Impact of Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in Gram-Negative Rod Bacteremia: a Quasi-experimental Study.

Clinical justification for rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) in Gram-negative rod (GNR) bacteremia is compelling; however, evidence supporting its value is sparse. We investigated the impact of rapid AST on clinical and antimicrobial stewardship outcomes in real-world practice. We performed a before-and-after quasi-experimental study from February 2018 to July 2019 at a tertiary hospital of the 24-h/day, 7-day/week implementation of the direct Vitek 2 AST method from positive blood culture broth for GNR bacteremia with electronic isolate-specific de-escalation comments and daytime antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) intervention.

Cell Phone Use Policies in US Middle and High Schools.

This survey study examines cell phone policies at US middle and high schools, practices of students and faculty, and principals’ attitudes about cell phone use during school.

Comparison of the Panther Fusion and a laboratory-developed test targeting the envelope gene for detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Numerous nucleic acid amplification assays have recently received emergency use authorization (EUA) for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and there is a need to assess their test performance relative to one another.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the test performance of the Hologic Panther Fusion SARS-CoV-2 assay targeting two regions of open reading frame 1ab (ORF1ab) to a high complexity molecular-based, laboratory-developed EUA from Stanford Health Care (SHC) targeting the SARS-CoV-2 envelope (E) gene.

Study Design: We performed a diagnostic comparison study by testing nasopharyngeal samples on the two assays.

COVID-19 and Kawasaki Disease: Novel Virus and Novel Case.

In the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we are seeing widespread disease burden affecting patients of all ages across the globe. However, much remains to be understood as clinicians, epidemiologists, and researchers alike are working to describe and characterize the disease process while caring for patients at the frontlines. We describe the case of a 6-month-old infant admitted and diagnosed with classic Kawasaki disease, who also screened positive for COVID-19 in the setting of fever and minimal respiratory symptoms.

Sample Pooling as a Strategy to Detect Community Transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

This study describes findings of novel coronavirus testing on pooled nasopharyngeal and bronchoalveolar lavage samples taken from patients who had negative results by routine respiratory virus testing to see if pooling samples could increase testing throughput and efficiency and facilitate early detection of community COVID-19 transmission.

Near-Infrared Electrochemiluminescence from Bistridentate Ruthenium(II) Di(quinoline-8-yl)pyridine Complexes in Aqueous Media.

We report the synthesis, photophysics, electrochemistry and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of two dqp (dqp=2,6-di(quinoline-8-yl)pyridine) based ruthenium(II) complexes, bearing either a n-butyl ester (1) or the corresponding carboxylic acid functionality (2). The complexes were prepared from [Ru(dqp)(MeCN) ][PF ] by reaction with the dqp precursor using microwave irradiation. In both cases, photoluminescence spectra present strong MLCT-based red/near-infrared (NIR) emissions centred at about 710 nm.

A Family of Heterocyclic Naphthalene Diimide (NDI) Analogues: Comparing Parent Isoquinoline Diimides and Phthalazine Diimides with NDI.

Parent isoquinoline diimide (IQDI) and phthalazine diimide (PTDI), as two new heterocyclic analogues of naphthalene diimides (NDIs), have been synthesized through an oxidative strategy in 35-79 % yield. X-ray crystallography has been used to support the formation of IQDI, which also show fluorescence quantum yields of 3.5 %.

Clinical Impact of Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing of Plasma Cell-Free DNA for the Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of plasma cell-free DNA has emerged as an attractive diagnostic modality allowing broad-range pathogen detection, noninvasive sampling, and earlier diagnosis. However, little is known about its real-world clinical impact as used in routine practice.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of all patients for whom plasma mNGS (Karius test) was performed for all indications at 5 United States institutions over 1.

Multidimensional Nanoparticle Characterization through Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry.

Multidimensional techniques that combine fully or partially orthogonal characterization methods in a single setup often provide a more comprehensive description of analytes. When applied to nanoparticles, they have the potential to reveal particle properties not accessible to more conventional 1D techniques. Herein, we apply recently developed 2D characterization techniques to nanoparticles using atmospheric-pressure ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS), and we demonstrate the analytical capability of this approach using ultraporous mesostructured silica nanoparticles (UMNs).

Metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty adverse local tissue reaction with intermittent unilateral vascular claudication.

Osteolysis and adverse local soft-tissue reactions are well-documented complications of metal-on-metal prosthetic implants. This case report describes a 68-year-old man who presented to the clinic 10 years after staged bilateral metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty revisions with the primary complaint of groin pain, intermittent right leg pain, swelling, and muscle cramping while ambulating that resolved with rest. A complete workup was negative for deep venous thrombosis and infection.

Short-term prognostic implications of serum and urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in acute heart failure: findings from the AKINESIS study.

Aims: Kidney impairment has been associated with worse outcomes in acute heart failure (AHF), although recent studies challenge this association. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a novel biomarker of kidney tubular injury. Its prognostic role in AHF has not been evaluated in large cohorts.

Excess thermal energy and latent heat in nanocluster collisional growth.

Nanoclusters can form and grow by nanocluster-monomer collisions (condensation) and nanocluster-nanocluster collisions (coagulation). During growth, product nanoclusters have elevated thermal energies due to potential and thermal energy exchange following a collision. Even though nanocluster collisional heating may be significant and strongly size dependent, no prior theory describes this phenomenon for collisions of finite-size clusters.

B-type natriuretic peptide trend predicts clinical significance of worsening renal function in acute heart failure.

Aims: In acute heart failure (AHF), relationships between changes in B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and worsening renal function (WRF) and its prognostic implications have not been fully determined. We investigated the relationship between WRF and a decrease in BNP with in-hospital and 1-year mortality in AHF.

Methods And Results: The Acute Kidney Injury NGAL Evaluation of Symptomatic heart faIlure Study (AKINESIS) was a prospective, international, multicentre study of AHF patients.

Comparison of Training Monitoring and Prescription Methods in Sprint Kayaking.

Purpose: To compare methods of monitoring and prescribing on-water exercise intensity (heart rate [HR], stroke rate [SR], and power output [PO]) during sprint kayak training.

Methods: Twelve well-trained flat-water sprint kayak athletes completed a preliminary on-water 7 × 4-min graded exercise test and a 1000-m time trial to delineate individual training zones for PO, HR, and SR into a 5-zone model (T1-T5). Subsequently, athletes completed 2 repeated trials of an on-water training session, where intensity was prescribed based on individual PO zones.

Preoperative Activities of Daily Living Dependency is Associated With Higher 30-Day Readmission Risk for Older Adults After Total Joint Arthroplasty.

Background: With recent Medicare payment changes, older adults are increasingly likely to be discharged home instead of to extended care facilities after total joint arthroplasty (TJA), and may therefore be at increased risk for readmissions. Identifying risk factors for readmission could help re-align care pathways for vulnerable patients; recent research has suggested preoperative dependency in activities of daily living (ADL) may increase perioperative and postoperative surgical complications. However, the proportion of older surgical patients with ADL dependence before TJA, and the impact of ADL dependency on the frequency and timing of hospital readmissions is unknown.

Rapid identification of pathogenic bacteria using Raman spectroscopy and deep learning.

Raman optical spectroscopy promises label-free bacterial detection, identification, and antibiotic susceptibility testing in a single step. However, achieving clinically relevant speeds and accuracies remains challenging due to weak Raman signal from bacterial cells and numerous bacterial species and phenotypes. Here we generate an extensive dataset of bacterial Raman spectra and apply deep learning approaches to accurately identify 30 common bacterial pathogens.

Alloyed Thermoelectric PbTe-SnTe Films Formed via Aerosol Deposition.

The discovery of new thermoelectric materials has the potential to benefit from advances in high-throughput methodologies. Traditional synthesis and characterization routes for thermoelectrics are time-consuming serial processes. In contrast, high-throughput materials discovery is commonly done by thin film growth, which may produce microstructures that are metastable or compositionally graded and, therefore, are challenging to characterize.

Investigation of Preanalytical Variables Impacting Pathogen Cell-Free DNA in Blood and Urine.

Pathogen cell-free DNA (pcfDNA) in blood and urine is an attractive biomarker; however, the impact of preanalytical factors is not well understood. Blood and urine samples from healthy donors spiked with cfDNA from , , , and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and samples from tuberculosis patients were used to evaluate the impact of blood collection tube, urine preservative, processing delay, processing method, freezing and thawing, and sample volume on pcfDNA. The PCR cycle threshold ( ) was used to measure amplifiable cfDNA.