Risk factors for mesh/suture erosion following sacral colpopexy

To identify risks for mesh/suture erosions following sacrocolpopexy (ASC)

Surgical Outcomes in Benign Gynecologic Surgery Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic (SOCOVID study)

Study Objective To determine the incidence of perioperative coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in women undergoing benign gynecologic surgery and to evaluate perioperative complication rates in patients with active, previous, or no previous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Design A multicenter prospective cohort study. Setting Ten institutions in the United States. Patients Patients aged >18 years who underwent benign gynecologic surgery from July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, were included. All patients were followed up from the time of surgery to 10 weeks postoperatively. Those with intrauterine pregnancy or known gynecologic malignancy were excluded. Interventions Benign gynecologic surgery. Measurements and Main Results The primary outcome was the incidence of perioperative COVID-19 infections, which was stratified as (1) previous COVID-19 infection, (2) preoperative COVID-19 infection, and (3) postoperative COVID-19 infection. Secondary outcomes included adverse events and mortality after surgery and predictors for postoperative COVID-19 infection. If surgery was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reason for postponement and any subsequent adverse event was recorded. Of 3423 patients included for final analysis, 189 (5.5%) postponed their gynecologic surgery during the pandemic. Forty-three patients (1.3% of total cases) had a history of COVID-19. The majority (182, 96.3%) had no sequelae attributed to surgical postponement. After hospital discharge to 10 weeks postoperatively, 39 patients (1.1%) became infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The mean duration of time between hospital discharge and the follow-up positive COVID-19 test was 22.1 ± 12.3 days (range, 4–50 days). Eleven (31.4% of postoperative COVID-19 infections, 0.3% of total cases) of the newly diagnosed COVID-19 infections occurred within 14 days of hospital discharge. On multivariable logistic regression, living in the Southwest (adjusted odds ratio, 6.8) and single-unit increase in age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (adjusted odds ratio, 1.2) increased the odds of postoperative COVID-19 infection. Perioperative complications were not significantly higher in patients with a history of positive COVID-19 than those without a history of COVID-19, although the mean duration of time between previous COVID-19 diagnosis and surgery was 97 days (14 weeks). Conclusion In this large multicenter prospective cohort study of benign gynecologic surgeries, only 1.1% of patients developed a postoperative COVID-19 infection, with 0.3% of infection in the immediate 14 days after surgery. The incidence of postoperative complications was not different in those with and without previous COVID-19 infections

Th1-Th17 Cells Mediate Protective Adaptive Immunity against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans Infection in Mice

We sought to define protective mechanisms of immunity to Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans bloodstream infections in mice immunized with the recombinant N-terminus of Als3p (rAls3p-N) vaccine plus aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH3) adjuvant, or adjuvant controls. Deficiency of IFN-γ but not IL-17A enhanced susceptibility of control mice to both infections. However, vaccine-induced protective immunity against both infections required CD4+ T-cell-derived IFN-γ and IL-17A, and functional phagocytic effectors. Vaccination primed Th1, Th17, and Th1/17 lymphocytes, which produced pro-inflammatory cytokines that enhanced phagocytic killing of both organisms. Vaccinated, infected mice had increased IFN-γ, IL-17, and KC, increased neutrophil influx, and decreased organism burden in tissues. In summary, rAls3p-N vaccination induced a Th1/Th17 response, resulting in recruitment and activation of phagocytes at sites of infection, and more effective clearance of S. aureus and C. albicans from tissues. Thus, vaccine-mediated adaptive immunity can protect against both infections by targeting microbes for destruction by innate effectors

Performance of a large scale prototype of the ATLAS accordion electromagnetic calorimeter

A 2 m long prototype of a lead-liquid argon electromagnetic calorimeter with accordion-shaped electrodes, conceived as a sector of the barrel calorimeter of the future ATLAS experiment at the LHC, has been tested with electron and pion beams in the energy range 10 to 287 GeV. A sampling term of 10%/root E(GeV) was obtained for electrons in the rapidity range 0 < eta < 1, while the constant term measured over an area of about 1 m(2) is 0.69%. With a cell size of 2.7 cm the position resolution is. about 4 mm/root E(GeV)

Test beam results of a stereo preshower integrated in the liquid argon accordion calorimeter

This paper describes the construction of an integrated preshower within the RD3 liquid argon accordion calorimeter. It has a stereo view which enables the measurement of two transverse coordinates. The prototype was tested at CERN with electrons, photons and muons to validate its capability to work at LHC ( Energy resolution, impact point resolution, angular resolution, $\pi^o$/$\gamma$ rejection )

Performance of an endcap prototype of the ATLAS accordion electromagnetic calorimeter

The design and construction of a lead-liquid argon endcap calorimeter prototype using an accordion geometry and conceived as a sector of the inner wheel of the endcap calorimeter of the future ATLAS experiment at the LHC is described. The performance obtained using electron beam data is presented. The main results are an energy resolution with a sampling term below $11\%/\sqrt{E(\rm GeV)}$ and a small local constant term, a good linearity of the response with the incident energy and a global constant term of 0.8\% over an extended area in the rapidity range of $2.2 < \eta <2.9$. These properties make the design suitable for the ATLAS electromagnetic endcap calorimeter

Construction and test of a fine-grained liquid argon preshower prototype

A separate liquid argon preshower detector consisting of two layers featuring a fine granularity of 2.5~10$^{\mathrm{-3}}$ was studied by the RD3 collaboration. A prototype covering approximately 0.8 in pseudo-rapidity and 9 degrees in azimuth was built and tested at CERN in July 94. CMOS and GaAs VLSI preamplifiers were designed and tested for this occasion. The combined response of this detector and an accordion electromagnetic calorimeter prototype to muons, electrons and photons is presented. For minimum ionizing tracks a signal-to-noise ratio of 4.5 per preshower layer was measured. Above 150~GeV the space resolution for electrons is better than 250~$\mu$m in both directions. The precision on the electromagnetic shower direction, determined together with the calorimeter, is better than 4 mrad above 50~GeV. It is concluded that the preshower detector would adequately fulfil its role for future operation at CERN Large Hadron Collider

Neutrophil adhesion in brain capillaries reduces cortical blood flow and impairs memory function in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models.

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) reductions in Alzheimer’s disease patients and related mouse models have been recognized for decades, but the underlying mechanisms and resulting consequences for Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis remain poorly understood. In APP/PS1 and 5xFAD mice we found that an increased number of cortical capillaries had stalled blood flow as compared to in wild-type animals, largely due to neutrophils that had adhered in capillary segments and blocked blood flow. Administration of antibodies against the neutrophil marker Ly6G reduced the number of stalled capillaries, leading to both an immediate increase in CBF and rapidly improved performance in spatial and working memory tasks. This study identified a previously uncharacterized cellular mechanism that explains the majority of the CBF reduction seen in two mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease and demonstrated that improving CBF rapidly enhanced short-term memory function. Restoring cerebral perfusion by preventing neutrophil adhesion may provide a strategy for improving cognition in Alzheimer’s disease patients