Probiotics' effects on the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: To evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in preventing nosocomial pneumonia in critically ill patients.

Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Web of Science for relevant studies. Two reviewers extracted data and reviewed the quality of the studies independently.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from aquaculture: a review.

Nitrous oxide (N(2)O) is an important greenhouse gas (GHG) which has a global warming potential 310 times that of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) over a hundred year lifespan. N(2)O is generated during microbial nitrification and denitrification, which are common in aquaculture systems. To date, few studies have been conducted to quantify N(2)O emission from aquaculture.

Correlation of right atrial appendage velocity with left atrial appendage velocity and brain natriuretic Peptide.

Background: Left atrial appendage (LAA) anatomy and function have been well characterized both in healthy and diseased people, whereas relatively little attention has been focused on the right atrial appendage (RAA). We sought to evaluate RAA flow velocity and to compare these parameters with LAA indices and with a study of biomarkers, such as brain natriuretic peptide, among patients with sinus rhythm (SR) and atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: In a series of 79 consecutive patients referred for transesophageal echocardiography, 43 patients (23 with AF and 20 controls) were evaluated.

An Objective Assessment Scale for "Come-to-Sit" Using a Specifically Designed Jacket in Stroke Patients.

Objective: To compare an objective assessment scale for "come-to-sit" in stroke patients with the previously established subjective assessment scales of "performance-based assessment" and the "ability for basic movement scale".

Method: A specifically designed jacket was used to determine the objective degree of assistance needed for patients to perform the task. While patients were sitting up, the investigator evaluated the amount of assistance needed in a fully dependent state (A) and with maximal effort (B).

Interspecific competition underlying mutualistic networks.

Multiple classes of interactions may exist affecting one another in a given system. For the mutualistic networks of plants and pollinating animals, it has been known that the degree distribution is broad but often deviates from power-law form more significantly for plants than animals. To illuminate the origin of such asymmetry, we study a model network in which links are assigned under generalized preferential-selection rules between two groups of nodes and find the sensitive dependence of the resulting connectivity pattern on the model parameters.

Human mesenchymal stem cells reduce mortality and bacteremia in gram-negative sepsis in mice in part by enhancing the phagocytic activity of blood monocytes.

The potential therapeutic value of cell-based therapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) has been reported in mouse models of polymicrobial peritoneal sepsis. However, the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of MSC have not been well defined. Therefore, we tested the therapeutic effect of intravenous bone marrow-derived human MSC in peritoneal sepsis induced by gram-negative bacteria.

Intratracheal bleomycin causes airway remodeling and airflow obstruction in mice.

In addition to parenchymal fibrosis, fibrotic remodeling of the distal airways has been reported in interstitial lung diseases. Mechanisms of airway wall remodeling, which occurs in a variety of chronic lung diseases, are not well defined and current animal models are limited. The authors quantified airway remodeling in lung sections from subjects with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and controls.

Comparison of chest radiograph scoring to lung weight as a quantitative index of pulmonary edema in organ donors.

Quantification of the degree of pulmonary edema in organ donors is useful for assessing the clinical severity of pulmonary edema, determining response to therapy, and as an endpoint for therapeutic trials. Currently, there is no accurate non-invasive method for assessing the degree of pulmonary edema. We tested the performance of a four-quadrant chest radiographic scoring system compared to quantification of pulmonary edema by excised lung weight in 84 donors whose lungs were not used for transplantation.

Comparison of ramosetron's and ondansetron's preventive anti-emetic effects in highly susceptible patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy.

Background: This study compared the preventive effects of ramosetron and ondansetron on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in highly susceptible patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy.

Methods: In a prospective, randomized, double-blinded study, a total of 120 highly susceptible women (nonsmokers, those receiving opioid-based IV patient-controlled analgesia [PCA]) undergoing abdominal hysterectomy were included in the study. Patients were divided into 2 groups and each group received either 0.

Distribution and surfactant association of carcinoembryonic cell adhesion molecule 6 in human lung.

Carcinoembryonic cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6) is a glycosylated, glycophosphatidylinositol-anchored protein expressed in epithelial cells of various primate tissues. It binds gram-negative bacteria and is overexpressed in human cancers. CEACAM6 is associated with lamellar bodies of cultured type II cells of human fetal lung and protects surfactant function in vitro.

Claudin-4 levels are associated with intact alveolar fluid clearance in human lungs.

The removal of edema from the air spaces is a critical function of the alveolar barrier requiring intact tight junctions. Alveolar fluid clearance contributes to graft function after transplantation and is associated with survival in patients with acute lung injury. Claudin-4 concentrations are known to increase during lung injury and the loss of claudin-4 decreases alveolar fluid clearance in mice.

Endoscopic transnasal approach for the treatment of isolated medial orbital blow-out fractures: a prospective study of preoperative and postoperative orbital volume change.

Endoscopic transnasal reduction is a safe and effective technique for the treatment of blow-out fractures of the medial orbital wall. However, because this approach does not use rigid permanent material for reconstruction of the fractured medial orbital wall, some degree of herniation of the orbital contents may occur after the intraethmoidal packing material is removed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the change in orbital volume in patients with medial orbital wall fractures treated through an endoscopic transnasal approach.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 signalling promotes goblet cell hyperplasia in airway epithelium.

Goblet cell hyperplasia is a common feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) airways, but the mechanisms that underlie this epithelial remodelling in COPD are not understood. Based on our previous finding of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) nuclear localization in large airways from patients with COPD, we investigated whether hypoxia-inducible signalling could influence the development of goblet cell hyperplasia. We evaluated large airway samples obtained from 18 lifelong non-smokers and 13 former smokers without COPD, and 45 former smokers with COPD.

Bronchial secretory immunoglobulin a deficiency correlates with airway inflammation and progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Rationale: Although airway inflammation can persist for years after smoking cessation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the mechanisms of persistent inflammation are largely unknown.

Objectives: We investigated relationships between bronchial epithelial remodeling, polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) expression, secretory IgA (SIgA), airway inflammation, and mural remodeling in COPD.

Methods: Lung tissue specimens and bronchoalveolar lavage were obtained from lifetime nonsmokers and former smokers with or without COPD.

Repetitive single subarachnoid injections for trial administration of the intrathecal morphine pump in patients with intractable non-cancer pain -A case report-.

Since the early 1980s, the implantable intrathecal drug pump (ITDP) has been used increasingly to manage chronic pain. Prior to making a decision to implant an ITDP, trial administration of the intrathecal (IT) drug should be performed to estimate the effective dose for a starting set of implantable ITDPs. There is no standard method of trial IT drug administration, though.

Role of CFTR expressed by neutrophils in modulating acute lung inflammation and injury in mice.

Objective And Design: Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) regulates infection and inflammation. In this study, we investigated whether a lack of functional CFTR in neutrophils would promote lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung inflammation and injury.

Materials And Methods: CFTR-inhibited or F508del-CFTR-mutated neutrophils were stimulated with LPS and cultured to evaluate production of cytokines and NF-κB activation.

An improved AFM cross-sectional method for piezoelectric nanostructures properties investigation: application to GaN nanowires.

We present an improved atomic force microscopy (AFM) method to study the piezoelectric properties of nanostructures. An AFM tip is used to deform a free-standing piezoelectric nanowire. The deflection of the nanowire induces an electric potential via the piezoelectric effect, which is measured by the AFM coating tip.

Mesenchymal stem cells for acute lung injury: preclinical evidence.

Several experimental studies have suggested that mesenchymal stem cells may have value for the treatment of clinical disorders, including myocardial infarction, diabetes, acute renal failure, sepsis, and acute lung injury. In preclinical studies, mesenchymal stem cells have been effective in reducing lung injury from endotoxin, live bacteria, bleomycin, and hyperoxia. In some studies, the cultured medium from mesenchymal stem cells has been as effective as the mesenchymal stem cells themselves.

Cerebral air embolism as a result of inducing pneumoperitoneum after bilobectomy.

A 62-year-old man with lung cancer underwent a right lower bilobectomy of the lung. After resection, we insufflated air through the diaphragm into the peritoneal cavity, and sudden cardiac arrest developed in the patient. A large number of air bubbles were aspirated from the heart and great vessels, and the patient recovered after resuscitation.

Quantitative temperature measurement of an electrically heated carbon nanotube using the null-point method.

Previously, we introduced the double scan technique, which enables quantitative temperature profiling with a scanning thermal microscope (SThM) without distortion arising from heat transfer through the air. However, if the tip-sample thermal conductance is disturbed due to the extremely small size of the sample, such as carbon nanotubes, or an abrupt change in the topography, then quantitative measurement becomes difficult even with the double scan technique. Here, we developed the null-point method by which one can quantitatively measure the temperature of a sample without disturbances arising from the tip-sample thermal conductance, based on the principle of the double scan technique.

Degradation pattern of SnO(2) nanowire field effect transistors.

The degradation pattern of SnO(2) nanowire field effect transistors (FETs) was investigated by using an individual SnO(2) nanowire that was passivated in sections by either a PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) or an Al(2)O(3) layer. The PMMA passivated section showed the best mobility performance with a significant positive shift in the threshold voltage. The distinctive two-dimensional R(s)-μ diagram based on a serial resistor connected FET model suggested that this would be a useful tool for evaluating the efficiency for post-treatments that would improve the device performance of a single nanowire transistor.

Antibacterial effect of human mesenchymal stem cells is mediated in part from secretion of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37.

Recent in vivo studies indicate that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may have beneficial effects in the treatment of sepsis induced by bacterial infection. Administration of MSCs in these studies improved survival and enhanced bacterial clearance. The primary objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that human MSCs possessed intrinsic antimicrobial properties.

Therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells for severe acute lung injury.

Preclinical studies indicate that allogeneic human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) may be useful for the treatment of several clinical disorders, including sepsis, acute renal failure, acute myocardial infarction, and more recently, acute lung injury (ALI). This article provides a brief review of the biologic qualities of MSC that make them suitable for the treatment of human diseases, as well as the experimental data that provide support for their potential efficacy for critically ill patients with acute respiratory failure from ALI. The article then discusses which patients with ALI might be the best candidates for cell-based therapy and provides a template for the regulatory and practical steps that will be required to test allogeneic human MSC in patients with severe ALI.

Severe pain attack associated with neurocardiogenic syncope induced by glossopharyngeal neuralgia: successful treatment with carbamazepine and a permanent pacemaker -a case report-.

Glossopharyneal neuralgia (GPN) is generally considered to be a pain disease. However, it can be also be a life-threatening cardiac cause of syncope. Neuralgia in the throat and neck can trigger severe bradycardia up to the point of asystole, which can progress to cardiac syncope with or without seizures.