AD infrastructures and experimental areas evolutions in the context of ELENA development

With the ongoing installation of the ELENA machine in the CERN AD facility, the AD infrastructures must be adapted to support 20 more years of exploitation of the facility with improved conditions for most experiments. The first stage of improvements has been completed in 2015 (new control room building with cafeteria and conference room, annex building with storage space for experiments and cleaning room), together with an improved circuit to welcome visitors to this very popular place at CERN. The second stage of improvements will be presented, detailing the enlargement of existing experimental areas (ALPHA, ASACUSA, and BASE), installation of new experimental areas (for GBAR and possibly AEGIS 2) and maximization of usage of AD ground floor space for physics

Seminar for CERN official guides

During the first part of the seminar Michael Doser will present the Antiproton Decelerator machine and the experiments working with the antiprotons. The second part presented by François Butin, will be about safety, access and visits of the AD with the public

Le Syndic Butin et la réunion de Genève à la France en 1798, lettres de François Gabriel Butin, publiées par Marc Peter,...

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Enterobacter cloacae colonisation and infection in a neonatal intensive care unit: retrospective investigation of preventive measures implemented after a multiclonal outbreak

International audienceBackground: Enterobacter cloacae species is responsible for nosocomial outbreaks in vulnerable patients in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). The environment can constitute the reservoir and source of infection in NICUs. Herein we report the impact of preventive measures implemented after an Enterobacter cloacae outbreak inside a NICU. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in one level 3 NICU in Lyon, France, over a 6 year-period (2012-2018). After an outbreak of Enterobacter cloacae infections in hospitalized neonates in 2013, several measures were implemented including intensive biocleaning and education of medical staff. Clinical and microbiological characteristics of infected patients and evolution of colonization/infection with Enterobacter spp. in this NICU were retrieved. Moreover, whole genome sequencing was performed on 6 outbreak strains. Results: Enterobacter spp. was isolated in 469 patients and 30 patients developed an infection including 2 meningitis and 12 fatal cases. Preventive measures and education of medical staff were not associated with a significant decrease in patient colonisation but led to a persistent decreased use of cephalosporin in the NICU. Infection strains were genetically diverse, supporting the hypothesis of multiple hygiene defects rather than the diffusion of a single clone. Conclusions: Grouped cases of infections inside one setting are not necessarily related to a single-clone outbreak and could reveal other environmental and organisational problematics. The fight against implementation and transmission of Enterobacter spp. in NICUs remains a major challenge

Procalcitonin in Preterm Neonates: A Different Threshold and Prolonged Interpretation

International audienceObjectives: To evaluate the positive threshold of PCT for neonates of <32 weeks of gestation for the diagnosis of early-onset sepsis and to determine if the level of PCT collected within 6 h of life could be used. Design: Retrospective and bicentric study from May 2016 to April 2018. Setting: Two groups were established, neonates evaluated for PCT at birth (CordPCT) and within 6 h of life (delPCT). Patients: Two hundred and sixty neonates of <32 weeks of gestation born in Nice and South Paris (Bicêtre) University Hospitals, had been evaluated for PCT level. Main Outcomes Measures: The value of the PCT positive threshold was determined for the total population and each groups thanks ROC curves. Results: The threshold level of PCT for the total population was 0.98 ng/mL. The threshold value of cordPCT group was 1.00 vs. 0.98 ng/mL for delPCT group. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics curve for PCT sampled in delPCT group was significantly higher than in cordPCT group (0.94 compared to 0.75). Conclusions: The threshold level of PCT was higher in this cohort of neonates of <32 weeks of gestation compared to the value generally described for term neonates. The secondary sampling PCT level seems to be usable in screening algorithm for early-onset neonatal sepsis

Support for the LHC experiments

Experimental Area Teams have been put in place and charged with the general co-ordination and management of the LHC experimental areas and of the zones in the LHC tunnel hosting near-beam detectors of the experiments. This organization is responsible for the in situ co-ordination of work with the aim of providing a structure that enables the experiment collaborations and accelerator groups to carry out their work effectively and safely. This presentation will review some key elements in the support given to the LHC experimental areas and, given the track record and successful implementation during the LHC installation and commissioning phase, will argue that such an organization structure will be required also for the period of LHC exploitation for physics

Adaptation to vancomycin pressure of multiresistant Staphylococcus capitis NRCS-A involved in neonatal sepsis

International audienceOBJECTIVES: The Staphylococcus capitis clone NRCS-A has recently been described as a frequent cause of late-onset sepsis (LOS) in pre-term neonates worldwide. Representatives of this clone exhibit non-susceptibility to vancomycin, the first-line agent used in LOS. Cases of prolonged S. capitis LOS despite vancomycin treatment have been reported. We investigated whether NRCS-A strains exhibit faster adaptation to vancomycin pressure as compared with other staphylococci. METHODS: Strains of S. capitis NRCS-A, S. capitis non-NRCS-A and Staphylococcus epidermidis (n?=?2 each, all with vancomycin MICs <=2 mg/L) and the prototype vancomycin-heteroresistant Staphylococcus aureus Mu3 were subcultured daily for 15 days with 0.25-32 mg/L vancomycin. Regression coefficients of daily log2 MICs on time were used to estimate the kinetics of resistance development. Changes in bacterial cell-wall thickness were measured by transmission electron microscopy. To assess the stability of resistance and the emergence of cross-resistance, vancomycin, teicoplanin, daptomycin and linezolid MICs were measured before and after vancomycin treatment, as well as after nine additional subcultures without antibiotics. RESULTS: All strains developed a stable resistance to vancomycin, but this occurred significantly faster in S. capitis NRCS-A than in S. capitis non-NRCS-A (P?\textless?0.001) and other species (P?\textless?0.0001). Vancomycin resistance in S. capitis NRCS-A was associated with significant cell-wall thickening and an increase in MICs of daptomycin and teicoplanin, but not linezolid. CONCLUSIONS: S. capitis NRCS-A rapidly adapts to vancomycin pressure as compared with potential niche competitors, a feature that might contribute to its success in neonatal ICUs where vancomycin is widely prescribed

CERN ELENA project progress report

The Extra Low Energy Antiproton ring (ELENA) is a CERN project aiming at constructing a 30 m circumference synchrotron to further decelerate antiprotons from the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) from 5.3 MeV to 100 keV. The additional deceleration complemented by an electron cooler to reduce emittances will allow the existing AD experiments to increase substantially their antiproton capture efficiencies and render new experiments possible. The ELENA design is now well advanced and the project has entered the construction stage, in particular for what concerns the infrastructure. Installation of the machine components is foreseen during the second half of 2015 and beginning of 2016 followed by ring commissioning until the end of 2016. New electrostatic transfer lines to the experiments will be installed and commissioned during the first half of 2017 followed by the first physics operation with AD/ELENA end of 2017. Main ELENA related infrastructure progresses as well as the status of the project are reported

Vancomycin treatment is a risk factor for vancomycin-nonsusceptible Staphylococcus capitis sepsis in preterm neonates

International audienceOBJECTIVES: Multidrug-resistant, vancomycin-nonsusceptible Staphylococcus capitis is an emerging cause worldwide of late-onset sepsis (LOS) in preterm neonates. The pathophysiology and risk factors for S.~capitis-related LOS are poorly understood, but we hypothesized that S.~capitis LOS follows translocation from the gut microbiota rather than catheter invasion. The objective of this study was to investigate the risk factors of S.~capitis LOS and gut colonization. METHODS: We conducted a prospective single-centre cohort study of patients hospitalized in a tertiary-care unit (Lyon, France) from June 2011 to January 2012. S.~capitis gut colonization was determined weekly from stool cultures. The determinants of gut colonization and LOS were established by multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Eighty-three (36.2%) of 229 patients had S.~capitis-positive stool culture, and 28 (12.2%) developed S.~capitis LOS during hospitalization. Independent risk factors for S.~capitis LOS included prior administration of vancomycin independent of a previous LOS episode (hazard ratio 6.44, 95% confidence interval 2.15-19.3, p 0.001) and low birth weight (hazard ratio 0.72 per 100~g increase, 95% confidence interval 0.55-0.95, p 0.02). The prior administration of vancomycin was also an independent risk factor for S.~capitis colonization (hazard ratio 3.45, 95% confidence interval 2.07-5.76, p \textless0.001), particularly in the first week of life and in noncolonized neonates. CONCLUSIONS: Neonates treated with vancomycin are at a higher risk of LOS caused by vancomycin-nonsusceptible S.~capitis. The use of vancomycin in neonates must urgently be optimized to limit the selection of vancomycin-nonsusceptible strains, for which alternative antibiotics are lacking

Design and characterization of an antiproton deceleration beamline for the PUMA experiment

We report on the design and characterization of an antiproton deceleration beamline, based on a pulsed drift tube, for the PUMA experiment at the Antimatter Factory at CERN. The design has been tailored to high-voltage (100kV) and ultra-high vacuum (below 10−10mbar) conditions. A first operation achieved decelerating antiprotons from an initial energy of 100keV down to (3898±3)eV, marking the initial stage in trapping antiprotons for the PUMA experiment. Employing a high-voltage ramping scheme, the pressure remains below 2×10−10mbar upstream of the pulsed drift tube for 75% of the cycle time. The beamline reached a transmission of (55±3)% for antiprotons decelerated to 4keV. The beam is focused on a position sensitive detector to a spot with horizontal and vertical standard deviations of σhoriz=(3.0±0.1)mm and σvert=(3.8±0.2)mm, respectively. This spot size is within the acceptance of the PUMA Penning trap.We report on the design and characterization of an antiproton deceleration beamline, based on a pulsed drift tube, for the PUMA experiment at the Antimatter Factory at CERN. The design has been tailored to high-voltage (100 kV) and ultra-high vacuum (below $10^{-10}$ mbar) conditions. A first operation achieved decelerating antiprotons from an initial energy of 100 keV down to ($3898\pm 3$) eV, marking the initial stage in trapping antiprotons for the PUMA experiment. Employing a high-voltage ramping scheme, the pressure remains below $2\cdot 10^{-10}$ mbar upstream of the pulsed drift tube for 75% of the cycle time. The beamline reached a transmission of ($55 \pm 3$)% for antiprotons decelerated to 4 keV. The beam is focused on a position sensitive detector to a spot with horizontal and vertical standard deviations of ${\sigma}_\mathrm{horiz}$ = ($3.0 \pm 0.1$) mm and ${\sigma}_\mathrm{vert}$ = ($3.8 \pm 0.2$) mm, respectively. This spot size is within the acceptance of the PUMA Penning trap