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Evidence on gender inequality in the labor market is extensive. However, little is known about the potential role of overeducation and horizontal mismatch in explaining women's labor-market disadvantages. We draw on recent data from the Eurograduate pilot survey to investigate the role of overeducation, field-of-study mismatch and field-specific overskilling for gender gaps in labor income in the European landscape. We found considerable variations in the extent of both gender earning gaps (GEGs) and wage gaps (GWGs) across countries. However, our decomposition analyses show that neither overeducation nor horizontal mismatch contribute to explaining these gender gaps. The lack of mediation seems related to either the absence of gender differences in overeducation and horizontal mismatch, or to the nonexistence of income penalties associated with the mismatch.

This study describes the first molecular characterisation of clinical isolates of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in the Czech Republic. Of 2647 patient isolates of Enterococcus spp. from 1997–2002, 121 (4.6%) were identified as VRE. The most common isolates were VanA+ Enterococcus faecium (78%) and VanB+ Enterococcus faecalis (10%). In addition, five VanA+ E. faecium isolates were obtained from environmental and staff sampling. Macrorestriction analysis of SmaI restriction fragment length polymorphism was performed for 54 VanA+ E. faecium clinical isolates and the five VanA+ E. faecium environmental isolates. Thirty-two unique restriction endonuclease patterns were identified, including two predominant clonal types represented by five or more isolates. Two environmental VanA+ E. faecium isolates were closely related to two patient isolates, which had an identical SmaI macrorestriction pattern. The results indicated potential survival of strains in the hospital environment and possible subsequent transmission to hospitalised patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on all endoscopy centers in the Czech Republic, that belongs to the most affected countries in the world. The aim of our study was to analyze all procedures following routine RT-PCR testing in our tertiary center during the peak of the pandemic., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all procedures performed from October 2020 to January 2021 after a new RT-PCR center had been set up. Main outcomes were type of scheduled procedure, indication, rate of therapeutic interventions and rate of new relevant and malignant findings. Comparison to the same period before the pandemic and SARS-CoV-2 infection in endoscopy staff are also reported., Results: A total of 1,953 procedures were performed. 624 patients were referred with a negative RT-PCR test and the remaining 1,346 patients were tested in the new center. 1,293 negative tests led to 1,329 procedures. A new relevant finding was reported in 589 (44.3%), including new malignancy in 56 (4.2%). 53 patients tested positive (3.9%). There was a reduction by 9% in the number of all procedures compared to the same period before the pandemic and an increase in the number of screening colonoscopies and ERCP procedures. In the study period, 9 of 54 staff members contracted SARS-CoV-2 infection., Conclusions: Routine RT-PCR testing of patients scheduled for elective endoscopy during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic enabled us to essentially maintain our unit productivity, including activities such as screening colonoscopy, endoscopic resection and pancreatobiliary endoscopy.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents an important infectious complication associated with high mortality rates in patients with hematologic diseases. There have not been published any epidemiologic studies from Czech Republic so far., Patients and Methods: This study is the first analysis of patients with hematologic malignancies and bone marrow failure syndromes treated at single hematology center in the Czech Republic between March 1 and December 31, 2020, in whom COVID-19 infection was confirmed., Results: The sample comprised 96 patients aged 26 to 84 years (median, 66.0 years). At the time of their COVID-19 diagnosis, 75 patients (78.1%) were treated for hematologic diseases. Twenty-seven patients (28.1%) in the sample had complete remission (CR) of their hematologic disease. They were nonsignificantly more likely to have asymptomatic to moderate COVID-19 infection than those who failed to achieve CR (74.1% vs. 56.5%; P = .06). A more severe course of the infection was significantly correlated with older age (P = .047). Lung involvement was also statistically significantly associated with older age (P = .045). Over the study period, a total of 15 patients died. Age greater than 60 years was significantly associated with deaths from COVID-19 (P = .036), with failure to achieve CR having a statistically nonsignificant impact on mortality (P = .22)., Conclusion: These results confirm the prognostic significance of age for achieving treatment response of hematologic disease as well as the severity and mortality of COVID-19 in hematology patients., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

An unusual reassortant rotavirus A (RVA) strain was isolated during RVA surveillance in two previously hospitalized children in 2018. G/P typing revealed uncommon G9P[4] genotypes, so the strains were further characterized by Illumina next-generation sequencing. Whole-genome typing showed that the two strains had a DS-1-like backbone except for NSP2: G9-P[4]-I2-R2-C2-M2-A2-N1-T2-E2-H2. The two strains shared 99.9-100% nucleotide sequence identity in all genes.

Group A Rotaviruses (RVA) are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in children and a major cause of childhood mortality in low-income countries. RVAs are mostly host-specific, but interspecies transmission and reassortment between human and animal RVAs significantly contribute to their genetic diversity. We investigated the VP7 and VP4 genotypes of RVA isolated from 225 stool specimens collected from Czech patients with gastroenteritis during 2016-2019. The most abundant genotypes were G1P[8] (42.7%), G3P[8] (11.1%), G9P[8] (9.8%), G2P[4] (4.4%), G4P[8] (1.3%), G12P[8] (1.3%), and, surprisingly, G8P[8] (9.3%). Sequence analysis of G8P[8] strains revealed the highest nucleotide similarity of all Czech G8 sequences to the G8P[8] rotavirus strains that were isolated in Vietnam in 2014/2015. The whole-genome backbone of the Czech G8 strains was determined with the use of next-generation sequencing as DS-1-like. Phylogenetic analysis of all segments clustered the Czech isolates with RVA strains that were formerly described in Southeast Asia, which had emerged following genetic reassortment between bovine and human RVAs. This is the first time that bovine-human DS1-like G8P[8] strains were detected at a high rate in human patients in Central Europe. Whether the emergence of this unusual genotype reflects the establishment of a new RVA strain in the population requires the continuous monitoring of rotavirus epidemiology., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Aims: Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen characterised by its potential to express many virulence factors. Currently, special attention is being paid to methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus (MRSA). The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of 13 selected virulence factor genes in methicillin-resistant versus methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates and to investigate their accumulation in the same isolate., Methods: Real-time PCR was used to detect the presence of genes in 200 isolates of S. aureus (100 MRSA and 100 MSSA) from the University Hospital Olomouc collected in 2005-2006., Results: Six out of the 13 monitored genes were detected more frequently in MRSA isolates: sea, seb, seg, sei, sej and eta, coding for the production of the enterotoxins A, B, G, I, J and the exfoliative toxin A. On the other hand, the pvl and tst genes coding for Panton-Valentine leukocidin and TSST-1 were more frequent in MSSA. Statistical analysis (chi-squared test) of the prevalence of virulence factors in the two groups showed a significant difference (P<0.05) in two cases (seg, sei)., Conclusions: A higher prevalence of selected virulence genes was not confirmed in the methicillin-resistant S. aureus group. This indicates no further increase in their threat.

Background: Problematic bacteria in the community include enterobacteria which produce extended-spectrum beta-lactamases. As yet there is no description of the prevalence of these bacteria in persons in the community in the Czech Republic. Therefore the main goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of ESBL-positive enterobacteria in the gastrointestinal tracts of subjects in the community in the Czech Republic., Material/methods: Rectal swabs from the investigated subjects were inoculated onto chromID ESBL selective medium and enterobacteria were identified by the Vitek2 automated system. ESBL were detected using a modified DDST test. The results were confirmed by PCR and direct sequencing of CTX-M-positive amplicons., Results: A total of 579 rectal swabs from subjects in the community were analyzed and ESBL production was both phenotypically and genotypically confirmed in 7 isolates. Thus the prevalence of ESBL-positive bacteria in the gastrointestinal tracts of the persons in the community was 1.2%. All the cases were Escherichia coli strains producing the CTX-M-type ESBL. CTX-M-15 was the most prevalent type in this group of isolates., Conclusions: The presented results are in accord with other authors' studies and suggest that the epidemiologic profile of ESBL-positive enterobacteria in the Czech Republic is comparable to that in other European countries.

A rather fast and complicated progression of an infection caused by some strains of Staphylococcus aureus could be associated with the expression and co-action of virulence factor complexes in these strains. This study screened the antibiotic susceptibility and prevalence of virulence markers in isolates of meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) obtained from patients hospitalized at the University Hospital in Olomouc, Czech Republic. A total of 100 isolates was screened for 13 genes encoding extracellular virulence determinants (tst, pvl, eta, etb, sea, seb, sec, sed, see, seg, seh, sei and sej) and for their distribution in sample types. Eighty-nine isolates were positive for at least one of the genes. Genes for etb, pvl, see and seh were not detected in any of the MRSA isolates. No statistically significant differences in the occurrence of the determinants studied among sample types were found.

This study focused on the prevalence and molecular biology of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-positive Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates collected in the Czech Republic. Clinical material from patients hospitalised in 16 Czech hospitals in September 2004 was used to isolate K. pneumoniae strains. Strains were identified by standard identification procedures. Susceptibility of the strains to antibiotics was tested using a microdilution method. The double-disk synergy test and combination disk method were used to determine ESBL production. Molecular biology characteristics of ESBL-positive isolates were determined using genomic DNA isolation, XbaI restriction digestion and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis differentiation. The acquired restriction maps of individual isolates were compared using GelCompar II software and their relationships were determined. During the 3-week period, 483 K. pneumoniae strains causing clinically detectable diseases were isolated. Of these, 117 (24.2%) were determined to be ESBL-positive. The prevalence of ESBL-positive isolates was 38.9% in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and 13.1% in standard wards. More than 50% of ESBL-positive isolates were treated effectively only with meropenem (98%), cefoperazone/sulbactam (61%) and amikacin (54%). Conversely, ESBL-negative isolates showed high susceptibility to all tested antibiotics (76-99%). Molecular biology analysis identified 18 clonal types containing two to six identical isolates. Seventeen clones usually contained isolates from only one hospital; isolates from two hospitals were identified only in one clone. Based on the abovementioned results, the prevalence of ESBL-positive K. pneumoniae isolates in the Czech Republic can be perceived as relatively high, especially in ICUs. Extensive spread of 'epidemic clones' within Czech hospitals and, to a limited extent, between them can be demonstrated.

Between July 1, 2002 and December 31, 2003, rectal swabs from both hospitalized patients and community subjects in the Czech Republic were taken to ascertain the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). The swabs were used for isolating and identifying enterococci and their susceptibility to antibiotics. Vancomycin resistance phenotypes were verified by PCR detection of vanA, vanB, vanC1 and vanC2 genes. A molecular biology analysis was performed in Enterococcus faecium VanA strains. During the observed period, 2691 rectal swabs from the hospitalized patients and 6529 rectal swabs from the subjects in community setting were examined. In total, 31 VRE of hospital origin and 13 community-population strains were isolated. The prevalence of VRE in the gastrointestinal tract was 1.9% in the hospitalized patients and 0.4% in the community subjects. The prevailing strains were Enterococcus faecium VanA (61.3%) in the VRE of hospital origin and Enterococcus gallinarum VanC (46.2%) in the community VRE. Mutual comparison between the hospital and community Enterococcus faecium VanA strains showed no similarity.

In the period between September 2002 and May 2004, a total of 6023 rectal swabs from humans in the Czech Republic were evaluated and 821 Enterococcus spp. strains were isolated. Nine strains (1.1 %) were identified as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Two strains were VanA Enterococcus faecium, one strain was VanB Enterococcus faecalis and six strains were VanC Enterococcus casseliflavus. In total, 527 Enterococcus spp. strains were isolated from poultry breeds of which 11 (2.1 %) were VRE. Most (54.5 %) were identified as VanA E. faecium. Cluster analysis of SmaI-generated macrorestriction patterns showed high variability in both human and animal VRE strains and no relatedness between strains from the two sources.

Background: One of the problems of contemporary medicine is an increasing number of bacterial strains with hazardous phenotypes of resistance. The feared bacterial pathogens include Klebsiella pneumoniae strains producing AmpA extended-spectrum beta-lactamases. The study focused on the molecular biological characteristics of ESBL-positive strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae collected in the Czech Republic., Materials and Methods: Clinical material from patients hospitalized in 16 Czech hospitals in September and October 2004 was used to isolate and determine Klebsiella pneumoniae strains by standard identification procedures. Their susceptibility to antibiotics was tested using a dilution micromethod. A Double-Disk Synergy Test was used for phenotype determination of ESBL production. The blaTEM, blaSHV and blaOXA genes coding ESBL production were demonstrated by PCR. Molecular biological characteristics of ESBL-positive strains utilized the genomic DNA isolation, XbaI restrictase digestion and PFGE differentiation. The acquired restriction maps of individual isolates were compared using GelCompar II software and their relationship was determined., Results: During the monitored period, 913 Klebsiella pneumoniae strains causing clinically detectable diseases were isolated. Of these, 234 (25.6 %) were determined as ESBL-positive strains. The prevalence of ESBL-positive strains was 38.5 % in ICUs and 15.8 % in standard wards. More than 50 % of ESBL-positive isolates were effectively treated only with meropenem (98 %), cefoperazone/sulbactam (61 %) and amikacin (54 %). Conversely, ESBL-negative strains showed high susceptibility to all tested antibiotics (76-99 %). The molecular biological analysis identified 18 clonal types containing 2-6 identical strains. 17 clones usually contained isolates from one hospital and only in one clone strains from two hospitals were identified., Conclusion: Based on the above mentioned results, the prevalence of ESBL-positive strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae in the Czech Republic can be perceived as relatively high, especially in the ICUs. An extensive spread of epidemic clones within Czech hospitals and, to a limited extent, between them can be demonstrated.

Objective: To determine the occurrence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in a community of the Czech Republic and a molecular-biological analysis of the VRE isolated., Methods: Enterococci were isolated from the rectal swabs of healthy people in the Olomouc region (population 300,000), Czech Republic in the period of January-December 2003. The molecular-biological analysis of VRE was performed by analysis of isolated DNA, which was cleaved by restriction enzyme SmaI and separated by pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)., Results: A total number of 5,283 swabs were evaluated and 558 Enterococcus sp. strains were isolated during the follow-up period. 9 strains (1.6%) were identified as VRE. Two strains were E. faecium phenotype VanA, one strain was E. faecalis phenotype VanB, two strains were E. gallinarum phenotype VanC and four strains were E. casseliflavus phenotype VanC. PFGE was used to obtain 9 different restriction profiles of VRE strains. The analysis showed closer a similarity of E. casseliflavus strains (80-95%) than between E. faecium strains (41%)., Conclusions: The presence of VRE in a sample community of the Czech population was confirmed. It is clear that it is necessary to take into account the possibility of VRE spreading from the community into health care facilities.