TO espiratory infections are a major source of mor-"-*-bidity for patients in the community and for those who are admitted to the hospital. In the United States, pneumonia and influenza together are the sixth lead¬ ing cause of death and the number one cause of death from infectious diseases.1 Community-acquired pneu¬ monia (CAP) occurs in 4 to 6 million people annually, while nosocomial pneumo...

Practices in the citrus industry evolve rapidly to minimize postharvest decay losses, mostly a result of green mold or blue mold, caused by Penicillium digitatum or P. italicum, respectively. Current problems include the continued development of fungicide resistance among these pathogens, and compliance with emerging secondary residue standards and other privatized regulation of production and ...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains the fourth leading cause of death, is associated with significant morbidity and places a substantial time and cost burden on the health care system. Unfortunately, treatment for COPD remains underutilized and continues to focus on the acute care of complications. The chronic care model (CCM) shifts this focus from the acute management of symp...

A significant number of children have chronic health conditions that interfere with normal activities, including school attendance and active participation in the learning process. Management of students' chronic conditions is complex and requires an integrated system. Models to improve chronic disease management have been developed for the medical system and public health. Programs that addres...

The increasing burden of chronic kidney disease and end stage kidney failure presents a challenge for both developed and emerging countries. While dialysis and transplantation consumes an ever-increasing proportion of the health budget in countries such as the United States, Japan and Taiwan, there is limited availability of these expensive therapies in the majority of emerging countries and mo...

The current acute care model for COPD is, in general, insufficient for optimal management of the disease. Single disease guidelines often fall short for diseases such as COPD that have prominent systemic manifestations and frequent comorbidities contributing to disease burden. Coordination of services is often inadequate, especially at the time of the COPD exacerbation, which is characterised b...