Associated deaths and disability-adjusted life-years caused by infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Switzerland, 2010 to 2019.

BackgroundCassini et al. (2019) estimated that, in 2015, infections with 16 different antibiotic-resistant bacteria resulted in ca 170 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) per 100,000 population in the European Union and European Economic area (EU/EEA). The corresponding estimate for Switzerland was about half of this (87.

Increase in methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections in Switzerland: a nationwide surveillance study (2008-2021).

Purpose: An increasing burden of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (BSI), despite a decrease in the percentage of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), was described recently in other European countries. The main aim of this study was to analyse recent temporal trends of S.

Antibiotic resistance surveillance of complex is affected by refined MALDI-TOF identification, Swiss data, 2017 to 2022.

BackgroundModern laboratory methods such as next generation sequencing and MALDI-TOF allow identification of novel bacterial species. This can affect surveillance of infections and antimicrobial resistance. From 2017, increasing numbers of medical microbiology laboratories in Switzerland differentiated from complex using updated MALDI-TOF databases, whereas many laboratories still report them as or complex.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Inpatient Antibiotic Consumption in Switzerland.

The aim of this study was to analyze inpatient antibiotic consumption during the first 16 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. The entire period (January 2018−June 2021) was divided into the prepandemic period, the first and second waves, and the intermediate period. In the first year of the pandemic, total overall inpatient antibiotic consumption measured in defined daily doses (DDD) per 100 bed-days remained stable (+1.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemiology of positive blood cultures in Swiss intensive care units: a nationwide surveillance study.

Background: Evidence about the impact of the pandemic of COVID-19 on the incidence rates of blood cultures contaminations and bloodstream infections in intensive care units (ICUs) remains scant. The objective of this study was to investigate the nationwide epidemiology of positive blood cultures drawn in ICUs during the first two pandemic waves of COVID-19 in Switzerland.

Methods: We analyzed data on positive blood cultures among ICU patients, prospectively collected through a nationwide surveillance system (ANRESIS), from March 30, 2020, to May 31, 2021, a 14-month timeframe that included a first wave of COVID-19, which affected the French and Italian-speaking regions, an interim period (summer 2020) and a second wave that affected the entire country.

Antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic consumption in intensive care units, Switzerland, 2009 to 2018.

BackgroundIntensive care units (ICU) constitute a high-risk setting for antimicrobial resistance (AMR).AimWe aimed to describe secular AMR trends including meticillin-resistant (MRSA), glycopeptide-resistant (GRE), extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant (ESCR-EC) and (ESCR-KP), carbapenem-resistant (CRE) and (CRPA) from Swiss ICU. We assessed time trends of antibiotic consumption and identified factors associated with CRE and CRPA.

Distribution of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in ICU-bloodstream infections during hospitalization: a nationwide surveillance study.

Changing microorganism distributions and decreasing antibiotic susceptibility over the duration of hospitalization have been described for the colonization or infection of selected organ systems. Few data are available on bacteremias in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. We conducted a nationwide study on bloodstream infection (BSI) using data from the Swiss Centre for Antibiotic Resistance (ANRESIS).

Temporal and regional incidence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales, Switzerland, 2013 to 2018.

IntroductionIn contrast to countries where carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) are endemic, only sporadic cases were reported in Switzerland until 2013. An aggravation of the epidemiological situation in neighbouring European countries indicated the need for a surveillance study in Switzerland.AimWe aimed to describe CPE distributions in Switzerland and identify epidemiological factors associated with changes in incidence.

Increasing proportion of vancomycin-resistance among enterococcal bacteraemias in Switzerland: a 6-year nation-wide surveillance, 2013 to 2018.

BackgroundVancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), mostly , are multidrug-resistant microorganisms that can cause nosocomial infections. VRE has increased throughout many European countries, but data from Switzerland are scarce.AimThe aim of this work was to characterise the epidemiology of enterococcal bacteraemias in Switzerland with a focus on VRE.

Mutational and phenotypic expansion of ATP1A3-related disorders: Report of nine cases.

Background: Mutations in the ATP1A3 gene are known to be the cause of three distinct neurological syndromes including alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC), rapid-onset dystonia parkinsonism (RDP) and cerebellar ataxia, arefexia, pes cavus, optic atrophy and sensorineural hearing impairment (CAPOS). Recent studies have suggested the broader diversity of ATP1A3-related disorders. This study aimed to investigate the clinical spectrum in patients carrying causative mutations within the ATP1A3 gene.

Ammonia and coma - a case report of late onset hemizygous ornithine carbamyltransferase deficiency in 68-year-old female.

Background: Acute hyperammonemia without signs of common causes in the elderly might be challenging to identify. We report the oldest case known to date of a female patient with late onset ornithine carbamyltransferase deficiency (OTC), which was unmasked after a protein overload due to nutritional supplements. Our case illustrates how environmental factors (protein overload) in previously unknown OTC in the elderly leads to hyperammonemic encephalopathy and highlights that early treatment prevents persisting neurological deficits and should be considered in absence of common causes of hyperammonemic encephalopathy.

Downregulation of PHLPP expression contributes to hypoxia-induced resistance to chemotherapy in colon cancer cells.

Hypoxia is a feature of solid tumors. Most tumors are at least partially hypoxic. This hypoxic environment plays a critical role in promoting resistance to anticancer drugs.

Quantification of gold nanoparticle cell uptake under controlled biological conditions and adequate resolution.

Aim: We examined cellular uptake mechanisms of fluorescently labeled polymer-coated gold nanoparticles (NPs) under different biological conditions by two quantitative, microscopic approaches.

Materials & Methods: Uptake mechanisms were evaluated using endocytotic inhibitors that were tested for specificity and cytotoxicity. Cellular uptake of gold NPs was analyzed either by laser scanning microscopy or transmission electron microscopy, and quantified by means of stereology using cells from the same experiment.

Pulmonary surfactant coating of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) influences their oxidative and pro-inflammatory potential in vitro.

Background: Increasing concern has been expressed regarding the potential adverse health effects that may be associated with human exposure to inhaled multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Thus it is imperative that an understanding as to the underlying mechanisms and the identification of the key factors involved in adverse effects are gained. In the alveoli, MWCNTs first interact with the pulmonary surfactant.

The adsorption of biomolecules to multi-walled carbon nanotubes is influenced by both pulmonary surfactant lipids and surface chemistry.

Background: During production and processing of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), they may be inhaled and may enter the pulmonary circulation. It is essential that interactions with involved body fluids like the pulmonary surfactant, the blood and others are investigated, particularly as these interactions could lead to coating of the tubes and may affect their chemical and physical characteristics. The aim of this study was to characterize the possible coatings of different functionalized MWCNTs in a cell free environment.

Probing for non-statistical effects in dissociation of the 1-methylallyl radical.

The 1-methylallyl radical loses a hydrogen atom following photoexcitation to its lowest valence electronically excited state and displays statistical behavior in decomposition, implying that the presence of methyl rotors cannot be depended upon as an indicator for non-statistical dissociation dynamics in hydrocarbon radicals.

Toxic effects of brake wear particles on epithelial lung cells in vitro.

Background: Fine particulate matter originating from traffic correlates with increased morbidity and mortality. An important source of traffic particles is brake wear of cars which contributes up to 20% of the total traffic emissions. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential toxicological effects of human epithelial lung cells exposed to freshly generated brake wear particles.

Vibronic structure of the 3s and 3p Rydberg states of the allyl radical.

Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization combined with electronic ground state depletion spectroscopy of jet-cooled allyl radicals (C(3)H(5)) provides vibronic spectra of the 3s and 3p Rydberg states. Analysis of the vibronic structure following two-photon excitation of rovibrationally cold allyl radicals reveals transitions to the 3p(z) ((2)A(1)) Rydberg state with an electronic origin at 42230 cm(-1). More than 40 transitions to vibrational levels in the partially overlapping spectra of the 3p(y) ((2)B(2)) Rydberg state and the 3s ((2)A(1)) Rydberg state are identified and reassigned on the basis of predictions from ab initio calculations and results and simulations of pulsed-field-ionization zero-kinetic-energy photoelectron spectra obtained recently using resonant multiphoton excitation via selected vibrational levels of these two Rydberg states (J.

Correlation versus prediction in children's word learning: Cross-linguistic evidence and simulations.

The ontological distinction between discrete individuated objects and continuous substances, and the way this distinction is expressed in different languages has been a fertile area for examining the relation between language and thought. In this paper we combine simulations and a cross-linguistic word learning task as a way to gain insight into the nature of the learning mechanisms involved in word learning. First, we look at the effect of the different correlational structures on novel generalizations with two kinds of learning tasks implemented in neural networks-prediction and correlation.

Single-photon and resonance-enhanced multiphoton threshold ionization of the allyl radical.

Pulsed-field-ionization zero-kinetic-energy photoelectron spectra of jet-cooled allyl radical (C(3)H(5)) have been recorded following single-photon and resonant multiphoton excitation. Simulations based on an orbital ionization model and rovibronic photoionization selection rules reliably describe the observed intensity distributions in the photoelectron spectra obtained from single-photon excitation from the ground state and resonant multiphoton excitation via the 3s and the 3p Rydberg states. More than 30 transitions to vibrational levels of the cation were identified and assigned on the basis of predictions from ab initio calculations.

Photodissociation dynamics of the 2-methylallyl radical.

Time- and frequency-resolved photoionization of the hydrogen atom product from a jet-cooled electronically excited 2-methylallyl radical, C4H7, provides information on the dissociation dynamics. The measured dissociation rates and kinetic energy release of 2-methylallyl and its isotopologue CD3C3H4 combined with high level ab initio calculations suggests unimolecular dissociation with methylenecyclopropane and hydrogen as the major C-H bond fission channel with no evidence for nonstatistical behavior in dissociation. Other possible dissociation and isomerization pathways are discussed based on the results of the coupled-cluster ab initio calculations.

The development of embodied cognition: six lessons from babies.

The embodiment hypothesis is the idea that intelligence emerges in the interaction of an agent with an environment and as a result of sensorimotor activity. We offer six lessons for developing embodied intelligent agents suggested by research in developmental psychology. We argue that starting as a baby grounded in a physical, social, and linguistic world is crucial to the development of the flexible and inventive intelligence that characterizes humankind.