Background concentrations of airborne, culturable fungi and dust particles in urban, rural and mountain regions.

Geographic location and meteorological factors can affect the content of bioaerosol concentrations. This study was conducted to determine the natural background concentrations of culturable fungal spores and dust particles in three different geographical areas. Focus was given to the dominant airborne genera Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus and the species Aspergillus fumigatus. The influence of weather conditions on the microorganism concentrations in urban, rural and mountain regions were examined. Possible correlations between particle counts and culturable fungal spore concentrations were investigated. 125 measurements of the air were conducted using the air sampler MAS-100NT® and the particle counter Alphasense OPC-N3. The analyses of the collected samples were based on culture methods using different media. The highest median of fungal spore concentrations was detected in the urban region and was of 2.0 × 103 CFU/m3 for xerophilic fungi and 1.7 × 103 CFU/m3 for the genus Cladosporium. The concentrations of fine and coarse particles in rural and urban regions were the highest of 1.9 × 107 pa/m3 and 1.3 × 107 pa/m3, respectively. Little cloud cover and slight wind had a positive influence on the concentration of fungal spores. Furthermore, correlations were observed between air temperature and the concentrations of xerophilic fungi as well as the genera Cladosporium. In contrast, relative humidity correlated negatively with total fungi and Cladosporium and no correlation was found with the other fungi. For the region of Styria in summer and early autumn, the natural background concentration for xerophilic fungi ranged between 3.5 × 102 and 4.7 × 103 CFU/m3 air. No significant differences were detected between the fungal spore concentrations in urban, rural and mountainous regions. The data of this study could be used as a reference to compare the natural background concentrations of airborne culturable fungi in further studies concerning air quality assessment.

Dissolved Carbon Dioxide: The Lifespan of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis in Bottled Carbonated Mineral Water.

During the process of mineral water production, many possible contamination settings can influence the quality of bottled water. Microbial contamination can originate from different sources, for example, the ambient air, the bottles, the caps, and from the bottling machine itself. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of three different carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations (3.0 g/L, 5.5 g/L, and 7.0 g/L; 20 bottles each) in bottled mineral water on the bacterial growth of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Enterococcus faecalis (Ent. faecalis). The examined mineral water was artificially contaminated before capping the bottles inside the factory. After a specific number of days, water samples were taken from freshly opened bottles and after filtration (100 mL), filters were placed on Columbia Agar with 5% Sheep blood to cultivate S. aureus and Slanetz and Bartley Agar to cultivate Ent. faecalis. The respective colony-forming units (CFU) were counted after incubation times ranging from 24 to 120 h. Colony-forming units of S. aureus were not detectable after the 16th and 27th day, whereas Ent. faecalis was not cultivable after the 5th and 13th day when stored inside the bottles. The investigation of the bottles that were stored open for a certain amount of time with CO2 bubbling out showed only single colonies for S. aureus after the 5th day and no CFUs for Ent. faecalis after the 17th day. A reduction in the two investigated bacterial strains during storage in carbonated mineral water bottles means that a proper standardized disinfection and cleaning procedure, according to valid hygiene standards of industrial bottling machines, cannot be replaced by carbonation.

Cefsulodin and Vancomycin: A Supplement for Chromogenic Coliform Agar for Detection of Escherichia coli and Coliform Bacteria from Different Water Sources.

Background microorganism growth on Chromogenic Coliform Agar (CCA) can be challenging. For this reason, a new alternative method with a Cefsulodin/Vancomycin (CV)-supplemented CCA should be developed in this study. CCA supplemented with CV was validated according to ÖNORM EN ISO 16140-4:2021 using water from natural sources in Styria, Austria. Results show that the alternative method using the supplemented CCA has similar values in relation to sensitivity (82.2%), specificity (98.6%) and higher selectivity (59%) compared to the reference method. Repeatability and reproducibility were acceptable for the alternative method and showed similar results with the reference method. The alternative method shows a very low false positive rate and a low false negative rate paired with good performance regarding the inclusion study. The exclusion study shows the advantage of our method by suppressing background microorganisms and facilitating the process of enumeration of Escherichia coli and other coliform bacteria on CCA plates. Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth was inhibited using the supplement. To conclude, the coliform CV selective supplement combined with CCA is an appropriate tool for coliform bacteria detection in water samples.

Background Concentrations of Cultivable, Mesophilic Bacteria and Dust Particles in the Air in Urban, Rural and Mountain Regions.

Particulate air components can be of anthropogenic or natural origin. It is assumed that in different geographical areas varying concentrations of mesophilic bacteria are present in the ambient air. The aim of this study was to determine the background concentrations of airborne culturable mesophilic bacteria and particulate matter in the ambient air. Furthermore, the association between their concentrations and some environmental factors was analysed. In the period from July to October 2019, concentrations of mesophilic bacteria and dust particles were measured in urban, rural and mountain areas using the single-stage air sampler and the particle counter. The concentrations of bacteria and dust particles in the air were counted as number of Colony Forming Units per cubic metre (CFU/m3) and particles per cubic metre (pa/m3). Staphylococcus sp. were identified. The median values of the cultivated mesophilic bacteria at 30 °C and 37 °C were 7.1 × 102 CFU/m3 and 2.3 × 101 CFU/m3 in mountain regions, 1.3 × 102 CFU/m3 and 6.9 × 101 CFU/m3 in rural regions and 2.1 × 102 CFU/m3 and 6.5 × 101 CFU/m3 in urban regions. The median of Staphylococcus sp. was 2.5 × 100 CFU/m3 in alpine areas and 7.5 × 100 CFU/m3 in urban and rural areas. Higher bacterial concentrations were measured in sunshine and in windy weather. A relationship was observed between the concentrations of airborne mesophilic bacteria and the coarse particles in all three areas. The present study determined values between 5.0 × 100 and 4.6 × 102 CFU/m3 as natural background concentrations of airborne mesophilic bacteria and 1.2 × 107 pa/m3 and 6.5 × 104 pa/m3 for fine and coarse particles, respectively. These results can be proposed as baseline for the assessment of the emission sources of mesophilic bacteria for summer and early autumn.

Quality of life after SPARC sling procedure: a long-term retrospective analysis.

INTRODUCTION: To asses the effects on quality of life (QoL) in women with stress urinary incontinence after a SPARC sling procedure. METHODS: This is a long-term retrospective study. The study cohort consisted of 54 women: 46 were available for follow-up examination and 8 were contacted by telephone. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 5.3 years. The QoL assessed by using a visual analogue scale improved significantly from 6.9 at baseline to 2.8. The IIQ-7 (Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-Short Form) general score decreased from an average of 56.7 at baseline to 17.5 at the follow-up investigation. Using the Patient Global Impression of Improvement questionnaire, 57.4% of women characterized themselves as very much better, 20.4% as much better and 11.1% as a little better. Eighty-seven percent of women regarded themselves as satisfied, but 13% were dissatisfied with the outcome of the SPARC sling procedure. CONCLUSION: In this study a significant and stable long-term improvement in QoL could be observed in women undergoing SPARC sling procedure.

Surgery for pathological proximal femoral fractures, excluding femoral head and neck fractures: resection vs. stabilisation.

Pathological femoral head and neck fractures are commonly treated by arthroplasty. Treatment options for the trochanteric region or below are not clearly defined. The purpose of this retrospective, comparative, double-centre study was to analyse survival and influences on outcome according to the surgical technique used to treat pathological proximal femoral fractures, excluding fractures of the femoral head and neck. Fifty-nine patients with 64 fractures were operated up on between 1998 and 2004 in two tertiary referral centres and divided into two groups. One group (S, n = 33) consisted of patients who underwent intramedullary nailing alone, and the other group (R, n = 31) consisted of patients treated by metastatic tissue resection and reconstruction by means of different implants. Median survival was 12.6 months with no difference between groups. Surgical complications were higher in the R group (n = 7) vs. the S group (n = 3), with no statistically significant difference. Patients with surgery-related complications had a higher survival rate (p = 0.049), as did patients with mechanical implant failure (p = 0.01). Survival scoring systems did not correlate with actual survival. Resection of metastases in patients with pathological fractures of the proximal femur, excluding femoral head and neck fractures, has no influence on survival. Patients with long postoperative survival prognosis are at risk of implant-related complications.

Assessment of pulmonary arterial pressure during exercise in collagen vascular disease: echocardiography vs right-sided heart catheterization.

BACKGROUND: This study compared the results of exercise Doppler echocardiography (EDE) with right-sided heart catheterization (RHC) and evaluated the combination of EDE and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) as a screening method for early pulmonary vasculopathy in patients with connective tissue disease. METHODS: Patients (N = 52) with connective tissue disease (predominantly systemic sclerosis) and without known pulmonary arterial hypertension underwent both EDE and CPET. If systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (SPAP) was > 40 mm Hg during exercise or peak oxygen uptake (Vo(2)) was < 75% predicted, RHC was suggested. RESULTS: EDE showed an SPAP > 40 mm Hg during exercise in 26/52 patients. Additionally, CPET showed a peak Vo(2) < 75% predicted in 10/26 patients with SPAP 40 mm Hg in 25 patients (n = 1 at rest, n = 24 during exercise). SPAP values assessed by EDE showed no significant difference vs RHC at rest, 25 W, 50 W, and maximal exercise (difference [95% CI]: 0.3 [-2.7; 3.2], -1.3 [-7.1; 4.4], 0.9 [-7.7; 5.9], and -5.6 [-13.5; 2.2] mm Hg). Eight patients with exercise SPAP > 40 mm Hg had an exercise pulmonary arterial wedge pressure > 20 mm Hg, suggesting exercise-induced left ventricular diastolic dysfunction not detectable by EDE. CONCLUSIONS: EDE appears to be a reasonable noninvasive method to detect SPAP increase during exercise in connective tissue disease. In combination with CPET, it may be a useful screening tool for early pulmonary vasculopathy, although RHC remains the gold standard for hemodynamic assessment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov; Identifier: NCT00609349 (Early Recognition of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension).

The suprapubic arch sling procedure for treatment of stress urinary incontinence: a 5-year retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Up to now, numerous similar products concerning the surgical treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) have been developed. OBJECTIVE: To assess the long-term efficacy and safety of the suprapubic arch (SPARC) sling system in women with SUI. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a long-term retrospective study. All patients underwent a comprehensive pre- and postoperative evaluation. Forty-six women were available for clinical follow-up investigation after SPARC sling placement. INTERVENTION: Eighty-six women with SUI and a positive cough test underwent SPARC sling placement between June 2001 and January 2004. MEASUREMENTS: At follow-up all 46 patients underwent a cough test, a pad test, uroflowmetry, and sonographic postvoid residual volume measurement. Women rated their subjective continence status (continent, slightly incontinent, incontinent) and were asked if they would undergo the procedure again and if they would recommend it to a friend. Objective cure was defined as a pad weight 0-1g and a negative cough test. Subjective cure was defined as no use of pads. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: The median follow-up was 5.2 yr. The objective cure rate was 76%; the subjective cure rate was 52%. Sixty-three percent of the patients rated themselves as continent, 33% as slightly incontinent, and 4% as severely incontinent. Most of the women (98%) would recommend the SPARC procedure to a friend and would undergo the procedure again. CONCLUSIONS: The SPARC sling system is an effective and safe procedure for the treatment of female SUI. Patient satisfaction is independent of complete dryness.

Oral and intestinal Candida colonization in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.

We investigated (1) the prevalence and quantity of, as well as risk factors for, orointestinal Candida colonization in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) and (2) the genetic relatedness of colonizing C. albicans strains. Mouth-wash and stool samples were collected from 77 patients before they underwent HSCT and on days 1, 8, and 15 and were quantitatively cultured. C. albicans isolates were genotyped by microsatellite-marker analysis. The prevalence and quantity of orointestinal Candida colonization varied over time. In 48% (13/27) of multicolonized patients, the same Candida genotype was present in oral and intestinal samples. Oral colonization and decontamination of the gut by vancomycin and paromomycin were risk factors for intestinal Candida colonization.