Do mitochondria use efflux pumps to protect their ribosomes from antibiotics?

Fungal environments are rich in natural and engineered antimicrobials, and this, combined with the fact that fungal genomes are rich in coding sequences for transporters, suggests that fungi are an intriguing group in which to search for evidence of antimicrobial efflux pumps in mitochondria. Herein, the range of protective mechanisms used by fungi against antimicrobials is introduced, and it is hypothesized, based on the susceptibility of mitochondrial and bacterial ribosomes to the same antibiotics, that mitochondria might also contain pumps that efflux antibiotics from these organelles. Preliminary evidence of ethidium bromide efflux is presented and several candidate efflux pumps are identified in fungal mitochondrial proteomes.

The at-risk registers in severe asthma (ARRISA) study: a cluster-randomised controlled trial examining effectiveness and costs in primary care.

Background: Patients at risk of severe exacerbations contribute disproportionally to asthma mortality, morbidity and costs. We evaluated the effectiveness and costs of using 'asthma risk registers' for these patients in primary care.

Methods: In a cluster-randomised trial, 29 primary care practices identified 911 at-risk asthma patients using British asthma guideline criteria (severe asthma plus adverse psychosocial characteristics).

Introducing the national COPD resources and outcomes project.

Background: We report baseline data on the organisation of COPD care in UK NHS hospitals participating in the National COPD Resources and Outcomes Project (NCROP).

Methods: We undertook an initial survey of participating hospitals in 2007, looking at organisation and performance indicators in relation to general aspects of care, provision of non-invasive ventilation (NIV), pulmonary rehabilitation, early discharge schemes, and oxygen. We compare, where possible, against the national 2003 audit.

Psycho-educational interventions for adults with severe or difficult asthma: a systematic review.

Research highlights psychosocial factors associated with adverse asthma events. This systematic review therefore examined whether psycho-educational interventions improve health and self-management outcomes in adults with severe or difficult asthma. Seventeen controlled studies were included.

Psychosocial factors and asthma in a community sample of older adults.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between psychosocial factors and asthma in a population-based cohort study of older adults.

Methods: A total of 20,888 participants in the Norfolk cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer study completed assessments that included details of lifetime self-reported doctor-diagnosed asthma, mood disorder history, social adversity experience, and social support.

Results: Doctor-diagnosed asthma was reported by 1699 (8.

Severity assessment criteria recommended by the British Thoracic Society (BTS) for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and older patients. Should SOAR (systolic blood pressure, oxygenation, age and respiratory rate) criteria be used in older people? A compilation study of two prospective cohorts.

Objectives: To assess the usefulness of the British Thoracic Society guidelines for severity assessment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in predicting mortality and to explore alternative criteria which could be more useful in older patients.

Design: Compilation study of two prospective observational cohorts.

Setting And Participants: A University hospital in Norfolk, UK with a catchment population of 568,000.

Clinician-assessed poor compliance identifies adults with severe asthma who are at risk of adverse outcomes.

Our aim was to determine whether clinician-identified poor compliance is useful in identifying, from among adults with severe asthma, patients with characteristics likely to put them at risk of adverse outcomes. Patients with severe asthma (previous hospital admissions and/or prescribed step 4-5 treatment according to British Thoracic Society guidelines) considered by clinicians to be either compliant (C, N = 41) or poorly compliant (PC, N = 92) with aspects of their recommended management (attendance at appointments, taking medication, and monitoring asthma) provided data on symptoms, health service use, medication, self-management practices, physical and psychological comorbidities, and sociodemographic/socioeconomic characteristics. Cross-sectional univariate analyses were used to examine whether the groups differed with respect to self-reported indicators of asthma morbidity and self-management.