Antimicrobial treatment in invasive infections caused by Gordonia bronchialis: systematic review.

Background: Corynebacterium, Nocardia, Rhodococcus, Mycobacterium, as well as Gordonia genera belongs to the genus Gordonia, Actinomycetia class. Gordonia bronchialis is a nitrate-reducing, urease-producing, non-motile, force aerobe with a rod-like figure that is known to arrangement into sessile, cord-like groups. This systematic review aimed to establish whether and what invasive infections in humans were caused by Gordonia bronchialis, and to evaluate outcomes of administered antibiotic treatment. Methods: We have registered this systematic review in PROSPERO database of systematic reviews and meta-analyses with the number CRD42022369974. Results: A total of 24 publications were included (22 case reports and two case series) with 28 individual cases. The oldest patients had 92 years, and the youngest patients had 13 years. Clinical signs of infection were present in six patients (21%). All isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, imipenem, and amikacin. Vancomycin was the most frequently used antibiotic with nine cases followed by ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Conclusion: Although there are no standardized recommendations to date, successful treatment with a favorable outcome has most often been carried out with fluoroquinolones, vancomycin with or without aminoglycosides, as well as carbapenems.

The functional consequences in severe and critical covid-19 survivors - A pilot study.

PURPOSE: To perform pulmonary function tests (PFT) in severe COVID-19 survivors one and five months after hospital discharge in order to assess the lung function, as well to identify clinical characteristics and PFT parameters associated with worse cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective study included 75 patients with severe form of COVID-19. PFT was conducted one and five months after hospital discharge, in addition to CPET in a second assessment. Patients with a previous history of chronic respiratory diseases were excluded from our study. RESULTS: One month after hospital discharge, all examined patients had diffusion lung capacity for carbon-monoxide(DLco%) below the 80% of predicted values (in mean 58%), with 40% of patients having a restrictive pattern (total lung capacity(TLC) < 80%). In a repeated assessment after five months, pathological DLco% persisted in 40% of patients, while all other PFT parameters were normal. CPET showed reduced maximum oxygen consumption during exercise testing (VO2peak%) values in 80% of patients (in mean 69%), and exercise ventilatory inefficiency in 60%. Patients with VO2peak < 60% had significantly lower values of examined PFT parameters, both one and five months after hospital discharge. Patients with VO2peak% ≥ 60% had a significantly higher increase after the second assessment for Forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1%), Forced expiratory volume in 1st second and forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC), DLco% and Diffusion lung capacity for carbon monoxide corrected for alveolar volume (DLco/VA). CONCLUSION: Significant functional abnormalities, according to PFT and CPET, was present both one and five months in severe COVID-19 survivors, thus emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive follow-up including both resting and dynamic functional assessment in these patients.

Antimicrobial Treatment of Serratia marcescens Invasive Infections: Systematic Review.

Background: Serratia marcescens (SM) is a Gram-negative pathogen discovered by Italian pharmacist, Bizio, in 1819. According to the literature, S. marcescens is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, including penicillin, cephalosporin, tetracycline, macrolide, nitrofurantoin, and colistin. We conducted a systematic review of published reports, determined what invasive infections could cause SM, and established the most appropriate antibiotic therapy. Methods: We registered this systematic review on the PROSPERO registry of systematic reviews-meta-analyses before we started our research (registration number CRD42022323159). The online searches of published studies were implemented via MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EBSCO, Scopus, Google Scholar, SCIndex, and the registry of clinical studies of human participants (ClinicalTrials.gov). Results: Our study included 32 published articles (9 case series and 23 case reports). There were 57 individual cases, respectively. The oldest patient was 97 years and the youngest patient was a newborn. S. marcescens was, in most cases, isolated from blood followed by urine and cerebrospinal fluid. In most cases, sensitivity was tested to cotrimoxazole (from 27 isolates, 10 showed resistance) followed by gentamicin (from 26 isolates, 3 showed resistance) as well as amikacin (from 21 isolates, none showed resistance). Patients died from an infection in 21 cases (31%). Conclusions: Treatment of SM infections should include carbapenems or aminoglycosides in combination with third-generation (and eventually fourth-generation) cephalosporin. Cotrimoxazole should be considered in cases of uncomplicated urinary infections.

Obesity and sleep apnea as a significant comorbidities in COVID-19 - A case report.

In our paper we aimed to increase the awareness among physicians, concerning coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity, especially in patients with specific underlying comorbidities. Obesity is the second most common condition in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Furthermore it has a major role in the development of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), which is highly involved in a severe COVID-19 development and its serious outcomes. Even though obese OSA patients had an increased pulmonary embolism (PE) risk, there is no enough evidence to support the interaction between obesity and OSA regarding PE development in the setting of COVID-19. Our patient is a 45-year-old obese male with COVID-19, who was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with acute respiratory failure requiring high-flow nasal oxygenation. Clinical, laboratory and diagnostic findings pointed on severe COVID-19 form, complicated with PE. After recovery, the diagnosis of OSA was established. With this case, we wanted to alert the physicians on comorbidities, such as obesity and OSA, while those conditions, to some extent, may contribute to worse COVID-19 clinical presentation.

Does the Severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Have an Independent Impact on Systemic Inflammation?

Background and Objectives: This paper aims to show whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity increases the level of systemic inflammation markers regardless of body mass index (BMI) and body composition. Materials and Methods: In total, 128 patients with OSA were included in the study. Examinees were divided into two groups: one with mild OSA (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) < 15) and one with moderate and severe OSA (AHI ≥ 15). Nutritional status was assessed using body mass index, body composition by dual X-ray absorptiometry. Systemic inflammation was assessed on the basis of plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and serum level of C-reactive protein (CRP). Results: We found elevated mean values of the evaluated systemic inflammation markers (CRP, TNF-α, IL-6) in a group with AHI ≥ 15, although there was no statistical significance. Our research found a significant positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.633, p < 0.001), as well as with body fat percentage (r = 0.450, p = 0.024) and serum CRP values. Significant correlation was found between the plasma IL-6 concentration and body fat percentage (FM%) (r = 0.579, p = 0.003) and lean body mass (r = -0.501, p = 0.013). Multivariate regression analysis did not show any independent predictor (parameters of OSA, nutritional status, body composition) of the systemic inflammation markers. Conclusions: Neither one tested parameter (nutritional status and body composition) of the severity of OSA was identified as an independent prognostic factor for the severity of systemic inflammation in patients with OSA.

Breaking of double emulsions based on electrohydrodynamics principles.

This research focuses on the modeling of the liquid-liquid dispersed system, including particular insight on the electrocoalescence (EC) process that occurs during the breaking of double emulsions. The representative system, used in this work, was taken from the pilot plant for solvent extraction of uranium from wet phosphoric acid. The chosen framework required for elucidation of the EC process is based on the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) principles. During the model development it was necessary to consider several theoretical concepts for easier understanding and description of the related events. The first is the concept of entities, and corresponding classification of finely dispersed systems. The second concept is an introduction of almost forgotten basic electrodynamics element the memdiode or memristor as a current controlled device, and corresponding memristive systems. Hence, the conclusions that may be withdrawn from the presented results and findings could enable easier designing of the solutions for a breaking of double emulsions problems, that is, the entrainment problems that may arise in some pilot or industrial plants. Finally, the perspectives and the remaining challenges, considering the here discussed concepts and model based on the EHD principles, are mentioned.

Modeling selected emulsions and double emulsions as memristive systems.

The recent development in basic and applied science and engineering of finely dispersed systems is presented in general, but more attention has been paid to the liquid-liquid finely dispersed systems or to the particular emulsions and double emulsions. The selected systems for theoretical and experimental research were emulsions and double emulsions that appeared in the pilot plant for extraction of uranium from wet phosphoric acid. The objective of this research was to try to provide a new or different approach to elaborate the complex phenomena that occur at developed liquid-liquid interfaces. New concepts were introduced, the first is a concept of an entity, and the corresponding classification of finely dispersed systems and the second concept consider the introduction of an almost forgotten basic electrodynamics element memristor, and the corresponding memristive systems. Based on these concepts a theory of electroviscoelasticity was proposed and experimentally corroborated using the selected representative liquid-liquid system. Also, it is shown that the droplet, and/or droplet-film structure, that is, selected emulsion and/or double emulsion may be considered as the particular example of memristive systems.

Experimental in situ investigations of turbulence under high pressure.

In tube injection systems applied in high-pressure processing of packed biomaterials and foods, the pressure-transmitting medium is injected into the vessel to increase the pressure up to 1000 MPa, generating a submerged liquid-free jet. The presence of a turbulent-free jet during the pressurization phase and its positive influence on the homogeneity of the product treatment has already been examined by computational fluid dynamics investigations. However, no experimental data have supported the existence and properties of turbulent flow under high-pressure (HP) conditions up to 400 MPa. This contribution presents the development of two experimental setups: HP-laser Doppler anemometry and HP-hot wire anemometry. For the first time the time-averaged velocity profiles of a free jet during pressurization up to 300 MPa at different Reynolds numbers (Re) have been obtained. In this article, the dependence of the velocity profiles on the Re is discussed in detail. Moreover, the relaminarization phenomenon of the turbulent pipe flow most likely caused by the compressibility effects and viscosity changes of the pressure-transmitting medium is examined.