An Atlas of β-Glucuronidases in the Human Intestinal Microbiome.

Microbiome-encoded β-glucuronidase (GUS) enzymes play important roles in human health by metabolizing drugs in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The numbers, types, and diversity of these proteins in the human GI microbiome, however, remain undefined. We present an atlas of GUS enzymes comprehensive for the Human Microbiome Project GI database.

Elasticity of crystalline beta-sheet monolayers.

Designed amphiphilic beta-sheet peptides with the sequence Pro-Glu-(Phe-Glu)(n)-Pro (n = 2-7) were previously shown by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD), to form ordered two-dimensional (2-D) monolayer structures at interfaces induced by the proline residues at peptide termini. The GIXD diffraction pattern was modeled with two coexisting lattice arrangements, suggesting structural flexibility exhibited in the multiple ways by which beta-strands and their amino acid side chains pack into ordered 2-D structures. Here, we find by in-situ GIXD measurements that the ordered beta-sheet assemblies may undergo a quasi-reversible compression and expansion cycle at the air-water interface.

Albumin, length of stay, and proton pump inhibitors: key factors in Clostridium difficile-associated disease in nursing home patients.

Objectives: To identify risk factors for Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) in nursing home patients.

Design: Retrospective chart reviews.

Setting: Long-term care facility with 347 beds and an additional 180 sub-acute care beds, adjacent to an academic tertiary care hospital center.

In vitro activity of gatifloxacin alone and in combination with cefepime, meropenem, piperacillin and gentamicin against multidrug-resistant organisms.

Objectives: To study the in vitro interaction of gatifloxacin in combination with gentamicin and with the beta-lactams cefepime, meropenem and piperacillin against clinical isolates of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Methods: The activity of each drug alone was determined by an agar dilution method. Chequerboard synergy testing was then performed against all the isolates.