Mobile laboratory measurements of air pollutants in Baltimore, MD elucidate issues of environmental justice.

The City of Baltimore, MD has a history of problems with environmental justice (EJ), air pollution, and the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Current chemical transport models lack the resolution to simulate concentrations on the scale needed, about 100 m, to identify the neighborhoods with anomalously high air pollution levels. In this paper we introduce the capabilities of a mobile laboratory and an initial survey of several pollutants in Baltimore to identify which communities are exposed to disproportionate concentrations of air pollution and to which species.

Validation of Two Scoring Tools to Predict Risk of Augmented Renal Clearance in Trauma Patients.

Introduction: Augmented renal clearance (ARC) is prevalent in trauma populations. Identification is underrecognized by calculated creatinine clearance or estimated glomerular filtration rate equations. Predictive scores may assist with ARC identification.

Evaluation of a Novel Enteral Phosphorus Therapy with Enteral Nutrition during a National Intravenous Sodium Phosphate Shortage.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intragastric administration of small volumes of sodium enema solution containing phosphorus as phosphorus replacement therapy in critically ill patients with traumatic injuries who required continuous enteral nutrition. Adult patients (>17 years of age) who had a serum phosphorus concentration <3 mg/dL (0.97 mmol/L) were evaluated.

Feasibility and metabolic outcomes of a well-formulated ketogenic diet as an adjuvant therapeutic intervention for women with stage IV metastatic breast cancer: The Keto-CARE trial.

Purpose: Ketogenic diets may positively influence cancer through pleiotropic mechanisms, but only a few small and short-term studies have addressed feasibility and efficacy in cancer patients. The primary goals of this study were to evaluate the feasibility and the sustained metabolic effects of a personalized well-formulated ketogenic diet (WFKD) designed to achieve consistent blood beta-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) >0.5 mM in women diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer (MBC) undergoing chemotherapy.

Significant Published Articles in 2022 for Pharmacy Nutrition Support Practice.

The purpose of this article is to assist the pharmacist engaged in nutrition support therapy in staying current with pertinent literature. Several clinical pharmacists engaged in nutrition support therapy compiled a list of articles published in 2022 considered important to their clinical practice. The citation list was compiled into a spreadsheet where the author participants were asked to assess whether the article was considered important to nutrition support pharmacy practice.

Enteral feeding tolerance during pharmacologic neuromuscular blockade.

A common misperception is that critically ill patients who receive paralytic therapy will not tolerate enteral nutrition. As a result, some clinicians empirically withhold enteral feedings for critically ill patients who receive neuromuscular blocker pharmacotherapy (NMB). The intent of this review is to examine the evidence regarding enteral feeding tolerance for critically ill patients given NMB.

A novel dual-plasmid platform provides scalable transfection yielding improved productivity and packaging across multiple AAV serotypes and genomes.

Transient transfection of mammalian cells using plasmid DNA is a standard method to produce adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors allowing for flexible and scalable manufacture. Typically, three plasmids are used to encode the necessary components to facilitate vector production; however, a dual-plasmid system, termed pDG, was introduced over 2 decades ago demonstrating two components could be combined resulting in comparable productivity to triple transfection. We have developed a novel dual-plasmid system, pOXB, with an alternative arrangement of sequences that results in significantly increased AAV vector productivity and percentage of full capsids packaged in comparison to the pDG dual design and triple transfection.

Inferred vehicular emissions at a near-road site: Impacts of COVID-19 restrictions, traffic patterns, and ambient air temperature.

Vehicles are a major source of anthropogenic emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO), and black carbon (BC). CO and NO are known to be harmful to human health and contribute to ozone formation, while BC absorbs solar radiation that contributes to global warming and also has negative impacts on human health and visibility. Travel restrictions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic provide researchers the opportunity to study the impact of large, on-road traffic reductions on local air quality.

VOC and trace gas measurements and ozone chemistry over the Chesapeake Bay during OWLETS-2, 2018.

The Ozone Water-Land Environmental Transition Study, 2018 (OWLETS-2) measured total non-methane hydrocarbons (TNMHC) and EPA PAMS Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) on an island site in the northern Chesapeake Bay 2.1 and 3.4 times greater in concentration, respectively, than simultaneous measurements at a land site just 13 km away across the land-water interface.

Gastric feeding intolerance in critically ill patients during sustained pharmacologic neuromuscular blockade.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess gastric feeding intolerance for critically ill patients who received sustained neuromuscular blocker (NMB) pharmacotherapy.

Methods: Adult patients (>17 years of age) admitted to the trauma intensive care unit who received continuous intravenous NMB pharmacotherapy (rocuronium, cisatracurium, vecuronium, or pancuronium) for ≥48 h during continuous intragastric enteral nutrition (EN) were retrospectively evaluated. Gastric feeding intolerance was defined by initiation of a prokinetic agent (metoclopramide, erythromycin, or both) for an elevated gastric residual volume (GRV) >300 ml and with distention of the abdomen by physical examination, observation of regurgitation or emesis, temporary discontinuation of EN with low intermittent gastric suctioning, or initiation of parenteral nutrition (PN).

Obesity and critical care nutrition: current practice gaps and directions for future research.

Background: This review has been developed following a panel discussion with an international group of experts in the care of patients with obesity in the critical care setting and focuses on current best practices in malnutrition screening and assessment, estimation of energy needs for patients with obesity, the risks and management of sarcopenic obesity, the value of tailored nutrition recommendations, and the emerging role of immunonutrition. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) increasingly present with overweight and obesity that require individualized nutrition considerations due to underlying comorbidities, immunological factors such as inflammation, and changes in energy expenditure and other aspects of metabolism. While research continues to accumulate, important knowledge gaps persist in recognizing and managing the complex nutritional needs in ICU patients with obesity.

Significant Published Articles in 2021 for Pharmacy Nutrition Support Practice.

The purpose of this article is to assist the pharmacist engaged in nutrition support therapy in staying current with pertinent literature. Several clinical pharmacists engaged in nutrition support therapy compiled a list of articles published in 2021 considered important to their clinical practice. The citation list was compiled into a single spreadsheet where the author participants were asked to assess whether the article was considered important to nutrition support pharmacy practice.

Ground-Level NO Surveillance from Space Across China for High Resolution Using Interpretable Spatiotemporally Weighted Artificial Intelligence.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO) at the ground level poses a serious threat to environmental quality and public health. This study developed a novel, artificial intelligence approach by integrating spatiotemporally weighted information into the missing extra-trees and deep forest models to first fill the satellite data gaps and increase data availability by 49% and then derive daily 1 km surface NO concentrations over mainland China with full spatial coverage (100%) for the period 2019-2020 by combining surface NO measurements, satellite tropospheric NO columns derived from TROPOMI and OMI, atmospheric reanalysis, and model simulations. Our daily surface NO estimates have an average out-of-sample (out-of-city) cross-validation coefficient of determination of 0.

Non-specialist emergency medicine qualifications in Africa: Lessons from the South African Diploma in Primary Emergency Care.

Introduction: Non-specialist emergency medicine qualifications are an important step in developing the specialty of emergency medicine. The Diploma in Primary Emergency Care (Dip PEC) of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa is one of the oldest registrable qualifications. Reviewing its changing role over time has lessons for academics developing Emergency Medicine training in Africa.