Antibiotic susceptibility patterns surveillance and clinical distribution of Enterobacteriaceae.

3700 strains of Enterobacteriaceae clinical isolates were tested by automated devices for susceptibility to several antimicrobial agents widely used in clinical practice. Amikacin demonstrated the greatest in vitro activity whereas ampicillin and mezlocillin were the least active. Finally gentamicin and nalidixic acid had a similar activity to recently introduced cephalosporins. The bacterial species widely isolated were grouped in three clusters according to the clinical body site of isolates: several discrepancies emerged from the study of antibiotic susceptibilities of strains obtained from different body site sources. Source could be correlated with bacterial pattern of resistance

Assisted evaluation of antibiotic resistance development in Pseudomonas aeruginosa from intensive care units.

421 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from patients admitted to intensive care units and tested with automated systems for sensitivity to 21 antimicrobial agents. Data were collected in a database for evaluation and monitoring of resistance development. Results showed that assisted monitoring of antimicrobial resistance gives continuously updated information, with particular attention to the different local therapeutical schedules. It is therefore advisable that clinicians constantly exchange information with the microbiology laboratory through a hospital information system in which data from different laboratories are pooled in real time

Study and Characterization of Insulating Panels for Sustainable Buildings Made by Waste Cardboard and PCMs

The study and development of an innovative material for building insulation is really important for a sustainable society in order to improve comfort and reduce energy consumption. The aim of this work is the development of insulating panels for sustainable buildings based on an innovative material made of waste paper and PCMs. Phase Change Materials (PCMs) have been used for many years in the building industry as smart insulation technology because of their properties of storing and releasing high quantity of latent heat at useful temperatures. The integration of PCMs into cellulose matrix during the waste paper recycling process has been developed in order to obtain a composite material with enhanced thermal properties suitable for building panels. In order to guarantee safety and durability of the product the addition of flame retardant and anti-humidity additives into the composite material has been studied. The results obtained have shown the possibility to realize an innovative and sustainable material suitable to replace insulating panels presently used

Immunoblot typing of oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates.

Recently an immunoblotting system was developed for typing oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Oxacillin-resistant S. aureus (ORSA) isolates recovered during a 4-month period from premature new-borns division of University Hospital of Pavia, with several antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, were evaluated with this typing scheme. Immunoblotting was found to be a useful method with good reproducibility and the ORSA strains isolated at our institution were differentiated in two major groups of organisms clinically and epidemiologically related. Furthermore immunoblot typing showed same specific correlations with susceptibility patterns of ORSA isolates studied