Complex Multimodality Central Airway Management of Aspergillus Pseudomembranous Tracheobronchitis

A 69-year-old woman developed central airway obstruction due to invasive Aspergillus infection resulting in pseudomembranous tracheobronchitis (PTB). Several challenges were encountered in the airway management of this patient including her having relatively smaller airways which were more prone to obstruction by pseudomembranes and made airway interventions difficult. The patient had clinical deterioration in spite of antifungal therapy and bronchoscopic debridement. The multimodality airway techniques included the use of smaller biliary balloons for dilatation, using a hybrid stent to slowly dilate and maintain patency of right main stem and finally the insertion of right secondary carina peripheral Y stent, which resulted in clinical improvement and allowed time for antifungal therapy to take effect. To the best of our knowledge, the use of a peripheral Y stent has never been described in the setting of PTB

Global Existence and Uniqueness of a Field Modelling the Thermal State of Three-dimensional Superconductor (1≤ N ≤ 3)

In this paper, we will study the global existence of a thermic field modelling the physical state of a three - dimensional superconductor. The superconductor is considered as a widely bounded regular field, with the usual physical data.In this paper, we will study the global existence of a thermic field modelling the physical state of a three - dimensional superconductor. The superconductor is considered as a widely bounded regular field, with the usual physical data

Equation Governing the Thermal State of a Superconductor with Nonlinear Thermophysical Coefficients: Existence and Uniqueness

The aim of this paper is to prove the existence and uniqueness of the problem's solution: Our basic idea is to adapt an approach coupling between two processes: 1. An iterative scheme that helps to exploit all the results obtained in [11][15]. 2.  A construction of solutions sequence (Un)nЄIN IN E, wich converges to the solution of the problem.The aim of this paper is to prove the existence and uniqueness of the problem's solution: Our basic idea is to adapt an approach coupling between two processes: 1. An iterative scheme that helps to exploit all the results obtained in [11][15]. 2.  A construction of solutions sequence (Un)nЄIN IN E, wich converges to the solution of the problem

The Middle Atlas Geological karsts forms: Towards Geosites characterization

International audienceRich limestone Jurassic formations and huge water reservoir are natural characteristics of the Middle Atlas Chain in Morocco, which, therefore, offers geodiversity of karst geosystems. The geological, tectonic and hydro-geo-morphological nature of the history of Atlas orogeny has affected the eastern part of the Middle, ensuring the evolution of karst features on various sites of this zone. This study presents some touristic offers specific to the Middle Atlas, particularly in terms of genesis, structures, and functions that could develop and promote public tourism offers. It argues that this development depends on future geological funds identification and classification as Geosites. On the basis of the patrimonial process characterising the Middle Atlas, this study suggests the creation of a Geopark in the Middle Atlas, within the framework of the evaluation criteria of the UNESCO. The implementation of this suggestion would contribute to the socioeconomic development of this region of Morocco

A Transdiagnostic Examination of Cognitive Heterogeneity in Children and Adolescents with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) demonstrate extensive cognitive heterogeneity that is not adequately captured by traditional diagnostic systems. Using a transdiagnostic approach, a retrospective cohort study of cognitive functioning was conducted with a large heterogenous sample (n = 1529) of children and adolescents 7 to 18 years of age with NDDs. Measures of short-term memory, verbal ability, and reasoning were administered to participants with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), comorbid ADHD/ASD, and typically developing (TD) participants using a 12-item web-based neurocognitive testing battery. Unsupervised machine learning techniques were implemented to create a self-organizing map (SOM), an artificial neural network, in conjunction with k-means clustering algorithms to identify data-driven subgroups. Six clusters representing different cognitive profiles were identified, including participants with varying degrees of cognitive impairment. Diagnostic status did not correspond with cluster-membership, providing evidence for the application of transdiagnostic approaches to understanding cognitive heterogeneity in children and adolescents with NDDs. Additionally, the findings suggest that many TD participants may have undiagnosed learning difficulties, emphasizing the need for accessible cognitive assessment tools in school-based settings

Comparative Pathogenomics of Bacteria Causing Infectious Diseases in Fish

Fish living in the wild as well as reared in the aquaculture facilities are susceptible to infectious diseases caused by a phylogenetically diverse collection of bacterial pathogens. Control and treatment options using vaccines and drugs are either inadequate, inefficient, or impracticable. The classical approach in studying fish bacterial pathogens has been looking at individual or few virulence factors. Recently, genome sequencing of a number of bacterial fish pathogens has tremendously increased our understanding of the biology, host adaptation, and virulence factors of these important pathogens. This paper attempts to compile the scattered literature on genome sequence information of fish pathogenic bacteria published and available to date. The genome sequencing has uncovered several complex adaptive evolutionary strategies mediated by horizontal gene transfer, insertion sequence elements, mutations and prophage sequences operating in fish pathogens, and how their genomes evolved from generalist environmental strains to highly virulent obligatory pathogens. In addition, the comparative genomics has allowed the identification of unique pathogen-specific gene clusters. The paper focuses on the comparative analysis of the virulogenomes of important fish bacterial pathogens, and the genes involved in their evolutionary adaptation to different ecological niches. The paper also proposes some new directions on finding novel vaccine and chemotherapeutic targets in the genomes of bacterial pathogens of fish

The Middle Atlas Geological karsts forms: Towards Geosites characterization

Rich limestone Jurassic formations and huge water reservoir are natural characteristics of the Middle Atlas Chain in Morocco, which, therefore, offers geodiversity of karst geosystems. The geological, tectonic and hydro-geo-morphological nature of the history of Atlas orogeny has affected the eastern part of the Middle, ensuring the evolution of karst features on various sites of this zone. This study presents some touristic offers specific to the Middle Atlas, particularly in terms of genesis, structures, and functions that could develop and promote public tourism offers. It argues that this development depends on future geological funds identification and classification as Geosites. On the basis of the patrimonial process characterising the Middle Atlas, this study suggests the creation of a Geopark in the Middle Atlas, within the framework of the evaluation criteria of the UNESCO. The implementation of this suggestion would contribute to the socioeconomic development of this region of Morocco

Heat Shock Protein 70 Expression in Juvenile Eastern Oysters, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791), Exposed to Anoxic Conditions

Anoxic water events in conjunction with summer high temperatures are thought to be one of the causes of declines in natural oyster reefs on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Work is underway to determine whether tolerance to low oxygen can be selected for in hatchery-produced oysters. As a component of this work, the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP 70) was examined in control (normoxia) and anoxia-challenged juvenile oysters. Parental Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica were collected from 2 sites, Cedar Point Reef (CP), an area considered to have normoxic conditions, and White House Reef (WH), an area suspected to experience periodic anoxia. F1 generation oysters were produced from CP and WH parents that survived an anoxic exposure of 96 h. Control F1 generation oysters from both parental stocks not exposed to anoxia were also produced. The F1 generation oysters were subsequently exposed to anoxia or control normoxic conditions, and differences in expression of HSP 70 were examined. Nitrogen was used to create the anoxic conditions for both the parental and F1 generations. Three HSP 70 isoforms—2 constitutive forms (HSC 77 and HSC 72) and 1 inducible form (HSP 69)—were expressed in both anoxia- and normoxia-exposed oysters from all groups. Although there were differences among groups of oysters from the 2 sites, there were no differences in the expression of HSC 77 and HSC 72 between the control and anoxia-treated oysters within a group. Interestingly, the expression of HSP 69 was higher in oysters exposed to normoxia than the ones from anoxia treatments. These differences are thought to reflect a combination of responses to nutritional stress in the controls and facultative anaerobiosis and metabolic arrest in the anoxia groups

Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity of Ag/WO3 Nanoparticles and its Antibacterial Activity Under Ambient Light and in The Dark

Nanomaterial such as metals and metal oxide photocatalysts have emerged as important tools for removing contaminants from wastewater and as antibacterial agents to prevent infections; this is mainly due to their stability under different irradiation conditions. Herein, the catalytic and antimicrobial activities of nanocrystalline silver (Ag), supported on tungsten oxide (WO3) nanoparticles prepared using the deposition-precipitation synthesis technique, are studied. The synthesized material was characterized as XRD, XPS, TEM, and TEM-EDS to investigate their physio-chemical properties. HRTEM, XPS analysis shows that the photocatalyst has a large sheet-like morphology with well-dispersed small metallic Ag particles (<3 nm) on the WO3 nanoparticle's surface, with most particles near the edges. Ultraviolet–visible spectra analysis observed a large redshift in the absorbing band edge and decreased bandgap energy from 2.6 to 2.1 eV. Photocatalytic analysis at different concentrations of 1% Ag/WO3 under visible light indicated a high degradation efficiency. The largest degradation efficiency of Methylene Blue (MB) under visible light irradiation was (∼80%) in 120 min at 1 g/L catalyst dosage. The photodegradation of MB under visible light as a function of catalyst dose followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. In addition, the catalyst shows high degradation efficiency and significant dose-dependent inhibition of Gram-negative E. Coli and the Gram-positive S. aureus. Furthermore, the catalyst showed excellent stability and recyclability

The impact of clothing style on bone mineral density among post menopausal women in Morocco: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: The clothing style is an important factor that influences vitamin D production and thus bone mineral density. We performed a case-control study in order to evaluate the effect of veil wearing (concealing clothing) on bone mineral density in Moroccan post menopausal women. METHODS: The cases were osteoporotic women whose disease was assessed by bone mineral density measurement. Each patient was matched with a non osteoporotic woman for age, and body mass index. All our patients were without secondary causes or medications that might affect bone density. The veil was defined as a concealing clothing which covered most of the body including the arms, the legs and the head. This definition is this of the usual Moroccan traditional clothing style. RESULTS: 178 post menopausal osteoporotic patients and 178 controls were studied. The mean age of the cases and the controls was 63.2 years (SD 7) and the mean body mass index was 32.1 (SD 8). The results of crude Odds Ratios analyses indicated that wearing a veil was associated with a high risk of osteoporosis: OR 2.29 (95% CI, 1.38–3.82). Multiparity or a history of familial peripheral osteoporotic fractures had also a significant effect on increasing the osteoporosis risk (ORs: 1.87 (95% CI, 1.05–3.49) and 2.01 (95% CI, 1.20–3.38)). After a multiple regression analysis, wearing the veil and a history of familial osteoporotic fractures remained the both independent factors that increased the osteoporosis risk (ORs: 2.20 (95% CI, 1.22–3.9) and 2.19 (95% CI, 1.12–4.29) respectively). CONCLUSION: our study suggested that in Moroccan post menopausal women, wearing a traditional concealing clothing covering arms, legs and head increased the risk of osteoporosis. Further studies are required to evaluate the clinical impact of the above findings and to clarify the status of vitamin D among veiled women in Morocco