Global List Research Articles

A Probe into the Wages and Salaries of Health Economics, Outcomes Research, and Market Access Professionals.

To estimate the central tendency and spread of health economics, outcomes research, and market access (HE/OR/MA) professionals' wage-and-salary earnings; compare male versus female and US versus non-US earnings levels; and examine inequality in their distribution. Self-reported survey data were collected in 2015 from HE/OR/MA professionals in the HealthEconomics.com global subscriber list. The study design consisted of a two-way classification model with multiple replications and three inequality indicators. HE/OR/MA professionals from the HealthEconomics.com global subscriber list completed a questionnaire. The sample consisted of 403 participants. Within each location, men earned higher wages and salaries than women, and within each gender, HE/OR/MA professionals living in the USA earned higher wages and salaries than those living outside the USA. Evidence of a gap was suggested by the presence of gender and location disparities in earnings determinants. Results also suggested the presence of moderate inequality that was similar for both genders and greater for non-US than US residents. This study shed light into the labor market structure of HE/OR/MA professionals and may be conducive to more rational and efficient workforce management policies.

Wikidata and the biodiversity knowledge graph

This talk explores the role Wikidata (Vrandečić and Krötzsch 2014) might play in the task of assembling biodiversity information into a single, richly annotated and cross linked structure known as the biodiversity knowledge graph (Page 2016). Initially conceived as a language-independent data store of facts derived from the Wikipedia, Wikidata has morphed into a global knowledge graph, complete with a user friendly interface for data entry and a powerful implementation of the SPARQL query language. Wikidata already underpins projects such as Gene Wiki (Burgstaller-Muehlbacher et al. 2016) and Scholia (Nielsen et al. 2017). Much of the content of Wikispecies is being automatically added to Wikidata, hence many of the entities relevant to biodiversity (such as taxa, taxonomic publications, and taxonomists) well represented in Wikidata, making it even more attractive. Much of the data relevant to biodiversity is widely scattered in different locations, requiring considerable manual effort to collect and curate. Appeals to the taxonomic community to undertake these tasks have not always met with success. For example, the Global Registry of Biodiversity Repositories (GrBio) was an attempt to create a global list of biodiversity repositories, such as natural history museums and herbaria. An appeal by Schindel et al. (2016) for the taxonomic community to curate this list largely fell on deaf ears, and at the time of writing the GrBio project is moribund. Given that many repositories are housed in institutions that are the subject of articles in Wikipedia, many of these repositories already have entries in Wikidata. Hence, rather than follow the route GrBio took of building a resource and then hoping a community will assemble around that resource, we could go to Wikidata where there is an existing community and build the resource there. An impressive example of the potential for this is WikiCite, which initially had the goal of including in Wikidata every article cited in any of the Wikipedias. Taxonomic articles are highly cited in Wikipedia (Nielsen 2007), hence already fall within the remit of WikiCite. Hence Wikidata is a candidate for the “bibliography of life” (King et al. 2011), a database of all taxonomic literature. Another important role Wikidata can play is to define the boundaries of a biodiversity knowledge graph. Entities such as journals, articles, people, museums, and herbaria are often already in Wikidata, hence we can delegate managing that content to the Wikidata community (bolstered by our own contributions), and focus instead on domain-specific entities such as DNA sequences, specimens, etc., or domain specific attributes of those entities if they are already in Wikidata. This means we can avoid the inevitable “mission creep” that bedevils any attempt to link together information from multiple disciplines. These ideas are explored using examples based on content entirely within Wikidata (including entities such as publications, authorship, and natural history collections), as well as approaches that combine Wikidata with external knowledge graphs such as Ozymandias (Page 2018).

Antimicrobial Drug Administration and Antimicrobial Resistance of Salmonella Isolates Originating from the Broiler Production Value Chain in Nigeria.

Salmonella is among the pathogens on the high global priority lists for monitoring for studies on the discovery of new antimicrobials and understanding of how antimicrobial resistance (AMR) develops. AMR in connection with antibiotic usage patterns has been considered as a strong factor and contributor to the AMR pool. The purposes of use, pattern of antimicrobial drug administration, as well as the prevalence of AMR in Salmonella originating from the Nigeria broiler production value chain (NBPVC) was explored. A well-structured questionnaire on antimicrobial usage (n = 181) was used for sampling that focused on 21 antimicrobials from 151 locations. Simultaneously, AMR testing for 18 commonly used antimicrobials on Salmonella in humans was also carried out. Antimicrobial resistance Salmonella spp. were isolated in 23% of the samples (261 of 1135 samples from the broiler input, products, and the environment) using modified ISO 6579 and invA PCR protocols. Over 80% of the antimicrobials used in the NBPVC were administered without a veterinarian prescription. Prevalence of antimicrobial administration without prescription were as follows: live-bird-market (100%), hatchery (86.7%), grow-out-farm (75%), and breeder (66.7%). Widespread prophylactic and metaphylactic use of antimicrobials were recorded with the highest use seen for enrofloxacin (63% and 24%), tetracycline (58% and 33%), and erythromycin (50% and 17%). Antimicrobial resistance was highest for flumequine (100%), penicillin (95%), and perfloxacin (89%). High levels of use without laboratory support of a newer generation of a class of antibiotics suspected to confer high resistance on older generations of the same class (quinolones) was observed.

Global and regional IUCN Red List assessments: 7

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of four vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessments of Aurinialeucadea (Guss.) K.Koch, Chondrillachondrilloides (Ard.) H.Karst., Daphnecneorum L., and Ophioglossumazoricum C.Presl at regional level (Italy).

Investigation on the declining Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale, Odonata) in a Mediterranean population: survival rate and population size

Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840) is a damselfly classified as ‘Near Threatened’ by the Global IUCN Red List and as ‘Endangered’ in some parts of its range. The species is characterized by fragmented and declining populations with their core in the western Mediterranean and parts of western Europe. This study reported the first estimates of survival rate and population size for a southern European population of Coenagrion mercuriale living in central Italy. Surveys were carried out in 2017 in the peak of the flight period applying capture–recapture models. More than 1200 specimens were captured on 11 occasions and the sex ratio observed was male-biased (2.8:1). Daily survival probabilities ranged from 0.662 ± 0.059 to 0.868 ± 0.045. Maximum longevity was 14 days for males. The maximum number of estimated individuals on any day was 507.2 ± 49.6 for males, and 219.8 ± 27.7 for females in mid-June. The estimate of the cumulative population size was about 4000 specimens, with a mean density of 1.2 individuals/m2 at the breeding site. Our results pointed out that population ecology of the Southern Damselfly in central Italy is similar to that of the populations living in the northern limit of its range. The present study also indicated that monitoring plans, with seven marking occasions at least, can provide consistent estimations of population size, useful for evaluating the viability of populations and for assessing the species conservation status.

Floc-size effects of the pathogenic bacteria in a membrane bioreactor plant

The size nature of sludge flocs could affect the occurrence and distribution of bacterial pathogens in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this study, the floc-size dependence of bacterial pathogens in the activated sludge of a WWTP was investigated using high-throughput metagenomic sequencing approaches. The results showed that a total of 423 pathogenic species belonging to 123 genera were identified in the three size-fractionated flocs. Also, we found that all the pathogens on the WHO's global priority pathogens list were detected in the size-fractionated flocs, with relative abundance of 0.4%, 0.3% and 0.3% for large-size, medium-size and small-size flocs, respectively, indicating the severe human and environmental health risks of activated sludge. Importantly, our results revealed that the pathogenic species showed a clear floc-size dependent distribution manner, leading to significant differences (P < 0.05) of pathogenic communities among the size-fractionated flocs. Additionally, by partitioning pathogens based on the occurrence and significant difference in abundances, we suggested the following distribution features: 1) large flocs-associated pathogens, such as Borrelia recurrentis, Actinobacillus ureae and Campylobacter gracilis; 2) medium flocs-associated pathogens, such as Mycobacterium szulgai and Ureaplasma urealyticum; and 3) small flocs-associated pathogens, such as Rickettsia akari, Staphylococcus anginosus and Helicobacter cinaedi. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of pathogens in activated sludge, which is expected to aid in assessment and management of pathogen risks.

Mining Implicit Treatment Concepts for Neural Precision Medicine.

Precision medicine (PM) is regarded as an information retrieval (IR) task in which biomedical articles containing treatment information about specific diseases or genetic variants are retrieved in response to patient record for the purpose of providing medical evidence to the point-of-care. In existing PM approaches, manual keywords, such as "treatment" and "therapy," are considered direct indicators of treatment information and are thereby introduced to expand the original query. However, the common medical concepts that are implicitly related to treatment (such as "oncogene" and "tumor"), and differ the relevant documents from the non-relevant ones, are yet to be utilized. To bridge the gap, in this paper, we propose an extension of the state-of-the-art neural IR (NIR) models, including K-NRM and DRMM, to encapsulate the PM solutions within a neural network framework, referred to as NIR PM . Specifically, the proposed approach mines a global list of common medical concepts from documents that are judged pertinent to different queries. Thereafter, the mined implicit concepts are incorporated within an NIR framework to enhance the effectiveness of PM. The experimental results on the standard Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) PM track benchmark confirm the superior performance of the proposed NIRPM model.

A database of threat statuses and life-history traits of Red List species in Flanders (northern Belgium).

BackgroundRed Lists estimate the extinction risk of species at global or regional levels and are important instruments in conservation policies. Global Red List assessments are readily available via the IUCN website (https://www.iucnredlist.org) and are regularly updated by (taxonomic) experts. Regional Red Lists, however, are not always easy to find and often use local criteria to assess the local extinction risk of species.New informationHere, we publish a database with the outcome of 38 Red List assessments in Flanders (northern Belgium) between 1994 and 2018. In total, the database contains 6,224 records of 5,039 unique taxa pertaining to 24 different taxonomic groups. Using a quality control procedure, we evaluated the criteria used, the number of records, the temporal and spatial distribution of the data and the up-to-dateness of the Red Lists. This way, nineteen Red Lists were approved as being of sufficient high quality (i.e. validated) and nineteen others were not. Once validated, Red Lists are approved by the regional Minister of Environment and published in the Belgian Official Gazette acquiring legal status. For the validated Red Lists, we additionally compiled (life-history) traits that are applicable to a wide variety of species groups (taxonomic kingdom, environment, biotope, nutrient level, dispersal capacity, lifespan and cuddliness). The publication of this dataset allows comparison of Red List statuses with other European regions and countries and permits analyses about how certain (life-history) traits can explain the Red List status of species. The dataset will be regularly updated by adding new Red List (re)assessments and/or additional (life-history) traits.

Medium and large sized mammals of the Boqueirão da Onça, North of Bahia State, Brazil

The mosaic of protected areas of Boqueirão da Onça (8.636 km²), created in the north of Bahia state, is located in the Caatinga, an exclusively Brazilian biome, but exposed to a range of anthropic impacts that threaten its species and natural resources. Few data are available for various zoological groups in Caatinga, including mammals. In order to characterize the community of mammals of this region, considering species richness, we installed 80 camera-trap stations. With a sampling effort of 10,370 camera-days we recorded 28 species (22 wild and six domestic). Opportunistically, we recorded four mammals, resulting in a total richness of 32 species, five of which are included in the global list of endangered species, and seven in the national list. The results are significant, since the richness of wild mammals of the Boqueirão da Onça (S = 26) presented a high value when compared to other Caatinga localities. During the study we found evidence of human activities threatening the conservation of the region, such as poaching and deforestation. Therefore, there is an urgent need in the publication of the Management Plan of the recently created Boqueirão da Onça National Park, to minimize negative impacts on biodiversity and ensure the maintenance of ecological processes.

Two data pre-processing workflows to facilitate the discovery of biomarkers by 2D NMR metabolomics.

The pre-processing of analytical data in metabolomics must be considered as a whole to allow the construction of a global and unique object for any further simultaneous data analysis or multivariate statistical modelling. For 1D 1H-NMR metabolomics experiments, best practices for data pre-processing are well defined, but not yet for 2D experiments (for instance COSY in this paper). By considering the added value of a second dimension, the objective is to propose two workflows dedicated to 2D NMR data handling and preparation (the Global Peak List and Vectorization approaches) and to compare them (with respect to each other and with 1D standards). This will allow to detect which methodology is the best in terms of amount of metabolomic content and to explore the advantages of the selected workflow in distinguishing among treatment groups and identifying relevant biomarkers. Therefore, this paper explores both the necessity of novel 2D pre-processing workflows, the evaluation of their quality and the evaluation of their performance in the subsequent determination of accurate (2D) biomarkers. To select the more informative data source, MIC (Metabolomic Informative Content) indexes are used, based on clustering and inertia measures of quality. Then, to highlight biomarkers or critical spectral zones, the PLS-DA model is used, along with more advanced sparse algorithms (sPLS and L-sOPLS). Results are discussed according to two different experimental designs (one which is unsupervised and based on human urine samples, and the other which is controlled and based on spiked serum media). MIC indexes are shown, leading to the choice of the more relevant workflow to use thereafter. Finally, biomarkers are provided for each case and the predictive power of each candidate model is assessed with cross-validated measures of RMSEP. In conclusion, it is shown that no solution can be universally the best in every case, but that 2D experiments allow to clearly find relevant cross peak biomarkers even with a poor initial separability between groups. The MIC measures linked with the candidate workflows (2D GPL, 2D vectorization, 1D, and with specific parameters) lead to visualize which data set must be used as a priority to more easily find biomarkers. The diversity of data sources, mainly 1D versus 2D, may often lead to complementary or confirmatory results.

Acquisition of fluoroquinolone resistance in Campylobacter jejuni leads to an increase in biofilm formation and virulence

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis with over 550 million cases reported yearly. The World Health Organization has listed C. jejuni as one of 12 microorganisms on a global priority list for antibiotic resistance due to a rapid increase in the number of strains resistant to fluoroquinolone antibiotics. This fluoroquinolone resistance is conferred through a single point mutation in the QRDR region within the gyrA gene which is also involved in DNA supercoiling homeostasis. We recently revealed that changes in DNA topology play a major role in the regulation of virulence in C. jejuni with relaxation of DNA supercoiling associated with increased attachment to and invasion of human epithelial cells. The aim of this study was to investigate whether fluoroquinolone resistant strains of C. jejuni displayed altered supercoiling associated phenotypes. A panel of mutants were derived against nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin and shown to have a greater ability to form viable biofilms under aerobic conditions and that this phenotype was associated with changes in DNA supercoiling levels. These mutants were also shown to have an increased ability to attach to and invade epithelial cells in vitro and conferred an increase in the killing efficiency of Galleria mellonella. We report for the first time that fluoroquinolone resistance in C. jejuni is associated with an increase in virulence and the ability to form viable biofilms in oxygen rich environments. These altered phenotypes may play a critical role in the continued increase in fluoroquinolone resistance observed for this important pathogen.

Fifty shades of red: Lost or threatened bryophytes in Africa

Background: A Red List of threatened bryophytes is lacking for Africa. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Bryophyte Specialist Group has recently launched the ‘Top 10 Initiative’ to identify the 10 species on each continent that are at highest risk of extinction.Objectives: The main aim of this paper was to highlight some of the lost or strongly threatened bryophyte species in sub-Saharan Africa and the East African islands and to draw up a Top 10 list for Africa.Method: Lost or threatened species have been identified with the help of experts on the bryoflora of Africa, global and regional Red Lists and taxonomic literature. Each species on this candidate list is discussed at the hand of its taxonomy, distribution, habitat, threat and current global or regional Red List status as far as previously assessed.Results: Fifty bryophyte species, representing 40 genera and 23 families, have been identified as Top 10 candidates. Of these, 29 are endemic to Africa and 21 are restricted to the East African islands. The majority of the candidate species occur in one of eight ‘biodiversity hotspots’ with most species (19) in the Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands hotspot.Conclusion: This is the first list of lost or threatened bryophytes for Africa and the first Top 10 list of the IUCN Bryophyte Specialist Group. It represents an important step towards regional and global Red List assessment of bryophytes, thus meeting the targets of the Updated Global Strategy for Plant Conservation 2011–2020 and priorities of The Shenzhen Declaration on Plant Sciences.

Transboundary mammals in the Americas: Asymmetries in protection challenge climate change resilience

AbstractAimTransboundary conservation is key to addressing poleward range shifts that will result from climate change. At a species level, transboundary coordination may be hindered by inter‐country differences in protection of species. We explored how commonly mammal ranges in the Americas were transboundary, identified transboundary mammals whose poleward versus equatorial range limits fell in different countries and examined asymmetries in listing status of mammals.LocationThe Americas.MethodsWe intersected mammal ranges with country boundaries to identify transboundary species. We then determined the conservation status of mammals at the national level by compiling a database of all national‐level listing status documents across the Americas and at the global level through use of the IUCN Red List database.ResultsOver 62% (1,114 species) of mammals were transboundary in any cardinal direction, and over 50% (850 species) had poleward and equatorial range limits in different countries. Of those 850, 26% experienced asymmetric listing, with one range limit designated at a higher listing status than the other at the national level. Mismatches between national and global listing also were apparent at equatorial and poleward range edges. These same general patterns held when our analyses were restricted to globally at‐risk mammals.Main ConclusionsAlthough listing status of a species does not necessarily equate to actual level of protection, these results demonstrate that formal listings of species vary substantially across country boundaries, and in particular at the latitudinal range extremes. Asymmetries in listing could indicate that species are under less threat in one country compared to another or could reflect different levels of concern in the two countries although population status is similar. Regardless, asymmetries in listing could challenge cross‐border connectivity and climate change resilience in the face of species range shifts and indicate the need for greater transboundary coordination in species management.

Comparative Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Reveal Multiple Pathways Associated with Polymyxin Killing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Polymyxins are a last-line therapy against multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa; however, resistance to polymyxins has been increasingly reported. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of polymyxin activity and resistance is crucial for preserving their clinical usefulness. This study employed comparative metabolomics and transcriptomics to investigate the responses of polymyxin-susceptible P. aeruginosa PAK (polymyxin B MIC, 1 mg/liter) and its polymyxin-resistant pmrB mutant PAKpmrB6 (MIC, 16 mg/liter) to polymyxin B (4, 8, and 128 mg/liter) at 1, 4, and 24 h, respectively. Our results revealed that polymyxin B at 4 mg/liter induced different metabolic and transcriptomic responses between polymyxin-susceptible and -resistant P. aeruginosa. In strain PAK, polymyxin B significantly activated PmrAB and the mediated arn operon, leading to increased 4-amino-4-deoxy-L-arabinose (L-Ara4N) synthesis and the addition to lipid A. In contrast, polymyxin B did not increase lipid A modification in strain PAKpmrB6. Moreover, the syntheses of lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan were significantly decreased in strain PAK but increased in strain PAKpmrB6 due to polymyxin B treatment. In addition, 4 mg/liter polymyxin B significantly perturbed phospholipid and fatty acid levels and induced oxidative stress in strain PAK, but not in PAKpmrB6. Notably, the increased trehalose-6-phosphate levels indicate that polymyxin B potentially caused osmotic imbalance in both strains. Furthermore, 8 and 128 mg/liter polymyxin B significantly elevated lipoamino acid levels and decreased phospholipid levels but without dramatic changes in lipid A modification in wild-type and mutant strains, respectively. Overall, this systems study is the first to elucidate the complex and dynamic interactions of multiple cellular pathways associated with the polymyxin mode of action against P. aeruginosa. IMPORTANCE Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been highlighted by the recent WHO Global Priority Pathogen List due to multidrug resistance. Without new antibiotics, polymyxins remain a last-line therapeutic option for this difficult-to-treat pathogen. The emergence of polymyxin resistance highlights the growing threat to our already very limited antibiotic armamentarium and the urgency to understand the exact mechanisms of polymyxin activity and resistance. Integration of the correlative metabolomics and transcriptomics results in the present study discovered that polymyxin treatment caused significant perturbations in the biosynthesis of lipids, lipopolysaccharide, and peptidoglycan, central carbon metabolism, and oxidative stress. Importantly, lipid A modifications were surprisingly rapid in response to polymyxin treatment at clinically relevant concentrations. This is the first study to reveal the dynamics of polymyxin-induced cellular responses at the systems level, which highlights that combination therapy should be considered to minimize resistance to the last-line polymyxins. The results also provide much-needed mechanistic information which potentially benefits the discovery of new-generation polymyxins.

Antibiotic resistance trends of ESKAPE pathogens in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa: A five-year retrospective analysis.

BackgroundTo combat antimicrobial resistance, the World Health Organization developed a global priority pathogen list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria for prioritisation of research and development of new, effective antibiotics.ObjectiveThis study describes a five-year resistance trend analysis of the ESKAPE pathogens: Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp., from Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.MethodsThis retrospective study used National Health Laboratory Services data on 64 502 ESKAPE organisms isolated between 2011 and 2015. Susceptibility trends were ascertained from minimum inhibitory concentrations and interpreted using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines.ResultsS. aureus was most frequently isolated (n = 24, 495, 38%), followed by K. pneumoniae (n = 14, 282, 22%). Decreasing rates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (28% to 18%, p < 0.001) and increasing rates of extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing K. pneumoniae (54% to 65% p < 0.001) were observed. Carbapenem resistance among K. pneumoniae and Enterobacter spp. was less than 6% during 2011–2014, but increased from 4% in 2014 to 16% in 2015 (p < 0.001) among K. pneumoniae. P. aeruginosa increased (p = 0.002), but resistance to anti-pseudomonal antimicrobials decreased from 2013 to 2015. High rates of multi-drug resistance were observed in A. baumanni (> 70%).ConclusionThis study describes the magnitude of antimicrobial resistance in KwaZulu-Natal and provides a South African perspective on antimicrobial resistance in the global priority pathogen list, signalling the need for initiation or enhancement of antimicrobial stewardship and infection control measures locally.

Anuran Distribution in a Highly Diverse Region of the Atlantic Forest: The Mantiqueira Mountain Range in Southeastern Brazil

We present a synthesis of anuran diversity and distribution in the Mantiqueira Mountain Range, one of the largest mountain ranges occurring within the Atlantic Forest biome of Brazil. We assembled a species list based on the examination of 16,893 specimens housed in 10 herpetological collections and data compiled from the literature. We developed minimum convex polygons for each species to determine their degree of association with the mountain range, and assessed distribution patterns considering species presence–absence in nearby geomorphological units. The northern and southern sectors of the mountain range were examined for differences in species composition, accounting for possible effects of the main vegetation types of the range. We recorded 234 anuran species (∼23% of total anuran richness for Brazil), including 143 core species, 89 species of marginal occurrence, and 2 species with an undetermined degree of association because of taxonomic uncertainties. Of these species, 91 were widespread and occur throughout the Atlantic Forest and in other regions, 53 were not widespread but range into neighboring geomorphological units, and 88 were endemic species. The northern and southern sectors of the mountain range differed in species composition, which was influenced by the different vegetation types. Thirty-nine endemic species were restricted to the southern sector, whereas 45 occurred only in the northern sector, indicating that these sectors potentially represent distinct biogeographic units with regard to the anurans. We found 14 species that are listed among the categories of both global and national lists of threatened species and 10 species whose most recent records date from at least 30 yr ago. Our study confirms that the Mantiqueira Range is a critical region for anuran endemism and conservation in the Atlantic Forest, and provides a baseline for future biogeographic, taxonomic, and macroecological studies.

A global priority list of the TOp TEn resistant Microorganisms (TOTEM) study at intensive care: a prioritization exercise based on multi-criteria decision analysis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a global priority pathogen list (PPL) of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Our current objective was to provide global expert ranking of the most serious MDR bacteria present at intensive care units (ICU) that have become a threat in clinical practice. A proposal addressing a PPL for ICU, arising from the WHO Global PPL, was developed. Based on the supporting data, the pathogens were grouped in three priority tiers: critical, high, and medium. A multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was used to identify the priority tiers. After MCDA, mortality, treatability, and cost of therapy were of highest concern (scores of 19/20, 19/20, and 15/20, respectively) while dealing with PPL, followed by healthcare burden and resistance prevalence. Carbapenem-resistant (CR) Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenemase-expressing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC), and MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa were identified as critical organisms. High-risk organisms were represented by CR Pseudomonas aeruginosa, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) Enterobacteriaceae. Finally, ESBL Serratia marcescens, vancomycin-resistant Enterococci, and TMP-SMX-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were identified as medium priority. We conclude that education, investigation, funding, and development of new antimicrobials for ICU organisms should focus on carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms.

Current, emerging and potential pest threats to Sitka spruce plantations and the role of pest risk analysis in preventing new pest introductions to Ireland

Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is the predominant tree species used in Irish forestry, comprising over 50 per cent of the forest estate. The island of Ireland is free of many of the most damaging pests and diseases of spruce present in Europe, and consequently forest stands of Sitka spruce are generally healthy and productive. FORM is a research project with the aim to enhance productivity and pest and disease resistance to key forest species in Ireland. It includes a work package to identify and risk analyse threats to Sitka spruce. A global pest list of spruce was compiled and identified over 1000 pests and potential pests of spruce. Using the pest list as a starting point, this review examines the major pests of Sitka spruce both in its native range in the Pacific Northwest of North America and within Europe where it is grown as an exotic. It also reviews emerging pests and diseases of spruces in general that may threaten Sitka spruce plantations in Ireland. Details of how pest risk analysis of these threats can aid in their continued exclusion are discussed.

Intangibles and performance in oil and gas industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which financial and market performance of companies in the oil and gas sector can be attributed to the value of their intangibles.Design/methodology/approachThe research utilized publicly available data on global oil and gas companies from 2000 to 2015. Panel data analysis was used to assess the relationship between intangibles (measured by Calculated Intangible Value (CIV)) and financial and market performance of these companies.FindingsResults show that intangibles had a significant impact on firm performance in multiple financial measures. Firms’ intangibles also influence their market capitalization, indicating that the financial markets discount such information in their pricing.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the impact of intangibles on corporate performance is found to be significant, the size of that impact is small, suggesting that significant increase in the size of intangibles would only lead to a modest increase in corporate performance. Additionally, the research sample was limited to the top oil and gas firms listed in the Fortune 2000 global list and limits the generalization of the findings. Despite these limitations, the research provides greater confidence in using CIV to assess intangibles in organizations.Practical implicationsThis research highlights the importance and ways of measurement of intangibles for managers in oil and gas companies and its significance for their firms’ performance.Originality/valueThe paper fills the gap in the literature in the assessment of intangibles in the oil and gas sector, as well as in the assessment of using CIV to measure the impact of intangibles on company performance.

PCN231 - PRICING, AVAILABILITY, AFFORDABILITY, PRICE COMPONENTS OF ESSENTIAL ANTICANCER MEDICINES IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

To investigate the price, availability, affordability and price components of essential anticancer medicines in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The survey assessed the pricing, availability, affordability and price components of essential anticancer medicines using the standardized WHO/HAI methodology. Data on the availability and patient prices of 17 anticancer medicines for both lowest priced generics (LPGs) and innovator brands (IBs) –15 from the global core list, and 2 supplementary anticancer medicines were collected from 2 national oncology Centers and 5 private pharmacies. Government procurement prices were collected from public procurement agency. Price component survey was conducted to identify various components contributing to the final patient medicine price. Median Price Ratios (MPR) were computed and the daily wage of lowest unskilled government worker used to assess affordability of the medicines. Cross sector and cross country comparison of prices and affordability was performed to reflect situations. The Mean availability of LPG anticancer medicines were fairly high (56.9%) in public but low (18.8%) in private sector. Generics were the only product type available in both sectors. The MPR, the public sector procuring LPGs, was 1.10 times the international reference prices. LPG anticancer medicines were sold at 1.29 and 2.62 times the international reference prices in the public and private sector respectively. Patient prices were increased by 45.3 % as a result of add-on costs in public sector and manufacturer selling price was the top contributor. However, these patient prices were 94.5% lower compared to private. The lowest price generics in both sectors were not affordable. International Comparison indicated better availability, higher prices, and worse affordability of anticancer medicines in Ethiopia than most of the other countries included in the analysis. Mixes of policies need to be implemented to make essential anticancer medicines more available and affordable particularly for the low income group of the population.