Multicentre study on hand hygiene facilities and practice in the Mediterranean area: results from the NosoMed Network

Hand hygiene literature is scarce in the southern Mediterranean\ud area. In order to establish a baseline position, a study was performed in four\ud Mediterranean countries. Seventy-seven hospital wards in 22 hospitals were\ud enrolled and information on hand hygiene practice and facilities were\ud collected. The overall compliance rate was very low (27.6%), and was\ud significantly higher where the perceived risk was considered to be high.\ud Intensive care units showed the highest level of compliance. Analysis by\ud country indicated higher compliance in Egypt (52.8%) and Tunisia (32.3%)\ud compared with Algeria (18.6%) and Morocco (16.9%). Facilities for hand\ud hygiene, particularly consumables, were shown to be deficient. Multiapproach\ud programmes combining the production of official local recommendations,\ud education and regular evaluation of hand hygiene practice are much\ud needed to improve the present situation

Mineralized self-assembled peptides on 3D laser-made scaffolds: a new route toward 'scaffold on scaffold' hard tissue engineering

In this study, we propose a new approach to hard tissue regeneration based on the mineralization of 3D scaffolds made using lasers. To this end, we report the rational design of aspartate-containing self-assembling peptides targeted for calcium binding. We further investigate the suitability of these peptides to support cell attachment and proliferation when coupled on a hybrid organic-inorganic structurable material, and evaluate the response of pre-osteoblastic cells on functionalized 3D scaffolds and material surfaces. Our results show that the mineralized peptide, when immobilized on a hybrid photo-structurable material strongly supports cell adhesion, a proliferation increase after three and seven days in culture, and exhibits a statistically significant increase of biomineralization. We propose this strategy as a 'scaffold on scaffold' approach for hard tissue regeneration

Sydney Lee and W. E. Hackett playing billiards in the Empire Games, New South Wales, 30 June 1931 [picture].

Title devised from accompanying information where available.; Part of the: Fairfax archive of glass plate negatives.; Fairfax number: 2472.; Also available online at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn6216858; Acquired from Fairfax Media, 2012

West Nile virus outbreak in humans, Greece, 2012: third consecutive year of local transmission

In 2010, the first outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in Greece was recorded, the largest in Europe since 1996. After 2010, outbreaks continued to occur in different areas of the country. Enhanced surveillance was implemented during transmission periods (June to October). We investigated the 2012 outbreak to determine its extent and identify risk factors for severe disease using regression models. Of 161 cases recorded in 2012, 109 had neuroinvasive disease (WNND). Two outbreak epicentres were identified: the southern suburbs of Athens in July and a rural area in East Macedonia &Thrace in August-September. The case fatality rate of the WNND cases was 17% (18/109). A lower case fatality rate was recorded in the two epicentres (7% (2/28) and 9% (4/46)): the higher case fatality outside the two epicentres might reflect a diagnostic bias. Age above 74 years (adjusted risk ratio (RR): 7.0; 95% CI: 2.2-22) and chronic renal failure (adjusted RR: 4.5; 95% CI: 2.7-7.5) were independently associated with WNND-related death. In three PCR-positive samples, sequencing revealed WNV lineage 2 identical to the 2010 strain. The occurrence of human cases in three consecutive years suggests that WNV lineage 2 has become established in Greece. Raising awareness among physicians and susceptible populations (elderly people and persons with comorbidities) throughout Greece is critical to reduce the disease impact

West nile virus outbreak in humans, Greece, 2012: Third consecutive year of local transmission

In 2010, the first outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in Greece was recorded, the largest in Europe since 1996. After 2010, outbreaks continued to occur in different areas of the country. Enhanced surveillance was implemented during transmission periods (June to October). We investigated the 2012 outbreak to determine its extent and identify risk factors for severe disease using regression models. Of 161 cases recorded in 2012, 109 had neuroinvasive disease (WNND). Two outbreak epicentres were identified: the southern suburbs of Athens in July and a rural area in East Macedonia &Thrace in August-September. The case fatality rate of the WNND cases was 17% (18/109). A lower case fatality rate was recorded in the two epicentres (7% (2/28) and 9% (4/46)): the higher case fatality outside the two epicentres might reflect a diagnostic bias. Age above 74 years (adjusted risk ratio (RR): 7.0; 95% CI: 2.2-22) and chronic renal failure (adjusted RR: 4.5; 95% CI: 2.7-7.5) were independently associated with WNND-related death. In three PCR-positive samples, sequencing revealed WNV lineage 2 identical to the 2010 strain. The occurrence of human cases in three consecutive years suggests that WNV lineage 2 has become established in Greece. Raising awareness among physicians and susceptible populations (elderly people and persons with co-morbidities) throughout Greece is critical to reduce the disease impact

3d stem cell niche engineering via two-photon laser polymerization

A strategy to modulate the behavior of stem cells in culture is to mimic structural aspects of the native cellâ\u80\u93extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction. An important example of such artificial microenvironments for stem cell culture is the so-called â\u80\u9csynthetic niche.â\u80\u9d Synthetic niches can be defined as polymeric culture systems mimicking at least one aspect of the interactions between stem cells and the extracellular surroundings, including biochemical factors (e.g., the delivery of soluble factors) and/or biophysical factors (e.g., the microarchitecture of the ECM). Most of the currently available approaches for scaffold fabrication, based on self-assembly methods, do not allow for a submicrometer control of the geometrical structure of the substrate, which might play a crucial role in stem cell fate determination. A novel technology that overcomes these limitations is laser two-photon polymerization (2PP). Femtosecond laser 2PP is a mask-less direct laser writing technique that allows manufacturing three dimensional arbitrary microarchitectures using photosensitive materials. Here, we report on the development of an innovative culture substrate, called the â\u80\u9cnichoid,â\u80\u9d microfabricated in a hybrid organicâ\u80\u93inorganic photoresist called SZ2080, to study mesenchymal stem cell mechanobiology