Australian hospital statistics 2012-13: Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in Australian public hospitals

Summary: This report presents national information on cases of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) associated with care provided by public hospitals for the period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013. This report builds on robust national and jurisdictional arrangements to monitor and reduce SAB. What is SAB? SAB is a serious bloodstream infection that may be associated with hospital care. As such, it is known as a type of healthcare-associated infection. Patients who develop bloodstream infections such as SAB are more likely to suffer complications that result in a longer stay in hospital and an increased cost of hospitalisation. Serious infections can also result in death. In December 2008, Australian health ministers endorsed the reporting of SAB by all hospitals to form a national data collection. In addition, in 2008, rates of SAB, including cases caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, were announced as one of the performance indicators to be reported by jurisdictions under the National Healthcare Agreement. SAB rates in 2012-13 In 2012-13, all states and territories had rates of SAB below the national benchmark of 2.0 cases per 10,000 patient days. The national rate was 0.9 cases per 10,000 patient days. The rates ranged from 0.7 per 10,000 patient days in the Northern Territory to 1.3 per 10,000 in the Australian Capital Territory. There were 1,724 cases of SAB reported in Australian public hospitals, of which 77% were methicillin sensitive, and therefore treatable with commonly used antibiotics. The reported SAB cases occurred during 18.8 million days of patient care under SAB surveillance during 2012-13. Between 2010-11 and 2012-13, the national rates of SAB decreased from 1.1 cases per 10,000 patient days under surveillance to 0.9 cases per 10,000. Rates decreased in New South Wales and the Northern Territory, rose in the Australian Capital Territory, and fluctuated or remained about the same in the other states

Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in Australian public hospitals 2013–14: Australian hospital statistics

In 2013–14, 1,621 cases of hospital-associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) were reported in Australian public hospitals. Overview SAB is a serious bloodstream infection that may be associated with hospital care. Hospitals aim to have as few cases as possible. The nationally agreed benchmark is no more than 2.0 SAB cases per 10,000 days of patient care for acute care public hospitals in each state and territory. In 2013-14: the national rate of SAB in public hospitals was 0.87 cases per 10,000 days of patient care rates differed among the states and territories, but all jurisdictions had rates below the national benchmark 1,621 cases of SAB were reported 3 in 4 cases were treatable with commonly used antibiotics -methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) cases 1 in 4 cases was antibiotic resistant- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cases

Topology, Locality, and Aharonov-Bohm Effect with Neutrons

Recent neutron interferometry experiments have been interpreted as demonstrating a new topological phenomenon similar in principle to the usual Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect, but with the neutron's magnetic moment replacing the electron's charge. We show that the new phenomenon, called Scalar AB (SAB) effect, follows from an ordinary local interaction, contrary to the usual AB effect, and we argue that the SAB effect is not a topological effect by any useful definition. We find that SAB actually measures an apparently novel spin autocorrelation whose operator equations of motion contain the local torque in the magnetic field. We note that the same remarks apply to the Aharonov-Casher effect.Comment: 9 page

Prospective Study of 114 Consecutive Episodes of Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteremia

From 1 April 1983 to 31 October 1985, 114 episodes of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) were identified in 111 patients at the Buffalo Veterans Administration Medical Center. Only 14% of the episodes were community-acquired, and 29% were due to methicillin-resistant strains. The commonest foci of SAB were intravascular catheters (33%), postoperative wounds (11%), skin infections (7%), and pulmonary infections (7%). Complications were infrequent, with endocarditis in two patients and metastatic infection in one. Mortality due to SAB was 32%, with no difference in mortality between community-acquired and hospital-acquired SAB. Although not statistically significant, there was a trend of higher mortality for methicillin-resistant SAB (42%) than for methicillin-sensitive SAB (28%) and for patients with no focus of SAB (43%) than for those with a defined primary focus (28%). A review of studies of SAB published since 1940 revealed several trends. SAB is now predominately a nosocomial infection; intravascular-catheter infection has become the commonest cause of SAB; with several exceptions, the risk of endocarditis in patients with SAB is low (5%-20%); mortality due to SAB has decreased over the past 40 years but not over the past 10 years

Success Attributions and More: Multidimensional Extensions of the Sexual Attribution Bias to Failure Attributions, Social Emotions, and the Desire for Social Interaction

According to the recently discovered sexual attribution bias (SAB), young adults attribute the success of same-aged, same-sex attractive stimulus persons in a more derogative way than the success of less attractive same-sex persons, whereas this pattern is reversed for members of the opposite sex. Because this bias has so far only been investigated with respect to attributions in success scenarios, two studies examined its potential transferability to other psychological variables and settings: Study 1 (N = 419)demonstrated analogous biases for emotions and the desire for social interaction, and Study 2 (N = 509) revealed that the SAB can also be extended to failure scenarios

Stimulating Strategically Aligned Behaviour among Employees

Strategically aligned behaviour (SAB), i.e., employee action that is consistent with the company’s strategy, is of vital importance to companies. This study provides insights into the way managers can promote such behaviour among employees by stimulating employee motivation and by informing employees, and by stimulating the development of their capabilities. The results of surveys conducted in three organisations suggest that, first, efforts by management aimed at motivating and informing employees (both managers and non-managers), and at developing their capabilities, each have an influence on SAB. Second, among the efforts to stimulate motivation among employees, providing a rationale for the strategy and an open communication climate have a stronger effect than participation in decision making and supportiveness. Third, the perceptions of the different types of managerial efforts influence each other. For this reason, the efforts have direct as well as indirect effects on SAB. Fourth, each of the efforts acts as a necessary condition for SAB to occur. Finally, the effect of informing efforts appears to be stronger for managerial employees than for non-managerial employees, and also for employees who have a better understanding of the organisation’s strategy.information;motivation;employee behaviour;strategic change;capability development;strategic alignment

Prevalence and associated harm of engagement in self-Asphyxial behaviours ('choking game') in young people:A systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of engagement in self-asphyxial (risk-taking) behaviour (SAB) (‘choking game’) and associated morbidity and mortality in children and young people up to age 20. DESIGN: Systematic literature review. SEARCH STRATEGY: Electronic database search of MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, BIOSIS citation index and the Cochrane register with no language or date limits applied. References of key papers were reviewed, and experts were contacted to identify additional relevant papers. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Systematic reviews, cross-sectional, cohort and case–control studies, and case reports examining SAB with regard to individuals aged 0–20 years, without explicitly stated autoerotic, suicidal or self-harm intentions were included. RESULTS: Thirty-six relevant studies were identified, and SAB was reported in 10 countries. In North America, France and Colombia, awareness of SAB ranged from 36% to 91% across studies/settings, and the median lifetime prevalence of engagement in SAB was 7.4%. Six studies identified the potential for SAB to be associated with engagement in other risk behaviours. Ninety-nine fatal cases were reported. Of the 24 cases described in detail, most occurred when individuals engaged in SAB alone and used a ligature. CONCLUSIONS: The current evidence on SAB among young people is limited, and stems predominantly from North America and France. Awareness of SAB among young people is high, and engagement varies by setting. Further research is needed to understand the level of risk and harm associated with SAB, and to determine the appropriate public health response

Characterization of Rainfall Patterns in the Semiarid Brazil

The Semiarid Brazil (SAB) is the wettest semiarid region of the world, and its economy is strongly based on family farming, predominantly in non-irrigated conditions. Dryland farming in this region is influenced by climate variability, which increases the risk of crop losses during periods of drought. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify rainfall and number of rainy days patterns in the period from 1979 to 2014, using data provided by the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Cluster analysis was used in order to define homogeneous groups in terms of precipitation and number of rainy days within each month. The statistical technique of discriminant analysis was used to verify the classification of homogeneous groups as defined by the cluster analysis. Four precipitation groups were created in the SAB, namely SAB I, SAB II, SAB III and SAB IV, where SAB I is the wettest one. It comprises the southern and eastern portions of the SAB and has an average annual accumulated rainfall of about 1,000 mm. The SAB IV is the second wettest group and extends throughout the east of Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte states, Ceará and western Piauí, with an average annual total of 820 mm. SAB II and SAB III are the driest groups, with 748 and 570 mm respectively. The accuracy of the classification of precipitation groups was 94%. Regarding the number of rainy days, the east and the north of the SAB present the largest number of rainy days, in JFMA, with a total of 310 mm distributed in 81 days. In the western and southern portions of the SAB the same rainfall and number of rainy days behavior patterns were observed. The highest means were registered in NDJ, with a total of 451 mm in 64 days and 55 days, respectively. As for the dry months, July and August registered rainfall means of 8 mm in 11 and 9 days, respectively. The accuracy of the classification of groups by number of rainy days was 95%

Spontaneous Alternating Behavior in \u3cem\u3eParamecium caudatum\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eParamecium multimicronucleatum\u3c/em\u3e

Spontaneous alternating behavior (SAB) describes the tendency of an organism to spontaneously select the unfamiliar direction in a two choice situation. Paramecium is the only microscopic genus in which SAB has been studied. The two earlier studies regarding SAB in Paramecium have come to conclusive, but diametrically opposed results. Designing a single new experiment that incorporates the critical differences in the designs of both studies may help to clarify the results from these earlier studies, and provide an excellent opportunity to better understand the factors that influence SAB. The overall objective of this research project was to determine whether or not SAB exists in two previously studied species of paramecia (Paramecium caudatum and Paramecium multimicronucleatum). Specifically, the study determined whether: 1) maze length or species identity influence the expression of SAB in paramecia; 2) the mechanism that resulted in SAB in short mazes in the earlier experiment was intrinsic or extrinsic in nature; and 3) there were differences in swimming ability between Paramecium caudatum and P. muItimicronucleatum. SAB occurred in short mazes in both species of Paramecium; and maze length influenced the occurrence of SAB in both species. The number of contacts in P. caudatum support the use of an extrinsic mechanism to show SAB. Both species of Paramecium displayed similar swimming ability (speed and number of contacts on each side of the maze). This experiment further clarified the diametrically opposed findings of the two earlier studies on SAB in Paramecium, that is, Lepley and Rice (1952) found SAB because they used shorter mazes, and Lachman and Havelena (1962) did not find it because they apparently used mazes that were too long