Publications by authors named "N Conzelmann"

Article Synopsis
  • ESBL-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-PE) are common in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), prompting a study across six sites in Europe to assess how residents acquire these bacteria and the associated risk factors.
  • Over 32 weeks, researchers screened 299 residents and found that 16.4% were colonized at the start, with a new acquisition rate of 0.79 per 1000 resident-days, influenced by factors like age, vascular disease, and antibiotic use.
  • Key findings highlight the importance of infection control measures, such as ensuring hand sanitizers and adequate nurse staffing, as well as using genomic surveillance to inform strategies for managing ESBL-PE in LTCFs.
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Objectives: To determine prevalence, incidence, and factors associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) intestinal carriage in residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and to understand the population structure of this pathogen in LTCFs from two European countries.

Methods: We assessed the prevalence of PA intestinal carriage and the incidence of acquisition by collecting fecal samples from 403 residents of 20 LTCFs. We collected 289 environmental samples from sinks and drinking water.

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Hypothesis: Although protein adsorption at an interface is very common and important in biology and biotechnology, it is still not fully understood - mainly due to the intricate balance of forces that ultimately control it. In food processing (and medicine), controlling and manipulating protein adsorption, as well as avoiding protein adsorption (biofilm formation or membrane fouling) by the production of protein-resistant surfaces is of substantial interest. A major factor conferring resistance towards protein adsorption to a surface is the presence of tightly bound water molecules, as is the case in oligo ethylene glycol (OEG)-terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs).

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Objectives: To assess the extent to which food items are a source of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) -producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec) and ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-Kp) for humans in five European cities.

Methods: We sampled 122 human polluted (hp)-environments (sewers and polluted rivers, as a proxy of human contamination) and 714 food items in Besançon (France), Geneva (Switzerland), Sevilla (Spain), Tübingen (Germany) and Utrecht (The Netherlands). A total of 254 ESBL-Ec and 39 ESBL-Kp isolates were cultured.

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Hypothesis: Protein adsorption is highly relevant in numerous applications ranging from food processing to medical implants. In this context, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of protein-protein and protein-surface interactions. Thus, the focus of this investigation is on the interplay of bulk properties and surface properties on protein adsorption.

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