Vaginal yeasts in the era of "over the counter" antifungals

OBJECTIVE: To establish whether there has been any rise in the prevalence of non-albicans Candida species isolated from vaginal swabs since the introduction of “over the counter” antifungal treatments. METHOD: A retrospective review looking at all positive vaginal yeast isolates collected from women attending one genitourinary medicine clinic during the 6 year period from 1993 to 1998 inclusive. All positive vaginal yeast isolates were included, regardless of whether or not the patients were symptomatic. Isolates from HIV positive women were excluded from the analysis. RESULT: No increase in non-albicans vaginal yeast isolates was shown during the period studied. The proportion of non-albicans yeasts remained constant at approximately 5% of the total yeasts isolated. The most common non-albicans yeast isolated was C glabrata. CONCLUSION: There is no evidence from this study to suggest that the increasing use of “over the counter” antifungal treatment has selected for atypical, possibly inherently azole resistant, strains of vaginal yeasts in HIV seronegative women

Leven met de varroamijt in de 21ste eeuw

Overzicht van voorhanden bestrijdingsmethoden tegen Varroa destructor op de korte termijn en vooruitzichten voor de bestrijding op langere termijn. In de nabije toekomst gaat het om bestrijding met diergeneesmiddelen van natuurlijke oorsprong (mierenzuur, oxaalzuur, thymol) in het kader van een jaarbestrijdingsconcept. De verdere toekomst zal gericht zijn op het gebruik maken van natuurlijke vijanden (ziekteverwekkende virussen of schimmels) of natuurlijke signaalstoffen (feromonen), en het ontwikkelen van een varroaresistente bij door selectie op varroatoleranti

Live and recorded group music interventions with active participation for people with dementias: a systematic review

Background: This literature review examined the existing evidence base for the impact of both live and recorded music interventions involving active participation in a dementia population. Methodology: PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, Web of Science, PubMed and Cochrane Library were searched and 15 studies met inclusion criteria. Results: There was a positive impact on behavioural and psychological symptoms, quality of life, communication and some aspects of cognitive function; methodological limitations, however, make it difficult to offer firm conclusions. Interventions using recorded music resulted in more consistent positive behavioural and psychological outcomes, whereas interventions using live music reported a benefit to communication and relationships. Conclusions: Although live and recorded music showed benefits, and should be considered in dementia care, the use of different outcome measures made definitive comparisons problematic. In order to better understand mechanisms of change, one future research area should explore how group music interventions affect communication by more closely assessing processes during live and recorded music

Commuting self-adjoint extensions of symmetric operators defined from the partial derivatives

We consider the problem of finding commuting self-adjoint extensions of the partial derivatives {(1/i)(\partial/\partial x_j):j=1,...,d} with domain C_c^\infty(\Omega) where the self-adjointness is defined relative to L^2(\Omega), and \Omega is a given open subset of R^d. The measure on \Omega is Lebesgue measure on R^d restricted to \Omega. The problem originates with I.E. Segal and B. Fuglede, and is difficult in general. In this paper, we provide a representation-theoretic answer in the special case when \Omega=I\times\Omega_2 and I is an open interval. We then apply the results to the case when \Omega is a d-cube, I^d, and we describe possible subsets \Lambda of R^d such that {e^(i2\pi\lambda \dot x) restricted to I^d:\lambda\in\Lambda} is an orthonormal basis in L^2(I^d).Comment: LaTeX2e amsart class, 18 pages, 2 figures; PACS numbers 02.20.Km, 02.30.Nw, 02.30.Tb, 02.60.-x, 03.65.-w, 03.65.Bz, 03.65.Db, 61.12.Bt, 61.44.B

Experimental model for CAPD studies in the rabbit

An animal model suitable for bioeompatibility studies of peritoneal dialysis solutions is presented. It permits fluid exchanges to be performed 3 times a day for at least 28 days. thus simulating Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) in humans.The surgical procedure is lenient, without omentectomy and nephrectomy. A closed, subcutaneous placed eatheter-system permits the animals to thrive well and move freely between dialysis-fluid exchanges. A Y-shaped dialysis equipment whichprevents air- and over-infusion was developed and is presented.The surgical procedure and the implanted catheter caused only minor histological changes of the peritoneum. No catheter-tunnel infections were observed.Our findings suggest that a slight peritoneal irritation is caused by the C:\PD-solutions, as non-infected, dialysed animals had a slightly higher body-temperature than controls and as the LD content of the dialysate was high probably indicatingcell-lysis.Though peritonitis was not avoided this experimental model using rabbits was found suitable for long term CAPD studies

Loss of chromosome 11q21–23.1 and 17p and gain of chromosome 6p are independent prognostic indicators in B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was employed to study chromosomal aberrations in relation to cell proliferation, apoptosis, and patient survival in 94 cases of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed between 1983 and 1993. Eighty cases had aberrations by CGH. Chromosomal regions 1p21–31.1 (10%), 6cen-q24 (12%), 8p (11%), 9p21-ter (14%), 11q21–23.1 (11%), 13q13–21.1 (12%), and 17p (15%) were frequently lost. Gains were found at 3q21-ter (22%), 6p (11%), 7p (12%), 8q23-ter (13%), 12cen-q15 (17%), 17q24-ter (13%), and 18q13.3–21 (20%). A high number of aberrations (≥ 4, 33 cases) was associated (P ≤ 0.001) with the mantle cell and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma subtypes, a high fraction of tumour cells in S phase, and short survival (RR (relative risk) = 3.7). Loss of 1p21–31.1, 8p, 9p21-ter, 11q21–23.1, and 13q13–21.1 were associated with mantle cell lymphoma (P ≤ 0.03), while gain of 6p and 12cen-q15 were more frequent in diffuse large B-cell and small lymphocytic lymphoma, respectively (P = 0.04). Loss of 8p and 17p, and gain of 3q21-ter, 6p, 7p, and 8q23-ter were associated with a high S phase fraction (P ≤ 0.03), but none of the aberrations were associated with tumour apoptotic fraction (P ≥ 0.13). The most important prognostic CGH parameters (P < 0.001) were losses of 11q21–23.1 (RR = 3.8) and 17p (RR = 4.4), and gain of 6p (RR = 4.2). The latter parameters and IPI were the only ones with independent prognostic value (RR = 10, 5.0, 6.7, and 3.7, respectively; P < 0.001) when assessed together with lymphoma sub-type, primary versus relapse cases, treatment, B symptoms, S phase fraction, and presence of BCL1 and BCL2 translocations. A combined CGH/IPI binary parameter had high prognostic value for patients receiving different treatments, with various lymphoma sub-types, and for primary as well as relapse cases.© 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co