Bacterial Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning.

Although wastewater-based epidemiology has been used extensively for the surveillance of viral diseases, it has not been used to a similar extent for bacterial diseases. This is in part owing to difficulties in distinguishing pathogenic from nonpathogenic bacteria using PCR methods. Here, we show that surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be a scalable, label-free method for the detection of bacteria in wastewater.

Very-large-scale-integrated high quality factor nanoantenna pixels.

Metasurfaces precisely control the amplitude, polarization and phase of light, with applications spanning imaging, sensing, modulation and computing. Three crucial performance metrics of metasurfaces and their constituent resonators are the quality factor (Q factor), mode volume (V) and ability to control far-field radiation. Often, resonators face a trade-off between these parameters: a reduction in V leads to an equivalent reduction in Q, albeit with more control over radiation.

Rapid genetic screening with high quality factor metasurfaces.

Genetic analysis methods are foundational to advancing personalized medicine, accelerating disease diagnostics, and monitoring the health of organisms and ecosystems. Current nucleic acid technologies such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) rely on sample amplification and can suffer from inhibition. Here, we introduce a label-free genetic screening platform based on high quality (high-Q) factor silicon nanoantennas functionalized with nucleic acid fragments.

Frequency of epistaxis and telangiectasia in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) in comparison with the general population: Curaçao diagnostic criteria revisited.

Purpose: The Curaçao criteria are well-established diagnostic criteria for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), but they lack details regarding a predictive presentation of epistaxis and telangiectasias. This study collects and compares data in HHT and population cohorts to inform the application of these criteria.

Methods: In-person interviews regarding epistaxis and targeted examination for telangiectases in a general population cohort (n = 204) and an HHT cohort (n = 432) were conducted.

Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations: What the Interventional Radiologist Should Know.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) are abnormal connections between the pulmonary artery and pulmonary vein bypassing the normal capillary bed causing a right-to-left shunt. The majority (80-90%) of PAVMs are associated with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). PAVMs may be asymptomatic or present with symptoms of hypoxia, shortness of breath, migraines, sequelae of paradoxical embolization, or rupture.

Association of Mobile Workstations and Rounding-in-Flow with Resident Efficiency: A Controlled Study at an Academic Internal Medicine Department.

Background: Residents commonly use a batched workflow to round on hospitalized patients, creating redundancy and decreasing efficiency.

Objective: To improve resident efficiency through a novel workflow using mobile laptops and modified rounding-in-flow.

Design, Setting, Participants: A controlled experimental study conducted at an academic medical center for 3 months.

Best Practices for Germicidal Ultraviolet-C Dose Measurement for N95 Respirator Decontamination.

Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) decontamination holds promise in combating the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, particularly with its potential to mitigate the N95 respirator shortage. Safe, effective, and reproducible decontamination depends critically on UV-C dose, yet dose is frequently measured and reported incorrectly, which results in misleading and potentially harmful protocols. Understanding best practices in UV-C dose measurement for N95 respirator decontamination is essential to the safety of medical professionals, researchers, and the public.

Graphene Electric Field Sensor Enables Single Shot Label-Free Imaging of Bioelectric Potentials.

The measurement of electrical activity across systems of excitable cells underlies current progress in neuroscience, cardiac pharmacology, and neurotechnology. However, bioelectricity spans orders of magnitude in intensity, space, and time, posing substantial technological challenges. The development of methods permitting network-scale recordings with high spatial resolution remains key to studies of electrogenic cells, emergent networks, and bioelectric computation.

Current Understanding of Ultraviolet-C Decontamination of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to critical shortages of single-use N95 filtering facepiece respirators. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation as one of the most promising decontamination methods during crisis-capacity surges; however, understanding the mechanism of pathogen inactivation and post-treatment respirator performance is central to effective UV-C decontamination. We summarize the UV-C N95 decontamination evidence and identify key metrics.

Thermally conductive ultra-low-k dielectric layers based on two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks.

As the features of microprocessors are miniaturized, low-dielectric-constant (low-k) materials are necessary to limit electronic crosstalk, charge build-up, and signal propagation delay. However, all known low-k dielectrics exhibit low thermal conductivities, which complicate heat dissipation in high-power-density chips. Two-dimensional (2D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) combine immense permanent porosities, which lead to low dielectric permittivities, and periodic layered structures, which grant relatively high thermal conductivities.

Electronically Coupled 2D Polymer/MoS Heterostructures.

Emergent quantum phenomena in electronically coupled two-dimensional heterostructures are central to next-generation optical, electronic, and quantum information applications. Tailoring electronic band gaps in coupled heterostructures would permit control of such phenomena and is the subject of significant research interest. Two-dimensional polymers (2DPs) offer a compelling route to tailored band structures through the selection of molecular constituents.

Imaging electric field dynamics with graphene optoelectronics.

The use of electric fields for signalling and control in liquids is widespread, spanning bioelectric activity in cells to electrical manipulation of microstructures in lab-on-a-chip devices. However, an appropriate tool to resolve the spatio-temporal distribution of electric fields over a large dynamic range has yet to be developed. Here we present a label-free method to image local electric fields in real time and under ambient conditions.

Repeated corticosteroid injections into knee joints.

The effect of intra-articular injections of corticosteroids repeated over a period extending from four to 15 years on the radiological appearances of knee joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis has been studied. In 65 cases, the X-ray films of 15 showed no deterioration, 38 showed minimal or moderate deterioration, 10 showed marked deterioration and only 2 showed gross deterioration. The results do not support the contention that repeated intra-articular injections of corticosteroids will inevitably lead to rapid joint destruction.

Necrotizing fasciitis in narcotic addicts.

In its early stages necrotizing fasciitis may mimic an uncomplicated cellulitis, with erythema and only mild swelling and minimal pain. The combination of physical findings in a patient with a current history of drug addiction should arouse suspicion of an underlying fasciitis. An aggressive diagnostic approach including incisional biopsy, visual inspection of the underlying subcutaneous tissue, fasica and muscle, along with a Gram stain is suggested.

Intestinal fistula complicating pancreatic abscess.

Intestinal fistulization following acute pancreatitis is a complication of abscess formation and may occur after initial surgical drainage. It should be suspected in anyone with protracted pancreatitis in whom an abdominal mass suddenly disappears or in whom gastrointestinal bleeding develops. Although transient improvement may occur, decompression will often be incomplete and will usually be followed by recurrent sepsis or severe life threatening hemorrhage.