In vitro activity of olorofim against 507 filamentous fungi including antifungal drug-resistant strains at a tertiary laboratory in Australia: 2020-2023.

Background: New antifungal agents are required to mitigate against azole-resistant Aspergillus and drug-resistant non-Aspergillus moulds. The novel orotomide, olorofim (F2G, Manchester, UK), has potent fungicidal activity against Aspergillus including azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus, Lomentospora prolificans and Scedosporium spp. Development of olorofim-specific clinical breakpoints/epidemiological cut-off values requires reliable MIC data.

Health care resource utilization in Medicare beneficiaries obtaining medication synchronization.

Background: An appointment-based medication synchronization (ABMS) is a service whuch aligns patients' chronic medications to a predetermined routine pickup date and includes a comprehensive medication review or other clinical appointment at the pharmacy.

Objective(s): We compared healthcare utilization outcomes (outpatient, inpatient, emergency department visits, and pharmacy utilization) of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a med-sync program to beneficiaries not enrolled in such a program.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included Medicare beneficiaries obtaining medications from pharmacies providing ABMS.

Panfungal PCR on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue: to proceed or not proceed?

Performance of panfungal PCR-DNA sequencing assays for diagnosis of invasive fungal disease on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE) is influenced by many variables. Interpretation of a positive result can be challenging due to the need to differentiate colonisers and contaminants from clinically significant pathogens. We conducted a retrospective audit on FFPE tissue specimens that underwent panfungal PCR from January 2021 to August 2022.

Disparities in Medicare beneficiaries' receiving medication synchronization.

Background: Medication synchronization (med-sync) aligns patients' monthly or quarterly chronic medications to a predetermined single pickup date at a community pharmacy. The study objective was to examine med-sync enrollment disparities based on Medicare beneficiaries' predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using a Medicare dataset of beneficiaries receiving medications from pharmacies that self-identified as providing med-sync.

Evaluation of a custom Sensititre YeastOne plate for susceptibility testing of isavuconazole and other antifungals against clinically relevant yeast and mould species in three Australian diagnostic mycology laboratories.

This study aimed to validate the performance of the custom formulated Sensititre YeastOne One (SYO) microdilution plate which includes isavuconazole (AUSNMRC1) to perform susceptibility testing on clinically relevant yeast and mould species across three Australian reference laboratories. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results were compared with the IVD approved SYO YO10 microdilution plate and isavuconazole gradient strips. A total of 127 isolates were tested on both the YO10 and AUSNMRC1 plates.

Development of a Real-Time PCR Assay to Identify and Distinguish between and Species Complexes.

and are the principle causative agents of cryptococcosis. Differences in epidemiological and clinical features, and also treatment, mean it is important for diagnostic laboratories to distinguish between the two species. Molecular methods are potentially more rapid than culture and cryptococcal antigen (CRAG) detection; however, commercial PCR-based assays that target do not distinguish between species.

Evaluation of a modified and abbreviated scale for assessing chronic illness care for medication therapy management practice.

Background: The central goals of MTM align with those of the Chronic Care Model (CCM). However, reliable and valid assessments are needed to estimate the extent to which components of MTM care delivery are consistent with the CCM. The Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (ACIC) is a 34-item scale for administration in primary care offices to estimate the extent to which chronic care delivery aligns with the six elements of the CCM.

Knowledge at what cost? An audit of the utility of panfungal PCR performed on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid specimens at a tertiary mycology laboratory.

The diagnostic utility and costs of panfungal PCR assays for invasive fungal disease (IFD) from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) specimens are incompletely defined. In a retrospective audit, panfungal PCR results from 2014-2018 were matched with information on request forms and the registrar/microbiologist diary of clinical liaison. Identification of a single fungus other than a commensal was considered potentially clinically significant, and assessed for clinical relevance.

Learning to interact and interacting to learn: a substantive theory of clinical workplace learning for diverse cohorts.

Social interactions are integral to clinical workplace functioning and are recognised to play an important role in clinical workplace learning. How, why and to what end students, in the context of today's culturally and linguistically diverse cohorts, interact with members of clinical workplace communities during clinical workplace learning is not well understood. The aim of this research was to generate a theoretical understanding of students' interactive processes in clinical workplace learning that accounted for high levels of cultural/linguistic diversity.

Am I Being Understood? Veterinary Students' Perceptions of the Relationship between Their Language Background, Communication Ability, and Clinical Learning.

During clinical workplace learning, effective communication between veterinary students and clinical staff is of paramount importance to facilitating learning, assessment, and patient care. Although studies in health sciences education have indicated that students may experience communication difficulties as a result of linguistic, cultural, and other factors and that these difficulties can affect clinical learning and academic outcomes, this has not yet been explored in veterinary clinical educational contexts. In this study, the authors sought to identify whether final-year veterinary students perceived that their communication ability influenced their clinical learning and, if so, whether language background was of significance.

The Afya Bora Fellowship: An Innovative Program Focused on Creating an Interprofessional Network of Leaders in Global Health.

Problem: Most current health professions education programs are focused on the development of clinical skills. As a result, they may not address the complex and interconnected nature of global health. Trainees require relevant clinical, programmatic, and leadership skills to meet the challenges of practicing in an increasingly globalized environment.

Interprofessional Fellowship Training for Emerging Global Health Leaders in Africa to Improve HIV Prevention and Care: The Afya Bora Consortium.

HIV continues to challenge health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. A qualified workforce of transformational leaders is required to strengthen health systems and introduce policy reforms to address the barriers to HIV testing, treatment, and other HIV services. The 1-year Afya Bora Consortium Fellowship in Global Health capitalizes on academic partnerships between African and U.

Training tomorrow's global health leaders: applying a transtheoretical model to identify behavior change stages within an intervention for health leadership development.

Training health professionals in leadership and management skills is a key component of health systems strengthening in low-resource settings. The importance of evaluating the effectiveness of these programs has received increased attention over the past several years, although such evaluations continue to pose significant challenges. This article presents evaluation data from the pilot year of the Afya Bora Fellowship, an African-based training program to increase the leadership capacity of health professionals.

Clevidipine: a new intravenous option for the management of acute hypertension.

Purpose: The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, dosage and administration, and place in therapy of clevidipine are reviewed.

Summary: Clevidipine is a new lipophilic, short-acting, third-generation dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker (CCB) approved for use in the management of acute hypertension when oral agents are not feasible. It exerts its hemodynamic effects through selective arterial vasodilation without effects on the venous circulation.

Trade-offs between growth and reproduction in female bison.

The extent to which (a) larger females produce more or larger offspring, (b) reproduction imposes costs, and (c) the benefits of early reproduction outweigh the costs was examined for female bison (Bison bison) with data from an 8-year period. Description of ontogenetic patterns indicated that reproductive performance reached a plateau near the end of the growth period; changes with age in fecundity were little related to those of body weight during the typical reproductive lifespan (age 3-18 years). Examination of inter-and intra-individual variation showed that the relationship between growth and reproduction depends on the age of subjects.