Regular testing of asymptomatic healthcare workers identifies cost-efficient SARS-CoV-2 preventive measures.

Protecting healthcare professionals is crucial in maintaining a functioning healthcare system. The risk of infection and optimal preventive strategies for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic remain poorly understood. Here we report the results of a cohort study that included pre- and asymptomatic healthcare workers. A weekly testing regime has been performed in this cohort since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to identify infected healthcare workers. Based on these observations we have developed a mathematical model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission that integrates the sources of infection from inside and outside the hospital. The data were used to study how regular testing and a desynchronisation protocol are effective in preventing transmission of COVID-19 infection at work, and compared both strategies in terms of workforce availability and cost-effectiveness. We showed that case incidence among healthcare workers is higher than would be explained solely by community infection. Furthermore, while testing and desynchronisation protocols are both effective in preventing nosocomial transmission, regular testing maintains work productivity with implementation costs

Transboundary geothermal resources of the Mura-Zala basin: a need for joint thermal aquifer management of Slovenia and Hungary

Large transboundary Upper Miocene geothermal sandy aquifers which are widely utilized by both countries forbalneological and direct heat purposes exist in the Slovenian-Hungarian border region. In NE Slovenia the totaldirect heat use was 382 TJ in 2010, while in SW Hungary it was 648 TJ, including utilization from basement reservoirs.The total installed capacity of the 13 Slovenian users was 38.8 MWt, while that of the 29 Hungarian userswas 70.6 MWt. Utilisation takes place without harmonized management strategies which might endanger the longtermsustainability of these systems. We aimed to overcome this by delineating a transboundary thermal groundwaterbody (TTGWB) Mura-Zala with an aerial extent of 4,974 km2 and with vertical extent between depths 500–2,200 m, which was done based on detailed geological, hydrological, geochemical and geothermal models as wellas numerical modelling. The regional groundwater flow in the Mura-Zala TTGWB is from west to east in general,the modeled cross-border flow is approximately 50 l/s. At present, thermal water abstraction rates from the Mura/Újfalu Fm. (61.8 l/s in the Slovenian and 67.3 l/s in the Hungarian part of the TTGWB) does not endanger the goodregional quantity status of the water body, and this should be maintained by allowing a maximum increase of thermalwater abstraction 3.5 times higher than today. However, to achieve target numbers for an increased proportionof geothermal energy in the total energy mix in both countries, we suggest that increase of thermal efficiency andre-injection should be prioritized apart from the higher thermal water abstraction with setting up limit of themaximum allowable drawdown

Thigh-length compression stockings and DVT after stroke

Controversy exists as to whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in patients with invasive bladder cancer, despite randomised controlled trials of more than 3000 patients. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of such treatment on survival in patients with this disease

Flood pulse regulation of bacterioplankton community composition in an Amazonian floodplain lake

Understanding spatial and temporal dynamics of microbial communities is a central challenge in microbial ecology since microorganisms play a key role in ecosystem functioning and biogeochemical cycles. Amazonian aquatic systems comprise a dynamic mosaic of heterogeneous habits but are understudied and there is limited information about the mechanisms that shape bacterial community composition (BCC). There is a consensus that environmental selection (species sorting) and dispersal processes (source–sink dynamics) act in concert to shape the composition of these communities, but the relative importance of each mechanism may vary dramatically through time and between systems. Applying 16S rRNA gene amplicon high-throughput sequencing, we studied factors and processes that modulate BCC in an Amazonian floodplain lake and used source-tracking models to trace the main dispersal sources of microorganisms in the whole floodplain system during a full hydrological cycle. Our source-tracking models indicated that dispersal processes were predominant, explaining most of the BCC variability throughout the study period. We observed more sources contributing to the sink community during the falling water than rising water period, when contributions from the Solimões River dominated. There was a clear seasonal pattern in BCC, closely related to environmental variables, suggesting that the successful establishment of dispersing bacteria also depends on environmental filtering that is linked to water flow. In summary, source–sink dynamics and species sorting were strongly affected by water exchange and connectivity with the main river that varied throughout the flood pulse cycle. Our results demonstrated the influence of lateral transport and temporal dynamics on BCC in Amazonian floodplain lakes that could ultimately impact regional carbon budgets and biogeochemical cycles. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Lt

An investigation of the biodiversity of thermophilic and thermotolerant fungal species in composts using culture-based and molecular techniques

In this study, the biodiversity of thermophilous fungi in two different commercial composts was investigated using culture-based methods, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and tag-encoded pyrosequencing. 454 pyrosequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region recovered a total of 175 OTUs between the two composts. The Ascomycota was the dominant phylum in both composts (90% of all sequences recovered) with the thermophilic-rich orders Sordariales and Eurotiales being the most numerous. Molecular studies demonstrated the frequent presence of several thermophilic (Scytalidium thermophilum, Myriococcum thermophilum) and thermotolerant (Pseudallescheria boydii, Corynascus verrucosus and Coprinopsis sp.) fungi in the composts, despite the absence of these species from the culture-based analysis. Conversely, Aspergillus fumigatus and Mycocladus corymbifer, which were the dominant species in cultivation analyses, had very low representation in molecular studies. The results show that the previous picture of the dominant thermophilous fungi in compost communities derived from culture-based analysis has been biased, and that composting environments represent a potentially rich resource of novel fungi. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The British Mycological Society