Antimicrobial-resistant ESKAPE ( Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) pathogens represent a global threat to human health. The acquisition of antimicrobial resistance genes by ESKAPE pathogens has reduced the treatment options for serious infections, increased the burden of disease, and increased death rates due to treatment failure and requires a coordinated global response for antimicrobial resistance surveillance. This looming health threat has restimulated interest in the development of new antimicrobial therapies, has demanded the need for better patient care, and has facilitated heightened governance over stewardship practices.

Antimicrobial resistance in ESKAPE pathogens

https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1516&context=publichealthresources

Adverse childhood experiences and life opportunities: shifting the narrative

The C4 grass Miscanthus × giganteus is of increasing interest as a biomass feedstock for renewable fuel production. This review describes what is known to date on M. × giganteus from extensive research in Europe and more recently in the US. Research trials have shown that M. × giganteus productivity is among the highest recorded within temperate climates. The crop's high productivity results from greater levels of seasonal carbon fixation than other C4 crops during the growing season. Genetic sequencing of M. × giganteus has identified close homology with related crop species such as sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.), and breeding of new varieties is underway. Miscanthus × giganteus has high water use efficiency; however, its exceptional productivity causes higher water use than other arable crops, potentially causing changes in hydrology in agricultural areas. Nitrogen use patterns are inconsistent and may indicate association with N fixing microorganisms. Miscanthus × giganteus has great promise as an economically and ecologically viable biomass crop; however, there are still challenges to widespread commercial development.

/pdf/miscanthus-a-promising-biomass-crop-1tfluomx6p.pdf

Miscanthus: A Promising Biomass Crop

This article reviews the current trends and impact of mass incarceration on communities of color, with a focus on criminal justice policy and practice contributors to racial disparity. The impact of these disproportionate incarceration rates on public safety, offenders, and communities are discussed. Recommendations for criminal justice and other policy reforms to reduce unwarranted racial disparities are offered.

/pdf/addressing-racial-disparities-in-incarceration-1ex2kycyhy.pdf

Addressing racial disparities in incarceration.

The antibiotic pipeline continues to diminish and the majority of the public remains unaware of this critical situation. The cause of the decline of antibiotic development is multifactorial and currently most ICUs are confronted with the challenge of multidrug-resistant organisms. Antimicrobial multidrug resistance is expanding all over the world, with extreme and pandrug resistance being increasingly encountered, especially in healthcare-associated infections in large highly specialized hospitals. Antibiotic stewardship for critically ill patients translated into the implementation of specific guidelines, largely promoted by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign, targeted at education to optimize choice, dosage, and duration of antibiotics in order to improve outcomes and reduce the development of resistance. Inappropriate antimicrobial therapy, meaning the selection of an antibiotic to which the causative pathogen is resistant, is a consistent predictor of poor outcomes in septic patients. Therefore, pharmacokinetically/pharmacodynamically optimized dosing regimens should be given to all patients empirically and, once the pathogen and susceptibility are known, local stewardship practices may be employed on the basis of clinical response to redefine an appropriate regimen for the patient. This review will focus on the most severely ill patients, for whom substantial progress in organ support along with diagnostic and therapeutic strategies markedly increased the risk of nosocomial infections.

/pdf/preventive-and-therapeutic-strategies-in-critically-ill-b5upfcyhy0.pdf

Preventive and therapeutic strategies in critically ill patients with highly resistant bacteria

A contract to the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State totaling $223,300, through which Ohio Secretary Jennifer Brunner, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson and Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita will partner with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to test the efficacy of including voter registration forms in the change of address packets that are sent to movers who file change of address requests with the USPS in three postal markets. The three postal regions represent 61 counties impacted by this project.

Geoffrey A. Little

Papers

The Pew Charitable Trusts