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Patients with haematological malignancies, haemopoietic stem cell transplant recipients and patients requiring admission to intensive care settings are at high risk for invasive candidiasis (IC). Over the past decade, there has been increased reporting of non‐albicans species and fluconazole resistance in Australia. These guidelines provide updated evidence‐based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of IC in adult and paediatric haematology, oncology and intensive care settings. Optimal pharmacological and non‐pharmacological management are discussed. Recent studies strengthen the recommendation for an echinocandin agent as first‐line therapy for high‐risk patients with IC. Mortality benefit has also been demonstrated for non‐pharmacological management, including removal of central venous catheters, infectious diseases consultation and use of care bundles. Healthcare facilities managing immunocompromised patient populations should therefore adopt implementation strategies for these multimodal interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A calibration method to standardize the reference measurement planes inside the structure at the ports of the device under test (DUT) are required for the electrical characterization of transmission lines and discontinuities in the multichip modules (MCMs). The calibration method has one-port measurement of randomly selected but perfectly repeatable reflection standard and measurements of the two or more lengths of line with the per unit capacitance of the line. A comparison of several methods of the capacitance evaluation reveals that the accuracy of electrical capacitance characterization depends directly on this evaluation.

Flexible specialization was observed in the shoe manufacturing industry in Leon, Mexico. The type of products handled by shoe manufacturers and tanneries were relatively uniform but the number of formal and informal firms in the industry changed partly as a response to recession, thus entry into the industry was considered easy. Machine usage was inflexible while labour features were highly flexible, enhancing the firms' ability to adjust to changing demand patterns. Firm linkage structures varied from self-contained topartial subcontracting of certain processes. Informal firms performed a supportive role as well as providing the base for new entrepreneurs.

The advent of next generation sequencing technologies has enabled the characterization of the genetic content of entire communities of organisms, including those in clinical specimens, without prior culturing. The MinION from Oxford Nanopore Technologies offers real-time, direct sequencing of long DNA fragments directly from clinical samples. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of unbiased, genome-wide, long-read, shotgun sequencing using MinION to identify Pneumocystis jirovecii directly from respiratory tract specimens and to characterize the associated mycobiome. Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is a life-threatening fungal disease caused by P. jirovecii. Currently, the diagnosis of PCP relies on direct microscopic or real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) examination of respiratory tract specimens, as P. jirovecii cannot be cultured readily in vitro. P. jirovecii DNA was detected in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and induced sputum (IS) samples from three patients with confirmed PCP. Other fungi present in the associated mycobiome included known human pathogens (Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, Pichia) as well as commensal species (Candida, Malassezia, Bipolaris). We have established optimized sample preparation conditions for the generation of high-quality data, curated databases, and data analysis tools, which are key to the application of long-read MinION sequencing leading to a fundamental new approach in fungal diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]