LEGO-Lipophosphonoxins: A Novel Approach in Designing Membrane Targeting Antimicrobials.

The alarming rise of bacterial antibiotic resistance requires the development of new compounds. Such compounds, lipophosphonoxins (LPPOs), were previously reported to be active against numerous bacterial species, but serum albumins abolished their activity. Here we describe the synthesis and evaluation of novel antibacterial compounds termed LEGO-LPPOs, loosely based on LPPOs, consisting of a central linker module with two attached connector modules on either side.

[Antibiotic treatment issues in patients with COVID-19].

The COVID-19 pandemic may increase the current threat of antimicrobial resistance and exacerbate another, rather silent, pandemic posed by the increasing frequency of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens and the associated potential for loss of effective antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment has often been used in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 due to concerns about possible bacterial co-infection, as confirmed by previous experience with viral respiratory infections such as H1N1 influenza, SARS and MERS. Concerns or unknowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic have also affected physicians behavior, including the use of antibiotics.

Precarization via Digitalization? Work Arrangements in the On-Demand Platform Economy in Hungary and Slovakia.

The concept of precarity is increasingly used for an analysis of standard and non-standard (atypical) employment forms-yet among atypical employment forms, platform-driven work is rarely included. This paper aims to fill this gap and provide a refined analytical framework for an evaluation of precarity in employment arrangements applicable to on-demand platform work. The legitimacy of such an analytical framework is two-fold.

The challenge of return to work in workers with cancer: employer priorities despite variation in social policies related to work and health.

Purpose: This study explored employer's perspectives on (1) their experience of good practice related to workers diagnosed with cancer and their return to work (RTW), and (2) their perceived needs necessary to achieve good practice as reported by employers from nine separate countries.

Methods: Twenty-five semi-structured interviews were held in eight European countries and Israel with two to three employers typically including HR managers or line managers from both profit and non-profit organisations of different sizes and sectors. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Detection of Prosthetic Joint Infection Based on Magnetically Assisted Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Accurate and rapid diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is vital for rational and effective therapeutic management of this condition. Several diagnostic strategies have been developed for discriminating between infected and noninfected cases. However, none of them can reliably diagnose the whole spectrum of clinical presentations of PJI.

Occurrence of bacteria producing broad-spectrum beta-lactamases and qnr genes in hospital and urban wastewater samples.

The aims were to investigate the level of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospital and urban wastewater and to determine the similarity of isolates obtained from wastewater and hospitalized patients. Wastewater samples were collected in September 2013 and 2014. After identification using MALDI-TOF MS, beta-lactamase production was determined by relevant phenotypic tests.

Antibiotic consumption and its influence on the resistance in Enterobacteriaceae.

Background: Increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of the most serious problems in current medicine. An important factor contributing to the growing prevalence of multiresistant bacteria is application of antibiotics. This study aimed at analyzing the development of resistance of Enterobacteriaceae to selected beta-lactam, fluoroquinolone and aminoglycoside antibiotics in the University Hospital Olomouc and assessing the effect of selection pressure of these antibiotics.

Enterobacter cloacae with a novel variant of ACT AmpC beta-lactamase originating from glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) in Svalbard.

We aimed at Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae isolates resistant to cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones and Salmonella isolates in wild birds in Arctic Svalbard, Norway. Cloacal swabs of little auks (Alle alle, n=215) and samples of faeces of glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus, n=15) were examined. Inducible production of AmpC enzyme was detected in E.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia in ICU patients.

Background: This prospective study aimed at assessing the effect of initial antibiotic therapy on the mortality of patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) by analyzing bacterial pathogens and their resistance to antimicrobial agents.

Methods: Included were patients hospitalized in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University Olomouc and University Hospital Olomouc in 2009 who developed HAP. Bacterial pathogens and their resistance to antibiotics were identified using standard microbiological methods.

Effect of growth hormone replacement therapy on plasma brain natriuretic peptide concentration, cardiac morphology and function in adults with growth hormone deficiency.

Objective: The impact of growth hormone (GH) replacement on plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in association with cardiac morphology and function in adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) was evaluated.

Subjects And Methods: Fifty nine adult patients with GHD (29 men, age 19-59 years) received a starting dose of 0.1-0.

Correlation of NT-proBNP with metabolic liver function as assessed with (13)C-methacetin breath test in patients with acute decompensated heart failure.

Metabolic liver function is significantly decreased in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF). The purpose of the study was to evaluate correlation of NT-proBNP with metabolic liver function as assessed with (13)C-methacetin breath test in patients with acute decompensation of chronic heart failure (ADHF). NT-proBNP, (13)C-methacetin breath test and investigation of other biochemical parameters were realized on days 0-2 (V1) and 2-7 (V2) after hospital admission in 13 consecutive ADHF patients.

Correlation of the functional liver mass with left ventricular ejection fraction and left atrial diameter in patients with congestive heart failure.

Background: Abnormalities in liver function tests have impact on prognosis of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The aim of the present study was to assess the functional liver mass in patient with systolic CHF with (13)C-methacetin breath test.

Patients And Methods: Liver function was assessed with (13)C-methacetin breath test in twenty patients, 15 men and 5 women, with systolic CHF, LVEF View Article and Find Full Text PDF

[Effect of dissolution medium on the release of diltiazem hydrochloride from carbomeric matrices].

The paper focuses on the study of the effect of pH of dissolution medium on the release of diltiazem hydrochloride from carbomeric matrices. Swelling of carbomers, high-molecular cross-linked anionic polymers, is dependent on the value of pH, which decides whether these polymers exist in an ionized or a non-ionized form. In alkaline medium, carboxylic groups of carbomers ionize and hydrate markedly, which also facilitates their interaction with cationic drugs, in this case with diltiazem hydrochloride.

[Natural polymers in the formulation of hydrophilic matrix tablets].

Semisynthetic and synthetic polymers have found their use in the technology of hydrophilic matrix systems with controlled release of the active ingredient, in particular in oral administration. In the recent period, there is increased interest also in natural polymeric substances, whose advantage consists in safety, easy availability, and a relatively low price. They thus represent an interesting possibility to extend the selection of novel constitutive auxiliary substances.

[Carbomers and their use in pharmaceutical technology].

Carbomers, high-molecular polymers based on acrylic acid, are employed in the technology of drugs as auxiliary substances acting as emulsifiers, gel-forming substances, stabilizers of suspensions, and binders in tablets. Their properties are utilized to control release as well as to improve biological availability of drugs. They are physiologically inert, non-sensitizing, and possess excellent thermal stability.