Complex Infection-Control Measures with Disinfectant Switch Help the Successful Early Control of Carbapenem-Resistant Outbreak in Intensive Care Unit.

A carbapenem-resistant (CRAB) outbreak in an intensive care unit (ICU) was contained by an improved infection-control measure that included a disinfectant policy. In our retrospective cohort study, we describe the epidemiological investigations and infection-control measures during this outbreak. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize patient demographics, neurological diseases, surgical treatment, underlying diseases, infection, and outcomes.

The Roles of a Multidrug-Resistant High-Risk Clone and Its Resistance Plasmids on the Gastrointestinal Colonization and Host-Defense Effectors in the Gut.

The asymptomatic gastrointestinal colonization of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria can lead to difficult-to-treat infections. We investigated the role of host factors influencing colonization in an orogastrical murine infection model using a CTX-M-15- and OXA-162-producing ST15 (MDR-KP) strain, as well as J53 (EC) and transconjugants with an IncFII(K) plasmid carrying CTX-M-15 (EC-CTXM), and with an IncL plasmid carrying OXA-162 (EC-OXA) genes. The fecal bacterial count in colony-forming unit/gram stool (CFU/g) was determined by cultivation, IgA and defensin levels by ELISA, and gut microbiota by 16S rRNA analysis.

Electrospun polysuccinimide scaffolds containing different salts as potential wound dressing material.

In this research, we applied electrospinning to create a two-component biodegradable polymeric scaffold containing polysuccinimide (PSI) and antibacterial salts. Antibacterial agents for therapeutical purposes mostly contain silver ions which are associated with high environmental impact and, in some cases, may cause undesired immune reactions. In our work, we prepared nanofibrous systems containing antibacterial and tissue-regenerating salts of zinc acetate or strontium nitrate in different concentrations, whose structures may be suitable for developing biomedical wound dressing systems in the future.

Capturing the power of seizures: an empirical mode decomposition analysis of epileptic activity in the mouse hippocampus.

Introduction: Various methods have been used to determine the frequency components of seizures in scalp electroencephalography (EEG) and in intracortical recordings. Most of these methods rely on subjective or trial-and-error criteria for choosing the appropriate bandwidth for filtering the EEG or local field potential (LFP) signals to establish the frequency components that contribute most to the initiation and maintenance of seizure activity. The empirical mode decomposition (EMD) with the Hilbert-Huang transform is an unbiased method to decompose a time and frequency variant signal into its component non-stationary frequencies.

Development and In-Depth Characterization of Bacteria Repellent and Bacteria Adhesive Antibody-Coated Surfaces Using Optical Waveguide Biosensing.

Bacteria repellent surfaces and antibody-based coatings for bacterial assays have shown a growing demand in the field of biosensors, and have crucial importance in the design of biomedical devices. However, in-depth investigations and comparisons of possible solutions are still missing. The optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy (OWLS) technique offers label-free, non-invasive, in situ characterization of protein and bacterial adsorption.