Septic discitis resulting from Escherichia coli urosepsis.

Septic discitis refers to a primary suppurative process involving the intervertebral disc space and occurs as a result of hematogenous invasion or contamination by pyogenic organisms. A case of septic discitis is described in a 77-year-old woman following an episode of Escherichia coli urosepsis. Despite bed rest, an orthosis, and appropriate antibiotics, the patient ultimately had to undergo surgical disc removal. The diagnosis of septic discitis is often made in the context of other diseases that share common clinical and laboratory findings. Magnetic resonance imaging appears well suited for diagnostic confirmation of septic discitis. Needle biopsy and aspiration results should be used to determine the appropriate choice of antibiotic for this disease process.     

Comparative cytotoxicity of 2,3,9-trimethoxypterocarpan in leukemia cell lines (HL-60, Jurkat,Molt-4, and K562) and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells

The purpose of this study was to investigate the antiproliferative activity of 2,3,9-trimethoxypterocarpan, a known pterocarpan with cytotoxic activity against many tumor cell lines, in a panel of four leukemia cell lines (HL-60, Molt-4, Jurkat, and K562) and on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The pterocarpan showed IC₅₀ ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 μg/ml at leukemic cells after 72 h of incubation, with K562 being the most resistant cell line. This compound seemed to be selective to tumor cell lines, since at a concentration of 10 μg/ml after 72 h, it only reduced 19% of viable peripheral mononuclear cells.     

Sequence Analysis of the RNA Polymerase Gene of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Serotype Asia1

The complete nucleotide (nt.) sequence of the RNA polymerase (3D) gene and 81 nt. in the 3-untranslated region of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) serotype Asia1 (IND63/72) was determined and compared with the sequence of other FMDV serotypes. The 3D genomic region was 1410 nt. long encoding 470 amino acids with an inframe stop codon (TAA) at nt. position 1411–1413. The deduced amino acid sequence of the protein showed 8 conserved motifs as reported in other picornaviruses, 2 of which are 100% identical across the serotypes. Antigenic regions in the polymerase protein were predicted and found to be located at the N-terminus of the protein. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the FMD viruses were segregated into different clusters based on geographical origin; the Asia1 virus did not cluster tightly with any of the geographical groups.