Publications by authors named "B A Berryhill"

Unlabelled: The rational design of the antibiotic treatment of bacterial infections employs these drugs to reach concentrations that exceed the minimum needed to prevent the replication of the target bacteria. However, within a treated patient, spatial and physiological heterogeneity promotes antibiotic gradients such that the concentration of antibiotics at specific sites is below the minimum needed to inhibit bacterial growth. Here, we investigate the effects of sub-inhibitory antibiotic concentrations on three parameters central to bacterial infection and the success of antibiotic treatment, using experiments with and mathematical and computer-simulation models.

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With the increase in the placement of prosthetic joints and other hardware in the body has come an increase in associated infections. These infections are particularly difficult to treat due to the underlying bacteria generating matrices which resist clearance by immune system effectors or antibiotics. These matrices, biofilms, have two primary ways of being eradicated, either by physical removal by debridement or by killing the underlying bacteria.

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Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare neoplasm of mesenchymal origin that is primarily found in the lungs but can be found in other locations such as the retroperitoneum, deep soft tissues of the proximal extremities, abdominal cavity, head, and neck. Moreover, SFTs found in the breast are extremely rare and, oftentimes, are found incidentally during screening mammography. Our case presents an exceptionally rare occurrence of a SFT in the breast of a 40-year-old woman.

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Background: There is a long-standing belief that bacteriostatic drugs are inherently antagonistic to the action of bactericidal antibiotics. This belief is primarily due to the fact that the action of most bactericidal antibiotics requires the target bacteria to be growing. Since bacteriostatic drugs stop the growth of treated bacteria, these drugs would necessarily work against one another.

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Traditionally, bacteriostatic antibiotics are agents able to arrest bacterial growth. Despite being traditionally viewed as unable to kill bacterial cells, when they are used clinically the outcome of these drugs is frequently as effective as when a bactericidal drug is used. We explore the dynamics of Escherichia coli after exposure to two ribosome-targeting bacteriostatic antibiotics, chloramphenicol and azithromycin, for thirty days.

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