Clinical management and patient persistence with antibiotic course in suspected group A streptococcal pharyngitis for primary prevention of rheumatic fever: the perspective from a New Zealand emergency department.

Aim: Rates of acute rheumatic fever in the Northland region are historically among the highest in New Zealand, impacting disproportionately on Māori children and youth. The primary aim of this study was to determine patient persistence to antibiotic treatment for group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis in patients presenting with sore throat to the Whangarei Hospital Emergency Department. Secondarily, this study sought to determine prescriber adherence to the national antibiotic guideline for sore throat management.

From municipal/industrial wastewater sludge and FOG to fertilizer: A proposal for economic sustainable sludge management.

After a ban on the depositing of untreated sludge in landfills, the sludge from municipal and industrial water-treatment plants can be regarded as a problem. Waste products of the water treatment process can be a problem or an opportunity - a source for obtaining raw materials. In the European Union, raw sludge and fats, oil and grease (FOG) from municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) cannot be deposited in any natural or controlled environment.

Ranking and selection of MII oocytes in human ICSI cycles using gene expression levels from associated cumulus cells.

Study Question: Can the ranked expression levels of a cohort of cumulus cell (CC) genes be used to select MII oocytes with a potential for blastocyst development and live birth?

Summary Answer: A ranking method containing four (HAS2, FSHR, VCAN, PR) of the eight genes evaluated in this study for identifying good quality MII oocytes provides a significantly better outcome compared with random selection and is equally as good as using all oocytes for ICSI.

What Is Known Already: Recent evidence has identified a number of candidate genes in CC that have the potential to serve as markers of oocyte quality; however, a reliable method for selecting MII oocytes with blastocyst and live birth potential remains a challenge.

Study Design, Size, Duration: A group of 25 patients (<38 years old) underwent rFSH-stimulated ICSI treatment with single embryo replacement (SET).

Phenolic metabolites of Dalea versicolor that enhance antibiotic activity against model pathogenic bacteria.

A new flavonoid (1) was isolated from organic extracts of Dalea versicolor, along with six known phenolic compounds (2-7). The structures of the seven compounds were determined by NMR and HRMS methods. These compounds were evaluated for direct activity against a variety of organisms in vitro, including the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus.