Publications by authors named "G W Hacker"

Objective: Helicobacter pylori is known for colonizing the gastric mucosa and instigating severe upper gastrointestinal diseases such as gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcers, and gastric cancer. To date, there is no data available on the oral cavity as transmission site, whether H. pylori can survive in the oral cavity or in human saliva.

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Regional climatic features in endemic areas can help inform surveillance for plague, a bacterial disease typically transmitted by fleas and maintained in mammals. We use 7,954 coyotes (Canis latrans), a sentinel species for plague, screened for plague exposure by the California Department of Public Health - Vector-Borne Disease Section (CDPH-VBDS; 1983-2015) to identify and map plague-suitable local climates within California to empirically inform ongoing sampling and surveillance plans. Using spatial point processes, we compare the distributions of seropositive and seronegative coyotes within the "space" defined by the first two principal components of PRISM Climate Group 30-year average climate variables (primarily temperature and moisture).

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Purpose: To analyze the longitudinal epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of Gram-negative bloodstream infections (BSI) in Germany.

Methods: Post-hoc analysis of prospectively documented BSI due to Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mitochondria play complex roles in two different cell death pathways: apoptosis and pyroptosis, particularly regarding NLRP3 inflammasome activation, but their exact mechanisms are not well understood.
  • The study found that activating NLRP3 while inhibiting apoptosis occurs when cells are under stress from various stimuli like nigericin and viruses, as these activators affect mitochondrial function rather than just triggering inflammasome activation.
  • NLRP3 activation needs a combination of signals—one from disrupted mitochondrial processes and another from specific NLRP3 activators—suggesting that both oxidative phosphorylation inhibition and apoptosis suppression influence cell fate.
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Objectives: Ascites, often associated with critical pathologies such as liver cirrhosis or bowel perforation, can be complicated by fungal infection, increasing mortality especially in intensive care settings and demanding rapid diagnosis and adequate treatment. Traditional microbiological diagnostic methods have limited sensitivity in accurately identifying fungal pathogens in ascitic fluid. Alternative diagnostic methods may offer important insights to enable guiding of antifungal therapy and refining empirical treatment strategies.

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