Using a Data-Driven Improvement Methodology to Decrease Surgical Site Infections in a Community Neurosurgery Practice: Optimizing Preoperative Screening and Perioperative Antibiotics.

Objective: We used a data-driven methodology to decrease the departmental surgical site infection rate to a goal of 1%.

Methods: A prospective interventional study with historical controls comparing preimplementation/intervention (unknown methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus [MSSA]/methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] status and standard weight and drug allergy-based preoperative antibiotics) with postimplementation/intervention (optimized preoperative chlorhexidine showers, MSSA/MRSA screening, MSSA/MRSA decolonization, and optimized preoperative antibiotic order set implementation). The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program was used for case surveillance.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Isolated Cerebral Mucormycosis: Patient-Level Data Meta-Analysis and Mayo Clinic Experience.

Background: Isolated cerebral mucormycosis is a rare and serious infection associated with intravenous drug abuse.

Methods: We performed a comprehensive meta-analysis of cases reported in studies and have included an unreported case from our institution. We searched PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Databases, and our institution's electronic medical health records from inception through March 31, 2018.

Histochemical evidence for pathways insulin cells use to oxidize glycolysis-derived NADH.

The activity of lactate dehydrogenase is known to be low in the pancreatic beta cell, and the activity of the mitochondrial glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (mGPD), the key enzyme of the glycerol phosphate shuttle, is known to be high in this cell. Lactate dehydrogenase was demonstrated histochemically in insulin positive cells of the rat pancreas, and its activity was semiquantified densitometrically; activity in these cells was estimated to be about 8% of that in the surrounding acinar tissue. mGPD histochemical activity was extremely high in cells exhibiting insulin immunofluorescence, while activity in surrounding pancreas tissue was negligible.