Insights into the economic organization of the Phoenician homeland: a multidisciplinary investigation of the later Iron Age II and Persian period Phoenician amphorae from Tell el-Burak

This paper details the results of a large-scale multi-disciplinary analysis of Iron Age pottery from a settlement in the core of the Phoenician homeland. The research presented is centred upon a large corpus of Phoenician carinated-shoulder amphorae (CSA) from the later Iron Age II and Persian period contexts at the coastal site of Tell el-Burak. Traditional typological investigations are combined with a focused archaeometric approach including a new quantitative method for the morphometric analysis of amphorae, thin-section petrography, geochemistry and organic residue analyses, aimed at gaining a more detailed understanding of the organization of the Phoenician economy. Despite gradual, but marked typological changes, very little change in the fabrics of these amphorae was noted over the 400-year Iron Age occupation of the site. The research, thus, demonstrates that the production of Iron Age amphorae from Tell el-Burak was highly organized, and was undertaken by long-lived, sustained and centralized modes. The establishment of Tell el-Burak and this new pottery industry coincides with the proliferation of the world’s first great imperial powers, the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian and Persian empires; the outcomes of this research provide new insights into socio-economic strategies adopted in the Phoenician homeland during this pivotal time

Ceftaroline activity tested against contemporary Latin American bacterial pathogens (2011)

AbstractA total of 2484 target bacterial pathogens were collected (one per patient episode) from patients in 16 Latin American medical centers located in seven nations during 2011. Isolate identity was confirmed at a coordinating laboratory and susceptibility testing was performed for ceftaroline and comparator agents according to reference broth microdilution methods. A total of 30.0% of isolates were from respiratory tract, 29.4% from skin and skin structure, 21.4% from blood stream, 7.9% from urinary tract and 11.3% from other sites. Ceftaroline was active against Staphylococcus aureus (42.8% MRSA) with 83.6% of the isolates at ≤1mg/L and all isolates at ≤2mg/L (MIC5090, 0.25/2mg/L). National MRSA rates ranged from a low of 28.8% in Colombia to a high of 68.1% in Chile. All Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus agalactiae were susceptible to ceftaroline (MIC50/90 values were at ≤0.015/≤0.015mg/L for both). All Streptococcus pneumoniae were susceptible to ceftaroline, linezolid, tigecycline and vancomycin. Susceptibility to ceftriaxone was at 88.4% (CLSI non-meningitis interpretive criteria) and 73.9% (CLSI meningitis interpretive criteria) for all S. pneumoniae. Ceftriaxone susceptibility was only at 33.3% (CLSI non-meningitis interpretive criteria) and 0.0% (CLSI meningitis interpretive criteria) for penicillin-intermediate (penicillin MIC, 4mg/L) strains. All Haemophilus influenzae (29.4% β-lactamase-positive) isolates were susceptible to ceftaroline, amoxicillin–clavulanate, ceftriaxone, and levofloxacin. For the Latin American region, the ESBL-phenotype rate was 37.6% for Escherichia coli and 53.3% for Klebsiella pneumoniae. Ceftaroline was not active against ESBL-phenotype strains but was active against >90.0% of the non-ESBL-phenotype. The spectrum of activity of ceftaroline against pathogens from Latin America indicates that it merits further study for its potential use in the Latin American region

Economic evaluation and techno-economic sensitivity analysis of a mass integrated shrimp biorefinery in North Colombia

The high freshwater consumption requirements in shrimp biorefinery approaches represents one of the major drawbacks of implementing these technologies within the shrimp processing industry. This also affects the costs associated with the plant operation, and consequently, the overall economic performance of the project. The application of mass integration tools such as water pinch analysis can reduce frewshwater consumption by up to 80%, contributing to shrimp biorefinery sustainability. In this work, the economic evaluation and the techno-economic sensitivity analysis for a mass integrated approach for shrimp biorefinery were performed to determine the economic feasibility of the project when located in the North-Colombia region and to identify the critical techno-economic variables affecting the profitability of the process. The integrated approach designed to process 4113.09 tons of fresh shrimp in Colombia reaches a return on investment (%ROI) at 65.88% and a net present value (NPV) at 10.40 MM USD. The process supports decreases of up to 28% in capacity of production and increases of 12% and 11% in the cost of raw materials and variable operating costs without incurring losses, respectively. These findings suggest that the proposed design of the water recycling network coupled to a shrimp biorefinery approach is attractive from an economic point of view

Ceftobiprole Activity against over 60,000 Clinical Bacterial Pathogens Isolated in Europe, Turkey, and Israel from 2005 to 2010

Ceftobiprole medocaril is a newly approved drug in Europe for the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) (excluding patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia but including ventilated HAP patients) and community-acquired pneumonia in adults. the aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of ceftobiprole against prevalent Gram-positive and -negative pathogens isolated in Europe, Turkey, and Israel during 2005 through 2010. A total of 60,084 consecutive, nonduplicate isolates from a wide variety of infections were collected from 33 medical centers. Species identification was confirmed, and all isolates were susceptibility tested using reference broth microdilution methods. Ceftobiprole had high activity against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) (100.0% susceptible), methicillin-susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), beta-hemolytic streptococci, and Streptococcus pneumoniae (99.3% susceptible), with MIC90 values of 0.25, 0.12, 80% inhibited at 8 mu g/ml; 64.6% at MIC values of 16 mu g/ml; 75.4% susceptible), but limited activity was observed against Acinetobacter spp. and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. High activity was also observed against all Haemophilus influenzae (MIC90, <= 0.06 mu g/ml) and Moraxella catarrhalis (MIC50/90, <= 0.06/0.25 mu g/ml) isolates. Ceftobiprole demonstrated a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity against this very large longitudinal sample of contemporary pathogens.Basilea Pharmaceutica International AG (Basel, Switzerland)AchaogenAiresAmerican Proficiency Institute (API)AnacorAstellasAstraZenecaBayerbioMerieuxCempraCerexaContrafectCubist PharmaceuticalsDaiichiDipexiumEnantaFuriexGlaxoSmithKlineJohnson JohnsonLegoChem Biosciences Inc.Meiji Seika KaishaMerckNabrivaNovartisParatekPfizerPPD TherapeuticsPremier Research GroupRempexRib-X PharmaceuticalsSeachaidShionogiThe Medicines Co.TheravanceThermo FisherJMI Labs, North Liberty, IA 52317 USAUniv Toronto, Dept Lab Med & Pathobiol, Toronto, ON, CanadaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, São Paulo, BrazilTufts Univ, Sch Med, Boston, MA 02111 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Telavancin activity when tested by a revised susceptibility testing method against uncommonly isolated Gram-positive pathogens responsible for documented infections in hospitals worldwide (2011–2013)

AbstractThe broth microdilution method for telavancin susceptibility testing was revised and now utilises DMSO as solvent for stock solution preparation and diluent for stock solution dilution, following CLSI guidelines for water-insoluble agents. The revised method also incorporates polysorbate 80 in the test medium to mitigate drug binding to plastics. This revised methodology provides more accurate and reproducible MIC determinations, which results in values lower than the previously established method. This study was conducted to re-establish telavancin potencies and susceptibility profiles (using updated interpretive criteria) against a collection of uncommon clinical pathogens (3821 isolates). Telavancin showed MIC50 values of 0.06mg/L against tested staphylococcal species (MIC50/90, 0.03/0.06mg/L; 98.1–100.0% susceptible), with lower results for Staphylococcus hominis (MIC50, ≤0.015mg/L), Staphylococcus lugdunensis (MIC50, ≤0.015mg/L) and Staphylococcus simulans (MIC50, 0.03mg/L). Vancomycin (MIC50, 1mg/L), daptomycin (MIC50, 0.12–1mg/L) and linezolid (MIC50, 0.25–1mg/L) had MIC50 results at least four-fold higher than telavancin against CoNS. Streptococci (99.2–100.0% susceptible) displayed telavancin MIC50 values of ≤0.015–0.03mg/L. Vancomycin (MIC50, 0.25–0.5mg/L) and linezolid (MIC50, 0.5–1mg/L) had higher MIC50 results against streptococci, whilst daptomycin MIC50 values varied from ≤0.06mg/L to 0.5mg/L. Micrococcus, Listeria and Corynebacterium spp. were inhibited by telavancin at ≤0.015, ≤0.03 and ≤0.06mg/L, respectively. Telavancin exhibited potent in vitro activity against this collection, greater than comparators (daptomycin, linezolid, vancomycin). This study provides new baseline MIC results for telavancin and confirms the spectrum and potency of telavancin against less commonly encountered Gram-positive species

Lippen-Kiefer-Gaumen-Spalten: Individuelle Analyse der Lippenspalte durch 3-D-Lasertopometrie

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Mit Gipsmodellen und Fotografien ist die dreidimensionale Analyse einer Lippen-Kiefer-Gaumen-Spalte meist nur unzureichend möglich. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es daher, die 3-D-Lasertopometrie auf ihre Anwendbarkeit zur dreidimensionalen Weichgewebserfassung bei Patienten mit Lippen-Kiefer-Gaumen-Spalten zu testen. Patienten und Methode: Bei 20 Patienten (3-35 Jahre), die eine einseitige, nicht operierte Lippen-, Lippen-Kiefer- oder Lippen-Kiefer-Gaumen-Spalte aufwiesen, wurde mit einem 3-D-Laserscanner die Gesichtsoberfläche prä- und postoperativ dreidimensional erfasst. Die dabei erzeugten digitalen Datensätze wurden in einer virtuellen Umgebung metrisch analysiert und anhand von Quotienten größenunabhängig wiedergegeben. Sie dienten der Auswahl der Operationstechnik und der Beurteilung des Operationsergebnisses. Ergebnisse: Mit dem 3-D-Laserscanner wurden 3-D-Oberflächen guter Qualität erstellt, die sich im Millimeterbereich ausmessen ließen. Die dreidimensionale Spaltmorphologie konnte in den Datensätzen reproduzierbar mit Landmarks versehen und vermessen werden. Auch die postoperative Symmetrie ließ sich so kontrollieren und objektivieren. Als nachteilig erwiesen sich die relativ lange Messzeit und die Notwendigkeit zur Kombination mehrerer Ansichten. Schlussfolgerung: Das vorgestellte 3-D-Laserverfahren ermöglicht eine präzise dreidimensionale Weichteilanalyse der Lippen- und Nasenregion bei Spaltpatienten. Es eignet sich jedoch nur bedingt für lebhafte Säuglinge und unkooperative Patiente

Emerging importance of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter species and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia as pathogens in seriously ill patients: Geographic patterns, epidemiological features, and trends in the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program (1997-1999)

As part of the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program, a total of 1078 Acinetobacter species and 842 Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates were collected between January 1997 and December 1999 from 5 geographic regions (Canada, the United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific). the frequency of infections (by geographic region and body site), including those due to imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter species and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ)-resistant S. maltophilia, was evaluated. the possibility of seasonal variations in bloodstream infections caused by Acinetobacter species was studied, as was the activity of several therapeutic antimicrobials against all strains. Acinetobacter species and S. maltophilia were most frequently associated with pulmonary infections, independent of the region evaluated. in contrast, patterns of antimicrobial resistance markedly varied among distinct geographic regions, especially for nosocomial isolates. Although the carbapenems were the most active antimicrobials against Acinetobacter species, nearly 11.0% of the nosocomial isolates were resistant to this drug group in both regions. TMP-SMZ, ticarcillin-clavulanic acid, gatifloxacin, and trovafloxacin were the only agents with consistent therapeutic activity against S. maltophilia isolates. Rates of resistance to TMP-SMZ ranged from 2% in Canada and Latin America to 10% in Europe. the geographic differences in resistance patterns among Acinetobacter species and S. maltophilia isolates observed in this study emphasize the importance of local surveillance in determining the most adequate therapy for acinetobacter and S. maltophilia infections and the possible clonal, epidemic nature of occurrence.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, BR-04025010 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Iowa, Coll Med, Iowa City, IA USAQueen Elizabeth II Hlth Sci Ctr, Halifax, NS, CanadaBellvitge Hosp, Barcelona, SpainUniv Utrecht, Utrecht, NetherlandsUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, BR-04025010 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Like-charge attraction through hydrodynamic interaction

We demonstrate that the attractive interaction measured between like-charged colloidal spheres near a wall can be accounted for by a nonequilibrium hydrodynamic effect. We present both analytical results and Brownian dynamics simulations which quantitatively capture the one-wall experiments of Larsen and Grier (Nature 385, p. 230, 1997).Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure