Despite its relative rarity, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for a large percentage of cancer deaths. In this study, we investigated the in vitro efficacy of OSI-027, a selective inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTORC2, to treat PDAC cell lines alone, and in combination with gemcitabine (GEM). Similarly, we tested the efficacy of these two compo...

BACKGROUND Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has markedly risen and is associated with hypervirulent ribotype 027 outbreaks in North America and Europe since 2003. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of ribotype 027 among C. difficile isolates in Korea, to characterize the ribotype 027 isolates, and to determine the clinical severity of CDI in patients infected with thes...

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) plays crucial roles in proliferative and antiapoptotic signaling in lymphoid malignancies. Rapamycin analogs, which are allosteric mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) inhibitors, are active in mantle cell lymphoma and other lymphoid neoplasms, but responses are usually partial and short-lived. In the present study we compared the effects of rapamycin with the dual m...

Since 2002, an epidemic of Clostridium difficile infections has occurred in southern Quebec, Canada. At Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the incidence of C. difficile infections increased from 11/1,000 admissions (1999 to 2002) to 27/1,000 admissions (2003 to 2005). We compared the exposures and outcomes for patients infected with strains with different ribopatterns isola...

INTRODUCTION The incidence of Clostridium (C.) difficile infection (CDI) was on the rise from 2001 to 2006 in Singapore. Recent unpublished data suggests that its incidence had remained stable or decreased in most local public hospitals between 2006 and 2010. It is, however, not known if the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ribotype 027 strains have been circulating, although reports suggest tha...

BACKGROUND The emergence of Clostridium difficile ribotype 027 raised the question of sporicidal surface disinfectants are also effective against spores of C. difficile ribotype 027. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three surface disinfectants based on magnesium monoperoxyphthalate hexahydrate (Dismozon pur), a combination of (ethylenedioxy)dimethanol, glutaral and benzyl-C12-18-alkyldimethylammonium ch...

Clostridium difficile strain NAP1/027 (North American pulsed-field gel electrophoresis [PFGE] type 1 and PCR ribotype 027 [R027]) has been associated with recent outbreaks in North America and Europe. It has been associated with more severe disease symptoms, higher mortality rates, and greater risk of relapse. This strain is thought to produce more toxins and sporulate to higher levels. However...

TO THE EDITOR—The epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and role of particular strain types in clinical outcome is complex. Walk et al conclude that the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ribotypes 027 and 078 are not independent predictors of severe outcome when adjusted by the patient’s leukocyte count and albumin level [1]. Although the albumin level more clearly reflects underl...

Of 175 Clostridium difficile strains isolated from patient hospitalized in one academic hospital in Warsaw between 2005-2006, one isolate belonged to PCR-ribotype 027/toxinotype III. This isolate had tcdA, tcdB, binary toxin genes (cdtA and cdtB), a 18-bp deletion and a 1 bp deletion at 117 position in the tcdC gene. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests revealed high level resistance to erythromy...

In 2006 and 2007, a large outbreak of Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) with PCR-ribotype 027 was identified in northern France. Overall, 38 healthcare facilities notified 529 CDIs over a 22-month period, including 281 laboratory-confirmed CDI 027 and 248 non-confirmed CDI 027 cases (incidence rate per 10,000 elective bed days: 1.63, range: 0.07 to 7.94). The cases occurred mainly in long...