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Not AvailableSoil compaction by machinery traffic in agriculture is a well recognised problem in many parts of the world. To characterize the state of compactness of a soil layer, bulk density (BD) and total porosity are the most frequently used parameters. It is known that exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), exchangeable Mg2+ and pH bear a close relationship with BD. This is because higher values of these properties cloggs the macropores (sometimes micropores) and increases the BD. If the size, nature and amount of these pores can be determined, it may be useful to explain the changes in BD in soils and also help to take proper crop management decisions. Soil micromorphology can be used as a viable tool to assess such pores in soils. Therefore, the present study has been taken up to study some micromorphology thin sections of some benchmark Vertisols from Maharashtra and the image analysis of the soil micrographs to find the amount of pores was done using geographic information system (GIS). BD of soils was determined by three methods, viz. field moist core method, wax clod coating method and pycnometer method. The soils were mainly benchmark Vertisols from Maharashtra as well as random samples collected upto 30cm depth within the study area. Micromorphological studies showed the presence of mainly micropores, whereas macropores were not found in all the soils. The micropores decreased with depth and were observed more in the surface horizons of Paral in Akola and Sait and Asra soils in Amravati districts of Maharashtra. Multiple regression analysis showed significant relationship between field moist core BD and micropores (%) and OC (%) with R2 value of 0.78 and standard error of 0.0813. The saturated hydraulic conductivity is also significantly related with the micropore (%) and OC (%) with R2 value of 0.77 and standard of error of 0.4324 which is less than the standard deviation of observed values i.e. 0.8221. The study also indicated that the field (moist core) BD and the wax clod method drawn bulk density are more effective in interpreting soil properties as they were also well correlated with the amount of micropores. The study exemplified that soil micromorphological thin section study in typical benchmark soils is effective in determining the amount of pores and also explained the reasons for the changes in BD with depth as related to the chemistry of soils. The increase in bulk density with depth was accentuated by the decrease in the quantity of pores in the subsurface soils. This was also reflected by the deteriorating structure of soils and increasing firmness of moist soil consistence. Therefore, increase in bulk density and decrease in the amount of pores with depth can be considered as an important soil quality parameter in the study area. Soil compaction which increases the BD by decreasing the amount of pores causing soil degradation can be prevented by adopting proper management practices that in the long term should be able to preserve good soil structure by minimizing the use of heavy machinery tillage operation and application of FYM regularly and specifically gypsum in problematic soils.Not Availabl

Different epidemiology of bloodstream infections in COVID-19 compared to non-COVID-19 critically ill patients: a descriptive analysis of the Eurobact II study

Funder: European society of Intensive Care MedicineFunder: European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID)Funder: Norva Dahlia foundation and the Redcliffe Hospital Private Practice Trust FundAbstract Background The study aimed to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (HABSIs) between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 critically ill patients. Methods We used data from the Eurobact II study, a prospective observational multicontinental cohort study on HABSI treated in ICU. For the current analysis, we selected centers that included both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 critically ill patients. We performed descriptive statistics between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 in terms of patients’ characteristics, source of infection and microorganism distribution. We studied the association between COVID-19 status and mortality using multivariable fragility Cox models. Results A total of 53 centers from 19 countries over the 5 continents were eligible. Overall, 829 patients (median age 65 years [IQR 55; 74]; male, n = 538 [64.9%]) were treated for a HABSI. Included patients comprised 252 (30.4%) COVID-19 and 577 (69.6%) non-COVID-19 patients. The time interval between hospital admission and HABSI was similar between both groups. Respiratory sources (40.1 vs. 26.0%, p &lt; 0.0001) and primary HABSI (25.4% vs. 17.2%, p = 0.006) were more frequent in COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 patients had more often enterococcal (20.5% vs. 9%) and Acinetobacter spp. (18.8% vs. 13.6%) HABSIs. Bacteremic COVID-19 patients had an increased mortality hazard ratio (HR) versus non-COVID-19 patients (HR 1.91, 95% CI 1.49–2.45). Conclusions We showed that the epidemiology of HABSI differed between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. Enterococcal HABSI predominated in COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 patients with HABSI had elevated risk of mortality. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.org number NCT03937245. Registered 3 May 2019. </jats:sec

Epidemiology and outcomes of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in intensive care unit patients: the EUROBACT-2 international cohort study

Purpose In the critically ill, hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (HA-BSI) are associated with significant mortality. Granular data are required for optimizing management, and developing guidelines and clinical trials. Methods We carried out a prospective international cohort study of adult patients (≥ 18 years of age) with HA-BSI treated in intensive care units (ICUs) between June 2019 and February 2021. Results 2600 patients from 333 ICUs in 52 countries were included. 78% HA-BSI were ICU-acquired. Median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 8 [IQR 5; 11] at HA-BSI diagnosis. Most frequent sources of infection included pneumonia (26.7%) and intravascular catheters (26.4%). Most frequent pathogens were Gram-negative bacteria (59.0%), predominantly Klebsiella spp. (27.9%), Acinetobacter spp. (20.3%), Escherichia coli (15.8%), and Pseudomonas spp. (14.3%). Carbapenem resistance was present in 37.8%, 84.6%, 7.4%, and 33.2%, respectively. Difficult-to-treat resistance (DTR) was present in 23.5% and pan-drug resistance in 1.5%. Antimicrobial therapy was deemed adequate within 24 h for 51.5%. Antimicrobial resistance was associated with longer delays to adequate antimicrobial therapy. Source control was needed in 52.5% but not achieved in 18.2%. Mortality was 37.1%, and only 16.1% had been discharged alive from hospital by day-28. Conclusions HA-BSI was frequently caused by Gram-negative, carbapenem-resistant and DTR pathogens. Antimicrobial resistance led to delays in adequate antimicrobial therapy. Mortality was high, and at day-28 only a minority of the patients were discharged alive from the hospital. Prevention of antimicrobial resistance and focusing on adequate antimicrobial therapy and source control are important to optimize patient management and outcomes