Retrieval of Enterobacteriaceae drug targets using singular value decomposition.

MOTIVATION: The identification of potential drug target proteins in bacteria is important in pharmaceutical research for the development of new antibiotics to combat bacterial agents that cause diseases. RESULTS: A new model that combines the singular value decomposition (SVD) technique with biological filters composed of a set of protein properties associated with bacterial drug targets and similarity to protein-coding essential genes of Escherichia coli (strain K12) has been created to predict potential antibiotic drug targets in the Enterobacteriaceae family. This model identified 99 potential drug target proteins in the studied family, which exhibit eight different functions and are protein-coding essential genes or similar to protein-coding essential genes of E.coli (strain K12), indicating that the disruption of the activities of these proteins is critical for cells. Proteins from bacteria with described drug resistance were found among the retrieved candidates. These candidates have no similarity to the human proteome, therefore exhibiting the advantage of causing no adverse effects or at least no known adverse effects on humans. CONTACT: rita_silverio@hotmail.com. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Advanced Cardiac Life Support Courses: live actors do not improve training results compared with conventional manikins.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To determine whether using live actors to increase the reality of the scenario improves knowledge retention in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Courses. MAIN SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of age, time since graduation from nursing or medicine, sex, medical specialty, and workplace in knowledge retention. METHODS: From December 2004 to October 2005, 19 selected ACLS courses were divided at random in two groups: group A (ACLS courses with conventional manikins plus live actors) and group B (ACLS courses with conventional manikins). The live actors vocalized appropriately to create more realistic scenarios. The participants' relevant theoretical knowledge was assessed before the course (pre-test), immediately after the course (post-test), and 6 months after the course (final-test). RESULTS: Four hundred and thirty-five participants were recruited and allocated at random allocated to either group A or B. Overall, the data of 225 participants (51.7%; 111 in group A and 114 in group B) who completed the entire sequence of pre-, post-, and final-tests were analysed. On univariate analysis, the use of live actors, workplace, gender, and healthcare provider profession did not affect pre-, post-, and final-test results (p>0.1). The results in all three tests correlated negatively with time since medical or nursing graduation (95% C.I. -0.53 to -0.17, -0.43 to -0.2, and -0.42 to -0.11, respectively, p<0.05) and age (and 95% C.I. -0.56 to -0.21, -0.42 to -0.2, and -0.38 to -0.07, respectively, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The use of live actors did not affect knowledge retention in this group. Older age and a longer period since graduation were associated with the worst scores and the lowest levels of knowledge retention.

Esforço conjunto para melhoria de qualidade em hospital público pediátrico brasileiro através do controle de infecçäo hospitalar / Joint effort to improve quality in a Brazilian pediatric public hospital through cross-infection control

Objetivo: Verificar o papel do laboratório de microbiologia no controle de infecçöes hospitalares ao longo do período de janeiro de 1993 a dezembro de 1996 no Centro Geral de Pediatria da Fundaçäo Hospitalar do Estado de Minas Gerais. Métodos: Seguimento de 101.139 pacientes-dia (11.147 saídas = altas - óbitos + transferências) das unidade de internaçäo e de tratamento intensivo através da metodologia do National Nosoco-Control (CDC) de Atlanta - EUA, através de seus componentes global (desde 1992) e de Unidade de Tratamento Intensivo (desde 1996), exercida através de busca-ativa e prospectiva de infecçöes hospitalares em todos os sítios, segundo critérios diagnósticos e definiçöes do CDC e Portaria 930 do Ministério da Saúde Brasileiro, de 1992. Resultados: Os cindo agentes etiológicos mais freqüentes (de um total de 139 isolados de infecçöes hospitalares) foram Klebsiella sp=24,5 por cento; S. aureus = 18 por cento; P. aeruginosa = 13,7 por cento; E. coli = 12,9 por cento; S. epidermidis = 12,2 por cento. A porcentagem de identificaçäo de patógenos isolados de sítios topográficos de infecçöes hospitalares aumentou de 6,2 por cento em 1993 para 13,3 por cento em 95 e 28,2 por cento em 96 (p < 0,001). A porcentagem de identificaçäo do germe aumentou de 7,5 por cento em 93 para 16,1 por cento em 95 e 33,8 por cento em 96 (p <0,001). O intervalo de tempo da coleta do material até o resultado microbiológico declinou de média de dez dias em 1993 para seis dias em 96 (p = 0,001). Conclusöes: A educaçäo continuada e a melhoria de comunicaçäo entre a comissäo de controle de infecçöes hospitalares, pediatras, cirurgiöes e membros do laboratório têm exercido um papel importante na determinaçäo do perfil etiológico das infecçöes hospitalares no Centro Geral de Pediatria. A necessidade de um esforço conjunto para se determinar a etiologia microbiológica dessas infecçöes está sendo cada vez mais incorporadas por todos. A metodologia NNIS para controle de infecçöes hospitalares aplicada a hospitais brasileiros traduz seu impacto também no laboratório de microbiologia