Prospective External Validation of the Clinical Effectiveness of an Emergency Department-Based Early Goal-Directed Therapy Protocol for Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock

Objective: To determine the clinical effectiveness of implementing early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) as a routine protocol in the emergency department (ED). Methods: Prospective interventional study conducted over 2 years at an urban ED. Inclusion criteria included suspected infection, criteria for systemic inflammation, and either systolic BP < 90 mm Hg after a fluid bolus or lactate concentration ≥ 4 mol/L. Exclusion criteria were age < 18 years, contraindication to a chest central venous catheter, and need for immediate surgery. We prospectively recorded preintervention clinical and mortality data on consecutive, eligible patients for 1 year when treatment was at the discretion of board-certified emergency physicians. We then implemented an EGDT protocol (the intervention) and recorded clinical data and mortality rates for 1 year. Prior to the first year, we defined a 33% relative reduction in mortality (relative mortality reduction that was found in the original EGDT trial) to indicate clinical effectiveness of the intervention. Results: We enrolled 79 patients in the preintervention year and 77 patients in the postintervention year. Compared with the preintervention year, patients in the postintervention year received significantly greater crystalloid volume (2.54 L vs 4.66 L, p < 0.001) and frequency of vasopressor infusion (34% vs 69%, p < 0.001) during the initial resuscitation. In-hospital mortality was 21 of 79 patients (27%) before intervention, compared with 14 of 77 patients (18%) after intervention (absolute difference, − 9%; 95% confidence interval, + 5 to − 21%). Conclusions: Implementation of EGDT in our ED was associated with a 9% absolute (33% relative) mortality reduction. Our data provide external validation of the clinical effectiveness of EGDT to treat sepsis and septic shock in the ED

Vacuum chamber and adaptors for shearography and holography

Study methods to excite aerospace components using a vacuum to induce deformations are presented. The deformations will be measured by shearography, holography, and image correlation

Technologies to Improve the Performance of A/C Systems in Hot Climate Regions

Air conditioning contributes significantly to building energy consumption in hot climate regions. In addition to greater cooling requirements in hot climates, cooling equipment efficiency decreases with increasing outdoor temperature. Therefore, it is advantageous to develop improved technologies that can achieve higher efficiency at high ambient conditions. In this paper, two novel compression technologies are investigated for application in high ambient temperature air conditioning via simulations. These technologies are liquid flooded compression with regeneration and vapor injected compression with economizing. The systems are modeled using the EES software and compared with a baseline conventional vapor-compression cycle that utilizes R410A as the refrigerant. The cycle enhancements are considered for a number of refrigerant alternatives, including R410A, propane (R290), R32, and R1234yf. Parametric studies are conducted for air conditioning design conditions to predict the improvements in coefficient of performance (COP) for both system configurations with the various refrigerants. The simulation results show that the two novel technologies provide improvements in air conditioner performance and lower compressor discharge temperatures at high ambient temperatures. With respect to compressor discharge temperature, the vapor injection technology is superior to the oil flooding concept for the investigated working fluids. The COP comparisons indicate that oil flooding only improves the system performance when using the refrigerant R1234yf with a 14% increase in COP, whereas the vapor injection leads to significant improvements for all refrigerants with a maximum improvement of 21.5% for the refrigerant R410A

primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in patients at metabolic risk an endocrine society clinical practice guideline

Objective: The objective was to develop clinical practice guidelines for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in patients at metabolic risk. Conclusions: Healthcare providers should incorporate into their practice concrete measures to reduce the risk of developing CVD and T2DM. These include the regular screening and identification of patients at metabolic risk (at higher risk for both CVD and T2DM) with measurement of blood pressure, waist circumference, fasting lipid profile, and fasting glucose. All patients identified as having metabolic risk should undergo 10-yr global risk assessment for either CVD or coronary heart disease. This scoring will determine the targets of therapy for reduction of apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins. Careful attention should be given to the treatment of elevated blood pressure to the targets outlined in this guideline. The prothrombotic state associated with metabolic risk should be treated with lifestyle modification measures and in appropriate individuals with low-dose aspirin prophylaxis. Patients with prediabetes (impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose) should be screened at 1- to 2-yr intervals for the development of diabetes with either measurement of fasting plasma glucose or a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test. For the prevention of CVD and T2DM, we recommend that priority be given to lifestyle management.Thisincludesantiatherogenicdietarymodification,aprogramofincreasedphysicalactivity, andweightreduction.Effortstopromotelifestylemodificationshouldbeconsideredanimportant component of the medical management of patients to reduce the risk of both CVD and T2DM. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 93: 3671–3689, 2008

SETD3 is an actin histidine methyltransferase that prevents primary dystocia.

For more than 50 years, the methylation of mammalian actin at histidine 73 has been known to occur1. Despite the pervasiveness of His73 methylation, which we find is conserved in several model animals and plants, its function remains unclear and the enzyme that generates this modification is unknown. Here we identify SET domain protein 3 (SETD3) as the physiological actin His73 methyltransferase. Structural studies reveal that an extensive network of interactions clamps the actin peptide onto the surface of SETD3 to orient His73 correctly within the catalytic pocket and to facilitate methyl transfer. His73 methylation reduces the nucleotide-exchange rate on actin monomers and modestly accelerates the assembly of actin filaments. Mice that lack SETD3 show complete loss of actin His73 methylation in several tissues, and quantitative proteomics analysis shows that actin His73 methylation is the only detectable physiological substrate of SETD3. SETD3-deficient female mice have severely decreased litter sizes owing to primary maternal dystocia that is refractory to ecbolic induction agents. Furthermore, depletion of SETD3 impairs signal-induced contraction in primary human uterine smooth muscle cells. Together, our results identify a mammalian histidine methyltransferase and uncover a pivotal role for SETD3 and actin His73 methylation in the regulation of smooth muscle contractility. Our data also support the broader hypothesis that protein histidine methylation acts as a common regulatory mechanism

Association Between Timing of Antibiotic Administration and Mortality from Septic Shock in Patients Treated with a Quantitative Resuscitation Protocol

Objective We sought to determine the association between time to initial antibiotics and mortality of septic shock patients treated with an emergency department (ED) based early resuscitation protocol. Design Pre-planned analysis of a multicenter randomized controlled trial of early sepsis resuscitation. Setting 3 urban US EDs. Patients Adult septic shock patients. Interventions A quantitative resuscitation protocol in the ED targeting 3 physiological variables: central venous pressure, mean arterial pressure and either central venous oxygen saturation or lactate clearance. The study protocol was continued until all endpoints were achieved or a maximum of 6 hours. Measurements Data on patients who received an initial dose of antibiotics after presentation to the ED were categorized based on both time from triage and time from shock recognition to initiation of antibiotics. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Main Results Of 291 included patients, mortality did not change with hourly delays in antibiotic administration up to 6 hours after triage: 1 hour (OR 1.2, 0.6–2.5), 2 hours (OR 0.71, 0.4–1.3), 3 hours (OR 0.59, 0.3–1.3). Mortality was significantly increased patients who received initial antibiotics after shock recognition (N=172, 59%) compared with before shock recognition (OR 2.4, 1.1–4.5); however, among patients who received antibiotics after shock recognition, mortality did not change with hourly delays in antibiotic administration. Conclusion In this large, prospective study of ED patients with septic shock, we found no increase in mortality with each hour delay to administration of antibiotics after triage. However, delay in antibiotics until after shock recognition was associated with increased mortality