The Impact of Observed Trauma on Parents in a PICU

© 2016 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. Objective: To explore parents' experiences of observed trauma, defined as traumatic events, unrelated to their own child, that parents/carers witness while in a PICU. Design: Exploratory qualitative study. Setting: Nineteen-bed mixed surgical/medical PICU in a tertiary university-affiliated children's hospital. Participants: Parents of 11 children, screened from a total sample of 100 children admitted to the PICU for greater than 48 hours. Interventions: Face-to-face screening interviews were conducted with parents following their child's discharge from PICU. Parents who reported observed trauma were interviewed a second time to explore their experiences. Measurements and Main Results: Two questionnaires were designed, one to screen for observed trauma and a second one to guide semistructured interviews. Of 100 parents who participated in a structured screening interview, 19% reported observed trauma. Of the 19 parents, 11 completed the second interview. Significant themes included: involuntary exposure; privacy and confidentiality; empathy for children and their families; reflection and personal growth; and staff communication. Conclusions: Observed trauma is not uncommon in the PICU. The results suggest that timely support may alleviate the short-term negative impact. Furthermore, some parents have reported positive aspects to their experience

Endoscopic Management of Pediatric Airway and Esophageal Foreign Bodies

The use of endoscopy is critical to the management of pediatric tracheobronchial and esophageal foreign bodies. Children may present with nonspecific symptoms, and the diagnosis can be difficult when the ingestion or aspiration events go unwitnessed. Advances in endoscopic techniques and the use of optical graspers in the removal of foreign bodies in children have helped decrease morbidity and mortality. In this chapter, the history, clinical presentations, workup, and management for pediatric aerodigestive foreign bodies are discussed

Comparative Simulation Analysis of Process Parameter Variations in 20 nm Triangular FinFET

Technology scaling below 22 nm has brought several detrimental effects such as increased short channel effects (SCEs) and leakage currents. In deep submicron technology further scaling in gate length and oxide thickness can be achieved by changing the device structure of MOSFET. For 10–30 nm channel length multigate MOSFETs have been considered as most promising devices and FinFETs are the leading multigate MOSFET devices. Process parameters can be varied to obtain the desired performance of the FinFET device. In this paper, evaluation of on-off current ratio (Ion/Ioff), subthreshold swing (SS) and Drain Induced Barrier Lowering (DIBL) for different process parameters, that is, doping concentration (1015/cm3 to 1018/cm3), oxide thickness (0.5 nm and 1 nm), and fin height (10 nm to 40 nm), has been presented for 20 nm triangular FinFET device. Density gradient model used in design simulation incorporates the considerable quantum effects and provides more practical environment for device simulation. Simulation result shows that fin shape has great impact on FinFET performance and triangular fin shape leads to reduction in leakage current and SCEs. Comparative analysis of simulation results has been investigated to observe the impact of process parameters on the performance of designed FinFET

Abnormal thrombosis and neutrophil activation increase hospital-acquired sacral pressure injuries and morbidity in COVID-19 patients

Hospitalized patients have an increased risk of developing hospital-acquired sacral pressure injury (HASPI). However, it is unknown whether SARS-CoV-2 infection affects HASPI development. To explore the role of SARS-CoV-2 infection in HASPI development, we conducted a single institution, multi-hospital, retrospective study of all patients hospitalized for ≥5 days from March 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Patient demographics, hospitalization information, ulcer characteristics, and 30-day-related morbidity were collected for all patients with HASPIs, and intact skin was collected from HASPI borders in a patient subset. We determined the incidence, disease course, and short-term morbidity of HASPIs in COVID-19(+) patients, and characterized the skin histopathology and tissue gene signatures associated with HASPIs in COVID-19 disease. COVID-19(+) patients had a 63% increased HASPI incidence rate, HASPIs of more severe ulcer stage (OR 2.0, p<0.001), and HASPIs more likely to require debridement (OR 3.1, p=0.04) compared to COVID-19(-) patients. Furthermore, COVID-19(+) patients with HASPIs had 2.2x increased odds of a more severe hospitalization course compared to COVID-19(+) patients without HASPIs. HASPI skin histology from COVID-19(+) patients predominantly showed thrombotic vasculopathy, with the number of thrombosed vessels being significantly greater than HASPIs from COVID-19(-) patients. Transcriptional signatures of a COVID-19(+) sample subset were enriched for innate immune responses, thrombosis, and neutrophil activation genes. Overall, our results suggest that immunologic dysregulation secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection, including neutrophil dysfunction and abnormal thrombosis, may play a pathogenic role in development of HASPIs in patients with severe COVID-19

High-speed diode-laser-absorption measurements of gas dynamics for diesel engines

A diode laser based sensor system, utilizing absorption spectroscopy, has been developed and applied to perform simultaneous measurements of gas temperature, gas pressure, and H2O concentration with 5 kHz measurement bandwidth. A 1387.2 nm tunable distributed feedback diode laser was used to scan across multiple H2O absorption transitions and the direct absorption signal was recorded with the help of a high-speed data acquisition system. H2O was chosen because the target molecule as it is a major product of combustion and absorbs strongly in the 1 – 1.5 &mgr;m region, enabling the use of low-cost telecommunications band diode lasers and optics. Compact optical connectors were designed to conduct measurements in the intake manifold, the EGR cooler exit, and the turbocharger inlet of a 6-cylinder Cummins 6.7L diesel engine featuring a unique cam-less variable valve actuation (VVA) system. These custom optical connectors survived gas temperatures as high as 800 K without the need for any active water or oil cooling. A spectral fitting code employing a Levenberg-Marquardt based least square fitting routine was developed to calculate the gas properties from the recorded absorption data. Diode laser measurements performed during steady state engine operation were within 5% of the thermocouple and pressure sensor measurements, and within 10% of the H2O concentration values derived from the CO2 gas analyzer measurements. Measurements were also performed in the engine during transient events such as step changes in the EGR and exhaust valve openings. In one such transient event, where the EGR valve was rapidly closed to decrease the EGR fraction from 40% to 0%, the diode laser sensor measurements in the intake manifold were able to accurately capture the 300 millisecond change; the thermocouple, on the other hand, required 60 seconds to accurately reflect the change in gas conditions, while the gas analyzer required nearly 2 seconds. This highlights the superior transient response of the diode laser sensor over thermocouples and the gas analyzer

Application of seed and foliar priming strategies to improve the growth and productivity of late sown wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Under north Indian conditions, wheat is sown late in the season due to delayed harvesting of basmati rice and cotton, which limit the productivity of the crop. Various priming strategies might help in improving the growth and productivity of the late sown wheat crop. To test the seed and foliar priming response on the emergence, growth and yield of late sown wheat, two feld experiments were conducted at the research farm of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, during 2015–2016 and 2016–2017. Both experiments were conducted in completely randomized block design with 3 treatments in the frst (November 5, November 20 and December 5) and 9 treatments in the second experiment [control, water spray, seed priming (SP), salicylic acid foliar priming (SA: 50, 75 and 100 ppm), combination of SP and SA]. Lower germination was observed in December 5 as compared to November 5 sowing. Seed priming signifcantly improved the emergence and growth of the late sown wheat. Seed priming increased tiller density, dry matter accumulation, leaf area index, normalized diference vegetative index (NDVI) and photosynthetically active radiation interception, number of efective tillers, grain and biomass yield and harvest index as compared to control. Foliar priming recorded signifcantly higher NDVI, proline content, grains ear−1, 1000-grain weight, grain yield and harvest index. Combined priming recorded the highest grain yield and harvest index as compared to seed and foliar priming alone. Wheat can be successfully grown under late sown condition with seed and foliar priming for less yield penalty

Strategies for high efficiency and stability in biogas-fuelled small engines

This work assesses the performance of small biogas-fuelled engines and explores high-efficiency strategies for power generation in the very low power range of less than 1000 W. Experiments were performed on a small 95-cc, single-cylinder, four-stroke spark-ignition engine operating on biogas. The engine was operated in two modes, i.e., `premixed' and `fuel injection' modes, using both single and dual spark plug configurations. Measurements of in-cylinder pressure, crank angle, brake power, air and fuel flow rates, and exhaust emissions were conducted. Cycle-to-cycle variations in engine in-cylinder pressure and power were also studied and assessed quantitatively for various loading conditions. Results suggest that biogas combustion can be fairly sensitive to the ignition strategies thereby affecting the power output and efficiency. Further, results indicate that continuous fuel injection shows superior performance compared to the premixed case especially at low loads owing to possible charge stratification in the engine cylinder. Overall, this study has demonstrated for the first time that a combination of technologies such as lean burn, fuel injection, and dual spark plug ignition can provide highly efficient and stable operation in a biogas-fuelled small S.I. engine, especially in the low power range of 450-1000W. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Human LC3 and GABARAP subfamily members achieve functional specificity via specific structural modulations

Submitted by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2019-08-27T17:30:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Human LC3 and GABARAP subfamily members.pdf: 8112205 bytes, checksum: eb1f2e99dfc8034ef553f8c671335818 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Nuzia Santos ([email protected]) on 2019-08-27T17:33:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Human LC3 and GABARAP subfamily members.pdf: 8112205 bytes, checksum: eb1f2e99dfc8034ef553f8c671335818 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2019-08-27T17:33:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Human LC3 and GABARAP subfamily members.pdf: 8112205 bytes, checksum: eb1f2e99dfc8034ef553f8c671335818 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology. Mathura Road, New Delhi, India.Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Bio21 Institute. University of Melbourne. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia / University of Cambridge. Department of Biochemistry. Cambridgeshire, UK / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto René Rachou. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Bio21 Institute. University of Melbourne. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto René Rachou. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.National Institute of Immunology. Aruna Asif Ali Marg. New Delhi, India.CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology. Mathura Road, New Delhi, India / Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR). CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology. Mathura Road, New Delhi, India / Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing. University of Heidelberg. Im Neuenheimer Feld 205. Heidelberg, Germany.Autophagy is a conserved adaptive cellular pathway essential to maintain a variety of physiological functions. Core components of this machinery are the six human Atg8 orthologs that initiate formation of appropriate protein complexes. While these proteins are routinely used as indicators of autophagic flux, it is presently not possible to discern their individual biological functions due to our inability to predict specific binding partners. In our attempts towards determining downstream effector functions, we developed a computational pipeline to define structural determinants of human Atg8 family members that dictate functional diversity. We found a clear evolutionary separation between human LC3 and GABARAP subfamilies and also defined a novel sequence motif responsible for their specificity. By analyzing known protein structures, we observed that functional modules or microclusters reveal a pattern of intramolecular network, including distinct hydrogen bonding of key residues (F52/Y49; a subset of HP2) that may directly modulate their interaction preferences. Multiple molecular dynamics simulations were performed to characterize how these proteins interact with a common protein binding partner, PLEKHM1. Our analysis showed remarkable differences in binding modes via intrinsic protein dynamics, with PLEKHM1-bound GABARAP complexes showing less fluctuations and higher number of contacts. We further mapped 373 genomic variations and demonstrated that distinct cancer-related mutations are likely to lead to significant structural changes. Our findings present a quantitative framework to establish factors underlying exquisite specificity of human Atg8 proteins, and thus facilitate the design of precise modulators. Abbreviations: Atg: autophagy-related; ECs: evolutionary constraints; GABARAP: GABA type A receptor-associated protein; HsAtg8: human Atg8; HP: hydrophobic pocket; KBTBD6: kelch repeat and BTB domain containing 6; LIR: LC3-interacting region; MAP1LC3/LC3: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3; MD: molecular dynamics; HIV-1 Nef: human immunodeficiency virus type 1 negative regulatory factor; PLEKHM1: pleckstrin homology and RUN domain containing M1; RMSD: root mean square deviation; SQSTM1/p62: sequestosome 1; WDFY3/ALFY: WD repeat and FYVE domain containing 3