Infection surveillance definitions for long-term care facilities (ie, the McGeer Criteria) have not been updated since 1991. An expert consensus panel modified these definitions on the basis of a structured review of the literature. Significant changes were made to the criteria defining urinary tract and respiratory tract infections. New definitions were added for norovirus gastroenteritis and Clostridum difficile infections.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012;33(10):965-977

Low color, space environmentally stable, polymeric materials with sufficient electrical conductivity for static charge dissipation are of interest for potential applications on Gossamer spacecraft. One method of imparting electrical conductivity while maintaining optical clarity is through the use of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Both theory and research on SWNTs have shown them to be conductive. However, SWNTs are very difficult to uniformly disperse in a polymer. The approach described herein was to use oligomers endcapped with functional groups that could condense with functionalities present on purified, laser ablated SWNTs. Low color, radiation resistant amide acid oligomers endcapped with trialkoxysilane groups were combined with SWNTs. Since the SWNTs were purified by an oxidative process (nitric/sulfuric acid treatment), they have functionalities such as hydroxyl and carboxylic acid groups that can condense with the terminal alkoxysilane groups. After mixing at room temperature, the mixtures were used to cast films that were subsequently stage-cured up to 300°C for 1 hour in air. During this thermal treatment, imidization and condensation occurred. The chemistry, physical, and mechanical properties of the resulting nancomposite films will be presented.

Establishing a clinical diagnosis of infection in residents of long-term–care facilities (LTCFs) is difficult. As a result, deciding when to initiate antibiotics can be particularly challenging. This article describes the establishment of minimum criteria for the initiation of antibiotics in residents of LTCFs. Experts in this area were invited to participate in a consensus conference. Using a modified delphi approach, a questionnaire and selected relevant articles were sent to participants who were asked to rank individual signs and symptoms with respect to their relative importance. Using the results of the weighting by participants, a modification of the nominal group process was used to achieve consensus. Criteria for initiating antibiotics for skin and soft-tissue infections, respiratory infections, urinary infections, and fever where the focus of infection is unknown were developed.