Background: This study investigated the impact of posaconazole (POSA) prophylaxis in COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory failure receiving systemic corticosteroids on the risk for the development of COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA).
Methods: The primary aim of this prospective, multicentre, case-control study was to assess whether application of POSA prophylaxis in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients reduces the risk for CAPA development. All consecutive patients from centre 1 (cases) who received POSA prophylaxis as standard-of-care were matched to one subject from centre 2 and centre 3 who did not receive any antifungal prophylaxis, using propensity score matching for the following variables: (i) age, (ii) sex, (iii) treatment with tocilizumab and (iv) time at risk.
Eutrophication remains a persistent water quality issue throughout much of the United States, leading to changes to ecosystem health in valuable coastal habitats. Oysters help to buffer against eutrophication by removing nitrogen from the water column by feeding on phytoplankton and other seston, a process referred to as "bioextraction". Recent legislation in Texas has allowed oysters to be grown off-bottom (suspended in cages).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Amblyopia is a common disease, and interventions like patching treatment are well studied. When standard therapy fails, sometimes uncommon treatment options become necessary. : We present three cases of patients with severe strabismic amblyopia with initial visual acuities of 20/400, 20/2000 and 20/160 who failed conventional treatment and subsequently received treatment with high-powered contact lenses (HPCL) of either + 22D or + 25D strength.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrently, two thirds of medical students are female. However, women continue to be clearly underrepresented in leading medical positions, which is also true for ophthalmology. The scientific output of female ophthalmologists is increasing, more pronounced as first authors than last, but remains below that of male colleagues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResidential lawn management often includes fertilizer application to encourage healthy plant growth and support the aesthetic preferences of homeowners and communities. These inputs may negatively impact the environment by increasing nutrient export to aquatic ecosystems via surface runoff or leaching through soil into groundwater. Fertilizer management and nutrient export are of particular concern in karst areas like North-Central Florida, where the underlying karst geology leads to rapid, direct connections between surface and groundwater ecosystems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS) present with similar clinical signs and histopathological findings as dogs with parvovirosis, in which fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has led to a significantly faster resolution of diarrhea and shorter hospitalization times. We investigated whether FMT results in faster clinical improvement and normalization of the intestinal microbiome compared to standard treatment.
Animals: 32 client-owned dogs with AHDS.
Although intraspecific trait variation is increasingly recognized as affecting ecosystem processes, few studies have examined the ecological significance of among-population variation in behavioral traits in natural ecosystems. In freshwater habitats, crayfish are consumers that can influence ecosystem structure (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe usefulness of antibiotics in dogs with acute diarrhea (AD) is controversial. It is also unclear what effect metronidazole has on potential enteropathogens such as and . Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of metronidazole vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrimary implant stability, which refers to the stability of the implant during the initial healing period is a crucial factor in determining the long-term success of the implant and lays the foundation for secondary implant stability achieved through osseointegration. Factors affecting primary stability include implant design, surgical technique, and patient-specific factors like bone quality and morphology. In vivo, the cyclic nature of anatomical loading puts osteosynthesis locking screws under dynamic loads, which can lead to the formation of micro cracks and defects that slowly degrade the mechanical connection between the bone and screw, thus compromising the initial stability and secondary stability of the implant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHistopathologic examination of intestinal biopsies from dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS) reveals necrotizing enteritis and epithelial integrity loss. Serum iohexol measurement has been utilized to assess intestinal permeability. Our hypothesis is that dogs with AHDS have increased intestinal permeability, which is associated with the severity of clinical signs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH) is a cytokine-driven inflammatory syndrome that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality and frequently leads to ICU admission. Overall survival in adults with sHLH remains poor, especially in those requiring intensive care. Classical chemotherapeutic treatment exhibits myelosuppression and toxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdditive manufacturing technologies based on stereolithography rely on initiating spatial photopolymerization by using photoinitiators activated by UV-visible light. Many applications requiring printing in water are limited since water-soluble photoinitiators are scarce, and their price is skyrocketing. On the contrary, thermal initiators are widely used in the chemical industry for polymerization processes due to their low cost and simplicity of initiation by heat at low temperatures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Bleb failure is a common complication after glaucoma filtration surgery. Different bleb classification schemes incorporating filtration bleb vascularization have been proposed, but the reported correlation with intraocular pressure (IOP) has been variable, possibly because of subjective vascularization grading. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate bleb vascularization after Preserflo Microshunt (PM) implantation using anterior segment OCT-angiography (AS-OCTA) as a biomarker for bleb failure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEarly after the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-pandemic, it was observed that critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) were susceptible to developing secondary fungal infections, particularly COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA). Here we report our local experience on the impact of mold active antifungal prophylaxis on CAPA occurrence in critically ill COVID-19 patients. This is a monocentric, prospective cohort study including all consecutive patients with COVID-19 associated acute respiratory failure who were admitted to our local medical ICU.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe response of bone tissue to mechanical load is complex and includes plastic hardening, viscosity and damage. The quantification of these effects plays a mayor role in bone research and in biomechanical clinical trials as to better understand related diseases. In this study, the damage growth in individual wet human trabeculae subjected to cyclic overloading is quantified by inverse rheological modeling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough critical access hospitals are small, the expected infection prevention activities remain extensive. Program standards, aligned with the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology infection prevention competency model domains, were developed and implemented in a midwestern health care system. Time estimates for completion of each activity were assigned and then extrapolated to offer guidance on necessary full-time equivalents for adequate staffing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a biologically active protein and increased levels are associated with worse outcomes in critically ill patients. suPAR in bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF) may be helpful to differentiate between types of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and may have potential for early detection of fungal infection.
Methods: We prospectively investigated levels of suPAR in BALF and serum in critically ill patients who underwent bronchoscopy for any reason at the ICU of the Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.