Fluid balance and renal replacement therapy initiation strategy: a secondary analysis of the STARRT-AKI trial.

Background: Among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), earlier initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) may mitigate fluid accumulation and confer better outcomes among individuals with greater fluid overload at randomization.

Methods: We conducted a pre-planned post hoc analysis of the STandard versus Accelerated initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) trial. We evaluated the effect of accelerated RRT initiation on cumulative fluid balance over the course of 14 days following randomization using mixed models after censoring for death and ICU discharge.

Ticagrelor Monotherapy Versus Dual-Antiplatelet Therapy After PCI: An Individual Patient-Level Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare ticagrelor monotherapy with dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents.

Background: The role of abbreviated DAPT followed by an oral P2Y inhibitor after PCI remains uncertain.

Methods: Two randomized trials, including 14,628 patients undergoing PCI, comparing ticagrelor monotherapy with standard DAPT on centrally adjudicated endpoints were identified, and individual patient data were analyzed using 1-step fixed-effect models.

Identification of hidden health utilization services and costs in adults awaiting tertiary care following mild traumatic brain injury in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Aim: The cognitive, emotional, behavioral and physical impairments experienced by adults after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can produce substantial disability, with 15-20% requiring referral to tertiary care (TC) for persistent symptoms.

Methods: A convenience sample of 201 adult patients referred to TC as a result of mTBI was studied. Self-reported data were collected at first TC visit, on average 10 months postinjury.

Pure hydroxyapatite phantoms for the calibration of in vivo X-ray fluorescence systems of bone lead and strontium quantification.

Plaster of Paris [poP, CaSO4·(1)/(2) H2O] is the standard phantom material used for the calibration of in vivo X-ray fluorescence (IVXRF)-based systems of bone metal quantification (i.e bone strontium and lead). Calibration of IVXRF systems of bone metal quantification employs the use of a coherent normalization procedure which requires the application of a coherent correction factor (CCF) to the data, calculated as the ratio of the relativistic form factors of the phantom material and bone mineral.

An X-ray Microanalytical Study of the Distribution of Cadmium in Roots of Zea mays L.

X-ray microanalysis of roots of Zea mays L. grown in the presence of cadmium, revealed that the absorbed metal is removed by normal electron microscope preparative procedures. Following pretreatment with either phosphate or sulphide to immobilize cadmium, the metal was detected in the walls of the sieve elements and in the middle lamella separating the endodermis from the pericycle.