Aortic stenosis: the spectrum of practice.

There is significant variation in practice patterns in managing congenital aortic valve stenosis. Review of medical literature reveals no significant information regarding the current practice methods in the treatment of a simple lesion such as aortic stenosis (AS). Therefore, this survey-based study was conducted in an attempt to better understand the uniformity or heterogeneity of practice in treating AS.

Carbapenem resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae not detected by automated susceptibility testing.

Detecting beta-lactamase-mediated carbapenem resistance among Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates and other Enterobacteriaceae is an emerging problem. In this study, 15 blaKPC-positive Klebsiella pneumoniae that showed discrepant results for imipenem and meropenem from 4 New York City hospitals were characterized by isoelectric focusing; broth microdilution (BMD); disk diffusion (DD); and MicroScan, Phoenix, Sensititre, VITEK, and VITEK 2 automated systems. All 15 isolates were either intermediate or resistant to imipenem and meropenem by BMD; 1 was susceptible to imipenem by DD.

Blood splash from different diathermy instruments during tonsillectomy.

Objective: To compare the potential risk of blood contamination of the surgeon's conjunctiva during tonsillectomy using disposable bipolar diathermy and reusable monopolar diathermy.

Design: A prospective, single-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

Methods: Elective tonsillectomy was performed using either disposable bipolar diathermy or reusable monopolar diathermy.

Longitudinal assessment of cardiovascular exercise performance after pediatric heart transplantation.

Background: No existing longitudinal data document exercise performance after pediatric heart transplantation. We report the exercise performance findings from the longitudinal study of pediatric heart transplantation patients and the association of aerobic capacity with echocardiographic measures of graft function.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 28 children after heart transplantation who underwent 87 exercise tests and echocardiograms.

Surgical debridement of craniocervical necrotizing fasciitis: the window of opportunity.

Craniocervical necrotizing fasciitis (CCNF) has a potentially high morbidity and mortality. Late presentation, shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation are associated with a particularly poor prognosis. Early recognition and aggressive treatment is advised.

Heart rate variability following neonatal heart surgery for complex congenital heart disease.

Background: Altered cardiac autonomic control may play a role in the morbidity and mortality suffered by neonates who undergo surgery for complex congenital heart disease (CHD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate cardiac autonomic activity, as measured by spectral indices of heart rate variability (HRV), prior to and early after infant surgery for CHD and attempt to correlate HRV indices with clinical outcome. In addition, we assessed the hypothesis that single-ventricle physiology and surgical interruption of the great arteries negatively affects HRV.

Mental health status of clients from three HIV/AIDS palliative care projects.

Objective: To describe mental health status and its correlates among clients of three palliative care programs targeting underserved populations.

Methods: Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) scores of clients from programs in Alabama (n = 39), Baltimore (n = 57), and New York City (n = 84) were compared.

Results: Mean MHI-5 scores did not differ among sites and were indicative of poor mental health.

An overview of numerical modelling of nasal airflow.

Computer modelling of fluid flows is a mature technology used widely in engineering. The process, known as computational fluid dynamics (CFD), allows accurate prediction of fluid flow and associated phenomena based on the mathematical laws governing fluid behaviour. A fluid may be defined as any substance that can flow and thus both liquids and gases behave as fluids.

Bartonella quintana endocarditis with positive serology for Coxiella burnetii.

Both Bartonella quintana and Coxiella burnetii are known to cause of blood culture negative endocarditis. In such case, the diagnosis is usually established by serology. A case of Bartonella quintana endocarditis is described where the serology was falsely positive for Coxiella burnetii.

Patient reports of symptoms and their treatment at three palliative care projects servicing individuals with HIV/AIDS.

Self-reports of 32 symptoms and their treatments were obtained from patients of three palliative care programs that provide services to seriously ill HIV patients (>or=95% AIDS) in Alabama (n=47), Baltimore (n=91), and New York City (n=117). On average, patients reported 10.9 (SD=7.

The epidemiology of peritonsillar abscess disease in Northern Ireland.

Objectives: 1. To describe the epidemiology of peritonsillar abscess disease in Northern Ireland. 2.

The nature and severity of urinary incontinence in post-natal women.

This study investigated the frequency, nature and experience of urinary incontinence in post-natal women. Surveys were completed by 224 women, 50% of whom indicated that they had experienced accidental urine loss. The majority of women who had experienced any symptoms were moderately to greatly bothered by them.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase activity correlates with HIV RNA load: implications for resource-limited settings.

Measurement of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) plasma RNA levels using Roche AMPLICOR version 1.5 (HIV RNA) is an integral part of monitoring HIV-infected patients in industrialized countries. These assays are currently unaffordable in resource-limited settings.

Effects of exposure to seismic airgun use on hearing of three fish species.

Seismic airguns produce considerable amounts of acoustic energy that have the potential to affect marine life. This study investigates the effects of exposure to a 730 in.3 airgun array on hearing of three fish species in the Mackenzie River Delta, the northern pike (Esox lucius), broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus), and lake chub (Couesius plumbeus).

Discrete interband mutual focusing in nonlinear photonic lattices.

We study nonlinear coupling of mutually incoherent beams associated with different Floquet-Bloch waves in a one-dimensional optically-induced photonic lattice. We demonstrate experimentally how such interactions lead to asymmetric mutual focusing and, for waves with opposite diffraction properties, to simultaneous focusing and defocusing as well as discreteness-induced beam localization and reshaping effects.

Preclinical and clinical performance of the Efoora test, a rapid test for detection of human immunodeficiency virus-specific antibodies.

Barriers to effective diagnostic testing for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection can be reduced with simple, reliable, and rapid detection methods. Our objective was to determine the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of a new rapid, lateral-flow immunochromatographic HIV-1 antibody detection device. Preclinical studies were performed using seroconversion, cross-reaction, and interference panels, archived clinical specimens, and fresh whole blood.

Controlled generation and steering of spatial gap solitons.

We demonstrate the first fully controlled generation of immobile and slow spatial gap solitons in nonlinear periodic systems with band-gap spectra, and observe the key features of gap solitons that distinguish them from discrete solitons, including a dynamical transformation of gap solitons due to nonlinear interband coupling. We also describe theoretically and confirm experimentally the effect of the anomalous steering of gap solitons in optically induced photonic lattices.

Campylobacter fetus of reptile origin as a human pathogen.

A Campylobacter species was isolated from blood from a febrile patient with precursor T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and after antibiotic treatment, a similar bacterium was isolated from blood 37 days later. Although phenotypic testing did not definitively identify the organisms, molecular analysis indicated that they were the same strain of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus and were of reptile origin.

Numerical model of a nasal septal perforation.

This paper describes numerical simulation of airflow in a nose with a nasal septal perforation. Diseased airflow is compared to airflow in a healthy nasal model. The healthy model has been generated from CT scans from the Antrim Area Hospital ENT clinic and is close to being anatomically accurate.

Corticosteroids and peritonsillar abscess formation in infectious mononucleosis.

Peritonsillar abscess formation is an uncommon complication of infectious mononucleosis (IM). Early case reports implicated corticosteroids in the development of such abscesses, however, subsequent studies suggested that these drugs do not promote the formation of abscesses at several sites outside the central nervous system. It has recently been demonstrated that zwitterionic polysaccharides, in bacterial capsules, form complexes with CD4(+) T lymphocytes leading to abscess formation.

Surgical treatment and recurrence rate of aneurysmal bone cysts in children.

High recurrence rates have been reported after surgical treatment of aneurysmal bone cysts, ranging from 10-59%, and greater (five of seven) in children younger than 10 years. No previous study has focused specifically on recurrence as a function of age in a large pediatric study. The purpose of the current study was to review the outcome of current surgical techniques in the treatment of primary aneurysmal bone cysts in children and to determine if recurrence rates were higher in younger children, as proposed by some authors.

Phosphorylation of septin 3 on Ser-91 by cGMP-dependent protein kinase-I in nerve terminals.

The septins are a family of GTPase enzymes required for cytokinesis and play a role in exocytosis. Among the ten vertebrate septins, Sept5 (CDCrel-1) and Sept3 (G-septin) are primarily concentrated in the brain, wherein Sept3 is a substrate for PKG-I (cGMP-dependent protein kinase-I) in nerve terminals. There are two motifs for potential PKG-I phosphorylation in Sept3, Thr-55 and Ser-91, but phosphoamino acid analysis revealed that the primary site is a serine.