Decrease in All-Cause 30-Day Mortality after Bacteraemia over a 15-Year Period:A Population-Based Cohort Study in Denmark in 2000-2014

Introduction: Bacteraemia is a frequent infectious condition that strongly affects morbidity and mortality. The incidence is increasing worldwide. This study explores all-cause 30-day mortality after bacteraemia in two out of Denmark’s five healthcare regions with approximately 2.4 million inhabitants. Methods: Clinically significant bacteraemia episodes (n = 55,257) were identified from a geographically well-defined background population between 2000 and 2014, drawing on population-based data regarding bacterial species and vital status. All-cause 30-day mortality was assessed in relation to bacteraemia episodes, number of patients with analysed blood cultures and the background population. Results: We observed a decreasing trend of all-cause 30-day mortality between 2000 and 2014, both in relation to the number of bacteraemia episodes and the background population. Mortality decreased from 22.7% of the bacteraemia episodes in 2000 to 17.4% in 2014 (annual IRR [95% CI]: 0.983 [0.979–0.987]). In relation to the background population, there were 41 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2000, decreasing to 39 in 2014 (annual IRR [95% CI]: 0.988 [0.982–0.993]). Numbers of inhabitants, bacteraemia episodes, and analysed persons having BCs increased during the period. Conclusions: All-cause 30-day mortality in patients with bacteraemia decreased significantly over a 15-year period

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

Small Molecule Anti-biofilm Agents Developed on the Basis of Mechanistic Understanding of Biofilm Formation

Microbial biofilms are the cause of persistent infections associated with various medical implants and distinct body sites such as the urinary tract, lungs, and wounds. Compared with their free living counterparts, bacteria in biofilms display a highly increased resistance to immune system activities and antibiotic treatment. Therefore, biofilm infections are difficult or impossible to treat with our current armory of antibiotics. The challenges associated with biofilm infections have urged researchers to pursue a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that are involved in the formation and dispersal of biofilms, and this has led to the identification of several steps that could be targeted in order to eradicate these challenging infections. Here we describe mechanisms that are involved in the regulation of biofilm development in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Acinetobacter baumannii, and provide examples of chemical compounds that have been developed to specifically inhibit these processes. These compounds include (i) pilicides and curlicides which inhibit the initial steps of biofilm formation by E. coli; (ii) compounds that interfere with c-di-GMP signaling in P. aeruginosa and E. coli; and (iii) compounds that inhibit quorum-sensing in P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii. In cases where compound series have a defined molecular target, we focus on elucidating structure activity relationship (SAR) trends within the particular compound series.Published versio