Phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitors do not influence lactate kinetics and clinical outcomes in patients with septic shock: A multicentre cohort study.

Purpose: We investigated the association between the administration of phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitors (PDE3i) and lactate kinetics, resolution of organ failure, ICU and hospital length of stay (LOS) and hospital mortality in a retrospective cohort of patients with septic shock and persistently elevated lactate concentrations.

Material And Methods: Patients with septic shock and two arterial lactate concentrations ≥4 mmol/L with at least 4 h between measurements were eligible. Clinical data of the first four days of admission were collected in an online database.

Further Exploration of Heat of Immersion as a Method to Quantify Wettability for Particulates: Effect of Temperature.

A previous paper [Weston et al. , , 4274-4284] by our group concluded that to distinguish between the wettability of different particles, heat of immersion is the best method, as opposed to the Washburn or sessile drop method. In this paper, heats of immersion of three different particles with three different wettabilities are measured at different temperatures to examine one critical assumption concerning the temperature dependence of the heat of immersion.

Intensity and Variation of Health Navigator Support: Addressing Medical and Social Needs of Diabetes Patients in East Oakland.

Background: Healthcare systems are increasingly screening and referring patients for unmet social needs (e.g., food insecurity).

Fish assemblage structure, diversity and controls on reefs of South Kona, Hawai'i Island.

The structure of coral-reef fish assemblages is affected by natural and anthropogenic factors such as the architectural complexity, benthic composition and physical characteristics of the habitat, fishing pressure and land-based input. The coral-reef ecosystem of South Kona, Hawai'i hosts diverse reef habitats with a relatively high live coral cover, but a limited number of studies have focused on the ecosystem or the fish assemblages. Here, we surveyed fish assemblages at 119 sites in South Kona in 2020 and 2021 and investigated the associations between the fish assemblages and environmental variables obtained from published Geographic Information System (GIS) layers, including depth, latitude, reef rugosity, housing density and benthic cover.

Self-Healability of Poly(Ethylene-co-Methacrylic Acid): Effect of Ionic Content and Neutralization.

Self-healing polymers such as poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) ionomers (PEMAA) can heal themselves immediately after a projectile puncture which in turn lowers environmental pollution from replacement. In this study, the thermal-mechanical properties and self-healing response of a library of 15 PEMAA copolymers were studied to understand the effects of the ionic content (Li, Na, Zn, Mg) and neutralization percentage (13 to 78%) on the results. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and tensile testing were used to study the thermo-mechanical properties of PEMAA copolymers while the self-healing response was studied using the projectile test.

Coral taxonomy and local stressors drive bleaching prevalence across the Hawaiian Archipelago in 2019.

The Hawaiian Archipelago experienced a moderate bleaching event in 2019-the third major bleaching event over a 6-year period to impact the islands. In response, the Hawai'i Coral Bleaching Collaborative (HCBC) conducted 2,177 coral bleaching surveys across the Hawaiian Archipelago. The HCBC was established to coordinate bleaching monitoring efforts across the state between academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and governmental agencies to facilitate data sharing and provide management recommendations.

An Overview of Self-Healable Polymers and Recent Advances in the Field.

The search for materials with better performance, longer service life, lower environmental impact, and lower overall cost is at the forefront of polymer science and material engineering. This has led to the development of self-healing polymers with a range of healing mechanisms including capsular-based, vascular, and intrinsic self-healing polymers. The development of self-healable systems has been inspired by the healing of biological systems such as skin wound healing and broken bone reconstruction.

[Low muscular mass and ketoacidosis].

Fasting ketoacidosis is especially an underdiagnosed problem in patients with neuro-muscular disease with severely depleted muscular mass. During periods of prolonged fasting, low levels of insulin and high levels of glucagon induce lipolysis in the peripheral fat tissue. This will result in elevated free fatty acids levels in de blood and increased ketogenesis in the liver.

Prolonged Unconsciousness Following Severe COVID-19.

Objective: We report a case series of patients with prolonged but reversible unconsciousness after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related severe respiratory failure.

Methods: A case series of patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit due to COVID-19-related acute respiratory failure is described.

Results: After cessation of sedatives, the described cases all showed a prolonged comatose state.

Directly probing surfactant adsorption on nanoscopic trenches and pillars.

Hypothesis: Confinement causes a change in the amount of surfactant adsorbed and in the adsorption morphology.

Experiments: Two cationic surfactants, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) were adsorbed at the silica-water interface. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) force curves were measured on 50 nm and 80 nm wide trenches.

Oil-Induced Viscoelasticity in Micellar Solutions of Alkoxy Sulfate.

Rheological properties of the solution of an extended surfactant, sodium alkoxy sulfate (C-(PO)-(EO)-SONa), are investigated as a function of the presence of various paraffinic oils over a range of salt conditions in the Winsor III microemulsion region at oil fractions where the microemulsion is "oil-starved". The addition of as small as 3 vol % alkane to 2 wt % surfactant solutions at salt concentrations where the oil-water interfacial tension is minimized induces a sudden shift in the rheological behavior. The solution viscosity increases by 5 orders of magnitude, with solid-like behaviors ( > ) being observed in the entire frequency region investigated (0.

Total electrical alternans in a patient with malignant pericardial tamponade.

We present a case of a 59-year-old man with acute abdominal pain and progressive shortness of breath. A focused assessment with sonography for trauma scan showed free fluid in the hepatorenal recess and in the recto-uterine recess. Later, due to clinical deterioration and the differential possibility of a pulmonary embolism or aortic dissection, a CT scan was performed which revealed large pericardial effusion.

Atomic Force Microscopy Force Mapping Analysis of an Adsorbed Surfactant above and below the Critical Micelle Concentration.

Force curves collected using an atomic force microscope (AFM) in the presence of adsorbed surfactants are often used to draw conclusions about adsorbed film packing, rigidity, and thickness. However, some noteworthy features of such force curve characteristics have yet to be thoroughly investigated and explained. In this work, we collected force curves from tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide films adsorbed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), silica, and silica that had been hydrophobized by functionalization with dichlorodimethyl silane.

High thermal conductivity through simultaneously aligned polyethylene lamellae and graphene nanoplatelets.

The effect of simultaneous alignment of polyethylene (PE) lamellae and graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) on the thermal conductivity (k) of PE-GnP composites is investigated. Measurements reveal a large increase of 1100% in k of the aligned PE-GnP composite using 10 wt% GnPs relative to unoriented pure PE. The rate of increase of k with applied strain for the pure PE-GnP composite with 10 wt% GnP is found to be almost a factor of two higher than the pure PE sample, pointing to the beneficial effect of GnP alignment on k enhancement.

Rheological characterization of yield stress gels formed via electrostatic heteroaggregation of metal oxide nanoparticles.

Mixtures of fumed fractal metal oxide nanoparticles (np's) dispersed in water, at a solution pH where one species is positively charged and the other is negatively charged, form yield stress gels at volume fractions as low as 1.5%, due to electrostatic heteroaggregation into networks as confirmed by small-angle neutron scattering. These gels exhibit a measurable yield stress and an apparent viscosity that follows a power law relationship with shear rate.

Surfactant Assemblies on Selected Nanostructured Surfaces: Evidence, Driving Forces, and Applications.

Surfactant adsorption at solid-liquid interfaces is critical for a number of applications of vast industrial interest and can also be used to seed surface-modification processes. Many of the surfaces of interest are nanostructured, as they might present surface roughness at the molecular scale, chemical heterogeneity, as well as a combination of both surface roughness and chemical heterogeneity. These effects provide lateral confinement on the surfactant aggregates.

Surfactants adsorption on crossing stripes and steps.

Using coarse-grained dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations, we systematically study the effect of surface heterogeneity on surfactant adsorption. Here we investigate the adsorption and aggregation of surfactants on hydrophobic stripes crossing each other perpendicularly (i.e.

Topical imiquimod clears invasive melanoma.

Malignant melanoma has continually shown a pattern of increased incidence and mortality in the last 50 years. Currently, wide local excision is the mainstay of treatment of primary cutaneous melanomas. Imiquimod has been shown to clear cases of melanoma in situ, but its role in the treatment of invasive cutaneous melanomas is unknown.

Hepatitis C virus Broadly Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies Isolated 25 Years after Spontaneous Clearance.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is world-wide a major cause of liver related morbidity and mortality. No vaccine is available to prevent HCV infection. To design an effective vaccine, understanding immunity against HCV is necessary.

HCV monoinfection and HIV/HCV coinfection enhance T-cell immune senescence in injecting drug users early during infection.

Background: Injecting drug users (IDU) are at premature risk of developing multimorbidity and mortality from causes commonly observed in the elderly. Ageing of the immune system (immune-senescence) can lead to premature morbidity and mortality and can be accelerated by chronic viral infections. Here we investigated the impact of HCV monoinfection and HIV/HCV coinfection on immune parameters in (ex-) IDU.

Ultrasound-Guided Out-of-Plane vs. In-Plane Interscalene Catheters: A Randomized, Prospective Study.

Background: Continuous interscalene blocks provide excellent analgesia after shoulder surgery. Although the safety of the ultrasound-guided in-plane approach has been touted, technical and patient factors can limit this approach. We developed a caudad-to-cephalad out-of-plane approach and hypothesized that it would decrease pain ratings due to better catheter alignment with the brachial plexus compared to the in-plane technique in a randomized, controlled study.