University of Houston

About: University of Houston is a education organization based out in Houston, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 23074 authors who have published 53903 publications receiving 1641968 citations.

Polymer-silicate nanocomposites : Model systems for confined polymers and polymer brushes

Abstract: The static and dynamic properties of polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites are discussed, in the context of polymers in confined spaces and polymer brushes. A wide range of experimental techniques as applied to these systems are reviewed, and the salient results from these are compared with a mean field thermodynamic model and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations.

Sexual scripts: permanence and change.

Abstract: A general introduction to scripting theory is offered, attempting to provide links between macrolevel considerations of sociocultural development and general theories of individual development. The scripting of behavior is examined on three distinct levels: cultural scenarios (instruction in collective meanings), interpersonal scripts (the application of specific cultural scenarios by a specific individual in a specific social context), and intrapsychic scripts (the management of desires as experienced by the individual). These concepts of the scripting of behavior are then applied to sexual behavior. Interpersonal scripts are seen as the ordering of representations of self and other that facilitate the occurrence of a sexual act; intrapsychic scripts represent the ordering of images and desires that elicit and sustain sexual arousal. Issues of stability and change in sexual scripts are then examined in terms of the changing circumstances and requirements associated with movement through the life cycle.

Time to Initiation of Fluconazole Therapy Impacts Mortality in Patients with Candidemia: A Multi-Institutional Study

Abstract: BACKGROUND Inadequate antimicrobial treatment is an independent determinant of hospital mortality, and fungal bloodstream infections are among the types of infection with the highest rates of inappropriate initial treatment. Because of significant potential for reducing high mortality rates, we sought to assess the impact of delayed treatment across multiple study sites. The goals our analyses were to establish the frequency and duration of delayed antifungal treatment and to evaluate the relationship between treatment delay and mortality. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with candidemia from 4 medical centers who were prescribed fluconazole. Time to initiation of fluconazole therapy was calculated by subtracting the date on which fluconazole therapy was initiated from the culture date of the first blood sample positive for yeast. RESULTS A total of 230 patients (51% male; mean age +/- standard deviation, 56 +/- 17 years) were identified; 192 of these had not been given prior treatment with fluconazole. Patients most commonly had nonsurgical hospital admission (162 patients [70%]) with a central line catheter (193 [84%]), diabetes (68 [30%]), or cancer (54 [24%]). Candida species causing infection included Candida albicans (129 patients [56%]), Candida glabrata (38 [16%]), Candida parapsilosis (25 [11%]), or Candida tropicalis (15 [7%]). The number of days to the initiation of antifungal treatment was 0 (92 patients [40%]), 1 (38 [17%]), 2 (33 [14%]) or > or = 3 (29 [12%]). Mortality rates were lowest for patients who began therapy on day 0 (14 patients [15%]) followed by patients who began on day 1 (9 [24%]), day 2 (12 [37%]), or day > or = 3 (12 [41%]) (P = .0009 for trend). Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate independent predictors of mortality, which include increased time until fluconazole initiation (odds ratio, 1.42; P < .05) and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (1-point increments; odds ratio, 1.13; P < .05). CONCLUSION A delay in the initiation of fluconazole therapy in hospitalized patients with candidemia significantly impacted mortality. New methods to avoid delays in appropriate antifungal therapy, such as rapid diagnostic tests or identification of unique risk factors, are needed.