Anatomical features of renal artery in a black Kenyan population: Correlation with markers of atherosclerosis

Knowledge of anatomical features of the renal artery is important in prediction,  management and control of atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis. These features show population variations but data from black African populations are scarce. The aim of this study was therefore to describe the anatomical features of the renal artery in a black Kenyan population. Six hundred and ten (610) single renal arteries from 305 adult black Kenyans [206 males, 99 females; age range 22 – 79 years] were studied by dissection at Department of Human Anatomy, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Specimens with macroscopic features of stenosis and dilatation were excluded. The implantation angle, length and branching pattern were studied. These features were correlated with intima-media thickness and luminal diameter. The  latter were determined by micrometry on Eosin/hematoxylin stained 5 micron  sections obtained from the proximal segment of the renal artery. Data was analysed by SPSS version 16.0. Student’s t-test, was used to test for statistical significance at 95% confidence interval where P value of < 0.05 was taken as significant. The results are presented in a bar graph, tables and macrographs. The mean  implantation angle was 940±150 (range 580-1250). In 26.7% cases, the angle was more than 1000. Mean length was 34±1.4 mm with 21.6 % of arteries measuring ≤ 20 mm. Variant branching pattern was present in 40.5 % of cases. It comprised trifurcation (33 %), quadrifurcation (6.6 %) and pentafurcation (0.8 %). Higher implantation angle, short arteries and variant branching were associated with  statistically significant higher intima - media thickness and luminal diameter. These results suggest that higher implantation angle, shorter length and variant branching pattern constitute geometric risk factors for renal artery atherosclerosis.  Ultrasound screening for individuals with suboptimal geometric features for renal artery atherosclerosis is recommended.Keywords: anatomical risk factors, atherosclerosis, renal arter

Flexible Wearable Antenna on Electromagnetic Band Gap using PDMS substrate

A robust and low-profile electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) based on flexible wearable antenna covering 2.4 GHz frequency band is presented. The incorporated EBG with antenna reduces the  radiation into the human body around 17 dB and decreases the impacts of frequency detuning. The overall dimension of the antenna integrated with EBG is 56 x 56 x 4 mm3 with relative impedance bandwidth of 8.3% is achieved. The proposed design has improved the gain up to 7 dBi. Specific absorption rate (SAR) assessment is also studied to certify the performance of the antenna when it is located proximity to human tissue. The flexible antenna with aforementioned performances could be chosen as a good candidate for integration into a range of wearable devices for medical application

Acute ischaemic stroke associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in North America

BACKGROUND: To analyse the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 with acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) and identify factors predicting functional outcome. METHODS: Multicentre retrospective cohort study of COVID-19 patients with AIS who presented to 30 stroke centres in the USA and Canada between 14 March and 30 August 2020. The primary endpoint was poor functional outcome, defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) of 5 or 6 at discharge. Secondary endpoints include favourable outcome (mRS ≤2) and mortality at discharge, ordinal mRS (shift analysis), symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage (sICH) and occurrence of in-hospital complications. RESULTS: A total of 216 COVID-19 patients with AIS were included. 68.1% (147/216) were older than 60 years, while 31.9% (69/216) were younger. Median [IQR] National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at presentation was 12.5 (15.8), and 44.2% (87/197) presented with large vessel occlusion (LVO). Approximately 51.3% (98/191) of the patients had poor outcomes with an observed mortality rate of 39.1% (81/207). Age \u3e60 years (aOR: 5.11, 95% CI 2.08 to 12.56, p\u3c0.001), diabetes mellitus (aOR: 2.66, 95% CI 1.16 to 6.09, p=0.021), higher NIHSS at admission (aOR: 1.08, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.14, p=0.006), LVO (aOR: 2.45, 95% CI 1.04 to 5.78, p=0.042), and higher NLR level (aOR: 1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.11, p=0.028) were significantly associated with poor functional outcome. CONCLUSION: There is relationship between COVID-19-associated AIS and severe disability or death. We identified several factors which predict worse outcomes, and these outcomes were more frequent compared to global averages. We found that elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, rather than D-Dimer, predicted both morbidity and mortality

Absence of Membrane Phosphatidylcholine Does Not Affect Virulence and Stress Tolerance Phenotypes in the Opportunistic Pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa

During growth in presence of choline, both laboratory and clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains synthesize phosphatidylcholine (PC), and PC makes up ∼4% of the total membrane phospholipid content. In all the strains tested, PC synthesis occurred only when choline is provided exogenously. Mutants defective in synthesis of PC were generated in the strain backgrounds PAO1 and PA14. Minimum inhibitory concentration studies testing sensitivity of PC-deficient strains towards various antibiotics and cationic antimicrobial peptides revealed no differences as compared to wild-type strains. Mutants incapable of synthesizing PC were also found to be unaffected in motility and biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces, colonization of biotic surfaces and virulence in a mouse infection model. A global phenotypic microarray was further used to identify conditions wherein membrane PC may play a role of in P. aeruginosa. No culture conditions were identified wherein wild-type and PC-deficient mutants showed phenotypic differences. Membrane PC may serve a highly specific role during P. aeruginosa interactions with its eukaryotic hosts based on all the clinical strains tested retaining the ability to synthesize it during availability of choline

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Measurement of the top quark mass using charged particles in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Strains and primers used in this study.

<p>Strains and primers used in this study.</p

Phospholipid profiles of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> strains grown in rich and minimal media.

<p>Separation of phospholipids by 1-D thin layer chromatography and detection by charring with sulphuric acid-methanol solution (1∶19, v/v) is shown. (A) Panel showing complementation of the PAO1 and PA14 Δ<i>pcs</i> deletion mutants with <i>pcs</i> gene expressed in trans at a separate genomic location (<i>att</i>::<i>pcs</i>). Phospholipids were extracted from PAO1 and PA14 strains grown overnight in MOPS-20mM choline. (B) Phospholipid profiles of PAO1 and PA14 strains grown overnight in LB, MOPS-20mM glucose and MOPS-20mM choline. TLC spots corresponding to PC are shown as black arrowheads. The nature of the spot corresponding to white arrowheads is observed under all growth conditions just above the PC migration front remains unknown. This spot has been observed under all growth conditions, regardless of the presence of choline in the medium. Panels A and B are representative images of observations from three independent experiments. (Slight differences in the migration fronts of PL standards and the extracted phospholipids are likely a result of their acyl chains varying in lengths and saturation levels).</p