Year in review in Intensive Care Medicine 2010: III. ARDS and ALI, mechanical ventilation, noninvasive ventilation, weaning, endotracheal intubation, lung ultrasound and paediatrics

SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Post-Tragedy 'Opportunity-bubble' and the Prospect of Citizen Engagement

This article appeared in Homeland Security Affairs (September 2011), v.7 no.2From the journal's abstract for this article: "Fathali Moghaddam and James Breckenridge examine the 'opportunity-bubble' that allows leaders to mobilize the public immediately following a tragic event. 'Although great crisis will inevitably invite consideration of many alternatives, leadership must pay special attention to opportunities to engage the public as capable partners in their country's response to the crisis -- calling upon them as citizens with civic duties, as well as rights.'"Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Homeland Security and Support for Multiculturalism, Assimilation, and Omniculturalism: Policies among Americans

This article appeared in Homeland Security Affairs (September 2010), v.6 no.3This article presents data suggesting that Americans' views of policies toward immigrants are pertinent to matters of homeland security. 'Homeland' is a concept shaped partly by how people psychologically differentiate 'citizen' from 'immigrant.' The differentiation of these categories is critical to individuals' political and social identity. Homeland security scholars are unlikely to be aware, however, of this country's substantial majority preference for an alternative to the traditional, yet deeply divided, incompatible policies of assimilation and accommodation. Moreover, the publics' appraisal of the threat of terrorism, the priority they assign to homeland security institutions, their trust and confidence in homeland security organizations, and their support for counter-terrorism measures are linked to their immigration policy preference even after accounting for their race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Homeland security professionals would do well to consider the potential implications of these preferences.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

The pulsed ultrasound strategy effectively decreases the S. aureus population of chronic rhinosinusitis patients

OBJECTIVE: Staphylococcus aureus with the ability of biofilm formation and the drug resistance acquisition is one of the most frequently isolated pathogens from chronic rhinosinusitis patients. Ultrasound as an alternative therapy is effectively able to kill the bacteria by cavitation in or on the bacterial cells and peroxide generation and hence improving antibiotic treatment efficacy. RESULTS: Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 4 and 6 out of 14 patients by phenotypic and qPCR assays, respectively. Four patients were completely resolved after pulsed ultrasound treatment. However, presence of the S. aureus was confirmed in three healthy controls by bacterial cultivation. Pulsed ultrasound have been quantitatively decreased the S. aureus population in chronic rhinosinusitis patients (p < 0.05). Further studies need to be investigated the effectiveness of pulsed ultrasound as an alternative course of CRS patient's treatment

Quantitative analysis of Staphylococcus aureus in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis under continuous ultrasound treatment

Background and Objectives: Bacterial pathogens, in particular drug resistant strains, involved in chronic rhinosinusitis may result in treatment failure. Ultrasound waves are able to destroy bacterial population in sinus cavities and can recover patients. Materials and Methods: Twelve patients with chronic sinusitis and 10 healthy controls were treated by continuous ultrasound waves. Clinical specimens were collected before and after treatment. Serial diluted specimens were cultured on blood agar, chocolate and MacConkey agar plates for bacterial isolation. Bacterial DNA was extracted and used for Staphylococcus aureus detection using quantitative PCR. Results: S. aureus was the most isolated bacterium (10 patients), which was eradicated from 8 patients after treatment. Using phenotypic methods at the beginning, 3 out of 10 healthy individuals were found to be positive. From 11 positive patients for S. aureus identified by real time qPCR, 9 showed significant reduction after treatment. In the healthy group, S. aureus was detected in 4 samples using qPCR, but they were clean at the second sampling. Conclusion: According to our phenotypic and molecular experiments, continuous ultrasound treatment effectively reduced the bacterial population in studied patients (p < 0.01). This was a hopeful basis for doing more studies with ultrasound therapy as a treatment option

Bacterial community of chronic rhinosinusitis patients and therapeutic ultrasound efficacy: clinical trial study

Background and Objectives: Bacterial involvement in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) condition made it difficult to treat using available antibiotic therapy. Therapeutic ultrasound was investigated here to evaluate bacterial diversity and quantity before and after continuous/pulsed ultrasound strategy compared to control patients. Materials and Methods: Totally, 34 CRS patients were studied in three groups, including continuous ultrasound, pulsed ultrasound and control. Bacterial culture and identification were done before and after treatment. Computed tomography scan (CT scan) and questionnaire scores were recorded two times before and after intervention. Results: The most prevalent bacterial isolates were non-hemolytic Streptococci (34 patients), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (33 patients), Gram-negative cocci (26 patients), Staphylococcus aureus (19 patients), Streptococcus pneumoniae (five patients) and Streptococcus pyogenes (five patients). Both continuous and pulsed ultrasound could significantly reduce the quantity of bacterial isolates after treatment. CT scan and questionnaire results support the effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound. Conclusion: The quantity of clinically important bacteria was significantly reduced using ultrasound treatment and recovery of patients was supported by CT scan and questionnaire scores. Alternative therapeutic ultrasound could be an effective procedure in CRS patients