Biofilm-forming capability of highly virulent, multidrug-resistant Candida auris

The emerging multidrug-resistant yeast pathogen Candida auris has attracted considerable attention as a source of healthcare–associated infections. We report that this highly virulent yeast has the capacity to form antifungal resistant biofilms sensitive to the disinfectant chlorhexidine in vitro

The Risk of Thromboembolic Complications in Fontan Patients with Atrial Flutter/fibrillation Treated with Electrical Cardioversion

Atrial flutter or fibrillation (AFF) remains a major chronic complication of the Fontan procedure. This complication further predisposes this patient population to thromboembolic events. However, the incidence of thromboembolic complications in Fontan patients with AFF prior to or acutely after electrical cardioversion is unknown. This study aimed to characterize the risk of post-cardioversion thromboembolic events in this population. We performed a retrospective medical record review of all patients with a history of Fontan operation treated with direct current cardioversion for AFF at Riley Children’s Hospital between June 1992 and March 2014. A total of 57 patients were identified and reviewed. A total of 216 episodes of AFF required electrical cardioversion. Patients were treated with anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy in 86.1 % (N = 186) of AFF episodes. Right atrial or Fontan conduit clots were observed in 33 patients (57.9 %) with 61 episodes of AFF. Approximately half (49.2 %, N = 30) of these episodes were treated immediately with electrical cardioversion. Twenty-five of 33 (75.8 %) patients with intracardiac thrombi had an atriopulmonary Fontan. Five (15.2 %) patients with a lateral caval tunnel had clots in the Fontan conduit, and three (9.1 %) patients with right atrium to right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) connections presented with right atrial mural thrombi. Nine of the 57 (15.8 %) patients had documented stroke, and three (5.3 %) patients had pulmonary emboli during follow-up, although none of these emboli were associated with electrical cardioversion. The risk of thrombus and thromboembolism associated with AFF is high in the Fontan population. However, the risk of thromboembolism associated with cardioversion in the setting of anticoagulation is very low

Your Governance or Mine?

In response to criticism directed at the resource sector's corporate governance, this paper examines the corporate governance and underlying firm characteristics of resource development stage entities (DSEs) relative to a size-matched sample of non-resource firms. We find that resource DSEs have different governance characteristics in the measures of board independence, chair/CEO duality and CEO cash bonuses. Furthermore, there are differences in the information environment measures of analyst following, debt levels, stock market return and stock turnover. Considering we document substantial differences in underlying firm characteristics, corporate governance differences are likely appropriate to the mining industry and should not be uniformly labelled as 'bad'. Our results suggest that media rankings based on corporate governance scores may not accurately portray the resource sector. Overall, our results are of interest to Australian investors and regulators and contribute to a broader understanding of contextually contingent corporate governance. © 2011 CPA Australia

Individual-based modelling of moth dispersal to improve biosecurity incursion response

1. Some biosecurity systems aimed at reducing the impacts of invasive alien species that employ sentinel trapping systems to detect the presence of unwanted organisms. Once detected, the next challenge is to locate the source population of the invasive species. Tools that can direct search efforts towards the most likely sources of a trapped invasive alien species can improve the chance of rapidly delimiting and eradicating the local population and may help to identify the original introduction pathway. Ground-based detection and delimitation surveys can be very expensive, and methods to focus search efforts to those areas most likely to contain the target organisms can make these efforts more effective and efficient. 2. An individual-based semi-mechanistic model was developed to simulate the spatio-temporal dispersal patterns of an invasive moth. The model combines appetitive and pheromone anemotaxis behaviours in response towind, temperature and pheromone conditions. The modelwas trained using data from a series ofmark-release-recapture experiments on painted applemoth Teia anartoides. 3. The model was used to create hindcast simulations by reversing the time course of environmental conditions. The ability of the model to encompass the release location was evaluated using individual trap locations as starting points for the hindcast simulations. 4. The hindcast modelling generated a pattern of moth flights that successfully encompassed the origin from 86%of trap locations, representing 95%of the 1464 recaptures observed in the mark- release-recapture experiments. 5. Comparing the guided search area defined using the hindcast model with the area of a simple point-diffusion search strategy revealed an optimized search strategy that combined searching a circle of 1 km radius around the trap followed by the area indicated by hindcast model predictions. 6. Synthesis and applications. Incorporating this novel moth dispersal model into biosecurity sentinel systems will allow incursion managers to direct search effort for the proximal source of the incursion towards those areas most likely to contain a local infestation. Such targeted effort should reduce the costs and time taken to detect the proximal source of an incursion. (Résumé d'auteur

Periodic and discrete Zak bases

Weyl's displacement operators for position and momentum commute if the product of the elementary displacements equals Planck's constant. Then, their common eigenstates constitute the Zak basis, each state specified by two phase parameters. Upon enforcing a periodic dependence on the phases, one gets a one-to-one mapping of the Hilbert space on the line onto the Hilbert space on the torus. The Fourier coefficients of the periodic Zak bases make up the discrete Zak bases. The two bases are mutually unbiased. We study these bases in detail, including a brief discussion of their relation to Aharonov's modular operators, and mention how they can be used to associate with the single degree of freedom of the line a pair of genuine qubits.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures; displayed abstract is shortened, see the paper for the complete abstrac

Implications of antimicrobial combinations in complex wound biofilms containing fungi

Diabetic foot ulcer treatment currently focuses on targeting bacterial biofilms, while dismissing fungi. To investigate this we used an in vitro biofilm model containing bacteria and fungi, reflective of the wound environment, to test the impact of antimicrobials. Here we showed that while mono-treatment approaches influenced biofilm composition it had no discernible effect on overall quantity. Only by combining bacterial and fungal specific antibiotics were we able to decrease the biofilm bioburden, irrespective of composition

Odour dialects among wild mammals

Across multiple taxa, population structure and dynamics depend on effective signalling between individuals. Among mammals, chemical communication is arguably the most important sense, underpinning mate choice, parental care, territoriality and even disease transmission. There is a growing body of evidence that odours signal genetic information that may confer considerable benefits including inbreeding avoidance and nepotism. To date, however, there has been no clear evidence that odours encode population-level information in wild mammals. Here we demonstrate for the first time the existence of ‘odour dialects’ in genetically distinct mammalian subpopulations across a large geographical scale. We found that otters, Lutra lutra, from across the United Kingdom possess sex and biogeography-specific odours. Subpopulations with the most distinctive odour profiles are also the most genetically diverse but not the most genetically differentiated. Furthermore, geographic distance between individuals does not explain regional odour differences, refuting other potential explanations such as group odour sharing behaviour. Differences in the language of odours between subpopulations have the potential to affect individual interactions, which could impact reproduction and gene-flow

A family intervention to reduce delirium in hospitalzed ICU patients: a feasibility randomized controlled trial

Background: Family members could play an important role in preventing and reducing the development of delirium in Intensive Care Units (ICU) patients. This study sought to assess the feasibility of design and recruitment, and accept ability for family members and nurses of a family delivered intervention to reduce delirium in ICU patients. Method: A single centre randomised controlled trial in an Australian medical/surgical ICU was conducted. Sixty-one family members were randomised (29 in intervention and 32 in non-intervention group). Following instructions, the intervention comprised the family members providing orientation, or memory clues (family photographs, orientation to surroundings) to their relative each day. In addition, family members conducted sensory checks (vision and hearing with glasses and hearing aids); and 5 therapeutic or cognitive stimulation (discussing family life, reminiscing) daily. Eleven ICU nurses were interviewed to gain insight into the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the intervention from their perspective. Results: Recruitment rate was 28% of eligible patients (recruited n=90, attrition n=1). Following instruction by the research nurse the family member delivered the intervention which was assessed to be feasible and acceptable by family members and nurses. Protocol adherence could be improved with alternative data collection methods. Nurses considered the activities acceptable. Conclusion: The study was able to recruit, randomise, and retain family member participants. Further strategies are required to assess intervention fidelity and improve data collection

Dielectric properties of La0.67sr0.33Mnl-xTix03 with x = 0.4 and 0.6.

The dielectric properties of Ti-substituted La0.67Sr0.33Mn1-xTixO3 with x = 0.4 and 0.6 as a function of frequency and temperature have been investigated. The samples have been prepared using the conventional solid state reaction method at 1300oC. Both samples showed rhombohedral structure with R3C space group. The grain size of x = 0.4 and 0.6 are ~2.5 to 3.3 μm and ~0.4 to 0.9 μm respectively. The dielectric constant, ε' of the samples decreases with frequency but increases with temperature. We have successfully obtained very high dielectric constant material. The highest ε' value for LSMT with x = 0.4 and 0.6 are at frequency of 10 Hz and temperature 300 K, which are ~5.7 x 106 and ~2.4 x 106. The tan δ increases with temperature for x = 0.6 but shows a peak at a certain temperature for x = 0.4. Sample with x = 0.4 has better dielectric properties compared to x = 0.6 sample because it has higher ε' and lower tan δ value. At 175 K and 1 kHz sample with x = 0.4 shows the best dielectric properties with a high ε’ value and low tan δ which are 1.1 x 105 and 0.8 respectively

Permanent Nonselective His Bundle Pacing in an Adult with L-Transposition of the Great Arteries and Complete AV Block

We report the placement of a permanent transvenous nonselective His bundle pacing lead in conjunction with a transvenous pacemaker/implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in an adult with Levo-Transposition of the Great Arteries (L-TGA) and a stenotic coronary sinus (CS) ostium, which would not accommodate a transvenous left ventricular (LV) pacing lead. Nonselective His bundle pacing provided a nearly identical ventricular activation pattern in this previously unpaced patient. Many L-TGA patients will have an eventual need for permanent pacing and, given the challenges of CS cannulation, His bundle pacing may represent a preferred modality rather than pure morphologic LV pacing or surgical systemic ventricular lead placement to achieve optimal electrical synchrony