Michael R. Barer

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated biomarker expression in COPD exacerbations to identify biologic clusters and determine biomarkers that recognize clinical exacerbation phenotypes, namely those associated with bacteria, viruses, or eosinophilic airway inflammation.

TL;DR: It is argued that failure to differentiate clearly between use of the terms ‘viability’ and ‘culturability” in an operational versus a conceptual sense is fuelling the current debate, and an alternative operational terminology is suggested that replaces ‘VBNC’ with expressions that are internally consistent.

TL;DR: The peripheral blood eosinophil count is a promising biomarker to direct corticosteroid therapy during COPD exacerbations, but larger studies are required.

TL;DR: Transcript analyses refute the hypothesis that these cells predominate in sputum and reinforce the results of the lipid body analyses by revealing transcriptional signatures that can be clearly attributed to slowly replicating or nonreplicating mycobacteria.

TL;DR: Developments in knowledge of physiological processes in bacteria that may influence the outcome of a culturability test are considered and whether it is appropriate to consider the viability of individual bacteria or whether, in some circumstances, it may be moreappropriate to consider viability as a property of a community of bacteria.