Organization and training at national level of antimicrobial stewardship and infection control activities in Europe: an ESCMID cross-sectional survey

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and Infection prevention and control (IPC) are two key complementary strategies that combat development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The ESGAP (ESCMID Study Group for AMS), EUCIC (European Committee on Infection Control) and TAE (Trainee Association of ESCMID) investigated how AMS and IPC activities and training are organized, if present, at national level in Europe. From February 2018 to May 2018, an internet-based cross-sectional survey was conducted through a 36-item questionnaire, involving up to three selected respondents per country, from 38 European countries in total (including Israel), belonging to the ESGAP/EUCIC/TAE networks. All 38 countries participated with at least one respondent, and a total of 81 respondents. Education and involvement in AMS programmes were mandatory during the postgraduate training of clinical microbiology and infectious diseases specialists in up to one-third of countries. IPC was acknowledged as a specialty in 32% of countries. Only 32% of countries had both guidance and national requirements regarding AMS programmes, in contrast to 61% for IPC. Formal national staffing standards for AMS and IPC hospital-based activities were present in 24% and 63% of countries, respectively. The backgrounds of professionals responsible for AMS and IPC programmes varied tremendously between countries. The organization and training of AMS and IPC in Europe are heterogeneous and national requirements for activities are frequently lacking

Bayesian framework for parametric bivariate accelerated lifetime modeling and its application to hospital acquired infections

Infectious diseases that can be spread directly or indirectly from one person to another are caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi. Infectious diseases remain one of the greatest threats to human health and the analysis of infectious disease data is among the most important application of statistics. In this article, we develop Bayesian methodology using parametric bivariate accelerated lifetime model to study dependency between the colonization and infection times for Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria which is leading cause of infection among the hospital infection agents. We also study their associations with covariates such as age, gender, apache score, antibiotics use 3 months before admission and invasive mechanical ventilation use. To account for singularity, we use Singular Bivariate Extreme Value distribution to model residuals in Bivariate Accelerated lifetime model under the fully Bayesian framework. We analyze a censored data related to the colonization and infection collected in five major hospitals in Turkey using our methodology. The data analysis done in this article is for illustration of our proposed method and can be applied to any situation that our model can be used

Grapevine breeding studies in Turkey

Turkey has a very old history concerning viticulture, and grapes are grown for different purposes in almost every region of the country. Turkey is among the world's leading grape producing countries in terms of area and production amount. It has 405,439 ha of vineyard area and production is approximately 4.1 million t. In Turkey, grapes have been mainly grown as table grapes (52%), raisins (38%), juice and wine (10%) in nine viticultural regions. Grapevine breeding programs continue in different institutions in order to develop high quality new grape cultivars in Turkey as well as all over the world. These breeding studies continue mainly in different Research Institutes working under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. In particular, Yalova Atatürk Horticultural Central Research Institute (YAHCRI), Tekirdağ Viticulture Research Institute (TVRI) and Manisa Viticulture Research Institute (MVRI) have registered many grape cultivars as a result of the breeding studies they have been carrying out for many years. In addition, a small number of breeding studies are carried out in different Universities in Turkey (such as Ankara, Gaziosmanpaşa, Akdeniz University). In different breeding studies, it was aimed to develop new grape cultivars, especially high quality and resistant to different biotic/abiotic stress conditions. In this study, information about new grape cultivars developed in breeding studies carried out in the past and still ongoing breeding studies are given. © 2023 International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved

Fever of unknown origin: large vessel vasculitis diagnosed by PET/CT

PET/CT is starting to play an important role in evaluating fever of unknown origin (FUO), due to its ability to localize and delineate areas of high metabolic activity, such as neoplastic proliferation and inflammation, including vasculitis. We present a case of giant cell arteritis (GCA) in a 72-year-old female patient admitted to our department with a 4-month history of FUO, weight loss and fatigue, without specific symptoms or signs. Laboratory investigations suggested acute phase response, with a pronounced erythrocyte sedimentation rate, high CRP level and microcytic anemia. A thorough diagnostic evaluation was performed to exclude an unknown primary tumor, which was initially suspected due to a positive family history of cancer. Surprisingly, PET/CT revealed large vessel vasculitis affecting the ascending, descending and abdominal aorta, as well as subclavian, proximal brachial and carotid arteries bilaterally. Biopsy of the superficial temporal artery confirmed the diagnosis of GCA. Treatment with methylprednisolone and azathioprine led to resolution of clinical symptoms and normalization of laboratory parameters. In addition to the use of PET/CT in the evaluation of FUO, its value as a method complementary to temporal artery biopsy is also discussed