Search results for "microbiology"
showing 10 items of 7546 documents
Noninvasive Monitoring of Lesion Size in a Heterologous Mouse Model of Endometriosis
2019
Here, we describe a protocol for the implementation of a heterologous mouse model in which progression of endometriosis can be assessed in real time through noninvasive monitoring of fluorescence emitted by implanted ectopic human endometrial tissue. For this purpose, biopsies of human endometrium are obtained from donor women ongoing oocyte donation. Human endometrial fragments are cultured in the presence of adenoviruses engineered to express cDNA for the reporter fluorescent protein mCherry. Upon visualization, labeled tissues with an optimal rate of fluorescence after infection are subsequently chosen for the implantation in recipient mice. One week prior to the implantation surgery, re…
Preparation Steps for Measurement of Reactivity in Mouse Retinal Arterioles <em>Ex Vivo</em>
2018
Vascular insufficiency and alterations in normal retinal perfusion are among the major factors for the pathogenesis of various sight-threatening ocular diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, and possibly glaucoma. Therefore, retinal microvascular preparations are pivotal tools for physiological and pharmacological studies to delineate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and to design therapies for the diseases. Despite the wide use of mouse models in ophthalmic research, studies on retinal vascular reactivity are scarce in this species. A major reason for this discrepancy is the challenging isolation procedures owing to the small size of these retinal blo…
Dominant Tree Species and Soil Type Affect the Fungal Community Structure in a Boreal Peatland Forest
2016
ABSTRACT Boreal peatlands play a crucial role in global carbon cycling, acting as an important carbon reservoir. However, little information is available on how peatland microbial communities are influenced by natural variability or human-induced disturbances. In this study, we have investigated the fungal diversity and community structure of both the organic soil layer and buried wood in boreal forest soils using high-throughput sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. We have also compared the fungal communities during the primary colonization of wood with those of the surrounding soils. A permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) confirmed that the co…
The influence of oxygen and methane on nitrogen fixation in subarctic Sphagnum mosses
2018
Biological nitrogen fixation is an important source of bioavailable nitrogen in Sphagnum dominated peatlands. Sphagnum mosses harbor a diverse microbiome including nitrogen-fixing and methane (CH4) oxidizing bacteria. The inhibitory effect of oxygen on microbial nitrogen fixation is documented for many bacteria. However, the role of nitrogen-fixing methanotrophs in nitrogen supply to Sphagnum peat mosses is not well explored. Here, we investigated the role of both oxygen and methane on nitrogen fixation in subarctic Sphagnum peat mosses. Five species of Sphagnum mosses were sampled from two mesotrophic and three oligotrophic sites within the Lakkasuo peatland in Orivesi, central Finland. Mo…
Microbial diversity along a gradient in peatlands treating mining-affected waters.
2018
Peatlands are used for the purification of mining-affected waters in Northern Finland. In Northern climate, microorganisms in treatment peatlands (TPs) are affected by long and cold winters, but studies about those microorganisms are scarce. Thus, the bacterial, archaeal and fungal communities along gradients of mine water influence in two TPs were investigated. The TPs receive waters rich in contaminants, including arsenic (As), sulfate (SO42-) and nitrate (NO3-). Microbial diversity was high in both TPs, and microbial community composition differed between the studied TPs. Bacterial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi and Acidobacteria, archaeal commu…
Postpartum listeria meningitis
2020
Highlights • Listeria monocytogenes is a rare cause of meningitis in immunocompetent patient. • Pregnancy and puerperium are accompanied by a decrease in cellular immunity. • Pregnancy and puerperium should be considered as risk factors for invasive listeriosis.
The Increasing Challenge of Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacilli: Results of a 5-Year Active Surveillance Program in a Neonatal Intensive Care U…
2016
Colonization and infection by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli (MDR GNB) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are increasingly reported.We conducted a 5-year prospective cohort surveillance study in a tertiary NICU of the hospital "Paolo Giaccone," Palermo, Italy. Our objectives were to describe incidence and trends of MDR GNB colonization and the characteristics of the most prevalent organisms and to identify the risk factors for colonization. Demographic, clinical, and microbiological data were prospectively collected. Active surveillance cultures (ASCs) were obtained weekly. Clusters of colonization by extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli and Klebs…
Screening for Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Students of Healthcare Professions and Postgraduates of the Faculty of Medicine of the University o…
2017
Introduction and objective: Italy is a country with a low incidence of tuberculosis and in the last fifty years the annual number of TB cases decreased from 12,247 to 4,418, showing a reduction of approximately 64% in the number of cases and 71% in incidence. Despite of this encouraging trend, in the last years the epidemiology of tuberculosis changed and today it is a re-emerging infectious. The aim of this study is to measure the prevalence of positivity to tuberculosis infection (latent TB) in students, without any obvious manifestation of disease, attending degree courses of the health care professions and postgraduate medical courses of the School of Medicine of the University of Paler…
Mathematical model of T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma: disease, treatment, cure or relapse of a virtual cohort of patients
2017
International audience; T lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is a rare type of lymphoma with a good prognosis with a remission rate of 85%. Patients can be completely cured or can relapse during or after a 2-year treatment. Relapses usually occur early after the remission of the acute phase. The median time of relapse is equal to 1 year, after the occurrence of complete remission (range 0.2–5.9 years) (Uyttebroeck et al., 2008). It can be assumed that patients may be treated longer than necessary with undue toxicity. The aim of our model was to investigate whether the duration of the maintenance therapy could be reduced without increasing the risk of relapses and to determine the minimum treatm…
Population pharmacokinetic meta-analysis of individual data to design the first randomized efficacy trial of vancomycin in neonates and young infants.
2019
Abstract Objectives In the absence of consensus, the present meta-analysis was performed to determine an optimal dosing regimen of vancomycin for neonates. Methods A ‘meta-model’ with 4894 concentrations from 1631 neonates was built using NONMEM, and Monte Carlo simulations were performed to design an optimal intermittent infusion, aiming to reach a target AUC0–24 of 400 mg·h/L at steady-state in at least 80% of neonates. Results A two-compartment model best fitted the data. Current weight, postmenstrual age (PMA) and serum creatinine were the significant covariates for CL. After model validation, simulations showed that a loading dose (25 mg/kg) and a maintenance dose (15 mg/kg q12h if <…