Human Defensins: Structure, Function, and Potential as Therapeutic Antimicrobial Agents with Highlights Against SARS CoV-2.

The human defensins are a group of cationic antimicrobial peptides that range in size from 2 to 5 kDa and share a common structural motif of six disulphide-linked cysteines. Several naturally occurring human α- and β-defensins have been identified over the past two decades. They have a wide variety of antimicrobial effects, and their potential to avoid the development of resistance to antimicrobial treatment makes them attractive as therapeutic agents.

Informed development of a multi-species biofilm in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Recent evidence indicates that microbial biofilm aggregates inhabit the lungs of COPD patients and actively contribute towards chronic colonization and repeat infections. However, there are no contextually relevant complex biofilm models for COPD research. In this study, a meta-analysis of the lung microbiome in COPD was used to inform development of an optimized biofilm model composed of genera highly associated with COPD.

The Quality of Life of Patients Living with a Urinary Catheter and Its Associated Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Egypt.

Background: In Arabic countries, no research has focused on the experience of patients with indwelling urinary catheters. This cross-sectional study is the first to evaluate the catheter-specific quality of life (QoL) of patients living with a urinary catheter in Egypt.

Methods: This study was conducted from April to September 2017, using a convenience sample of patients from a University Hospital.

Inequalities in access to NHS primary care dental services in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction This study aimed to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access and inequalities in primary care dental services among children and adults in Scotland.Methods Access was measured as any NHS Scotland primary care dental contacts derived from administrative data from January 2019 to May 2022, linked to the area-based Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation for children and adults, and related to population denominator estimates from National Record Scotland. Inequalities for pre-pandemic (January 2019-January 2020) and recent (December 2021-February 2022, and March 2022-May 2022) periods for both children and adults were calculated and compared using the slope index of inequality and relative index of inequality.

Application of Ultraviolet-C Radiation and Gaseous Ozone for Microbial Inactivation on Different Materials.

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a global incentive for applying environmentally sustainable and rapid sterilization methods, such as ultraviolet-C radiation (UVC) and ozonation. Material sterilization is a requirement for a variety of industries, including food, water treatment, clothing, healthcare, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals. It becomes inevitable when devices and items like protective equipment are to be reused on/by different persons.

Ozone application in different industries: A review of recent developments.

Ozone - a powerful antimicrobial agent, has been extensively applied for decontamination purposes in several industries (including food, water treatment, pharmaceuticals, textiles, healthcare, and the medical sectors). The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to recent developments in the deployment of different ozone-based technologies for the decontamination of surfaces, materials and indoor environments. The pandemic has also highlighted the therapeutic potential of ozone for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, with astonishing results observed.

Vitamin D status: a U-shaped relationship for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in UK healthcare workers.

Background: There is increasing evidence that vitamin D (VD) deficiency may increase individuals' risk of COVID-19 infection and susceptibility. We aimed to determine the relationship between VD deficiency and sufficiency and COVID-19 seropositivity within healthcare workers.

Methods: The study included an observational cohort of healthcare workers who isolated due to COVID-19 symptoms from 12 May to 22 May 2020, from the University Hospitals Birmingham National Health Service Foundation Trust.

Aerosol reduction efficacy of different intra-oral suction devices during ultrasonic scaling and high-speed handpiece use.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant changes in the provision of dental services, aimed at reducing the spread of respiratory pathogens through restrictions on aerosol generating procedures (AGPs). Evaluating the risk that AGPs pose in terms of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is complex, and measuring dental aerosols is challenging. To date, few studies focus on intra-oral suction.

The global distribution of known and undiscovered ant biodiversity.

Invertebrates constitute the majority of animal species and are critical for ecosystem functioning and services. Nonetheless, global invertebrate biodiversity patterns and their congruences with vertebrates remain largely unknown. We resolve the first high-resolution (~20-km) global diversity map for a major invertebrate clade, ants, using biodiversity informatics, range modeling, and machine learning to synthesize existing knowledge and predict the distribution of undiscovered diversity.

Microbial Inactivation: Gaseous or Aqueous Ozonation?

For decades, ozone has been known to have antimicrobial properties when dissolved or generated in water and when utilized in its gaseous form on different substrates. This property (the ability to be used in air and water) makes it versatile and applicable to different industries. Although the medium of ozonation depends on the specific process requirements, some industries have the inherent flexibility of medium selection.

Bacterial and fungal disinfection via ozonation in air.

Ozone treatment is an eco-friendly and cost-effective approach to achieve material disinfection, and this disinfection method is of utmost importance in the present global pandemic. The efficacy of ozone's oxidative potential on common microorganisms has been extensively studied, particularly in the food and water treatment industries. However, little is still understood regarding its antimicrobial capabilities for the treatment of textile substrates in air.

Investigating the Transcriptome of in a Dual-Species Biofilm Model.

is an opportunistic pathogen found throughout multiple body sites and is frequently co-isolated from infections of the respiratory tract and oral cavity with Herein we present the first report of the effects that elicits on the transcriptome. Dual-species biofilms containing and mutants defective in or were optimised and characterised, followed by transcriptional profiling of by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). Altered phenotypes in mutants revealed specific interaction profiles between fungus and bacteria.

Non-typeable chronic colonization in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

is the most common cause of bacterial infection in the lungs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and contributes to episodes of acute exacerbation which are associated with increased hospitalization and mortality. Due to the ability of to adhere to host epithelial cells, initial colonization of the lower airways can progress to a persistent infection and biofilm formation. This is characterized by changes in bacterial behaviour such as reduced cellular metabolism and the production of an obstructive extracellular matrix (ECM).

Development of a high throughput and low cost model for the study of semi-dry biofilms.

The persistence of microorganisms as biofilms on dry surfaces resistant to the usual terminal cleaning methods may pose an additional risk of transmission of infections. In this study, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) dry biofilm model (DBM) was adapted into a microtiter plate format (Model 1) and replicated to create a novel model that replicates conditions commonly encountered in the healthcare environment (Model 2). Biofilms of grown in the two models were comparable to the biofilms of the CDC DBM in terms of recovered log CFU well.

Catalytic, Asymmetric Dearomative Synthesis of Complex Cyclohexanes via a Highly Regio- and Stereoselective Arene Cyclopropanation Using α-Cyanodiazoacetates.

Arene cyclopropanation offers a direct route to higher-order, non-aromatic carbocycles; however, the inherent issue of dictating site selectivity has cumbered the development of novel intermolecular reactions that directly engage the arene pool. This paper describes a highly regio- and stereoselective, Rh[()-PTTL]-catalyzed arene cyclopropanation using α-cyanodiazoacetates to afford stable norcaradienes bearing three stereogenic centers, one of which is an all-carbon quaternary center. The enantioenriched norcaradienes served as tunable templates for further transformation into stereochemically dense, fused and bicyclic carbocycles containing transmutable functionality.

Psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire on Long-Term Catheter Quality of Life.

Aim: To translate the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ) Long-Term Catheter Quality of Life (LTCqol) questionnaire (ICIQ-LTCqol) from English to Arabic and evaluate its psychometric properties.

Background: Currently, no tool for Arabic-speaking patients is available to measure the quality of life in patients using long-term urinary catheters.

Design: Translation and psychometric assessment of questionnaire.

Reduction of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation through the application of nanoscale vibration.

Bacterial biofilms pose a significant burden in both healthcare and industrial environments. With the limited effectiveness of current biofilm control strategies, novel or adjunctive methods in biofilm control are being actively pursued. Reported here, is the first evidence of the application of nanovibrational stimulation (nanokicking) to reduce the biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Patient and community nurse perspectives on recruitment to a randomized controlled trial of urinary catheter washout solutions.

Aim: To give evidence around the acceptability of a proposed randomized controlled trial (RCT) of catheter washout solutions.

Design: A sample of senior community nursing staff ( = 7) were interviewed, and four focus groups with a sample of community nurses were conducted. Eleven semi-structured face-to-face interviews were undertaken with patients using a long-term catheter.

Draft Genomic Sequence of Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae B8S35, Isolated from Retail Chicken Skin.

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of strain B8S35, isolated from retail chicken skin. It carries genes for resistance to multiple antibiotics, as well as quaternary ammonium compounds used by the food and health care industries.

Draft Genomic Sequence of Escherichia coli Sequence Type 131, Isolated from Retail Chicken Skin.

Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) is a foodborne pathogen increasingly associated with urinary tract infections. We report here the draft genomic sequence of ST131 B7S75, isolated from retail chicken skin, including information about its virulence factors and antibiotic resistance.

Control of cell behaviour through nanovibrational stimulation: nanokicking.

Mechanical signals are ubiquitous in our everyday life and the process of converting these mechanical signals into a biological signalling response is known as mechanotransduction. Our understanding of mechanotransduction, and its contribution to vital cellular responses, is a rapidly expanding field of research involving complex processes that are still not clearly understood. The use of mechanical vibration as a stimulus of mechanotransduction, including variation of frequency and amplitude, allows an alternative method to control specific cell behaviour without chemical stimulation (e.

Living with an indwelling urethral catheter in a community setting: Exploring triggers for unscheduled community nurse "out-of-hours" visits.

Aims And Objective: To explore the experiences of community patients living with a urethral catheter and those caring for them.

Background: Living at home with an indwelling urethral catheter often results in consequences that create a double-edged burden: first, on patients and their relative carers and second, in terms of unscheduled community nurse service "out-of-hours" provision.

Design: One-to-one interviews were conducted with patients living at home, their relative carers, qualified community nurses, augmented home carers and healthcare assistant.