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This volume aims to enhance the current understanding of clinical features, treatment and pathogenic aspects in necrotizing soft tissue infections. Various representative case studies are discussed to enhance the readers'understanding of these complex diseases. Necrotizing soft tissue infections are rapidly spreading infections that may cause extensive soft tissue or limb loss, multiorgan failure and are associated with a considerable fatality rate. It is undisputed that rapid diagnosis and prompt intervention is directly related to survival. The initial presentation may be limited to unspecific symptoms such as tenderness, swelling, erythema and pain. Thus, diagnosis and management are challenging due to heterogeneity in clinical presentation, in co-morbidities, in microbiological aetiology, as well as in the pathogenic mechanisms. An international and multidisciplinary consortium, INFECT, has for the last 6 years been pursuing research aimed to advance the understanding of the clinical and pathogenic aspects of these infections. A central part has been to create a comprehensive clinical registry and associated biobank which have also formed the basis for the experimental studies. Using the INFECT patient cohort, as well as an integrated systems biology approach in patients and clinically relevant experimental models, an advanced insight of diagnostic features, causative microbial agents, treatment strategies, and pathogenic mechanisms (host and bacterial disease traits and their underlying interaction network) has been obtained.

Microbial transmission, the processes by which microbes transit to new environments, is a significant and broad-reaching concept with applications throughout the biological sciences. This collection of reviews, edited by an international team of experts studying and working across a range of disciplines, explores transmission not just as an idea in disease but as a fundamental biological process that acts in all domains of nature and exerts its force on disparate size scales, from the micro to the macro, and across units of time as divergent as a single bacterial replication cycle and the entire course of evolution. In five sections, this overview Defines the concept of transmission and covers basic processes of transmission, including causality, control strategies, fitness costs, virulence, and selection Presents numerous combinations of transmission scenarios across the bacterial, animal, and human interface Examines transmission as the defining characteristic of infectious disease Presents methods for experimentally verifying and quantifying transmission episodes Concludes with important theoretical and modeling approaches Anyone studying or working in microbial colonization, evolution, pathogenicity, antimicrobial resistance, or public health will benefit from a deeper understanding of Microbial Transmission.

This book describes modern biophysical techniques that enable us to understand and examine dynamic processes of infection at the molecular level. Cutting-edge research articles, laboratory protocols, case studies and up-to-date reviews cover topics such as single-molecule observation of DNA replication repair pathways in E. coli; evolution of drug resistance in bacteria; restriction enzymes as barriers to horizontal gene transfer in Staphylococcus aureus; infectious and bacterial pathogen biofilms; killing infectious pathogens through DNA damage; bacterial surfaces in host-pathogen interactions; bacterial gene regulation by riboswitches; transcription regulation in enterobacterial pathogens; the bacterial flagellar motor; initial surface colonization by bacteria; Salmonella Typhi host restrictions; as well as monitoring proton motive force in bacteria; microbial pathogens using digital holography; mathematical modelling of microbial pathogen motility; neutron reflectivity in studying bacterial membranes; force spectroscopy in studying infection and 4D multi-photon imaging to investigate immune responses. The focus is on the development and application of complex techniques and protocols at the interface of life sciences and physics, which increase the physiological relevance of biophysical investigations.

Strategies for providing optimal care to this high-risk patient group The immunocompromised patient population is increasing throughout the world. Major advances in transplantation techniques have expanded access to lifesaving therapies and improved outcomes in these high-risk populations. An understanding of the biology of these infections, host conditions, and the limitations of technologies used to detect and quantify such pathogens is critical to optimal care. This new edition of Diagnostic Microbiology of the Immunocompromised Host covers all aspects of state-of-the-art diagnostics for infectious complications in the immunocompromised patient. Editors Randall Hayden, Karen Carroll, Yi-Wei Tang and Donna Wolk, assembled the contributions of a team of preeminent authors to discuss a broad range of topics, including relevant aspects of host biology, antineoplastic, and transplantation techniques and the basis of immunosuppressive conditions ranging from diabetes to age-related immunosuppression approaches, interpretations, and limitations of laboratory diagnosis of infections by a wide range of specific etiologic agents laboratory diagnosis of infections of specific organ systems, such as respiratory tract infections, gastrointestinal tract infections, and central nervous system infections special topics such as prosthetic devices and catheters, healthcare acquired infections, and morphologic considerations (anatomic pathology) future diagnostic technologies and their potential impact on the field Diagnostic Microbiology of the Immunocompromised Host is a resource for laboratory medicine specialists, pathologists, technologists, students, and clinical care professionals who are involved or interested in the care of the immunocompromised host. If you are looking for online access to the latest clinical microbiology content, please visit www.wiley.com/learn/clinmicronow.

Organs and tissues that can tolerate little or no inflammation have developed multiple overlapping mechanisms of immune protection in the absence of inflammation. These areas have been designated “immune-privileged sites” by Peter Medawar and include the central nervous system, eye, reproductive tract, testis and possibly the liver. Mechanisms of immune homeostasis found in less immune-regulated organs are often evident in the immune privileged sites and vice versa. It is important that the non-inflammatory mechanisms that contribute to immune privilege allow host defense against infectious organisms. This volume highlights the mechanisms leading to immune privilege in tissues and organs, the deviation of immune responses and the modification of the behavior of the immune cells that manage to cross the blood barriers of tissues, in the context of infection.

Nosocomial and ventilator-associated pneumonia continue to be a major challenge in the management of intensive care patients. In particular, recent developments in microbial resistance are a cause of great concern. Internationally renowned experts provide comprehensive reviews on all the major topics within the field and, in particular, the recent insights into epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment surrounding this field. This Monograph is an essential reference book for both clinicians and researchers alike on this challenging subject.

The microbiological burden on an aging host is enormous, and clinically significant. As humans are living longer there is a greater propensity to infection. This risk is substantially heightened in elderly individuals who are predisposed to infection. Do the microbiological changes that occur within and upon the host influence the process of ageing or is it the biological changes of the host that affects the host's microbiology? Do such changes therefore affect the host's propensity to disease? Are there ways of enhancing life expectancy by reducing certain bacteria from proliferating or conversely by enhancing the survival of beneficial bacteria? Microbiology & Aging: Clinical Manifestations encompasses a collection of reviews that highlight the significance of, and the crucial role, that microorganisms play in the human life cycle and considers the microbiology of the host in different regions of the body during the aging process.

Integrates headline-making disease outbreaks into microbiology coursework to provide critical content to college-age students.

A comprehensive examination of this burgeoning area of important research.

Covers the foundation concepts of immunology and their application to the real world of diseases and health.

Familiarity with nitric oxide is essential to a modern understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms of infectious disease. Recent research has established nitric oxide and related reactive nitrogen intermediates to be important molecular mediators of diverse physiologic processes such as control of vascular tone, regulation of the immune system, and microbial and tumor cell growth. This book contains chapters by the leading researchers in the field and examines the biology and biochemistry of nitric oxide and its role in a variety of specific infections ranging from sepsis, tuberculosis and malaria to viral myocarditis, influenza, and AIDS.