Low-loss multilayered metamaterial exhibiting a negative index of refraction at visible wavelengths.

We experimentally demonstrate a low-loss multilayered metamaterial exhibiting a double-negative refractive index in the visible spectral range. To this end, we exploit a second-order magnetic resonance of the so-called fishnet structure. The low-loss nature of the employed magnetic resonance, together with the effect of the interacting adjacent layers, results in a figure of merit as high as 3.

Acute kidney injury in critically ill patients with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viral pneumonia: an observational study.

Objective: To describe the incidence, risk factors, and impact on mortality of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viral pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation.

Design: Observational cohort study.

Patients And Methods: AKI was defined as risk, injury or failure, according to the RIFLE classification.

Management and outcome of mechanically ventilated neurologic patients.

Objective: To describe and compare characteristics, ventilatory practices, and associated outcomes among mechanically ventilated patients with different types of brain injury and between neurologic and nonneurologic patients.

Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective, observational, and multicenter study on mechanical ventilation.

Setting: Three hundred forty-nine intensive care units from 23 countries.

Effect of Temperature on Conidial Germination of Botryosphaeriaceae Species Infecting Grapevines.

Germination of conidia of eight botryosphaeriaceous fungi infecting grapevines was evaluated after 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h incubation under eight different temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40°C). The effect of temperature on conidial germination was also evaluated in different stages (hyaline versus pigmented conidia) of the species Lasiodiplodia theobromae. Conidial germination of Botryosphaeriaceae species infecting grapevines was significantly affected by temperature.

Geographic patterns of inversion polymorphism in the second chromosome of the cactophilic Drosophila buzzatii from northeastern Argentina.

The inversion polymorphisms of the cactophilic Drosophila buzzatti Patterson and Wheeler (Diptera: Drosophilidae) were studied in new areas of its distribution in Argentina. A total of thirty-eight natural populations, including 29 from previous studies, were analyzed using multiple regression analyses. The results showed that about 23% of total variation was accounted for by a multiple regression model in which only altitude contributed significantly to population variation, despite the fact that latitude and longitude were also included in the model.

Influence of body mass index on outcome of the mechanically ventilated patients.

Background: There are limited data on the impact of body mass index on outcomes in mechanically ventilated patients.

Methods: Secondary analysis of a cohort including 4698 patients mechanically ventilated. Patients were screened daily for management of mechanical ventilation, complications (acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, ventilator associated pneumonia, barotrauma), organ failure (cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, hepatic, haematological) and mortality in the intensive care unit.

An evaluation of the CHADS₂ stroke risk score in patients with atrial fibrillation who undergo percutaneous coronary revascularization.

Background: There are various schemas designed to stratify the risk of thromboembolism (TE) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), of which the CHADS(2) (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥ 75 y, diabetes, stroke [doubled]) score is the most widely studied. We evaluated whether the CHADS(2) score was adequate for TE risk stratification while assessing cardiac risk in patients with AF revascularized with coronary artery stents.

Methods: We reviewed 604 consecutive patients with AF treated with at least one stent between 2001 and 2008 in relation to TE risk using CHADS(2) score.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with 2009 influenza A(H1N1) virus infection with respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of critically ill patients with 2009 influenza A(H1N1).

Methods: An observational study of patients with confirmed or probable 2009 influenza A(H1N1) and respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation was performed.

Results: We studied 96 patients (mean age, 45 [14] years [mean, SD]; 44% female).

Early and small changes in serum creatinine concentrations are associated with mortality in mechanically ventilated patients.

Emerging evidence suggests that minor changes in serum creatinine concentrations are associated with increased hospital mortality rates. However, whether serum creatinine concentration (SCr) on admission and its change are associated with an increased mortality rate in mechanically ventilated patients is not known. We have conducted an international, prospective, observational cohort study enrolling adult intensive care unit patients under mechanical ventilation (MV).

Skin diseases in the Peruvian Amazonia.

Background: Dermatologic diseases vary widely as a result of geographic location and may be influenced by environmental factors. Aim To determine the epidemiology of dermatological diseases in the Peruvian Amazonia.

Methods: Transversal and multicentric study, which were carried out during February of 2006, 2007, and 2008 in three regional hospitals in the Peruvian Amazonia.

Airway pressure release ventilation versus assist-control ventilation: a comparative propensity score and international cohort study.

Purpose: To compare characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients receiving airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) or biphasic positive airway pressure (BIPAP) to assist-control ventilation (A/C) as their primary mode of ventilatory support. The objective was to estimate if patients ventilated with APRV/BIPAP have a lower mortality.

Methods: Secondary analysis of an observational study in 349 intensive care units from 23 countries.

Percutaneous coronary intervention in heavily calcified lesions using rotational atherectomy and paclitaxel-eluting stents: outcomes at one year.

Heavily calcified lesions present a challenge for percutaneous coronary intervention. With rotational atherectomy, it is possible to treat these lesions and paclitaxel-eluting stents (PESs) reduce the risk of restenosis over the long term. This retrospective study investigated clinical outcomes with rotational atherectomy and PESs in 50 consecutive patients with heavily calcified lesions.

Outcomes of patients ventilated with synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation with pressure support: a comparative propensity score study.

Background: Few data are available regarding the benefits of one mode over another for ventilatory support. We set out to compare clinical outcomes of patients receiving synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation with pressure support (SIMV-PS) compared with assist-control (A/C) ventilation as their primary mode of ventilatory support.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of an observational study conducted in 349 ICUs from 23 countries.

[Rasburicase versus allopurinol in the treatment of hyperuricaemia in tumour lysis syndrome].

Introduction: Hyperuricaemia accompanying tumour lysis syndrome (TLS) is a serious complication in neoplasias with rapid proliferation and cellular destruction. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of rasburicase versus allopurinol on plasma uric acid, creatinine and phosphorus levels in paediatric patients with TLS.

Patients And Method: A comparative study of treatment with rasburicase or allopurinol was performed in 32 paediatric patients with haematological-oncological malignancies and with established TLS or a high risk of developing it, admitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

The UF family of reference hybrid phantoms for computational radiation dosimetry.

Computational human phantoms are computer models used to obtain dose distributions within the human body exposed to internal or external radiation sources. In addition, they are increasingly used to develop detector efficiencies for in vivo whole-body counters. Two classes of computational human phantoms have been widely utilized for dosimetry calculation: stylized and voxel phantoms that describe human anatomy through mathematical surface equations and 3D voxel matrices, respectively.

Emergency percutaneous coronary intervention in unprotected left main coronary arteries. Predictors of mortality and impact of cardiogenic shock.

Introduction And Objectives: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for unprotected left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease may be essential following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, few data are available on the use of emergency PCI in unprotected LMCAs outside of clinical trials. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of in-hospital mortality, its predictors and its association with cardiogenic shock, and long-term outcomes in patients with unprotected LMCA disease who undergo emergency PCI because of AMI.

Exercise-induced ventricular arrhythmias and risk of sudden cardiac death in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) during ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring (typically occurring at rest or during sleep) is associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The prevalence and prognostic significance of ventricular arrhythmias during exercise is unknown.

Methods And Results: This was a cohort study, with prospective data collection.

Efficacy and safety of drug-eluting stent use in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Aims: Drug-eluting stents (DES) have never been sufficiently studied in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The latter are considered as a high-risk population with uncertainty over the optimal antithrombotic therapy strategy to prevent stroke, stent thrombosis, and recurrent cardiac ischaemia, balanced against the high risk of haemorrhage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the use of DES vs.

Vertical multiple-slot waveguide ring resonators in silicon nitride.

This article describes the first demonstration of ring resonators based on vertical multiple-slot silicon nitride waveguides. The design, fabrication and measurement of multiple-slot waveguide ring resonators with several coupling distances and ring radii (70 microm, 90 microm and 110 microm) have been carried out for TE and TM polarizations at the wavelength of 1.3 microm.

Noninfectious dermatological diseases associated with chronic exposure to mine tailings in a Peruvian district.

Background: Mine tailings are metallic wastes which are deposited in the environment due to mining activity. Long-term exposure to these metals is harmful to human health.

Objective: To determine if chronic exposure to mine tailings constitutes a risk factor for the development of dermatological diseases in the district of San Mateo de Huanchor (Lima, Peru).

Prognostic value of the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction risk score in a unselected population with chest pain. Construction of a new predictive model.

Introduction: The Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk score (TRS) has proven to be a useful and simple tool for risk stratification of patients with chest pain in intermediate- and high-risk populations. There is little information on its applicability in daily clinical routine with unselected populations.

Aims: The aims of the study were to prospectively analyze the predictive value of the TRS in a heterogeneous population admitted for chest pain and to construct where possible a new modified model with a greater prognostic capacity.

Anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy use in 426 patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention and stent implantation implications for bleeding risk and prognosis.

Objectives: This study was designed to review outcomes in relation to antithrombotic therapy management strategies for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stenting.

Background: There is limited evidence on the optimal antithrombotic therapy management strategies for patients with AF who undergo PCI with stenting.

Methods: We reviewed 426 patients (70.