University of Haifa

About: University of Haifa is a education organization based out in Haifa, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 7558 authors who have published 27141 publications receiving 711629 citations. The organization is also known as: Haifa University & Universiṭat Ḥefah.

Hurwitz numbers and intersections on moduli spaces of curves

Abstract: 1 Department of Mathematics, University of Stockholm, S-10691, Stockholm, Sweden (e-mail: teke@matematik.su.se) 2 Higher College of Mathematics, Independent University of Moscow and Institute for System Research RAS, Moscow, Russia (e-mail: lando@mccme.ru) 3 Department of Mathematics, Royal Institute of Technology, S-10044, Stockholm, Sweden (e-mail: mshapiro@math.kth.se) 4 Department of Mathematics and Department of Computer Science, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel (e-mail: alek@mathcs.haifa.ac.il)

Colistin alone versus colistin plus meropenem for treatment of severe infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria: an open-label, randomised controlled trial

Abstract: Summary Background Colistin–carbapenem combinations are synergistic in vitro against carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria We aimed to test whether combination therapy improves clinical outcomes for adults with infections caused by carbapenem-resistant or carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacteria Methods A randomised controlled superiority trial was done in six hospitals in Israel, Greece, and Italy We included adults with bacteraemia, ventilator-associated pneumonia, hospital-acquired pneumonia, or urosepsis caused by carbapenem-non-susceptible Gram-negative bacteria Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) centrally, by computer-generated permuted blocks stratified by centre, to intravenous colistin (9-million unit loading dose, followed by 4·5 million units twice per day) or colistin with meropenem (2-g prolonged infusion three times per day) The trial was open-label, with blinded outcome assessment Treatment success was defined as survival, haemodynamic stability, improved or stable Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, stable or improved ratio of partial pressure of arterial oxygen to fraction of expired oxygen for patients with pneumonia, and microbiological cure for patients with bacteraemia The primary outcome was clinical failure, defined as not meeting all success criteria by intention-to-treat analysis, at 14 days after randomisation This trial is registered at ClinicalTrialsgov, number NCT01732250, and is closed to accrual Findings Between Oct 1, 2013, and Dec 31, 2016, we randomly assigned 406 patients to the two treatment groups Most patients had pneumonia or bacteraemia (355/406, 87%), and most infections were caused by Acinetobacter baumannii (312/406, 77%) No significant difference between colistin monotherapy (156/198, 79%) and combination therapy (152/208, 73%) was observed for clinical failure at 14 days after randomisation (risk difference −5·7%, 95% CI −13·9 to 2·4; risk ratio [RR] 0·93, 95% CI 0·83–1·03) Results were similar among patients with A baumannii infections (RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·09) Combination therapy increased the incidence of diarrhoea (56 [27%] vs 32 [16%] patients) and decreased the incidence of mild renal failure (37 [30%] of 124 vs 25 [20%] of 125 patients at risk of or with kidney injury) Interpretation Combination therapy was not superior to monotherapy The addition of meropenem to colistin did not improve clinical failure in severe A baumannii infections The trial was unpowered to specifically address other bacteria Funding EU AIDA grant Health-F3-2011-278348

Mutational and fitness landscapes of an RNA virus revealed through population sequencing

Abstract: RNA viruses exist as genetically diverse populations1. It is thought that diversity and genetic structure of viral populations determine the rapid adaptation observed in RNA viruses2 and hence their pathogenesis3. However, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying virus evolution has been limited by the inability to accurately describe the genetic structure of virus populations. Next-generation sequencing technologies generate data of sufficient depth to characterize virus populations, but are limited in their utility because most variants are present at very low frequencies and are thus indistinguishable from next-generation sequencing errors. Here we present an approach that reduces next-generation sequencing errors and allows the description of virus populations with unprecedented accuracy. Using this approach, we define the mutation rates of poliovirus and uncover the mutation landscape of the population. Furthermore, by monitoring changes in variant frequencies on serially passaged populations, we determined fitness values for thousands of mutations across the viral genome. Mapping of these fitness values onto three-dimensional structures of viral proteins offers a powerful approach for exploring structure–function relationships and potentially uncovering new functions. To our knowledge, our study provides the first single-nucleotide fitness landscape of an evolving RNA virus and establishes a general experimental platform for studying the genetic changes underlying the evolution of virus populations.

Organizational Learning Mechanisms A Structural and Cultural Approach to Organizational Learning

Abstract: This article presents a two-faceted (structural and cultural) approach to organizational learning. The structural facet focuses on organizational learning mechanisms, which are institutionalized st...

ISSP position stand: To sample or to specialize? Seven postulates about youth sport activities that lead to continued participation and elite performance

Abstract: A comprehensive approach to sport expertise should consider the entire situation that is comprised of the person, the task, the environment, and the complex interplay of these components (Hackfort, 1986). Accordingly, the Developmental Model of Sport Participation (Cote, Baker, & Abernethy, 2007; Cote & Fraser‐Thomas, 2007) provides a comprehensive framework for sport expertise that outlines different pathways of involvement in sport. In pathways one and two, early sampling serves as the foundation for both elite and recreational sport participation. Early sampling is based on two main elements of childhood sport participation: 1) involvement in various sports and 2) participation in deliberate play. In contrast, pathway three shows the course to elite performance through early specialization in one sport. Early specialization implies a focused involvement on one sport and a large number of deliberate practice activities with the goal of improving sport skills and performance during childhood. Th...