The effects of storage conditions on long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, lipid mediators, and antioxidants in donor human milk - A review.

Donor human milk (DHM) is the recommended alternative, if maternal milk is unavailable. However, current human milk banking practices may negatively affect the nutritional quality of DHM. This review summarises the effects of these practices on polyunsaturated fatty acids, lipid mediators and antioxidants of human milk. Overall, there is considerable variation in the reported effects, and further research is needed, particularly with lipid mediators and antioxidants. However, to preserve nutritional quality, DHM should be protected from light exposure and storage at 4 °C minimised, to prevent decreases in vitamin C and endocannabinoids and increases in free fatty acids and lipid peroxidation products. Storage at -20 °C prior to pasteurisation should also be minimised, to prevent free fatty increases and total fat and endocannabinoid decreases. Storage ≤-70 °C is preferable wherever possible, although post-pasteurisation storage at -20 °C for three months appears safe for free fatty acids, lipid peroxidation products, and total fat content

Fluconazole resistance in Candida species: a current perspective

Elizabeth L Berkow, Shawn R Lockhart Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA Abstract: Candida albicans and the emerging non-albicans Candida spp. have significant clinical relevance among many patient populations. Current treatment guidelines include fluconazole as a primary therapeutic option for the treatment of these infections, but it is only fungistatic against Candida spp. and both inherent and acquired resistance to fluconazole have been reported. Such mechanisms of resistance include increased drug efflux, alteration or increase in the drug target, and development of compensatory pathways for producing the target sterol, ergosterol. While many mechanisms of resistance observed in C. albicans are also found in the non-albicans species, there are also important and unexpected differences between species. Furthermore, mechanisms of fluconazole resistance in emerging Candida spp., including the global health threat Candida auris, are largely unknown. In order to preserve the utility of one of our fundamental antifungal drugs, fluconazole, it is essential that we fully appreciate the manner by which Candida spp. manifest resistance to it. Keywords: Candida, fluconazole resistance, ERG11, drug efflux, ergostero

Beyond Generating Transit Performance Measures: Visualizations and Statistical Analysis with Historical Data

In recent years, the use of performance measures for transit planning and operations has gained a great deal of attention, particularly as transit agencies are required to provide service under increasing demand and with diminishing resources. The widespread application of the technologies of intelligent transportation systems to transit encourages automating the generation of comprehensive performance measures. In Portland, Oregon, the local transit provider, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet), has been on the leading edge of the transit industry since it implemented its bus dispatch system (BDS) in 1997. The BDS comprises automatic vehicle location on all buses, a radio communications system, automatic passenger counters on most vehicles, and a central dispatch center. Most significant, TriMet developed a system to archive all its stop-level data, which are then available for conversion to performance indicators. In the past decade, TriMet has used this system extensively to generate performance indicators through monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting. TriMet generates a wide range of performance indicators, yet an opportunity remains to explore metrics beyond general transit performance measures (TPMs). On the basis of an analysis of 1 year of archived BDS data for all routes and stops, the power of using visualization tools to understand the abundance of BDS data is demonstrated. In addition, several statistical models are generated to demonstrate the power of statistical analysis in conveying valuable and new TPMs beyond what is currently generated at TriMet or in the transit industry in general. It is envisioned that systematic use of these new methods and TPMs can help TriMet and other transit agencies improve the quality and reliability of their service