Whole blood lactate kinetics in patients undergoing quantitative resuscitation for septic shock

Introduction We sought to compare the association of whole blood lactate kinetics with survival in patients with septic shock undergoing early quantitative resuscitation. Methods Preplanned analysis of a multicenter emergency department (ED)-based randomized control trial of early sepsis resuscitation targeting three physiological variables: central venous pressure, mean arterial pressure, and either central venous oxygen saturation or lactate clearance. Inclusion criteria: suspected infection, two or more systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria, and either SBP 4 mmol/l. All patients had a lactate measured initially and subsequently at two hours. Normalization of lactate was defined as a lactate decline to 2.0 mmol/l was seen in 187/272 (69%), and 68/187 (36%) patients normalized their lactate. Overall mortality was 19.7%. AUCs for initial lactate, relative lactate clearance, and absolute lactate clearance were 0.70, 0.69, and 0.58, respectively. Lactate normalization best predicted survival (OR = 6.1, 95% CI = 2.2 to 21), followed by lactate clearance of 50% (OR = 4.3, 95% CI = 1.8 to 10.3), initial lactate of <2 mmol/l (OR = 3.4, 95% CI = 1.5 to 7.8), and initial lactate <4 mmol/l (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.3 to 4.3), with lactate clearance of 10% not reaching significance (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 0.96 to 5.6). Conclusions In ED sepsis patients undergoing early quantitative resuscitation, normalization of serum lactate during resuscitation was more strongly associated with survival than any absolute value or absolute/ relative change in lactate. Further studies should address whether strategies targeting lactate normalization leads to improved outcomes

Prospective study of clinician-entered research data in the Emergency Department using an Internet-based system after the HIPAA Privacy Rule

BACKGROUND: Design and test the reliability of a web-based system for multicenter, real-time collection of data in the emergency department (ED), under waiver of authorization, in compliance with HIPAA. METHODS: This was a phase I, two-hospital study of patients undergoing evaluation for possible pulmonary embolism. Data were collected by on-duty clinicians on an HTML data collection form (prospective e-form), populated using either a personal digital assistant (PDA) or personal computer (PC). Data forms were uploaded to a central, offsite server using secure socket protocol transfer. Each form was assigned a unique identifier, and all PHI data were encrypted, but were password-accessible by authorized research personnel to complete a follow-up e-form. RESULTS: From April 15, 2003-April 15 2004, 1022 prospective e-forms and 605 follow-up e-forms were uploaded. Complexities of PDA use compelled clinicians to use PCs in the ED for data entry for most forms. No data were lost and server log query revealed no unauthorized entry. Prospectively obtained PHI data, encrypted upon server upload, were successfully decrypted using password-protected access to allow follow-up without difficulty in 605 cases. Non-PHI data from prospective and follow-up forms were available to the study investigators via standard file transfer protocol. CONCLUSIONS: Data can be accurately collected from on-duty clinicians in the ED using real-time, PC-Internet data entry in compliance with the Privacy Rule. Deidentification-reidentification of PHI was successfully accomplished by a password-protected encryption-deencryption mechanism to permit follow-up by approved research personnel

Angiolipoma of the Posterior Mediastinum with Extension into the Spinal Canal: A Case Report

Angiolipoma is a rare benign soft tissue tumor, an unusual variant of lipoma, consisting of fatty and vascular components and located in the subcutis, usually in the trunk and extremities. We report a case of posterior mediastinal angiolipoma extending into the spinal canal and showing both fat and angiomatous features on CT scan

Excluding pulmonary embolism in primary care using the Wells-rule in combination with a point-of care D-dimer test: a scenario analysis

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: In secondary care the Wells clinical decision rule (CDR) combined with a quantitative D-dimer test can exclude pulmonary embolism (PE) safely. The introduction of point-of-care (POC) D-dimer tests facilitates a similar diagnostic strategy in primary care. We estimated failure-rate and efficiency of a diagnostic strategy using the Wells-CDR combined with a POC-D-dimer test for excluding PE in primary care. We considered ruling out PE safe if the failure rate was <2% with a maximum upper confidence limit of 2.7%. METHODS: We performed a scenario-analysis on data of 2701 outpatients suspected of PE. We used test characteristics of two qualitative POC-D-dimer tests, as derived from a meta-analysis and combined these with the Wells-CDR-score. RESULTS: In scenario 1 (SimpliRed-D-dimer sensitivity 85%, specificity 74%) PE was excluded safely in 23.8% of patients but only by lowering the cut-off value of the Wells rule to <2. (failure rate: 1.4%, 95% CI 0.6-2.6%) In scenario 2 (Simplify-D-dimer sensitivity 87%, specificity 62%) PE was excluded safely in 12.4% of patients provided that the Wells-cut-off value was set at 0. (failure rate: 0.9%, 95% CI 0.2-2.6%) CONCLUSION: Theoretically a diagnostic strategy using the Wells-CDR combined with a qualitative POC-D-dimer test can be used safely to exclude PE in primary care albeit with only moderate efficienc

Teaching Engineering Ethics using BLOCKS Game

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of a newly developed design game called BLOCKS to stimulate awareness of ethical responsibilities amongst engineering students. The design game was played by seventeen teams of chemical engineering students, with each team having to arrange pieces of colored paper to produce two letters each. Before the end of the game, additional constraints were introduced to the teams such that they faced similar ambiguity in the technical facts that the engineers involved in the Challenger disaster had faced prior to the space shuttle launch. At this stage, the teams had to decide whether to continue with their original design or to develop alternative solutions. After the teams had made their decisions, a video of the Challenger explosion was shown followed by a post-game discussion. The students’ opinion on five Statements on ethics was tracked via a Five-Item Likert survey which was administered three times, before and after the ethical scenario was introduced, and after the video and post-game discussion. The results from this study indicated that the combination of the game and the real-life incident from the video had generally strengthened the students’ opinions of the Statements

Robot life: simulation and participation in the study of evolution and social behavior.

This paper explores the case of using robots to simulate evolution, in particular the case of Hamilton's Law. The uses of robots raises several questions that this paper seeks to address. The first concerns the role of the robots in biological research: do they simulate something (life, evolution, sociality) or do they participate in something? The second question concerns the physicality of the robots: what difference does embodiment make to the role of the robot in these experiments. Thirdly, how do life, embodiment and social behavior relate in contemporary biology and why is it possible for robots to illuminate this relation? These questions are provoked by a strange similarity that has not been noted before: between the problem of simulation in philosophy of science, and Deleuze's reading of Plato on the relationship of ideas, copies and simulacra

On the compatibility of benevolence and self-interest:philanthropy and entrepreneurial orientation

This article explores the philanthropy of owner–managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investigating whether and why more entrepreneurially oriented SMEs are also more likely to engage in philanthropic activities. We find support for a positive link between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and philanthropy in a representative sample of 270 Lithuanian SMEs controlling for alternative explanations. We highlight that philanthropy is relatively common among SME owner–managers and thus complement existing research which views philanthropy as sequentially following wealth generation. In line with our theorizing, further qualitative findings point to drivers of philanthropy beyond those considered in the dominant strategic-instrumental perspective. Building on social-psychological theories of motivation, we argue and confirm that philanthropy can also be an expression of owner–managers’ altruistic values; these values can be compatible and even mutually reinforcing with entrepreneurship. Our study is set in a transition economy, Lithuania, facilitating the analysis of heterogeneity in attitudes toward philanthropy

Inner wellbeing: concept and validation of a new approach to subjective perceptions of wellbeing-India

© The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.This paper describes the conceptual development of a multi-domain, psychosocial model of 'Inner Wellbeing' (IWB) and assesses the construct validity of the scale designed to measure it. IWB expresses what people think and feel they are able to be and do. Drawing together scholarship in wellbeing and international development it is grounded in field research in marginalised, rural communities in the global South. Results from research in India at two points in time (2011 and 2013) are reported. At Time 1 (n = 287), we were unable to confirm an eight-factor, correlated model as distinct yet interrelated domains. However, at Time 2 (n = 335), we were able to confirm a revised, seven-factor correlated model with economic confidence, agency and participation, social connections, close relationships, physical and mental health, competence and self-worth, and values and meaning (five items per domain) as distinct yet interrelated domains. In particular, at Time 2, a seven-factor, correlated model provided a significantly better fit to the data than did a one-factor model.This work is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council/Department for International Development Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty Alleviation) grant number RES-167-25-0507 ES/H033769/1. Special thanks are due to Chaupal and Gangaram Paikra, Pritam Das, Usha Kujur, Kanti Minjh, Susanna Siddiqui, and Dinesh Tirkey

Surface Waves for Anisotropic Material Characterization-A Computer Aided Evaluation System

Along with a wide application of nondestructive evaluation methods by ultrasonic techniques, Rayleigh surface waves are being studied for their applications in material characterization. Because surface waves can offer some sensitive measurement features of wave propagation, it is suggested that surface waves be conveniently used as an experimental technique for the solution of the inverse problem of determining elastic constants and/or other characteristics in materials [1–3]. The most common direct problem is to obtain wave propagation features by theoretical analysis, experimental measurement, or numerical calculation. A desired problem in material evaluation however, is to solve an inverse problem to find material characteristics from a set of field measurement data. In surface wave problems, the closed form solutions may not even exist for some direct problems. Moreover, often material constants collectively influence the ultrasonic wave propagation in anisotropic medium, and we can not decouple them and evaluate them individually by each single ultrasonic measurement. Therefore, a numerical computational procedure is proposed.</p