Expanding utility of cardiac computed tomography in infective endocarditis: A contemporary review.

There is increasing evidence on the utility of cardiac computed tomography (CCT) in infective endocarditis (IE) to investigate the valvular pathology, the extra-cardiac manifestations of IE and pre-operative planning. CCT can assist in the diagnosis of perivalvular complications, such as pseudoaneurysms and abscesses, and can help identify embolic events to the lungs or systemic vasculature. CCT has also been shown to be beneficial in the pre-operative planning of patients by delineating the coronary artery anatomy and the major cardiovascular structures in relation to the sternum. Finally, hybrid nuclear/computed tomography techniques have been shown to increase the diagnostic accuracy in prosthetic valve endocarditis. This manuscript aims to provide a contemporary update of the existing evidence base for the use of CCT in IE.

The Aliment to Bodily Condition knowledgebase (ABCkb): a database connecting plants and human health.

OBJECTIVE: Overconsumption of processed foods has led to an increase in chronic diet-related diseases such obesity and type 2 diabetes. Although diets high in fresh fruits and vegetables are linked with healthier outcomes, the specific mechanisms for these relationships are poorly understood. Experiments examining plant phytochemical production and breeding programs, or separately on the health effects of nutritional supplements have yielded results that are sparse, siloed, and difficult to integrate between the domains of human health and agriculture. To connect plant products to health outcomes through their molecular mechanism an integrated computational resource is necessary. RESULTS: We created the Aliment to Bodily Condition Knowledgebase (ABCkb) to connect plants to human health by creating a stepwise path from plant [Formula: see text] plant product [Formula: see text] human gene [Formula: see text] pathways [Formula: see text] indication. ABCkb integrates 11 curated sources as well as relationships mined from Medline abstracts by loading into a graph database which is deployed via a Docker container. This new resource, provided in a queryable container with a user-friendly interface connects plant products with human health outcomes for generating nutritive hypotheses. All scripts used are available on github ( https://github.com/atrautm1/ABCkb ) along with basic directions for building the knowledgebase and a browsable interface is available ( https://abckb.charlotte.edu ).

Pyruvic oxime nitrification and copper and nickel resistance by a Cupriavidus pauculus, an active heterotrophic nitrifier-denitrifier.

Heterotrophic nitrifiers synthesize nitrogenous gasses when nitrifying ammonium ion. A Cupriavidus pauculus, previously thought an Alcaligenes sp. and noted as an active heterotrophic nitrifier-denitrifier, was examined for its ability to produce nitrogen gas (N2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) while heterotrophically nitrifying the organic substrate pyruvic oxime [CH3-C(NOH)-COOH]. Neither N2 nor N2O were produced. Nucleotide and phylogenetic analyses indicated that the organism is a member of a genus (Cupriavidus) known for its resistance to metals and its metabolism of xenobiotics. The microbe (a Cupriavidus pauculus designated as C. pauculus strain UM1) was examined for its ability to perform heterotrophic nitrification in the presence of Cu(2+) and Ni(2+) and to metabolize the xenobiotic phenol. The bacterium heterotrophically nitrified well when either 1 mM Cu(2+) or 0.5 mM Ni(2+) was present in either enriched or minimal medium. The organism also used phenol as a sole carbon source in either the presence or absence of 1 mM Cu(2+) or 0.5 mM Ni(2+). The ability of this isolate to perform a number of different metabolisms, its noteworthy resistance to copper and nickel, and its potential use as a bioremediation agent are discussed.