Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are notorious foodborne pathogens capable of causing severe diarrhea and other life-threatening complications in humans. Cattle remain a major reservoir and asymptomatic carriers of STEC. In reservoir animals, the rectoanal junction (RAJ) serves as the primary colonization site of STEC playing a critical role in its transmission to humans through contaminated food sources. However, the molecular mechanisms behind the adaptation of STEC in the RAJ of the asymptomatic reservoir host and its subsequent infection of human colonic epithelial cells in an event of a foodborne transmission to cause diarrhea remain largely unexplored. This study aimed to unravel the intricate dynamics of STEC O157:H7 serotype in these two distinct host environments: bovine RAJ cells and human colonic epithelial cells, during initial colonization. In this context, comparative transcriptomics analysis was employed to investigate the differential gene expression profiles of STEC O157:H7 during its interaction with these cell types. The bacterial cells were cultured under controlled conditions to simulate the microenvironments of both bovine RAJ and human colonic epithelial cells. Using high-throughput RNA sequencing, we identified key bacterial genes and regulatory pathways that were significantly modulated in response to each specific host environment. Our findings reveal distinct expression patterns of bacterial genes involved in virulence, including adherence, metal iron homeostasis and stress response in STEC O157:H7 grown in bovine RAJ cells as op-posed to human colonic epithelial cells six hours post-infection. Additionally, the comparative analysis highlights the potential role of certain genes in host adaptation and tissue-specific pathogenicity. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the potential factors contributing to the survival and persistence of STEC O157:H7 in the bovine reservoir, and its ability to colonize in-testinal epithelium and cause disease in humans.

Congenital diseases of the large intestine have scarcely been reported and mostly include fistula, atresia, or colonic duplication. Cases of partial colonic agenesis have rarely been described. The purpose of this study was to report a cohort of dogs and cats diagnosed with partial colonic agenesis. The colon was measured during colonoscopy or contrast-radiography and compared to the average length described in the literature. Six dogs and 17 cats were retrospectively included. Depending on the case, partial colonic agenesis could represent an incidental finding or the likeliest cause of clinical signs. Diarrhea was reported in most cases, and no specific clinical or biological abnormality was observed. Median age of presentation was variable and long asymptomatic periods were common. Abdominal ultrasound was useful and identified a short colon in 14/17 cats but only in one dog. Endoscopy was useful to confirm the diagnosis and to identify associated lesions and complications. Among others, colonic stenosis was reported in 8/9 cases that had lifelong clinical signs and the shortest colon length. This anatomical abnormality could promote chronic inflammation that might generate fibrosis and ultimately stenosis.

(1) Background: Colon polyps are common protrusions in the colon’s lumen with potential risks of developing colorectal cancer. Early detection and intervention of these polyps are vital for reducing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates. This research aims to evaluate and compare the performance of three machine-learning image classification models’ performance in detecting and classifying colon polyps. (2) Methods: The performance of three machine learning image classification models, Google Teachable Machine (GTM), Roboflow3 (RF3), and You Only Look Once version 8 (YOLOV8), in the detection and classification of colon polyps were evaluated. The study used a dataset of colonoscopy images of normal colon, polyps, and resected polyps. The study assessed the models’ ability to correctly classify the images into their respective classes using precision, recall, and F1 score generated from confusion matrix analysis and performance graphs. (3) Results: All three models successfully distinguished between normal colon, polyps, and resected polyps in colonoscopy images. GTM achieved the highest accuracies: 0.99, with consistent precision, recall, and F1 scores of 1.00 for the `normal’ class, 0.97 - 1.00 for `polyps,’ and 0.97 - 1.00 for `resected polyps.’ While GTM exclusively classified images into these three categories, both YOLOV8 and RF3 extended their capabilities to detect normal colonic tissue, polyps, and resected polyps, with YOLOV8 and RF3 achieving overall accuracies of 0.84 and 0.87, respectively. (4) Conclusions: Machine learning, particularly models like GTM, shows promising results in ensuring comprehensive detection of polyps during colonoscopies.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of propofol combined with psychological intervention on pain and emotional evaluation in painless colonoscopic colonic polypectomy patients undergoing endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR).Methods: A total of 80 patients who underwent painless colonoscopic colonic polypectomy with EMR treatment between June 2020 and June 2022 were selected in order of admission and divided into two groups. The control group received conventional analgesia, while the observation group received propofol combined with psychological intervention. Pain visual analog scale (VAS) and emotional scale were used to evaluate pain and emotions in both groups of patients. Adverse reactions and clinical efficacy were also compared between the two groups.Results: The two groups of patients were generally comparable with no significant differences (P > 0.05). The VAS score in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05), and the emotional scale score was also improved compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The number of patients with adverse reactions in the observation group was less than that in the control group. The clinical effective rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Propofol combined with psychological intervention can effectively alleviate pain and improve emotional status in painless colonoscopic colonic polypectomy patients undergoing EMR treatment, thereby increasing the comfort and success rate of the surgery. The number of patients with adverse reactions in the observation group was less than that in the control group, and the clinical effective rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05).

Ageing is associated with a decline in both Nrf2 activity and DNA repair efficiency, leading to the accumulation of DNA damage and an increased risk of cancer. Understanding the mechanisms behind the increased level of damaged DNA during ageing is crucial for developing interventions to mitigate age-related cancer risk and improve overall health in older individuals. (Poly)phenols are plant-derived bioactive compounds that undergo metabolism into simpler phenolic catabolites following ingestion. While these compounds have been associated with various health benefits, further analysis of their bioavailable catabolites is necessary. To this end, four phenolic catabolites derived from colonic microbiota were investigated for their ability to reduce DNA damage in response to oxidative challenge and modulate the Nrf2-Antixoidant Response Element pathway. Normal and adenocarcinoma colonocyte cell lines (CCD 841 CoN, & HT29 respectively) were exposed to sub cytotoxic concentrations (>10 µM,) of hydroxylated (4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 3-(3’-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid) and non-hydroxylated (benzoic acid or 3-phenylpropionic acid) phenolic acids. Using the COMET assay, each catabolite demonstrated significant (p<0.001) geno-protective activity, albeit with varying potency. They also significantly modulated expression of key genes in the Nrf2-ARE pathway, including Nrf2, Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1 (NQO1). Hydroxylation of the phenolic acids appeared to have a limited effect with respect to bioactivity. Overall, the colon derived phenolic metabolites, when assessed at physiologically relevant concentrations, reduced DNA damage in both normal and adenocarcinoma colonic cells in response to oxidative challenge, mediated – at least in part via upregulation of the Nrf2-ARE pathway.