Evaluating the feasibility, sensitivity, and specificity of next-generation molecular methods for pleural infection diagnosis.

Pleural infections are common and associated with substantial healthcare costs, morbidity, and mortality. Accurate diagnosis remains challenging due to low culture positivity rates, frequent polymicrobial involvement, and non-specific diagnostic biomarkers. Here, we undertook a prospective study examining the feasibility and performance of molecular methods for diagnosing suspected pleural infection.

Unusual bot fly larva removed from the scalp of a returning traveler.

An aberrant bot fly specimen was removed from the scalp of a patient 3 wk after returning from Belize. The specimen showed little resemblance to the typical human bot fly larva, Dermatobia hominis, prompting a molecular identification using cytochrome oxidase I and II (COI and COII, respectively) mitochondrial DNA sequence regions. A BLAST search was subsequently performed, and both our COI and COII amplicon sequences showed 99-100% match with Dermatobia hominis, despite the specimen's clearly aberrant morphology.

Drivers of behavior in two tick species, and (Acari: Ixodidae), in a laboratory setting.

Ticks and tick-borne diseases are of increasing concern in the United States, and understanding tick behavior could be crucial to limiting the exposure of humans and other animals to ticks. Here, we wanted to understand the drivers of questing and burrowing in and . We used a factorial design to assess the effects of substrate (sand, soil, and rock), temperature (16° and 22° C), tick species ( and ), and competition (homogenous or heterogenous mixture of ticks in the arena) on tick behavior in laboratory arenas.

Murine typhus: a re-emerging rickettsial zoonotic disease.

Murine typhus, caused by , is re-emerging in many parts of the world. The disease is also called endemic typhus to differentiate from epidemic typhus (caused by ), and sometimes also named flea-borne typhus. Occasionally, literature sources will include as a causative agent of flea-borne typhus, but illnesses caused by are actually flea-borne spotted fever.

Catalytic Deprotection of Alkyne Dicobalt Hexacarbonyl Complexes using Near-Infrared Photocatalysis.

Dicobalt hexacarbonyl complexes are well-known for their applications in the Nicholas reaction or simply as a protecting group for alkynes. To recover the alkyne, demetalation is necessary, which usually involves a stoichiometric amount of an oxidizing agent or a strong ligand. This article reports a demetalation methodology based on a photocatalytic process.

CT- and MR-based image-based data mining are consistent in the brain.

Purpose: Image-based data mining (IBDM) is a voxel-based analysis technique to investigate dose-response. Most often, IBDM uses radiotherapy planning CTs because of their broad accessibility, however, it was unknown whether CT provided sufficient soft tissue contrast for brain IBDM. This study evaluates whether MR-based IBDM improves upon CT-based IBDM for studies of children with brain tumours.

Laboratory studies of movement and microenvironment choices of engorged adult female Amblyomma maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae).

Microenvironmental factors affect ovipositional choices and behavior in ticks. In this study, engorged female Amblyomma maculatum Koch were released in an observation arena covered with garden soil. The arena was evenly split into wet and dry sides, each containing 5 different types of structures (totaling 10).

Near-infrared photocatalysis with cyanines: synthesis, applications and perspectives.

Cyanines are organic dyes bearing two aza-heterocycles linked by a polymethine chain. Excited states, fluorescence, redox activity, and energy transfer are interesting properties of cyanines which have been used by chemists. Moreover, they are easily accessible and highly tunable.

Average Temperature as a Marker of Lymphoma-Associated HLH.

Methods: This retrospective analysis aimed to assess whether a 12-hour mean temperature (measured around either diagnosis of HLH or peak ferritin value) has value as a quick and simple diagnostic test for HLH in people with lymphoproliferative disease (LPD). Hospital records from 2018 to 2022 were retrospectively screened for patients with LPD and peak ferritin during admission to hospital >3000ng/mL. Patients were grouped as either HLH or non-HLH after consensus discussion at a multi-disciplinary meeting with access to full, detailed patient records and H-scores.

A prospective study of financial worry, mental health changes and the moderating effect of social support among Canadian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the impact of risk factors for adolescent mental health, including financial worry. Social support has shown to protect from negative mental health during times of stress. We examined the effect of financial worry on changes in anxiety and depression symptoms among Canadian adolescents prior to and during the pandemic, and assessed whether social support from family and friends moderated any changes.

3D-Printed Eosin Y-Based Heterogeneous Photocatalyst for Organic Reactions.

Heterogenization of Eosin Y by 3D-printing and its application in photocatalysis are reported. The approach allows a fine tuning of the photocatalyst morphology and its rapid preparation. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated through model organic reactions involving oxidation, reduction, and photosensitization pathways.

The clinical significance of sub-total surgical resection in childhood medulloblastoma: a multi-cohort analysis of 1100 patients.

Background: Medulloblastoma patients with a sub-total surgical resection (STR; >1.5 cm primary tumour residuum post-surgery) typically receive intensified treatment. However, the association of STR with poor outcomes has not been observed consistently, questioning the validity of STR as a high-risk disease feature.

Immediate Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Heart and Kidney Transplantation and the Recovery Trends in 30 Developed and Less-Developed Countries.

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic had multifaceted and disproportionate impacts on various countries. We investigated the decline of heart and kidney transplantation in 2020 and recovery trends in 2020, 2021, and 2022 in 30 developed and developing countries, considering COVID-19 incidence and mortality and pandemic-time economic variables. MATERIAL AND METHODS Data were obtained from reliable open databases.

Ibrutinib as first-line therapy for mantle cell lymphoma: a multicenter, real-world UK study.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ibrutinib with or without rituximab was approved in England for initial treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) instead of immunochemotherapy. Because limited data are available in this setting, we conducted an observational cohort study evaluating safety and efficacy. Adults receiving ibrutinib with or without rituximab for untreated MCL were evaluated for treatment toxicity, response, and survival, including outcomes in high-risk MCL (TP53 mutation/deletion/p53 overexpression, blastoid/pleomorphic, or Ki67 ≥ 30%).

Density-dependent within-patch movement behavior of two competing species.

Movement behavior is central to understanding species distributions, population dynamics and coexistence with other species. Although the relationship between conspecific density and emigration has been well studied, little attention has been paid to how interspecific competitor density affects another species' movement behavior. We conducted releases of two species of competing flour beetles at different densities, alone and together in homogeneous microcosms, and tested whether their recaptures-with-distance were well described by a random-diffusion model.

Facial Expression of TIPI Personality and CHMP-Tri Psychopathy Traits in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) : Evidence for Honest Signalling?

Honest signalling theory suggests that humans and chimpanzees can extract socially relevant information relating to personality from the faces of their conspecifics. Humans are also able to extract information from chimpanzees' faces. Here, we examine whether personality characteristics of chimpanzees, including measures of psychopathy, can be discerned based purely on facial morphology in photographs.

Effect of Perioperative Antithrombotics on Postoperative Transfusion and Hematoma in Head and Neck Free Flaps.

Objective: To explore if antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy increases the risk of transfusion requirement or postoperative hematoma formation in patients undergoing microvascular reconstruction for head and neck defects.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Departments of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Colorado, and the University of California Irvine.

Second Generation of Near-Infrared Cyanine-Based Photocatalysts for Faster Organic Transformations.

A second generation of cyanine-based near-infrared photocatalysts has been developed to accelerate organic transformations. Cyanines were prepared and fully characterized prior to evaluation of their photocatalytic activities. Catalyst efficiency was determined by using two model oxidation and reduction reactions.

Bladder pain syndrome and pregnancy.

Bladder pain syndrome (BPS) is a poorly understood condition. In pregnancy, lower urinary tract symptoms and pain are common, but the possibility of BPS is rarely considered and almost never explored. The consequences of BPS on pregnancy and vice versa are poorly understood, and management options appear to be limited.

Anomalous phenology of Ixodes scapularis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) in Mississippi.

The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, is one of the most important vectors of tick-borne disease agents in North America. Accordingly, it is crucial to know this species local composition, abundance, and seasonality (phenology) to help prevent tick-borne illnesses. The phenology of adult I.

Synthesis and Characterization of Antimicrobial Hydrophobic Polyurethane.

Food borne illness remains a major threat to public health despite new governmental guidelines and industry standards. Cross-contamination of both pathogenic and spoilage bacteria from the manufacturing environment can promote consumer illness and food spoilage. While there is guidance in cleaning and sanitation procedures, manufacturing facilities can develop bacterial harborage sites in hard-to-reach areas.