Clinical decision making is improved by BioFire Pneumonia Plus in suspected lower respiratory tract infection after lung transplantation: Results of the prospective DBATE‐IT * study

Background: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in lung transplant (LTx) recipients. Timely and precise pathogen detection is vital to successful treatment. Multiplex PCR kits with short turnover times like the BioFire Pneumonia Plus (BFPPp) (manufactured by bioMérieux) may be a valuable addition to conventional tests. Methods: We performed a prospective observational cohort study in 60 LTx recipients with suspected LRTI. All patients received BFPPp testing of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in addition to conventional tests including microbiological cultures and conventional diagnostics for respiratory viruses. Primary outcome was time‐to‐test‐result; secondary outcomes included time‐to‐clinical‐decision and BFPPp test accuracy compared to conventional tests. Results: BFPPp provided results faster than conventional tests (2.3 h [2–2.8] vs. 23.4 h [21–62], p < 0.001), allowing for faster clinical decisions (2.8 [2.2–44] vs. virology 28.1 h [23.1–70.6] and microbiology 32.6 h [4.6–70.9], both p < 0.001). Based on all available diagnostic modalities, 26 (43%) patients were diagnosed with viral LRTI, nine (15 %) with non‐viral LRTI, and five (8 %) with combined viral and non‐viral LRTI. These diagnoses were established by BFPPp in 92%, 78%, and 100%, respectively. The remaining 20 patients (33 %) received a diagnosis other than LRTI. Preliminary therapies based on BFPPp results were upheld in 90% of cases. There were six treatment modifications based on pathogen‐isolation by conventional testing missed by BFPPp, including three due to fungal pathogens not covered by the BFPPp. Conclusion: BFPPp offered faster test results compared to conventional tests with good concordance. The absence of fungal pathogens from the panel is a potential weakness in a severely immunosuppressed population

Open Identity Summit 2015: 10. - 11.11.2015, Berlin, Germany

Open standards and interfaces as well as open source technologies play a central role in the current identity management landscape as well as in emerging future scenarios in the area of electronic identification and trustworthy end-to-end encryption for example. While there are already plenty of successful applications in which those techniques are used to safeguard the authenticity, integrity and confidentiality, there are still many closely related areas which demand further research. The aim of the „Open Identity Summit 2015“ is to link practical experiences and requirements with academic innovations. Focus areas of this event are research and applications in the area of Identity Management, Trust Services, Open Source, end-to-end encryption and Cloud Computing

Bacteriophage Therapy for Critical Infections Related to Cardiothoracic Surgery

(1) Objective: Bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotic therapy is an increasingly significant worldwide challenge to human health. The objective is to evaluate whether bacteriophage therapy could complement or be a viable alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy in critical cases of bacterial infection related to cardiothoracic surgery. (2) Methods: Since September 2015, eight patients with multi-drug resistant or especially recalcitrant Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli infections were treated with bacteriophage preparations as a therapy of last resort according to Article 37 of the Declaration of Helsinki. Patients had infections associated with immunosuppression after organ transplantation or had infections of vascular grafts, implanted medical devices, and surgical wounds. Individualized phage preparations were administered locally, orally, or via inhalation for different durations depending on the case. All patients remained on conventional antibiotics during bacteriophage treatment. (3) Results: Patients ranged in age from 13 to 66 years old (average 48.5 &plusmn; 16.7) with seven males and one female. Eradication of target bacteria was reached in seven of eight patients. No severe adverse side effects were observed. (4) Conclusions: Phage therapy can effectively treat bacterial infections related to cardiothoracic surgery when conventional antibiotic therapy fails

Verbesserung der methodischen Grundlagen und Erstellung eines Treibhausgasemissionsszenarios als Grundlage für den Projektionsbericht 2017 im Rahmen des EU-Treibhausgasmonitorings ("Politikszenarien VIII"). Abschlussbericht: Projektnummer 3716 41 105 0, UBA-FB 000290

Im Projekt wurden drei Szenarien für die Entwicklung der Treibhausgasemissionen in Deutschland für den Zeitraum 2020 bis 2035 erarbeitet. Zwei dieser Szenarien haben Eingang in den Projektionsbericht 2017 gefunden. Das dritte Szenario, welches als Diskussionsbeitrag für die Erarbeitung des Maßnahmenprogramms für den Klimaschutzplan 2050 dienen soll, stellt einen möglichen Lösungsweg dar, wie die Sektorziele bis 2030 erreicht werden können