Can Gut Microbiota Analysis Reveal Infection? Evidence from an Italian Cohort at Disease Onset.

A diverse and well-functioning gut microbiota normally serves as a protective shield against the invasion of harmful bacteria or the proliferation of opportunistic pathogens. infection (CDI) is predominantly associated with the overuse of antibiotics, resulting in a significant alteration in the gut's microbial balance. Unfortunately, the lack of global standardization does not allow for the identification of a set of biomarkers associated with the onset and progression of this disease.

Sources and Transmission Routes of Carbapenem-Resistant : Study Design and Methodology of the SAMPAN Study.

: The global spread of carbapenem-resistant (CRPA) warrants collaborative action. Guidance should come from integrated One Health surveillance; however, a surveillance strategy is currently unavailable due to insufficient knowledge on the sources and transmission routes of CRPA. The aim of the SAMPAN study ("A Smart Surveillance Strategy for Carbapenem-resistant ") is to develop a globally applicable surveillance strategy.

Environmental maternal exposures and the risk of premature birth and intrauterine growth restriction: The Generation Gemelli study protocol of newborn exposome.

Background: The study of women exposures and child outcomes occurring in the first 1,000 days of life since conception enhances understanding of the relationships between environmental factors, epigenetic changes, and disease development, extending beyond childhood and spanning the entire lifespan. Generation Gemelli is a recently launched case-control study that enrolls mother-newborns pairs in one of the largest university hospitals in Italy, in order to examine the association between maternal environmental exposures and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and the risk of premature birth. The study will also evaluate the association of maternal exposures and the health and growth of infants and children up to 24 months of age.

Characterization of Metallo β-Lactamase Producing Isolates with Susceptibility to the Aztreonam/Avibactam Combination.

Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) in and other Gram-negative organisms pose significant public health threats due to their association with multidrug resistance (MDR). Although aztreonam (AZT) can target MBL-producing organisms, its efficacy is compromised in organisms expressing additional β-lactamases that inactivate it. Combining AZT with the β-lactamase inhibitor avibactam (AVI) may restore its activity against MBL-producing isolates.

Fulminant Invasive Aspergillosis in a Previously Healthy Woman After Cesarean Section and a Review of the Literature.

Invasive aspergillosis is an extremely rare condition in healthy and immunocompetent individuals, and very few cases have been reported in previously healthy, pregnant, or postpartum women. We describe a case of invasive aspergillosis in a puerperal patient and present literature review results. We present a case of fulminant invasive pulmonary aspergillosis with cerebral, cardiac, and gastric involvement in a young woman, occurring a few days after an elective cesarean section.

Evaluating the Effect of Climate on Viral Respiratory Diseases Among Children Using AI.

: Respiratory viral infections (RVIs) exhibit seasonal patterns influenced by biological, ecological, and climatic factors. Weather variables such as temperature, humidity, and wind impact the transmission of droplet-borne viruses, potentially affecting disease severity. However, the role of climate in predicting complications in pediatric RVIs remains unclear, particularly in the context of climate-change-driven extreme weather events.

International consensus statement on microbiome testing in clinical practice.

There is growing interest in the potential exploitation of the gut microbiome as a diagnostic tool in medicine, but evidence supporting its clinical usefulness is scarce. An increasing number of commercial providers offer direct-to-consumer microbiome diagnostic tests without any consensus on their regulation or any proven value in clinical practice, which could result in considerable waste of individual and health-care resources and potential drawbacks in the clinical management of patients. We convened an international multidisciplinary expert panel to standardise best practices of microbiome testing for clinical implementation, including recommendations on general principles and minimum requirements for their provision, indications, pre-testing protocols, method of analyses, reporting of results, and potential clinical value.

"CLADE-FINDER": Lineage Analysis Determination by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Artificial Neural Networks.

In 2019, became the first fungal pathogen included in the list of the urgent antimicrobial threats by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Short tandem repeat (STR) analysis and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) are considered the gold standard, and can be complemented by other molecular methods, for the genomic surveillance and clade classification of this multidrug-resistant yeast. However, these methods can be expensive and require time and expertise that are not always available.

Verification of the Vitek Reveal System for Direct Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in Gram-Negative Positive Blood Cultures.

: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 20776-2:2021, which replaces ISO 20776-2:2007, focuses solely on the performance of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) assays, emphasizing the ISO 20776-1 broth microdilution method as the reference standard. Consequently, categorical agreement (CA) and associated errors should not be applied. We verified the Vitek Reveal AST assay according to both ISO 20776-2:2021 and ISO 20776-2:2007 criteria.

Follow the Path: Unveiling an Azole Resistant Outbreak by FTIR Spectroscopy and STR Analysis.

Accurate identification and rapid genotyping of , a significant opportunistic pathogen in healthcare settings, is crucial for managing outbreaks, timely intervention, and effective infection control measures. This study includes 24 clinical samples and 2 positive environmental surveillance swabs collected during a fluconazole-resistant outbreak at the Tuscany Rehabilitation Clinic (Clinica di Riabilitazione Toscana, CRT), located in the province of Arezzo, Italy. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, genetic sequencing of the ERG11 gene, and short tandem repeat (STR) analysis was applied to track the fluconazole-resistant outbreak at the CRT facility.

A New Easy-to-Perform Flow Cytometry Assay for Determining Bacterial- and Viral-Infection-Induced Polymorphonuclear Neutrophil and Monocyte Membrane Marker Modulation in Febrile Patients.

We developed a flow cytometry (FC) assay enabling the rapid and accurate identification of bacterial and viral infections using whole blood samples. The streamlined flow cytometry assay is designed to be user-friendly, making it accessible even for operators with limited experience in FC techniques. The key components of the assay focus on the expression levels of specific surface markers-CD64 on polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) as a marker for bacterial infection, and CD169 on monocytes (MO) for viral infection.

Case report: First report of and coinfection in an immunocompromised patient.

Legionnaires' disease (LD) is a serious type of pneumonia, typically contracted by susceptible people through the inhalation of aerosols contaminated with . In this report, the first case of coinfection with - is described. A possible source of the Lp infection may be the hotel in Paris (France) where the patient had stayed before developing the symptoms.

Mutational analysis of Phanerochaete chrysosporium´s purine transporter.

We present here a mutational analysis of the purine transporter from Phanerochaete chrysosporium (PhZ), a member of the AzgA-like subfamily within the Nucleobase Ascorbate Transporters family. We identified key residues that determine its substrate specificity and transport efficiency. Thirteen PhZ mutants were generated and heterologously expressed in Aspergillus nidulans.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on Viral Respiratory Infections in Patients with Hematological Malignancies.

Patients with hematological malignancies (HMs) are at high risk of respiratory viral infections due to the intrinsic deterioration of the immune system and chemotherapy treatments. In the recent past, SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viral infection has been responsible for most infectious complications in HMs. We analyzed 2950 samples from 505 patients admitted to the Hematology department from 2019 to 2023.

Understanding fungal and plant active urea transport systems: Keys from Aspergillus nidulans and beyond.

Urea is present in all ecosystems, as a result of the metabolism of different organisms and also of human activity, being the world's most common form of nitrogen fertilizer. Fungi and plants can use urea as a nitrogen source, taking it up from the environment through specialized active transport proteins. These proteins belong to a subfamily of urea/H symporters included in the Solute:Sodium Symporter (SSS) family of transporters.

Reemergence of Streptococcus pyogenes Infections in a Large Italian Hospital: A déjà vu from past Years.

At the end of 2022 and in the following months, an increase in the incidence of Streptococcus pyogenes infections was observed in many European countries that was simultaneously accompanying to enhance of invasive infections (iGAS). We have showed a risen trend of S. pyogenes infections among preschoolers after the pandemic event.

Genotyping of Candida tropicalis isolates uncovers nosocomial transmission of two lineages in Italian tertiary care hospital.

Objectives: Candida tropicalis is a medically important yeast with increasing antifungal resistance, but nosocomial transmission is rarely reported. This study genotyped C. tropicalis isolates from Italian hospitals to uncover potential nosocomial transmission and assess resistance.

Trematocine-derived antimicrobial peptides from the Antarctic fish : potent antibacterial agents against ESKAPE pathogens.

Introduction: This study investigated the interaction with membrane mimetic systems (LUVs), bacterial membranes, the CD spectra, and the bactericidal activity of two designed trematocine mutants, named Trem-HK and Trem-HSK. Mutants were constructed from the scaffold of Trematocine (Trem), a natural 22-amino acid AMP from the Antarctic fish , aiming to increase their positive charge.

Methods: The selectivity of the designed AMPs towards bacterial membranes was improved compared to Trematocine, verified by their interaction with different LUVs and their membranolytic activity.

Exploration of the Graphene Quantum Dots-Blue Light Combination: A Promising Treatment against Bacterial Infection.

Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) have shown the potential for antimicrobial photodynamic treatment, due to their particular physicochemical properties. Here, we investigated the activity of three differently functionalized GQDs-Blue Luminescent GQDs (L-GQDs), Aminated GQDs (NH-GQDs), and Carboxylated GQDs (COOH-GQDs)-against . GQDs were administrated to bacterial suspensions that were treated with blue light.