Diversity of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Strains Isolated from Inpatients of 30 Hospitals in Orange County, California

There is a need for a regional assessment of the frequency and diversity of MRSA to determine major circulating clones and the extent to which community and healthcare MRSA reservoirs have mixed. We conducted a prospective cohort study of inpatients in Orange County, California, systematically collecting clinical MRSA isolates from 30 hospitals, to assess MRSA diversity and distribution. All isolates were characterized by spa typing, with selective PFGE and MLST to relate spa types with major MRSA clones. We collected 2,246 MRSA isolates from hospital inpatients. This translated to 91/10,000 inpatients with MRSA and an Orange County population estimate of MRSA inpatient clinical cultures of 86/100,000 people. spa type genetic diversity was heterogeneous between hospitals, and relatively high overall (72%). USA300 (t008/ST8), USA100 (t002/ST5) and a previously reported USA100 variant (t242/ST5) were the dominant clones across all Orange County hospitals, representing 83% of isolates. Fifteen hospitals isolated more t008 (USA300) isolates than t002/242 (USA100) isolates, and 12 hospitals isolated more t242 isolates than t002 isolates. The majority of isolates were imported into hospitals. Community-based infection control strategies may still be helpful in stemming the influx of traditionally community-associated strains, particularly USA300, into the healthcare setting. © 2013 Hudson et al

Consumption of milk and milk products in the population of the Upper Silesian agglomeration inhabitants

Background: Providing the appropriate amount of nutrients at every stage of life is a key element determining the proper development and functioning of the body. Objective: Because of the nutritional value and resulting position of milk and milk products in the daily diet, this study was undertaken to assess the consumption of milk and milk products among the inhabitants of the Upper Silesian agglomeration. Design: The survey covered 600 people, including 339 women (56.5%) and 261 men (43.5%) aged 18–78 years. To assess the consumption of milk and milk products, as a research tool an original survey with the closed-ended and open-ended questions was used. The questions concerned the characteristics of the surveyed group and various aspects of the consumption of milk and milk products. The results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using the Statistica 10.0 program with a chi-square test for quality features. Results: The level of consumption of milk and milk products among the Upper Silesian agglomeration inhabitants is insufficient in relation to nutrition recommendations. However, despite many controversies surrounding milk, the respondents also claimed that it played an important role in their daily diet. Conclusions: The most frequently consumed type of milk in the surveyed group is ultra heat treated (UHT) milk with average fat content

Development and implementation of the AIDA International Registry for patients with undifferentiated systemic autoinflammatory diseases

Objective: This paper points out the design, development and deployment of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry dedicated to pediatric and adult patients affected with Undifferentiated Systemic AutoInflammatory Diseases (USAIDs). Methods: This is a physician-driven, population- and electronic-based registry employed for real-world data collection about demographics, clinical, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic data of USAIDs patients. Data recruitment, based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool, is thought to gain standardised information for real-life research and has been developed to change over time according to the scientific acquisitions and potentially communicate with other similar instruments; this platform ensures security, data quality and data governance. Results: The focus of the AIDA project is connecting physicians and researchers from all over the world to shed a new light on heterogeneous rare diseases. Since its birth, 99 centres from 20 countries and 4 continents have joined the AIDA project. Forty-eight centres have already obtained the approval from their local Ethics Committees. Currently, the platform counts 265 users (99 Principal Investigators, 162 Site Investigators, 2 Lead Investigators, and 2 data managers). The Registry is collecting baseline and follow-up data using 3357 fields organised into 23 instruments, which include demographics, history, symptoms, trigger/risk factors, therapies, and healthcare access for USAIDs patients. Conclusions: The development of the AIDA International Registry for USAIDs patients will facilitate the on-line collection of standardised data, connecting a worldwide group of researchers: the Registry constitutes an international multicentre observational groundwork aimed at increasing the study cohort of patients with USAIDs in order to improve our knowledge of this peculiar cluster of autoinflammatory diseases

Development and implementation of the AIDA International Registry for patients with Behçet's disease

Objective: Purpose of the present paper is to point out the design, development and deployment of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry dedicated to pediatric and adult patients with Behçet’s disease (BD). Methods: The Registry is a clinical physician-driven population- and electronic-based instrument implemented for the retrospective and prospective collection of real-life data about demographics, clinical, therapeutic, laboratory, instrumental and socioeconomic information from BD patients; the Registry is based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool, which is thought to collect standardised information for clinical real-life research, and has been realised to change over time according to future scientific acquisitions and potentially communicate with other existing and future Registries dedicated to BD. Results: Starting from January 31st to November 23rd, 2021, 99 centres from 20 countries in 4 continents have been involved. Forty-eight of these have already obtained the approval from their local Ethics Committees. Currently, the platform counts 265 users (99 Principal Investigators, 162 Site Investigators, 2 Lead Investigators, and 2 data managers). The Registry collects baseline and follow-up data using 5474 fields organised into 15 instruments, including patient’s demographics, history, clinical manifestations and symptoms, trigger/risk factors, therapies and healthcare access. Conclusions: The development of the AIDA International Registry for BD patients will facilitate the collection of standardised data leading to real-world evidence, enabling international multicentre collaborative research through data sharing, international consultation, dissemination of knowledge, inclusion of patients and families, and ultimately optimisation of scientific efforts and implementation of standardised care

Overview and introduction to autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder generally manifesting in the first few years of life and tending to persist into adolescence and adulthood. It is characterized by deficits in communication and social interaction and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. It is a disorder with multifactorial etiology. In this chapter, we will focus on the most important and common epidemiological studies, pathogenesis, screening, and diagnostic tools along with an explication of genetic testing in ASD