Publications by authors named "Stephen P Lavoie"

In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the Antimicrobial Resistance Laboratory Network to improve domestic detection of multidrug-resistant organisms. CDC and four laboratories evaluated a commercial broth microdilution panel. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the Sensititre GN7F (ThermoFisher Scientific, Lenexa, KS) was evaluated by testing 100 CDC and Food and Drug Administration AR Isolate Bank isolates [40 Enterobacterales (ENT), 30 (PSA), and 30 (ACB)].

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  • * Out of 11 participants, the majority showed strong antibody responses post-infection, with 90% having detectable antibodies and 67% testing positive for the virus initially.
  • * After vaccination, all participants maintained detectable antibodies, with significantly higher IgG levels compared to infection alone, suggesting vaccination enhances protection in previously infected residents.
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Repeated antigen testing of 12 severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive nursing home residents using Abbott BinaxNOW identified 9 of 9 (100%) culture-positive specimens up to 6 days after initial positive test. Antigen positivity lasted 2-24 days. Antigen positivity might last beyond the infectious period, but it was reliable in residents with evidence of early infection.

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Background: Serosurveys help to ascertain burden of infection. Prior severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serosurveys in New York City (NYC) used nonrandom samples. During June-October 2020, the NYC Health Department conducted a population-based survey estimating SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence in NYC adults.

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  • Rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests like BinaxNOW were evaluated for effectiveness in detecting COVID-19 during an outbreak in a nursing home, with comparisons made to RT-PCR and virus culture methods.
  • The results showed a high positive agreement (95%) between BinaxNOW and virus culture, but a lower overall performance when compared to RT-PCR, especially in asymptomatic individuals.
  • Though effective early in infection, the BinaxNOW test struggled to detect late infections, highlighting the challenges of accurate symptom assessment in this population.
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  • Multi-antibiotic resistant (MAR) bacteria result in significant healthcare costs and loss of life, raising concerns about antibiotic misuse and the need for new antibiotic discovery.
  • The role of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in generating MAR through the acquisition of resistance genes is highlighted, emphasizing the need to investigate and potentially disable these elements.
  • Exposure to non-antibiotic toxic metals, especially mercury, has been shown to co-select for MAR bacteria, suggesting that reducing exposure to such metals could lead to decreased MAR prevalence in public health.
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After publication of the original article [1] the authors noted that the key displayed in Figure 1a was incorrect, as the PMA and HgCl2 conditions had been switched.

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Background: The protean chemical properties of mercury have long made it attractive for diverse applications, but its toxicity requires great care in its use, disposal, and recycling. Mercury occurs in multiple chemical forms, and the molecular basis for the distinct toxicity of its various forms is only partly understood. Global transcriptomics applied over time can reveal how a cell recognizes a toxicant and what cellular subsystems it marshals to repair and recover from the damage.

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The protean chemical properties of the toxic metal mercury (Hg) have made it attractive in diverse applications since antiquity. However, growing public concern has led to an international agreement to decrease its impact on health and the environment. During a recent proteomics study of acute Hg exposure in E.

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The identification of peptides that result from post-translational modifications is critical for understanding normal pathways of cellular regulation as well as identifying damage from, or exposures to xenobiotics, i.e. the exposome.

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