Medication Trends in the Military: A Comparative Analysis of Prescribing Patterns Among Service Members Seen by a Pharmacist and Implications for Medical Readiness.

Introduction: Medications play a critical role supporting the health of military service members. Little is known about the broad use of medications prescribed to this population. Active duty service members (ADSMs), while often younger and having fewer diagnosed comorbid conditions, face unique health challenges that benefit from pharmacotherapy.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae Evades Calprotectin-Mediated Nutritional Immunity and Survives Neutrophil Extracellular Traps by Production of TdfH.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae successfully overcomes host strategies to limit essential nutrients, termed nutritional immunity, by production of TonB-dependent transporters (TdTs)-outer membrane proteins that facilitate nutrient transport in an energy-dependent manner. Four gonococcal TdTs facilitate utilization of iron or iron chelates from host-derived proteins, including transferrin (TbpA), lactoferrin (LbpA), and hemoglobin (HpuB), in addition to xenosiderophores from other bacteria (FetA). The roles of the remaining four uncharacterized TdTs (TdfF, TdfG, TdfH, and TdfJ) remain elusive.

A thermonuclease of Neisseria gonorrhoeae enhances bacterial escape from killing by neutrophil extracellular traps.

Acute gonorrhea is characterized by neutrophilic inflammation that is insufficient to clear Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Activated neutrophils release extracellular traps (NETs), which are composed of chromatin and decorated with antimicrobial proteins. The N.

Peroxiredoxin-glutaredoxin and catalase promote resistance of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae 86-028NP to oxidants and survival within neutrophil extracellular traps.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is a common commensal and opportunistic pathogen of the human airways. For example, NTHI is a leading cause of otitis media and is the most common cause of airway infections associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These infections are often chronic/recurrent in nature and involve bacterial persistence within biofilm communities that are highly resistant to host clearance.

RbsB (NTHI_0632) mediates quorum signal uptake in nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae strain 86-028NP.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is a respiratory commensal and opportunistic pathogen, which persists within biofilms on airway mucosal surfaces. For many species, biofilm formation is impacted by quorum signalling. Our prior work shows that production of autoinducer-2 (AI-2) promotes biofilm development and persistence for NTHI 86-028NP.

Direct evaluation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm mediators in a chronic infection model.

Biofilms contribute to Pseudomonas aeruginosa persistence in a variety of diseases, including cystic fibrosis, burn wounds, and chronic suppurative otitis media. However, few studies have directly addressed P. aeruginosa biofilms in vivo.

Divergent mechanisms for passive pneumococcal resistance to β-lactam antibiotics in the presence of Haemophilus influenzae.

Background: Otitis media, for which antibiotic treatment failure is increasingly common, is a leading pediatric public health problem.

Methods: In vitro and in vivo studies using the chinchilla model of otitis media were performed using a β-lactamase-producing strain of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi 86-028NP) and an isogenic mutant deficient in β-lactamase production (NTHi 86-028NP bla) to define the roles of biofilm formation and β-lactamase production in antibiotic resistance. Coinfection studies were done with Streptococcus pneumoniae to determine if NTHi provides passive protection by means of β-lactamase production, biofilm formation, or both.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae initiates formation of neutrophil extracellular traps.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is a leading cause of otitis media infections, which are often chronic and/or recurrent in nature. NTHI and other bacterial species persist in vivo within biofilms during otitis media and other persistent infections. These biofilms have a significant host component that includes neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs).

Indirect pathogenicity of Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis in polymicrobial otitis media occurs via interspecies quorum signaling.

Otitis media (OM) is among the leading diseases of childhood and is caused by opportunists that reside within the nasopharynx, such as Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis. As with most airway infections, it is now clear that OM infections involve multiple organisms. This study addresses the hypothesis that polymicrobial infection alters the course, severity, and/or treatability of OM disease.

Coinfection with Haemophilus influenzae promotes pneumococcal biofilm formation during experimental otitis media and impedes the progression of pneumococcal disease.

Background: Otitis media is an extremely common pediatric infection and is mostly caused by bacteria that are carried within the nasopharyngeal microbiota. It is clear that most otitis media cases involve simultaneous infection with multiple agents.

Methods: Chinchillas were infected with nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, or a combination of both organisms, and the course of disease was compared.

LuxS promotes biofilm maturation and persistence of nontypeable haemophilus influenzae in vivo via modulation of lipooligosaccharides on the bacterial surface.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is an extremely common airway commensal which can cause opportunistic infections that are usually localized to airway mucosal surfaces. During many of these infections, NTHI forms biofilm communities that promote persistence in vivo. For many bacterial species, density-dependent quorum-signaling networks can affect biofilm formation and/or maturation.

Survival of bacterial biofilms within neutrophil extracellular traps promotes nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae persistence in the chinchilla model for otitis media.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a leading cause of acute and chronic otitis media, which are a major public health problem worldwide. The persistence of NTHi during chronic and recurrent otitis media infections involves multicellular biofilm communities formed within the middle-ear chamber. Bacterial biofilms resist immune clearance and antibiotic therapy due in part to encasement within a polymeric matrix.

Kinetics of Encephalitozoon spp. infection of human macrophages.

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular, eukaryotic parasites that are known to infect a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate species and have been reported to include a broad range of host specificities for various cell types. Although it is clear that some species of microsporidia have the ability to disseminate, causing multiorgan infections, it is not understood how dissemination occurs. One hypothesis suggests that mononuclear phagocytes engulf the pathogen and migrate to various organs while the parasite persists and proliferates.