Performance of the Accelerate Pheno™ system for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of a panel of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli directly from positive blood cultures.

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of the Accelerate Pheno™ system for the identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of a panel of Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) with different resistance profiles (e.g. penicillinases, ESBLs, cephalosporinase overproduction, carbapenemases, impermeability) directly from positive blood cultures in <7 h.

Microbial fuel cell anodic microbial population dynamics during MFC start-up.

In order to optimize energy production in MFCs, a better understanding of anodic communities is essential. Our objective was to determine the taxonomic structure of the bacterial communities present at the surface of the anode during the formation and development of electro-active biofilms in MFCs inoculated with fresh primary clarifier overflow. Quantitative microbial community dynamics were evaluated as a function of time and electrical performance using 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic microarrays and flow cytometry.

Large-scale metagenomic-based study of antibiotic resistance in the environment.

Antibiotic resistance, including multiresistance acquisition and dissemination by pathogens, is a critical healthcare issue threatening our management of infectious diseases [1-3]. Rapid accumulation of resistance phenotypes implies a reservoir of transferable antibiotic resistance gene determinants (ARGDs) selected in response to inhibition of antibiotic concentrations, as found in hospitals [1, 3-5]. Antibiotic resistance genes were found in environmental isolates, soil DNA [4-6], secluded caves [6, 7], and permafrost DNA [7, 8].

Are immunoglobulin A anti-gliadin antibodies helpful in diagnosing coeliac disease in children younger than 2 years?

The usefulness of immumoglobulin (Ig) A antibodies to gliadin (AGA-IgA) in addition to IgA anti-endomysium and tissue transglutaminase antibodies was evaluated in 4122 children younger than 2 years with a suspicion of coeliac disease (CD). Eight percent (312/4122) displayed IgA anti-endomysium and/or IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase, whereas 2.1% (85/4122) displayed only AGA-IgA.

Metagenomic exploration of antibiotic resistance in soil.

The ongoing development of metagenomic approaches is providing the means to explore antibiotic resistance in nature and address questions that could not be answered previously with conventional culture-based strategies. The number of available environmental metagenomic sequence datasets is rapidly expanding and henceforth offer the ability to gain a more comprehensive understanding of antibiotic resistance at the global scale. Although there is now evidence that the environment constitutes a vast reservoir of antibiotic resistance gene determinants (ARGDs) and that the majority of ARGDs acquired by human pathogens may have an environmental origin, a better understanding of their diversity, prevalence and ecological significance may help predict the emergence and spreading of newly acquired resistances.