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This paper reports the formation of silver (Ag) NPs within spatially-resolved two-component hydrogel beads that combine a low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) DBS-CONHNH 2 and a polymer gelator (PG) calcium alginate. The AgNPs are formed via in situ reduction of Ag(I), with the resulting nanoparticle-loaded gels being characterised in detail. We tested the antibacterial activity of the nanocomposite gel beads against two drug-resistant bacterial strains, often associated with hospital-acquired infections vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA14), and the AgNP-loaded gels showed good antimicrobial properties against both types of bacteria. We suggest that the gel bead format of these AgNP-loaded hybrid hydrogels could make them promising versatile biocompatible materials for potential applications in orthopaedics or wound healing. © 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.We found that the article on "Cutaneous manifestations in COVID-19 a first perspective" is very interesting [1]. Recalcati noted that 20.4 % of the patients have cutaneous problem and mentioned that this is the first report on this clinical aspect of COVID-19. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Since December 2019, the COVID-19 (1) has spread throughout the world at a staggering speed. As of March 30, 2020, the confirmed case number has reached 693,224 globally and the COVID-19 has claimed 33,106 lives(2). Current researches emphasize on understanding of transmission patterns, severity, clinical features, and risk factors for infection, but the data remain limited. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Internal medicine has been immediately involved in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in Italy, which started in late February 2020. The first few COVID-19 cases were suspected and diagnosed in internal medicine wards, including, among others, a young adult male from Codogno (referred to as "patient 1"), who was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of our hospital. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Bacteriophages may be formulated into semi-solid bases for therapeutic delivery. This work investigated the effects of a range of preservatives on the viability of Myoviridae and Siphoviridae bacteriophages when these were formulated into a standard semi-solid cream base. The six preservatives tested included benzoic acid (0.1%), chlorocresol (0.1%), combination hydroxybenzoates (propyl 4-hydroxybenzoates with methyl 4-hydroxybenzoates) (0.1%), methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (0.08%), 2-phenoxyethanol (1%), and propyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (0.02%). These were each formulated into cetomacrogol cream aqueous to generate six individual semi-solid bases into which Myoviridae and Siphoviridae bacteriophages were added and tested for stability. Optimal bacteriophage stability was seen when the preservative chlorocresol was used. Bacteriophage in the acidic benzoic acid were the least stable, resulting in complete loss of viability after four to five weeks. Of the bacteriophages tested, the Myoviridae KOX1 was significantly more stable than the Siphoviridae PAC1 after 91 days in formulations with each of the preservatives. Our results suggest the need for individual testing of specific bacteriophages in pharmaceutical formulations, as their efficacy when exposed to preservatives and excipients in these delivery forms may vary. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Since the first successful lung transplants in humans were done in the 1980's, lung transplantation has become an established treatment for end stage pulmonary disease. Because the access to transplantable organs is limited and unpredictable, rules that guide the allocation of lungs for transplants have emerged. Such rules are born not only by medical and bioethical necessities, but also by local traditions, legislation and practical circumstances. Therefore, there may be significant differences between the organ allocation practices in various parts of the world. In this brief communication, the European perspective on lung allocation is presented, also adding a very brief description of other parts of the world. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND Elucidating the mechanism of the macrophage phagocytic response will improve our knowledge of host defence against T. pallidum. OBJECTIVE To explore whether autophagy promotes T. pallidum phagocytosis and clearance via the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages. METHODS The interactions between autophagy and phagocytosis and the role of NLRP3 in these processes in T. Cordycepin cost pallidum-treated macrophages were investigated through experiments using human monocytic cell line (THP-1)-derived macrophages. T. pallidum clearance after phagocytosis was evaluated by inoculating rabbits with macrophage-treponeme mixtures. RESULTS Activation of autophagy and phagocytosis in T. pallidum-treated macrophages occurred in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The percentage of spirochete-positive macrophages (22.34% vs. 70.93%, P less then 0.001) and spirochete internalization (MFI 9.62 vs. 20.33, P less then 0.001) were notably reduced by silencing Beclin1. Inoculation of macrophage-treponeme mixtures into rabbits showed a 3.00-day delay in lesion development (17.55±3.73 vs. 14.55±1.99 days) and decreased lesion numbers (11 (36.7%) vs. 20 (66.7%) of 30; ᵪ2 = 5.406, P=0.020) in the control compared with the si-Beclin1 group. Furthermore, silencing NLRP3 decreased the mRNA and protein levels of Beclin-1 and LC3B (mRNA 49.86% and 43.02%; protein 22.31% and 24.24%, respectively, differing significantly from the control group (P less then 0.001)) and reduced the percentage of spirochete-positive macrophages (30.29% vs. 70.53%, P less then 0.001) and spirochete internalization (MFI 9.82 vs. 19.33, P less then 0.001). CONCLUSION T. pallidum induces autophagy in macrophages to promote phagocytosis and clearance. The NLRP3 inflammasome modulates autophagy and phagocytosis in vitro. These data may be useful for understanding the host-pathogen relationship and establish the groundwork for strategies to combat syphilis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.