COVID-19 in patients with haematologic malignancies: Effect of RNAemia on clinical outcome in vaccinated patients.

Objectives: Patients with haematologic malignancies (HM) COVID-19 have more severe disease, with increased risk of mortality. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia and the specific humoral immune responses on the clinical outcomes of patients with HM and COVID-19.

Methods: Interferon-α/γ (IFN-α/IFN-γ) serum levels, neutralizing antibodies and RNAemia at COVID-19 diagnosis, and persistent RNAemia during the follow-up were evaluated.

Evaluation of temocillin efficacy against KPC-2-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in a hollow-fibre infection model.

Background: Temocillin is an old antimicrobial that is resistant to hydrolysis by ESBLs but has variable activity against carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. The current EUCAST susceptibility breakpoints for Enterobacterales are set at ≤16 mg/L (susceptible with increased exposure) based on a dose of 2 g q8h, but there is limited information on the efficacy of this dose against temocillin-susceptible carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of this dose using a hollow-fibre infection model (HFIM) against six KPC-2-producing clinical isolates of K.

Implications of two-component systems EnvZ/OmpR and BaeS/BaeR in in vitro temocillin resistance in Escherichia coli.

Background: BaeS/BaeR is a two-component system of Escherichia coli that controls the expression of porins and efflux pumps. Its role in beta-lactam resistance is limited.

Objectives: To study the role of baeS/baeR two-component system in temocillin resistance in E.

Interhospital Spread of - and -Producing ST15 on an IncR Plasmid in Southern Spain.

In 2014-2015, the main CTX-M-15- and OXA-48-producing clone in our region was ST15. Recently, ST15 isolates co-producing VIM-1 and CTX-M-15 were detected in several hospitals. The aim was to study the emergence and acquisition of this carbapenemase.

Outbreaks by Klebsiella oxytoca in neonatal intensive care units: Analysis of an outbreak in a tertiary hospital and systematic review.

Objective: Klebsiella oxytoca can cause nosocomial infections, affecting vulnerable newborns. There are few studies describing nosocomial outbreaks in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU). In this study, a systematic review of the literature was carried out to know the main characteristics of these outbreaks and the evolution of one is described.

Multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales responsible for septicaemia in a neonatal intensive care unit in Morocco.

Objectives: Neonatal sepsis caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria has a high morbidity and mortality, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Here, the molecular mechanisms of multidrug resistance in bacteria responsible for neonatal sepsis were determined.

Methods: From July to December 2019, documented bacteraemia from 524 neonates hospitalised in a neonatal intensive care unit in Morocco were collected.

Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Effect of 4,4'-Dihydroxy-azobenzene against Clinically Resistant Staphylococci.

The spread of antibiotic resistance among human and animal pathogens is one of the more significant public health concerns. Moreover, the restrictions on the use of particular antibiotics can limit the options for the treatment of infections in veterinary clinical practice. In this context, searching for alternative antimicrobial substances is crucial nowadays.

Prevalence of the fimbrial operon mrkABCD, mrkA expression, biofilm formation and effect of biocides on biofilm formation in carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates belonging or not belonging to high-risk clones.

Background: The role of mrkA adhesin expression, biofilm production, biofilm viability and biocides in the biofilm of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates was investigated.

Methods: Seventeen isolates representing different sequence types and carbapenemases were investigated. mrkA expression was determined by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

In vitro activity of six biocides against carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and presence of genes encoding efflux pumps.

Introduction: Acquisition of reduced susceptibility to biocides may contribute to the dissemination of high-risk (HR) clones of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CP-Kp). The aim of this study was (a) to determinate the activity of biocides against CP-Kp, and (b) to analyse the relationship between biocide activity and the presence of efflux pumps.

Methods: The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 6 biocides (sodium hypochlorite, chlorhexidine digluconate, benzalkonium chloride, povidone-iodine, ethanol and triclosan) were determined in triplicate at 25°C and 37°C in Mueller-Hinton broth (MHB) and M9 minimum medium, against 17 CP-Kp isolates representing different clones (HR and no-HR), sequence-types (STs) and carbapenemases.

Excretion and viability of SARS-CoV-2 in feces and its association with the clinical outcome of COVID-19.

The main objective was to evaluate the viability of the SARS-CoV-2 viral particles excreted in stools. In addition, we aimed to identify clinical factors associated with the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in feces, and to determine if its presence is associated with an unfavorable clinical outcome, defined as intensive care unit (ICU) admission and/or death. A prospective multicenter cohort study of COVID-19 adult patients, with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-PCR assay in nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs admitted to four hospitals in Spain, from March 2020 to February 2021.

Multicenter Performance Evaluation of MALDI-TOF MS for Rapid Detection of Carbapenemase Activity in Enterobacterales: The Future of Networking Data Analysis With Online Software.

In this study, we evaluate the performance of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for rapid detection of carbapenemase activity in Enterobacterales in clinical microbiology laboratories during a multicenter networking validation study. The study was divided into three different stages: "software design," "intercenter evaluation," and "clinical validation." First, a standardized procedure with an online software for data analysis was designed.

Co-transfer of plasmid-encoded bla carbapenemases genes and mercury resistance operon in high-risk clones of Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CP-Kp) is a real global health threat. Environmental reservoirs of resistance gene determinats, such as effluents of hospital wastewaters, are acquiring increased relevance in the selection of plasmid-encoded carbapenemase genes. The presence of Hg in environmental reservoirs may exert a positive selective pressure on tolerant bacteria, favoring the co-transfer of carbapenemase genes and mer operons.

Transfer of plasmids harbouring bla carbapenemase genes in biofilm-growing Klebsiella pneumoniae: Effect of biocide exposure.

The spread of OXA-48-encoding plasmids from Klebsiella pneumoniae (OXA-48-Kpn), especially successful high-risk (HR) clones, is a growing concern. Biofilm formation can contribute to the dissemination of OXA-48-Kpn. It is not known whether biocides can affect the transfer of OXA-48-Kpn in biofilm.

A Study in a Regional Hospital of a Mid-Sized Spanish City Indicates a Major Increase in Infection/Colonization by Carbapenem-Resistant Bacteria, Coinciding with the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has proven difficult to control over the past few decades. The large group of multidrug-resistant bacteria includes carbapenemase-producing bacteria (CPB), for which limited therapeutic options and infection control measures are available. Furthermore, carbapenemases associate with high-risk clones that are defined by the sequence type (ST) to which each bacterium belongs.

In vitro activity of six biocides against carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and presence of genes encoding efflux pumps.

Introduction: Acquisition of reduced susceptibility to biocides may contribute to the dissemination of high-risk (HR) clones of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CP-Kp). The aim of this study was (a) to determinate the activity of biocides against CP-Kp, and (b) to analyse the relationship between biocide activity and the presence of efflux pumps.

Methods: The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 6 biocides (sodium hypochlorite, chlorhexidine digluconate, benzalkonium chloride, povidone-iodine, ethanol and triclosan) were determined in triplicate at 25°C and 37°C in Mueller-Hinton broth (MHB) and M9 minimum medium, against 17 CP-Kp isolates representing different clones (HR and no-HR), sequence-types (STs) and carbapenemases.

Assessment of a semi-automated enrichment system (Uroquattro HB&L) for detection of faecal carriers of ESBL-/AmpC-producing Enterobacterales.

Introduction: Early detection of patients carrying multiresistant bacteria is an effective implement in surveillance programs. Our objective was to compare the semi-automatic Uroquattro HB&L "ESBL/AmpC Screening" (Alifax®) system with the routine culture on selective media to detect ESBL/pAmpC-producing microorganisms (3CGRE).

Methods: A total of 201 rectal swabs samples were processed by inoculating them into the Uroquattro HB&L system, performing growth curve measurements at 6.

Targeting Acr3 from Ensifer medicae to the plasma membrane or to the tonoplast of tobacco hairy roots allows arsenic extrusion or improved accumulation. Effect of acr3 expression on the root transcriptome.

Transgenic tobacco hairy roots expressing the bacterial arsenite efflux pump Acr3 from Ensifer medicae were generated. The gene product was targeted either to the plasma membrane (ACR3 lines) or to the tonoplast by fusing the ACR3 protein to the tonoplast integral protein TIP1.1 (TIP-ACR3 lines).

First identification of bla carbapenemase in bla-producing Acinetobacter baumannii ST85 in Spain.

Introduction: NDM-1 carbapenemase is spreading rapidly all over the world, but this metallo-beta-lactamase has just been detected for the first time in an Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) isolate of the ST85 clone in Spain. The aim of this study was to characterize a NDM-1-producing carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CR-Ab) isolate submitted to the Andalusian PIRASOA [infection prevention program] referral laboratory.

Double genetically modified symbiotic system for improved Cu phytostabilization in legume roots.

Excess copper (Cu) in soils has deleterious effects on plant growth and can pose a risk to human health. In the last decade, legume-rhizobium symbioses became attractive biotechnological tools for metal phytostabilization. For this technique being useful, metal-tolerant symbionts are required, which can be generated through genetic manipulation.

Removal of copper from aqueous solutions by rhizofiltration using genetically modified hairy roots expressing a bacterial Cu-binding protein.

Unlabelled: The aim of this work was to develop a biotechnological tool to hyperaccumulate high copper (Cu) concentrations from wastewaters. Transgenic tobacco hairy roots were obtained by expressing, either the wild-type version of the gene copC from Pseudomonas fluorescens in the cytoplasm of plant cells (CuHR), or a modified version targeted to the vacuole (CuHR-V). Control hairy roots transformed with the empty vector (HR) were also generated.

Unraveling the effect of arsenic on the model Medicago-Ensifer interaction: a transcriptomic meta-analysis.

The genetic regulation underlying the effect of arsenic (As(III)) on the model symbiosis Medicago-Ensifer was investigated using a combination of physiological (split-roots), microscopy and genetic (microarrays, qRT-PCR and composite plants) tools. Nodulation was very sensitive to As(III) (median inhibitory dose (ID50) = 20 μM). The effect on root elongation and on nodulation was local (nonsystemic).