Clinical Characteristics and Outcome of MDR/XDR Bacterial Infections in a Neuromuscular Semi-Intensive/Sub-Intensive Care Unit

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical and microbiological characteristics of multidrug-resistant infections in a neuromuscular semi-intensive/sub-intensive care unit; (2) Methods: Retrospective analysis on data from 18 patients with NMD with proven MDRO/XDRO colonisation/infection from August 2021 to March 2022 was carried out; (3) Results: Ten patients were males (55.6%), with a median age of 54 years, and there were fourteen patients (77.8%) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. All patients had at least one invasive device. Ten (55.6%) patients developed MDRO/XDRO infection (with a median time of 24 days) while six (33.3%) were colonised. The Charlson comorbidity index was >2 in both groups but higher in the infected compared with the colonised (4.5 vs. 3). Infected patients were mostly females (seven patients) with a median age of 62 years. The most common pathogens were Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, infecting four (28.6%) patients each. Of eighteen infectious episodes, nine were pneumonia (hospital-acquired in seven cases). Colistin was the most commonly active antibiotic while carbapenems were largely inactive. Eradication of infection occurred in seven infectious episodes (38.9%). None of those with infection died; (4) Conclusions: MDRO/XDRO infections are common in patients with neuromuscular diseases, with carbapenem-resistant non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli prevailing. These infections were numerically associated with the female sex, greater age, and comorbidities. Both eradication and infection-related mortality appeared low. We highlight the importance of infection prevention in this vulnerable population

Chemical and Ecotoxicological Characterization of Averno Lake

The scope of present paper is to carry out a model study on the lake Averno, a nearly water closed basin polluted by waste waters of nearby communities and by agricultural activities. Lake Averno is a natural basin in the Phlegrean Fields region about 15 km west of Naples (Italy). This lake was formed as a consequence of the collapsing of a large volcano, named Archiflegreo, which was active until historic times. The area around Phlegrean Fields presents signs of thermo-mineral spring streams (at Bagnoli, Pozzuoli and Lucrino) and natural (at Averno and Fusaro) spring streams (Martini et al. 1991; Celico et al. 1992). The water flowing into Lake Averno is essentially soft, with an average a flow rate of 42 dm3/s during the rainy seasons and almost zero in the summer months. The water basin is nearly elliptic (1000 m long and 700 m wide), covering a 0.54 km2 surface, and is 34 m deep at the center, with a total water volume of roughly 6.000.000 m3. A canal which is almost 1 km long links the lake to the sea, carrying both spring and rain waters to the Lucrino coast in the Gulf of Pozzuoli (Cortini and Scandone 1987). The discharge into the sea trough this canal and the sedimentation constitute outputs of lake pollutants. Around the crater terraces with citrus fruits and vineyards are irrigated with the lake water. However Lake Averno is heavily polluted by the urban waste waters from overflows of the collector that carries residual waters into the Cuma Plant

Dependence of chiral recognition of a-amino acids and their derivatives on the nature of functional groups. Calorimetric and spectroscopic studies.

Calorimetric and nuclear relaxation time measurements were carried out at 25° on binary and ternary aq. solns. contg. the L and D forms of the N-acetyl derivs. of the a-amino acids alanine, valine, leucine, methionine, aspartic acid and proline. The interaction coeffs. of the virial expansion of the excess enthalpy were evaluated. Only the acetyl derivs. of leucine and proline present chiral recognition, namely a difference in the energetics of interaction between the LL and DL forms. This chiral recognition is larger in magnitude with respect to the corresponding free amino acids and changes sign. The role of the functional group is discussed and the results are interpreted using the preferential configuration model. Like-like interactions between functional groups seem to be responsible for the inversion of chiral recognition

Experimental evidence for the interaction of clupeine YI with mononucleotides.

1H NMR evidence of a preferential interaction between mononucleotides and a protamine fraction (clupeine YI) is presented. The NMR data demonstrate that clupeine YI interacts strongly with a purine mononucleotide but only weakly with a pyrimidine nucleotide. The biol. implications of these results are discussed

Chiral recognition in aqueous solutions between enantiomeric a-amino acids bearing substituted alkyl chains at 25°C: the preferential configuration model.

Calorimetric, densimetric, and nuclear relaxation time measurements were carried out at 25°C on binary and ternary aq. solns. contg. L and D forms of the following amino acids bearing substituted alkyl chains: lysine, glutamine, arginine, asparagine, serine, and homoserine. For three of them (lysine, glutamine, and arginine), very high differences were found between the values of the homochiral and heterochiral pairwise enthalpic interaction coeffs. Vol. and spectroscopic data showed that it is possible to detect chiral recognition by techniques other than calorimetric. The role of the zwitterionic interaction and of the substituted side chain is discussed to explain the enhanced chiral recognition of these a-amino acids in respect to those bearing unsubstituted alkyl chains (alanine, a-aminobutyric acid, valines and leucines)