Inferring bacterial transmission dynamics using deep sequencing genomic surveillance data.

Identifying and interrupting transmission chains is important for controlling infectious diseases. One way to identify transmission pairs - two hosts in which infection was transmitted from one to the other - is using the variation of the pathogen within each single host (within-host variation). However, the role of such variation in transmission is understudied due to a lack of experimental and clinical datasets that capture pathogen diversity in both donor and recipient hosts.

The efficacy of commercial decontamination agents differs between standardised test settings and research laboratory usage for a variety of bacterial species.

Decontamination of surfaces and items plays an important role in reducing the spread of infectious microorganisms in many settings including hospitals and research institutes. Regardless of the location, appropriate decontamination procedures are required for maintaining biosafety and biosecurity. For example, effective decontamination of microbial cultures is essential to ensure proper biocontainment and safety within microbiological laboratories.

Preclinical confirmation of UVC efficacy in treating infectious keratitis.

Purpose: Preclinical evaluation of the therapeutic potential of antimicrobial 265 nm UVC for infectious keratitis.

Methods: Four experiments explored UVC: 1) impact on bacterial and fungal lawns on agar, in individual or mixed culture, 2) bacterial inactivation dose in an in vitro deep corneal infection model, 3) dose validation in an ex vivo porcine keratitis model and 4) efficacy in a masked, randomised, controlled murine keratitis trial using bioluminescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Results: Minimum effective UVC exposures ranged between 2 s and 5 s for lawn bacteria and fungi in individual or mixed culture.

Effect of therapeutic UVC on corneal DNA: Safety assessment for potential keratitis treatment.

Purpose: Antimicrobial ultraviolet C (UVC) has proven efficacy in vitro against keratitis isolates and has potential to treat corneal infection if safety can be confirmed.

Method: Safety of 265 nm, 1.93 mW/cm intensity UVC (15-300 s exposures) was investigated in vitro via cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) formation in DNA of human cultured corneal epithelial cells; ex vivo, by evaluating UVC transmissibility as a function of porcine corneal thickness; and in vivo, by evaluating CPD induction in the mouse cornea following UVC exposure.

Three dimensional printed bioglass/gelatin/alginate composite scaffolds with promoted mechanical strength, biomineralization, cell responses and osteogenesis.

In this study, porous bioglass/gelatin/alginate bone tissue engineering scaffolds were fabricated by three-dimensional printing. The compressive strength and in vitro biomineralization properties of the bioglass-gelatin-alginate scaffolds (BG/Gel/SA scaffolds) were significantly improved with the increase of bioglass content until 30% weight percentage followed by a rapid decline in strength. In addition, the cells attach and spread on the BG/Gel/SA scaffolds surfaces represents good adhesion and biocompatibility.

A review on anti-tuberculosis peptides: Impact of peptide structure on anti-tuberculosis activity.

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health problem globally. Particularly concerning amongst drug-resistant human pathogens is Mycobacterium tuberculosis that causes the deadly infectious tuberculosis (TB) disease. Significant issues associated with current treatment options for drug-resistant TB and the high rate of mortality from the disease makes the development of novel treatment options against this pathogen an urgent need.

Artificial Urine for Teaching Urinalysis Concepts and Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection in the Medical Microbiology Laboratory.

Dipstick urinalysis is an informative, quick, cost-effective and non-invasive diagnostic tool that is useful in clinical practice for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTIs), kidney diseases, and diabetes. We used dipstick urinalysis as a hands-on microbiology laboratory exercise to reinforce student learning about UTIs with a particular focus on cystitis, which is a common bacterial infection. To avoid exposure to potentially contaminated human urine samples, we prepared artificial urine using easily acquired and affordable ingredients, which allowed less-experienced students to perform urinalysis without the risk of exposure to pathogenic organisms and ensured reliable availability of the urine samples.

The in vitro and in vivo effects of constitutive light expression on a bioluminescent strain of the mouse enteropathogen Citrobacter rodentium.

Bioluminescent reporter genes, such as those from fireflies and bacteria, let researchers use light production as a non-invasive and non-destructive surrogate measure of microbial numbers in a wide variety of environments. As bioluminescence needs microbial metabolites, tagging microorganisms with luciferases means only live metabolically active cells are detected. Despite the wide use of bioluminescent reporter genes, very little is known about the impact of continuous (also called constitutive) light expression on tagged bacteria.

Characterization of a mouse-adapted Staphylococcus aureus strain.

More effective antibiotics and a protective vaccine are desperately needed to combat the 'superbug' Staphylococcus aureus. While in vivo pathogenicity studies routinely involve infection of mice with human S. aureus isolates, recent genetic studies have demonstrated that S.