Draft genome sequence of Enterococcus faecium SP15, a potential probiotic strain isolated from spring water.

Objectives: Enterococci are Gram-positive lactic acid bacteria and common inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tract of mammals, including humans. They are also widely distributed in diverse environments such as soil, water, vegetables and food. Enterococcus faecium is able to produce antimicrobial compounds (enterocins) and thus can act as a probiotic.

Metabolic Acidosis 1 Year Following Kidney Transplantation and Subsequent Cardiovascular Events and Mortality: An Observational Cohort Study.

Rationale & Objective: Recent studies suggest that metabolic acidosis is associated with mortality and graft failure in kidney transplant recipients. However, it is unknown whether serum bicarbonate (measured as total carbon dioxide [tCO] in serum) levels predict cardiovascular events (CVEs) following kidney transplantation.

Study Design: Observational cohort study.

Patient satisfaction on the utilization of traditional and complementary medicine services at public hospitals in Malaysia.

Background: Traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) has been integrated into the Malaysian public healthcare system since the establishment of the first T&CM unit at a public hospital in 2007. Assessing patient satisfaction is a vital component of health service evaluation. The main objective of this study is to determine the level of patient satisfaction with the utilization of T&CM services at public hospitals in Malaysia and assess the sociodemographic influence on the overall reporting of satisfaction.

Factors Associated with Increased Risk of Unplanned Hospital Readmission after Endovascular Aortoiliac Interventions.

Objectives   Readmissions to hospital after surgical procedures are considered as reflective of poor quality of healthcare provided during the index hospitalization and are associated with increased costs of healthcare. Aortoiliac occlusive disease represents an aggressive form of atherosclerotic disease and has been traditionally treated with open surgical bypasses. Endovascular interventions for aortoiliac occlusive disease are associated with comparable outcomes to open surgical procedures.

Asteroids® and Electrocardiograms: Proof of Concept of a Simulation for Task-Switching Training.

Introduction: Emergency physicians are interrupted during patient care with such tasks as reading electrocardiograms (ECGs). This phenomenon is known as task-switching which may be a teachable skill. Our objective was to evaluate the potential of a video game for simulating the cognitive demands required of task-switching.

Biotechnological approach of greywater treatment and reuse for landscape irrigation in small communities.

A level of water quality intended for human consumption does not seem necessary for domestic uses such as irrigation of green spaces. Alternative water supplies like the use of greywater (GW) can thus be considered. However, GW contains pathogenic microorganisms and organic compounds which can cause environmental and health risks.

African Americans are less likely to have elective endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Objective: Recently published Society for Vascular Surgery guidelines recommend endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for both elective and emergent treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm in patients with suitable anatomy. Racial disparities in health care are well known. The aim of this study was to stratify the patients undergoing EVAR on the basis of their racial differences and to determine the differences in preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables among patients of different races.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Kidney Transplant Recipients with a Functioning Graft for More than 25 Years.

Background: Information regarding the clinical characteristics and outcomes of kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) with > 25 years of graft survival is limited.

Methods: In this single-center observational study, we characterized KTRs transplanted between 1973 and 1992 with active follow-up as of July 31, 2017.

Results: We identified 112 patients with > 25 years of allograft function.

Prevalence of and factors associated with diarrhoeal diseases among children under five in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study 2016.

Background: Globally, diarrhoea is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among children under than 5 years of age. There is a scarcity of published data on acute gastroenteritis (AGE) prevalence in Malaysia among children. This study aims to determine factors associated with diarrhoea in children aged less than 5 years in Malaysia.

Draft Genome Sequence of the Phenol-Degrading Bacterium sp. Strain P-10, Isolated from Trichloroethene-Contaminated Aquifer Soil.

A batch culture was enriched on phenol with trichloroethene-contaminated aquifer soil as an inoculum. Cupriavidus sp. strain P-10 was isolated from the culture using a diluted plating method.

Improved mechanical properties of k-carrageenan-based nanocomposite films reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals.

This work investigates the isolation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from sugarcane bagasse (SCB) waste and the evaluation of their mechanical reinforcement capability for k-carrageenan biopolymer. The results from Atomic Force Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy indicated the successful extraction of CNC from SCB following alkali, bleaching and acid hydrolysis treatments. The CNC displayed a needle-like structure with an average aspect ratio of 55.

Subclinical Antibody-mediated Rejection After Kidney Transplantation: Treatment Outcomes.

Background: Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality after kidney transplantation. Early diagnosis and treatment of subclinical AMR based on the donor-specific antibody (DSA) testing may result in better outcomes.

Methods: We tested this hypothesis in 220 kidney transplant recipients who underwent an indication or DSA-based surveillance protocol biopsies between March 1, 2013 and December 31, 2016.

Outbreak investigation of ceftriaxone-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi and its risk factors among the general population in Hyderabad, Pakistan: a matched case-control study.

Background: Pakistan is currently facing the largest outbreak of ceftriaxone-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi described to date. Here we aimed to report the outbreak investigation done in Hyderabad, Pakistan, and identify disease risk factors.

Methods: We did an age-matched case-control (1:4) study, in which cases of ceftriaxone-resistant S Typhi were identified from active sentinal sites (three hospitals in Hyderabad, Pakistan), community, and laboratory-based surveillance.

Risk factors for graft loss in kidney transplant recipients with g3 glomerulitis: A single-center experience .

Background: Risk factors for graft loss in kidney transplant recipients with g3 lesions are poorly defined.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated outcomes in 37 consecutive kidney transplant biopsies diagnosed with g3 glomerulitis based on Banff 2013 criteria in a single-center observational study.

Results: The diagnosis of g3 glomerulonephritis was made 6.

The clinical burden of allergic rhinitis in five Middle Eastern countries: results of the SNAPSHOT program.

Background: The SNAPSHOT program provides current data on the allergic rhinitis burden in the adult general population of five Middle Eastern countries (Egypt, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the latter three grouped into a Gulf cluster).

Methods: A multi-country, cross-sectional, epidemiological program conducted by telephone in a random sample of the adult general population; quotas were defined per country demographics. Subjects were screened for allergic rhinitis using the Score For Allergic Rhinitis questionnaire.

Lipid lowering in dialysis patients with cardiovascular disease who are awaiting kidney transplantation.

Dyslipidemias are highly prevalent in chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease, and kidney transplant patients. These dyslipidemias are associated with high cardiovascular risk and mortality. Many clinical trials have shown that statin therapy can significantly reduce adverse cardiovascular events in chronic kidney disease patients and kidney transplant recipients.

Clinical Significance of Microvascular Inflammation in the Absence of Anti-HLA DSA in Kidney Transplantation.

Background: Limited information exists about outcomes of HLA donor-specific antibody (DSA) negative (DSA-) microvascular inflammation (MVI).

Methods: We report our experience with 25 DSA- patients with MVI compared to 155 DSA+ patients who met Banff 2013 criteria for antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). We also compared outcomes to 228 DSA+ patients whose biopsies were negative for rejection and served as a negative control.

Hypertension guidelines: How do they apply to kidney transplant recipients.

Hypertension is common among kidney transplant recipients and may result from traditional risk factors or transplant specific variables, which commonly include donor associated causes, immunosuppression, or transplant renal artery stenosis. Uncontrolled blood pressure in this patient population is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, and decreased graft survival. Despite these negative associations, there are no randomized controlled trials looking at the optimal blood pressure targets and identifying the best antihypertensive regimen for this special patient population.

Use of quantitative molecular diagnostic methods to assess the aetiology, burden, and clinical characteristics of diarrhoea in children in low-resource settings: a reanalysis of the MAL-ED cohort study.

Background: Optimum management of childhood diarrhoea in low-resource settings has been hampered by insufficient data on aetiology, burden, and associated clinical characteristics. We used quantitative diagnostic methods to reassess and refine estimates of diarrhoea aetiology from the Etiology, Risk Factors, and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development (MAL-ED) cohort study.

Methods: We re-analysed stool specimens from the multisite MAL-ED cohort study of children aged 0-2 years done at eight locations (Dhaka, Bangladesh; Vellore, India; Bhaktapur, Nepal; Naushero Feroze, Pakistan; Venda, South Africa; Haydom, Tanzania; Fortaleza, Brazil; and Loreto, Peru), which included active surveillance for diarrhoea and routine non-diarrhoeal stool collection.

Use of quantitative molecular diagnostic methods to investigate the effect of enteropathogen infections on linear growth in children in low-resource settings: longitudinal analysis of results from the MAL-ED cohort study.

Background: Enteropathogen infections in early childhood not only cause diarrhoea but contribute to poor growth. We used molecular diagnostics to assess whether particular enteropathogens were associated with linear growth across seven low-resource settings.

Methods: We used quantitative PCR to detect 29 enteropathogens in diarrhoeal and non-diarrhoeal stools collected from children in the first 2 years of life obtained during the Etiology, Risk Factors, and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development (MAL-ED) multisite cohort study.

Unfiltered Nanofat Injections Rejuvenate Postburn Scars of Face.

The aim of this study was to compare the quality of postburn facial scars before and after injection of unfiltered nanofat. The study was performed in the Plastic Surgery Department of Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from January 2015 to December 2016. Forty-eight patients with postburn facial scars were included; age range was 4 to 32 years with Fitzpatrick skin types between 3 and 4.

Pediatric Extradural Hematoma: Clinical Assessment Using King's Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury.

Introduction: Epidural hematoma (EDH) is a traumatic accumulation of blood between the inner table of the skull and the stripped off dural membrane and predominantly consists of venous blood in infants. The study aims to assess the outcome of pediatric EDH using King's Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury (KOSCHI).

Materials And Methods: A total of 72 patients' files were reviewed retrospectively with a diagnosis of EDH from January 2012 to December 2014.

A facile hydrothermal approach for catalytic and optical behavior of tin oxide- graphene (SnO2/G) nanocomposite.

A cost-effective, facile hydrothermal approach was made for the synthesis of SnO2/graphene (Gr) nano-composites. XRD diffraction spectra clearly confirmed the presence of tetragonal crystal system of SnO2 which was maintaining its structure in both pure and composite materials' matrix. The stretching and bending vibrations of the functional groups were analyzed using FTIR analysis.