SPARC 2018 Internationalisation and collaboration : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2018 SPARC conference. This year we not only celebrate the work of our PGRs but also the launch of our Doctoral School, which makes this year’s conference extra special. Once again we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 100 presenters, the conference truly showcases a vibrant PGR community at Salford. These abstracts provide a taster of the research strengths of their works, and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. To meet global challenges, high impact research inevitably requires interdisciplinary collaboration. This is recognised by all major research funders. Therefore engaging with the work of others and forging collaborations across subject areas is an essential skill for the next generation of researchers

Propionic acid affects immune status and metabolism in adipose tissue from overweight subjects

Background Adipose tissue is a primary site of obesity-induced inflammation, which is emerging as an important contributor to obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Dietary fibre consumption appears to be protective. Short-chain fatty acids, e.g. propionic acid, are the principal products of the colonic fermentation of dietary fibre and may have beneficial effects on adipose tissue inflammation. Materials and methods Human omental adipose tissue explants were obtained from overweight (mean BMI 28.8) gynaecological patients who underwent surgery. Explants were incubated for 24 h with propionic acid. Human THP-1 monocytic cells were differentiated to macrophages and incubated with LPS in the presence and absence of propionic acid. Cytokine and chemokine production were determined by multiplex-ELISA, and mRNA expression of metabolic and macrophages genes was determined by RT-PCR. Results Treatment of adipose tissue explants with propionic acid results in a significant down-regulation of several inflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as TNF-a and CCL5. In addition, expression of lipoprotein lipase and GLUT4, associated with lipogenesis and glucose uptake, respectively, increased. Similar effects on cytokine and chemokine production by macrophages were observed. Conclusion We show that propionic acid, normally produced in the colon, may have a direct beneficial effect on visceral adipose tissue, reducing obesity-associated inflammation and increasing lipogenesis and glucose uptake. Effects on adipose tissue as a whole are at least partially explained by effects on macrophages but likely also adipocytes are involved. This suggests that, in vivo, propionic acid and dietary fibres may have potential in preventing obesity-related inflammation and associated diseases

Characterization of German penicillin non-susceptible serotype 23F pneumococci using multilocus sequence typing.

Three nationwide multicentre studies (n = 5071) showed an increase in antibiotic resistance in pneumococci in Germany. Serotype 23F was the predominant serotype (n = 45, 22.4 %), followed by 6B (n = 30, 14.9 %) and 9V (n = 19, 9.5 %). Multilocus sequence typing was used to characterize 45 serotype 23F strains with reduced penicillin susceptibility. The Spanish(23F)-1 clone [profile 4-4-2-4-4-1-1, sequence type (ST) 81] contributes significantly to the emergence of penicillin resistance in Germany (n = 21, 46.7 % of all penicillin non-susceptible serotype 23F isolates). Isolates of ST 277 (profile 7-13-8-6-6-12-8), which has been found previously in the Netherlands, are also observed, particularly in western Germany (n = 8, 17.8 %). A high proportion of strains (n = 11, 24.4 %) have sequence types that have not been reported to date from other countries (STs 353-362). The major penicillin-resistant clones are present in Germany, a country with relatively low levels of beta-lactam resistance

Invasive pneumococcal disease in adults in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany, 2001-2003

ABSTRACTA population-based survey of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) was conducted among adults in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. The study included 202 of the 386 hospitals in the region, together with the 27 microbiological laboratories that submitted reports of IPD in these hospitals to the National Reference Centre for Streptococci. The reports of 16 laboratories were comprehensively reviewed. Most (95.8%) IPD isolates were susceptible to penicillin G, but 14.5% were resistant to clarithromycin. Serotypes 14 (15.6%), 3 (9.3%), 4 (7.1%) and 7F (7.9%) were the most common. The serotype coverage of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine was 80.8%. During 2001–2003, the annual incidence of IPD, after correcting for laboratory and hospital under-reporting, was 16.2/100 000 in individuals aged >65 years. In three university hospitals, blood cultures were obtained for only 37% of patients with community-acquired pneumonia, and fewer than one-third of such cultures were obtained in one hospital before antibiotics were prescribed, suggesting that the true incidence of IPD was closer to 50/100 000