Cephalosporin-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia: does it, affect outcome?

AbstractStudy Objectives: Penicillin resistance has been reported in various studies to have no impact on the outcome of pneumococcal pneumonia. However, the importance of cephalosporin resistance has not been systematically studied. We conducted an analysis of patients with high-level cephalosporin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia (H-CRSPP)–Design: Retrospective matched, case–control study. Setting: Two inner-city academic hospitals. Patients: Twenty-six patients with H-CRSPP admitted to the hospital between 1995 and 1999 were identified. Each patient was matched with two controls with cephalosporin-sensitive but oxacillin-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia admitted during the same time period. Matching was done based on pneumonia severity of illness index (PSI) and for other factors.Interventions: None. Measurements and Results: We evaluated a number of outcomes including mortality, length of stay in the hospital, and time to respond to treatment. Patients with H-CRSPP took longer to respond to treatment (6.5±0.9 days vs 4.1±0.7 days, P=0.05) and had a longer length of stay in hospital (15.4±2.2 daysvs 9.2±1.6 days, P=0.02), None of the other outcomes were different between the two groups.Conclusions: Overall, we have found that the presence of cephalosporin resistance does impact the course of pneumococcal pneumonia

Independent measurement of the Hoyle state β\beta feeding from 12B using Gammasphere

Using an array of high-purity Compton-suppressed germanium detectors, we performed an independent measurement of the $\beta$-decay branching ratio from $^{12}\mathrm{B}$ to the second-excited (Hoyle) state in $^{12}\mathrm{C}$. Our result is $0.64(11)\%$, which is a factor $\sim 2$ smaller than the previously established literature value, but is in agreement with another recent measurement. This could indicate that the Hoyle state is more clustered than previously believed. The angular correlation of the Hoyle state $\gamma$ cascade has also been measured for the first time. It is consistent with theoretical predictions

The role of the g9/2 orbital in the development of collectivity in the A = 60 region: The case of 61Co

An extensive study of the level structure of 61Co has been performed following the complex 26Mg(48Ca, 2a4npg)61Co reaction at beam energies of 275, 290 and 320 MeV using Gammasphere and the Fragment Mass Analyzer (FMA). The low-spin structure is discussed within the framework of shell-model calculations using the GXPF1A effective interaction. Two quasi-rotational bands consisting of stretched-E2 transitions have been established up to spins I = 41/2 and (43/2), and excitation energies of 17 and 20 MeV, respectively. These are interpreted as signature partners built on a neutron {\nu}(g9/2)2 configuration coupled to a proton {\pi}p3/2 state, based on Cranked Shell Model (CSM) calculations and comparisons with observations in neighboring nuclei. In addition, four I = 1 bands were populated to high spin, with the yrast dipole band interpreted as a possible candidate for the shears mechanism, a process seldom observed thus far in this mass region

Fusion reactions with the one-neutron halo nucleus C15

The structure of C15, with an s1/2 neutron weakly bound to a closed-neutron shell nucleus C14, makes it a prime candidate for a one-neutron halo nucleus. We have for the first time studied the cross section for the fusion-fission reaction C15+Th232 at energies in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier and compared it to the yield of the neighboring C14+Th232 system measured in the same experiment. At sub-barrier energies, an enhancement of the fusion yield by factors of 2-5 was observed for C15, while the cross sections for C14 match the trends measured for C12,13. © 2011 American Physical Society