Nonpuerperal Breast Infection

Objective: We undertook a microbiological study of purulent specimens from women with symptomatic breast abscesses

Rapid detection and identification of strains carrying carbapenemases directly from positive blood cultures using MALDI-TOF MS

MALDI-TOF MS has been evaluated to detect carbapenemases activity and pathogen identification directly from positive blood cultures. 21 non-carbapenemase producers and 19 carbapenemase producers Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were included in the study. This technique is simple and detects carbapenemases in 4.5h with high sensitivity and specificity

Soil management and engineering for blue-green infrastructure

As urban areas continue to expand, the value of urban blue-green infrastructure (BGI) for increasing the social, environmental and economic sustainability of cities is increasingly recognised. However, there remains an inherent lack of knowledge and awareness around the fundamental contribution that soils make to the functioning of ecosystems within urban BGI. Urban landscapes are a nexus of environmental, engineered and socio-economic factors, which combine to create multifunctional spaces for people to live and work, all underpinned by the soil beneath us. In this chapter, we first outline the characteristics of urban soils and their importance for providing a range of beneficial ecosystem services, such as food production, flood mitigation, carbon storage and opportunities for recreation. We then highlight the key challenges and opportunities around the management and creation of soils within urban BGI. We conclude by emphasising the urgent need for better recognition of urban soils within planning policy and setting out a series of land-use specific management recommendations that will better enable urban soils to support the delivery of ecosystem services and, ultimately, enhance human health and wellbeing

Millennium Simulation Dark Matter Haloes: Multi-fractal and Lacunarity Analysis with Homogeneity Transition

We investigate from the fractal viewpoint the way in which the dark matter is grouped at z = 0 in the Millennium dark matter cosmological simulation. The determination of the cross to homogeneity in the Millennium Simulation data is described from the behaviour of the fractal dimension and the lacunarity. We use the sliding window technique to calculate the fractal mass-radius dimension, the pre-factor F and the lacunarity of this fractal relation. Besides, we determinate the multi-fractal dimension and the lacunarity spectrum, including their dependence with radial distance. This calculations show a radial distance dependency of all the fractal quantities, with heterogeneity clustering of dark matter haloes up to depths of 100 Mpc/h. The dark matter haloes clustering in the Millennium Simulation shows a radial distance dependency, with two regions clearly defined. The lacunarity spectrum for values of the structure parameter q >= 1 shows regions with relative maxima, revealing the formation of clusters and voids in the dark matter haloes distribution. With the use of the multi-fractal dimension and the lacunarity spectrum, the transition to homogeneity at depths between 100 Mpc/h and 120 Mpc/h for the Millennium Simulation dark matter haloes is detected.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, MNRAS - Accepte

Work and heat fluctuations in two-state systems: a trajectory thermodynamics formalism

Two-state models provide phenomenological descriptions of many different systems, ranging from physics to chemistry and biology. We investigate work fluctuations in an ensemble of two-state systems driven out of equilibrium under the action of an external perturbation. We calculate the probability density P(W) that a work equal to W is exerted upon the system along a given non-equilibrium trajectory and introduce a trajectory thermodynamics formalism to quantify work fluctuations in the large-size limit. We then define a trajectory entropy S(W) that counts the number of non-equilibrium trajectories P(W)=exp(S(W)/kT) with work equal to W. A trajectory free-energy F(W) can also be defined, which has a minimum at a value of the work that has to be efficiently sampled to quantitatively test the Jarzynski equality. Within this formalism a Lagrange multiplier is also introduced, the inverse of which plays the role of a trajectory temperature. Our solution for P(W) exactly satisfies the fluctuation theorem by Crooks and allows us to investigate heat-fluctuations for a protocol that is invariant under time reversal. The heat distribution is then characterized by a Gaussian component (describing small and frequent heat exchange events) and exponential tails (describing the statistics of large deviations and rare events). For the latter, the width of the exponential tails is related to the aforementioned trajectory temperature. Finite-size effects to the large-N theory and the recovery of work distributions for finite N are also discussed. Finally, we pay particular attention to the case of magnetic nanoparticle systems under the action of a magnetic field H where work and heat fluctuations are predicted to be observable in ramping experiments in micro-SQUIDs.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures (Latex

Incidence of WHO stage 3 and 4 conditions following initiation of Anti-Retroviral Therapy in resource limited settings

To determine the incidence of WHO clinical stage 3 and 4 conditions during early anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in resource limited settings (RLS)

Perfil microbiológico y sensibilidad a antibióticos de microorganismos aislados de infecciones conjuntivales en el Instituto de Oftalmología Fundación Conde de Valenciana. Reporte del año 2012

ResumenIntroducciónLa conjuntiva es el tejido ocular que se infecta con mayor frecuencia. Los agentes patógenos más frecuentes de la conjuntivitis suelen ser los virus y las bacterias. El uso indiscriminado de antibióticos de amplio espectro para tratar la conjuntivitis ha generado microorganismos resistentes.ObjetivoIdentificar los microorganismos más frecuentes aislados de muestras de origen conjuntival y conocer su susceptibilidad antibiótica.Material y métodosRevisión retrospectiva de cultivos provenientes de raspados conjuntivales obtenidos durante el 2012.ResultadosSe obtuvieron 44 muestras de origen conjuntival. Estas provinieron de 21 varones y 23 mujeres. La mediana (25%, 75%) de la edad fue 62 años (39-68). El cultivo fue positivo en 13 de las muestras obtenidas, identificándose 5 microorganismos diferentes. Staphylococcus epidermidis fue el microorganismo aislado con mayor frecuencia (9 cepas). Todas las cepas de S. epidermidis fueron sensibles a vancomicina, gentamicina, cefotaxima, moxifloxacino y ofloxacino. La mayoría de las cepas de S. epidermidis (6/9) mostraron resistencia a múltiples antibióticos.ConclusionesStaphylococcus epidermidis fue el microorganismo aislado con mayor frecuencia en muestras provenientes de infecciones conjuntivales. Todas las cepas de S. epidermidis fueron sensibles a vancomicina, gentamicina y moxifloxacino y la mayoría de ellas fueron multirresistentes a los antibióticos en evaluación.AbstractIntroductionThe conjunctiva is the tissue of the eye that gets infected with more frequency. The most common pathogens of conjunctivitis are viruses and bacteria. The indiscriminate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat conjunctivitis generated resistant microorganisms.ObjectiveIdentify the most common microorganisms isolated from samples of conjunctival origin and know their antibiotic susceptibility.Material and methodsRetrospective review of culture from conjunctival swabs obtained during 2012.ResultsWe collected 44 samples of conjunctival origin. They came from 21 males and 23 women. The median (25%, 75%) of age was 62 years (39-68). The culture was positive in 13 samples, identifying five different microorganisms. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common isolated microorganism (9 strains). All strains of S. epidermidis were sensitive to vancomycin, gentamicin, cefotaxime, ofloxacin and moxifloxacin. The multiple antibiotic resistance was identified in the majority of strains of S. epidermidis (6/9).ConclusionsStaphylococcus epidermidis was the most common isolated microorganism from samples of conjuntival infections. All strains of S. epidermidis were sensitive to vancomycin and moxifloxacin and most of them showed multidrug resistance to antibiotics

Stability of Terrestrial Planets in the Habitable Zone of Gl 777 A, HD 72659, Gl 614, 47 Uma and HD 4208

We have undertaken a thorough dynamical investigation of five extrasolar planetary systems using extensive numerical experiments. The systems Gl 777 A, HD 72659, Gl 614, 47 Uma and HD 4208 were examined concerning the question of whether they could host terrestrial like planets in their habitable zones (=HZ). First we investigated the mean motion resonances between fictitious terrestrial planets and the existing gas giants in these five extrasolar systems. Then a fine grid of initial conditions for a potential terrestrial planet within the HZ was chosen for each system, from which the stability of orbits was then assessed by direct integrations over a time interval of 1 million years. The computations were carried out using a Lie-series integration method with an adaptive step size control. This integration method achieves machine precision accuracy in a highly efficient and robust way, requiring no special adjustments when the orbits have large eccentricities. The stability of orbits was examined with a determination of the Renyi entropy, estimated from recurrence plots, and with a more straight forward method based on the maximum eccentricity achieved by the planet over the 1 million year integration. Additionally, the eccentricity is an indication of the habitability of a terrestrial planet in the HZ; any value of e>0.2 produces a significant temperature difference on a planet's surface between apoapse and periapse. The results for possible stable orbits for terrestrial planets in habitable zones for the five systems are summarized as follows: for Gl 777 A nearly the entire HZ is stable, for 47 Uma, HD 72659 and HD 4208 terrestrial planets can survive for a sufficiently long time, while for Gl 614 our results exclude terrestrial planets moving in stable orbits within the HZ.Comment: 14 pages, 18 figures submitted to A&

Neutrino masses from clustering of red and blue galaxies: a test of astrophysical uncertainties

Combining measurements of the galaxy power spectrum and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is a powerful means of constraining the summed mass of neutrino species sum(m_nu), but is subject to systematic uncertainties due to non-linear structure formation, redshift-space distortions and galaxy bias. We empirically test the robustness of neutrino mass results to these effects by separately analyzing power spectra of red and blue galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-II) Data Release 7 (DR7), combined with the CMB five-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP5) data. We consider fitting for a range of maximum wavenumber k using twelve different galaxy bias models. For example, using a new model based on perturbation theory and including redshift space distortions (Saito et al. 2009), the all-galaxy power spectrum combined with WMAP5 for a wavenumber range of k<0.2 Mpc/h yields 95% CL sum(m_nu)<0.46 eV. The red and blue galaxy power spectra give 0.41 and 0.63 eV respectively for this model. Using mock catalogues, we find the expected difference in these limits assuming a true neutrino mass of zero is 0.10 + or - 0.14 eV. Thus the difference of 0.22 eV between upper limits on neutrino mass for red and blue galaxies is approximately 1 sigma from the expected value. We find similar results for the other models and k ranges tested. This indicates good agreement for current data but hints at possible issues for next-generation surveys. Being able to perform such systematic tests is advantageous, and future surveys would benefit by including broad galaxy populations and luminosities that enable such a decomposition.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, matches version published in MNRA

Inmunodominancia del epítope “a”de las fimbrias K88

Escherichia coli strain showing K88 fimbria provoke the highest number of coli infections in newborn piglets around the world. Three serologically different K88 fimbria have been identified: K88ab, K88ac and K88 ad. Letter “a” refers to common epitopes carried by every serotype, while “b”, “c”, and “d” refer to epitopes having a specific serotype. Several monoclonal antibodies mostly joining to conformational epitopes present in region “a” from K88 fimbria were obtained. No matter the different conditions used for immunization, “a” continued being immunodomi- nant. Antibodies obtained from this region showed two different epitopes at least. The monoclonal antibodies could be used designing diagnosis systems.Las cepas de Escherichia coli enterotoxigénicas (ECET) que expresan la fimbria K88 son las que con mayor fre- cuencia mundial causan colibacilosis en cerdos neonatos. Se han identificado tres tipos de fimbrias K88 serológica- mente diferentes: K88ab, K88ac y K88ad. La designación “a” se refiere a epítopes comunes portados por todos los serotipos, mientras las denominaciones “b”, “c” y “d” se refieren a epítopes serotipo específicos. En este trabajo se expone la obtención de varios anticuerpos monoclonales que se unen mayoritariamente a epítopes conformacionales presentes en la región “a” de la fimbria K88. Esta región fue inmunodominante a pesar de las diferentes condiciones de inmunización usadas. Los anticuerpos obtenidos reconocen en la región ”a”, al menos dos epítopes diferentes. Los anticuerpos monoclonales generados pudieran ser empleados para el diseño de sistemas de diagnóstico