Intestinal colonization due to Escherichia coli ST131: Risk factors and prevalence

Background Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) is a successful clonal group that has dramatically spread during the last decades and is considered an important driver for the rapid increase of quinolone resistance in E. coli. Methods Risk factors for rectal colonization by ST131 Escherichia coli (irrespective of ESBL production) were investigated in 64 household members (18 were colonized) and 54 hospital contacts (HC; 10 colonized) of 34 and 30 index patients with community and nosocomial infection due to these organisms, respectively, using multilevel analysis with a p limit of < 0.1. Result Colonization among household members was associated with the use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) by the household member (OR = 3.08; 95% CI: 0.88–10.8) and higher age of index patients (OR = 1.05; 95% CI; 1.01–1.10), and among HC, with being bed-ridden (OR = 21.1; 95% CI: 3.61–160.0) and having a urinary catheter (OR = 8.4; 95% CI: 0.87–76.9). Conclusion Use of PPI and variables associated with higher need of person-to-person contact are associated with increased risk of rectal colonization by ST131. These results should be considered for infection control purposes.Plan Nacional de I + D + i 2013-2016Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)European Development Regional Fund REIPI RD12/0015/0010 REIPI RD16/0016/0001Instituto de Salud Carlos III 070190 AC16/000076-MODERN AC16/AC16/00072-ST131TSJunta de Andalucía CTS5259 CTS21

Everyday life and locative play: an exploration of Foursquare and playful engagements with space and place

Foursquare is a location-based social network (LBSN) that combines gaming elements with features conventionally associated with social networking sites (SNSs). Following two qualitative studies, this article sets out to explore what impact this overlaying of physical environments with play has on everyday life and experiences of space and place. Drawing on early understandings of play, alongside the flâneur and ‘phoneur’ as respective methods for conceptualizing play in the context of mobility and urbanity, this article examines whether the suggested division between play and ordinary life is challenged by Foursquare, and if so, how this reframing of play is experienced. Second, this article investigates what effect this LBSN has on mobility choices and spatial relationships. Finally, the novel concept of the ‘phoneur’ is posited as a way of understanding how pervasive play through LBSNs acts as a mediating influence on the experience of space and place

Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis: what have we learned?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting 0.5–1% of the population worldwide. The disease has a heterogeneous character, including clinical subsets of anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive and APCA-negative disease. Although the pathogenesis of RA is poorly understood, progress has been made in identifying genetic factors that contribute to the disease. The most important genetic risk factor for RA is found in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) locus. In particular, the HLA molecules carrying the amino acid sequence QKRAA, QRRAA, or RRRAA at positions 70–74 of the DRβ1 chain are associated with the disease. The HLA molecules carrying these “shared epitope” sequences only predispose for ACPA-positive disease. More than two decades after the discovery of HLA-DRB1 as a genetic risk factor, the second genetic risk factor for RA was identified in 2003. The introduction of new techniques, such as methods to perform genome-wide association has led to the identification of more than 20 additional genetic risk factors within the last 4 years, with most of these factors being located near genes implicated in immunological pathways. These findings underscore the role of the immune system in RA pathogenesis and may provide valuable insight into the specific pathways that cause RA

Deviant Peer Affiliation and Antisocial Behavior: Interaction with Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA) Genotype

Although genetic and environmental factors are separately implicated in the development of antisocial behavior (ASB), interactive models have emerged relatively recently, particularly those incorporating molecular genetic data. Using a large sample of male Caucasian adolescents and young adults from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the association of deviant peer affiliation, the 30-base pair variable number tandem repeat polymorphism in promoter region of the monoamine oxidase-A (MAOA) gene, and their interaction, with antisocial behavior (ASB) was investigated. Weighted analyses accounting for over-sampling and clustering within schools as well as controlling for age and wave suggested that deviant peer affiliation and MAOA genotype were each significantly associated with levels of overt ASB across a 6-year period. Only deviant peer affiliation was significantly related to covert ASB, however. Additionally, there was evidence suggestive of a gene-environment interaction (G × E) where the influence of deviant peer affiliation on overt ASB was significantly stronger among individuals with the high-activity MAOA genotype than the low-activity genotype. MAOA was not significantly associated with deviant peer affiliation, thus strengthening the inference of G × E rather than gene-environment correlation (rGE). Different forms of gene-environment interplay and implications for future research on ASB are discussed

Cortical injury in multiple sclerosis; the role of the immune system

The easily identifiable, ubiquitous demyelination and neuronal damage that occurs within the cerebral white matter of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been the subject of extensive study. Accordingly, MS has historically been described as a disease of the white matter. Recently, the cerebral cortex (gray matter) of patients with MS has been recognized as an additional and major site of disease pathogenesis. This acknowledgement of cortical tissue damage is due, in part, to more powerful MRI that allows detection of such injury and to focused neuropathology-based investigations. Cortical tissue damage has been associated with inflammation that is less pronounced to that which is associated with damage in the white matter. There is, however, emerging evidence that suggests cortical damage can be closely associated with robust inflammation not only in the parenchyma, but also in the neighboring meninges. This manuscript will highlight the current knowledge of inflammation associated with cortical tissue injury. Historical literature along with contemporary work that focuses on both the absence and presence of inflammation in the cerebral cortex and in the cerebral meninges will be reviewed