DOC trail: soil organic matter quality and soil aggregate stability in organic and conventional soils

Conclusion Soil organic matter quality is affected by the agricultural systems of the DOC trial. System effects on the chemical composition, however, were smaller than those on the living organisms in soil and their functions. A close correlation was found between soil structure and microbial biomass indicating that microbes are playing an important role in soil structural stability

Antimicrobial Activity of Glucoprotamin: A Clinical Study of a New Disinfectant for Instruments

Abstract Objective: To determine the in vitro efficacy of glucoprotamin for the disinfection of instruments. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: University women's hospital. Methods: Instruments were immersed in saline solution after use, and glucoprotamin was added to a concentration of 1.5% before soaking for 60 minutes. Biocidal activity was determined by the difference in colony-forming units (CFU) on instruments before and after disinfection. Results: One hundred thirty-seven instruments were collected during 10 days and exposed to a 1.5% dilution of glucoprotamin without prior washing. Bioburden before disinfection ranged from 2 × 105 to 7.1 × 107 CFU per instrument. Average bacterial killing was 5.98 log10 CFU ± 0.48 under aerobic conditions and 6.75 log10 CFU ± 0.54 under anaerobic conditions, despite the presence of large amounts of proteins on instruments that were frequently bloody. No vegetative bacteria were isolated in any sample after disinfection. Conclusion: This clinical study confirmed excellent in vitro efficacy of glucoprotamin without prior removal of proteins and debri

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among dental patients: a problem for infection control in dentistry?

We assessed the frequency of carriers of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among 500 dental patients of a university clinic. From each participant, two specimens were taken from the anterior nares and the pharynx and analysed by culture. The participants completed a questionnaire on possible risk factors of MRSA infection. Two hundred ten individuals carried S. aureus, 90 in the nares only, 51 in the throat only and 69 in nares and throat. Isolates of 208 patients were methicillin-sensitive; two isolates were methicillin-resistant, both carried in the throat exclusively. In conclusion, the frequency of nasal and/or throat carriers of MRSA among dental patients was low and suggests few opportunities of exposure in the dental clinic assesse

Long distance mode choice and distributions of values of travel time savings in three European countries

The study presented in this paper uses Stated Preferences (SP) data on mode choice collected as part of a recent survey on long distance travel u n dertaken in three European countries. The purpose of this article is twofold. It aims at exploring the impacts of the choic e of mixing probability distri butions while accounting for unobserved taste heter ogeneity and it aims at focusing on the derived estimation of the distribu tions of values of travel time savings (VTTS). We compare eleven distributions, each having particular properties in terms of domain, location, scale, and shape. Due to the repetiti ve nature of the SP experiments, we estimate mixtures of Multinomial Logit (MNL) models for panel data. The results show that the mixing distributions differ from one country to another, suggesting existence of European disparities as it regards long - dista nce mode choice. The results also show that long - distance travellers pay a lot more attention to access and egress travel times to and from the main mode than to total travel time with the main mode

Microbiological tests to predict treatment outcome in experimental device-related infections due to Staphylococcus aureus

Treatment outcome of experimental device-related infections cannot be predicted by the results of standard susceptibility tests such as MIC. Microorganisms involved in such infections have a slow growth rate and adhere to surfaces. Therefore, laboratory tests were developed taking into account these properties and compared with the treatment outcome in an animal model. Vancomycin, teicoplanin, ciprofloxacin and fleroxacin were tested alone, or in combination with rifampicin for their ability to cure experimental device-related infections in guinea pigs due to Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213. Rifampicin alone or in combination was significantly more effective than the other four drugs (P < 0·001). Combined treatment with rifampicin had a higher cure rate than rifampicin alone. Treatment success was not predicted by an antibiotic trough level exceeding the MIC at site of infection. In contrast, drug efficacy was predicted if the stationary-phase MBC was in the sensitive range, and if glass-adherent S. aureus was killed by low drug concentration

Throat Swabs Are Necessary to Reliably Detect Carriers of Staphylococcus aureus

The anterior nares are the most important screening site of colonization with Staphylococcus aureus. We screened 2966 individuals for S. aureus carriage with swabs of both nares and throat. A total of 37.1% of persons were nasal carriers, and 12.8% were solely throat carriers. Screening of throat swabs significantly increases the sensitivity of detection among carriers by 25.7

MATLAB/Octave function to evaluate time-domain signals according to the measurement bandwidth and average/peak detector of EMI test receivers

Electromagnetic emissions are often measured with EMI (electromagnetic emissions) test receivers or spectrum analyzers [1] that must be specifically set up regarding their measurement bandwidth, frequency step size and measurement time (e.g. [2] for automobiles). Additionally, the emissions must be evaluated by different measurement detectors (e.g. average or peak) that may all have individual limit lines like in [2]. EMI measurements can be done in frequency or in time domain [1]. Frequency-domain measurement devices sequentially apply the superheterodyne principle to the frequencies of interest [3]. Since the measurement time for each frequency may take up to several seconds, the total measurement time can become long and cumbersome [4]. To overcome this problem, the time-domain signal can be processed by using, e.g., fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) and further methods [4]. This principle can also be applied to evaluate time-domain simulation results according to EMC standards. There are numerous publications on this topic including, e.g., [4] and [5]. In this contribution, a MATLAB/Octave function is presented that evaluates time-domain signals according to EMC standards. This “virtual EMI test receiver” mimics actual EMI test receivers regarding their measurement bandwidth, frequency step and average/peak detection. Potential use cases include the EMC evaluation of oscilloscope measurements or simulation results. The developed function can be found in the MATLAB Central (https://mathworks.com/matlabcentral/) under the title “Virtual EMI test receiver” by Andreas Bendicks [6]. In the following section, the superheterodyne measurement principle is described that is mimicked by the virtual EMI test receiver. Afterward, the corresponding signal processing of the MATLAB/Octave function is explained. The precision of the MATLAB/Octave function is verified by comparing its results to the ones of an actual EMI test receiver. The work is closed by a conclusion and an outlook

Equal Efficacy of Glucoprotamin and an Aldehyde Product for Environmental Disinfection in a Hematologic Transplant Unit: A Prospective Crossover Trial

Background. The inanimate hospital environment has emerged as an important reservoir of nosocomial pathogens. In particular, multidrug-resistant pathogens, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter species, and Clostridium difficile, play a major role in the transmission of hospital-acquired infections. In Europe, aldehydes, chlorine, and quaternary ammonium compounds have been commonly used for environmental disinfection. Glucoprotamin, a newer active compound for disinfectants, has been clinically tested for disinfection of instruments but not for environmental disinfection. Objective. This study evaluated the antimicrobial effectiveness of a glucoprotamin-containing product (Incidin) compared with that of an aldehyde-containing product (Deconex), the current standard at our institution. Methods. This prospective crossover study was conducted in our access-restricted hematologic transplant unit. A total of 3,086 samples from the environment were processed and examined for overall bacterial burden as well as selectively for S. aureus, C. difficile, and gram-negative bacteria. Results. There was no significant difference in residual bacteria after disinfection between the 2 products in terms of overall burden and selected pathogens. Enterococci were the predominant pathogens recovered from surfaces, but no vancomycin-resistant enterococci were recovered. Similarly, C. difficile could not be found in the patients' environment, even in rooms, despite the use of selective media. Conclusion. The aldehyde-containing product (Deconex) and the glucoprotamin-containing product (Incidin) demonstrated similar efficacy against environmental contamination in a hematologic transplant unit with the application of selective media for C. difficile, S. aureus, and gram-negative bacteria in addition to standard mediu

Rate of Transmission of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae Without Contact Isolation

The estimated rate of spread of extended-spectrum beta-lactamaseproducing Enterobacteriaceae was low in a tertiary care university-affiliated hospital with high levels of standard hygiene precautions, challenging the routine use of contact isolation in a non-epidemic settin