odds ratio (OR) 1.80 (95% CI 0.91-3.56), P = 0.09] or Gram stain report [OR 1.61 (95% CI 0.86-3.01), P = 0.14]. Escalation in therapy at 48 h from blood culture collection occurred in 16.8% and 16.9% of patients in the AxDx and control groups, respectively (P = 0.99). There was no impact on the odds of escalation at 48 h from blood culture collection [OR 0.99 (95% CI 0.47-2.11), P = 0.99] or Gram stain report [OR 1.26 (95% CI 0.57-2.80), P = 0.57]. No differences were seen in length of stay and mortality between the 2 groups., Conclusions: The impact of rapid identification and susceptibility technologies may differ according to the setting in which they are implemented., (© American Association for Clinical Chemistry 2022. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The ability of microorganisms to withstand long periods with extremely low energy input has gained increasing scientific attention in recent years. Starvation experiments in the laboratory have shown that a phylogenetically wide range of microorganisms evolve fitness-enhancing genetic traits within weeks of incubation under low-energy stress. Studies on natural environments that are cut off from new energy supplies over geologic time scales, such as deeply buried sediments, suggest that similar adaptations might mediate survival under energy limitation in the environment. Yet, the extent to which laboratory-based evidence of starvation survival in pure or mixed cultures can be extrapolated to sustained microbial ecosystems in nature remains unclear. In this review, we discuss past investigations on microbial energy requirements and adaptations to energy limitation, identify gaps in our current knowledge, and outline possible future foci of research on life under extreme energy limitation., (© FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Two healthy men with McLeod syndrome, a rare X-linked recessive phenotype characterized by acanthocytosis and weakened red blood cell antigenicity in the Kell blood group system, have been investigated. Both men showed raised blood creatine kinase levels, with myopathic EMG abnormalities. Biopsies of the quadriceps muscle showed the features of an active myopathy although there was no clinical evidence of muscular abnormality. The combination of the association of membrane abnormalities in red blood cells and a myopathy in both McLeod phenotype and Duchenne muscular dystrophy suggests that these syndromes may be due to related genetic abnormalities. The genetic locus for McLeod phenotype is situated near the end of the short arm of the X chromosome. The locus for Duchenne muscular dystrophy is unknown but it has been postulated that it is also situated on the short arm of the X chromosome at Xp 21. The occurrence of a subclinical X-linked myopathy with acanthocytosis (McLeod phenotype) thus raises the possibility of a new approach to genetic investigations in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and in the related milder forms of this disease.

The effect of glutathione and a glutathione reductase inhibitor on the antitumor effect of Cu(II)(3,5-diisopropylsalicylate)2 (CuDIPS) was studied. CuDIPS is a low-molecular-weight copper coordination compound that exhibits superoxide dismutase-like activity. CuDIPS had antitumor activity against intraperitoneal Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in Swiss mice. A single ip injection of glutathione partially eliminated the antitumor effect of CuDIPS, whereas a single ip injection of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea enhanced the antitumor effect of CuDIPS. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that CuDIPS exerts part of its antitumor effect by producing H2O2.