Early onset neonatal bloodstream infections in South African hospitals.

Background: Neonatal sepsis is a leading cause of death in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC). Increasing antibiotic resistance in early onset (< 72 h of life) bloodstream infection (EO-BSI) pathogens in LMIC has reduced the effectiveness of the recommended empiric antibiotic regimen (ampicillin plus gentamicin).

Methods: We retrospectively analysed blood culture-confirmed EO-BSI episodes at nine neonatal units from three central and six peripheral hospitals in the Western Cape Province, South Africa between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018.

Water treatment-free prolonged intermittent kidney replacement therapy: A new approach for kidney replacement therapy in the ICU setting. A retrospective study.

The optimal modalities of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) in the ICU remain debated. Intermittent haemodialysis (IHD) and continuous veno-venous haemofiltration (CVVH) are the two main methods. Intermittent haemodialysis requires a water treatment system, which may not be available in all jurisdictions.

Safety of baricitinib in vaccinated patients with severe and critical COVID-19 sub study of the randomised Bari-SolidAct trial.

Background: The Bari-SolidAct randomized controlled trial compared baricitinib with placebo in patients with severe COVID-19. A post hoc analysis revealed a higher incidence of serious adverse events (SAEs) among SARS-CoV-2-vaccinated participants who had received baricitinib. This sub-study aimed to investigate whether vaccination influences the safety profile of baricitinib in patients with severe COVID-19.

How far? Travel burdens for children admitted to hospitals in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

Background: The ability to access effective hospital care for children is a significant determinant of good health outcomes. The Western Cape is a large land area with a wide array of human settlements- both in urban and rural spaces. For many children in the Western Cape, after-hours access to healthcare becomes constrained when primary care clinics close and hospitals are either far away or difficult to get to.

Routes of SARS-Cov2 transmission in the intensive care unit: A multicentric prospective study.

Background: The risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to health care workers in intensive care units (ICU) and the contribution of airborne and fomites to SARS-CoV-2 transmission remain unclear. To assess the rate of air and surface contamination and identify risk factors associated with this contamination in patients admitted to the ICU for acute respiratory failure due to SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.

Methods: Prospective multicentric non-interventional study conducted from June 2020 to November 2020 in 3 French ICUs.

Community-acquired Klebsiella pneumoniae pneumonia in ICU: a multicenter retrospective study.

Background: Alongside the recent worldwide expansion of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) infections, the available literature regarding cases of community acquired pneumonias (KP-CAP) remains scarce but reports a strikingly high and early mortality. We performed a retrospective multicenter study (7 ICU in France) between 2015 and 2019, comparing prognosis and severity of KP-CAP versus Streptococcus pneumoniae - CAP (SP-CAP).

Methods: For each KP-CAP, three SP-CAP admitted in ICUs within the same center and within the same 6-month window were selected.

Reversibility in the Physical Properties of Agarose Gels following an Exchange in Solvent and Non-Solvent.

Agarose forms a homogeneous thermoreversible gel in an aqueous solvent above a critical polymer concentration. Contrary to the prevailing consensus, recent confirmations indicate that agarose gels are also stable in non-solvents like acetone and ethanol. A previous study compared gel characterisations and behaviours in water and ethanol, discussing the gelation mechanism.

Evidence for Chiral Wobbler in Nuclei.

Three ΔI=1 bands with the πg_{9/2}⊗νg_{9/2} configuration have been identified in _{35}^{74}Br_{39}. Angular distribution, linear polarization, and lifetime measurements were performed to determine the multipolarity, type, mixing ratio, and absolute transition probability of the transitions. By comparing these experimental observations with the corresponding fingerprints and the quantum particle rotor model calculations, the second and third lowest bands are, respectively, suggested as the chiral partner and one-phonon wobbling excitation built on the yrast band.

Comprehensive experimental dataset on large-amplitude Rayleigh-Plateau instability in continuous InkJet printing regime.

The Rayleigh-Plateau instability, a phenomenon of paramount significance in fluid dynamics, finds widespread application in the Continuous InkJet (CIJ) printing process. This study presents a comprehensive dataset comprising experimental investigations of fluid jet breakup phenomena under large-amplitude stimulation conditions using an industrial CIJ print-head from Markem-Imaje. Unlike previous studies, this dataset encompasses a diverse range of experimental conditions, including nine different Newtonian fluids with meticulously measured rheological properties (viscosities, surface tensions and densities).

Direct Evidence of a Light-Dependent Sink of Superoxide within Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter.

Superoxide (O ) is produced photochemically in natural waters by chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) via the reaction of molecular oxygen with photoproduced one-electron reductants (OERs) within CDOM. In the absence of other sinks (metals or organic radicals), O  is believed to undergo primarily dismutation to produce hydrogen peroxide (HO). However, past studies have implicated the presence of an additional light-dependent sink of O  that does not lead to HO production.

Inhaled Amikacin to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.

Background: Whether preventive inhaled antibiotics may reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia is unclear.

Methods: In this investigator-initiated, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled, superiority trial, we assigned critically ill adults who had been undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation for at least 72 hours to receive inhaled amikacin at a dose of 20 mg per kilogram of ideal body weight once daily or to receive placebo for 3 days. The primary outcome was a first episode of ventilator-associated pneumonia during 28 days of follow-up.

Co-Producing Narratives and Indicators as Catalysts for Adaptive Governance of a Common-Pool Resource within a Protected Area.

The theory and practice of adaptive management and adaptive governance have been widely studied in the complex social contexts that mediate how humans interact with ecosystems. Adaptive governance is thought to enable adaptive management in such contexts. In this study, we examine four often-used principles of adaptive governance (polycentric institutions, collaboration, social learning and complexity thinking) to develop a framework for reflecting on adaptive governance of a social-ecological system-the Knysna Estuary in South Africa.

Effect of colchicine on perioperative atrial fibrillation and myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery in patients undergoing major thoracic surgery (COP-AF): an international randomised trial.

Background: Higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers are associated with an increased risk of perioperative atrial fibrillation and myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS). Colchicine is an anti-inflammatory drug that might reduce the incidence of these complications.

Methods: COP-AF was a randomised trial conducted at 45 sites in 11 countries.

Kidney Increase Natriuresis but Not Glomerular Filtration Under Veno-venous ECMO, a Retrospective Study.

Purpose: Acute kidney injury is a frequent complication of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We aim to study the evolution of kidney function in patients presenting severe ARDS and requiring veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO).

Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective study, including adult patients requiring VV ECMO for ARDS.

A rare mutation causing autosomal dominant STAT1 deficiency in a South African multiplex kindred with disseminated BCG infection.

Background: Autosomal dominant signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) deficiency, part of the Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease (MSMD) group, frequently causes disseminated Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) infections, but has not been reported from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where routine birth BCG vaccination is practiced.

Case Presentation: Two half-siblings presented five years apart, with multifocal osteomyelitis as the dominant feature of disseminated BCG, which was successfully treated with antimycobacterial therapy. Whole exome sequencing demonstrated a novel heterozygous substitution in the splice site between intron 13 and exon 14 of the STAT1 gene, NM_007315: c.