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Heliyon Jun 2024Perforation of the tympanic membrane (TM) is a common condition that often requires a scaffold as a support for surgery. However, because of the external environment of...
Perforation of the tympanic membrane (TM) is a common condition that often requires a scaffold as a support for surgery. However, because of the external environment of the auditory canal, the scaffold could become bacterially infected and prevent the TM from healing. As a result, the perfect scaffold should have both antibacterial and biomimetic qualities. In this study, the biodegradable biomaterial poly(1,4-butylene carbonate) (PBC) films containing levofloxacin (LEV) was successfully prepared for the first time. The results showed that the hydrophilicity of the LEV/PBC film was improved after the addition of LEV, and the tensile strength was also complied with the requirements of the standard. The created antibacterial film demonstrated excellent antibacterial properties. In vitro hemolysis experiments revealed no risk of hemolysis for the new material, and the cytotoxicity study further confirmed its non-cytotoxic nature. Overall, LEV was a good component of PBC/LEV film, which is expected to be used for TM repair in the future.
PubMed: 38868060
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31789 -
Journal of Global Antimicrobial... Jun 2024Streptococcus agalactiae is a recognized pathogen that primarily affects infants and pregnant women. However, its increasingly important role in causing invasive...
BACKGROUND
Streptococcus agalactiae is a recognized pathogen that primarily affects infants and pregnant women. However, its increasingly important role in causing invasive infections among non-pregnant adults has become a significant health concern due to the severity and variety of its clinical impacts.
METHODS
Nonduplicate S. agalactiae clinical strains associated with clinical infections (n=139) were isolated from non-pregnant adults in Shandong, China. Antibiotic susceptibility testing, whole-genome sequencing, and genomic analyses were conducted to characterize the genome and identify resistance features of these strains.
RESULTS
The strains exhibited universal susceptibility to penicillin, ampicillin, cefotaxime, meropenem, linezolid, and vancomycin. Notably, high resistance rates were observed for erythromycin (91.4%), clindamycin (89.2%), levofloxacin (84.2%), tetracycline (54.0%) and, to a lesser extent, chloramphenicol (12.9%). Serotyping revealed seven serotypes and one non-typeable strain. Serotypes Ia, Ib, III, and V predominated, representing 95.7% of the strains. Nineteen sequence types were categorized into seven clonal complexes, with CC10 being the most prevalent at 48.9%. The resistance genes mreA (100%), ermB (70.5%), and tetM (46.0%) were commonly detected. All the isolates carried at least one pilus backbone determinant and one alpha-like protein gene, with the PI-1+PI-2a and the bca gene being the most frequent at 84.2% and 54.7%, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
While S. agalactiae strains in non-pregnant adults retain sensitivity to β-lactam antibiotics, the elevated resistance to erythromycin, clindamycin, levofloxacin, and tetracycline is concerning. Given the growing elderly population worldwide, the burden of S. agalactiae infections is significant. Continuous surveillance of serotype distribution and antibiotic resistance patterns is imperative for targeted prevention and therapeutic strategies.
PubMed: 38866137
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2024.06.001 -
Spectrochimica Acta. Part A, Molecular... Jun 2024Herein, Nitrogen-doped graphyne/porous g-CN composites are firstly in-situ synthesized via the ultrasound vibration of CaC, triazine, and porous g-CN in absolute...
Herein, Nitrogen-doped graphyne/porous g-CN composites are firstly in-situ synthesized via the ultrasound vibration of CaC, triazine, and porous g-CN in absolute ethanol. A variety of characterizations are performed to investigate the morphology, microstructure, composition, and electrical/optical features of the obtained composites, such as transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and so forth. It is found that N-doped graphyne with flexible folds lamellar structure is intimately attached to flake g-CN in the as-prepared composites. An enlargement of 1.68 and 1.44 folds for the photocatalytic degradation of levofloxacin, rhodamine B, Methylene blue, and Tetracycline is realized by N-doped graphyne/g-CN in comparison with that of pristine g-CN, respectively. In addition, the highest NH production rate attains 1.71 mmol⋅gcat⋅h for N-doped graphyne/g-CN, which is 5.89 times larger than that of g-CN (0.29 mmol⋅g⋅h). The improved mechanism of photocatalysis including higher photo-response and carrier separation rate is verified by transient photo-current, transient photo-potential, Mott-Schottky plots, Tafel plots, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, turn-over frequency, photoluminescence spectra, and UV-vis diffuse absorption spectra, etc. Overall, the current study shows that N-doped graphyne synthesized from CaC and triazine is a useful decoration to modulate the photocatalytic features of g-CN, which can also be widely extended for in-situ modification of other photocatalysts.
PubMed: 38865891
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2024.124629 -
Eye & Contact Lens Jun 2024To investigate the effect of topical 0.05% cyclosporine A (CsA) eye drops as an adjunct to conventional therapy in maintaining post-femtosecond-assisted laser in situ...
OBJECTIVES
To investigate the effect of topical 0.05% cyclosporine A (CsA) eye drops as an adjunct to conventional therapy in maintaining post-femtosecond-assisted laser in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) ocular surface stability.
METHODS
Sixty-six patients (eyes) undergoing FS-LASIK were randomized into 2 groups: 33 patients (eyes) in group I (conventional treatment group) and 33 patients (eyes) in group II (CsA group). Conventional treatments include topical levofloxacin, fluorometholone, and artificial tears. Group II received topical 0.05% CsA eye drops twice daily for three months in addition to conventional treatment. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), numerical rating scale (NRS), tear break-up time (TBUT), Schirmer I test (SIt), corneal fluorescein staining (CFS), conjunctival lissamine green (LG) staining, corneal sensitivity, and corneal nerve morphology were measured. In addition, tear inflammatory cytokine levels were measured using the Luminex assay. Follow-up was performed preoperatively and 1 and 3 months postoperatively.
RESULTS
In the CsA group, OSDI, TBUT, LG, corneal sensitivity, and corneal nerve fiber total branch density recovered better than in the conventional treatment group. As for tear inflammatory cytokines, interferon (INF) -γ, interleukin (IL)-10, and IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the conventional treatment group as compared with the CsA group. In addition, no significant differences in NRS, SIt, and CFS scores were observed between the two groups.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, 0.05% CsA eye drops is a useful adjunct to conventional treatment for restoring the ocular surface stability after corneal refractive surgery and is more potent in sustaining anti-inflammatory effects.
PubMed: 38865592
DOI: 10.1097/ICL.0000000000001103 -
Journal of Infection in Developing... May 2024Mycobacterium canariasense is a relatively rare and rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) infection.
INTRODUCTION
Mycobacterium canariasense is a relatively rare and rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) infection.
CASE REPORT
This case report describes a 36-year-old man with a Canariasense infection in the lung with solitary cavitation nodules located subpleural on CT scan, for which the final diagnosis was made by metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF-mNGS). It was successfully treated with levofloxacin and amikacin.
CONCLUSIONS
This experience is instructive because clinical diagnostic and CT imaging characteristics and treatment strategy guidelines for pulmonary infections caused by M. canariasense have not yet been established.
Topics: Humans; Male; Adult; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; Lung; Levofloxacin; Amikacin; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 38865393
DOI: 10.3855/jidc.18535 -
Frontiers in Pediatrics 2024The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is not well characterised. This cross-sectional study...
BACKGROUND
The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is not well characterised. This cross-sectional study evaluated the potential effects of pandemic-related measures on NEC morbidity in premature infants in a neonatal ward during the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS
This was a retrospective study conducted in a tertiary neonatal ward in eastern and central China over 6 consecutive years (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022). The medical records of 189 premature infants with stage II or III NEC were reviewed for clinical manifestations and aetiologies. The data were analysed and compared between the prepandemic period (2017, 2018, and 2019) and the pandemic period (2020, 2021 and 2022).
RESULTS
A total of 9,903 infants with gestational age (GA) < 37 weeks were enrolled, including 5,382 in the prepandemic period and 4,521 in the pandemic period. A reduction in stage II or III NEC morbidity was observed in infants with GA < 37 weeks, with an average annual morbidity of 2.29% (123/5,382) (95% CI, 1.89%-2.68%) in the prepandemic period and 1.46% (66/4,521) (95% CI, 1.11%-1.81%) in the pandemic period. NEC morbidity showed resurgent characteristics in 2021. When prepandemic coinfections were excluded, most cases of NEC with bloodstream infections in the prepandemic period were attributable to Gram-negative bacteria (27/32, 84.38%), mainly , while in the pandemic period they were attributable to Gram-positive bacteria (10/18, 55.56%), mainly . Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that was 100% sensitive to meropenem, imipenem, ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin and 100% resistant to ampicillin. was 100% sensitive to vancomycin, linezolid, tetracycline, cotrimoxazole and cefoxitin and 100% resistant to penicillin and benzathine.
CONCLUSIONS
COVID-19 pandemic-related interventions can reduce the morbidity of NEC and change the pathogen spectrum in patients with bloodstream infections. We need to understand the exact factors leading to these changes.
PubMed: 38863524
DOI: 10.3389/fped.2024.1346478 -
PloS One 2024Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is a promising tool in the global fight against tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of WGS in routine...
Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is a promising tool in the global fight against tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of WGS in routine conditions for detection of drug resistance markers and transmission clusters in a multidrug-resistant TB hot-spot area in Peru. For this, 140 drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from Lima and Callao were prospectively selected and processed through routine (GenoType MTBDRsl and BACTEC MGIT) and WGS workflows, simultaneously. Resistance was determined in accordance with the World Health Organization mutation catalogue. Agreements between WGS and BACTEC results were calculated for rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, moxifloxacin, levofloxacin, amikacin and capreomycin. Transmission clusters were determined using different cut-off values of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism differences. 100% (140/140) of strains had valid WGS results for 13 anti-TB drugs. However, the availability of final, definitive phenotypic BACTEC MGIT results varied by drug with 10-17% of invalid results for the seven compared drugs. The median time to obtain results of WGS for the complete set of drugs was 11.5 days, compared to 28.6-52.6 days for the routine workflow. Overall categorical agreement by WGS and BACTEC MGIT for the compared drugs was 96.5%. Kappa index was good (0.65≤k≤1.00), except for moxifloxacin, but the sensitivity and specificity values were high for all cases. 97.9% (137/140) of strains were characterized with only one sublineage (134 belonging to "lineage 4" and 3 to "lineage 2"), and 2.1% (3/140) were mixed strains presenting two different sublineages. Clustering rates of 3.6% (5/140), 17.9% (25/140) and 22.1% (31/140) were obtained for 5, 10 and 12 SNP cut-off values, respectively. In conclusion, routine WGS has a high diagnostic accuracy to detect resistance against key current anti-TB drugs, allowing results to be obtained through a single analysis and helping to cut quickly the chain of transmission of drug-resistant TB in Peru.
Topics: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Peru; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant; Whole Genome Sequencing; Humans; Antitubercular Agents; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Genome, Bacterial; Male; Female
PubMed: 38861531
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304130 -
Carbohydrate Polymers Sep 2024In this study, a novel hydrogel, β-cyclodextrin/carbon dots-grafted cellulose nanofibrils hydrogel (βCCH), was fabricated for removal and fluorescence determination of...
In this study, a novel hydrogel, β-cyclodextrin/carbon dots-grafted cellulose nanofibrils hydrogel (βCCH), was fabricated for removal and fluorescence determination of levofloxacin (LEV). A comprehensive analysis was performed to characterize its physicochemical properties. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted, revealing that βCCH reached a maximum adsorption capacity of 1376.9 mg/g, consistent with both Langmuir and pseudo-second-order models, suggesting that the adsorption process of LEV on βCCH was primarily driven by chemical adsorption. The removal efficiency of βCCH was 99.2 % under the fixed conditions (pH: 6, initial concentration: 20 mg/L, contact time: 300 min, temperature: 25 °C). The removal efficiency of βCCH for LEV still achieved 97.3 % after five adsorption-desorption cycles. By using βCCH as a fluorescent probe for LEV, a fast and sensitive method was established with linear ranges of 1-120 mg/L and 0.2-1.0 μg/L and a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.09 μg/L. The viability of βCCH was estimated based on the economic analysis of the synthesis process and the removal of LEV, demonstrating that βCCH was more cost-effective than commercial activated carbon. This study provides a novel approach for preparing a promising antibiotic detection and adsorption material with the advantages of stability, and cost-effectiveness.
Topics: Levofloxacin; beta-Cyclodextrins; Cellulose; Adsorption; Nanofibers; Carbon; Hydrogels; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Limit of Detection; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Fluorescent Dyes; Quantum Dots; Fluorescence
PubMed: 38858025
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122306 -
Acta Microbiologica Et Immunologica... Jun 2024The present study aimed to explore the genomic characteristics of eight New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1)-producing carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa...
The present study aimed to explore the genomic characteristics of eight New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1)-producing carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) isolates from a Bulgarian tertiary hospital (2021-2023) in comparison to blaNDM-1-positive strains originating from the Balkans. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, phenotypic assays for carbapenemase activity, PCR screening, whole-genome sequencing (WGS), and phylogenomic analysis were performed. Seven of the CRPA isolates investigated (Minimum inhibitory concentration values of imipenem and meropenem >32 mg L-1) were also resistant to piperacillin-tazobactam, ceftazidime, ceftazidime-avibactam, cefepime, ceftolozane-tazobactam, amikacin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, and levofloxacin, but were susceptible to colistin (0.5-2 mg L-1) and cefiderocol (0.25-1 mg L-1). The P. aeruginosa Pae57 isolate (designated Pae57) remained susceptible to aminoglycosides as well. WGS uncovered the co-existence of blaNDM-1 and blaGES-1. The isolates belonged to the ST654 high-risk clone, except for Pae57 (ST611). Alignment against reference sequences revealed the presence of a Tn21 transposon harboring bleMBL-blaNDM-1-ISAba125. It was similar to that found in the P. aeruginosa ST654 NDM1_1 strain (GCA_020404785.1) from Serbia. Phylogenomic analysis of our isolates indicated that seven of them (ST654) differed from each other in no more than 44 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Pae57 (ST611) was strikingly different (>21,700 SNPs) compared to all Balkan strains. In conclusion, to our knowledge this is the first report of blaNDM-1-positive P. aeruginosa ST611 isolation, which indicates the transmission dynamics of this determinant between high-risk and potentially high-risk P. aeruginosa clones. Obtained results unveil the dissemination of clonally related NDM-1-producing P. aeruginosa strains in the monitored hospital for approximately a 2-year period.
PubMed: 38857113
DOI: 10.1556/030.2024.02309 -
Clinical Case Reports Jun 2024The most frequently reported adverse reaction to zoledronic acid is an acute phase reaction resembling influenza. While rarer adverse events such as osteonecrosis of the...
The most frequently reported adverse reaction to zoledronic acid is an acute phase reaction resembling influenza. While rarer adverse events such as osteonecrosis of the jaw and atypical femoral fractures have gained significant recognition, the ocular adverse effects, particularly scleritis, are not yet fully comprehended. Here, we present the case of a 75-year-old female patient with osteoporosis who developed bilateral redness and intense eye pain 48 h after receiving a 5 mg intravenous dose of zoledronic acid. Clinical presentation suggested bilateral conjunctivitis, but treatment with levofloxacin eye drops and acyclovir ophthalmic gel exacerbated the symptoms over 2 days, predominantly affecting the left eye. Ocular ultrasonography revealed thickening of the left eyeball wall with a "T" sign, while an orbital CT scan showed increased thickness of the left sclera. Treatment with methylprednisolone 80 mg intravenous infusion twice daily led to gradual symptom improvement and eventual resolution of inflammation. This report, based on a review of relevant literature, investigates the treatment and outcomes of zoledronic acid-induced scleritis, emphasizing the importance for clinicians to promptly identify and manage this rare and serious ocular adverse reaction.
PubMed: 38855089
DOI: 10.1002/ccr3.9068