Clinical Relevance and Characteristics of Aspergillus calidoustus and Other Aspergillus Species of Section Usti.

The Aspergilli of section Usti (group ustus) are represented by over 20 species, of which Aspergillus calidoustus is the most relevant human pathogen. Invasive aspergillosis (IA) caused by these fungi is rare but could represent an emerging issue among the expanding population of patients with long-term immunosuppression receiving antifungal prophylaxis. Clinicians should be aware of this unusual type of IA, which often exhibits distinct clinical features, such as an insidious and prolonged course and a high occurrence of extra-pulmonary manifestations, such as skin/soft tissue or brain lesions. Moreover, these Aspergillus spp. pose a therapeutic challenge because of their decreased susceptibility to azole drugs. In this review, we outline the microbiological and clinical characteristics of IA due to Aspergillus spp. of section Usti and discuss the therapeutic options

Full-Course Oral Levofloxacin for Treatment of Hospitalized Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Most guidelines for the management of hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) recommend commencing therapy with intravenous antibiotics, primarily because of concern about absorption of oral antibiotics in acutely ill patients. However, patients who respond are rapidly switched to oral therapy, which has been shown to reduce costs and to shorten the length of stay. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a full course of oral antibiotics is as efficacious and as safe as intravenous-to-oral sequential antibiotic therapy for the treatment of hospitalized, non-ICU patients with CAP. In an open-labelled, controlled study, 129 hospitalized patients with CAP were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive either a full course of oral levofloxacin (500mg q12h) or an intravenous-to-oral sequential therapy consisting of intravenous ceftriaxone (2g q24h) with or without clarithromycin (500mg q12h) followed by an oral antibiotic (a beta-lactam agent in the majority of patients). The primary study endpoint was the resolution of CAP; secondary endpoints included length of stay and overall mortality. CAP resolved in 72 of 79 (91.1%) patients in the levofloxacin group and in 34 of 37 (91.9%) patients in the intravenous-to-oral sequential therapy group (difference, −0.8%, 95%CI, −11.6-10.0). Median length of stay was 8 days (range, 2-74 days) in the levofloxacin group and 10 days (range, 3-29 days) in the intravenous-to-oral sequential therapy group (P=0.28). Day 30 mortality rates were 1.3% (1 of 79) and 8.1% (3 of 37), respectively (difference, −6.8%, 95%CI, −16.0-2.3). Full-course oral levofloxacin is as efficacious and as safe as standard intravenous-to-oral sequential antibiotic therapy for the treatment of hospitalized patients with CA

Planetary Science Virtual Observatory architecture

In the framework of the Europlanet-RI program, a prototype of Virtual Observatory dedicated to Planetary Science was defined. Most of the activity was dedicated to the elaboration of standards to retrieve and visualize data in this field, and to provide light procedures to teams who wish to contribute with on-line data services. The architecture of this VO system and selected solutions are presented here, together with existing demonstrators

Improving the molecular diagnosis of Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia abortus infection with a species-specific duplex real-time PCR.

Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia abortus are closely related intracellular bacteria exhibiting different tissue tropism that may cause severe but distinct infection in humans. C. psittaci causes psittacosis, a respiratory zoonotic infection transmitted by birds. C. abortus is an abortigenic agent in small ruminants, which can also colonize the human placenta and lead to foetal death and miscarriage. Infections caused by C. psittaci and C. abortus are underestimated mainly due to diagnosis difficulties resulting from their strict intracellular growth. We developed a duplex real-time PCR to detect and distinguish these two bacteria in clinical samples. The first PCR (PCR1) targeted a sequence of the 16S-23S rRNA operon allowing the detection of both C. psittaci and C. abortus. The second PCR (PCR2) targeted the coding DNA sequence CPSIT_0607 unique to C. psittaci. The two PCRs showed 100 % detection for ≥ 10 DNA copies per reaction (1000 copies ml- 1). Using a set of 120 samples, including bacterial reference strains, clinical specimens and infected cell culture material, we monitored 100 % sensitivity and 100 % specificity for the detection of C. psittaci and C. abortus for PCR1. When PCR1 was positive, PCR2 could discriminate C. psittaci from C. abortus with a positive predictive value of 100 % and a negative predictive value of 88 %. In conclusion, this new duplex PCR represents a low-cost and time-saving method with high-throughput potential, expected to improve the routine diagnosis of psittacosis and pregnancy complication in large-scale screening programs and also during outbreaks

Full-course oral levofloxacin for treatment of hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

Most guidelines for the management of hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) recommend commencing therapy with intravenous antibiotics, primarily because of concern about absorption of oral antibiotics in acutely ill patients. However, patients who respond are rapidly switched to oral therapy, which has been shown to reduce costs and to shorten the length of stay. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a full course of oral antibiotics is as efficacious and as safe as intravenous-to-oral sequential antibiotic therapy for the treatment of hospitalized, non-ICU patients with CAP. In an open-labelled, controlled study, 129 hospitalized patients with CAP were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive either a full course of oral levofloxacin (500 mg q12 h) or an intravenous-to-oral sequential therapy consisting of intravenous ceftriaxone (2 g q24 h) with or without clarithromycin (500 mg q12 h) followed by an oral antibiotic (a beta-lactam agent in the majority of patients). The primary study endpoint was the resolution of CAP; secondary endpoints included length of stay and overall mortality. CAP resolved in 72 of 79 (91.1%) patients in the levofloxacin group and in 34 of 37 (91.9%) patients in the intravenous-to-oral sequential therapy group (difference, -0.8%, 95%CI, -11.6-10.0). Median length of stay was 8 days (range, 2-74 days) in the levofloxacin group and 10 days (range, 3-29 days) in the intravenous-to-oral sequential therapy group ( P=0.28). Day 30 mortality rates were 1.3% (1 of 79) and 8.1% (3 of 37), respectively (difference, -6.8%, 95%CI, -16.0-2.3). Full-course oral levofloxacin is as efficacious and as safe as standard intravenous-to-oral sequential antibiotic therapy for the treatment of hospitalized patients with CAP

AUDIT STATE DEPENDENT TAXPAYER COMPLIANCE: THEORY AND EVIDENCE FROM COLOMBIA

We develop and analyze a dynamic model of individual taxpayer compliance choice that predicts “audit state dependent taxpayer compliance”, by distinguishing between naïve and myopic behavior versus sophisticated and forward-looking behavior. We then test experimentally the audit state dependent model by reporting the results from the first tax compliance experiment run in Colombia. Consistent with previous studies as well as theoretical predictions, we find that subjects’ compliance rates increase in the audit probability and in the fine rate. We also find more novel results, both theoretically and empirically: fine rates should be increased after an audit to discourage otherwise-increased underreporting, and “nudging” myopic individuals toward reporting a constant rather than a fluctuating proportion of income would benefit both the taxpayer and the tax authority

The Swiss Pathogen Surveillance Platform - towards a nation-wide One Health data exchange platform for bacterial, viral and fungal genomics and associated metadata.

The Swiss Pathogen Surveillance Platform (SPSP) is a shared secure surveillance platform between human and veterinary medicine, to also include environmental and foodborne isolates. It enables rapid and detailed transmission monitoring and outbreak surveillance of pathogens using whole genome sequencing data and associated metadata. It features controlled data access, complex dynamic queries, dedicated dashboards and automated data sharing with international repositories, providing actionable results for public health and the vision to improve societal well-being and health

Viral Findings in Adult Hematological Patients with Neutropenia

BACKGROUND: Until recently, viral infections in patients with hematological malignancies were concerns primarily in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients. During the last years, changed treatment regimens for non-transplanted patients with hematological malignancies have had potential to increase the incidence of viral infections in this group. In this study, we have prospectively investigated the prevalence of a broad range of respiratory viruses in nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) as well as viruses that commonly reactivate after allogeneic HSCT. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Patients with hematological malignancies and therapy induced neutropenia (n = 159) were screened regarding a broad range of common respiratory viruses in the nasopharynx and for viruses commonly detected in severely immunosuppressed patients in peripheral blood. Quantitative PCR was used for detection of viruses. A viral pathogen was detected in 35% of the patients. The detection rate was rather similar in blood (22%) and NPA (18%) with polyoma BK virus and rhinovirus as dominating pathogens in blood and NPA, respectively. Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (p<0.01) and patients with fever (p<0.001) were overrepresented in the virus-positive group. Furthermore, viral findings in NPA were associated with upper respiratory symptoms (URTS) (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Both respiratory viral infections and low titers of viruses in blood from patients with neutropenia were common. Patients with CLL and patients with fever were independently associated to these infections, and viral findings in NPA were associated to URTS indicating active infection. These findings motivate further studies on viruses' impact on this patient category and their potential role as causative agents of fever during neutropenia

TRBP and eIF6 Homologue in Marsupenaeus japonicus Play Crucial Roles in Antiviral Response

Plants and invertebrates can suppress viral infection through RNA silencing, mediated by RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Trans-activation response RNA-binding protein (TRBP), consisting of three double-stranded RNA-binding domains, is a component of the RISC. In our previous paper, a TRBP homologue in Fenneropenaeus chinensis (Fc-TRBP) was reported to directly bind to eukaryotic initiation factor 6 (Fc-eIF6). In this study, we further characterized the function of TRBP and the involvement of TRBP and eIF6 in antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) pathway of shrimp. The double-stranded RNA binding domains (dsRBDs) B and C of the TRBP from Marsupenaeus japonicus (Mj-TRBP) were found to mediate the interaction of TRBP and eIF6. Gel-shift assays revealed that the N-terminal of Mj-TRBP dsRBD strongly binds to double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and that the homodimer of the TRBP mediated by the C-terminal dsRBD increases the affinity to dsRNA. RNAi against either Mj-TRBP or Mj-eIF6 impairs the dsRNA-induced sequence-specific RNAi pathway and facilitates the proliferation of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). These results further proved the important roles of TRBP and eIF6 in the antiviral response of shrimp