Association between time to surgery and hospital mortality in patients with community-acquired limb necrotizing fasciitis: an 11-year multicenter retrospective cohort analysis.

Background: Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a rare but potentially life-threatening soft tissue infection. The objective of this study was to assess the association between timely surgery within 6 h and hospital mortality in patients with limb NF, and to describe the trends in patients with NF, time to surgery and standardized mortality ratio (SMR) over 11 years.

Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of all intensive care unit patients who had emergency surgery within 24 h of hospitalization for limb NF between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2019 in Hong Kong.

Exploring Lin28 proteins: Unravelling structure and functions with emphasis on nervous system malignancies.

Cancer and stem cells share many characteristics related to self-renewal and differentiation. Both cell types express the same critical proteins that govern cellular stemness, which provide cancer cells with the growth and survival benefits of stem cells. LIN28 is an example of one such protein.

Restrictive and liberal transfusion strategies in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: A retrospective observational study.

Background: To compare the outcomes of patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support who had a restrictive transfusion strategy with those who had a liberal strategy.

Study Design And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all adult patients from 2010 to 2019 who received a minimum of one packed red blood cell (pRBC) during ECMO. Hemoglobin values before each transfusion were retrieved.

Effect of hospital case volume on clinical outcomes of patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a territory-wide longitudinal observational study.

Background: The utilization of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has increased rapidly around the world. Being an overall low-volume high-cost form of therapy, the effectiveness of having care delivered in segregated units across a geographical locality is debatable.

Methods: All adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cases admitted to public hospitals in Hong Kong between 2010 and 2019 were included.

Management of Circuit Air in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Single Center Experience.

Air in circuit in patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an emergency. Different protocols have been suggested to deal with this rare but fatal complication, but their efficacies are rarely reported. We report our institutions' experience in the management of circuit air in Cardiohelp HLS ECMO system.

An Unusual Pattern of Dyssynchronous Breathing due to Expiratory Flow Obstruction in the Scavenging System Caused by the Weight of Water Condensate.

Background: Patient-ventilator dyssynchrony is commonly due to patient pathophysiologic factors and imprecise ventilator settings. In unusual circumstances, such dyssynchrony can also be due to faults within the equipment preventing from its normal operation during assisted mechanical ventilation.

Case Description: We report a patient showing an unusual pattern of dyssynchronous breathing related to a blocked scavenging system caused by the failure of its rod valve to open.

Researcher engagement in policy deemed societally beneficial yet unrewarded.

Maintaining the continued flow of benefits from science, as well as societal support for science, requires sustained engagement between the research community and the general public. On the basis of data from an international survey of 1092 participants (634 established researchers and 458 students) in 55 countries and 315 research institutions, we found that institutional recognition of engagement activities is perceived to be undervalued relative to the societal benefit of those activities. Many researchers report that their institutions do not reward engagement activities despite institutions' mission statements promoting such engagement.

An audit of mortality by using ECMO specific scores and APACHE II scoring system in patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a tertiary intensive care unit in Hong Kong.

Background: Outcomes of patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapies risk-adjusted by ECMO specific scores have rarely been reported. Our primary aim was to determine the risk adjusted outcome of these patients by the use of Oxygenation Survival Prediction (RESP), Survival After Veno-Arterial-ECMO (SAVE) and APACHE II scores. The differences in predicted mortality between these scoring systems were analyzed.

Mobility, prosthesis use and health-related quality of life of bilateral lower limb amputees from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Background:: The 2008 Sichuan Earthquake resulted in many amputees, yet due to the rare incidence, few studies have explored the rehabilitation outcomes and quality of life of bilateral lower limb amputees after major natural disasters.

Objectives:: To evaluate rehabilitation outcomes of 17 young and adult bilateral lower limb amputees under the StandTall rehabilitation programme and to identify factors associated with successful functional recovery of bilateral amputees after large-scale disasters.

Study Design:: Cross-sectional study.

Weaning adult patients with cardiogenic shock on veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation by pump-controlled retrograde trial off.

Background: There is a lack of consensus on the timing of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) liberation. VA-ECMO weaning usually consists of serial decrements until an idling flow is achieved, supported by echocardiographic and haemodynamic assessments. Even with minimal idling flow, right ventricular (RV) preload is reduced and, hence, right heart function is not fully tested under adequate loading conditions.

Effects of Redox Modulation on Cell Proliferation, Viability, and Migration in Cultured Rat and Human Tendon Progenitor Cells.

Tendon healing is slow and usually results in inferior fibrotic tissue formation. Recently, application of tendon derived stem cells (TDSCs) improved tendon healing in animal studies. In a chicken model, local injection of antioxidants reduced tendon adhesion after tendon injury.

Explicit Not Implicit Preferences Predict Conservation Intentions for Endangered Species and Biomes.

Conservation of biodiversity is determined in part by human preferences. Preferences relevant to conservation have been examined largely via explicit measures (e.g.

Local administration of Trolox, a vitamin E analog, reduced tendon adhesion in a chicken model of flexor digitorum profundus tendon injury.

Background: Hand flexor tendon injuries are compromised with tendon adhesion. Tendon adhesion forms between flexor tendon and tendon sheath, reduces the range of motion of fingers, and affects their function. Oxidative stress is increased in flexor tendon after injury and might play a role in tendon adhesion formation.

Supporting Risk Assessment: Accounting for Indirect Risk to Ecosystem Components.

The multi-scalar complexity of social-ecological systems makes it challenging to quantify impacts from human activities on ecosystems, inspiring risk-based approaches to assessments of potential effects of human activities on valued ecosystem components. Risk assessments do not commonly include the risk from indirect effects as mediated via habitat and prey. In this case study from British Columbia, Canada, we illustrate how such "indirect risks" can be incorporated into risk assessments for seventeen ecosystem components.

Sea otters, social justice, and ecosystem-service perceptions in Clayoquot Sound, Canada.

We sought to take a first step toward better integration of social concerns into empirical ecosystem service (ES) work. We did this by adapting cognitive anthropological techniques to study the Clayoquot Sound social-ecological system on the Pacific coast of Canada's Vancouver Island. We used freelisting and ranking exercises to elicit how locals perceive ESs and to determine locals' preferred food species.

Mainstreaming the social sciences in conservation.

Despite broad recognition of the value of social sciences and increasingly vocal calls for better engagement with the human element of conservation, the conservation social sciences remain misunderstood and underutilized in practice. The conservation social sciences can provide unique and important contributions to society's understanding of the relationships between humans and nature and to improving conservation practice and outcomes. There are 4 barriers-ideological, institutional, knowledge, and capacity-to meaningful integration of the social sciences into conservation.

Motion Task Selection for Kinematic Evaluation After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: To examine the different motion tasks and the protocols used to objectively quantify dynamic stability in terms of knee kinematics at different stages of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) recovery.

Methods: A systematic search was done using OVID in Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, PsychINFO, and AMED. A combination of the following keywords and their variations were used: anterior cruciate ligament, motion tasks (e.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A 2015 global perspective of the Magellan Society.

Background/objective: The Magellan Society is composed of > 150 high-volume fellowship-trained sports surgeons from four continents. These surgeons represent their regional sports organisations in travelling fellowships and are considered to be opinion leaders in their respective organisations. Prior to the 2014 Magellan Meeting in Arima, Japan, a survey was conducted to understand how Magellan members perform anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

A protocol for eliciting nonmaterial values through a cultural ecosystem services frame.

Stakeholders' nonmaterial desires, needs, and values often critically influence the success of conservation projects. These considerations are challenging to articulate and characterize, resulting in their limited uptake in management and policy. We devised an interview protocol designed to enhance understanding of cultural ecosystem services (CES).

CD146+ human umbilical cord perivascular cells maintain stemness under hypoxia and as a cell source for skeletal regeneration.

The human umbilical cord perivascular cells (HUCPVCs) have been considered as an alternative source of mesenchymal progenitors for cell based regenerative medicine. However, the biological properties of these cells remain to be well characterized. In the present study, HUCPVCs were isolated and sorted by CD146(+) pericyte marker.

Sea otters homogenize mussel beds and reduce habitat provisioning in a rocky intertidal ecosystem.

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are keystone predators that consume a variety of benthic invertebrates, including the intertidal mussel, Mytilus californianus. By virtue of their competitive dominance, large size, and longevity, M. californianus are ecosystem engineers that form structurally complex beds that provide habitat for diverse invertebrate communities.