Development and evaluation of an algorithm for peripheral venous catheter placement (ALCOV): protocol for a quasi-experimental study.

Introduction: Multiple punctures during peripheral venous catheter (PVC) placement increase the risk of complications. Scoring for adult difficult intravenous access (A-DIVA Scale) exists but has never been assessed in the framework of a care algorithm (scoring associated with a new decision-making tree for puncture conditions, the A-DIVA Tree). We seek to implement an catheter placement algorithm to decrease the mean number of punctures per patient.

Neutron crystallography and quantum chemical analysis of bilin reductase PcyA mutants reveal substrate and catalytic residue protonation states.

PcyA, a ferredoxin-dependent bilin pigment reductase, catalyzes the site-specific reduction of the two vinyl groups of biliverdin (BV), producing phycocyanobilin. Previous neutron crystallography detected both the neutral BV and its protonated form (BVH) in the wildtype (WT) PcyA-BV complex, and a nearby catalytic residue Asp105 was found to have two conformations (protonated and deprotonated). Semiempirical calculations have suggested that the protonation states of BV are reflected in the absorption spectrum of the WT PcyA-BV complex.

Neutron crystallographic analysis of the nucleotide-binding domain of Hsp72 in complex with ADP.

The 70 kDa heat-shock proteins (Hsp70s) are ATP-dependent molecular chaperones that contain an N-terminal nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) and a C-terminal substrate-binding domain. Hsp70s bind to misfolded/unfolded proteins and thereby prevent their aggregation. The ATP hydrolysis reaction in the NBD plays a key role in allosteric control of the binding of substrate proteins.

Dynamics of urinary and respiratory shedding of Severe acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA excludes urine as a relevant source of viral transmission.

Purpose: To investigate the expression of the receptor protein ACE-2 alongside the urinary tract, urinary shedding and urinary stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

Methods: Immunohistochemical staining was performed on tissue from urological surgery of 10 patients. Further, patients treated for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at specialized care-units of a university hospital were assessed for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in urinary samples via PCR, disease severity (WHO score), inflammatory response of patients.

Short-Term Hypocalcemia Prophylaxis With Calcitriol Before Thyroidectomy.

Background: Total thyroidectomy is the most common surgical treatment of thyroid diseases, and postoperative hypocalcemia is its most common complication. Hypocalcemia prolongs the patient's hospital stay and impairs his or her quality of life. Although a low vitamin D level is a recognized risk factor, the utility of preoperative vitamin D administration to prevent postoperative hypocalcemia is unclear.

Women's (limited) agency over their sexual bodies: Contesting contraceptive recommendations in Brazil.

Unintended pregnancies constitute a serious public health concern in Brazil, representing up to 55% of all pregnancies, and are prevalent among women with low income and low educational backgrounds. Lack of assistance to women in their decision-making has hindered the adoption of more effective contraceptive models. Although clinical consultations constitute an important locus to assist women in decision-making and to facilitate access to subsidized methods, our current knowledge of how contraception is discussed and decisions are reached in actual consultations is limited.

Oxylipin patterns in human colon adenomas.

Objective: Cyclooxygenase (COX)-derived prostaglandin E (PGE) is an important lipid mediator in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) pathogenesis. Other lipid mediators derived from lipoxygenases (LOX) have also been implicated in neoplastic processes in the colon. In this study we aimed to characterize lipid mediators, so called oxylipins, in human colon adenomatous polyps.

How a Fragment Draws Attention to Selectivity Discriminating Features between the Related Proteases Trypsin and Thrombin.

In the S pocket, the serine proteases thrombin and trypsin commonly feature Asp189 and a Ala190Ser and Glu192Gln exchange. Nevertheless, thrombin cleaves peptide chains solely after Arg, and trypsin after Lys and Arg. Thrombin exhibits a Na+-binding site next to Asp189, which is missing in trypsin.

Failure factors for carpal tunnel syndrome surgical treatment: When and how to perform a revision carpal tunnel decompression surgery.

Despite being a procedure widely used all over the world with high rates of symptom remission, surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome may present unsatisfactory outcomes. Such outcomes may be manifested clinically by non-remission of symptoms, remission of symptoms with recurrence a time after surgery or appearance of different symptoms after surgery. Different factors are related to this unsuccessful surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome.

An intergranular strain concept for material models formulated as rate equations.

The intergranular strain concept was originally developed to capture the small-strain behaviour of the soil with hypoplastic models. A change of the deformation direction leads to an increase of the material stiffness. To obtain elastic behaviour for smallstrains, only the elastic part of the material stiffness matrix is used.

Visualizing the protons in a metalloenzyme electron proton transfer pathway.

In redox metalloenzymes, the process of electron transfer often involves the concerted movement of a proton. These processes are referred to as proton-coupled electron transfer, and they underpin a wide variety of biological processes, including respiration, energy conversion, photosynthesis, and metalloenzyme catalysis. The mechanisms of proton delivery are incompletely understood, in part due to an absence of information on exact proton locations and hydrogen bonding structures in a bona fide metalloenzyme proton pathway.

Heme peroxidase-Trapping intermediates by cryo neutron crystallography.

By combining the normal practice for X-ray crystallography of collecting diffraction data at 100K with neutron crystallography the structures of cryo-trapped enzyme intermediates have been determined, revealing the positions of the previously hidden hydrogens that are essential to a better understanding of the involved mechanism.

Co-deposition of gas hydrates by pressurized thermal evaporation.

Gas hydrates are usually synthesized by bringing together a pressurized gas and liquid or solid water. In both cases, the transport of gas or water to the hydrate growth site is hindered once an initial film of hydrate has grown at the water-gas interface. A seemingly forgotten gas-phase technique overcomes this problem by slowly depositing water vapor on a cold surface in the presence of the pressurized guest gas.

Effects of chronic low-dose aspirin treatment on tumor prevention in three mouse models of intestinal tumorigenesis.

Although early detection and treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) have improved, it remains a significant health-care problem with high morbidity and mortality. Data indicate that long-term intake of low-dose aspirin reduces the risk of CRC; however, the mechanisms underlying this chemopreventive effect are still unclear. Different mouse models for inflammation-associated, sporadic, and hereditary CRC were applied to assess the efficacy and mechanism of low-dose aspirin on tumor prevention.

Direct Observation of the Protonation States in the Mutant Green Fluorescent Protein.

Neutron crystallography has been used to elucidate the protonation states for the enhanced green fluorescent protein, which has revolutionized imaging technologies. The structure has a deprotonated hydroxyl group in the fluorescent chromophore. Also, the protonation states of His148 and Thr203, as well as the orientation of a critical water molecule in direct contact with the chromophore, could be determined.

The best from East and West? Acupuncture and medical training therapy as monotherapies or in combination for adult patients with episodic and chronic tension-type headache: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a complex health intervention, based on the combination of conventional Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in an outpatient department of a university hospital for patients with frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches.

Methods/design: This is a prospective randomized controlled pilot study with four balanced treatment arms (usual care, acupuncture, training, and training plus acupuncture). Each arm will have 24 patients.

Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Soil Contaminated with the Veterinary Antibiotics Oxytetracycline and Sulfamethazine.

Veterinary and growth-promoting antibiotics are widely used in animal husbandry and accumulate in manure-fertilized soils. However, the impact of these antibiotics on symbiotic nitrogen fixation is poorly understood. We investigated the effect of the veterinary antibiotics oxytetracycline and sulfamethazine, and a combination of both, on nitrogen fixation in alfalfa ( L.

Phosphorus mitigation remains critical in water protection: A review and meta-analysis from one of China's most eutrophicated lakes.

The processes of urbanization and industrialization within geological phosphorus-rich mountains (GPMn) have resulted in water degradation within southwest China. Lake Dianchi, one of the most eutrophicated lakes in China, has epitomized this issue. Clear understandings of phosphorus (P) mitigation efforts, the evolution of P budgets, and possible risks in the Dianchi system will benefit future eutrophication control, providing valuable lessons for other plateau freshwater lakes.