Effectiveness of dementia follow-up care by memory clinics or general practitioners: randomised controlled trial

Objective To examine the effectiveness of post-diagnosis dementia treatment and coordination of care by memory clinics compared with general practitioners

The Amsterdam Declaration on Fungal Nomenclature

The Amsterdam Declaration on Fungal Nomenclature was agreed at an international symposium convened in Amsterdam on 19–20 April 2011 under the auspices of the International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF). The purpose of the symposium was to address the issue of whether or how the current system of naming pleomorphic fungi should be maintained or changed now that molecular data are routinely available. The issue is urgent as mycologists currently follow different practices, and no consensus was achieved by a Special Committee appointed in 2005 by the International Botanical Congress to advise on the problem. The Declaration recognizes the need for an orderly transitition to a single-name nomenclatural system for all fungi, and to provide mechanisms to protect names that otherwise then become endangered. That is, meaning that priority should be given to the first described name, except where that is a younger name in general use when the first author to select a name of a pleomorphic monophyletic genus is to be followed, and suggests controversial cases are referred to a body, such as the ICTF, which will report to the Committee for Fungi. If appropriate, the ICTF could be mandated to promote the implementation of the Declaration. In addition, but not forming part of the Declaration, are reports of discussions held during the symposium on the governance of the nomenclature of fungi, and the naming of fungi known only from an environmental nucleic acid sequence in particular. Possible amendments to the Draft BioCode (2011) to allow for the needs of mycologists are suggested for further consideration, and a possible example of how a fungus only known from the environment might be described is presented

Rabaptin4, a novel effector of the small GTPase rab4a, is recruited to perinuclear recycling vesicles.

The small GTPase rab4a is associated with early endocytic compartments and regulates receptor recycling from early endosomes. To understand how rab4a mediates its function, we searched for proteins which associate with this GTPase and regulate its activity in endocytic transport. Here we identified rabaptin4, a novel effector molecule of rab4a. Rabaptin4 is homologous with rabaptin5 and contains a C-terminal deletion with respect to rabaptin5. Rabaptin4 preferentially interacts with rab4a-GTP and to a lesser extent with rab5aGTP. We identified a rab4a-binding domain in the N-terminal region of rabaptin4, and two binding sites for rab5, including a novel N-terminal rab5a-binding site. Rabaptin4 is a cytosolic protein that inhibits the intrinsic GTP hydrolysis rate of rab4a and is recruited by rab4a-GTP to recycling endosomes enriched in cellubrevin and internalized indocarbocyanine-3 (Cy3)-labelled transferrin. We propose that rabaptin4 assists in the docking of transport vesicles en route from early endosomes to recycling endosomes

Cost-effectiveness of one year dementia follow-up care by memory clinics or general practitioners: economic evaluation of a randomised controlled trial

Contains fulltext : 125289.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of post-diagnosis dementia treatment and coordination of care by memory clinics compared to general practitioners' care. METHODS: A multicentre randomised trial with 175 community dwelling patients newly diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia, and their informal caregivers, with twelve months' follow-up. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated from a societal point of view and presented as incremental cost per quality adjusted life year. To establish cost-effectiveness, a cost-utility analysis was conducted using utilities based on the EQ-5D. Uncertainty surrounding the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (difference in costs divided by difference in effects) was calculated by bootstrapping from the original data. RESULTS: Compared to general practitioners' care, treatment by the memory clinics was on average euro1024 (95% CI: -euro7723 to euro5674) cheaper, and showed a non-significant decrease of 0.025 (95% CI: -0.114 to 0.064) quality adjusted life years. The incremental cost-effectiveness point estimate from the bootstrap simulation was euro 41 442 per QALY lost if one would use memory clinic care instead of general practitioner care. CONCLUSION: No evidence was found that memory clinics were more cost-effective compared to general practitioners with regard to post-diagnosis treatment and coordination of care of patients with dementia in the first year after diagnosis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00554047

Real-Time PCR Detection of Elsinoë spp. on Citrus

Elsinoë species are the causal agents of scab and spot diseases on many economically important plant species. Diagnosis based on symptomology is often problematic, and traditional methods are not appropriate as Elsinoë spp. are notoriously difficult to isolate and slow growing. Three Elsinoë species that infect Citrus are regulated as quarantine organisms within the European Union. Reliable and fast detection of Elsinoë species on citrus fruit is essential for effective phytosanitary control. In this study, a multiplex real-time PCR was designed for rapid and sensitive detection of Elsinoë species, and validation was focused on citrus fruit. The test was specific to the Elsinoë genus when tested against a range of nontarget pathogens and had the ability to detect all three regulated Elsinoë species on Citrus. The test also proved highly sensitive, with a limit of detection of 12 fg of DNA per reaction. This new test can be used as a tool in the diagnostic process for the rapid and sensitive detection of Elsinoë pathogens on symptomatic plant material. [Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license

Cost variables, resources used, mean price per unit and average costs per patient for the General Practitioner (GP) and Memory Clinic (MC) group.

<p>Sources of price information:</p>*<p>Oostenbrink et al.,</p>†<p>GIP data/WHO website,</p>‡<p>Wolfs et al. §Melis et al.</p>||<p>rates of healthcare interventions (<a href="http://www.nza.nl/" target="_blank">http://www.nza.nl/</a>).</p><p>Sources of volume information: ¶Case Record Form,</p>**<p>General practitioner record</p>††<p>Electronic Patient File,</p>‡‡<p>Health provider, §§ list of interventions.</p>$<p>ADL = activities of daily living, IADL = instrumental activities of daily living.</p