1,516 research outputs found
Study of beauty baryons decaying to D0pK and the amplitudes of Λb0→D0pK in the Dalitz plane with the LHCb experiment
The study of the decays Λb0 / Ξb0→D0pK is presented using data of the LHCb experiment. Both decays can be used to measure charge parity (CP) violation. The measured CP asymmetries are in agreement with zero. The decays branching fractions are determined to B(Λb0→D0pK) = (4.61 ± 0.17stat ± 0.08syst ± 0.52ext) × 10-5 and fΞ⋅B(Ξb0→D0pK) = (2.18 ± 0.08stat ± 0.05syst ± 0.39ext) × 10-6, being one and a half times precise than the current best measurements. An amplitude analysis of the Λb0→D0pK phase space with D0→K-π+ yields a large fraction of a Λc+(2950) resonance and multiple Λ* resonances
The anti-inflammatory stage of monocytes after long-term stimulation with LPS is mediated by p38 MAP kinase dependent epigenetic silencing
The TLR4 ligands MRP8 and MRP14 in the diagnosis and pathogenesis of systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis
The Damage Associated Molecular Pattern (DAMP) molecule S100A12 induces pro-inflammatory responses in monocytes via innate immunity signalling pathways
S100A9 is indispensable for survival of pneumococcal pneumonia in mice
S100A8/A9 has important immunomodulatory roles in antibacterial defense, but its relevance in focal pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is understudied. We show that S100A9 was significantly increased in BAL fluids of patients with bacterial but not viral pneumonia and correlated with procalcitonin and sequential organ failure assessment scores. Mice deficient in S100A9 exhibited drastically elevated Zn levels in lungs, which led to bacterial outgrowth and significantly reduced survival. In addition, reduced survival of S100A9 KO mice was characterized by excessive release of neutrophil elastase, which resulted in degradation of opsonophagocytically important collectins surfactant proteins A and D. All of these features were attenuated in S. pneumoniae-challenged chimeric WT→S100A9 KO mice. Similarly, therapy of S. pneumoniae-infected S100A9 KO mice with a mutant S100A8/A9 protein showing increased half-life significantly decreased lung bacterial loads and lung injury. Collectively, S100A9 controls central antibacterial immune mechanisms of the lung with essential relevance to survival of pneumococcal pneumonia. Moreover, S100A9 appears to be a promising biomarker to distinguish patients with bacterial from those with viral pneumonia.
Trial registration: Clinical Trials register (DRKS00000620)
Neonatal innate immunity and Toll-like receptor
The innate immune response is the first line of defense against microbial infections. Innate immunity is made up of the surface barrier, cellular immunity and humoral immunity. In newborn, immunologic function and demands are different to adults. Neonatal innate immunity specifically suppresses Th1-type immune responses, and not Th2-type immune responses, which are enhanced. And the impaired response of macrophages is associated with the defective innate immunity in newborn period. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a key roles in the detection of invading pathogens and in the induction of innate immune responses. In newborn, the expression of TLRs is age dependent, so preterm has low expression of TLRs. Also, there are defects in signaling pathways downstream of TLRs. As a consequence, the defects of TLRs activity cause the susceptibility to infection in the neonatal period
Sepsis related mortality of extremely low gestational age newborns after the introduction of colonization screening for multi-drug resistant organisms
Background: In 2013 German infection surveillance guidelines recommended weekly colonization screening for
multidrug-resistant (MDRO) or highly epidemic organisms for neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and extended
hygiene measures based on screening results. It remains a matter of debate whether screening is worth the effort.
We therefore aimed to evaluate sepsis related outcomes before and after the guideline update.
Methods: The German Neonatal Network (GNN) is a prospective cohort study including data from extremely
preterm infants between 22 + 0 and 28 + 6 gestational weeks born in 62 German level III NICUs.
Results: Infants treated after guideline update (n = 8.903) had a lower mortality (12.5% vs. 13.8%, p = 0.036), reduced
rates for clinical sepsis (31.4 vs. 42.8%, p < 0.001) and culture-proven sepsis (14.4% vs. 16.5%, p = 0.003) as compared
to infants treated before update (n = 3.920). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, nine pathogens of cultureproven sepsis were associated with sepsis-related death, e.g. Pseudomonas aeruginosa [OR 59 (19–180), p < 0.001)].
However, the guideline update had no significant effect on pathogen-specific case fatality, total sepsis-related
mortality and culture-proven sepsis rates with MDRO. While the exposure of GNN infants to cefotaxime declined
over time (31.1 vs. 40.1%, p < 0.001), the treatment rate with meropenem was increased (31.6 vs. 26.3%, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: The introduction of weekly screening and extended hygiene measures is associated with reduced
sepsis rates, but has no effects on sepsis-related mortality and sepsis with screening-relevant pathogens. The high
exposure rate to meropenem should be a target of antibiotic stewardship programs
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