Reducing healthcare-associated infections incidence by a probiotic-based sanitation system: A multicentre, prospective, intervention study

Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) are a global concern, further threatened by the increasing drug resistance of HAI-associated pathogens. On the other hand, persistent contamination of hospital surfaces contributes to HAI transmission, and it is not efficiently controlled by conventional cleaning, which does not prevent recontamination, has a high environmental impact and can favour selection of drug-resistant microbial strains. In the search for effective approaches, an eco-sustainable probiotic-based cleaning system (Probiotic Cleaning Hygiene System, PCHS) was recently shown to stably abate surface pathogens, without selecting antibiotic-resistant species. The aim of this study was to determine whether PCHS application could impact on HAI incidence. A multicentre, pre-post interventional study was performed for 18 months in the Internal Medicine wards of six Italian public hospitals (January 1st 2016-June 30th 2017). The intervention consisted of the substitution of conventional sanitation with PCHS, maintaining unaltered any other procedure influencing HAI control. HAI incidence in the pre and post-intervention period was the main outcome measure. Surface bioburden was also analyzed in parallel. Globally, 11,842 patients and 24,875 environmental samples were surveyed. PCHS was associated with a significant decrease of HAI cumulative incidence from a global 4.8% (284 patients with HAI over 5,930 total patients) to 2.3% (128 patients with HAI over 5,531 total patients) (OR = 0.44, CI 95% 0.35-0.54) (P<0.0001). Concurrently, PCHS was associated with a stable decrease of surface pathogens, compared to conventional sanitation (mean decrease 83%, range 70-96.3%), accompanied by a concurrent up to 2 Log drop of surface microbiota drug-resistance genes (P<0.0001; Pc = 0.008). Our study provides findings which support the impact of a sanitation procedure on HAI incidence, showing that the use of a probiotic-based environmental intervention can be associated with a significant decrease of the risk to contract a HAI during hospitalization. Once confirmed in larger experiences and other target populations, this eco-sustainable approach might be considered as a part of infection control and prevention (IPC) strategies. Trial registration-ISRCTN International Clinical Trials Registry, ISRCTN58986947

Coral Patch and Ormonde seamounts as a product of the Madeira hotspot, Eastern Atlantic Ocean

New detailed swath bathymetry and bottom samples from Coral Patch and Ormonde seamounts provide constraints on the emplacement of the Madeira hotspot in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Swath bathymetric data document that Coral Patch is a composite structure, made up of at least nine distinct volcanic centres. Lithified pelagic carbonates infilling fissures in lava blocks constrain a minimal age for the volcanism in the Early Miocene and represent the first documentation of Coral Patch acting as an offshore terrigenous-starved seamount. At Coral Patch, as already observed at the Ormonde seamount, volcanism was emplaced on top of a pre-existing relief resulting from the regional tectonic compressive regime

Lead isotope evolution of the Central European upper mantle: Constraints from the Bohemian Massif

This study focuses on Pb isotope data and whole-rock geochemistry of intrusive and extrusive volcanic rocks of the Bohemian Massif that sampled the upper mantle. Special attention is paid on whether Late Palaeozoic to Quaternary Central European mantle-derived rocks sampled different mantle sources on a local to regional scale and through time.Tato studie se zabývá Pb izotopovými daty a horninovou geochemií intruzivních i výlevných vulkanických hornin Českého masivu, které vzorkovaly svrchní plášť. Speciální důraz je kladen na to, zda pozdně paleozoické až kvartérní středoevropské horniny odvozené z pláště vzorkují odlišné plášťové zdroje v lokálním až regionálním měřítku a v průběhu času

High-resolution magnetics reveal the deep structure of a volcanic-arc-related basalt-hosted hydrothermal site (Palinuro, Tyrrhenian Sea)

High-resolution magnetic surveys have been acquired over the partially sedimented Palinuro massive sulfide deposits in the Aeolian volcanic arc, Tyrrhenian Sea. Surveys flown close to the seafloor using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) show that the volcanic-arc-related basalt-hosted hydrothermal site is associated with zones of lower magnetization. This observation reflects the alteration of basalt affected by hydrothermal circulation and/or the progressive accumulation of a nonmagnetic deposit made of hydrothermal and volcaniclastic material and/or a thermal demagnetization of titanomagnetite due to the upwelling of hot fluids. To discriminate among these inferences, estimate the shape of the nonmagnetic deposit and the characteristics of the underlying altered area—the stockwork—we use high-resolution vector magnetic data acquired by the AUV Abyss (GEOMAR) above a crater-shaped depression hosting a weakly active hydrothermal site. Our study unveils a relatively small nonmagnetic deposit accumulated at the bottom of the depression and locked between the surrounding volcanic cones. Thermal demagnetization is unlikely but the stockwork extends beyond the limits of the nonmagnetic deposit, forming lobe-shaped zones believed to be a consequence of older volcanic episodes having contributed in generating the cones

Peralkaline Felsic Magmatism of the Atlantic Islands

The oceanic-island magmatic systems of the Atlantic Ocean exhibit significant diversity in their respective sizes, ages, and the compositional ranges of their eruptive products. Nevertheless, almost all of the Atlantic islands and island groups have produced peralkaline felsic magmas, implying that similar petrogenetic regimes may be operating throughout the Atlantic Ocean, and arguably elsewhere. The origins of peralkaline magmas are frequently linked to low-degree partial melting of enriched mantle, followed by protracted differentiation in the shallow crust. However, additional petrogenetic processes such as magma mixing, crustal melting, and contamination have been identified at numerous peralkaline centers. The onset of peralkalinity leads to magma viscosities lower than those typical for metaluminous felsic magmas, which has profound implications for processes such as crystal settling. This study represents a compilation of published and original data which demonstrates trends that suggest that the peralkaline magmas of the Atlantic Ocean islands are generated primarily via extended (up to ∼ 95%), open system fractional crystallization of mantle-derived mafic magmas. Crustal assimilation is likely to become more significant as the system matures and fusible material accumulates in the crust. Magma mixing may occur between various compositional end-members and may be recognized via hybridized intermediate magmas. The peralkaline magmas are hydrous, and frequently zoned in composition, temperature, and/or water content. They are typically stored in shallow crustal magma reservoirs (∼ 2–5 km), maintained by mafic replenishment. Low melt viscosities (1 × 101.77 to 1 × 104.77 Pa s) facilitate two-phase flow, promoting the formation of alkali-feldspar crystal mush. This mush may then contribute melt to an overlying melt lens via filter pressing or partial melting. We utilize a three-stage model to account for the establishment, development, and termination of peralkaline magmatism in the ocean island magmatic systems of the Atlantic. We suggest that the overall control on peralkaline magmatism in the Atlantic is magma flux rate, which controls the stability of upper crustal magma reservoirs. The abundance of peralkaline magmas in the Atlantic suggests that their development must be a common, but not inevitable, stage in the evolution of ocean islands

New geochemical constraints on the nature of the carbonatite signature in Ionian slab-edge magmatism (Southern Italy)

The Cenozoic basaltic volcanism in the Hyblean Plateau, southern Sicily, plays a role in the investigation of the complex Southern Tyrrhenian tectono-magmatic scenario. The geochemical features of new Hyblean rock samples presented in this study identify a hitherto overlooked variability in the carbonatitic metasomatism experienced by the continental lithospheric mantle that sourced the Hyblean magmas. Indeed, a subset of the samples exhibits a distinctive trace element signature with respect to the known Hyblean magmatism that requires significant input from a carbon-rich agent. This finding further supports the tectono-magmatic model in which fragments of the Hyblean carbonatitic metasomatized lithospheric roots were recycled in the slab-tear magmatism of the nearby Etna volcano, contributing to its anomalous high CO2 emission. Notably, the spatial variability in the carbonatitic metasomatism documented by the newly analysed Hyblean volcanic rocks suggests the idea that such variability could be a consequence of ancient metasomatic events driven by deep-mantle CO2 remobilization at the contact between the continental and oceanic lithospheric domains presently located in the Southern Tyrrhenian area. A similar scenario may have contributed to the origin of the carbonatitic signature exhibited by slab-tear volcanic sites elsewhere in this geodynamically complex area

Comment on Gennaro et al., 2023, Lithos 456-457, 107325, Large silicic magma chambers at the Moho depth characterize the multi-level plumbing system of back-arc spreading ridges

An article (Gennaro et al., 2023, 456–457, 107325) recently published in Lithos proposes a model for the transcrustal magmatic plumbing system at the Marsili Seamount, a massive and still active volcanic centre at the Southern Tyrrhenian back-arc spreading ridge. Their model is based on a combination of geophysical and petrochemical data, the former confined to the axial zone of the Marsili volcano while the latter mostly refer to literature data dealing with samples collected from various sectors of the volcano. This comment questions the rationality of the proposed model, documenting that it is poorly constrained and, at places, incorrect