Incidence and Severity of Drug Interactions Before and After Switching Antiretroviral Therapy to Bictegravir/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide in Treatment-Experienced Patients.

Background: Switching antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people with HIV (PWH) can influence their risk for drug-drug interactions (DDIs). The purpose of this study was to assess changes in the incidence and severity of DDIs among PWH who switched their ART to bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (BIC/FTC/TAF). Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of PWH on ART and at least 1 concomitant medication (CM) who switched to BIC/FTC/TAF between 3/2018 and 6/2019. Using the University of Liverpool\u27s HIV Drug Interaction Database, 2 DDI analyses were performed for each patient. The first assessed patients\u27 preswitch ART regimens with their CM list. The second assessed the same CM list with BIC/FTC/TAF. Each ART-CM combination was given a score of 0 (no or potential weak interaction), 1 (potential interaction), or 2 (contraindicated interaction). A paired Results: Among 411 patients, 236 (57%) had at least 1 DDI present at baseline. On average, baseline DDI scores (SD) were 1.4 (1.8) and decreased by 1 point (95% CI, -1.1 to -0.8) after patients switched to BIC/FTC/TAF ( Conclusions: Treatment-experienced PWH eligible to switch their ART may experience significant declines in number and severity of DDIs if switched to BIC/FTC/TAF

Evaluation and optimization of DNA extraction methods for benthic foraminifera from the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat, India

288-292India has a vast coastline of 7460 km and prolific presence of foraminifers which are significant paleoclimatic proxies. However, no research has been carried out to extract genomic DNA from foraminifer and sequencing it for DNA barcoding. To initiate molecular study on benthic foraminifers from the Gulf of Kachchh, India, we tested out various kits based protocols and extract the foraminiferal DNA from Ammonia sp. Though most of the earlier methods yielded moderate amount of mean genomic DNA yield (0.87-9.07 ng/µL) they failed to amplify the DNA. Possibly, this is the first attempt in India wherein standardization of foraminiferal DNA extraction and PCR amplification is performed. This standardized protocol (modified protocol) yielded the highest quantity of mean genomic DNA yield (28.41 ng/µL) and its PCR amplification was also successful

Antimicrobial usage at a large teaching hospital in Lusaka, Zambia.

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global health concern. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) curbs resistance rates by encouraging rational antimicrobial use. However, data on antimicrobial stewardship in developing countries is scarce. The objective of this study was to characterize antimicrobial use at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia as a guiding step in the development of an AMS program. This was a cross-sectional, observational study evaluating antimicrobial appropriateness and consumption in non-critically ill adult medicine patients admitted to UTH. Appropriateness was defined as a composite measure based upon daily chart review. Sixty percent (88/146) of all adult patients admitted to the general wards had at least one antimicrobial ordered and were included in this study. The most commonly treated infectious diseases were tuberculosis, pneumonia, and septicemia. Treatment of drug sensitive tuberculosis is standardized in a four-drug combination pill of rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol, therefore appropriateness of therapy was not further evaluated. The most common antimicrobials ordered were cefotaxime (n = 45), ceftriaxone (n = 28), and metronidazole (n = 14). Overall, 67% of antimicrobial orders were inappropriately prescribed to some extent, largely driven by incorrect dose or frequency in patients with renal dysfunction. Antimicrobial prescribing among hospitalized patients at UTH is common and there is room for optimization of a majority of antimicrobial orders. Availability of certain antimicrobials must be taken into consideration during AMS program development

Testing of the PARIS LaBr3-NaI phowich detector with high energy gamma-rays

International audienceWe report on tests of LaBr3:Ce-NaI:Tl phoswich detectors with $\gamma$-rays at various $\gamma$-ray energies, up to 22.56 MeV, using radioactive sources and nuclear reactions induced by proton beams delivered by accelerators at IFJ PAN Kraków and PLF Mumbai. Two-dimensional analysis of complex waveforms recorded with digital electronics is compared to analog discrimination methods. Both approaches allow to resolve the LaBr3:Ce and NaI:Tl signal components, and to construct clean associated $\gamma$-ray spectra. A digital algorithm to be implemented for the PARIS scintillator array is investigated