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\"Wilted tells how, in the face of emergent soil pathogens, the California strawberry industry came to rely on the use of highly toxic soil fumigants. Once widely adopted, fumigation reverberated throughout the rest of the production system--in plant breeding, land access, labor practices, marketing, and more, bringing tremendous productivity. Yet, the very entanglements of plants, soils, chemicals, climate, and laboring bodies that once made strawberry production so lucrative in the Golden State have now turned into a set of interlocking threats, especially as social and ecological conditions beyond the industry's control bear down on growers\"--Provided by publisher.

BackgroundAmbulance services transport patients with infections and diseases and could pose a cross transmission risk to patients and staff through environmental contamination. The literature suggests that environmental pathogens are present on ambulances, cleaning is inconsistent and patient/staff impact is difficult to quantify. Eco-Mist developed a dry misting decontamination system for ambulance use called AmbuGard which works in <30 minutes and is 99.9999% effective against common pathogens. The research question is ‘What pathogens are present on North East Ambulance Service ambulances and what impact does adding the AmbuGard to the deep cleaning process make?’MethodsA two armed, randomised controlled trial enrolled fourteen ambulances during their regular 24 week deep clean which were 1:1 randomised to deep cleaning (control arm) or deep cleaning plus AmbuGard (intervention arm). Polywipe swabs were taken before and after cleaning from five locations selected for high rates of contact (steering wheel, shelf, side door grab rail, patient seat armrest, rear door handle/grab rail). Microbiology culture methods identified the presence and amount of bacterial organisms present including the selected pathogens: Enterococcus spp.; Enterobacter spp.; Klebsiella spp.; Staphylococcus aureus; Acinetobacter spp.; Pseudomonas spp.; Clostridium difficile; coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS)). The researcher taking the swabs and the laboratory were blinded to the trial arm.ResultsPathogens of interest were found on 10 (71%) vehicles. CoNS were found on all vehicles. Pathogens were found on all locations swabbed. Normal deep cleaning was effective at eliminating pathogens and the addition of AmbuGard showed no obvious improvement in effectiveness.ConclusionPathogens associated with healthcare acquired infections were found throughout all ambulances. Normal deep cleaning was effective and adding AmbuGard showed no obvious improvement. This was a small study at a single point in time. Further research is needed into temporal trends, how to reduce pathogens during normal clinical duties and patient/staff impact.

BackgroundSyndromic management remains the standard nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) treatment approach. Whether pathogen-specific signs/symptoms inform treatment decisions remains unclear. We identified men with single- and mixed-pathogen NGU and assessed for the presence of pathogen-specific signs or symptoms to improve syndromic management.MethodsAs part of an ongoing cohort study (the Idiopathic Urethritis Men’s Project [IUMP]), we recruited men with NGU. NGU was diagnosed by signs and/or symptoms of urethritis, and a urethral Gram stain with ≥5 neutrophils per high-power field without evidence of gram negative intracellular diplococci. Participants underwent a clinical history and physical exam, which documented specific self-reported symptoms and clinician observed signs. Single- and mixed-infections were identified by NAAT testing of first-catch urine for Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), and Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU); five-pathogen-negative cases were classified as idiopathic urethritis (IU).ResultsOne hundred fifty-five men with NGU are included in this analysis. The median age was 28 (range 18–63), 101 (65%) were African American, and 135 (87%) self-identified as heterosexual. The most commonly reported symptom was urethral discharge (92%), followed by burning/tingling (37%), and dysuria (28%). Over half of these men reported more than one symptom (58%). Single-pathogen NGU was detected in 99 (64%) men, mixed-pathogen in 14 (9%), and IU in 42 (27%). For single pathogen NGU, 53 (34%) had CT, 26 (17%) had MG, 3 (2%) had TV, and 17 (11%) had UU. We compared single-pathogen NGU, mixed-infection and IU for differences in signs or symptoms and found no pathogen-specific differences.ConclusionIn men with NGU, no pathogen-specific signs and symptoms were identified that could inform treatment decisions. Pathogen-specific point-of-care tests are needed.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Mucus is the first line of defence against harmful pathogens for various epithelia in the body. Mucus acts as a physical barrier against gastrointestinal and respiratory irritants and pathogens. It also contains proteins such as immunoglobulins, glycoproteins, and antimicrobial enzymes (such as lysozyme) that inhibit bacterial growth and biofilm production to protect against infection.1

IntroductionSexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are increasing worldwide. Innovative approaches are required to eliminate barriers to STIs testing such as home-based self-sampling for patients that are difficult to reach or for whose that refuse to go for clinical collection. Aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a new Home–based Self Vaginal FLOQSwabTM (HBSVF - COPAN Italia, Brescia) in combination with a commercially available real-time PCR assay, Anyplex II STI-7 (Seegene, Seoul, Korea) which detects seven major pathogens in a single reaction (Chlamydia trachomatis - CT, Neisseria gonorrhoeae - NG, Trichomonas vaginalis - TV, Mycoplasma hominis - MH, Mycoplasma genitalium - MG, Ureaplasma urealyticum - UU, and Ureaplasma parvum - UP). MethodsA total of 78 asymptomatic donors, employees of a private industry (aged 18 to 45 years) were voluntarily enrolled to STIs screening. The subjects answered to a standardise anonymized questionnaire regarding the easy of use of self vaginal collection. The new HBSV swab was collected in a domestic context by following the detailed “how to use it” instructions. After collection, the HBSV swabs were shipped at room temperature to the laboratory in Pievesestina and processed within five weeks. The threshold cycle value (Ct) of a human genomic target (internal control, IC) and Ct of pathogens (CT, NG, TV, MH, MG, UU, UP) were taken as parameters to assess respectively, the efficiency of self-sampling and presence of any inhibitor effects, the stability of nucleic acids on dry swabs. Resultsno failure results have been observed, the IC of all samples were amplified (average Ct 30). The real time PCR assay was able to identified 2/78 CT, 4/78 UU, 40/78 UP, 6/78 MH, 1/78 TV positive patients. No MG and NG positive patients have been detected. Women reported self-collection with HBSV easy and comfortable (100%).Conclusionthe new HBSV device showed excellent recovery and stability of nucleic acid of STI pathogens up to 5 weeks at room temperature. The HBSV is suitable for screening of STIs with real-time PCR assay.

IL-17 and IL-17 receptor (IL-17RA/RC) signaling are critical for regulating mucosal host defense against many invading pathogens as well as intestinal inflammation. One of the critical factors driving Th17 cell development in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is commensal bacteria especially segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB). Th17 cells provide the host with an evolutionary advantage by conferring serotype-independent immunity against extracellular pathogens. In support of this notion, it has been recently reported that SFB induce antigen specific Th17 responses in the intestine. Thus, it could be possible that SFB-induced host IL-17 responses regulate intestinal homeostasis by regulating SFB overgrowth. Indeed, genetic deletion of IL-17RA/RC resulted in SFB overgrowth and a marked increase in the precursor frequency of IL-17 producing T-cells.MethodsRT-PCR and Scanning electron microscopy used for SFB detection. Lamina propria lymphocytes were isolated using Percoll gradient and stimulated and stained with IL-17A/IL-22 following activation with PMA and Ionomycin. Vancomycin (1g/L) in drinking water is used to deplete SFB. RNA sequencing used to determine the relative gene expression. Defcr25 peptide was custom synthesized and gavaged into Il17ra-/- mice.ResultsOur data shows that Il17ra-/- and Il17rc-/- but not Il17rb-/- mice support overgrowth of SFB, suggesting a critical role of IL-17 signaling in SFB colonization. Furthermore, SFB-specific CD4 T cells were expanded in the lamina propria of Il17ra-/- mice. Higher SFB colonization in Il17ra-/- and Il17rc-/- mice resulted in the expansion of IL-17A and IL-22 producing Th17 cells. This expansion was absent in Il17rafl/flXCD4 cre mice demonstrating that the proliferation of Th17 cells was not due to loss of IL-117RA signaling in CD4+ T-cells. Vancomycin depletion of SFB in Il17ra-/- and Il17rc-/- mice resulted in a decrease in Th17 cells in the lamina propria, supporting the notion that the gut microflora was responsible for hyper Th17 responses. To further define the role of IL-17 in SFB colonization, we generated SFB-free Il17ra conditional (Il17rafl/flxe2a cre) and gut epithelial specific (Il17rafl/flx villin cre) knockout mice. SFB-free Il17rafl/flxe2a cre and Il17rafl/flx villin cre mice had similar Th17 frequencies as littermate controls. However, following inoculation with SFB, Il17rafl/flxe2a cre and Il17rafl/flx villin cre mice developed a substantially greater level of SFB colonization and expanded frequency of Th17 cells compared to Cre- littermate control mice. RNA sequencing of the small intestine revealed high expression of Regenerating islet derived (Reg)-3b, g but lower expression of alpha-defensins in Il17a-/-, Il17ra-/- and Il17rafl/flx villin cre mice. Local delivery of active alpha-defensin (Defcr25) but not Reg3g control SFB overgrowth in Il17ra-/- mice.ConclusionsOur data suggest the existence of a reciprocal relationship between SFB, Th17 lineage commitment, and subsequent IL-17R signaling that controls SFB and at the same time constrains the size of the Th17 pool in the lamina propria

PLoS Pathog 10(1): e1003879 doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1003879. * View Article * PubMed/NCBI * Google Scholar Citation: The PLOS Pathogens Staff (2014) Correction: Inflammatory Stimuli Reprogram Macrophage Phagocytosis to Macropinocytosis for the Rapid Elimination of Pathogens.