Strain-Based Analysis for Geometrically Nonlinear Beams: A Modal Approach

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97066/1/AIAA2012-1713.pd

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection are often non-specific, and there is no definitive test for the accurate diagnosis of infection. The 'omics' approaches to identifying biomarkers from the host-response to bacterial infection are promising. In this study, lipidomic analysis was carried out with plasma samples obtained from febrile children with confirmed bacterial infection (n = 20) and confirmed viral infection (n = 20). We show for the first time that bacterial and viral infection produces distinct profile in the host lipidome. Some species of glycerophosphoinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol sulfate were higher in the confirmed virus infected group, while some species of fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, glycerophosphoserine, lactosylceramide and bilirubin were lower in the confirmed virus infected group when compared with confirmed bacterial infected group. A combination of three lipids achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.911 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.98). This pilot study demonstrates the potential of metabolic biomarkers to assist clinicians in distinguishing bacterial from viral infection in febrile children, to facilitate effective clinical management and to the limit inappropriate use of antibiotics

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection ar

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Enhancement of thiamine release during synthetic mutualism between <em>Chlorella sorokiniana</em> and <em>Azospirillum brasilense</em> growing under stress conditions.

Thiamine release during synthetic mutualism between Chlorella sorokiniana co-immobilized in alginate beads with the microalgae growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense was measured under stress conditions of pH, light intensity, and nitrogen starvation in short-term experiments. Thiamine release in the co-immobilized treatment was significantly higher at acidic pH compared to thiamine released by either microorganism alone. Under slightly alkaline pH, C. sorokiniana released the highest amount of thiamine. At stressful pH 6, the co-immobilized treatment released a higher quantity of thiamine than the sum of thiamine released by either microorganisms when immobilized separately. Release of thiamine by C. sorokiniana alone or co-immobilized was light intensity dependent; with higher the light intensity, more thiamine was released. Extreme light intensity negatively affected growth of the microalgae and release of thiamine. Nitrogen starvation during the first 24 h of culturing negatively affected release of thiamine by both microorganisms, where C. sorokiniana was more severely affected. Partial or continuous nitrogen starvation had similar negative effects on C. sorokiniana, but co-immobilization improved thiamine release. These results indicate that thiamine is released during synthetic mutualism between C. sorokiniana and A. brasilense, and this happens specifically during the alleviation of pH stress in the microalgae