Publications by authors named "McNicholas B"

Objective: To understand the impact of both frailty and chronologic age on outcomes of weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation (MV).

Methods: The study population consisted of patients enrolled in the 'WorldwidE. AssessmeNt of Separation of pAtients From ventilatory assistancE (WEAN SAFE) study.

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Background: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) has a high morbidity and mortality. One therapy that can decrease mortality is ventilation in the prone position (PP). Patients undergoing PP are amongst the sickest, and there is a need for early identification of patients at particularly high risk of death.

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Purpose Of Review: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is commonly encountered in critical care medicine as is intravenous fluid therapy. It is accepted that there is interplay between fluid use and AKI, both potentially positive and negative. An understanding of the physiological rationale for fluid is important to help clinicians when considering fluid therapy in patients with, or at risk for AKI; this includes understanding choice of fluid, method of monitoring, administration and clinical sequelae.

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Background: The underrepresentation of women in leadership remains a pervasive issue, prompting a critical examination of support mechanisms within professional settings. Previous studies have identified challenges women face, ranging from limited visibility to barriers to career advancement. This survey aims to investigate perceptions regarding the effectiveness of women's leadership programs, mentoring initiatives, and a specialized communication course.

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Background: Artificial intelligence, through improved data management and automated summarisation, has the potential to enhance intensive care unit (ICU) care. Large language models (LLMs) can interrogate and summarise large volumes of medical notes to create succinct discharge summaries. In this study, we aim to investigate the potential of LLMs to accurately and concisely synthesise ICU discharge summaries.

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Clinical trials investigating the potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), have been disappointing, with less than 50% of patients responding to treatment. Licensed MSCs show enhanced therapeutic efficacy in response to cytokine-mediated activation signals. There are two distinct sub-phenotypes of ARDS: hypo- and hyper-inflammatory.

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Article Synopsis
  • Lung problems in COVID-19 can cause serious issues, like kidney injury, especially in patients on mechanical ventilation.
  • In a study with 157 patients, nearly half developed acute kidney injury (AKI), with most having it persist over time.
  • Higher ventilation levels were linked to more severe kidney issues, suggesting that problems with blood flow might connect the lung and kidney problems in COVID-19 patients.
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Introduction: International data describes a changing pattern to trauma over the last decade, with an increasingly comorbid population presenting challenges to trauma management and resources. In Ireland, resource provision and management of trauma is being transformed to deliver a trauma network, in line with international best practice. Our hospital plays a crucial role within this network and is designated a Trauma Unit with Specialist Services (TUSS) to distinguish it from standard trauma units.

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Purpose Of Review: Deciphering the effect of acute kidney injury (AKI) during critical illness on long-term quality of life versus the impact of conditions that brought on critical illness is difficult.

Recent Findings: Reports on patient-centred outcomes such as health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have provided insight into the long-lasting impact of critical illness complicated by AKI. However, these data stem from observational studies and randomized controlled trials, which have been heterogeneous in their patient population, timing, instruments used for assessment and reporting.

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dihalide [ = (3a,3a',8a,8a')-2,2'-(cyclopropane-1,1-diyl)bis(3a,8a-dihydro-8-indeno[1,2-]-oxazole)] complexes are representative of a growing class of first-row transition-metal catalysts for the enantioselective reductive cross-coupling of C(sp) and C(sp) electrophiles. Recent mechanistic studies highlight the complexity of these ground-state cross-couplings but also illuminate new reactivity pathways stemming from one-electron redox and their significant sensitivities to reaction conditions. For the first time, a diverse array of spectroscopic methods coupled to electrochemistry have been applied to Ni-based precatalysts to evaluate specific ligand field effects governing key Ni-based redox potentials.

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We report the facile photochemical generation of a library of Ni(I)-bpy halide complexes (Ni(I)(bpy)X (R = -Bu, H, MeOOC; X = Cl, Br, I) and benchmark their relative reactivity toward competitive oxidative addition and off-cycle dimerization pathways. Structure-function relationships between the ligand set and reactivity are developed, with particular emphasis on rationalizing previously uncharacterized ligand-controlled reactivity toward high energy and challenging C(sp)-Cl bonds. Through a dual Hammett and computational analysis, the mechanism of the formal oxidative addition is found to proceed through an SAr-type pathway, consisting of a nucleophilic two-electron transfer between the Ni(I) 3() orbital and the C-Cl σ* orbital, which contrasts the mechanism previously observed for activation of weaker C(sp)-Br/I bonds.

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Awake prone positioning (APP) of patients with acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure gained considerable attention during the early phases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, reports of APP were limited to case series in patients with influenza and in immunocompromised patients, with encouraging results in terms of tolerance and oxygenation improvement. Prone positioning of awake patients with acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure appears to result in many of the same physiological changes improving oxygenation seen in invasively ventilated patients with moderate-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome.

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Zoonotic spillover of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to humans in December 2019 caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Serological monitoring is critical for detailed understanding of individual immune responses to infection and protection to guide clinical therapeutic and vaccine strategies. We developed a high throughput multiplexed SARS-CoV-2 antigen microarray incorporating spike (S) and nucleocapsid protein (NP) and fragments expressed in various hosts which allowed simultaneous assessment of serum IgG, IgA, and IgM responses.

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Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent and severe complication of both COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and non-COVID-19-related ARDS. The COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium (CCCC) has generated a global data set on the demographics, management and outcomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients. The LUNG-SAFE study was an international prospective cohort study of patients with severe respiratory failure, including ARDS, which pre-dated the pandemic.

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Thirteen boronated cyanometallates [M(CN-BR)] [M = Cr, Mn, Fe, Ru, Os; BR = BPh, B(2,4,6,-FCH), B(CF)] and one metalloboratonitrile [Cr(NC-BPh)] have been characterized by X-ray crystallography and spectroscopy [UV-vis-near-IR, NMR, IR, spectroelectrochemistry, and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD)]; CASSCF+NEVPT2 methods were employed in calculations of electronic structures. For (t) electronic configurations, the lowest-energy ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) absorptions and MCD -terms in the spectra of boronated species have been assigned to transitions from cyanide π + B-C borane σ orbitals. CASSCF+NEVPT2 calculations including t and t orbitals reproduced t/t → t excitation energies.

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Background: COVID-19 pneumonia is associated with the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) displaying some typical histological features. These include diffuse alveolar damage with extensive pulmonary coagulation activation. This results in fibrin deposition in the microvasculature, leading to the formation of hyaline membranes in the air sacs.

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Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the mortality and predictive factors in patients presenting with a pH<7.0 to the emergency department (ED). Methods A retrospective study of patients presenting to the ED of University Hospital Galway with a pH<7.

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