Broadening the Berlin definition of ARDS to patients receiving high-flow nasal oxygen: an observational study in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19.

Background: High-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) is increasingly used in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. It is uncertain whether a broadened Berlin definition of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), in which ARDS can be diagnosed in patients who are not receiving ventilation, results in similar groups of patients receiving HFNO as in patients receiving ventilation.

Methods: We applied a broadened definition of ARDS in a multicenter, observational study in adult critically ill patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), wherein the requirement for a minimal level of 5 cm HO PEEP with ventilation is replaced by a minimal level of airflow rate with HFNO, and compared baseline characteristics and outcomes between patients receiving HFNO and patients receiving ventilation.

Effect of lung ultrasound-guided fluid deresuscitation on duration of ventilation in intensive care unit patients (CONFIDENCE): protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Fluid therapy is a common intervention in critically ill patients. It is increasingly recognised that deresuscitation is an essential part of fluid therapy and delayed deresuscitation is associated with longer invasive ventilation and length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay. However, optimal timing and rate of deresuscitation remain unclear.

Borrelia burgdorferi is strong inducer of IFN-γ production by human primary NK cells.

Natural Killer (NK) cells belong to the innate lymphoid lineage and are highly present in the human skin. NK cells can produce a range of pro-inflammatory mediators, including cytokines and chemokines. The role of NK(-T) cells in the immune response towards Borrelia burgdorferi infection was studied.

Borrelia burgdorferi inhibits NADPH-mediated reactive oxygen species production through the mTOR pathway.

Redox metabolism is crucial in host defense. Previously, it was shown that Borrelia burgdorferi induces the antioxidative metabolism in primary human monocytes. In this study, we explore how B.

Borrelia burgdorferi Is a Poor Inducer of Gamma Interferon: Amplification Induced by Interleukin-12.

Laboratory diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis (LB) is mainly based on serology, which has limitations, particularly in the early stages of the disease. In recent years there have been conflicting reports concerning a new diagnostic tool using the cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). Previous studies have generally found low concentrations of IFN-γ in early LB infection.

The impact of lung ultrasound on clinical-decision making across departments: a systematic review.

Background: Lung ultrasound has established itself as an accurate diagnostic tool in different clinical settings. However, its effects on clinical-decision making are insufficiently described. This systematic review aims to investigate the impact of lung ultrasound, exclusively or as part of an integrated thoracic ultrasound examination, on clinical-decision making in different departments, especially the emergency department (ED), intensive care unit (ICU), and general ward (GW).

Seasonal and Nonseasonal Longitudinal Variation of Immune Function.

Different components of the immune response show large variability between individuals, but they also vary within the same individual because of host and environmental factors. In this study, we report an extensive analysis of the immune characteristics of 56 individuals over four timepoints in 1 single year as part of the Human Functional Genomics Project. We characterized 102 cell subsets using flow cytometry; quantified production of eight cytokines and two chemokines in response to 20 metabolic, bacterial, fungal, and viral stimuli; and measured circulating markers of inflammation.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells have divergent effects on HIV infection of initial target cells and induce a pro-retention phenotype.

Although HIV infection inhibits interferon responses in its target cells in vitro, interferon signatures can be detected in vivo soon after sexual transmission, mainly attributed to plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). In this study, we examined the physiological contributions of pDCs to early HIV acquisition using coculture models of pDCs with myeloid DCs, macrophages and the resting central, transitional and effector memory CD4 T cell subsets. pDCs impacted infection in a cell-specific manner.

B. burgdorferi sensu lato-induced inhibition of antigen presentation is mediated by RIP1 signaling resulting in impaired functional T cell responses towards Candida albicans.

Antigen presentation is a crucial innate immune cell function that instructs adaptive immune cells. Loss of this pathway severely impairs the development of adaptive immune responses. To investigate whether B.

A joint effort: The interplay between the innate and the adaptive immune system in Lyme arthritis.

Articular joints are a major target of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme arthritis. Despite antibiotic treatment, recurrent or persistent Lyme arthritis is observed in a significant number of patients. The host immune response plays a crucial role in this chronic arthritic joint complication of Borrelia infections.

Correction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the protective effects of metformin in experimental myocardial infarction.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the protective effects of metformin in experimental myocardial infarction.

Metformin improves cardiovascular prognosis in patients with diabetes mellitus, compared to alternative glucose-lowering drugs, despite similar glycemic control. Direct cardiovascular protective properties have therefore been proposed, and studied in preclinical models of myocardial infarction. We now aim to critically assess the quality and outcome of these studies.

A systematic review of discomfort due to toe or ear clipping in laboratory rodents.

Toe clipping and ear clipping (also ear notching or ear punching) are frequently used methods for individual identification of laboratory rodents. These procedures potentially cause severe discomfort, which can reduce animal welfare and distort experimental results. However, no systematic summary of the evidence on this topic currently exists.