Trees, shrubs and woody vines are among the top food sources for honey bees in urban environments, according to an international team of researchers. By using honey bees housed in rooftop apiaries in Philadelphia, the researchers identified the plant species from which the honey bees collected most of their food, and tracked how these food resources changed from spring to fall. The findings may be useful to homeowners, beekeepers and urban land managers who wish to sustain honey bees and other bee and pollinator species.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to assess the safety of early oral switch (EOS) prior to 14 days for low-risk Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (LR-SAB), which is the primary treatment strategy employed at our institution. Usually recommended therapy is 14 days of intravenous (IV) antibiotics.

Methods. All patients with SAB at our hospital were identified between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018. Those meeting low-risk criteria (healthcare-associated, no evidence of deep infection or demonstrated involvement of prosthetic material, and no further positive blood cultures after 72-hours) were included in the study. The primary outcome was occurrence of a SAB-related complication within 90 days.

Results. There were 469 SAB episodes during the study period, 100 (21%) of whom met inclusion criteria. EOS was performed in 84 patients. In this group, line infection was the source in 79%, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus caused 95% of SABs and 74% of patients received IV flucloxacillin. The median duration of IV and oral antibiotics in the EOS group was 5 (IQR 4-6) and 10 days (IQR 9-14), respectively. Seventy-one percent of patients received flucloxacillin as their EOS agent. Overall, 86% of oral step-down therapy was with beta-lactams. One patient (1%) undergoing EOS had SAB relapse within 90 days. No deaths attributable to SAB occurred within 90 days.

Conclusions. In this low MRSA prevalence LR-SAB cohort, EOS was associated with a low incidence of SAB-related complications. This was achieved with oral beta-lactam therapy in most patients. Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Since 2012, single low dose of primaquine (SLDPQ, 0.25mg/kg) has been recommended with artemisinin-based combination therapies, as first-line treatment of acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, to interrupt its transmission, especially in low transmission settings of multidrug, including artemisinin, resistance. Policy makers in Cambodia have been reluctant to implement this recommendation due to primaquine safety concerns and lack of data on its efficacy.

In this randomized controlled trial, 109 Cambodians with acute uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria received dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) alone or combined with SLDPQ on the first treatment day. Transmission-blocking efficacy of SLDPQ was evaluated on Days 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 and recrudescence by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (gametocyte prevalence) and membrane-feeding assays with Anopheles minimus mosquitoes (gametocyte infectivity). Without the influence of recrudescent infections, DP+SLDPQ reduced gametocyte carriage 3 fold compared to DP. Of 48 patients tested on Day 0, only three patients were infectious to mosquitoes (~6%). Post-treatment, three patients were infectious: on D14 (3.5%, 1/29), and on the first and seventh day of recrudescence (8.3%, 1/12 for each); this overall low infectivity precluded our ability to assess its transmission blocking efficacy.

Our study confirms effective gametocyte clearance of SLDPQ when combined with DP in multidrug resistant P. falciparum and the negative impact of recrudescent infections due to poor DP efficacy. Artesunate-mefloquine (ASMQ) has replaced DP and ASMQ-SLDPQ has been deployed to treat all P. falciparum symptomatic patients to further support the elimination of multidrug resistant P. falciparum in Cambodia.

Pharmacokinetic changes are often seen in patients with severe infections. Administration by continuous infusion has been suggested to optimize antibiotic exposure and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) target attainment for β-lactams. In an observational study, unbound piperacillin concentrations (n=196) were assessed in 78 critically ill patients following continuous infusion of piperacillin/tazobactam (ratio 8:1). The initial dose of 8, 12 or 16 g (piperacillin component) was determined by individual creatinine clearance (CRCL). Piperacillin concentrations were compared to the EUCAST clinical breakpoint MIC for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16 mg/L), and the following PK/PD targets were evaluated: 100% fT>1xMIC and 100% fT>4xMIC. A population pharmacokinetic model was developed using NONMEM 7.4.3 consisting of a one-compartment disposition model with linear elimination separated into non-renal and renal (linearly increasing with patient CRCL) clearances. Target attainment was predicted and visualized for all individuals based on the utilized CRCL dosing algorithm. The target of 100% fT>1xMIC was achieved for all patients based on the administered dose, but few patients achieved the target of 100% fT>4xMIC. Probability of target attainment for a simulated cohort of patients showed, that increasing the daily dose by 4 g increments (piperacillin component) did not result in substantially improved target attainment for the 100% fT>4xMIC target. To conclude, in patients with high CRCL combined with high-MIC bacterial infections, even a CI regimen with a daily dose of 24 g may be insufficient to achieve therapeutic concentrations.

"The entire energy market is still on a knife edge," says an economist.

The local bourse inched higher on Wednesday as global stocks took a breather following consecutive sessions of weakness.

BACKGROUND:

Pediatricians are less frequently sued than other physicians. When suits are successful, however, the average payout is higher. Little is known about changes in the risk of litigation over time. We sought to characterize malpractice lawsuit trends for pediatricians over time.

Researchers examined nearly 22,000 pieces of class work in hundreds of schools. More than 70 percent of those assignments were below grade level, according to a new report from a teacher-training group.

T. Michael O'Shea
Jul 1, 1999; 104:15-21
ARTICLES

Wolfgang Lindner
May 1, 1999; 103:961-967
ARTICLES

Richard A. Ehrenkranz
Aug 1, 1999; 104:280-289
ARTICLES

Maureen Hack
Aug 1, 2005; 116:333-341
ARTICLES

Jeffrey D. Horbar
Jul 1, 2002; 110:143-151
ARTICLES

C. Michael Cotten
Jan 1, 2009; 123:58-66
ARTICLES

Richard A. Ehrenkranz
Apr 1, 2006; 117:1253-1261
ARTICLES

Julie A. Jaskiewicz
Sep 1, 1994; 94:390-396
COMMENTARY

Mary Ellen Avery
Jan 1, 1987; 79:26-30
ARTICLES

Betty R. Vohr
Jun 1, 2000; 105:1216-1226
ARTICLES

Barbara J. Stoll
Aug 1, 2002; 110:285-291
ARTICLES

Young adults born prematurely with very low birth weight (≤1500 g) have higher blood pressure than do their counterparts born at term. We tested whether they also have higher blood pressure reactivity to psychosocial stress, which may be a more-specific predictor of long-term cardiovascular morbidity. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels for 44 very low birth weight adults (mean age: 23.1 years; SD: 2.3 years) and 37 control subjects (mean age: 23.6 years; SD: 2.0 years) were measured through noninvasive finger photoplethysmography during a standardized psychosocial stress challenge (Trier Social Stress Test). Baseline and task values and their difference (ie, reactivity) served as outcome variables. In comparison with the control group, the very low birth weight group had 7.9 mm Hg higher diastolic blood pressure during the task and 4.8 mm Hg higher diastolic reactivity, with adjustment for gender and age, height, and BMI at testing. A similar trend was seen for systolic blood pressure during the baseline period and the task, but the group differences were not statistically significant. Our results indicate that very low birth weight is associated with elevated blood pressure reactivity to psychosocial stress and, therefore, may increase the risk of cardiovascular morbidity.

Being apart from family is a tough part of college for many students, but Kelly and Kevin Costello are two Penn Staters who were able to spend two years in Happy Valley together — not only on the Penn State campus, but in the College of Information Sciences and Technology.

Meaghan Paige, a women’s fashion brand started by a Penn State Brandywine alumna, is supporting the local community by offering free, handmade cloth face masks during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Graduate Fellows for Science Advocacy and Diversity (EMS-GFSAD) program is wrapping up its inaugural year and has already had an impact in promoting a diverse and inclusive scientific community.

A larger screen and waterproof casing are being offered to encourage sales for 'worry-free summer reading.' Will you be willing to pay $199 for it, though?

Barnes & Noble's Nook GlowLight Plus ebook reader has great hardware for the price, but its software and services are limited and buggy.

The top-rated Kindle Paperwhite, a PCMag Editors' Choice product, is available right now from $84.99 ($45 off) and the new Kindle is on sale starting at $59.99 ($30 off).

Snow and record cold are in the forecast for New York City and the Northeast Saturday.

A faculty member at Penn State Wilkes-Barre will be part of a collaborative fellowship program.

Following a March 19 announcement by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to end physical operations at many businesses statewide, Penn State Executive Vice President and Provost Nicholas P. Jones shared the following message with the University community.

The International Crisis Group is honoured to announce the creation of the Giustra Fellowship for Conflict Prevention, made possible by a generous gift of $1 million from Canadian businessman and philanthropic leader Frank Giustra through The Radcliffe Foundation. Mr. Giustra has been a long-time advocate for Crisis Group, providing transformational financial support since joining its Board of Trustees in 2005.

In the wake of falling reading scores on the test known as the Nation's Report Card, 12 major education groups are calling on schools to adopt evidence-based reading instruction.

Source: www.youtube.com - Thursday, April 30, 2020

The film follows three young men over six years in a rural North Carolina community as they struggle to finish high school.

Victoria Petersen, of the Peninsula Clarion on the Kenai Peninsula, will report on the challenges of rural education, especially in a state as vast as Alaska.

Sylvia discovers how eager believers in rural Bangladeshi villages are for fellowship.

Are deposits necessary? When can they be retained? And how much can be asked for? Attorney Simon Dippenaar explains.

OM workers Elsbeth and Josef* are seeing vibrant communities of Jesus followers among least reached immigrants in Germany.

If this was a review, these AirPods would definitely earn a passing grade.

Mark Alpert made a generous gift $200,000 in memory of his late wife, Claire, to establish the Mark E. and Claire L. Alpert Graduate Fellowship in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State.

Dressed as clowns and carrying posters, students of OM Brazil’s missions training protested against corruption in São José dos Campos on 23 March.

But often invested in for the wrong reasons.

Critical investors are able to determine company’s cash earnings.

OM Chile's newly-created sports ministry experiences God's faithfulness in its first football game.

Marloes Achterveld, from the Netherlands, shares about falling in love with the people of Curarrehue in southern Chile during OM Chile's Intensive Missions Training.

Attorney General Kathy Jennings today announced that she is joining a lawsuit opposing the Trump Administration’s new rule circumventing the Flores Settlement Agreement, which has governed the treatment of children in immigration custody since 1997. In the complaint before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the coalition argues that the rule eliminates several critical protections […]

Dover, Del. (August 15, 2017) – The Award Winners XVII reception and award ceremony will be held at the Biggs Museum of American Art, Dover on Wednesday, August 30 from 5 – 7 p.m. The event will feature special performances by three of the eighteen 2017 Individual Artist Fellows. Attendees can experience the work of […]

“Who Did In the Delaware Ducks?” and “Mysteries of History” to be featured

Activities will include tours of the home, games and crafts.

Trick-or-treaters invited to the governor's home on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.