Enhancing the evaluation of pathogen transmission risk in a hospital by merging hand-hygiene compliance and contact data: a proof-of-concept study

BACKGROUND:Hand-hygiene compliance and contacts of health-care workers largely determine the potential paths of pathogen transmission in hospital wards. We explored how the combination of data collected by two automated infrastructures based on wearable sensors and recording (1) use of hydro-alcoholic solution and (2) contacts of health-care workers provide an enhanced view of the risk of transmission events in the ward. METHODS:We perform a proof-of-concept observational study. Detailed data on contact patterns and hand-hygiene compliance of health-care workers were collected by wearable sensors over 12days in an infectious disease unit of a hospital in Marseilles, France.RESULTS:10,837 contact events among 10 doctors, 4 nurses, 4 nurses' aids and 4 housekeeping staff were recorded during the study. Most contacts took place among medical doctors. Aggregate contact durations were highly heterogeneous and the resulting contact network was highly structured. 510 visits of health-care workers to patients' rooms were recorded, with a low rate of hand-hygiene compliance. Both data sets were used to construct histories and statistics of contacts informed by the use of hydro-alcoholic solution, or lack thereof, of the involved health-care workers. CONCLUSIONS:Hand-hygiene compliance data strongly enrich the information concerning contacts among health-care workers, by assigning a 'safe' or 'at-risk' value to each contact. The global contact network can thus be divided into 'at-risk' and 'safe' contact networks. The combined data could be of high relevance for outbreak investigation and to inform data-driven models of nosocomial disease spread

Static Postural Control during Single-Leg Stance in Endurance, Team and Combat Athletes from the Spanish National Sport Technification Program

In the context of pediatric physical exercise, the analysis of factors affecting postural control (PC) provides insight into the development of sport-specific motor skills. This study aims to evaluate the static PC during single-leg stance in endurance, team and combat athletes from the Spanish National Sport Technification Program. A total of 29 boys and 32 girls, aged 12 to 16 years old, were recruited. Centre of pressure (CoP) was measured on a force platform in standing position for 40 s under two sensorial and leg dominance conditions. Girls showed lower MVeloc (p 0.001) and Sway (p < 0.001) values than boys in both sensorial conditions (open and closed eyes). The highest values in all PC variables were observed with eyes closed in both genders (p < 0.001). Sway values were lower in boys combat-athletes compared to endurance athletes in two sensorial conditions and with non-dominant leg (p < 0.05). Young athletes in their teens enrolled in a Sport Technification Program have shown differences in PC when comparing different visual conditions, sport disciplines and gender. This study opens a window to a better understanding of the determinants of PC during single-leg stance as a critical element in the sport specialization of young athletes.Fisioterapi

The Effect of the Texture of Two Energy Bars on the Oral Processing of Cyclists: An Exploratory Study

[EN] In cycling, a wide range of ergogenic foods with a variety of flavours, shapes, and textures are available. The timing of their consumption and their correct oral processing can influence the performance of athletes. Furthermore, the differences in the texture of energy bars could result in differences in the chewing required. Nonetheless, research in this area is still scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse how the consumption of two energy bars with different textures (viscous versus hard) influenced the variables of oral processing, pedalling intensity, and the perception of satisfaction among cyclists. Ten cyclists performed two 15 min sections on a cycle ergometer at a moderate intensity (120-130 W) and consumed one of the two energy bars at random in each of the sections. The results showed that a shorter chewing duration and a fewer number of chews were required to consume the softer bar (p 0.7). However, no differences among the cyclists were observed in the intensity of pedalling or perception of satisfaction. Nevertheless, participants were able to distinguish between the two different textures while pedalling. In conclusion, the texture of energy bars altered the oral processing of cyclists but did not affect pedalling intensity or perception of satisfaction.Jiménez-Pérez, I.; Aladro-Gonzalvo, AR.; Vera Morán, A.; Camacho-García, A.; Encarnación-Martínez, A.; Pérez-Soriano, P. (2023). The Effect of the Texture of Two Energy Bars on the Oral Processing of Cyclists: An Exploratory Study. Applied Sciences. 13(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/app1304236213

Clinical and Molecular Inflammatory Response in Sjögren Syndrome–Associated Dry Eye Patients Under Desiccating Stress

Producción CientíficaTo evaluate the response of the lacrimal function unit in Sjogren syndrome (SS)-associated dry eye patients exposed to 2 simulated daily life environ-mental conditions. Fourteen female SS dry eye patients were exposed for 2 hours to a controlled normal condition (23 C, 45% relative humidity, and air flow 0.10 m/s) and a controlled adverse condition that simulates desic- cating stress (23 C, 5% relative humidity, and air flow 0.10 m/s). The following dry eye tests were performed before and after the exposure: tear osmolarity, phenol red thread test, conjunctival hyperemia, fluorescein tear break-up time, corneal fluorescein staining, conjunctival lissamine green staining, and Schirmer test. Levels of 16 molecules were analyzed in tears by multiplex immu- nobead analysis.Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación – Ref. VA174U14

Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease

We identified rare coding variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a 3-stage case-control study of 85,133 subjects. In stage 1, 34,174 samples were genotyped using a whole-exome microarray. In stage 2, we tested associated variants (P<1×10-4) in 35,962 independent samples using de novo genotyping and imputed genotypes. In stage 3, an additional 14,997 samples were used to test the most significant stage 2 associations (P<5×10-8) using imputed genotypes. We observed 3 novel genome-wide significant (GWS) AD associated non-synonymous variants; a protective variant in PLCG2 (rs72824905/p.P522R, P=5.38×10-10, OR=0.68, MAFcases=0.0059, MAFcontrols=0.0093), a risk variant in ABI3 (rs616338/p.S209F, P=4.56×10-10, OR=1.43, MAFcases=0.011, MAFcontrols=0.008), and a novel GWS variant in TREM2 (rs143332484/p.R62H, P=1.55×10-14, OR=1.67, MAFcases=0.0143, MAFcontrols=0.0089), a known AD susceptibility gene. These protein-coding changes are in genes highly expressed in microglia and highlight an immune-related protein-protein interaction network enriched for previously identified AD risk genes. These genetic findings provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated innate immune response contributes directly to AD development

Response profiles to a controlled adverse desiccating environment based on clinical and tear molecule changes

Producción CientíficaPurpose:To investigate response profiles in the lacrimal functional unit of dry eye disease (DED) and healthy volunteers after exposure to a controlled adverse desiccating environment (CADE) by identifying groups of individuals with similar clinical and molecular changes. Methods:Clinical parameters and tear molecule levels of 20 mild-moderate DED patients and 20 healthy volunteers were evaluated pre- (baseline) and post-CADE exposure. Clustering based on relative change from baseline values was used to identify response profiles. One-vs-all logistic regression was used to identify baseline predictors for response clusters. Results: Four response profiles were identified. Cluster 1: tear break-up time (TBUT) decrease and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) increase. Cluster 2: marked increase in corneal staining, up-regulation of both MMP-9 and interleukin (IL)-6 levels, and down-regulation of epithelial growth factor (EGF). Cluster 3: increase in fractalkine, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), MMP-9, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T expressed and secreted) tear levels; and increased corneal staining and decreased TBUT and phenol red thread scores. Cluster 4: decreased single-item score dry eye questionnaire (SIDEQ) scores and increased corneal staining. Predictive models using baseline variables found that cluster membership depended on: corneal and conjunctival staining, SIDEQ score, interferon gamma-induced protein (IP)-10, VEGF, and IL-1Ra concentrations. Conclusions:The response of both mild-moderate DED and healthy asymptomatic individuals to environmental stress (CADE) can be predicted based on baseline (pre-exposure) clinical and tear molecular parameters. Thus, identifying individuals with a predictable response could improve patient enrollment in DED clinical trials.Proyeco de investigación SAF2016-77080-P Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI), Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Spain), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), U

MediHandTrace : un dispositif intégré utile à la recherche interventionnelle sur l’hygiène des mains

International audienc

Smartphone text message service to foster hand hygiene compliance in health care workers

International audienceBackground: Health care-associated infections are a major worldwide public health issue. Hand hygiene is a major component in the prevention of pathogen transmission in hospitals, and hand hygiene adherence by health care workers is low in many studies. We report an intervention using text messages as reminders and feedback to improve hand hygiene adherence. Materials and methods: The study is a historical comparison proof-of-concept study. Eighteen health care workers were monitored during 12 months by a radiofrequency identification system. Afterward we sent 2 types of text messages, congratulation or encouragement, and we studied the evolution of hand hygiene adherence. Results: We recorded 15,723 hand hygiene opportunities, 8,973 before intervention and 6,750 during and after the intervention. Using a multilevel logistic regression analysis, we found a significant increase in hand hygiene adherence during the intervention (odds ratio, 1.68) compared with the historical period. Discussion: Despite limitations due to the type of study, a text message encouraging personnel to be more vigilant is effective in increasing hand hygiene adherence in health care workers. Conclusions: Text message feedback should be incorporated into multimodal approaches for improving hand hygiene compliance. (C) 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

New Approaches to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infection

International audienceHealthcare-associated infection (HCAI) in hospitals mainly results from unsolved but well-identified causes such as hand hygiene, overuse of catheters, and to a lesser extent, the airborne transmission of infectious agents caused by the misuse of respiratory precautions. The aims of the Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection are to develop new approaches to fight HCAIs. Among them, new technologies that allow for the traceability of care and good practices reminders have been developed concomitantly to an anthropological approach, facilitating acceptability by healthcare workers. While the automated continuous monitoring system is validated and commercially available, some other technologies are still under clinical evaluation or in the early development phase. Quorum sensing-based biotechnologies are developed with the aims to fight against wound colonization

The Effect of the Texture of Two Energy Bars on the Oral Processing of Cyclists: An Exploratory Study

In cycling, a wide range of ergogenic foods with a variety of flavours, shapes, and textures are available. The timing of their consumption and their correct oral processing can influence the performance of athletes. Furthermore, the differences in the texture of energy bars could result in differences in the chewing required. Nonetheless, research in this area is still scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse how the consumption of two energy bars with different textures (viscous versus hard) influenced the variables of oral processing, pedalling intensity, and the perception of satisfaction among cyclists. Ten cyclists performed two 15 min sections on a cycle ergometer at a moderate intensity (120–130 W) and consumed one of the two energy bars at random in each of the sections. The results showed that a shorter chewing duration and a fewer number of chews were required to consume the softer bar (p 0.7). However, no differences among the cyclists were observed in the intensity of pedalling or perception of satisfaction. Nevertheless, participants were able to distinguish between the two different textures while pedalling. In conclusion, the texture of energy bars altered the oral processing of cyclists but did not affect pedalling intensity or perception of satisfaction.Sin financiación2.838 Q2 JCR 20210.507 Q2 SJR 2021No data IDR 2021UE