Arcanobacterium haemolyticum associated with pyothorax: case report

Arcanobacterium haemolyticum has an established role in the etiology of human pharyngitis. There are increasing reports of systemic infections caused by this organism. From India, we report the first case of Arcanobacterium haemolyticum causing pyothorax in an immunocompetent adolescent male patient. The probable mode of infection is also discussed. The role of A. hemolyticum as an animal pathogen needs further study

Application of a modified evolutionary algorithm for the optimization of data acquisitionto improve the accuracy of a video-polarimetric system

The use of the polarimetry techniques for display and study of biological tissues has gained increasing interest in recent years. This interest is related mainly to the non-invasiveness, relatively low cost, and ease of application among other characteristics. However, for full use of these advantages, the calibration methods must ensure the minimization of the effects of uncertainties related to the optical element positioning and the noise in intensities measurements

The differential diagnosis of children with joint hypermobility: a review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In this study we aimed to identify and review publications relating to the diagnosis of joint hypermobility and instability and develop an evidence based approach to the diagnosis of children presenting with joint hypermobility and related symptoms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched Medline for papers with an emphasis on the diagnosis of joint hypermobility, including Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue (HDCT).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>3330 papers were identified: 1534 pertained to instability of a particular joint; 1666 related to the diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos syndromes and 330 related to joint hypermobility.</p> <p>There are inconsistencies in the literature on joint hypermobility and how it relates to and overlaps with milder forms of HDCT. There is no reliable method of differentiating between Joint Hypermobility Syndrome, familial articular hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hypermobile type), suggesting these three disorders may be different manifestations of the same spectrum of disorders. We describe our approach to children presenting with joint hypermobility and the published evidence and expert opinion on which this is based.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is value in identifying both the underlying genetic cause of joint hypermobility in an individual child and those hypermobile children who have symptoms such as pain and fatigue and might benefit from multidisciplinary rehabilitation management.</p> <p>Every effort should be made to diagnose the underlying disorder responsible for joint hypermobility which may only become apparent over time. We recommend that the term "Joint Hypermobility Syndrome" is used for children with symptomatic joint hypermobility resulting from any underlying HDCT and that these children are best described using <b>both </b>the term Joint Hypermobility Syndrome <b>and </b>their HDCT diagnosis.</p

Remaining idle time aware intelligent channel bonding schemes for cognitive radio sensor networks

Channel bonding (CB) is a technique used to provide larger bandwidth to users. It has been applied to various networks such as wireless local area networks, wireless sensor networks, cognitive radio networks, and cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSNs). The implementation of CB in CRSNs needs special attention as primary radio (PR) nodes traffic must be protected from any harmful interference by cognitive radio (CR) sensor nodes. On the other hand, CR sensor nodes need to communicate without interruption to meet their data rate requirements and conserve energy. If CR nodes perform frequent channel switching due to PR traffic then it will be difficult to meet their quality of service and data rate requirements. So, CR nodes need to select those channels which are stable. By stable, we mean those channels which having less PR activity or long remaining idle time and cause less harmful interference to PR nodes. In this paper, we propose two approaches remaining idle time aware intelligent channel bonding (RITCB) and remaining idle time aware intelligent channel bonding with interference prevention (RITCB-IP) for cognitive radio sensor networks which select stable channels for CB which have longest remaining idle time. We compare our approaches with four schemes such as primary radio user activity aware channel bonding scheme, sample width algorithm, cognitive radio network over white spaces and AGILE. Simulation results show that our proposed approaches RITCB and RITCB-IP decrease harmful interference and increases the life time of cognitive radio sensor nodes

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Oral Papillomatosis in a Dog and its Therapy with Taurolidine

The efficacy of taurolidine on the treatment of oral papillomatosis in a 1-year-old Turkish Kangal dog was evaluated. Diagnosis of the papillomatosis was based on clinical signs, histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations. The dog received 45 mg/kg taurolidine intravenously every 3 days. Regression of papillomas started to be observed after the beginning of treatment, and complete resolution occurred after the fifth application