Prolonged hourly neurological examinations are associated with increased delirium and no discernible benefit in mild/moderate geriatric traumatic brain injury.

Background: Serial neurological examinations (NEs) are routinely recommended in the intensive care unit (ICU) within the first 24 hours following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). There are currently no widely accepted guidelines for the frequency of NEs. Disruptions to the sleep-wake cycles increase the delirium rate.

Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis-Associated Bacteremia Has Worse Outcome.

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is an inflammation of the gallbladder without gallstones in the setting of critical illness. It represents 2%-15% of acute cholecystitis (AC) cases. Bacteremia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Temporary Abdominal Closure Is Associated with Increased Risk for Fungal Intra-Abdominal Infections in Trauma Patients.

Fungal infections are associated with increased morbidity and death. Few studies have examined risk factors associated with post-operative fungal intra-abdominal infections (FIAIs) in trauma patients after exploratory laparotomy. In this study, we evaluated potential risk factors for acquiring post-operative FIAIs and their impact on clinical outcomes.

Proton shock acceleration in laser-plasma interactions.

The formation of strong, high Mach number (2-3), electrostatic shocks by laser pulses incident on overdense plasma slabs is observed in one- and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, for a wide range of intensities, pulse durations, target thicknesses, and densities. The shocks propagate undisturbed across the plasma, accelerating the ions (protons). For a dimensionless field strength parameter a(0)=16 (Ilambda(2) approximately 3 x 10(20) W cm(-2) microm(2), where I is the intensity and lambda the wavelength), and target thicknesses of a few microns, the shock is responsible for the highest energy protons.