Epidemiology and outcomes of candidemia in 2019 patients: data from the prospective antifungal therapy alliance registry.

BACKGROUND: Candidemia remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the health care setting, and the epidemiology of Candida infection is changing. METHODS: Clinical data from patients with candidemia were extracted from the Prospective Antifungal Therapy (PATH) Alliance database, a comprehensive registry that collects information regarding invasive fungal infections. A total of 2019 patients, enrolled from 1 July 2004 through 5 March 2008, were identified. Data regarding the candidemia episode were analyzed, including the specific fungal species and patient survival at 12 weeks after diagnosis. RESULTS: The incidence of candidemia caused by non-Candida albicans Candida species (54.4%) was higher than the incidence of candidemia caused by C. albicans (45.6%). The overall, crude 12-week mortality rate was 35.2%. Patients with Candida parapsilosis candidemia had the lowest mortality rate (23.7%; P CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiology and choice of therapy for candidemia are rapidly changing. Additional study is warranted to differentiate host factors and differences in virulence among Candida species and to determine the best therapeutic regimen

A preliminary study into the criterion validity of the modified Modified Ashworth scale using the new measure of the alpha motoneuron excitability in spastic hemiplegia

The Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) is the most widely used clinical test for the measurement of muscle spasticity. This scale that suffers from limitations and lack of reliability and validity has recently been remodified. The aim of the present study is to investigate the criterion validity of the new Modified MAS(MMAS) in the upper limb in post-stroke hemiplegia, using the Hslope/Mslope (Hslp/Mslp) as a novel index of alpha motor neuron excitability. Prior to the validity study, the reliability of the MMAS was evaluated in 30 hemiplegic patients. The raters agreed on 23 patients (0.76). The MMAS had good inter-rater reliability (κ= 0.63, SE = 0.11, p 0.05): There was also no relationship between the clinical scale of MMAS and either the traditional Hmax/ Mmax ratio (r = -0.06) or the new index Hslp/Mslp (r = 0.24) of spinal excitability. This preliminary study recruited a small number of patients, and failed to confirm a linear correlation between these variables. A study with a larg number of patients is suggested to clarify the outcome

Short-term effect of kinesiology taping on pain, functional disability and lumbar proprioception in individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain: a double-blinded, randomized trial

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of kinesiology taping (KT) on lumbar proprioception, pain, and functional disability in individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain (CLBP). Methods: Thirty individuals with nonspecific CLBP participated in this double-blinded, randomized clinical trial from July 2017 to September 2018. The participants were randomized into two groups: KT (n = 15) and placebo group (n = 15). KT was applied with 15�25 tension for 72 h, and placebo taping was used without tension. Lumbar repositioning error was measured by a bubble inclinometer at three different angles (45° and 60° flexion, and 15° extension) in upright standing. Pain and disability were assessed by the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire and Oswestry Disability Index, respectively. All measurements were recorded at baseline and 3 days after taping. Results: Pain and disability scores reduced 3 days after taping in the KT group with large effect sizes (p 0.05). Also, only constant error of 15° extension showed a moderate correlation with disability (r = 0.39, p = 0.02). Conclusion: KT can decrease pain and disability scores after 3 days of application. Although placebo taping can reduce pain, the effect of KT is higher than placebo taping. The findings do not support the therapeutic effect of KT and placebo taping as a tool to enhance lumbar proprioception in patients with nonspecific CLBP. Trial registration: The study prospectively registered on 21.05.2018 at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: IRCT20090301001722N20. © 2020, The Author(s)

Corrigendum to �Reliability of digital photography for assessing lower extremity alignment in individuals with flatfeet and normal feet types� J. Bodyw. Mov. Ther. 21 (2017) 704�710(S1360859216302790)(10.1016/j.jbmt.2016.12.006)

The authors regret that affiliation b was incorrect in the published paper �Reliability of digital photography for assessing lower extremity alignment in individuals with flatfeet and normal feet types� Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies 21 (2017) 704�710. This affiliation is correct above. The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused. © 201

Focal-Plane Change Triggered Video Compression for Low-Power Vision Sensor Systems

Video sensors with embedded compression offer significant energy savings in transmission but incur energy losses in the complexity of the encoder. Energy efficient video compression architectures for CMOS image sensors with focal-plane change detection are presented and analyzed. The compression architectures use pixel-level computational circuits to minimize energy usage by selectively processing only pixels which generate significant temporal intensity changes. Using the temporal intensity change detection to gate the operation of a differential DCT based encoder achieves nearly identical image quality to traditional systems (4dB decrease in PSNR) while reducing the amount of data that is processed by 67% and reducing overall power consumption reduction of 51%. These typical energy savings, resulting from the sparsity of motion activity in the visual scene, demonstrate the utility of focal-plane change triggered compression to surveillance vision systems

A review of friction models in interacting joints for durability design.

This paper presents a comprehensive review of friction modelling to provide an understanding of design for durability within interacting systems. Friction is a complex phenomenon and occurs at the interface of two components in relative motion. Over the last several decades, the effects of friction and its modelling techniques have been of significant interests in terms of industrial applications. There is however a need to develop a unified mathematical model for friction to inform design for durability within the context of varying operational conditions. Classical dynamic mechanisms model for the design of control systems has not incorporated friction phenomena due to non-linearity behaviour. Therefore, the tribological performance concurrently with the joint dynamics of a manipulator joint applied in hazardous environments needs to be fully analysed. Previously the dynamics and impact models used in mechanical joints with clearance have also been examined. The inclusion of reliability and durability during the design phase is very important for manipulators which are deployed in harsh environmental and operational conditions. The revolute joint is susceptible to failures such as in heavy manipulators these revolute joints can be represented by lubricated conformal sliding surfaces. The presence of pollutants such as debris and corrosive constituents has the potential to alter the contacting surfaces, would in turn affect the performance of revolute joints, and puts both reliability and durability of the systems at greater risks of failure. Key literature is identified and a review on the latest developments of the science of friction modelling is presented here. This review is based on a large volume of knowledge. Gaps in the relevant field have been identified to capitalise on for future developments. Therefore, this review will bring significant benefits to researchers, academics and industrial professionals