Comparative efficacy in faecal microbiota transplantation was observed in subjects receiving fresh or frozen faecal product from the same donors. The lyophilised product had a slightly lowered efficacy compared with fresh product, but it resembled other treatments in microbial restoration 1 month after faecal microbiota transplantation.

No abstract

To assess differences and trends in personal chemical exposure, volunteers from 14 communities in Africa (Senegal, South Africa), North America (United States (U.S.)) and South America (Peru) wore 262 silicone wristbands. We analysed wristband extracts for 1530 unique chemicals, resulting in 400 860 chemical data points. The number of chemical detections ranged from 4 to 43 per wristband, with 191 different chemicals detected, and 1339 chemicals were not detected in any wristband. No two wristbands had identical chemical detections. We detected 13 potential endocrine disrupting chemicals in over 50% of all wristbands and found 36 chemicals in common between chemicals detected in three geographical wristband groups (Africa, North America and South America). U.S. children (less than or equal to 11 years) had the highest percentage of flame retardant detections compared with all other participants. Wristbands worn in Texas post-Hurricane Harvey had the highest mean number of chemical detections (28) compared with other study locations (10–25). Consumer product-related chemicals and phthalates were a high percentage of chemical detections across all study locations (36–53% and 18–42%, respectively). Chemical exposures varied among individuals; however, many individuals were exposed to similar chemical mixtures. Our exploratory investigation uncovered personal chemical exposure trends that can help prioritize certain mixtures and chemical classes for future studies.

A microfluidic system that combines membraneless microfluidic dialysis and dielectrophoresis to achieve label-free isolation and concentration of bacteria from whole blood is presented. Target bacteria and undesired blood cells are discriminated on the basis of their differential susceptibility to permeabilizing agents that alter the dielectrophoretic behavior of blood cells but not bacteria. The combined membraneless microdialysis and dielectrophoresis system isolated 79 ± 3% of Escherichia coli and 78 ± 2% of Staphylococcus aureus spiked into whole blood at a processing rate of 0.6 mL h−1. Collection efficiency was independent of the number of target bacteria up to 105 cells. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed that bacterial 16S rDNA levels were enriched more than 307-fold over human DNA in the fraction recovered from the isolation system compared with the original specimen. These data demonstrate feasibility for an instrument to accelerate the detection and analysis of bacteria in blood by first isolating and concentrating them in a microchamber.