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Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) result in increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. HAI rates in Greek NICUs are among the highest in Europe. There is a need to identify the factors that influence the transmission of HAIs and implementation of prevention interventions in this setting.Aim: To understand healthcare workers' perceptions about HAI prevention in Greek NICUs.Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with NICU staff (physicians and nurses) and infection prevention stakeholders (infectious diseases physicians and infection control nurses) working in three hospitals in Athens. Interviews were conducted in Greek, transcribed and translated into English, and analysed using a modified grounded theory approach.Findings: Interviews were conducted with 37 respondents (20 physicians and 17 nurses). Four main barriers to HAI prevention were identified: (1) resource limitations leading to understaffing and cramped space; (2) poor knowledge about HAI prevention; (3) Greek-specific cultural norms, including hierarchy-driven decisions, a reluctance for public workers to do more than they are paid for, a belief that personal experience trumps evidence-based knowledge, and reactive rather than proactive approaches to societal challenges; and (4) lack of a national infection prevention infrastructure. Respondents believed that these barriers could be overcome through organized initiatives, high-quality HAI performance data, interpersonal interactions to build engagement around HAI prevention, and leveraging the hierarchy to promote change from the 'top down'.Conclusion: Implementing HAI prevention interventions in Greek NICUs will require consideration of contextual features surrounding the delivery of care, with particular attention paid to national culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The series of proton-bound N2H + Hen (n=1–17) complexes was studied by ab initio methods for the first time. The structures of cations are based on the consecutive filling of five ligand shells. The capacity of the shells located on planes perpendicular to the N2H + axes amounts to five. Shells are well separated in space, and the pattern of changes of the ligand properties in different shells is also visible in the energetics and other characteristics. The consecutive attachment of helium atoms to the N2H + He cation shortens the N–H + bond and increases its strength. This effect, visible also as an unusual variation of the ?N–H+ stretching and atomic charge on the proton, is a characteristic feature of the proton-bound complexes with noble atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pollution of aquatic ecosystems by pharmaceuticals is presently recognized as a serious threat. The drug residues may contaminate surface waters via sewage discharges as well as improper disposal of industrial waste. Very few studies focused on the effects of drug pollutants on behaviour of invertebrates. In this study the effects of ibuprofen and venlafaxine on activity of the Unio tumidus were studied. Changes in behaviours were analysed at concentrations corresponding to wastewater discharges (3.4, 6.8 and 13.6 μgL−1). At dosage of 3.4 μgL−1, ibuprofen affected the activity time and shell opening level. The reduction in activity was particularly evident during the first few days. The same dose of venlafaxine caused hyperactivity of bivalves during the first few days of exposition. The highest doses (13.6 μgL−1) same drugs promoted reduction of activity and shell opening level. Moreover, exposure to these drugs resulted in the reduced water filtering time and hence its purification. The Unio tumidus reaction may indicate negative reaction of other aquatic species to the tested drugs.

Slagging issues present in pulverized steam boilers very often lead to heat transfer problems, corrosion and not planned outages of boilers which increase the cost of energy production and decrease the efficiency of energy production. Slagging especially occurs in regions with reductive atmospheres which nowadays are very common due to very strict limitations in NOx emissions. Moreover alternative fuels like biomass which are also used in combustion systems from two decades in order to decrease CO2 emissions also usually increase the risk of slagging. Thus the prediction of slagging properties of fuels is not the minor issue which can be neglected before purchasing or mixing of fuels. This however is rather difficult to estimate and even commonly known standard laboratory methods like fusion temperature determination or special indexers calculated on the basis of proximate and ultimate analyses, very often have no reasonable correlation to real boiler fuel behaviour. In this paper the method of determination of slagging properties of solid fuels based on laboratory investigation and artificial neural networks were presented. A fuel data base with over 40 fuels was created. Neural networks simulations were carried out in order to predict the beginning temperature and intensity of slagging. Reasonable results were obtained for some of tested neural networks, especially for hybrid feedforward networks with PCA technique. Consequently neural network model will be used in Common Intelligent Boiler Operation Platform (CIBOP) being elaborated within CERUBIS research project for two BP-1150 and BB-1150 steam boilers. The model among others enables proper fuel selection in order to minimize slagging risk.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: CR reports grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to conduct research related to sepsis and healthcare-associated infections, and royalties from UpToDate, Inc. JS reports grant funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality unrelated to this work.

Streptomyces are soil bacteria with complex life cycle. During sporulation Streptomyces linear chromosomes become highly compacted so that the genetic material fits within limited spore volume. The key players in this process are nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs). Among them, HU (heat unstable) proteins are the most abundant NAPs in the cell and the most conserved in bacteria. HupS, one of the two HU homologues encoded by the Streptomyces genome, is the best-studied spore-associated NAP. In contrast to other HU homologues, HupS contains a long, C-terminal domain that is extremely rich in lysine repeats (LR domain) similar to eukaryotic histone H2B and mycobacterial HupB protein. Here, we have investigated, whether lysine residues in HupS are posttranslationally modified by reversible lysine acetylation. We have confirmed that Streptomyces venezuelae HupS is acetylated in vivo. We showed that HupS binding to DNA in vitro is controlled by the acetylation. Moreover, we identified that CobB1, one of two Sir2 homologues in Streptomyces, controls HupS acetylation levels in vivo. We demonstrate that the elimination of CobB1 increases HupS mobility, reduces chromosome compaction in spores, and affects spores maturation. Thus, our studies indicate that HupS acetylation affects its function by diminishing DNA binding and disturbing chromosome organization., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.)

The health benefits of ginger rhizomes ( Zingiber officinale Roscoe ) have been known for centuries. Recently, ginger root has gained more attention due to its anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. Many of the bioactive components of ginger may have therapeutic benefits in treating inflammatory arthritis. Their properties seem especially helpful in treating diseases linked to persistent inflammation and pain, symptoms present in the course of the most prevalent rheumatic diseases, such as osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This review analyzes the current knowledge regarding ginger's beneficial anti-inflammatory effect in both in vitro and in vivo studies as well as clinical trials. The drug delivery systems to improve ginger's bioavailability and medicinal properties are discussed. Understanding ginger's beneficial aspects may initiate further studies on improving its bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy and achieving more a comprehensive application in medicine.

Recent discoveries have revealed that indium tin oxide (ITO), due to the presence of an epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) point and suitable carrier concentration and mobility, can be used to modulate the refractive index, confine fields in the nanoscale, enhance nonlinear effects, achieve ultrafast light switching or to construct so-called time-varying media. While this potential positions ITO as a key material for future nanophotonic devices, producing ITO films with precisely engineered properties remains a significant challenge. Especially when the device's complex geometry or incorporated materials require the fabrication process to be conducted at substrate temperatures below 100 °C and without any post-annealing treatment. Here we present a comprehensive study on the low-temperature deposition of 70 nm thick ITO films using an e-beam PVD system. The nanolayers evaporated under different conditions were characterized by SEM and AFM microscopy, Hall effect measurement system as well as spectroscopic ellipsometry. We discuss the factors influencing the optical, electrical, and morphological properties of ITO films. We show that smooth nanolayers of similar quality to annealed samples can be obtained at 80 °C by controlling the oxygen plasma parameters, and the ENZ wavelength can be tuned throughout the NIR spectral range. Finally, we show that using the proposed methodology, we fabricated ITO films with resistivity as low as 5.2 × 10 -4 Ω cm, smooth surface with RMS < 1 nm, high carrier concentration reaching 1.2 × 10 21  cm -3 and high transmittance (85%) in the Vis/NIR spectrum., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

As secondary plant metabolites, polyphenols are abundant in fruits and vegetables. They are in high demand because of their many health benefits. However, their low bioavailability makes them complex compounds to use for therapeutic purposes. Due to the limited solubility of phytocompounds, dietary supplements made from them may only be partially effective. Such molecules include fisetin, found in strawberries, and have shown great promise in treating Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Unfortunately, because of their limited water solubility, low absorption, and poor bioavailability, the assistance of nanotechnology is required to allow them to fulfil their potential fully. Here, we provide evidence that nanodelivery methods and structure modifications can improve fisetin bioavailability, which is linked to improvements in therapeutic efficacy. An open question remains as to which nanocarrier should be chosen to meet the abovementioned requirements and be able to enhance fisetin's therapeutic potential to treat a particular disease.

Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests.

Background and objectives : The introduction of novel techniques in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) aiming to enhance outcomes and satisfaction of the procedure is constantly ongoing. In order to evidence a priority of one, we have conducted a randomized controlled trial with the aim of comparing patient-reported functional outcomes, radiographic outcomes and intraoperative measures between imageless (NAVIO and CORI), robotic-assisted (ra)- TKA (ra-TKA) and manual TKA (mTKA) for primary knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Materials and Methods : A total of 215 patients with the diagnosis of KOA of the knee were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: NAVIO (76 patients) or CORI (71 patients) robotic-assisted TKA, or manual technique (68 patients) TKA. The primary outcome (Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Study [KOOS]), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Range of motion (ROM), femoral component rotational alignment and the secondary outcomes (surgery time, blood loss, complications, and revision at 12 months after surgery) were compared between three groups. KOOS and VAS were collected at particular follow up visits from each patient individually and ROM in flexion and extension was assessed during the physical examination. Femoral component rotational alignment was measured on the CT scan performed postoperatively utilizing the Berger's method. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results : Both the ra-TKA groups and mTKA group displayed significant improvements in the majority of the functional outcome scores at 12 months. Despite having more prominent surgery time (NAVIO: mean +44.5 min in comparison to mTKA and CORI: mean +38.5 min in comparison to mTKA), both NAVIO and CORI tend to achieve highly accurate femoral component rotational alignment with mean radiographic scores in NAVIO vs. CORI vs. mTKA of 1.48° vs. 1.33° vs. 3.15° and lower blood loss (NAVIO: 1.74; CORI: 1.51; mTKA: 2.32. Furthermore, the investigation revealed the significant difference in femoral component rotational alignment between mTKA-NAVIO and mTKA-CORI and significantly different KOOS scores in NAVIO vs. CORI vs. mTKA of 87.05 vs. 85.59 vs. 81.76. Furthermore, the KOOS analysis showed between group significant statistical differences, but did not reach minimal clinically significant difference. There were no differences in postoperative ROM and VAS. There were no differences in complications between groups. Conclusions : To achieve a successful TKA, the precise tool and individualised objective is of great importance. The results suggest satisfactory results after both ra-TKA methods and mTKA. Ra-TKA and mTKA stand for a safe and reliable treatment method for OA. Patients reported excellent alleviation in functional outcomes and the radiological results revealed that the better precision does not necessarily lead to a better outcome. Therefore, ra-TKA does not imply strong enough advantages in comparison to the manual method, especially in terms of cost-efficiency and surgical time.

Introduction: Total hip replacement (THR) is considered one of the most effective medical procedures in treatment of osteoarthritis. Since its introduction, there has been a worldwide debate over proper implant selection in terms of size, bearing type and shape. Following study was designed to assess the importance of femoral head size in long-term follow-up., Materials and Methods: A cohort of 30 patients with primary end stage osteoarthritis who underwent total hip replacement was analysed retrospectively. A homogenous group was chosen with no major differences in BMI. Patients' gait parameters were measured in a biomechanics laboratory using the 3D BTS Smart system. WOMAC and VAS questionnaires were used to assess patient reported outcome., Results: The subgroup with larger implant head size had several outcomes significantly superior to the subgroup with standard head size and non-inferior to healthy hips. Following variables were measured during this study: time of support phase, time of swing phase, double support time, walking hip extension angle., Conclusions: Use of larger sized femoral heads during THR gives better results in terms of gait pattern. Since restoring the gait pattern is one of the aspects of rehabilitation and returning to daily activities it seems to be an important observation., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

In every surgical subspecialty surgical site infection (SSI) or implant infections, although occur seldom, pose a threat to patients' health. Risk factors of such states is diabetes mellitus (DM), considered one of the most widespread health-related problems of the 21st century. Orthopedists perform big joint replacements that usually concern older adults and therefore often deal with patients suffering from comorbidities. DM is frequently one of them and can furthermore often remain underdiagnosed. The other risk for complication is a rapid beginning of the rehabilitation which starts on the day following the surgery. To eliminate the debilitating impact of DM and hypoglycemia on surgical patients, we aim to investigate the relationship between the glycemia values and the postoperative outcomes in certain periods of time in patients undergoing orthopedic surgeries. Participants meeting inclusion criteria will have inserted a glycemia measuring device (Dexcom G5, Inc., San Diego, CA) in the periods of time. First time it will take place 14 days prior to the surgery and right after the surgery for the second time for the period of another 14 days. All patients will undergo standard total knee arthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty procedures. Patients will be assessed preoperatively and 14 days, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. The assessment of the joint condition will consist of: patient-reported outcomes (The Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, Harris Hip Score, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index [WOMAC]); assessment of potential SSI and cardiovascular complications (the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score [FINDRISC], the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation [SCORE]) and the clinical examination. To investigate the influence of orthopedic surgery (anesthesia) on glycemia and the significance and safety of early patients mobilization after the big joints surgeries. To investigate changes of glycemia in patients with normal glycemia metabolism, potentially protecting them from hypoglycemia during hospital stay and increasing their awareness of potential development of DM in the future. Additionally, this study will correlate perioperative glycemic levels with risk of cardiovascular events in one year follow-up, and its influence on SSI and implant complications., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Recent evidence suggests that temporal expectation is beneficial to memory formation. Rhythmic presentation of stimuli during encoding enhances subsequent recognition and is associated with distinct neural activity compared with when stimuli are presented in an arrhythmic manner. However, no prior study has examined how temporal expectation interacts with another important form of facilitation-spatial attention-to affect memory. This study systematically manipulated temporal expectation and spatial attention during encoding to examine their combined effect on behavioral recognition and associated ERPs. Participants performed eight experimental blocks consisting of an encoding phase and recognition test, with EEG recorded throughout. During encoding, pairs of objects and checkerboards were presented and participants were cued to attend to the left or right stream and detect targets as quickly as possible. In four blocks, stimulus presentation followed a rhythmic (constant, predictable) temporal structure, and in the other four blocks, stimulus onset was arrhythmic (random, unpredictable). An interaction between temporal expectation and spatial attention emerged, with greater recognition in the rhythmic than the arrhythmic condition for spatially attended items. Analysis of memory-specific ERP components uncovered effects of spatial attention. There were late positive component and FN400 old/new effects in the attended condition for both rhythmic and arrhythmic items, whereas in the unattended condition, there was an FN400 old/new effect and no late positive component effect. The study provides new evidence that memory improvement as a function of temporal expectation is dependent upon spatial attention., (© 2022 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.)

The review presents recent examples of heterogenic catalysts based on porphyrins and phthalocyanines loaded on mesoporous materials, such as MCM-41, SBA-15, MCM-48, SBA-16 or Al-MCM-41. Heterogenic approach to catalysis eases recovery, reuse and prevent macrocycle aggregation. In this application, mesoporous silica is a promising candidate for anchoring macrocycle and obtaining a new catalyst. Introduction of porphyrin or phthalocyanine into the mesoporous material may be performed through adsorption of the macrocycle, or by its in situ formation-by reaction of substrates introduced to the pores of the catalytic material. Catalytic reactions studied are oxidation processes, focused on alkane, alkene or arene as substrates. The products obtained are usually epoxides, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes or acids. The greatest interest lies in oxidation of cyclohexane and cyclohexene, as a source of adypic acid and derivatives. Some of the reactions may be viewed as biomimetic processes, resembling processes that occur in vivo and are catalyzed by cytochrome P450 enzyme family.