Implementation of multidisciplinary team decisions on the management of complex bone and joint infections: an observational study.

Background: Multidisciplinary team (MDT) management of prosthetic joint infections (PJI) and other bone and joint infections (BJI) is increasingly put into practice. However, studies evaluating the performance of MDTs in this field are scarce. We aimed to assess our MDT for complex BJI by determining the implementation rate of team decisions, analyzing factors associated with non-implementation and evaluating the clinical outcome of patients in whom MDT decisions were not implemented.

Targeted antimicrobial regimens for Gram-negative prosthetic joint infections: a prospective multicenter study.

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are considered the most effective antimicrobial treatment for Gram-negative prosthetic joint infection (GN-PJI). Alternatives are needed due to increasing FQ resistance and side effects. We aimed to compare different targeted antimicrobial strategies for GN-PJI managed by debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR) or one-stage revision surgery (1SR) and to review the literature of oral treatment options for GN-PJI.

Global practice variation of suppressive antimicrobial treatment for prosthetic joint infections: A cross-sectional survey study.

Objectives: To identify global differences in the use of suppressive antimicrobial therapy (SAT) in the management of prosthetic joint infection (PJI).

Methods: An online survey was designed to investigate clinician's approach to SAT for PJI, including indications, preferred antimicrobial drugs, dosing, treatment duration and follow-up. The survey was distributed to members of four international (bone and joint) infection societies and study groups.

Dosing and treatment duration of suppressive antimicrobial therapy in orthopedic implant infections: a cohort study.

: Limited data inform about the optimal dosing and duration of suppressive antimicrobial therapy (SAT) for orthopedic implant infection (OII). We aimed to compare the effectiveness of low-dosage with standard-dosage SAT and evaluate the safety of stopping SAT. : All patients with OII treated with SAT from 2011 to 2022 were retrospectively included.

Eradication of community-onset Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage: a narrative review.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization increases infection risk in both patients and healthy individuals. Decolonization therapy has been proven to reduce S. aureus infections, but data on the effectiveness of individual decolonization strategies in community-onset MRSA carriage are scarce.

Impact of subtle intermolecular interactions on the structure and dynamics of multicomponent supramolecular polymers.

Multicomponent supramolecular polymers offer versatile dynamic and functional properties; however, the influence of the monomer chemical structures on their structure-dynamics-function relationship remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the subtle variations in monomer interactions using one monomer and its two dopant derivatives, with functionalization away from the self-assembling core. We systematically investigated their multicomponent supramolecular polymers using a combination of spectroscopy and super-resolution microscopy.

Convalescent Plasma in a Patient with Protracted COVID-19 and Secondary Hypogammaglobulinemia Due to Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Buying Time to Develop Immunity?

It is not exactly clear yet which type of immune response prevails to accomplish viral clearance in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Studying a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and hypogammaglobulinemia who suffered from COVID-19 provided insight in the immunological responses after treatment with COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP). Treatment consisted of oxygen, repeated glucocorticosteroids and multiple dosages of CCP guided by antibody levels.

Ecological Processes Affecting Long-Term Eukaryote and Prokaryote Biofilm Persistence in Nitrogen Removal from Sewage.

The factors affecting long-term biofilm stability in sewage treatment remain largely unexplored. We therefore analyzed moving bed bioreactors (MBBRs) biofilm composition and function two years apart from four reactors in a nitrogen-removal sewage treatment plant. Multivariate ANOVA revealed a similar prokaryote microbiota composition on biofilm carriers from the same reactors, where reactor explained 84.

Monometallic Cerium Layered Double Hydroxide Supported Pd-Ni Nanoparticles as High Performance Catalysts for Lignin Hydrogenolysis.

Monometallic cerium layered double hydroxides (Ce-LDH) supports were successfully synthesized by a homogeneous alkalization route driven by hexamethylenetetramine (HMT). The formation of the Ce-LDH was confirmed and its structural and compositional properties studied by XRD, SEM, XPS, iodometric analyses and TGA. HT-XRD, N-sorption and XRF analyses revealed that by increasing the calcination temperature from 200 to 800 °C, the Ce-LDH material transforms to ceria (CeO) in four distinct phases, i.

A comparison of various bulking materials as a supporting matrix in composting blackwater solids from vacuum toilets.

This study discusses the influence of six bulking materials (peat, bark, oat husks, sawdust, food waste, and wheat bran) on the composting of blackwater solids (feces, urine and toilet paper) from low flush vacuum toilets (0.8 L/flush). The focus was on faecal indicator reduction, nutrient recycling, and carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

A case of delayed diagnosis of East-African trypanosomiasis in a Dutch traveller.

We present a case of East-African trypanosomiasis (EAT) in a 56-year-old Dutch woman returning from holiday in Tanzania and Kenya. The diagnosis was delayed due to the lack of suspicion and secondly because of postponed analysis of blood microscopy after negative rapid malaria antigen testing. Second stage trypanosomiasis was ruled out with liquor analysis.

[A woman with skin rash and dyspnoea].

We present a 36-year-old woman who was born and raised in Hongkong but currently lived in the Netherlands. She was admitted with a varicella-zoster virus (VZV) primo-infection complicated by pneumonia and hepatitis. The patient was successfully treated with aciclovir.

Prokaryote species richness is positively correlated with eukaryote abundance in wastewater treatment biofilms.

Unlabelled: Biological treatment represents a key step in nutrient removal from wastewater. Until now these process has mainly been considered prokaryotic, with the interactions between prokaryotes and eukaryotes not being properly explored. We therefore investigated the co-occurrence of eukaryotes and prokaryotes in biological nitrogen removal biofilms.

Water versus DNA: new insights into proton track-structure modelling in radiobiology and radiotherapy.

Water is a common surrogate of DNA for modelling the charged particle-induced ionizing processes in living tissue exposed to radiations. The present study aims at scrutinizing the validity of this approximation and then revealing new insights into proton-induced energy transfers by a comparative analysis between water and realistic biological medium. In this context, a self-consistent quantum mechanical modelling of the ionization and electron capture processes is reported within the continuum distorted wave-eikonal initial state framework for both isolated water molecules and DNA components impacted by proton beams.

Isovaleric acid in stool correlates with human depression.

Objective: Human depression is a major burden, both on the individuals who suffer from the disease and on society at large. Traditionally, depression has been linked to psychological and biological causes, but there has been increasing interest in the gut-brain axis. In this regard, we have recently shown that specific bacteria are correlated with human depression, and we hypothesize that volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are mediators.

[Adults with chickenpox in the tropics].

In our hospital in the Dutch Caribbean, it is not uncommon for adults to be admitted for chickenpox infection. In contrast to the situation in temperate climates, not all adults are infected during childhood. Therefore, hospital staff are tested when first employed; of those aged between 20-29 years, 40% do not have antibodies against the varicella-zoster virus (VZV).

Methane production and energy evaluation of a farm scaled biogas plant in cold climate area.

The aim of this study was to investigate the specific methane production and the energy balance at a small farm scaled mesophilic biogas plant in a cold climate area. The main substrate was dairy cow slurry. Fish silage was used as co-substrate for two of the three test periods.

Distorted wave calculations for electron loss process induced by bare ion impact on biological targets.

Distorted wave models are employed to investigate the electron loss process induced by bare ions on biological targets. The two main reactions which contribute to this process, namely, the single electron ionization as well as the single electron capture are here studied. In order to further assess the validity of the theoretical descriptions used, the influence of particular mechanisms are studied, like dynamic screening for the case of electron ionization and energy deposition on the target by the impacting projectile for the electron capture one.

Proton-induced single electron capture on DNA/RNA bases.

In this work, we report total cross sections for the single electron capture process induced on DNA/RNA bases by high-energy protons. The calculations are performed within both the continuum distorted wave and the continuum distorted wave-eikonal initial state approximations. The biological targets are described within the framework of self-consistent methods based on the complete neglect of differential overlap model whose accuracy has first been checked for simpler bio-molecules such as water vapour.

Quantum-mechanical predictions of DNA and RNA ionization by energetic proton beams.

Among the numerous constituents of eukaryotic cells, the DNA macromolecule is considered as the most important critical target for radiation-induced damages. However, up to now ion-induced collisions on DNA components remain scarcely approached and theoretical support is still lacking for describing the main ionizing processes. In this context, we here report a theoretical description of the proton-induced ionization of the DNA and RNA bases as well as the sugar-phosphate backbone.