Clinical update on linezolid in the treatment of Gram-positive bacterial infections.

Gram-positive pathogens are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in both community and health care settings. Glycopeptides have traditionally been the antibiotics of choice for multiresistant Gram-positive pathogens but there are problems with their use, including the emergence of glycopeptide-resistant strains, tissue penetration, and achieving and monitoring adequate serum levels. Newer antibiotics such as linezolid, a synthetic oxazolidinone, are available for the treatment of resistant Gram-positive bacteria.

Parental experiences of scoliosis management in Rett syndrome.

Background: Scoliosis is the most common orthopaedic complication of Rett syndrome. Parents of affected individuals are vital partners in the clinical management of scoliosis and this study explored parental experiences of various aspects of different management options.

Methods: Publicly available Rettnet postings informed the development of an online questionnaire about scoliosis and its management in Rett syndrome.

Predictors of scoliosis in Rett syndrome.

Scoliosis is a common clinical manifestation of Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that almost exclusively affects girls. Following apparently normal development, these girls typically regress and lose previously attained cognitive, social, and motor skills. Severe intellectual and physical disabilities remain throughout life.

Familiarity breeds: incest and the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

This paper examines the problem of Ptolemaic incest from a variety of cross-disciplinary perspectives. Specifically, it seeks to establish the following: that there is little in the ancient record to support the common claim that the Ptolemies suffered extensively from the deleterious genetic effects of inbreeding; that the various theories so far put forward as explanations for Ptolemaic incest offer at best only a partial rationale for this dynastic practice; that the most compelling rationale for Ptolemaic incest is to be found in complex, and perhaps unconscious, symbolic motivations analogous to those observed by anthropologists in other cultures; and finally, that, for the Ptolemies, incest was, like the "truphê" for which they were so notorious, a dynastic signature which highlighted their singularity and above all, their power.