Investigating the Effect of Road Characteristics on Pedestrian and Bike Crash Frequency

M.S

INCORPORATING USE INSPIRED DESIGN IN PROVIDING SAFE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FOR RITI COMMUNITIES

In this study, we focus on automating road marking extraction from the HDOT MLS point cloud database, managed by Mandli. Mandli is a company specializing in highway data collection, including LiDAR. Mandli has cooperated with various Department of Transportation throughout the United States. Here, we focus on infrastructure elements related to non-motorized travel modes, supporting the ongoing Complete Streets efforts in Hawaii. Point cloud data include different colors that represent differences in elevation and intensity values. Based on a visual inspection, road markings can be observed within these point clouds. The long-term objective of this study is to develop a framework and approach for automating the detection of these infrastructure elements, based on deep learning approaches. For this project, a YOLOv5 (You Only Look Once version 5) image object detection model was trained with the HDOT point cloud data. YOLO is a family of deep learning models designed for fast object detection; the latest published version is the 5th version. The focus here is on non-motorized objects, such as crosswalks, bike lanes and bike boxes. The same approach can be extended to other markings as well, which we plan for subsequent studies

Prevalence of resistance to colistin, tigecycline and minocycline in Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from clinical samples in 2014

Background: Colonization rate of Acinetobacter baumannii is increasing in hospitalized patients especially in long term hospitalized one and / or who were treat with extended spectrum antibiotics or anticancer. Antibiotic resistance in A. baumannii is considerable because more prevalence of them cause nosocomial infections and can impose high cost to health systems and patients. The aim of this study was determination of tigecycline, minocycline and colistin resistance A. baumannii in selected center in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was descriptive and functional foundation. In this study A. baumannii were collected from Milad, Mofid, Taleghani, Motahari and Loghman hospital, Tehran and transferred to laboratory of pediatric infections research center. Collected bacteria were identified by conventional microbiology tests. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was determined according to CLSI guide line. Tigecycline, minocycline and colistin resistance strains were isolated.  Results: In this study, 105 A. baumannii were collected from five selected hospitals: 48 (46%) from Milad, 33 (31%) from Motahari, 17 (16%) from Loghman, 4 (4%) from Mofid and 3 (3%) from Taleghani hospital. The highest resistance was observed against cefepime and high frequency of carbapenem and minocycline was observed. On the other hand, observed resistance to aminoglycosides was 93% at least. Tigecycline is the most effective antibiotic after colistin. Colistin resistant confirmed just in one isolate by E. test. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that high rate of antibiotic resistance in A. baumannii even resistant to third and fourth generation of cephalosporin and carbapenem antibiotics. The treatment of MDR strains of A. baumannii become more complicated if the spread of them were not been controlled

A Comparative Analysis of Clinical Characteristics and Laboratory Findings of COVID-19 between Intensive Care Unit and Non-Intensive Care Unit Pediatric Patients: A Multicenter, Retrospective, Observational Study from Iranian Network for Research in Viral

Introduction: To date, little is known about the clinical features of pediatric COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Objective: Herein, we aimed to describe the differences in demographic characteristics, laboratory findings, clinical presentations, and outcomes of Iranian pediatric COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU versus those in non-ICU settings. Methods: This multicenter investigation involved 15 general and pediatrics hospitals and included cases with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection based on positive real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) admitted to these centers between March and May 2020, during the initial peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Results: Overall, 166 patients were included, 61 (36.7%) of whom required ICU admission. The highest number of admitted cases to ICU were in the age group of 1–5 years old. Malignancy and heart diseases were the most frequent underlying conditions. Dyspnea was the major symptom for ICU-admitted patients. There were significant decreases in PH, HCO3 and base excess, as well as increases in creatinine, creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and potassium levels between ICU-admitted and non-ICU patients. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), shock, and acute cardiac injury were the most common features among ICU-admitted patients. The mortality rate in the ICU-admitted patients was substantially higher than non-ICU cases (45.9% vs. 1.9%, respectively; p<0.001). Conclusions: Underlying diseases were the major risk factors for the increased ICU admissions and mortality rates in pediatric COVID-19 patients. There were few paraclinical parameters that could differentiate between pediatrics in terms of prognosis and serious outcomes of COVID-19. Healthcare providers should consider children as a high-risk group, especially those with underlying medical conditions

Urinary tract infection and febrile seizure Is there any association?

Background: Febrile seizure is the most common type of seizure among children. Identification of factors involved in febrile seizure is highly critical.Purpose: The present study was conducted to determine the association between children’s urinary tract infection and febrile seizure.Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 165 children with simple febrile seizure (case group) were compared with 165 children with fever and without seizure (control group) in terms of urinary tract infection.  The age of children was between  6 months to 5 years. The results of both groups were analyzed and compared.Results: Among 165 children with febrile seizure, 25 subjects (15.2%) had urinary tract infection. In the control group, only 2 patients (1.2%) had UTI. There was significant difference between two groups regarding urinary tract infection (P=0.001). Among 25 children with UTI in the case group, 17 children (68%) had acute pyelonephritis, and the remaining 8 children (32%) had cystitis. The two patients with UTI in control group had cystitis (P=0.055).Conclusion: The present study showed that urinary tract infection could be a risk factor of febrile seizure. Therefore, it is recommended that all patients with febrile seizure be examined in terms of urinary tract infection

Association of serum PCSK9 levels with antibiotic resistance and severity of disease in patients with bacterial infections admitted to intensive care units

Background: The results of several studies have suggested that infections and sepsis, either bacterial or viral, might be associated with elevated plasma proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) levels. Since there are no data on PCSK9 levels and antibiotic resistance or the severity of disease in patients with bacterial infections in intensive care units, the aim of this study was to investigate whether any such associations exist. ----- Methods: 100 patients (46 males, mean age 67.12 ± 1.34 years) with bacterial infections who were staying in an intensive care unit (ICU) longer than 48 h but less than 7 days and who were not receiving corticosteroids were analyzed. Their serum levels of albumin, C-reactive protein, glucose, lactate, blood urea nitrogen, prothrombin (international normalized ratio), total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, PCSK9, and procalcitonin were measured. The severity of the patients' condition was assessed by using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scales. ----- Results: Using a hierarchical regression modeling approach, no significant association was found between PCSK9 levels and either the severity of disease (APACHE II, SOFA, and GCS) indices or resistance to antibiotics. ----- Conclusion: The results suggest that there is no association between PCSK9 levels and resistance to antibiotics or the condition of patients hospitalized in intensive care units

Endogenous Bacteremia Caused by Intestinal Colonization of Carbapenem-Resistant <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i> (CR<i>E</i>) in Immunocompromised Children

Objective: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infection is life-threatening, especially for immunocompromised children. The source tracking of CRE could prevent bacteremia during hospitalization. In this study, the intestinal colonization of CRE and their translocation to blood were investigated. Methods: Stool samples from immunocompromised pediatric patients were collected after admission, and secondary stool and blood samples were collected in case of fever. After CRE phonotypic detection, the OXA-48, NDM-1, VIM, IMP, and KPC genes were detected by PCR. Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus Polymerase Chain Reaction (ERIC-PCR) was used to determine the phylogenic relatedness of the blood and fecal isolates. Results: Bacteremia was recorded in 71.4% of the patients. Enterobacteriaceae spp. were recorded in 100% of the stool samples and 31% of the blood samples. The correlation between the length of stay (LOS), days of fever, chemotherapy regimens, and death rate was significant (p-value ≤ 0.05). OXA-48 was present in all CRE isolates in both the primary and the secondary stool samples and the blood samples. According to the phylogenetic data, 58.33% of the patients with bacteremia had identical blood and stool isolates. The death rate was 24.4% in children with CRE bacteremia. Conclusions: The primary intestinal colonization with CRE in immunocompromised pediatrics and their translocation to blood was established in this study. The implementation of infection control programs and the application of infection prevention strategies for immunocompromised children is necessary