Aliidiomarina quisquiliarum sp. nov., isolated from landfill leachate.

Bacterial strain Y-6T, isolated from a landfill site in Yiwu, PR China, was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomy approach. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, motile by means of a single polar flagellum and formed pale beige colonies. Strain Y-6T grew at 4-40 °C (optimal at 30-37 °C), pH 6.5-9.5 (optimal at pH 7.2-8.5) and in the presence of 0.5-10.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimal at 1.0-3.0 %). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that strain Y-6T was a member of the genus Aliidiomarina and closely related to Aliidiomarina taiwanensis MCCC 1A06493T with a 16S rRNA sequence similarity of 98.2 %. The major cellular fatty acids of the isolate were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 and summed feature 9 (iso-C17 : 1 ω9c and/or 10-methyl-C16 : 0). Q-8 was the predominant ubiquinone. The major polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, aminoglycophospholipid, aminophospholipid, phospholipid, three glycolipids and two unknown lipids. The genomic DNA G+C content was 46.6 mol%. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization value between Y-6T and A. taiwanensis MCCC 1A06493T was 18.3 %. Strain Y-6T had an average nucleotide identity value of 74.09 % with A. taiwanensis MCCC 1A06493T. Results from the polyphasic taxonomy study support the conclusion that strain Y-6T represents a novel Aliidiomarina species, for which the name Aliidiomarina quisquiliarum sp.nov. is proposed. The type strain is Y-6T (=MCCC 1K06228T=KCTC 82676T).

[Sepsis risk calculator-guided antibiotic management in neonates with suspected early-onset sepsis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of sepsis risk calculator (SRC) in guiding antibiotic use in neonates with suspected early-onset sepsis (EOS). METHODS: A total of 284 neonates with a gestational age of ≥ 35 weeks were enrolled as the control group, who were hospitalized in the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from March to July, 2019 and were suspected of EOS. Their clinical data were retrospectively collected and the use of antibiotics was analyzed based on SRC. A total of 170 neonates with a gestational age of ≥ 35 weeks were enrolled as the study group, who were admitted to the hospital from July to November, 2020 and were suspected of EOS. SRC was used prospectively for risk scoring to assist the decision making of clinical antibiotic management. The two groups were compared in terms of the rate of use of antibiotics, blood culture test rate, clinical outcome, and adherence to the use of SRC. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the study group had a significantly higher SRC score at birth and on admission (P < 0.05). The rate of use of antibiotics in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group[84.7% (144/170) vs 91.5% (260/284), 6.8% decrease; P < 0.05]. The blood culture test rate in the study group was also significantly lower than that in the control group (85.3% vs 91.9%, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidence rate of adverse outcomes and the final diagnosis of EOS (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The use of SRC reduces the rate of empirical use of antibiotics in neonates with suspected EOS and does not increase the risk of adverse outcomes, and therefore, it holds promise for clinical application.

Aestuariibaculum sediminum sp. nov., a marine bacterium isolated from a tidal flat in Zhoushan.

A Gram-staining-negative, non-motile, strictly aerobic bacterium, designated as strain TT11T, was isolated from a sediment sample of a tidal flat connected in Zhoushan, China. Cells of strain TT11T are spherical, halotolerant, catalase- and oxidase-positive, and produce carotenoid-like pigments. Colonies were 0.5-1.0 mm diameter, smooth, round, convex and orange-yellow after growth on marine agar at 30 °C for 24 h. Growth of the strain TT11T was observed at 10-40 °C (optimum, 35 °C), at pH 6.0-9.5 (optimum, pH 6.5), and in the presence of 0-8.0% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0.5-1.0%). The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain TT11T represents a member of the genus Aestuariibaculum and was closely related to Aestuariibaculum suncheonense SC17T (97.2%) and Aestuariibaculum marinum IP7T (96.8%). The G + C content of the genome was 34.6%. The only respiratory quinone was MK-6. The major fatty acids (> 10%) were iso-C15:0, iso-C15:1 G and iso-C17:0 3-OH. The major polar lipids contained phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphoglycolipid, four unidentified aminolipids, four unidentified lipids and two unidentified glycolipids. On the basis of these genomic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic characteristics, we propose a novel species Aestuariibaculum sediminum sp. nov. with the type strain TT11T (= KCTC 82195T = MCCC 1K04734T).

ATP7B rs9535826 is associated with gastrointestinal toxicity of platinum-based chemotherapy in nonsmall cell lung cancer patients.

AIMS: Platinum-based chemotherapy is considered as the first-line treatment for nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. However, platinum resistance and toxicity are major obstacles to its clinical applications. The two P-type ATPases ATP7A and ATP7B have been identified to play an essential role in the transport of platinum. Their genetic polymorphisms may affect the treatment outcome and toxicity of platinum. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of ATP7A and ATP7B genetic polymorphisms with clinical outcome and toxicity of platinum-based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Four hundred and twenty-seven NSCLC patients were enrolled. All patients have accepted platinum-based chemotherapy for at least two cycles. ATP7A (rs2227291 and rs6622665) and ATP7B (rs1061472 and rs9535826) polymorphisms were genotyped by allele-specific matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Chemotherapeutic response, overall survival time, and hematological and gastrointestinal toxicity were recorded and their associations with genetic factors were evaluated. RESULTS: ATP7A rs2227291 and rs6622665 deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Therefore, the two single-nucleotide polymorphisms were not taken into consideration. For ATP7B polymorphism, ATP7B rs9535826 was associated with gastrointestinal toxicity, and the GG genotype showed lower gastrointestinal toxicity (odds ratio = 0.30; 95% confidence interval = 0.10-0.90; P = 0.031). CONCLUSION: The genotypes of ATP7B gene may be novel and significant biomarkers for predicting the gastrointestinal toxicity of platinum-based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients.

Clinical significance of SOX9 in human non-small cell lung cancer progression and overall patient survival.

BACKGROUND: Sex determining region Y (SRY)-related high mobility groupbox 9 (SOX9) is an important transcription factor required for development, which regulates the expression of target genes in the associated pathway. The aim of this study was to describe the expression of SOX9 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to investigate the association between SOX9 expression and progression of NSCLC. METHODS: SOX9 protein and mRNA expression in normal human pneumonocytes, lung cancer cell lines, and eight pairs of matched lung cancer tissues and their adjacent normal lung tissues were detected by Western blotting and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Immunohistochemistry was used to determine SOX9 protein expression in 142 cases of histologically characterized NSCLC. Statistical analyses were applied to test for prognostic and diagnostic associations. RESULTS: SOX9 in lung cancer cell lines was upregulated at both mRNA and protein levels, and SOX9 mRNA and protein were also elevated in NSCLC tissues compared with levels in corresponding adjacent non-cancerous lung tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated a high expression of SOX9 in 74/142 (52.1%) paraffin-embedded archival lung cancer biopsies. Statistical analysis indicated that upregulation of SOX9 was significantly correlated with the histological stage of NSCLC (P=0.017) and that patients with a high SOX9 level exhibited a shorter survival time (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis illustrated that SOX9 upregulation might be an independent prognostic indicator for the survival of patients with NSCLC. CONCLUSIONS: This work shows that SOX9 may serve as a novel and prognostic marker for NSCLC, and play a role during the development and progression of the disease.