Recovery and characterization of poly(3-Hydroxybutyric acid) synthesized in Staphylococcus epidermidis

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are biodegradable polyesters accumulated intracellularly as energy resources by bacterial species. In this study, fermentation process for production of PHA is carried out using sesame oil as carbon source. We studied recovery of poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid) (PHB) from Staphylococcus epidermidis by sodium hypochlorite digestion method. Recovered PHB sample was estimated by UV spectrophotometer. PHB from S. epidermidis was characterized and by these findings, we examined purified PHB by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), a thermo gravimetric analyzer (TGA), thin layer chromatography (TLC) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The results of our analysis of PHB while comparing with commercial source suggest that in DSC melting temperature of PHB was 173.36°C, TGA thermo grams of PHB sample was at 296.91°C, on TLC plate; Rf value was calculated as 0.71 and finally IR spectrum of the compounds showed characteristics bands for the groups CH, C=O and C-O, indicating the presence of PHB in the production medium.Key words: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid) (PHB), Staphylococcus epidermidis

Childbearing and parenthood during residency and fellowship

Objective: To evaluate the common concerns and factors affecting planning a family during residency and fellowship and to create required support services particular to those needs. Background: With the rise in burnout amongst physicians, family stress and parenthood during training may be an important factor in early career burnout. Studies have shown that childbearing and parenthood during residency and fellowship affects training and career satisfaction. With women in medicine comprising half the workforce and long training periods, it is a not uncommon for residents to start families during residency. Pregnancy, lactation, maternity/paternity leaves, post partum support affects resident education, training and often program completion time. Design/Methods: We conducted a detailed online survey of all residents and fellows at Henry Ford Hospital utilizing survey monkey. Questions were asked regarding knowledge of parental leave, policies pertaining to training and board examination, breast feeding policies, feasible childcare options and other parental resources. After the survey, parent support group was created which carried out meetings to address trainee\u27s needs. Results: Out of the total house officers surveyed, 78 responded to the survey. Among them 50% responded that due to their career plan, they put off planning a family while still in training. About 80% of them were not aware of the institution\u27s resources for new parents and 60% were unaware of lactation policies. Conclusions: Parent support group was created with the intent to address these issues and mitigate stress associated with childbirth during training. Monthly meetings with focus on specific issues such as lactation, work life integration and parenting as well as faculty panels and mentorship for interested residents are arranged as a part of this project. A more widespread initiative should be taken to provide parenthood support to residents and fellows

Drug intoxication and increased mortality in anoxic brain injury

Introduction Intoxication by central nervous system (CNS) depressant drugs can lead to anoxic brain injury by cardiac or respiratory arrest. We tested the hypothesis whether intoxication by these drugs contributes to mortality in acute anoxic brain injury Methods We utilized healthcare cost and utilization project databases (Nationwide Inpatient Sample and Kids\u27 Inpatient Database) to obtain patients admitted with diagnosis of anoxic brain injury. Patients with drug intoxication (opioid, alcohol, sedative/hypnotic drugs) were identified. Regression analysis was used to assess relationship between drug intoxication status to in-hospital mortality. The regression model was adjusted for age, gender, chronic medical comorbidities, presence of cardiac arrest and hospital characteristics. Results We analyzed a total of 12,319 patients with anoxic brain injury out of which 197 (1.6%) had drug intoxication and 35% were reported to have cardiac arrest. Median age was 58 years and 54% patients were males. In-hospital mortality was 57%. Among the survivors, 20% underwent feeding tube placement and 15% had tracheostomy. Drug intoxication was a significant positive predictor of inhospital mortality with adjusted odds ratio 1.5 (1.1 - 2.1), p=0.01. Conclusions CNS depressant drug intoxication is associated with higher in-hospital mortality in patients with acute anoxic brain injury

Burden of herpes simplex virus encephalitis in the United States

Herpes simplex virus encephalitis (HSVE) is a disease of public health concern, but its burden on the healthcare of United States has not been adequately assessed recently. We aimed to define the incidence, complications and outcomes of HSVE in the recent decade by analyzing data from a nationally representative database. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project databases were utilized to identify patients with primary discharge diagnosis of HSVE. Annual hospitalization rate was estimated and several preselected inpatient complications were identified. Regression analyses were used to identify mortality predictors. Key epidemiological factors were compared with those from other countries. Total 4871 patients of HSVE were included in our study. The annual hospitalization rate was 10.3 ± 2.2 cases/million in neonates, 2.4 ± 0.3 cases/million in children and 6.4 ± 0.4 cases/million in adults. Median age was 57 years and male:female incidence ratio was 1:1. Rates of some central nervous system complications were seizures (38.4%), status epilepticus (5.5%), acute respiratory failure (20.1%), ischemic stroke (5.6%) and intracranial hemorrhage (2.7%), all of which were significantly associated with mortality. In-hospital mortality in neonates, children and adults were 6.9, 1.2 and 7.7%, respectively. HSVE still remains a potentially lethal infectious disease with high morbidity and mortality. Most recent epidemiological data in this study may help understanding this public health disease, and the patient outcome data may have prognostic significance