BACKGROUND Bloodstream infections (BSI) occur in up to 350 000 inpatient admissions each year in the US, with BSI rates among patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) varying from 1.3% to 39%. BSI-attributable costs were estimated to approximate $US12 000 per episode in 2000. While previous studies have compared the cost of different PN preparation methods, this analysis evaluates both the ...

This article introduces Evaluation-Function based Proof– Number Search (EF-PN) and its second-level variant EF-PN. It is a framework for setting the proof and disproof number of a leaf node with a heuristic evaluation function. Experiments in LOA and Surakarta show that compared to PN and PN, which use mobility to initialize the proof and disproof numbers, EF-PN and EF-PN take between 45% to 85...

The paper presents a new proof-number (PN) search algorithm, called PDS-PN. It is a two-level search (like PN), which performs at the first level a depth-first Proof-number and Disproof-number Search (PDS), and at the second level a bestfirst PN search. Hence, PDS-PN selectively exploits the power of both PN and PDS. Experiments in the domain of Lines of Action are performed. They show that wit...

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus [Pn]) can be cultured from up to 50% of acute otitis media (AOM) effusions, and these bacteria are the most common cause of AOM-related complications. With the recent advent of antibiotic-resistant Pn strains, treatment of Pn infections may meet with serious difficulties. Prevention through vaccination, notably for the four most common occurring Pn serotyp...

PURPOSE Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is known as a major contributor of the worsening of ischemic symptoms and the foot ulceration in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). However, there are few studies reporting the prevalence and risk factors for PN in PAOD. This study aimed to evaluate these issues for PN and to establish the importance of screening as additional treatmen...

While many studies have reported that providing parenteral nutrition (PN) can change nutritional outcomes, there are limited data that demonstrate that PN influences clinically-important end points in critically-ill patients. The purpose of the present paper is to systematically review and critically appraise the literature to examine the relationship between PN and morbidity and mortality in t...

OBJECTIVE Protease nexin-1 (PN-1), a serpin constitutively expressed by vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells, inhibits thrombin, plasminogen activators, and plasmin and can thus be expected to play a role in vascular biology. The present study addressed the question of PN-1 expression in human atherothrombosis. METHODS AND RESULTS Immunohistochemistry and biochemical studies con...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the extent to which larger genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England have established local clinic policies for HIV Partner Notification (PN) and to describe the process of HIV PN within this setting. DESIGN A cross-sectional survey of HIV PN policies and practices within GUM clinics. SUBJECTS AND SETTING Senior consultants in 59 GUM clinics in England. MAIN O...

Regional Dependencies in Job Creation: An Efficiency Analysis for Western Germany This paper investigates the efficiency of the matching process between job seekers and vacancy posting firms in West-Germany, using variation across labor market regions and across time. The results of a stochastic frontier analysis shed new light on extent and regional differences of search frictions, on potentia...