Epidemiology and outcomes of Clostridium difficile infection in allogeneic hematopoietic cell and lung transplant recipients

BackgroundClostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common complication of lung and allogeneic hematopoietic cell (HCT) transplant, but the epidemiology and outcomes of CDI after transplant are poorly described.MethodsWe performed a prospective, multicenter study of CDI within 365 days post‐allogeneic HCT or lung transplantation. Data were collected via patient interviews and medical chart review. Participants were followed weekly in the 12 weeks post‐transplant and while hospitalized and contacted monthly up to 18 months post‐transplantation.ResultsSix sites participated in the study with 614 total participants; 4 enrolled allogeneic HCT (385 participants) and 5 enrolled lung transplant recipients (229 participants). One hundred and fifty CDI cases occurred within 1 year of transplantation; the incidence among lung transplant recipients was 13.1% and among allogeneic HCTs was 31.2%. Median time to CDI was significantly shorter among allogeneic HCT than lung transplant recipients (27 days vs 90 days; P = .037). CDI was associated with significantly higher mortality from 31 to 180 days post‐index date among the allogeneic HCT recipients (Hazard ratio [HR] = 1.80; P = .007). There was a trend towards increased mortality among lung transplant recipients from 120 to 180 days post‐index date (HR = 4.7, P = .09).ConclusionsThe epidemiology and outcomes of CDI vary by transplant population; surveillance for CDI should continue beyond the immediate post‐transplant period.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143790/1/tid12855_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143790/2/tid12855.pd

Quasi-elastic processes of the 48Ca + 120Sn system and the 48Ca nuclear matter density

We present the results of a high-precision quasi-elastic excitation function measurement for the 48Ca + 120Sn system at θLAB = 160 at near-barrier energies in steps of 1.0 MeV. The corresponding quasi-elastic barrier distribution is derived. A large-scale coupled-channel calculation was performed to investigate the role of several reaction channels in the reaction mechanism. An excellent agreement between theory and data was obtained for the barrier distribution. The first quadrupole vibrations of the 48Ca and 120Sn, the 2n, and the 4He transfers have a strong influence on the reaction mechanism and are responsible for the good agreement achieved. The 1n transfer has a minor importance in the result when compared with the 2n transfer, which suggests that the pairing correlation might play an important role in the 2n-neutron transfer process. However, if the octupole vibration of the projectile is included in the coupling scheme, the agreement with the data gets worse. The comparison of the coupled-channel calculations with experimental data leads to the conclusion that the nuclear matter diffuseness of the 48Ca nucleus is 0.56 fm in agreement with most of the double-magic nuclei.European Community 26201

Fluid-membrane tethers: minimal surfaces and elastic boundary layers

Thin cylindrical tethers are common lipid bilayer membrane structures, arising in situations ranging from micromanipulation experiments on artificial vesicles to the dynamic structure of the Golgi apparatus. We study the shape and formation of a tether in terms of the classical soap-film problem, which is applied to the case of a membrane disk under tension subject to a point force. A tether forms from the elastic boundary layer near the point of application of the force, for sufficiently large displacement. Analytic results for various aspects of the membrane shape are given.Comment: 12 page