Clinical Characteristics and Therapeutic Outcomes of Postneurosurgical Bacterial Meningitis in Elderly Patients over 65: A Hospital-based Study.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical characteristics, laboratory features and prognostic factors of elderly patients with postneurosurgical bacterial meningitis.

Methods: Five hundred and forty patients with adult bacterial meningitis (ABM) were collected from 1986-2015, of whom 167 were ≥ 65 years. Of these 167 elderly patients, 82 had postneurosurgical infections and 85 had spontaneous infections.

Tunable assembly of protein-microdomains in living vertebrate embryos.

Subcellular events such as trafficking and signaling are regulated by self-assembled protein complexes inside the cell. The ability to rapidly and reversibly manipulate these protein complexes would likely enhance studies of their mechanisms and their roles in biological function and disease manifestation. This manuscript reports that thermally-responsive elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) linked to fluorescent proteins can regulate the self-assembly and disassembly of protein microdomains within the individual cells of zebrafish embryos.

Optimizing Patient Access During an Emergency While Using Intraoperative Computed Tomography.

Background: As minimally invasive spine surgery evolves, spine surgeons increasingly rely on advanced intraoperative computed tomography (iCT). iCT provides rapid acquisition of high-resolution images, reduces radiation exposure, improves surgical accuracy, and decreases operative time. However, all iCT systems currently available pose a patient safety risk as their physical space requirements limit patient access in the event of an emergency, particularly when patients are in the prone position.

Comparison between open partial laryngectomy with tube-free tracheostomy and total laryngectomy for hypopharyngeal cancer with cartilage invasion.

The present study aimed to identify a feasible treatment strategy for hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) with non-extensive invasion of the thyroid and/or cricoid cartilage. Between June 2008 and December 2014, patients with previously untreated HPC invading cartilage who had received either open partial laryngectomy (OPL) with tube-free tracheostomy or total laryngectomy (TL) with permanent tracheostomy and an artificial larynx (pneumatic tube) were retrospectively reviewed. The patients with extensive cartilage invasion and those with inoperable or T4b disease were excluded for OPL.

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of a Randomized Control Trial of a Tailored, Multifactorial Program to Prevent Falls Among the Community-Dwelling Elderly.

Objective: To perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of a multifactorial, tailored intervention to reduce falls among a heterogeneous group of high-risk elderly people.

Design: Randomized control trial.

Settings: Communities.

Cortactin as a potential predictor of second esophageal neoplasia in hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Objective: Hypopharyngeal carcinoma has a very poor prognosis. The high incidence of second esophageal neoplasia is one of the major causes. To establish an efficient follow-up scheme for increasing the diagnostic yield and reducing the adverse impact of second esophageal neoplasia on survival, the purpose of this study was to explore a biomarker to predict second esophageal neoplasia.

Gas-Phase Electron-Impact Activation of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Precursors: MeCpPtMe.

The use of gas-phase electron-impact activation of metalorganic complexes to facilitate atomic layer depositions (ALD) was tested for the case of (methylcyclopentadienyl)Pt(IV) trimethyl (MeCpPtMe) on silicon oxide films. Uptake enhancements of more than 1 order of magnitude were calculated from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data. On the basis of the measured C:Pt ratios, the surface species were estimated to mainly consist of MeCpPt moieties, likely because of the prevalent formation of [MeCpPtMe - nH] ions after gas-phase ionization (as determined by mass spectrometry).

The prognostic factors of HIV-negative adult cryptococcal meningitis with a focus on cranial MRI-based neuroimaging findings.

The prognostic significance of clinical characteristics and neuroimaging features, especially cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based neuroimaging features, in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative cryptococcal meningitis (CM) has rarely been examined in the literature. We analyzed the clinical characteristics and MRI findings of 65 HIV-negative patients (43 men, 22 women, age 19-86 years) collected during a study period of 15 years (January 2001-December 2015). Their underlying conditions included diabetes mellitus, liver cirrhosis, hematologic disorders, autoimmune disorders, malignancy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, adrenal insufficiency and organ transplantation, and their clinical presentations included headache, altered consciousness, fever, seizure, visual disturbance and hearing impairment.

Prostate Health Index (PHI) improves prostate cancer detection at initial biopsy in Taiwanese men with PSA 4-10 ng/mL.

In this study, we aimed to validate the Prostate Health Index (PHI) for the detection of prostate cancer (PCa). We prospectively enrolled patients aged 50-75 years with a serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level of 4-10 ng/mL undergoing transrectal biopsy of the prostate between April 2016 and May 2017. The primary outcome was the diagnostic performance of various PSA derivatives (total PSA, free PSA, %fPSA, p2PSA, %p2PSA, and PHI) to predict PCa.

Clinical characteristics of Citrobacter meningitis in adults: High incidence in patients with a postneurosurgical state and strains not susceptible to third-generation cephalosporins.

Adult bacterial meningitis (ABM) caused by Citrobacter (C.) infection is very uncommon and the clinical characteristics of this specific infectious syndrome have not been analyzed in the literature. The clinical characteristics of six Citrobacter ABM patients collected during a study period of 30 years (1986-2015) were enrolled, and they accounted for 1.

Therapeutic Potential of Sclareol in Experimental Models of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Previous studies have shown that the natural diterpene compound, sclareol, potentially inhibits inflammation, but it has not yet been determined whether sclareol can alleviate inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here, we utilized human synovial cell line, SW982, and an experimental murine model of rheumatoid arthritis, collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), to evaluate the therapeutic effects of sclareol in RA. Arthritic DBA/1J mice were dosed with 5 and 10 mg/kg sclareol intraperitoneally every other day over 21 days.

Gender Distribution of the American Board of Anesthesiology Diplomates, Examiners, and Directors (1985-2015).

To understand the potential role of women in leadership positions, data from the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) were analyzed to explore the impact of women in the specialty of anesthesiology. The number of newly certified ABA diplomates, oral examiners, and directors from 1985 to 2015 was obtained from the ABA database. The percentages of women in each group were calculated for each year.

Intermittent Hypoxia Inhibits Na+-H+ Exchange-Mediated Acid Extrusion Via Intracellular Na+ Accumulation in Cardiomyocytes.

Background/aims: Intermittent hypoxia (IH) has been shown to exert preconditioning-like cardioprotective effects. It also has been reported that IH preserves intracellular pH (pHi) during ischemia and protects cardiomyocytes against ischemic reperfusion injury. However, the exact mechanism is still unclear.

Intermittent hypoxia-generated ROS contributes to intracellular zinc regulation that limits ischemia/reperfusion injury in adult rat cardiomyocyte.

Intermittent hypoxia (IH) has been shown to exert cardioprotective effects against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury through the preservation of ion homeostasis. I/R dramatically elevated cytosolic Zn and caused cardiomyocyte death. However, the role of IH exposure in the relationship between Zn regulation and cardioprotection is still unclear.

Atmospheric concentrations and gas-particle partitioning of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs around Hochiminh city.

Atmospheric PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs samples were collected in Hochiminh city, Vietnam to address the effect of meteorological parameters, especially rainfall, on the occurrence and gas/particle partitioning of these persistent organic pollutants. The results indicate that PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs concentrations in industrial site are higher than those measured in commercial and rural sites during both rainy and dry seasons. In terms of mass concentration, ambient PCDD/F levels measured in dry season are significantly higher than those measured in rainy season while dl-PCB levels do not vary significantly between rainy and dry seasons.

Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Model of CW002, an Investigational Intermediate Neuromuscular Blocking Agent, in Healthy Volunteers.

Background: CW002 is an investigational nondepolarizing, neuromuscular blocking agent with a rapid onset and intermediate duration of action in animals. This is a single ascending dose, healthy subject study exploring tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and potency.

Methods: Population pharmacokinetic and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models were developed using plasma drug concentration data from a previously published dose-response study in 28 healthy subjects receiving single doses of CW002 during sevoflurane anesthesia.

Reversible and Precisely Controllable p/n-Type Doping of MoTe Transistors through Electrothermal Doping.

Precisely controllable and reversible p/n-type electronic doping of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe ) transistors is achieved by electrothermal doping (E-doping) processes. E-doping includes electrothermal annealing induced by an electric field in a vacuum chamber, which results in electron (n-type) doping and exposure to air, which induces hole (p-type) doping. The doping arises from the interaction between oxygen molecules or water vapor and defects of tellurium at the MoTe surface, and allows the accurate manipulation of p/n-type electrical doping of MoTe transistors.

Detection of urinary spermine by using silver-gold/silver chloride nanozymes.

In this paper, we report a simple one-step synthesis method for silver-gold bimetallic nanoparticles deposition on silver chloride nanosheets to form Ag-Au/AgCl nanohybrid with oxidase-like and peroxidase-like catalytic activity. We used these nanohybrid in the detection of spermine. First, 13 nm-sized Au NPs were synthesized by citrate reduction of HAuCl solution, and then, Ag ions were added to the solution without any purification.

Associations of Bcl-2 rs956572 genotype groups in the structural covariance network in early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease, and genetic differences may mediate neuronal degeneration. In humans, a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia/lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) gene, rs956572, has been found to significantly modulate Bcl-2 protein expression in the brain. The Bcl-2 AA genotype has been associated with reduced Bcl-2 levels and lower gray matter volume in healthy populations.

Anaerobic bacterial meningitis in adults.

Anaerobic infection is a very uncommon condition in adult bacterial meningitis (ABM), and its clinical characteristics have yet to be clarified. We enrolled 540 patients with culture-proven bacterial meningitis during a study period of 30 years (1986-2015), of whom 13 (2.4%) had anaerobic infections.

Salience Network and Depressive Severities in Parkinson's Disease with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Structural Covariance Network Analysis.

In Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), we investigated the clinical significance of salience network (SN) in depression and cognitive performance. Seventy seven PD-MCI patients that fulfilled multi-domain and non-amnestic subtype were included. Gray matter structural covariance networks were constructed by 3D T1-magnetic resonance imaging and seed based analysis.