Ultra-thin C/Si Shell Pieces as Amphiphilic Janus Materials for Efficient Oxidation Desulfurization.

Constructing favorable morphology is considered to be an effective strategy to enhance the amphiphilic performance of materials. The directional alignment of ultra-thin lamellar materials significantly facilitates utilization of active sites at the bi-phase interface. Herein, an ultra-thin amphiphilic C/Si shell pieces Janus material (d = 10.

Impact of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease on Sepsis Inpatient Outcomes: A Nationwide Sample Analysis (2000-2019).

Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) are reported to have an increased risk of developing severe infections, leading to hospitalizations with sepsis. However, data regarding the impact of comorbid NAFLD on in-hospital outcomes of patients with sepsis is scarce. This nationwide retrospective observational study using discharge data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality included 21,057,911 adult patients who were admitted to hospitals in the United States between 2000 and 2019 with a primary discharge diagnosis of sepsis.

A Contemporary Review of Blood Transfusion in Critically Ill Patients.

Blood transfusion is a common therapeutic intervention in hospitalized patients. There are numerous indications for transfusion, including anemia and coagulopathy with deficiency of single or multiple coagulation components such as platelets or coagulation factors. Nevertheless, the practice of transfusion in critically ill patients has been controversial mainly due to a lack of evidence and the need to consider the appropriate clinical context for transfusion.

Plasmapheresis in the ICU.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a treatment paradigm used to remove harmful molecules from the body. In short, it is a technique that employs a process that functions partially outside the body and involves the replacement of the patient's plasma. It has been used in the ICU for a number of different disease states, for some as a first-line treatment modality and for others as a type of salvage therapy.

Utilization and short-term outcomes of percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion in patients with cancer.

Background: Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has been rapidly evolving since FDA's approval in 2015 and has become more of a same-day-discharge procedure. Cancer patient with atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF) population can benefit from the procedure but the in-hospital outcomes and readmission data were rarely studied.

Objectives: We investigated the utilization, in-hospital and readmission outcomes in cancer patients with AF who underwent LAAO.

Incidence and Impact of Acute Pericarditis in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19.

Background Acute pericarditis (AP) is considered a cardiovascular complication in patients with COVID-19. We aimed to ass-ess the incidence, associated complications, and clinical impact of AP on hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods and Results In this retrospective cohort study, () codes were used to identify patients with COVID-19 with or without AP in the National Inpatient Sample 2020 database.

Colorectal Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma Presenting as Ulcerating Rectosigmoid Stricture.

Colorectal signet ring cell carcinoma is a rare type of colon cancer. Early diagnosis remains challenging because of nonspecific colonoscopy findings, such as diffuse circumferential thickening, stricture, and ulcerations, and the potential absence of typical pathological features in the initial biopsy sample. In this article, we report a 41-year-old man with ulcerating rectosigmoid stricture in the rectosigmoid colon with inconclusive histology.

Left-Sided Prosthetic Valve Dysfunction and Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

Introduction We sought to investigate the association between left-sided prosthetic valve dysfunction and gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Methods In a retrospective cohort of patients with left-sided prostheses, we identified those who experienced one or more GI bleeds. The latest or chronologically closest echocardiogram to the GI bleed was analyzed by a blinded investigator for prosthetic valve dysfunction.

Mechanical alignment tolerance of a cruciate-retaining knee prosthesis under gait loading-A finite element analysis.

Component alignment is one of the most crucial factors affecting total knee arthroplasty's clinical outcome and survival. This study aimed to investigate how coronal, sagittal, and transverse malalignment affects the mechanical behavior of the tibial insert and to determine a suitable alignment tolerance on the coronal, sagittal, and transverse planes. A finite element model of a cruciate-retaining knee prosthesis was assembled with different joint alignments (-10°, -7°, -5°, -3°, 0°, 3°, 5°, 7°, 10°) to assess the effect of malalignment under gait loading.

Failure analysis of a locking compression plate with asymmetric holes and polyaxial screws.

Locking compression plates (LCP) with asymmetrical holes and polyaxial screws are effective for treating mid-femoral fractures, but are prone to failure in cases of bone nonunion. To understand the failure mechanism of the LCP, this study assessed the material composition, microhardness, metallography, fractography and biomechanical performance of a retrieved LCP used for treating a bone fracture of AO type 32-A1. For the biomechanical assessment, a finite element surgical model implanted with the intact fixation-plate system was constructed to understand the stresses and structural stiffness on the construct.

Capability of auxetic femoral stems to reduce stress shielding after total hip arthroplasty.

Background: Stress shielding ​(SS) is considered the main mechanical cause of femoral stem loosening after total hip arthroplasty (THA). This study introduces an auxetic lattice femoral stem structure with negative Poisson's ratio that can expand laterally, with the intent of transferring more load to surrounding bone and thereby reducing SS. This study aims to evaluate how the geometry profile of different femoral stems with auxetic structures affects the level of SS.

AMSTAR 2 appraisal of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the field of heart failure from high-impact journals.

Background: The Measurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 2 is a critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) of interventions. We aimed to perform the first AMSTAR 2-based quality assessment of heart failure-related studies.

Methods: Eleven high-impact journals were searched from 2009 to 2019.

Biomechanical changes at the adjacent segments induced by a lordotic porous interbody fusion cage.

Biomechanical changes at the adjacent segments after interbody fusion are common instigators of adjacent segment degeneration (ASD). This study aims to investigate how the presence of a lordotic porous cage affects the biomechanical performance of the adjacent segments. A finite element model (FEM) of a lumbar spine implanted with a lordotic cage at L3-L4 was validated by in-vitro testing.

Femoral Stems With Porous Lattice Structures: A Review.

Cementless femoral stems are prone to stress shielding of the femoral bone, which is caused by a mismatch in stiffness between the femoral stem and femur. This can cause bone resorption and resultant loosening of the implant. It is possible to reduce the stress shielding by using a femoral stem with porous structures and lower stiffness.

The Three-Dimensional Morphology of Femoral Medullary Cavity in the Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the morphology of the femoral medullary canal in subjects with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) with the intent of improving the design of femoral stems in total hip arthroplasty.

Methods: Computed tomography images of 56 DDH hips, which were classified into Crowe I to Crowe IV, and 30 normal hips were collected and used to reconstruct three-dimensional morphology of the femoral medullary cavity. Images of twenty-one cross sections were taken from 20 mm above the apex of the lesser trochanter to the isthmus.

Ultrasmall amphiphilic zeolitic nanoreactors for the aerobic oxidation of alcohols in water.

Organic reactors in a green solvent (water) is the goal of sustainable development. Green nanoreactors with excellent amphiphilicity and catalytic activity are strongly desired. Herein, a novel amphiphilic nanoreactor Pd@amZSM-5 with ultrasmall size has been successfully synthesized via a simple one-step oil bath method, subjected to the modification-etching-modification strategy and in situ reduction of Pd2+.

Morbid obesity but not obesity is associated with increased mortality in patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: A national cohort study.

Background: The relationship between body weight and outcomes of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the impact of obesity and morbid obesity on mortality and ERCP-related complications in patients who underwent ERCP.

Methods: We conducted a US population-based retrospective cohort study using the Nationwide Readmissions Databases (2013-2014).

Challenges of pre-clinical testing in orthopedic implant development.

The market for orthopedic implants is growing rapidly with the increasing prevalence of orthopedic diseases in an aging society. Different designs and materials have been developed over the years and have, in general, shown excellent results in pre-clinical testing. However, there have been incidences of serious complications when novel implants or materials are put into clinical use, with some well-known cases being metallosis in patients implanted with metal-on-metal hip replacements and osteolysis from polyethylene wear debris generated in hip and knee joint replacements.

Long term follow-up after ventricular tachycardia ablation in patients with congenital heart disease.

Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is frequently encountered in patients with repaired and unrepaired congenital heart disease (CHD), causing significant morbidity and sudden cardiac death. Data regarding underlying VT mechanisms and optimal ablation strategies in these patients remain limited.

Objective: To describe the electrophysiologic mechanisms, ablation strategies, and long-term outcomes in patients with CHD undergoing VT ablation.

Association of regional myocardial conduction velocity with the distribution of hypoattenuation on contrast-enhanced perfusion computed tomography in patients with postinfarct ventricular tachycardia.

Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to be beneficial for identification of the ventricular tachycardia (VT) substrate before catheter ablation. Contrast-enhanced perfusion multidetector computed tomography (CEP-MDCT) is more generalizable to clinical practice, and wall thickness and regional hypoenhancement on CEP-MDCT can identify potential substrate sites, albeit with decreased specificity.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between wall thickness and attenuation on CEP-MDCT with local conduction velocity (CV) and electrogram abnormalities in patients with postinfarct VT.

Fundamental Role of Oxygen Stoichiometry in Controlling the Band Gap and Reactivity of Cupric Oxide Nanosheets.

CuO is a nonhazardous, earth-abundant material that has exciting potential for use in solar cells, photocatalysis, and other optoelectronic applications. While progress has been made on the characterization of properties and reactivity of CuO, there remains significant controversy on how to control the precise band gap by tuning conditions of synthetic methods. Here, we combine experimental and theoretical methods to address the origin of the wide distribution of reported band gaps for CuO nanosheets.

Use of high dynamic range imaging for quantitative combustion diagnostics.

High dynamic range (HDR) imaging is applied to quantitative combustion diagnostics in coflow laminar diffusion flames as a way to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and measurement sensitivity. The technique relies on the combination of partially saturated frames into a single unsaturated image; in this work, the effectiveness of the HDR approach is demonstrated when applied to two-color ratio pyrometry. Specifically, it is shown than an increase in SNR results in more precise temperature measurements for both soot and thin filament pyrometry.