Monday, February 2, 2009

Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Strategies for Management

Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Strategies for Management
by Antoni Torres (Editor), Rosario Menendez (Editor)

Product Details
* Hardcover: 286 pages
* Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 22, 2008)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0470058099

Book Description
Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) refers to pneumonia acquired outside of hospitals or extended-care facilities, and is distinct from Nosocomial or hospital-acquired pneumonia, which is a separate disease entity. It is one of the most common respiratory infections and presents one of the major health problems today, with an incidence that ranges from eight to fifty cases per thousand individuals each year. Mortality is still very high and yet the risk factors are very well known. Many of these are related to antibiotic treatment; delay in administration, inadequacy of empiric antibiotics and lack of adherence to guidelines for treatment are all clearly associated with poor treatment outcomes.
Following a description of the epidemiology and microbial etiology of ambulatory and hospitalized CAP, this book provides an in-depth review of the important new advances in therapeutics, including management of drug resistance to the three major classes of antibiotics used for treatment of CAP: β-lactams, macrolides and quinolones. All of them have advantages and disadvantages and these are put into perspective. This book highlights guideline recommendations and presents a balanced analysis to help physicians deliver the highest standard of care. In addition, the authors provide an insight into the 10% of patients who do not respond to antibiotics and could benefit from adjunctive therapies, some still under review.
This volume will be welcomed by pulmonologists and all clinicians involved in managing community-acquired pneumonia.

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Microbial Megaplasmids

Microbial Megaplasmids (Microbiology Monographs)
by: Edward Schwartz

Product Details
* Hardcover: 348 pages
* Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (January 17, 2009)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 3540854665

Book Description
Megaplasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements in the size range of 100 kb and larger. They are found in physiologically and phylogenetically diverse groups of bacteria and archaea. By definition, megaplasmids are not essential for the viability of their hosts under all growth conditions, but paradoxically many megaplasmids carry the genetic information for the defining and characteristic traits of the organism in which they reside.
Microbial Megaplasmids reviews our knowledge of the extensively studied representatives, such as the catabolic plasmids of the pseudomonads, the rhizobial Sym plasmids, the Ti plasmids of the genus Agrobacterium and the giant enterobacterial virulence plasmids. It also presents snapshots of more recently discovered megaplasmids. The contribution of megaplasmids to the biology of their hosts is described, highlighting the interactions between megaplasmid and chromosomal genes.

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