High Prevalence and Resistance Patterns of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the Pomoravlje Region, Serbia

With a view to estimating the prevalence and resistance patterns of CA-MRSA in one region of Serbia, we performed an analysis of MRSA isolates from healthy people and hospitalised patients. The detection of CA-MRSA was carried out by SCCmec typing. In MRSA isolates from hospitalised patients SCCmec types IV and V were found in 76% of the strains. Similar percentage (80%) of CA-MRSA genotypes was present in healthy people. SCCmec type V harbouring MRSA was the most successful clone. Higher prevalence of type V in hospitalised patients to that in healthy people (70% vs 54%) may indicate nosocomial transmissions in at least some hospital units. All MRSA strains from hospitalised patients were resistant to one or more non-β-lactam antibiotics while 52% were multi-resistant. In isolates from healthy people, 16% were sensitive to all non-β-lactam antibiotics and 40% were multi-resistant. Similar percentage of multi-resistant CA- and HA-genotypes occurred in a particular environment (53% vs 50% in hospitalised patients, and 37.5% vs 37.5% in healthy people) indicating selective pressure of antibiotics as a leading force conferring antibiotic resistance. High prevalence of CA-MRSA and high resistance rate both in hospitals and the community suggest that this pathogen has been present in the Pomoravlje Region, central Serbia for years

Immunomonitoring of Monocyte and Neutrophil Function in Critically Ill Patients: From Sepsis and/or Trauma to COVID-19.

Immune cells and mediators play a crucial role in the critical care setting but are understudied. This review explores the concept of sepsis and/or injury-induced immunosuppression and immuno-inflammatory response in COVID-19 and reiterates the need for more accurate functional immunomonitoring of monocyte and neutrophil function in these critically ill patients. in addition, the feasibility of circulating and cell-surface immune biomarkers as predictors of infection and/or outcome in critically ill patients is explored. It is clear that, for critically ill, one size does not fit all and that immune phenotyping of critically ill patients may allow the development of a more personalized approach with tailored immunotherapy for the specific patient. In addition, at this point in time, caution is advised regarding the quality of evidence of some COVID-19 studies in the literature

Factors associated with the rate of COPD exacerbations that require hospitalization

© TÜBİTAK. Background/aim: Exacerbations are key events in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Frequent exacerbations occurring during the natural course of COPD lead to deterioration of health-related quality of life and are major causes of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to identify factors independently associated with frequent severe exacerbations of COPD that require hospitalization. Materials and methods: A case-control study was performed to analyze risk factors and frequency of severe exacerbations, which were defined by the GOLD guideline criteria. Stepwise multivariate regression was used to determine the significant predictors of frequent exacerbations. Results: Results revealed five independent predictors of frequent exacerbations: age, length of hospital stay, FEV1/FVC ratio, CRP level above 10 mg/L, and respiratory comorbidities. Conclusion: COPD patients should be more carefully assessed in terms of age, length of hospital stay, FEV1/FVC ratio, CRP level, and respiratory comorbidities. Patients under 65 years of age with respiratory comorbidities, longer hospital stay, lower FEV1/FVC ratio and CRP of <10 mg/L are more prone to experiencing a minimum of one additional hospitalization in the following year. Patients could spend less time in the hospital environment and increase their quality of life by adjusting these risk factors for hospitalization due to COPD

Ozone absorption in a mechanically stirred reactor

Ozone absorption in water was investigated in a mechanically stirred reactor, using both the semi-batch and continuous mode of operation. A model for the precise determination of the volumetric mass transfer coefficient in open tanks without the necessity of the measurement the ozone concentration in the outlet gas was developed. It was found that slow ozone reactions in the liquid phase, including the decomposition of ozone, can be regarded as one pseudo-first order reaction. Under the examined operating conditions, the liquid phase was completely mixed, while mixing in a gas phase can be described as plug flow. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient was found to vary with the square of the impeller speed

Razgradnja acetamiprida u plodovima trešanja

Degradation of acetamiprid in sweet cherry samples was evaluated at several intervals from the product application until the end of the pre-harvest interval. An orchard of sweet cherries located at Stepanovićevo village near Novi Sad was used in this study. Acetamiprid was applied according to the manufacturer’s recommendation for protecting sweet cherries from their most important pests. Sweet cherry fruit samples were collected at eight intervals: immediately after acetamiprid application and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 days after application. The extraction of acetamiprid from sweet cherry samples was performed using a QuEChERS-based method. Determination was carried out using an HPLC-UV diode array detection system (Agilent 1100, United States) with an Agilent Zorbax Eclipse C18 column (50 mm × 4.6 mm internal diameter, 1.8 μm particle size). The method was subjected to a thorough validation procedure. The recovery data were obtained by spiking blank sweet cherry samples at three concentration levels (0.1-0.3 mg/ kg), yielding 85.4% average recovery. Precision values expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) were below 1.61% for the intraday precision. Acetamiprid showed linear calibrations from 0.05 to 2.5 μg/ml with correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.995%. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were found to be 5 μg/kg and 14 μg/kg, respectively. The validated method was applied in the analysis of acetamiprid in sweet cherry samples. During the study period, the concentration of acetamiprid decreased from 0.529 mg/kg to 0.111 mg/kg. The content of acetamiprid in sweet cherry samples at the end of the pre-harvest interval was below the maximum permissible level specified by the Serbian and EU MRLs.U cilju praćenja razgradnje acetamiprida u plodovima trešanja u periodu od primene preparata do isteka karence, izvršen je tretman preparatom na bazi ove aktivne materije u preporučenoj dozi. Ogled je postavljen u zasadu srednje kasne sorte trešnje na lokalitetu Stepanovićevo u okolini Novog Sada. Plodovi su uzorkovani osam puta – odmah nakon primene preparata, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 i 14 dana. Ekstrakcija acetamiprida iz trešanja izvedena je QuEChERS metodom. Za određivanje acetamiprida korišćena je tečna hromatografija sa DAD detektorom (Agilent 1100, United States) i Agilent Zorbax Eclipse C18 kolonom (unutrašnji prečnik 50 mm x 4.6 mm, veličina čestica 1.8 μm). Kao mobilna faza upotrebljeni su acetonitril i 1.5% rastvor CH3COOH (30/70), sa protokom 1 ml/min, temperaturom kolone 25 oC i injektovanom zapreminom 2,5 μl, dok je kao odgovarajuća talasna dužina usvojena vrednost od 254 nm. Validacija metode je u potpunosti sprovedena u skladu sa zahtevima standarda SANCO/12495/2011 (EU Commission Health and Consumer Protection Directorate- General, 2011). Prosečna vrednost prinosa ekstrakcije acetamiprida iz trešanja proverena na tri nivoa obogaćenja (0.1-0.3 mg/kg) iznosila je 85.4%. Preciznost merenja razmotrena proverom ponovljivosti određivanja acetamiprida izražena je relativnom standardnom devijacijom (RSD) sa vrednošću manjom od 1.61%. U opsegu masenih koncentracija acetamiprida od 0,05 do 2,5 μg/ml postignuta je dobra linearnost odziva detektora sa koeficijentom varijacije od 0,995%. Limit detekcije i kvantifikacije za određivanje acetamiprida u trešnjama prikazanom metodom iznose 5 μg/kg i 14 μg/kg. Tokom ispitivanog perioda koncentracija acetamiprida u trešnjama se smanjivala od 0,592 mg/kg neposredno nakon primene insekticida do 0,111 mg/kg po isteku karence od 14 dana. Analizom je utvrđeno da je sadržaj acetamiprida u uzorcima plodova trešnje nakon isteka perioda karence ispod maksimalno dozvoljene količine za ovu aktivnu materiju propisane Pravilnikom Republike Srbije (0,2 mg/kg) i Evropske Unije (1,5 mg/kg)