Infective endocarditis caused by Salmonella enteritidis in a dialysis patient: a case report and literature review

BackgroundInfective endocarditis is significantly more common in haemodialysis patients as compared with the general population, the causative pathogen is generally Staphylococcus aureus; there have been no previously reported cases of infective endocarditis caused by a Salmonella species in haemodialysis patients.Case presentationWe report the case of a 68 year-old woman on haemodialysis who developed infective endocarditis as a result of Salmonella enteritidis. Although we treated the patient with ceftriaxone combined with ciprofloxacin, infective endocarditis was not detected early enough and unfortunately developed into cerebral septic emboli, which ultimately resulted in death.ConclusionAlthough there are several reports that Salmonella endocarditis without cardiac failure can be successfully treated with antibiotics alone, early surgical intervention is essential for some cases to prevent life-threatening complications. Transesophageal echocardiography should be performed in any patient with high clinical suspicion of infective endocarditis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case-report of Salmonella endocarditis in a haemodialysis patient

High-Performance Work Systems and Organizational Performance in Emerging Economies: Evidence from MNEs in Turkey

This study examines the association between the usage of high-performance work systems (HPWS) by subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Turkey and employee and subsidiary level outcomes. The study is based on a survey of 148 MNE subsidiaries operating in Turkey. The results show that the usage of HPWS has a significant positive impact on employee effectiveness. However, their impact on employee skills and development, and organizational financial performance are far less clear. Our findings highlight the extent to which HWPS need to be adapted to take account of context-specific institutional realities. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Comparative genome and transcriptome analyses of the social amoeba Acytostelium subglobosum that accomplishes multicellular development without germ-soma differentiation

Background Social amoebae are lower eukaryotes that inhabit the soil. They are characterized by the construction of a starvation-induced multicellular fruiting body with a spore ball and supportive stalk. In most species, the stalk is filled with motile stalk cells, as represented by the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum, whose developmental mechanisms have been well characterized. However, in the genus Acytostelium, the stalk is acellular and all aggregated cells become spores. Phylogenetic analyses have shown that it is not an ancestral genus but has lost the ability to undergo cell differentiation. Results We performed genome and transcriptome analyses of Acytostelium subglobosum and compared our findings to other available dictyostelid genome data. Although A. subglobosum adopts a qualitatively different developmental program from other dictyostelids, its gene repertoire was largely conserved. Yet, families of polyketide synthase and extracellular matrix proteins have not expanded and a serine protease and ABC transporter B family gene, tagA, and a few other developmental genes are missing in the A. subglobosum lineage. Temporal gene expression patterns are astonishingly dissimilar from those of D. discoideum, and only a limited fraction of the ortholog pairs shared the same expression patterns, so that some signaling cascades for development seem to be disabled in A. subglobosum. Conclusions The absence of the ability to undergo cell differentiation in Acytostelium is accompanied by a small change in coding potential and extensive alterations in gene expression patterns

Mathematical Model of Plasmid-Mediated Resistance to Ceftiofur in Commensal Enteric Escherichia coli of Cattle

Antimicrobial use in food animals may contribute to antimicrobial resistance in bacteria of animals and humans. Commensal bacteria of animal intestine may serve as a reservoir of resistance-genes. To understand the dynamics of plasmid-mediated resistance to cephalosporin ceftiofur in enteric commensals of cattle, we developed a deterministic mathematical model of the dynamics of ceftiofur-sensitive and resistant commensal enteric Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the absence of and during parenteral therapy with ceftiofur. The most common treatment scenarios including those using a sustained-release drug formulation were simulated; the model outputs were in agreement with the available experimental data. The model indicated that a low but stable fraction of resistant enteric E. coli could persist in the absence of immediate ceftiofur pressure, being sustained by horizontal and vertical transfers of plasmids carrying resistance-genes, and ingestion of resistant E. coli. During parenteral therapy with ceftiofur, resistant enteric E. coli expanded in absolute number and relative frequency. This expansion was most influenced by parameters of antimicrobial action of ceftiofur against E. coli. After treatment (>5 weeks from start of therapy) the fraction of ceftiofur-resistant cells among enteric E. coli, similar to that in the absence of treatment, was most influenced by the parameters of ecology of enteric E. coli, such as the frequency of transfer of plasmids carrying resistance-genes, the rate of replacement of enteric E. coli by ingested E. coli, and the frequency of ceftiofur resistance in the latter

A well-kept treasure at depth: precious red coral rediscovered in Atlantic deep coral gardens (SW Portugal) after 300 years

The highly valuable red coral Corallium rubrum is listed in several Mediterranean Conventions for species protection and management since the 1980s. Yet, the lack of data about its Atlantic distribution has hindered its protection there. This culminated in the recent discovery of poaching activities harvesting tens of kg of coral per day from deep rocky reefs off SW Portugal. Red coral was irregularly exploited in Portugal between the 1200s and 1700s, until the fishery collapsed. Its occurrence has not been reported for the last 300 years.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

What Do We Know About Neuropsychological Aspects Of Schizophrenia?

Application of a neuropsychological perspective to the study of schizophrenia has established a number of important facts about this disorder. Some of the key findings from the existing literature are that, while neurocognitive impairment is present in most, if not all, persons with schizophrenia, there is both substantial interpatient heterogeneity and remarkable within-patient stability of cognitive function over the long-term course of the illness. Such findings have contributed to the firm establishment of neurobiologic models of schizophrenia, and thereby help to reduce the social stigma that was sometimes associated with purely psychogenic models popular during parts of the 20th century. Neuropsychological studies in recent decades have established the primacy of cognitive functions over psychopathologic symptoms as determinants of functional capacity and independence in everyday functioning. Although the cognitive benefits of both conventional and even second generation antipsychotic medications appear marginal at best, recognition of the primacy of cognitive deficits as determinants of functional disability in schizophrenia has catalyzed recent efforts to develop targeted treatments for the cognitive deficits of this disorder. Despite these accomplishments, however, some issues remain to be resolved. Efforts to firmly establish the specific neurocognitive/neuropathologic systems responsible for schizophrenia remain elusive, as do efforts to definitively demonstrate the specific cognitive deficits underlying specific forms of functional impairment. Further progress may be fostered by recent initiatives to integrate neuropsychological studies with experimental neuroscience, perhaps leading to measures of deficits in cognitive processes more clearly associated with specific, identifiable brain systems