Infant urinary metabolomic profile in a fatal acute methadone intoxication

A case report suspicious for a Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is here described. Pathological findings were consistent with an acute respiratory failure while toxicological analysis revealed an elevated blood methadone concentration. Death was then ascribed to an acute methadone intoxication. In addition to the routinary approach, the urinary sample collected at autopsy was investigated with a 1H NMR metabolomic approach and the identified metabolomic profile was challenged with the urinary metabolomic profiles previously obtained from 10 newborns who experienced perinatal asphyxia and 16 healthy control newborns. Intriguingly, the urinary profile of the methadone intoxicated infant was very similar to those belonging to the perinatal asphyxia newborns, especially to those belonging to the newborns characterised by the worst outcome. The results offer several hints on a shared metabolic derangement between different mechanisms of asphyxia/hypoxia. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of the use of a metabolomic approach in a pathological case, in which metabolomics offers useful additional information regarding the mechanism and the cause of death.

Parvimonas parva sp. nov., derived from a human genito-urinary lesion

A strain of obligately anaerobically growing Gram-positive cocci was isolated from a human genito-urinary sample and characterized by a polyphasic approach. Analyses of 16S rRNA gene and whole-genome sequences of this strain S3374T indicated that it belonged to the genus Parvimonas . Overall genome relatedness index calculations confirmed it to be phylogenetically distinct from Parvimonas micra (NCTC 11808T) as its most closely related species with standing in nomenclature, with average nucleotide identity and genome-to-genome distance values of 85.8 and 30.2 %, respectively. Biochemically, strain S3374T was strongly proteolytic and can be differentiated from P. micra (DSM 20468T) by absence of phosphatase activity. The DNA G+C content of strain S3374T was 28.6 mol%. Based on the phenotypical, biochemical and genetic findings, strain S3374T is considered to represent a novel species within the genus Parvimonas , for which the name Parvimonas parva sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S3374T (=DSM 110786T=CCOS 1934T=CCUG 74294T). This description adds strain S3374T as a second species to the genus Parvimonas which has so far been monotypic. While the type strain of this genus, P. micra , has a long standing in nomenclature and its role in human health and disease has been studied to some extent, this description of the proposed novel species represented by strain S3374T will allow microbiologists worldwide to identify isolates of P. parva sp. nov., a prerequisite for further investigation of its relevance in the clinical context and beyond.

Oxidative stress induction in woodworkers occupationally exposed to wood dust and formaldehyde

Background Many workers are exposed to wood dust (WD) and formaldehyde (FA), whose carcinogenic activity is supposed to be oxidative stress-mediated. This study aims to assess to what extent the occupational exposure to WD and FA, albeit within regulatory limits, could result in OS induction in a woodworkers’ population. Methods The sample population consisted of 127 woodworkers from 4 factories and 111 unexposed controls. Individual exposure was assessed by personal air-samplers. Each participant enrolled in the study filled out a questionnaire and provided a urinary sample to quantify OS biomarkers, namely 15-F2t-IsoProstane (15-F2t-IsoP) and 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dGuo). The main confounding factor for OS, i.e. tobacco smoking exposure, was assessed by measuring cotinine in urine samples. Results Woodworkers were exposed to significantly higher amounts of WD and FA as compared to controls (p < 0.001). Among OS biomarkers, 15-F2t-IsoP showed statistically significant higher values in woodworkers compared to controls (p = 0.004). A significant, positive correlation was observed between 15-F2t-IsoP and 8-oxo-dGuo (p = 0.005), cotinine (p = 0.05), FA (p < 0.001) and WD (p = 0.01); 8-oxo-dGuo was significantly correlated with cotinine (p = 0.001) and WD (p = 0.004). In addition, WD and FA were significantly correlated each other (p < 0.001). Conclusions The study confirms that WD and FA may induce OS in woodworkers, and highlights that even the compliance with occupational exposure limits can result in measurable biological outcomes.

The Effect of One Session Acute Exercise on the Urinary Excretion of Urinary Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase, Protein and Creatinine Levels of Elite Football Players

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of one session acute exercise on the urinary excretion of urinary Gamma-glutamyl transferase, protein and creatinine levels in elite football players. A total of 30 Premier League football players with a mean age (26.1±3.80), a mean height (180.01±7.39), a mean weight (78.6±9.26) and a mean body mass index (24.87±1.13) were voluntarily and purposefully selected as statistical samples. The urinary sample of the players was collected in two stages. In the first stage, the players&#39; urinary samples were taken on the rest day when they had not exercised for 24 hours. In the second stage, it was taken immediately after exercise and transferred to the laboratory. To test the hypotheses, especially to compare urinary protein, creatinine, and gamma-glutamyl transferase levels before and after exercise, and to compare excretion levels of protein, creatinine, and gamma-glutamyl transferase between the positions, ANOVA test was used. There was a significant difference between the levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase, proteinuria and creatinine before and after exercise (P

Multiple parasitic infestation in a nine-month-old patient: a case report

SummaryWe are reporting the case of a nine-month-old Pakistani female with complaint of growth retardation who presented multiple intestinal parasitic infections. Probably because of contamination with fecal matter, the initial microscopic examination of the urinary sample revealed the presence of eggs of Enterobius vermicularis, cysts of Entamoeba coli, and an organism similar to mites. Stool samples were obtained after two weeks and microscopic investigation confirmed the presence of Enterobius vermicularis eggs, cysts of Entamoeba coli, and hookworm eggs. The patient was immediately subjected to mebendazole therapy associated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, to which she responded well. Follow-up stool re-examinations performed 15 and 30 days after the treatment tested negative for all parasitic ova and cysts. This study reflects the importance of considering multiple parasitic infestations in low socio-economic populations and highlights the need of improving poor hygienic conditions to prevent such infections, in particular in children.

Biochemical urinalysis of healthy kidney and stone-generating kidney in unilateral urolithiasis

Introduction: Oxalate, calcium, uric acid, and citrate are among the most widely known biochemical factors for urinary stone formation. In most cases, urolithiasis occurs as unilateral despite the role of systemic metabolic factors in kidney stone formation. Objectives: The present research aimed to compare these urinary biochemical factors in healthy and stone-generating kidneys in patients with unilateral urolithiasis. Patients and Methods: Forty patients with unilateral urolithiasis participated in this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study. The patients were hospitalized in kidney surgery and kidney urology ward of Kashani hospital of Shahrekord, southwest Iran. After the implementation of crushing stone using transurethral lithotripsy (TUL), 5-10 cc of urinary sample was collected from each kidney. An AutoAnalyzer (Mindray Company, Bs–360 model) and laboratory kits (Bionic Company) were used to measure calcium, uric acid, and creatinine. Moreover, a manual method and Darman Faraz Kave company kits were applied to measure the levels of oxalate and citrate. Results on the healthy and stone-generating kidneys of each patient were separately analyzed using the Stata 13 software. Results: The difference in the mean ratio of uric acid, oxalate, and citrate to creatinine in the healthy kidneys and stone-generating kidneys was not significant. However, the mean UCa/UCr ratio in the healthy kidneys was 0.27±0.07 and relatively greater than that in the stone-generating kidneys (0.11±0.04) (P=0.06). Conclusion: The studied topical factors and secretory disorders had not any significant relationship with unilateral urolithiasis. The cause of unilateral urolithiasis should be searched in other factors such as metabolic factors, main positions of individual during 24 hours and sleeping, and anatomic disorders of kidney stone, or multifactorial.