• Ferguson Gillespie posted an update 2 days, 11 hours ago

    PMMTF reconstruction is a simple, feasible, and effective treatment of DSWI after cardiac surgery in infants and children, with minimal developmental problems.To enable diagnosis of hyperkalemia from the perimortem blood sample, we aim to describe the natural dynamics of blood potassium [K+ ] in patients dying after withdrawal of care while in an intensive care unit. In a nested sub-study of international Death Prediction and Physiology after Removal of Therapy (DePPaRT) project, we obtained serial whole-blood samples and analyzed ions and acid-base parameters in 23 patients just before life-sustaining treatment withdrawal, at the time of death, and after 5 and 30 min after death. Of the 631 patients in the DePPaRT study, we obtained consent and enrolled 23 subjects in the [K+ ] sub-study (12 M, 11F, aged 73 ± 14 years), mostly dying from irreversible brain damage or multi-organ failure. Blood [K+ ] rose from the median 4.3 (IQR 3.9; 4.8) mEq/L at treatment withdrawal to 5.2 (IQR 5.0; 6.8) mEq/L at death and then to 5.85 (IQR 5.2; 6.8) mEq/L after 30 min (mean rise of +0.64 mEq.L-1 .h-1 ). These changes were associated with progressive lactic and hypercapnic acidemia. After correcting the measured [K+] for pH by subtracting 0.6 mEq/L from [K+] for every 0.1 pH decrease from 7.40, the calculated [K+] remained normal or decreased from that measured at treatment withdrawal. In contrast to the late autolysis phase, the early changes of blood [K+ ] after death are slow and can be fully explained by progressive acidemia. Our data suggest that the diagnosis of hyperkalemia at death from a blood sample obtained within 30 min after death can be made by adjusting the [K+] concentration to a pH 7.40.Blood group analysis has evolved from conventional “test-tube” to ingenious “lab-on-a-chip” micro/paper-fluidic devices for identifying blood phenotypes. Despite the rapid and economical fabrication of these devices, they require Whatman paper that is obtained by cutting down trees and plastic usage involving complex and sophisticated facilities, making scalable manufacturing laborious and expensive. Most importantly, deforestation and plastic incineration pose great threats to the biotic and abiotic environments. Here, we have developed a blood grouping strip utilizing fish-scale waste and household cardboard-waste generated origami as an affordable and sustainable strategy. The naturally inherited hydrophilicity of fish scale with a contact angle of 89° could succinctly auto-stabilize low-volume antisera without the aid of additives. Moreover, unlike paperfluidics, antisera absorption, as well as RBC-antisera agglutination upon blood introduction, happens on the spot with no capillary wicking. The merits of our technique are it requires a low amount of blood (3 μL), eliminates additional image processing and assays, is equipment-free, and aids accurate blood typing as a visual hemagglutination readout. Additionally, a high tensile strength of ∼85 ± 5 MPa and the shelf-endurance of the bio-disc allowed us to use the simplest cardboard origami as a shield, obviating plastic and fiber generated fancy shields, making our device portable and simultaneously biodegradable. Our novel bio-disc blood analysis was tested with anonymous blood samples (n = 200), with an accuracy comparable to a standard blood group assay. This zero-cost paper, plastic-free eco-friendly blood group analyser derived from biodegradable food and cardboard waste as a resourceful technique has huge potential in various sensors and point-of-care diagnostics, especially in impoverished areas with limited or no lab facilities.

    This study aimed to evaluate the effect of self-efficacy and automatic thoughts on depression as mediated by anxiety in nursing students.

    This was a descriptive study to identify direct and indirect variables that affect depression levels of nursing students and to examine the relationship between independent variables. A total of 477 students from the Nursing Department participated in the study.

    As a result of the data analysis, the direct effect of self-efficacy and automatic thoughts on depression was found to be significant. The effect of automatic thoughts on depression as mediated by anxiety was significant.

    It is thought that understanding the relationship between these variables will be useful in designing appropriate interventions for university students with depression, especially for nursing students.

    It is thought that understanding the relationship between these variables will be useful in designing appropriate interventions for university students with depression, especially for nursing students.

    To verify the differences in ankle range of motion (ROM), muscle strength of dorsi and plantar flexors, and gait speed among healthy subjects, and patients with chronic venous disorders (CVD) with and without venous leg ulcer.

    A systematic review and meta-analysis (http//osf.io/b7n3k) were conducted following a search of MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, LILACS, Scopus, and EMBASE databases.

    Eight papers were included. The ankle ROM was significantly lower both in dorsiflexion and plantar flexion in patients with venous leg ulcer when compared to healthy individuals and CVD patients without venous leg ulcer. The muscle strength of the plantar flexors and gait speed were reduced in CVD patients when compared to healthy ones.

    Impaired muscle strength and gait speed can be detected in CVD patients compared to healthy individuals, and ankle ROM tends to be reduced in CVD patients even in the absence of venous leg ulcers.

    Impaired muscle strength and gait speed can be detected in CVD patients compared to healthy individuals, and ankle ROM tends to be reduced in CVD patients even in the absence of venous leg ulcers.

    Unknown or idiopathic infertility has been associated with urogenital tract dysbiosis, reducing pregnancy and delivery ratios during assisted reproductive treatments (ART). selleck products The Ligilactobacillus salivarius PS11610 strain has shown extraordinary antimicrobial activity in vitro against urogenital pathogens as well as other probiotic characteristics. Therefore, an intervention study was performed to evaluate the effect of L. salivarius PS11610 on the microbial composition of urogenital tract in infertile couples with bacterial dysbiosis.

    Seventeen couples undergoing ART diagnosed with unknown infertility were selected. After confirming urogenital dysbiosis, they started a 6-month treatment with L. salivarius PS11610 (1 dose/12 h for female and 1 dose/24 h for male). Vaginal, seminal, glans, uterine and plasma samples were collected for determination of the microbiome and immune profile at the beginning and the end of the treatment.

    Supplementation with L. salivarius PS11610 significantly modified the urogenital microbiome composition in male and female samples, solving dysbiosis of 67% of the couples. Pathogens disappeared from the vaginal samples whereas Lactobacilli percentage increased after 3 and 6 months of treatment. Moreover, L. salivarius PS11610 changed the uterine microbiome that could be associated with a change of the uterine immune profile. Additionally, the probiotic intake could be associated with the observed change in the systemic immunological profile of couples. Finally, the pregnant and delivery ratio were improved.

    Probiotic supplementation with L. salivarius PS11610 improved the male and female urogenital tract microbiome, modulating the immune system and increasing pregnancy success in couples undergoing ART.

    Probiotic supplementation with L. salivarius PS11610 improved the male and female urogenital tract microbiome, modulating the immune system and increasing pregnancy success in couples undergoing ART.In this work, novel dual-mode lab-on-paper devices based on in situ grown WO3/BiVO4 heterojunctions onto cellulose fibers, as signal amplification probes, were successfully fabricated by the integration of photoelectrochemical (PEC)/colorimetric analysis technologies into a paper sensing platform for the ultrasensitive detection of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Specifically, to achieve an impressive PEC performance of the lab-on-paper device, the WO3/BiVO4 heterojunction was in situ grown onto the surface of cellulose fibers assisted with Au nanoparticle (Au NP) functionalization for enhancing the conductivity of the working zone of the device. With the target concentration increased, more immune conjugates could be captured by the proposed paper photoelectrode, which could lead to a quantitative decrease in the photocurrent intensity, eventually realizing the accurate PEC signal readout. To meet the requirement of end-user application, a colorimetric signal readout system was designed for the lab-on-paper device based on the color reaction of 3,3’5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) oxidized by WO3/BiVO4 nanoflowers in the presence of H2O2. Noticeably, it is the first time that the WO3/BiVO4 heterojunction is in situ grown onto cellulose fibers, which enhances the sensitivity in view of both their PEC activity and catalytic ability. By controlling the conversion process of hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity on the lab-on-paper device combined with diverse origami methods, the dual-mode PEC/colorimetric signal output for the ultrasensitive AFP detection was realized. Under optimal conditions, the proposed dual-mode lab-on-paper device could enable the sensitive PEC/colorimetric diagnosis of AFP in the linear range of 0.09-100 ng mL-1 and 5-100 ng mL-1 with the limit of detection of 0.03 and 1.47 ng mL-1, respectively.While research shows that adult intimate partner violence (IPV) and harsh parenting of children co-occur, less information is available about whether specific types or patterns of IPV create greater risk for harsh parenting, and whether these patterns vary by gender. This study used latent class analysis (LCA) to examine unique patterns of IPV perpetration and victimization among men and women, and variation across patterns by gender, parenting status, and harsh parenting of children. Data are from the Lehigh Longitudinal study (n = 332). LCA produced four classes of IPV perpetration and victimization (Minor Psychological; None; Moderate; and Severe), which were invariant by gender. Although any level of IPV was associated with an increase in harsh parenting, patterns of IPV characterized by a greater number of and more severe types, were particularly associated with the use of harsh parenting toward their children for both mothers and fathers. Parents were overrepresented in all IPV classes compared to the No-IPV class. Results suggest the need for more broad screening and increased supports for parents that are tailored to different levels of need.

    The objective is to evaluate the prognostic value of serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) as a tumor marker in patients with cervical cancer.

    Sixty-seven patients with cervical cancer treated at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital from September 2014 to May 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Serum HE4 levels were measured by immunoassay before starting primary treatment. A mean serum HE4 level of 72.6 pmol/L was used to divide the patients into low and high HE4 groups. Patient characteristics, clinicopathological variables, and survival outcomes were compared between the two groups.

    The low and high HE4 groups included 55 (82.1%) and 12 (17.9%) patients at diagnosis, respectively. Higher HE4 levels were significantly associated with older age at diagnosis (age <50 .0% vs age ≥50 100.0%; P = .002), menopause (premenopause 8.3% vs postmenopause 91.7%; P = .009), higher FIGO stage (stage I-II 33.3% vs III-IV 66.7%; P = .017), large tumor size (<4.0cm 41.7% vs ≥4.0cm 58.3%; P = .029), positive lymph node metastasis (negative 41.