Respiratory Infections in the Aging Lung: Implications for Diagnosis, Therapy, and Prevention.

Respiratory infections pose a significant health problem among elderly individuals, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased mortality and morbidity rates among individuals over 65 highlight the criticality of these infections. The normal aging process in the lungs increases vulnerability to respiratory infections due to the accumulation of cellular damage and senescence.

An appeal for strengthening genomic pathogen surveillance to improve pandemic preparedness and infection prevention: the German perspective.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the importance of viable infection surveillance and the relevant infrastructure. From a German perspective, an integral part of this infrastructure, genomic pathogen sequencing, was at best fragmentary and stretched to its limits due to the lack or inefficient use of equipment, human resources, data management and coordination. The experience in other countries has shown that the rate of sequenced positive samples and linkage of genomic and epidemiological data (person, place, time) represent important factors for a successful application of genomic pathogen surveillance.

Sepsis survivors and caregivers perspectives on post-acute rehabilitation and aftercare in the first year after sepsis in Germany.

Background: Sepsis survivors often suffer from new morbidities. Current rehabilitation therapies are not tailored to their specific needs. The perspective of sepsis survivors and their caregivers on rehabilitation and aftercare is insufficiently understood.

Psychometric properties of the Reintegration to Normal Living Index for sepsis survivors.

Purpose: Return to a normal state of living is a key patient-relevant outcome for sepsis survivors. The Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI) assesses self-perceived participation in patients with chronic disease, but its psychometric properties have been analyzed neither for patients after sepsis nor in a German patient cohort. This study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the German version of the RNLI in sepsis survivors.

Ninety-six-hour starved peripheral blood mononuclear cell supernatant inhibited LA7 breast cancer stem cells induced tumor reduction in angiogenesis and alternations in and expressions.

Introduction: The microenvironment of solid tumors such as breast cancer is heterogeneous and complex, containing different types of cell, namely, cancer stem cells and immune cells. We previously reported the immunoregulatory behavior of the human immune cell in a solid tumor microenvironment-like culture under serum starvation stress for 96 h. Here, we examined the effect of this culture-derived solution on breast cancer development in rats.

Towards a Harmonized Terminology: A Glossary for Biocide Susceptibility Testing.

Disinfection is a key strategy to reduce the burden of infections. The contact of bacteria to biocides-the active substances of disinfectants-has been linked to bacterial adaptation and the development of antimicrobial resistance. Currently, there is no scientific consensus on whether the excessive use of biocides contributes to the emergence and spread of multidrug resistant bacteria.

Neurofilament light chain levels predict encephalopathy and outcome in community-acquired pneumonia.

Objective: Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) is a biomarker for neuroaxonal damage and has been found to be elevated in several neurological diseases with neuronal destruction. New onset of confusion is a hallmark of severity in infections. The objective of this study was to determine whether sNfL levels are increased in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and if increased sNfL levels are associated with disease-associated confusion or disease severity.

Label-free multimodal imaging of infected Galleria mellonella larvae.

Non-linear imaging modalities have enabled us to obtain unique morpho-chemical insights into the tissue architecture of various biological model organisms in a label-free manner. However, these imaging techniques have so far not been applied to analyze the Galleria mellonella infection model. This study utilizes for the first time the strength of multimodal imaging techniques to explore infection-related changes in the Galleria mellonella larvae due to massive E.

What the Phage: a scalable workflow for the identification and analysis of phage sequences.

Phages are among the most abundant and diverse biological entities on earth. Phage prediction from sequence data is a crucial first step to understanding their impact on the environment. A variety of bacteriophage prediction tools have been developed over the years.

The Effects of Postacute Rehabilitation on Mortality, Chronic Care Dependency, Health Care Use, and Costs in Sepsis Survivors.

Sepsis often leads to long-term functional deficits and increased mortality in survivors. Postacute rehabilitation can decrease long-term sepsis mortality, but its impact on nursing care dependency, health care use, and costs is insufficiently understood. To assess the short-term (7-12 months postdischarge) and long-term (13-36 months postdischarge) effect of inpatient rehabilitation within 6 months after hospitalization on mortality, nursing care dependency, health care use, and costs.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on influenza and respiratory syncytial virus antibody titres in the community: a prospective cohort study in Neustadt, Thuringia, Germany.

https://bit.ly/3qXVLId

Short-course versus long-course antibiotic treatment for uncomplicated vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteraemia: a retrospective multicentre cohort study.

Objectives: The optimal treatment duration for vancomycin-resistant enterococcal (VRE) bacteraemia is still a matter of debate. The aim of the present study was to compare short-course (≤9 days) and long-course (≥10 days) antibiotic treatments in hospitalized adult patients with uncomplicated VRE bacteraemia.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in four university hospitals in Germany.

Raman Spectroscopic Differentiation of From Other Streptococci Using Laboratory Strains and Clinical Isolates.

, commonly referred to as pneumococci, can cause severe and invasive infections, which are major causes of communicable disease morbidity and mortality in Europe and globally. The differentiation of from other species, especially from other oral streptococci, has proved to be particularly difficult and tedious. In this work, we evaluate if Raman spectroscopy holds potential for a reliable differentiation of from other streptococci.

Brucellosis in Humans and Animals in Kyrgyzstan.

Brucellosis is a globally reemerging and neglected zoonosis causing serious public health problems as well as considerable economic losses due to infection of livestock. Although the epidemiology of brucellosis has been well studied and its various aspects in humans and animals are well understood, it is still one of the most challenging health problems in many developing countries such as Kyrgyzstan. This review describes epidemiological characteristics of brucellosis in humans and animals, its impact on animal production and the role of implemented infection control measures in Kyrgyzstan.

Evaluation of Infection-Related Hospitalizations and Drug Prescriptions Among Sepsis Survivors in Germany.

This cohort study assesses infection-related hospitalizations and outpatient drug prescriptions among sepsis survivors in Germany and compares changes in hospitalization and prescription rates before and after sepsis occurrence.

Occurrence and Risk Factors for New Dependency on Chronic Care, Respiratory Support, Dialysis and Mortality in the First Year After Sepsis.

Sepsis survival is associated with adverse outcomes. Knowledge about risk factors for adverse outcomes is lacking. We performed a population-based cohort study of 116,507 survivors of hospital-treated sepsis identified in health claims data of a German health insurance provider.

Uncovering antimicrobial resistance in three agricultural biogas plants using plant-based substrates.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is becoming an increasing global concern and the anaerobic digestion (AD) process represents a potential transmission route when digestates are used as fertilizing agents. AMR contaminants, e.g.

Early post-discharge mortality in CAP: frequency, risk factors and a prediction tool.

There are few data on mortality after discharge with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Therefore, we evaluated risk factors for 30-day post-discharge mortality after CAP. We included all patients of the prospective multi-national CAPNETZ study between 2002 and 2018 with (1) hospitalized CAP, (2) survival until discharge, and (3) complete follow-up data.

Human Milk Oligosaccharides Exhibit Biofilm Eradication Activity Against Matured Biofilms Formed by Different Pathogen Species.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) have been shown to exhibit plenty of benefits for infants, such as prebiotic activity shaping the gut microbiota and immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activity. For some pathogenic bacteria, antimicrobial activity has been proved, but most studies focus on group B streptococci. In the present study, we investigated the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of the total and fractionated HMOs from pooled human milk against four common human pathogenic Gram-negative species (, , , and ) and three Gram-positive species (, , and ).

Group Vaccination Five Days before a COVID-19 Outbreak in a Long-Term Care Facility.

Rapid vaccination may be of benefit in long-term care facilities (LTCF) that are affected by an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. However, there are concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of such an approach, particularly regarding the vaccination of pre-symptomatic patients. Here, we report the effectiveness of vaccination in a German LTCF hit by an outbreak that was detected 5 days after the first vaccine doses were administered.

A longitudinal analysis of pneumococcal vaccine serotypes in pneumonia patients in Germany.

https://bit.ly/3q4skov