Differences between novel and conventional surveillance paradigms of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Objective: To investigate the concordance between novel and conventional surveillance paradigms for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Methods: This study was conducted at a regional teaching hospital in southern Taiwan with 5 acute intensive care units. To assess the validity of novel ventilator-associated event (VAE) surveillance, we retrospectively applied the VAE algorithm to analyze all VAP cases that were identified using conventional definitions between April 2010 and February 2014.

mPLR-Loc: an adaptive decision multi-label classifier based on penalized logistic regression for protein subcellular localization prediction.

Proteins located in appropriate cellular compartments are of paramount importance to exert their biological functions. Prediction of protein subcellular localization by computational methods is required in the post-genomic era. Recent studies have been focusing on predicting not only single-location proteins but also multi-location proteins.

Identifying Patients in the Acute Psychiatric Hospital Who May Benefit From a Palliative Care Approach.

Identifying patients who will benefit from a palliative care approach is the first critical step in integrating palliative with curative therapy. Criteria are established that identify hospitalized medical patients who are near end of life, yet there are no criteria with respect to hospitalized patients with psychiatric disorders. The records of 276 consecutive patients admitted to a dedicated inpatient psychiatric unit were reviewed to identify prognostic criteria predictive of mortality.

Template-free ordered mesoporous silicas by binary nanoparticle assembly.

Evaporation-induced convective binary assembly of large (A) and small (B) silica nanoparticles is demonstrated as a template-free route to three-dimensionally ordered mesoporous silicas (OMSs), the pore topology of which derives from the interconnected interstices of the resulting ordered nanoparticulate structures. Even without explicit solvent index matching or stabilization (e.g.

The importance of code status discussions in the psychiatric hospital: results of a single site survey of psychiatrists.

Objectives: Documentation of code status is a requirement with hospital admission, yet this discussion may present unique challenges with psychiatric inpatients. Currently, no standards exist on conducting these discussions with psychiatric inpatients. The authors surveyed psychiatry trainees and faculty regarding their perceptions and practice to gain further insight into the types of approaches used.

Reducing caregiver stress with internet-based interventions: a systematic review of open-label and randomized controlled trials.

Objective: The high level of stress associated with caring for others with medical conditions has been recognized for some time. Reducing caregiver stress can improve caregiver quality of life as well as improve the care they provide to loved ones. This systematic review assesses the effectiveness of internet-based interventions to decrease caregiver stress.

CYP2C19 variation, not citalopram dose nor serum level, is associated with QTc prolongation.

Recently, a FDA Safety Communication warned of a dose-dependent risk for QTc prolongation with citalopram, which is metabolized by CYP2C19 of the cytochrome P450 system. We investigate associations between citalopram and escitalopram dose, serum concentration, CYP2C19 phenotype, and QTc. We undertook a retrospective chart review of citalopram or escitalopram patients with the inclusion criteria of consistent medication dose, CYP2C19 phenotype (extensive metabolizers [EM], intermediate metabolizers [IM], poor metabolizers [PM]), and QTc interval on ECG.

Phenotyping: targeting genotype's rich cousin for diagnosis.

There are many current and evolving tools to assist clinicians in their daily work of phenotyping. In medicine, the term 'phenotype' is usually taken to mean some deviation from normal morphology, physiology and behaviour. It is ascertained via history, examination and investigations, and a primary aim is diagnosis.

Does adiposity affect muscle function during walking in children?

The biomechanical mechanisms responsible for the altered gait in obese children are not well understood, particularly as they relate to increases in adipose tissue. The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that as body-fat percentage (BF%) increased: (1) knee flexion during stance would decrease while pelvic obliquity would increase; (2) peak muscle forces normalized to lean-weight would increase for gluteus medius, gastrocnemius, and soleus, but decrease for the vasti; and (3) the individual muscle contributions to center of mass (COM) acceleration in the direction of their primary function(s) would not change for gluteus medius, gastrocnemius, and soleus, but decrease for the vasti. We scaled a musculoskeletal model to the anthropometrics of each participant (n=14, 8-12 years old, BF%: 16-41%) and estimated individual muscle forces and their contributions to COM acceleration.

R3P-Loc: a compact multi-label predictor using ridge regression and random projection for protein subcellular localization.

Locating proteins within cellular contexts is of paramount significance in elucidating their biological functions. Computational methods based on knowledge databases (such as gene ontology annotation (GOA) database) are known to be more efficient than sequence-based methods. However, the predominant scenarios of knowledge-based methods are that (1) knowledge databases typically have enormous size and are growing exponentially, (2) knowledge databases contain redundant information, and (3) the number of extracted features from knowledge databases is much larger than the number of data samples with ground-truth labels.

Reduction of spectral interferences using ultraclean gold nanowire arrays in the LDI-MS analysis of a model peptide.

The surface chemistry of gold nanowires (AuNWs) has been systematically assessed in terms of contamination and cleaning processes. The nanomaterial's surface quality was correlated to its performance in the matrix-free laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) analysis of low molecular weight analytes. Arrays of AuNWs were deposited on glass slides by means of the lithographically patterned nanowire electrodeposition technique.

Microfluidic-based, live-cell analysis allows assessment of NK-cell migration in response to crosstalk with dendritic cells.

Migration and localization of NK cells into peripheral tissues are tightly regulated under normal and pathological conditions. The physiological importance of NK cell-DC crosstalk has been well documented. However, the ways in which DCs regulate the migratory properties of NK cells (such as chemotaxis, chemokinesis, chemo-repulsion) are not fully defined in vitro.

Oxytocin is an age-specific circulating hormone that is necessary for muscle maintenance and regeneration.

The regenerative capacity of skeletal muscle declines with age. Previous studies suggest that this process can be reversed by exposure to young circulation; however, systemic age-specific factors responsible for this phenomenon are largely unknown. Here we report that oxytocin--a hormone best known for its role in lactation, parturition and social behaviours--is required for proper muscle tissue regeneration and homeostasis, and that plasma levels of oxytocin decline with age.

Refinement of the spectra of exon usage by combined effects of extracellular stimulus and intracellular factors.

Finely tuned differential expression of alternative splice variants contributes to important physiological processes such as the fine-tuning of electrical firing or hearing frequencies; yet the underlying molecular basis for the expression control is not clear. The inclusion levels of four depolarization-regulated alternative exons were measured by RT-PCR in GH3 pituitary cells under different conditions of stimulation and/or RNA interference of splicing factors. The usage of the exons was reduced by membrane depolarization to various extents and was differentially modulated by the knock-down of splicing factors hnRNP L, L-like, I (PTBP1) or K or their combinations.

Multikernel least mean square algorithm.

The multikernel least-mean-square algorithm is introduced for adaptive estimation of vector-valued nonlinear and nonstationary signals. This is achieved by mapping the multivariate input data to a Hilbert space of time-varying vector-valued functions, whose inner products (kernels) are combined in an online fashion. The proposed algorithm is equipped with novel adaptive sparsification criteria ensuring a finite dictionary, and is computationally efficient and suitable for nonstationary environments.

Identification of non-regulated aromatic amines of toxicological concern which can be cleaved from azo dyes used in clothing textiles.

Azo dyes in textiles may release aromatic amines after enzymatic cleavage by skin bacteria or after dermal absorption and metabolism in the human body. From the 896 azo dyes with known chemical structure in the available textile dyes database, 426 azo dyes (48%) can generate one or more of the 22 regulated aromatic amines in the European Union in Annex XVII of REACH. Another 470 azo dyes (52%) can be cleaved into exclusively non-regulated aromatic amines.

Do age and quality of life of patients with cancer influence quality of life of the caregiver?

Objective: There are significant burdens associated with providing care for loved ones with cancer. However, caregiver quality of life (QOL) is often overlooked. With the increasing number of older adults with cancer, it is important to determine whether a patient's age and QOL have any association with the caregiver's QOL.

HybridGO-Loc: mining hybrid features on gene ontology for predicting subcellular localization of multi-location proteins.

Protein subcellular localization prediction, as an essential step to elucidate the functions in vivo of proteins and identify drugs targets, has been extensively studied in previous decades. Instead of only determining subcellular localization of single-label proteins, recent studies have focused on predicting both single- and multi-location proteins. Computational methods based on Gene Ontology (GO) have been demonstrated to be superior to methods based on other features.

Levamisole-induced myopathy and leukocytoclastic vasculitis: a case report and literature review.

Levamisole, an immunomodulator and anthelmintic medication, has been used in dermatology for years. Even though the adverse effects are usually mild and reversible, attention should be paid toward severe events such as vasculitis and neutropenia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report on a patient presenting with myopathy caused by levamisole.

Ritonavir-Mediated Induction of Apoptosis in Pancreatic Cancer Occurs via the RB/E2F-1 and AKT Pathways.

Recent observations suggest a lower incidence of malignancies in patients infected with HIV during treatment with Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) utilizing protease inhibitors. We investigated the effects of ritonavir, a FDA approved HIV protease inhibitor, on proliferation of pancreatic ductal adeno-carcinoma (PDAC) cell lines. Human PDAC cell lines BxPC-3, MIA PaCa-2, and PANC-1 were propagated under standard conditions and treated with serial dilutions of ritonavir.