Targeted therapy against multi-resistant bacteria in leukemic and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: guidelines of the 4th European Conference on Infections in Leukemia (ECIL-4, 2011).

The detection of multi-resistant bacterial pathogens, particularly those to carbapenemases, in leukemic and stem cell transplant patients forces the use of old or non-conventional agents as the only remaining treatment options. These include colistin/polymyxin B, tigecycline, fosfomycin and various anti-gram-positive agents. Data on the use of these agents in leukemic patients are scanty, with only linezolid subjected to formal trials. The Expert Group of the 4(th) European Conference on Infections in Leukemia has developed guidelines for their use in these patient populations. Targeted therapy should be based on (i) in vitro susceptibility data, (ii) knowledge of the best treatment option against the particular species or phenotype of bacteria, (iii) pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data, and (iv) careful assessment of the risk-benefit balance. For infections due to resistant Gram-negative bacteria, these agents should be preferably used in combination with other agents that remain active in vitro, because of suboptimal efficacy (e.g., tigecycline) and the risk of emergent resistance (e.g., fosfomycin). The paucity of new antibacterial drugs in the near future should lead us to limit the use of these drugs to situations where no alternative exists.

World Library and Information Congress: 75th IFLA General Conference and Assembly.

L"edició del 2009 de la trobada de l"IFLA s"ha celebrat a Milà. La maquinària de l"organització va funcionar amb precisió per a aquest esdeveniment. Després d"anys de regularitat en les trobades per tot el món, l"IFLA funciona com un autòmat, una d"aquestes màquines perfectes, tant que podria continuar uncionant en les formes amb exemplar artifici. És un trobada singular, que aplega, a la vegada, la reunió de l"organització, un congrés mundial i una fira comercial; tot això amanit amb una ciutat diferent cada any i un finançament que depèn de la bona marxa de tot l"esdeveniment. En certa mesura, l"IFLA és un aparador de la professió, al qual assisteixen bibliotecaris de tot el món i de centenars d"institucions, amb tot el que suposa d"artificiositat en la representació d"entitats i promoció; un espai de reflexió, amb ponències i debats de molt variat interès que poden trobar-se, generalment, en altres esdeveniments; i una posada a punt dels treballs de tots els comitès, que tenen un complex desenvolupament previ i una àrdua tasca desenvolupada amb generositat per tots els participants.

Local effects and global impact in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration: The Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference

'Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact' was the theme of the Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference (XINC), held in Xi"an, June 2011. The Conference was a joint event of the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-13) and the 11th International Symposium on Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (NEUREOH-11) of the Scientific Committee on Neurotoxicology and...

Local effects and global impact in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration: The Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference

'Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact' was the theme of the Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference (XINC), held in Xi"an, June 2011. The Conference was a joint event of the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-13) and the 11th International Symposium on Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (NEUREOH-11) of the Scientific Committee on Neurotoxicology and...

Leukocytes, inflammation, and angiogenesis in cancer: fatal attractions.

Leukocytes are cells of defense. Their main function is to protect our body against invading microorganisms. Some leukocytes, in particular, polymorphonuclear and monocytes, accumulate at sites of infection and neutralize pathogens through innate mechanisms. The blood and lymphatic vascular system are essential partners in this defensive reaction: Activated endothelial cells promote leukocyte recruitment at inflammatory sites; new blood vessel formation, a process called angiogenesis, sustains chronic inflammation, and lymphatic vessels transport antigens and antigen-presenting cells to lymph nodes, where they stimulate naive T and B lymphocytes to elicit an antigen-specific immune response. In contrast, leukocytes and lymphocytes are far less efficient in protecting us from cancer, the "enemy from within." Worse, cancer can exploit inflammation to its advantage. The role of angiogenesis, leukocytes, and inflammation in tumor progression was discussed at the second Monte Verità Conference, Tumor Host Interaction and Angiogenesis: Basic Mechanisms and Therapeutic Perspectives, held in Ascona, Switzerland, October 1-5, 2005. (Conference chairs were K. Alitalo, M. Aguet, C. Rüegg, and I. Stamenkovic.) Eight articles reporting about topics presented at the conference are featured in this issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

Official Positions for FRAX® Bone Mineral Density and FRAX® simplification from Joint Official Positions Development Conference of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry and International Osteoporosis Foundation on FRAX®.

Tools to predict fracture risk are useful for selecting patients for pharmacological therapy in order to reduce fracture risk and redirect limited healthcare resources to those who are most likely to benefit. FRAX® is a World Health Organization fracture risk assessment algorithm for estimating the 10-year probability of hip fracture and major osteoporotic fracture. Effective application of FRAX® in clinical practice requires a thorough understanding of its limitations as well as its utility. For some patients, FRAX® may underestimate or overestimate fracture risk. In order to address some of the common issues encountered with the use of FRAX® for individual patients, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) and International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) assigned task forces to review the medical evidence and make recommendations for optimal use of FRAX® in clinical practice. Among the issues addressed were the use of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements at skeletal sites other than the femoral neck, the use of technologies other than dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, the use of FRAX® without BMD input, the use of FRAX® to monitor treatment, and the addition of the rate of bone loss as a clinical risk factor for FRAX®. The evidence and recommendations were presented to a panel of experts at the Joint ISCD-IOF FRAX® Position Development Conference, resulting in the development of Joint ISCD-IOF Official Positions addressing FRAX®-related issues.

IX ASMOSIA International Conference Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone: Tarragona, 8-13th June 2009 (Book of abstracts)

Aquesta obra recull els resums de les comunicacions orals i pòsters que es van presentar durant el IX Congrés Internacional de l’Association for the Study of Marbles and Other Stones in Antiquity (ASMOSIA), organitzat per l’ICAC en el marc del programa de recerca HAR2008-04600/HIST, amb el suport del programa d’Ajuts ARCS 2008 (referència expedient IR036826) de la Generalitat de Catalunya i del Ministeri de Ciència i Innovació (Accions Complementàries HAR2008-03181-E/HIST), i celebrat a Tarragona entre el 8 i el 13 de juny del 2009.

Review. Precision viticulture. Research topics, challenges and opportunities in site-specific vineyard management

Precision Viticulture (PV) is a concept that is beginning to have an impact on the wine-growing sector. Its practical implementation is dependant on various technological developments: crop sensors and yield monitors, local and remote sensors, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), VRA (Variable-Rate Application) equipment and machinery, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and systems for data analysis and interpretation. This paper reviews a number of research lines related to PV. These areas of research have focused on four very specific fields: 1) quantification and evaluation of within-field variability, 2) delineation of zones of differential treatment at parcel level, based on the analysis and interpretation of this variability, 3) development of Variable-Rate Technologies (VRT) and, finally, 4) evaluation of the opportunities for site-specific vineyard management. Research in these fields should allow winegrowers and enologists to know and understand why yield variability exists within the same parcel, what the causes of this variability are, how the yield and its quality are interrelated and, if spatial variability exists, whether site-specific vineyard management is justifiable on a technical and economic basis.

The international multidisciplinary consensus conference on multimodality monitoring in neurocritical care: a list of recommendations and additional conclusions : a statement for healthcare professionals from the neurocritical care society and the European society of intensive care medicine.

Careful patient monitoring using a variety of techniques including clinical and laboratory evaluation, bedside physiological monitoring with continuous or non-continuous techniques and imaging is fundamental to the care of patients who require neurocritical care. How best to perform and use bedside monitoring is still being elucidated. To create a basic platform for care and a foundation for further research the Neurocritical Care Society in collaboration with the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, the Society for Critical Care Medicine and the Latin America Brain Injury Consortium organized an international, multidisciplinary consensus conference to develop recommendations about physiologic bedside monitoring. This supplement contains a Consensus Summary Statement with recommendations and individual topic reviews as a background to the recommendations. In this article, we highlight the recommendations and provide additional conclusions as an aid to the reader and to facilitate bedside care.

Preface"11th Plinius Conference on Mediterranean Storms"

The EGU Plinius Conference on Mediterranean Storms was established in 1999 within the framework of the Interdisciplinary Working Group on Natural Hazards (IWG-NH) of the former European Geophysical Society (EGS)- since 2002,European Geosciences Union (EGU). Since its advent, the Plinius Conference series has provided a crucial interdisciplinary forum for improving our understanding of hazardous storms over the Mediterranean basin that are capable of producing strong winds, heavy rains, explosive landslides, devastating flash floods and other related extremes ...

Local effects and global impact in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration: The Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference

'Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact' was the theme of the Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference (XINC), held in Xi"an, June 2011. The Conference was a joint event of the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-13) and the 11th International Symposium on Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (NEUREOH-11) of the Scientific Committee on Neurotoxicology and...

The Barcelona International Conference on Advances in Statistics (BAS 2012) : Abstracts of communications

Conferència Organitzada per l'Escola Politècnica Superior, Universitat de Vic en col·laboració amb Servei d'Estadística de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona i CosmoCaixa Barcelona. Celebrada del 18 al 22 de juny de 2012 a Barcelona