Interactions encountered inside dual-species biofilms formed by Salmonella Typhimurium and autochthonous microbiota recovered from leafy salads on stainless steel

In the present study, the ability of bacteria isolated from leafy salads to affect biofilm formation by Salmonella Typhimurium (ST), when all these were cultured together on stainless steel (SS) coupons, was investigated. To achieve this, isolates recovered from either rocket or spinach salads were left to form mixed culture dual-species biofilms with ST on SS coupons immerged in: (i) LB medium, (ii) rocket sterile extract, and (iii) spinach sterile extract, at 20°C

Restructuring the hospital sector in Greece in order to improve effectiveness and efficiency

Το άρθρο αυτό παρουσιάζει τη μελέτη πουαφορούσε στην αναδιάρθρωση του ΕλληνικούΝοσοκομειακού Τομέα Σκοπός της μελέτηςήταν να προτείνει ένα νέο πρότυπο οργάνω-σης των νοσοκομείων σε ομάδες με βάση τηναναμόρφωση της επείγουσας φροντίδας και τηδιαχείριση των πέντε κύριων χρόνιων νοση-μάτων (Οξύ Έμφραγμα του Μυοκαρδίου, Αγγειακό Εγκεφαλικό Επεισόδιο, Καρκίνος, Σακχαρώδης Διαβήτης και Χρόνια ΑποφρακτικήΠνευμονοπάθεια). Στο πλαίσιο της βελτίωσηςτης αποτελεσματικότητας και αποδοτικότηταςτου νοσοκομειακού τομέα παρουσιάστηκανπροτάσεις όπως η συνεργασία ιδιωτικού καιδημόσιου τομέα καθώς και μέτρα περιορισμούτων δαπανών. Η αναδιάρθρωση του δημόσιουνοσοκομειακού τομέα στηρίχθηκε σε έξι δια-κριτά κριτήρια τα οποία συμπεριελάμβαναν τοπληθυσμιακό κριτήριο, τη συγκέντρωση τουπληθυσμού, το μέγεθος του νοσοκομείου, τηνπαλαιότητα των υποδομών, την ένταση της αξιοποίησης της νοσοκομειακής υποδομής και τηνοικονομική αποδοτικότητα του νοσοκομείου.This paper discusses the study focused on thereform of Greek Hospital Sector, also known as“hospital mergers”. The aim of the study was topropose a new pattern of organizing hospitalsin groups based on the reform of emergencycare and the management of five main chronicdiseases (AMI, Stroke, Cancer, Diabetes Mellitusand COPD). The proposals in general concern thecreation of a national network of health servicesprovided mainly by primary healthcare units andthe largest hospitals of the groups in each healthregion. In the context of improving the hospitalsector efficiency, ways of collaborations betweenprivate and public sector and expenditurecontainment measures are presented. Therestructuring of the public hospital sector reliedon six specific criteria including the populationcriterion, catchment area, hospital size,infrastructure age, utilization of hospital facilitiesand cost. Due to its nature, the study was exposedto various factors such as the diversity of actorsbeing involved, collection and compilation of therelevant data in a short term of three months, lastminute adjustments and the variety of audience

Restructuring the hospital sector in Greece in order to improve effectiveness and efficiency

Το άρθρο αυτό παρουσιάζει τη μελέτη πουαφορούσε στην αναδιάρθρωση του ΕλληνικούΝοσοκομειακού Τομέα Σκοπός της μελέτηςήταν να προτείνει ένα νέο πρότυπο οργάνω-σης των νοσοκομείων σε ομάδες με βάση τηναναμόρφωση της επείγουσας φροντίδας και τηδιαχείριση των πέντε κύριων χρόνιων νοση-μάτων (Οξύ Έμφραγμα του Μυοκαρδίου, Αγγειακό Εγκεφαλικό Επεισόδιο, Καρκίνος, Σακχαρώδης Διαβήτης και Χρόνια ΑποφρακτικήΠνευμονοπάθεια). Στο πλαίσιο της βελτίωσηςτης αποτελεσματικότητας και αποδοτικότηταςτου νοσοκομειακού τομέα παρουσιάστηκανπροτάσεις όπως η συνεργασία ιδιωτικού καιδημόσιου τομέα καθώς και μέτρα περιορισμούτων δαπανών. Η αναδιάρθρωση του δημόσιουνοσοκομειακού τομέα στηρίχθηκε σε έξι δια-κριτά κριτήρια τα οποία συμπεριελάμβαναν τοπληθυσμιακό κριτήριο, τη συγκέντρωση τουπληθυσμού, το μέγεθος του νοσοκομείου, τηνπαλαιότητα των υποδομών, την ένταση της αξιοποίησης της νοσοκομειακής υποδομής και τηνοικονομική αποδοτικότητα του νοσοκομείου.This paper discusses the study focused on thereform of Greek Hospital Sector, also known as“hospital mergers”. The aim of the study was topropose a new pattern of organizing hospitalsin groups based on the reform of emergencycare and the management of five main chronicdiseases (AMI, Stroke, Cancer, Diabetes Mellitusand COPD). The proposals in general concern thecreation of a national network of health servicesprovided mainly by primary healthcare units andthe largest hospitals of the groups in each healthregion. In the context of improving the hospitalsector efficiency, ways of collaborations betweenprivate and public sector and expenditurecontainment measures are presented. Therestructuring of the public hospital sector reliedon six specific criteria including the populationcriterion, catchment area, hospital size,infrastructure age, utilization of hospital facilitiesand cost. Due to its nature, the study was exposedto various factors such as the diversity of actorsbeing involved, collection and compilation of therelevant data in a short term of three months, lastminute adjustments and the variety of audience

ETRI 2014 - Energy Technology Reference Indicator projections for 2010-2050

The Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) is the technology pillar of the EU's energy and climate policy. This report contains assessments of energy technology reference indicators (ETRI) and it is aimed at providing independent and up-to-date cost and performance characteristics of the present and future European energy technology portfolio. It complements the Technology Map of SETIS by making. The ETRIreport provides: • techno-economic data projections for the modelling community and policy makers, e.g. capital and operating costs, thermal efficiencies and technical lifetimes; • greenhouse gas emissions, and water consumptions; The ETRI report covers the time frame 2010 to 2050. This first version of the report focuses on electricity generation technologies, but it also includes data for the electrical transmission grids, energy storage systems, and heat pumps.JRC.F.6-Energy Technology Policy Outloo

The Importance of Human FcγRI in Mediating Protection to Malaria

The success of passive immunization suggests that antibody-based therapies will be effective at controlling malaria. We describe the development of fully human antibodies specific for Plasmodium falciparum by antibody repertoire cloning from phage display libraries generated from immune Gambian adults. Although these novel reagents bind with strong affinity to malaria parasites, it remains unclear if in vitro assays are predictive of functional immunity in humans, due to the lack of suitable animal models permissive for P. falciparum. A potentially useful solution described herein allows the antimalarial efficacy of human antibodies to be determined using rodent malaria parasites transgenic for P. falciparum antigens in mice also transgenic for human Fc-receptors. These human IgG1s cured animals of an otherwise lethal malaria infection, and protection was crucially dependent on human FcγRI. This important finding documents the capacity of FcγRI to mediate potent antimalaria immunity and supports the development of FcγRI-directed therapy for human malaria

Sarcopenic Obesity in Individuals With Neurodisabilities: The SarcObeNDS Study.

IntroductionPatients with neurodisabilities (NDS) are prone to alterations in body composition. Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is a condition characterized by increased adipose tissue accompanied by sarcopenia. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of SO in patients with NDS, including stroke, spinal cord, and traumatic brain injuries.MethodsThe study Sarcopenic Obesity in NeuroDisabled Subjects (acronym: SarcObeNDS) was a cross-sectional study of hospitalized patients (n = 82) and healthy controls (n = 32) with a mean age of 60.00 ± 14.22 years old. SO and sarcopenia were assessed through total body fat % (TBF %), fat mass index (fat mass to height2: FMI = FM/h2; kg/m2), and skeletal muscle index (appendicular skeletal muscle to height2: SMI = ASM/h2; kg/m2) via full-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). This study was registered in the international database ClinicalTrials.gov with the unique identification number NCT03863379.ResultsA statistically significant difference was found in SMI (7.18 ± 0.95 vs. 6.00 ± 1.13 kg/m2, p p = 0.783) and FMI (p = 0.143) between groups. The results remained the same after controlling the results for gender and BMI. A strong positive correlation was demonstrated between BMI and TBF for the total population (r = 0.616, p r = 0.616, p r = 0.728, p ConclusionIn summary, we observed significantly lower BMI and SMI scores in both genders compared to healthy controls. At the clinical level, a timely diagnosis and rapid treatment of sarcopenia and/or obesity in this population may prevent further metabolic repercussions accompanied by higher functional decline and lower quality of life

Trade and trade-offs: shipping in changing climates

This paper addresses the evolution of maritime transport demand in response to global climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. The complexity of the global shipping system makes predicting volumes and patterns of long-term future international maritime trade a challenging task which is best explored by building scenarios rather than ‘precise’ forecasts. We present four contrasting scenarios of international maritime trade out to 2050, available in high resolution in terms of the dimensions studied (regions, countries, commodities, decades), which are consistent with high and low levels of global CO2 mitigation and associated climate impacts. The scenarios project trade increasing to between two and four times the 2010 value by 2050. Scenarios characterised by low temperature increases and material intensity lead to the lower bound trade increase with high trade growth in bioenergy commodities. Unfettered production growth across countries, high temperature increases and material intensity lead to a quadrupling of trade across energy, containerised, dry and wet commodities. The estimated range is lower than those in existing scenarios and forecasts in which globalisation is assumed to continue apace. The scenarios which project the highest growth presupposes both limited decarbonisation (in contrast to the Paris Agreement) and continued growth in expanding markets. The scenarios therefore become a valuable policy and decision-making tool to address technological and operational change required of the shipping sector, if it is to deliver mitigation in line with the Paris Agreement

Clinical practice: Drug desensitization in children

Immediate type allergic reactions to medication are potentially life threatening and can hamper drug therapy of several medical conditions. Exact incidence and prevalence data for these reactions in children are lacking. If no alternative drug treatment is available, a desensitization procedure may secure the continuation of necessary therapy. Desensitization is only appropriate in case of a strong suspicion of an IgE-mediated allergic reaction. It should be performed by trained clinicians (allergy specialists) in a hospital setting where treatment of a potential anaphylactic reaction can be done without any delay. In this article, literature describing desensitization procedures for several antibiotics, antineoplastic agents, and vaccines in children is reviewed. In general, desensitization schemes for children differ only in final dose from schemes for adults. Contradictory data were found regarding the protective effects of premedication with antihistamines and glucocorticoids

Native-state stability determines the extent of degradation relative to secretion of protein variants from Pichia pastoris.

We have investigated the relationship between the stability and secreted yield of a series of mutational variants of human lysozyme (HuL) in Pichia pastoris. We show that genes directly involved in the unfolded protein response (UPR), ER-associated degradation (ERAD) and ER-phagy are transcriptionally up-regulated more quickly and to higher levels in response to expression of more highly-destabilised HuL variants and those variants are secreted to lower yield. We also show that the less stable variants are retained within the cell and may also be targeted for degradation. To explore the relationship between stability and secretion further, two different single-chain-variable-fragment (scFv) antibodies were also expressed in P. pastoris, but only one of the scFvs gave rise to secreted protein. The non-secreted scFv was detected within the cell and the UPR indicators were pronounced, as they were for the poorly-secreted HuL variants. The non-secreted scFv was modified by changing either the framework regions or the linker to improve the predicted stability of the scFv and secretion was then achieved and the levels of UPR indicators were lowered Our data support the hypothesis that less stable proteins are targeted for degradation over secretion and that this accounts for the decrease in the yields observed. We discuss the secretion of proteins in relation to lysozyme amyloidosis, in particular, and optimised protein secretion, in general