Descriptive epidemiology of Escherichia coli bacteraemia in England, April 2012 to March 2014

We determined the incidence, risk factors and antimicrobial susceptibility associated with Escherichia coli bacteraemia in England over a 24 month period. Case data were obtained from the national mandatory surveillance database, with susceptibility data linked from LabBase2, a voluntary national microbiology database. Between April 2012 and March 2014, 66,512 E. coli bacteraemia cases were reported. Disease incidence increased by 6% from 60.4 per 100,000 population in 2012-13 to 63.5 per 100,000 population in 2013-14 (p < 0.0001). Rates of E. coli bacteraemia varied with patient age and sex, with 70.5% (46,883/66,512) of cases seen in patients aged ≥ 65 years and 52.4% (33,969/64,846) of cases in females. The most common underlying cause of bacteraemia was infection of the genital/urinary tract (41.1%; 27,328/66,512), of which 98.4% (26,891/27,328) were urinary tract infections (UTIs). The majority of cases (76.1%; 50,617/66,512) had positive blood cultures before or within two days of admission and were classified as community onset cases, however 15.7% (10,468/66,512) occurred in patients who had been hospitalised for over a week. Non-susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, third-generation cephalosporins, piperacillin-tazobactam, gentamicin and carbapenems were 18.4% (8,439/45,829), 10.4% (4,256/40,734), 10.2% (4,694/46,186), 9.7% (4,770/49,114) and 0.2% (91/42,986), respectively. Antibiotic non-susceptibility was higher in hospital-onset cases than for those presenting from the community (e.g. ciprofloxacin non-susceptibility was 22.1% (2,234/10,105) for hospital-onset vs 17.4% (5,920/34,069) for community-onset cases). Interventions to reduce the incidence of E. coli bacteraemia will have to target the community setting and UTIs if substantial reductions are to be realised

Sensory-to-motor integration during auditory repetition: a combined fMRI and lesion study.

The aim of this paper was to investigate the neurological underpinnings of auditory-to-motor translation during auditory repetition of unfamiliar pseudowords. We tested two different hypotheses. First we used functional magnetic resonance imaging in 25 healthy subjects to determine whether a functionally defined area in the left temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), referred to as Sylvian-parietal-temporal region (Spt), reflected the demands on auditory-to-motor integration during the repetition of pseudowords relative to a semantically mediated nonverbal sound-naming task. The experiment also allowed us to test alternative accounts of Spt function, namely that Spt is involved in subvocal articulation or auditory processing that can be driven either bottom-up or top-down. The results did not provide convincing evidence that activation increased in either Spt or any other cortical area when non-semantic auditory inputs were being translated into motor outputs. Instead, the results were most consistent with Spt responding to bottom up or top down auditory processing, independent of the demands on auditory-to-motor integration. Second, we investigated the lesion sites in eight patients who had selective difficulties repeating heard words but with preserved word comprehension, picture naming and verbal fluency (i.e., conduction aphasia). All eight patients had white-matter tract damage in the vicinity of the arcuate fasciculus and only one of the eight patients had additional damage to the Spt region, defined functionally in our fMRI data. Our results are therefore most consistent with the neurological tradition that emphasizes the importance of the arcuate fasciculus in the non-semantic integration of auditory and motor speech processing

Heuristic and analytic processes in reasoning: An event-related potential study of belief bias

Human reasoning involves both heuristic and analytic processes. This study of belief bias in relational reasoning investigated whether the two processes occur serially or in parallel. Participants evaluated the validity of problems in which the conclusions were either logically valid or invalid and either believable or unbelievable. Problems in which the conclusions presented a conflict between the logically valid response and the believable response elicited a more positive P3 than problems in which there was no conflict. This shows that P3 is influenced by the interaction of belief and logic rather than either of these factors on its own. These findings indicate that belief and logic influence reasoning at the same time, supporting models in which belief-based and logical evaluations occur in parallel but not theories in which belief-based heuristic evaluations precede logical analysis. © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research

Experimental demonstration of TM lateral leakage in a standard SOI photonics platform

We provide an experimental demonstration of the width dependent losses of the fundamental TM guided mode in fabricated silicon-on-insulator shallow etched ridge waveguides

Oscillatory surface rheotaxis of swimming E. coli bacteria

Bacterial contamination of biological conducts, catheters or water resources is a major threat to public health and can be amplified by the ability of bacteria to swim upstream. The mechanisms of this rheotaxis, the reorientation with respect to flow gradients, often in complex and confined environments, are still poorly understood. Here, we follow individual E. coli bacteria swimming at surfaces under shear flow with two complementary experimental assays, based on 3D Lagrangian tracking and fluorescent flagellar labelling and we develop a theoretical model for their rheotactic motion. Three transitions are identified with increasing shear rate: Above a first critical shear rate, bacteria shift to swimming upstream. After a second threshold, we report the discovery of an oscillatory rheotaxis. Beyond a third transition, we further observe coexistence of rheotaxis along the positive and negative vorticity directions. A full theoretical analysis explains these regimes and predicts the corresponding critical shear rates. The predicted transitions as well as the oscillation dynamics are in good agreement with experimental observations. Our results shed new light on bacterial transport and reveal new strategies for contamination prevention.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

The application of ketimine derivatives of amino acids to peptide synthesis

N-(2-Hydroxyarylmethy1ene)amino acids have been coupled with amino acid esters to form sterically pure N-protected dipeptide esters. The protecting group can be removed by means of 80% acetic acid under conditions which leaves the t-butyloxycarbonyl protecting group intact. Biologically active peptides which are C-terminal partial sequences of substance P were prepared and were shown to have the expected vasodilator, spasmogenic and venoconstrictor properties. </jats:p

Synthesis of Indium Nanowires by Galvanic Displacement and Their Optical Properties

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Single crystalline indium nanowires were prepared on Zn substrate which had been treated in concentrated sulphuric acid by galvanic displacement in the 0.002 mol L^&#8722;1In₂(SO₄)₃-0.002 mol L^&#8722;1SeO₂-0.02 mol L^&#8722;1SDS-0.01 mol L^&#8722;1citric acid aqueous solution. The typical diameter of indium nanowires is 30 nm and most of the nanowires are over 30 &#956;m in length. XRD, HRTEM, SAED and structural simulation clearly demonstrate that indium nanowires are single-crystalline with the tetragonal structure, the growth direction of the nanowires is along [100] facet. The UV-Vis absorption spectra showed that indium nanowires display typical transverse resonance of SPR properties. The surfactant (SDS) and the pretreatment of Zn substrate play an important role in the growth process. The mechanism of indium nanowires growth is the synergic effect of treated Zn substrate (hard template) and SDS (soft template).</p

Trends in ExPEC serogroups in the UK and their significance

We thank the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy for kindly providing E. coli bloodstream isolates from the BSAC Bacteraemia Resistance Surveillance Programme (2011), and all the staff at PHE’s Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit for their guidance and patience during the serogrouping process. This work was performed as part of a PhD study funded by PHE

Persistent C-peptide secretion in Type 1 diabetes and its relationship to the genetic architecture of diabetes

Background: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to explore the relationship of detectable C-peptide secretion in type 1 diabetes to clinical features and to the genetic architecture of diabetes. Methods: C-peptide was measured in an untimed serum sample in the SDRNT1BIO cohort of 6076 Scottish people with clinically diagnosed type 1 diabetes or latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood. Risk scores at loci previously associated with type 1 and type 2 diabetes were calculated from publicly available summary statistics. Results: Prevalence of detectable C-peptide varied from 19% in those with onset before age 15 and duration greater than 15 years to 92% in those with onset after age 35 and duration less than 5 years. Twenty-nine percent of variance in C-peptide levels was accounted for by associations with male gender, late age at onset and short duration. The SNP heritability of residual C-peptide secretion adjusted for gender, age at onset and duration was estimated as 26%. Genotypic risk score for type 1 diabetes was inversely associated with detectable C-peptide secretion: the most strongly associated loci were the HLA and INS gene regions. A risk score for type 1 diabetes based on the HLA DR3 and DQ8-DR4 serotypes was strongly associated with early age at onset and inversely associated with C-peptide persistence. For C-peptide but not age at onset, there were strong associations with risk scores for type 1 and type 2 diabetes that were based on SNPs in the HLA region but not accounted for by HLA serotype. Conclusions: Persistence of C-peptide secretion varies widely in people clinically diagnosed as type 1 diabetes. C-peptide persistence is influenced by variants in the HLA region that are different from those determining risk of early-onset type 1 diabetes. Known risk loci for diabetes account for only a small proportion of the genetic effects on C-peptide persistence

Underpinning Sustainable Vector Control through Informed Insecticide Resistance Management

Background: There has been rapid scale-up of malaria vector control in the last ten years. Both of the primary control strategies, long-lasting pyrethroid treated nets and indoor residual spraying, rely on the use of a limited number of insecticides. Insecticide resistance, as measured by bioassay, has rapidly increased in prevalence and has come to the forefront as an issue that needs to be addressed to maintain the sustainability of malaria control and the drive to elimination. Zambia’s programme reported high levels of resistance to the insecticides it used in 2010, and, as a result, increased its investment in resistance monitoring to support informed resistance management decisions. Methodology/Principal Findings: A country-wide survey on insecticide resistance in Zambian malaria vectors was performed using WHO bioassays to detect resistant phenotypes. Molecular techniques were used to detect target-site mutations and microarray to detect metabolic resistance mechanisms. Anopheles gambiae s.s. was resistant to pyrethroids,DDT and carbamates, with potential organophosphate resistance in one population. The resistant phenotypes were conferred by both target-site and metabolic mechanisms. Anopheles funestus s.s. was largely resistant to pyrethroids and carbamates, with potential resistance to DDT in two locations. The resistant phenotypes were conferred by elevated levels of cytochrome p450s. Conclusions/Significance: Currently, the Zambia National Malaria Control Centre is using these results to inform their vector control strategy. The methods employed here can serve as a template to all malaria-endemic countries striving to create a sustainable insecticide resistance management pla