Clinical practice guidelines for the management of candidiasis: 2009 update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Contains fulltext : 79640.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Guidelines for the management of patients with invasive candidiasis and mucosal candidiasis were prepared by an Expert Panel of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. These updated guidelines replace the previous guidelines published in the 15 January 2004 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and are intended for use by health care providers who care for patients who either have or are at risk of these infections. Since 2004, several new antifungal agents have become available, and several new studies have been published relating to the treatment of candidemia, other forms of invasive candidiasis, and mucosal disease, including oropharyngeal and esophageal candidiasis. There are also recent prospective data on the prevention of invasive candidiasis in high-risk neonates and adults and on the empiric treatment of suspected invasive candidiasis in adults. This new information is incorporated into this revised document

The architecture of Permian glossopterid ovuliferous reproductive organs

A historical account of research on glossopterid ovuliferous reproductive structures reveals starkly contrasting interpretations of their architecture and homologies from the earliest investigations. The diversity of interpretations has led to the establishment of a multitude of genera for these fossil organs, many of the taxa being synonymous. We identify a need for taxonomic revision of these genera to clearly demarcate taxa before they can be used effectively as palaeobiogeographic or biostratigraphic indices. Our assessment of fructification features based on extensive studies of adpression and permineralized fossils reveals that many of the character states for glossopterids used in previous phylogenetic analyses are erroneous. We interpret glossopterid fertiligers to have been borne in loose strobili in which individual polysperms represent fertile cladodes of diverse morphologies subtended by a vegetative leaf or bract. Polysperms within the group are variously branched or condensed with ovule placement ranging from marginal to abaxial, in some cases occurring on recurved branchlets or in cupule-like structures. Glossopterid polysperms of all types are fringed by one or two ranks of wing-like structures that may represent the remnants of megasporophylls that were, ancestrally, developed on the fertile axillary shoot. Glossopterid fertiligers have similarities to the condensed bract/ovuliferous scale complexes of conifer cones, but comparisons with Mesozoic seed-ferns are hindered by insufficient data on the arrangement and homologies of the ovulebearing organs of the latter group. Nevertheless, glossopterid polysperms differ from the ovuliferous organs of Mesozoic seed-ferns by longitudinal versus transverse folding, respectively.Also funded by the National Science Foundation [project #1636625]; University of the Witwatersrand; Rhodes University; the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences and the NRF African Origins Platform [UID: 98822]</p

Pretoriana, no. 052, Dec. 1966

Message from the Mayor = Boodskap van die Burgemeester / J.F. Becker -- Gelukwensing van Dr. Willem Punt -- Dr. T.S. van Rooyen, 'n waardering / J.H. Hattingh -- Na vyftien jaar / G. v. W. Eybers -- An appreciation of Pretoriana, 1951-1966 / W.S. Robertson -- Vyftien jaar, meer as vyftig uitgawes van Pretoriana / Jan Ploeger -- Simpatiebetuiging i.s. wyle Mev. P.M. Beezhold -- Dr. Jan Ploeger en Pretoriana / F.J. du Toit Spies == Frederik Willem Beezhold Sr. en Jr. / H.M. Rex -- Joan Hoskyn Davies / J.H. Mienie -- My indebtedness to Pretoriana / T.E. Andrews -- Norman Eaton -- Johan Christiaan Vlok, in memoriam / J. Ploeger -- Norman Eaton was the finest architect in the country / A.L. Meiring -- Norman Eaton : biographical notes -- Presidents' biographies portrayed / Pretoria News -- Esteemed members of Old Pretoria Society ... quoted by Randolph Churchill / W.S. Robertson -- Mev. A.W. (Tissa) Eybers, in memoriam -- Mnr. A.M. Davey skrywe uit Kaapstad -- A monument to Johann Rissik in Arcadia Park / C.J. Beanes -- The arrival of the first Trans-African plane in Pretoria / H.P.H. Behrens -- Onthulling van twee gedenkplate op Krugerdag, 1966 / N.A. Coetzee -- Jaarverslag = Annual report 196

Long-term monitoring of tropical bats for anthropogenic impact assessment : gauging the statistical power to detect population change

Bats are ecologically important mammals in tropical ecosystems; however, their populations face numerous environmental threats related to climate change, habitat loss, fragmentation, hunting, and emerging diseases. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop and implement large-scale networks to monitor trends in bat populations over extended time periods. Using data from a range of Neotropical and Paleotropical bat assemblages, we assessed the ability for long-term monitoring programs to reliably detect temporal trends in species abundance. We explored the magnitude of within-site temporal variation in abundance and evaluated the statistical power of a suite of different sampling designs for several different bat species and ensembles. Despite pronounced temporal variation in abundance of most tropical bat species, power simulations suggest that long-term monitoring programs (⩾20 years) can detect population trends of 5% per year or more with adequate statistical power (⩾0.9). However, shorter monitoring programs (⩽10 years) have insufficient power for trend detection. Overall, our analyses demonstrate that a monitoring program extending over 20 years with four surveys conducted biennially on five plots per monitoring site would have the potential for detecting a 5% annual change in abundance for a suite of bat species from different ensembles. The likelihood of reaching adequate statistical power was sensitive to initial species abundance and the magnitude of count variation, stressing that only the most abundant species in an assemblage and those with generally low variation in abundance should be considered for detailed population monitoring

European expert opinion on the management of invasive candidiasis in adults

Item does not contain fulltextThis report discusses the present status of antifungal therapy and treatment options for candidaemia, considered by experts in the field in Europe. A conference of 26 experts from 13 European countries was held to discuss strategies for the treatment and prevention of invasive candidiasis, with the aim of providing a review on optimal management strategies. Published and unpublished comparative trials on antifungal therapy were analysed and discussed. Commonly asked questions about the management of candidaemia were selected, and possible responses to these questions were discussed. Panellists were then asked to respond to each question by using a touchpad answering system. After the initial conference, the viewpoint document has been reviewed and edited to include new insights and developments since the initial meeting. For many situations, consensus on treatment could not be reached, and the responses indicate that treatment is likely to be modified on a patient-to-patient basis, depending on factors such as degree of illness, prior exposure to azole antifungals, and the presence of potentially antifungal drug-resistant Candida species

Elaboration of Consensus Clinical Endpoints to Evaluate Antimicrobial Treatment Efficacy in Future Hospital-acquired/Ventilator-associated Bacterial Pneumonia Clinical Trials.

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (HABP and VABP, respectively) are important for the evaluation of new antimicrobials. However, the heterogeneity in endpoints used in RCTs evaluating treatment of HABP/VABP may puzzle clinicians. The aim of this work was to reach a consensus on clinical endpoints to consider in future clinical trials evaluating antimicrobial treatment efficacy for HABP/VABP. Twenty-six international experts from intensive care, infectious diseases, and the pharmaceutical industry were polled using the Delphi method. The panel recommended a hierarchical composite endpoint including, by priority order, (1) survival at day 28, (2) mechanical ventilation-free days through day 28, and (3) clinical cure between study days 7 and 10 for VABP; and (1) survival (day 28) and (2) clinical cure (days 7-10) for HABP. Clinical cure was defined as the combination of resolution of signs and symptoms present at enrollment and improvement or lack of progression of radiological signs. More than 70% of the experts agreed to assess survival and mechanical ventilation-free days though day 28, and clinical cure between day 7 and day 10 after treatment initiation. Finally, the hierarchical order of endpoint components was reached after 3 Delphi rounds (72% agreement). We provide a multinational expert consensus on separate hierarchical composite endpoints for VABP and HABP, and on a definition of clinical cure that could be considered for use in future HABP/VABP clinical trials