Feeding characteristics of healthy infants without reported feeding impairments throughout the first month of life.

Objective: Elucidate characteristics of feeding performance in healthy infants without reported feeding problems throughout the first month of life.

Study Design: Feeding was monitored in 61 healthy infants by caregiver report for 48 h a week from birth to 4 weeks old. Outcomes included feeding modality, how much they consumed, how long the feed lasted, and how many coughing episodes the infant exhibited.

Chemical and toxicological assessment of leachates from UV-degraded plastic materials using bioassays.

The broad use of plastics and the persistence of the material results in plastic residues being found practically everywhere in the environment. If plastics remain in the (aquatic) environment, natural weathering leads to degradation processes and compounds may leach from plastic into the environment. To investigate the impact of degradation process on toxicity of leachates, different types of UV irradiation (UV-C, UV-A/B) were used to simulate weathering processes of different plastic material containing virgin as well as recyclate material and biodegradable polymers.

YgfB increases β-lactam resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by counteracting AlpA-mediated ampDh3 expression.

YgfB-mediated β-lactam resistance was recently identified in multi drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We show that YgfB upregulates expression of the β-lactamase AmpC by repressing the function of the regulator of the programmed cell death pathway AlpA. In response to DNA damage, the antiterminator AlpA induces expression of the alpBCDE autolysis genes and of the peptidoglycan amidase AmpDh3.

Locomotor behavior of : a study with leachates from UV-weathered microplastics.

Weathering of plastics leads to the formation of increasingly smaller particles with the release of chemical compounds. The latter occurs with currently unknown environmental impacts. Leachate-induced effects of weathered microplastics (MPs) are therefore of increasing concern.

Particle shape does not affect ingestion and egestion of microplastics by the freshwater shrimp Neocaridina palmata.

The ingestion of microplastics (MPs) is well documented for various animals and spherical MPs (beads) in many studies. However, the retention time and egestion of MPs have been examined less, especially for irregular MPs (fragments) which are predominantly found in the environment. Furthermore, the accumulation of such particles in the gastrointestinal tract is likely to determine whether adverse effects are induced.

Enhanced in vitro toxicity of plastic leachates after UV irradiation.

Plastics can release numerous chemicals and thereby, contribute to the chemical pollution in aquatic systems. To which extent environmental degradation processes influence the release of plastic chemicals, is currently unknown and subject of research. We therefore evaluated aqueous leachates of 12 differently formulated plastics (e.

Chemicals associated with biodegradable microplastic drive the toxicity to the freshwater oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus.

Microplastics (MPs) as complex synthetic pollutants represent a growing concern for the aquatic environment. Previous studies examined the toxicity of MPs, but infrequently used a natural particle control such as kaolin. The cause of toxicity, either the physical structure of the particles or chemical components originating from the MPs, has rarely been resolved.

Identification of Drug Resistance Determinants in a Clinical Isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by High-Density Transposon Mutagenesis.

With the aim to identify potential new targets to restore antimicrobial susceptibility of multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates, we generated a high-density transposon (Tn) insertion mutant library in an MDR bloodstream isolate (isolate ID40). The depletion of Tn insertion mutants upon exposure to cefepime or meropenem was measured in order to determine the common resistome for these clinically important antipseudomonal β-lactam antibiotics. The approach was validated by clean deletions of genes involved in peptidoglycan synthesis/recycling, such as the genes for the lytic transglycosylase MltG, the murein (Mur) endopeptidase MepM1, the MurNAc/GlcNAc kinase AmgK, and the uncharacterized protein YgfB, all of which were identified in our screen as playing a decisive role in survival after treatment with cefepime or meropenem.

Bacterial adhesion and host cell factors leading to effector protein injection by type III secretion system.

Type III secretion systems (T3SS) play a crucial role for virulence in many Gram-negative bacteria. After tight bacterial contact to host cells, the T3SS injects effector proteins into the host cells, which leads to cell invasion, tissue destruction and/or immune evasion. Over the last decade several attempts were made to characterize the host-cell interactions which precede and determine effector protein injection during infection.

Deprivation of the Periplasmic Chaperone SurA Reduces Virulence and Restores Antibiotic Susceptibility of Multidrug-Resistant .

is one of the main causative agents of nosocomial infections and the spread of multidrug-resistant strains is rising. Therefore, novel strategies for therapy are urgently required. The outer membrane composition of Gram-negative pathogens and especially of restricts the efficacy of antibiotic entry into the cell and determines virulence.

Cholesterol and host cell surface proteins contribute to cell-cell fusion induced by the Burkholderia type VI secretion system 5.

Following escape into the cytoplasm of host cells, Burkholderia pseudomallei and the related species Burkholderia thailandensis employ the type VI secretion system 5 (T6SS-5) to induce plasma membrane fusion with an adjacent host cell. This process leads to the formation of multinucleated giant cells and facilitates bacterial access to an uninfected host cell in a direct manner. Despite its importance in virulence, the mechanism of the T6SS-5 and the role of host cell factors in cell-cell fusion remain elusive.

Effectiveness of interventions for adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities and mental health problems: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is a lack of available evidence in relation to the effectiveness of interventions for adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability and mental health problems.

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of interventions for adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities and co-occurring mental health problems.

Method: An electronic literature search of the databases Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO and EBM Reviews aimed at identifying randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled trials testing any type of intervention (psychotherapy, biological or system level) for people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities (IQ score 35-69) targeting comorbid mental health problems.

Increased inducible nitric oxide synthase and arginase II expression in heart failure: no net nitrite/nitrate production and protein S-nitrosylation.

Our objective was to address the balance of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) and arginase and their contribution to contractile dysfunction in heart failure (HF). Excessive NO formation is thought to contribute to contractile dysfunction; in macrophages, increased iNOS expression is associated with increased arginase expression, which competes with iNOS for arginine. With substrate limitation, iNOS may become uncoupled and produce reactive oxygen species (ROS).