Susceptibility to antifungal agents of Candida spp. from blood and feces collected in Novi Sad in 3-year period (2008-2010)

Candidemia is an important emerging nosocomial infection in patients with risk factors. Candida species from nonsterile sites can give insight into the characteristics of strains that may cause invasive disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate antifungal susceptibility of Candida blood and fecal isolates in Novi Sad, Vojvodina. During a 3-year period (2008 to 2010), 424 isolates of Candida spp. were collected, 30 bloodstream isolates and 394 strains from fecal samples. In vitro susceptibility of these isolates to five antifungal agents was established using commercial ATB FUNGUS 3 (Bio-Mérieux). Predominant species was Candida albicans (6 isolates from blood and 269 from feces). Resistance to one or more antifungal agents was less common in Candida albicans (3.63%) than in other species (24.83%). Resistance to itraconazole was the most commonly found in both groups of isolates, 9.64% strains from feces and 20% from blood samples. Twelve isolates were multiply resistant, usually to fluconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole. Resistance to amphotericine B was extremely rare. Although resistance to antimycotics of Candida spp. is rare at present, continued surveillance of antifungal susceptibility is necessary in order to monitor trends, and to choose the right empiric therapy

Application of lime in the polyvinyl chloride industry

This paper presents the importance of limestone in a variety of industries with a special focus on the use of limestone as filler in the industry of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Of Out of all fillers, used in the industry of PVC processing, calcium carbonate type of fillers are 80%. Fillers are used in order to improve various mechanical properties of polymer such as tensile and breaking properties, density, bending strength, hardness, thermal stability, viscosity and more. Latest trends of industrial development and demands of the processing industry for high quality carbonate fillers influenced the implementation process of surface modification limestone and calcite, which is the main constituent of fine micronized limestone in order to enhance its performance

Synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity of a palladium(II) complex of 3-[(2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino]-2-thioxoimidazolidin-4-one

The polydentate ligand 3-[(2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino]-2-thioxoimidazolidin-4-one was synthesized in the intermolecular cyclocondensation reaction of 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone and ethyl chloroacetate. A novel palladium(II) complex was obtained from cis-[Pd(DMSO)(2)Cl-2] by nucleophilic substitution of both DMSO ligands with the iminic nitrogen and the thiolactamic sulfur from the ligand. The structures of the compounds were characterized based on their spectral data. The cytotoxic activities of the ligand and the palladium(II) complex were studied on the tumor cell lines: human colon carcinoma HCT-116 and SW-480 cells using the MTT viability test. The results showed that the investigated palladium(II) complex had a significantly greater cytotoxic effect compared to that of the ligand

Systematics of c-axis Phonons in the Thallium and Bismuth Based Cuprate Superconductors

We present grazing incidence reflectivity measurements in the far infrared region at temperatures above and below Tc for a series of thallium (Tl2Ba2CuO6, Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8) and bismuth (Bi2Sr2CuO6, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, and Bi(2-x)Pb(x)Sr2CaCu2O8) based cuprate superconductors. From the spectra, which are dominated by the c-axis phonons, longitudinal frequencies (LO) are directly obtained. The reflectivity curves are well fitted by a series of Lorentz oscillators. In this way the transverse (TO) phonon frequencies were accurately determined. On the basis of the comparative study of the Bi and Tl based cuprates with different number of CuO2 layers per unit cell, we suggest modifications of the assignment of the main oxygen modes. We compare the LO frequencies in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 obtained from intrinsic Josephson junction characteristics with our measurements, and explain the discrepancy in LO frequencies obtained by the two different methods.Comment: 8 pages Revtex, 6 eps figures, 3 tables, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Far infrared and transport properties of single crystal PBTE samples doped with Ce

Single crystal samples of lead telluride doped with cerium were made using the Bridgman technique. Single crystals could be easily cleaved parallel to the (002) plane. Room temperature far infrared reflectivity was measured on single crystal samples and a plasma minimum at about 180 cm(-1) and local modes of Ce were observed. A fitting procedure based on a modified four parameter model of plasmon - phonon interaction, was used to determine the values of optical parameters. Carrier concentration and their mobility were measured at room and liquid nitrogen temperatures.Romanian Conference on Advanced Materials (ROCAM 2000), Bucharest, ROMANIA, october 23-25th, 2000

The impact of security elements at work on the realization of project goals

Occupational health and safety can be defined as a multidisciplinary field that addresses health, safety, and general well-being of all people who have a certain interaction with the activities carried out by the observed organization. It can be not only operational workers in business operations, how at first glance a layman can be thought of, but also other employees, users, business partners and other individuals and groups. The aim of this paper is to familiarize with work safety on projects, with an emphasis on: the working environment; workplace and workplace risks; conditions for the execution of the project goal; risk assessments; safety and health measures at work

Teacher-student relationship from the perspective of pupils: Andragogical and didactic dilemmas regarding primary school teachers' communicative competences

U radu su predstavljeni rezultati kritičke teorijske analize i empirijskog istraživanja andragoških i didaktičkih aspekata odnosa učenika i učitelja, sa akcentom na komunikativnim kompetencijama. Cilj istraživanja bio je da se ispita i analizira učenička percepcija pojedinih komunikativnih kompetencija učitelja. Podaci su prikupljeni na uzorku od tri hiljade devedeset sedam učenika osnovnih škola sa teritorije Republike Srbije. Posebna pažnja posvećena je sagledavanju osobina učitelja koje učenici cene, tome koji postupci učitelja utiču na uspostavljanje pozitivnog međuljudskog odnosa, najčešćim uzrocima nerazumevanja između učenika i učitelja, pojedinim segmentima rada učitelja kojima su učenici posebno zadovoljni i emocijama koje pokazuju prema nastavniku. Rezultati pokazuju da kao posebno značajne osobine učitelja učenici cene prijatan i topao odnos, razumevanje učenika i pravedno i objektivno ocenjivanje. Na stvaranje pozitivnog stava u odnosu nastavnik‒učenik najviše uticaja ima spremnost nastavnika da pomogne učeniku, a najčešći uzrok nerazumevanja između nastavnika i učenika jeste prkosan stav učenika prema nastavniku, odnosno neadekvatno postupanje nastavnika u takvim situacijama. Značaj koji učenici pridaju pojedinim kompetencijama nastavnika statistički značajno varira s obzirom na pol, školski uspeh i tip sredine (urbana, ruralna) u kojoj pohađaju školu. Pomenute kompetencije, s obzirom na značaj koji im se već pridaje u okviru inicijalnog pedagoškog obrazovanja učitelja i njihovog permanentnog usavršavanja, a koji su potvrdili i učenici osnovne škole, neophodno je učiniti integralnim delom andragoške i didaktičke kulture učitelja u ophođenju prema učenicima u svakodnevnim nastavnim aktivnostima.The results of a critical theoretical analysis and quantitative empirical research of andragogical and didactic aspects of primary school teachers' communicative competences, with a focus on their communicative competences, are presented in this paper. The goal of the research was to examine and analyse the perceptions of primary school pupils of some communicative competences of their teachers. The data were collected on a sample of 3097 pupils of primary schools on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The focus of the research was on identifying the characteristics of primary school teachers which pupils appreciate, teachers' deeds and actions which create positive interpersonal relationships, the most common causes of misunderstandings between pupils and primary school teachers, the segments of teachers' work that pupils are particularly satisfied with, as well as the emotions they express towards their teachers. According to the obtained results, the characteristics of primary school teachers that pupils appreciate the most are a warm and cordial relationship with pupils, understanding pupils' needs, as well as a fair and objective assessment. In pupils' view, the willingness of teachers to help them is crucial for establishing a positive teacher-pupil relationship, while the pupils' defiant attitude towards their teachers and the teachers' inappropriate response to these situations have been stated as the most common causes of misunderstandings between teachers and pupils. The significance of these traits for pupils statistically varies considerably with regard to the gender, school achievement and the type of environment (urban, rural) in which pupils live. The afore-mentioned competences are given great significance in the initial pedagogic training of the primary school teachers and their permanent professional development, which was confirmed in the responses of the primary school pupils as well. For this reason, these competences must become an integral part of the andragogical and didactic culture of the primary school teachers in their everyday communication with the pupils