Enterobacter adelaidei sp. nov. Isolation of an extensively drug resistant strain from hospital wastewater in Australia and the global distribution of the species.

Background: Enterobacter species are included among the normal human gut microflora and persist in a diverse range of other environmental niches. They have become important opportunistic nosocomial pathogens known to harbour plasmid-mediated multi-class antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants. Global AMR surveillance of Enterobacterales isolates shows the genus is second to Klebsiella in terms of frequency of carbapenem resistance.

Multidrug-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in residential aged care facilities: An emerging threat.

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a multidrug-resistant (MDR), Gram-negative bacterium intrinsically resistant to beta-lactams, including last-resort carbapenems. As an opportunistic pathogen, it can cause serious healthcare-related infections. This study assesses the prevalence, resistance profiles, and genetic diversity of S.

Resistome Analysis of Complex from Residential Aged Care Facilities Demonstrates Intra-facility Clonal Spread of Multidrug-Resistant Isolates.

Antimicrobial-resistant is one of the predominant pathogens in healthcare settings. However, the prevalence and resistome of this organism within residential aged care facilities (RACFs), which are potential hotspots for antimicrobial resistance, remain unexplored. Here, we provide a phenotypic and molecular characterization of antimicrobial-resistant isolated from RACFs.

The scope of antimicrobial resistance in residential aged care facilities determined through analysis of and the total wastewater resistome.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat that imposes a heavy burden on our health and economy. Residential aged care facilities (RACFs), where frequent inappropriate antibiotic use creates a selective environment that promotes the development of bacterial resistance, significantly contribute to this problem. We used wastewater-based epidemiology to provide a holistic whole-facility assessment and comparison of antimicrobial resistance in two RACFs and a retirement village.

Worldwide distribution and environmental origin of the Adelaide imipenemase (AIM-1), a potent carbapenemase in .

Carbapenems are potent broad-spectrum β-lactam antibiotics reserved for the treatment of serious infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria such as . The surge in resistant to carbapenems is an urgent threat, as very few treatment options remain. Resistance to carbapenems is predominantly due to the presence of carbapenemase enzymes.

Efflux Pump-Driven Antibiotic and Biocide Cross-Resistance in Isolated from Different Ecological Niches: A Case Study in the Development of Multidrug Resistance in Environmental Hotspots.

is an opportunistic pathogen displaying high intrinsic antimicrobial resistance and the ability to thrive in different ecological environments. In this study, the ability of to develop simultaneous resistance to multiple antibiotics and disinfectants in different natural niches were investigated using strains collected from clinical samples, veterinary samples, and wastewater. The correlation between biocide and antimicrobial resistance was determined by employing principal component analysis.

Assessing Single-Source Reproducibility of Human Head Hair Peptide Profiling from Different Regions of the Scalp.

Neither microscopical hair comparisons nor mitochondrial DNA sequencing alone, or together, constitutes a basis for personal identification. Due to these limitations, a complementary technique to compare questioned and known hair shafts was investigated. Recently, scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Forensic Science Center and other collaborators developed a peptide profiling technique, which can infer non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) preserved in hair shaft proteins as single amino acid polymorphisms (SAPs).

Integrating the MasSpec Pen to the da Vinci Surgical System for Tissue Analysis during a Robotic Assisted Porcine Surgery.

Minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgeries have been increasingly used as a first-line of treatment for patients undergoing oncologic surgeries. In-situ tissue identification is critical to guide tissue resection and assist decision-making. Traditional intraoperative histopathologic analysis of frozen tissue sections can be time-consuming and present logistical challenges which interrupt surgical workflows.

Proteomic Characterization of Damaged Single Hairs Recovered after an Explosion for Protein-Based Human Identification.

Evidence recovery is challenging where an explosion has occurred. Though hair evidence may be sufficiently robust to be recovered at the site, forensic analysis underutilizes the matrix by relying on morphological analysis. Where DNA is compromised, particularly in hair, protein-based human identification presents a promising alternative.

Automated analysis of scanning electron microscopic images for assessment of hair surface damage.

Mechanical damage of hair can serve as an indicator of health status and its assessment relies on the measurement of morphological features via microscopic analysis, yet few studies have categorized the extent of damage sustained, and instead have depended on qualitative profiling based on the presence or absence of specific features. We describe the development and application of a novel quantitative measure for scoring hair surface damage in scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images without predefined features, and automation of image analysis for characterization of morphological hair damage after exposure to an explosive blast. Application of an automated normalization procedure for SEM images revealed features indicative of contact with materials in an explosive device and characteristic of heat damage, though many were similar to features from physical and chemical weathering.

Hair Proteome Variation at Different Body Locations on Genetically Variant Peptide Detection for Protein-Based Human Identification.

Human hair contains minimal intact nuclear DNA for human identification in forensic and archaeological applications. In contrast, proteins offer a pathway to exploit hair evidence for human identification owing to their persistence, abundance, and derivation from DNA. Individualizing single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are often conserved as single amino acid polymorphisms in genetically variant peptides (GVPs).

Combined DNA Typing and Protein Identification from Unfired Brass Cartridges,,

Biological evidence analysis from contact traces is adversely affected by low quantity and quality of DNA. Proteins in these samples contain potentially individualizing information and may be particularly important for difficult surfaces such as brass, where DNA may yield incomplete profiles. In this study, touched unfired brass cartridges were sampled using dry tape or wet swabs and analyzed by separating DNA and protein from the same collected material, thus producing both genomic and proteomic information.

Development of a Protein-based Human Identification Capability from a Single Hair.

Shed human hair (lacking root nuclear DNA) frequently contributes important information to forensic investigations involving human identification. Detection of genetic variation observed in amino acid sequences of hair proteins provides a new suite of identity markers that augment microscopic hair analysis and mitochondrial DNA sequencing. In this study, a new method that completely dissolves single hairs using a combination of heat, ultrasonication, and surfactants was developed.

Protein-based forensic identification using genetically variant peptides in human bone.

Bone tissue contains organic material that is useful for forensic investigations and may contain preserved endogenous protein that can persist in the environment for extended periods of time over a range of conditions. Single amino acid polymorphisms in these proteins reflect genetic information since they result from non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA. Detection of genetically variant peptides (GVPs) - those peptides that contain amino acid polymorphisms - in digests of bone proteins allows for the corresponding SNP alleles to be inferred.

Demonstration of Protein-Based Human Identification Using the Hair Shaft Proteome.

Human identification from biological material is largely dependent on the ability to characterize genetic polymorphisms in DNA. Unfortunately, DNA can degrade in the environment, sometimes below the level at which it can be amplified by PCR. Protein however is chemically more robust than DNA and can persist for longer periods.

Rapid and mild silylation of β-amino alcohols at room temperature mediated by N-methylimidazole for enhanced detectability by gas chromatography/electron ionization mass spectrometry.

Rationale: In this work, we expand the use of in situ activation of chloro(dimethyl)phenylsilane using N-methylimidazole (NMI) for the effective derivatization of β-aminoethyl alcohols. Due to its enhanced nucleophilic character, NMI is expected to act as an efficient activator in these reactions.

Methods: The derivatization of a panel of β-aminoethyl alcohols was accomplished by reacting the analyte with chloro(dimethyl)phenylsilane in the presence of either NMI or pyridine.

31P-edited diffusion-ordered 1H NMR spectroscopy for the spectral isolation and identification of organophosphorus compounds related to chemical weapons agents and their degradation products.

Organophosphorus compounds represent a large class of molecules that include pesticides, flame-retardants, biologically relevant molecules, and chemical weapons agents (CWAs). The detection and identification of organophosphorus molecules, particularly in the cases of pesticides and CWAs, are paramount to the verification of international treaties by various organizations. To that end, novel analytical methodologies that can provide additional support to traditional analyses are important for unambiguous identification of these compounds.

Watching the 'eugenic experiment' unfold: the mixed views of British eugenicists toward Nazi Germany in the early 1930s.

Historians of the eugenics movement have long been ambivalent in their examination of the links between British hereditary researchers and Nazi Germany. While there is now a clear consensus that American eugenics provided significant material and ideological support for the Germans, the evidence remains less clear in the British case where comparatively few figures openly supported the Nazi regime and the left-wing critique of eugenics remained particularly strong. After the Second World War British eugenicists had to push back against the accusation that their science was intrinsically dictatorial or totalitarian and, as a result, many of their early perceptions of the Nazis were ignored or rationalised away.

Chemical vapor discrimination using a compact and low-power array of piezoresistive microcantilevers.

A compact and low-power microcantilever-based sensor array has been developed and used to detect various chemical vapor analytes. In contrast to earlier micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) array sensors, this device uses the static deflection of piezoresistive cantilevers due to the swelling of glassy polyolefin coatings during sorption of chemical vapors. To maximize the sensor response to a variety of chemical analytes, the polymers are selected based on their Hildebrand solubility parameters to span a wide range of chemical properties.

Static deflection measurements of cantilever arrays reveal polymer film expansion and contraction.

An optical static method of detection is used to interpret surface stress induced bending related to cantilevers coated on one side with poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate), and poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate-co-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate), or respectively, PVA, PVB, and PVC, and exposed to various solvent vapors. Results indicate that the adsorption and surface interactions of the different solvent vapors that cause polymer swelling and shrinking lead to rearrangements, which have been shown to change the elastic properties of the polymer film, and subsequently, the spring constant of the polymer coated cantilever. Static deflection measurements allow the direction of cantilever bending to be determined, which adds a new dimension of usefulness for surface functionalized cantilevers as transducers in the development of novel microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Adenocarcinoma of the distal pancreas presenting as an intrathoracic mass.

Tumors of the pancreatic head may present with early heralding symptoms such as obstructive jaundice. Pancreatic masses within the body or tail usually have delayed diagnosis secondary to the lack of any early findings, which, in turn, leads to a higher incidence of involvement of adjacent structures, such as the superior mesenteric artery, portal vein, or superior mesenteric vein. Local involvement along with distant metastases or larger tumor size may be contraindications to surgical resection.

Hydrolysis of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors--organophosphorus acid anhydrolase enzyme immobilization on photoluminescent porous silicon platforms.

We report on the immobilization of an OPAA enzyme on luminescent porous silicon devices, and on the utilization of this new platform to hydrolyze p-nitrophenyl-soman.

Functionalized silicon membranes for selective bio-organism capture.

Membranes with various pore size, length, morphology and density have been synthesized from diverse materials for size-exclusion-based separation. An example is the sterilization of intravenous lines by exclusion of bacteria and viruses using polyvinylidene fluoride membranes with 0.1-microm-diameter pores.

New method for attachment of biomolecules to porous silicon.

Biomolecules have been attached to porous silicon by a new linking method that forms a direct Si-C bond on the surface and retains the photoluminescence of the porous silicon.