Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

Materials: A Protracted Sensitive Period Regulates the Development of Crossmodal Sound-Shape Associations in Humans

Materials for the article "A Protracted Sensitive Period Regulates the Development of Crossmodal Sound-Shape Associations in Humans

Dataset: A Protracted Sensitive Period Regulates the Development of Crossmodal Sound-Shape Associations in Humans

Dataset for the article "A Protracted Sensitive Period Regulates the Development of Crossmodal Sound-Shape Associations in Humans". Format: Office Open XML (OOXML). The uploaded file was checked for being compatible with Microsoft Excel 2016 (v16.0.4849.1000, 64-Bit) and LibreOffice Calc (v4.3.4.1, 32-Bit), on a Windows 7 64-Bit machine. For details of statistical analysis, please see supplemental online material (SOM-R) associated with the article. Funding: European Research Council grant ERC-2009-AdG 249425-CriticalBrainChanges and DFG Ro 2625/10-1 to Brigitte Röder. The authors assert that there are no competing interests

Modeling and scheduling home appliances using nature inspired algorithms for demand response purpose

Demand response (DR) refers to programs used in endeavors to reduce overall power consumption, manage consumption peak hour shifting, and reduce demand on service providers or utilities using different methods. This paper proposes a home appliance scheduler suitable for DR applications. In the proposed method, a controller controls thermal and shiftable loads, where thermal loads are empirical models that consider different factors. They produce the load profile of the home in consideration of different input parameters, e.g., setpoints and user tolerance ranges, and various factors, e.g., the room's physical structure and the external environment. A scheduler uses the controller to implement load shifting using the whale optimization algorithm, particle swarm optimization, and gray wolf optimization (GWO) algorithms for three different occupancy and price schemes. Acceptable results were obtained by applying the models using various outer temperatures and user tolerance ranges. The results also demonstrate cost reduction of 38.59% with GWO for the first occupancy scheme

Materials: A Protracted Sensitive Period Regulates the Development of Crossmodal Sound-Shape Associations in Humans

Materials for the article "A Protracted Sensitive Period Regulates the Development of Crossmodal Sound-Shape Associations in Humans". Format: 3D objects (Stimulus pairs A and C) are in STL format and can be opened in most CAD software (a free and open-source CAD software is FreeCAD, available at www.freecadweb.org). The authors used the software Cura and printed the stimuli with an Ultimaker 2 3D printer. The stimuli can be verified/viewed at a web STL viewer like www.viewstl.com (MIT-licensed). 2/2.5D forms (Stimulus pairs B and E) are in svg and pdf formats which can be used with a compatible laser cutter/printer to produce the stimuli. For laser cutting the authors used the VisiCut sotware (visicut.org). Funding: European Research Council grant ERC-2009-AdG 249425-CriticalBrainChanges and DFG Ro 2625/10-1 to Brigitte Röder. Released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): the materials can be used and modified freely given that there is attribution. Please cite the corresponding article! The authors assert that there are no competing interests. The materials are provided as-is and the authors cannot be held liable for any issues ensuing from the use of the materials

Sound suppresses earliest visual cortical processing after sight recovery in congenitally blind humans

Abstract Neuroscientific research has consistently shown more extensive non-visual activity in the visual cortex of congenitally blind humans compared to sighted controls; a phenomenon known as crossmodal plasticity. Whether or not crossmodal activation of the visual cortex retracts if sight can be restored is still unknown. The present study, involving a rare group of sight-recovery individuals who were born pattern vision blind, employed visual event-related potentials to investigate persisting crossmodal modulation of the initial visual cortical processing stages. Here we report that the earliest, stimulus-driven retinotopic visual cortical activity (<100 ms) was suppressed in a spatially specific manner in sight-recovery individuals when concomitant sounds accompanied visual stimulation. In contrast, sounds did not modulate the earliest visual cortical response in two groups of typically sighted controls, nor in a third control group of sight-recovery individuals who had suffered a transient phase of later (rather than congenital) visual impairment. These results provide strong evidence for persisting crossmodal activity in the visual cortex after sight recovery following a period of congenital visual deprivation. Based on the time course of this modulation, we speculate on a role of exuberant crossmodal thalamic input which may arise during a sensitive phase of brain development