Design of a novel multifunction decision support/alerting system for in-patient acute care, ICU and floor (AlertWatch AC).

Background: Multifunction surveillance alerting systems have been found to be beneficial for the operating room and labor and delivery. This paper describes a similar system developed for in-hospital acute care environments, AlertWatch Acute Care (AWAC).

Results: A decision support surveillance system has been developed which extracts comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) data including live data from physiologic monitors and ventilators and incorporates them into an integrated organ icon-based patient display.

Thrombolytic-Enhanced Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation After Prolonged Cardiac Arrest.

Objective: To investigate the effects of the combination of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation and thrombolytic therapy on the recovery of vital organ function after prolonged cardiac arrest.

Design: Laboratory investigation.

Setting: University laboratory.

The Implantable Pediatric Artificial Lung: Interim Report on the Development of an End-Stage Lung Failure Model.

An implantable pediatric artificial lung (PAL) may serve as a bridge to lung transplantation for children with end-stage lung failure (ESLF); however, an animal model of pediatric lung failure is needed to evaluate the efficacy of PAL before it can enter clinical trials. The objective of this study was to assess ligation of the right pulmonary artery (rPA) as a model for pediatric ESLF. Seven lambs weighing 20-30 kg underwent rPA ligation and were recovered and monitored for up to 4 days.

Reduction in Thrombosis and Bacterial Adhesion with 7 Day Implantation of -Nitroso--acetylpenicillamine (SNAP)-Doped Elast-eon E2As Catheters in Sheep.

Thrombosis and infection are two common problems associated with blood-contacting medical devices such as catheters. Nitric oxide (NO) is known to be a potent antimicrobial agent as well as an inhibitor of platelet activation and adhesion. Healthy endothelial cells that line the inner walls of all blood vessels exhibit a NO flux of 0.

A paradigm shift in the treatment of extreme prematurity: the artificial placenta.

Purpose Of Review: Extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGANs), born at less than 28 weeks' estimated gestational age, suffer the greatest consequences of prematurity. There have been significant advances in their care over the last several decades, but the prospects for major advances within traditional treatment modalities appear limited. An artificial placenta using extracorporeal life support (ECLS) has been investigated in the laboratory as a new advance in the treatment of ELGANs.

Neonatal pulmonary physiology.

Managing pulmonary issues faced by both term and preterm infants remains a challenge to the practicing pediatric surgeon. An understanding of normal fetal and neonatal pulmonary development and physiology is the cornerstone for understanding the pathophysiology and treatment of many congenital and acquired problems in the neonate. Progression through the phases of lung development and the transition to postnatal life requires a symphony of complex and overlapping events to work in concert for smooth and successful transition to occur.

Leukocytes are recruited through the bronchial circulation to the lung in a spontaneously hypertensive rat model of COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) kills approximately 2.8 million people each year, and more than 80% of COPD cases can be attributed to smoking. Leukocytes recruited to the lung contribute to COPD pathology by releasing reactive oxygen metabolites and proteolytic enzymes.

No free ride? The hidden costs of delayed operative management using a spring-loaded silo for gastroschisis.

Purpose: The ideal management of gastroschisis (primary vs staged closure) has not yet been established. Despite the ease of silo placement, anecdotal experience shows that silos do not always offer benefit. The aim of this study was to highlight concerns regarding use of spring loaded silos and compare outcomes to primary closure.

Risk stratification in gastroschisis: can prenatal evaluation or early postnatal factors predict outcome?

Purpose: The prenatal or postnatal factors that predict complex gastroschisis in patients (atresia, volvulus, necrotic bowel and bowel perforation) remain controversial. We evaluated the prognostic value of prenatal ultrasonographic parameters and early postnatal factors in predicting clinical outcomes.

Methods: We analyzed maternal and neonatal records of 46 gastroschisis patients treated from 1998 to 2007.

Selection rules and symmetry relations for four-wave mixing measurements of uniaxial assemblies.

Uniaxial systems represent the next lowest symmetry below isotropic and are ubiquitous. The objective of the present work is to present a systematic foundation for interpreting polarization-dependent four-wave mixing measurements of oriented and aligned assemblies. Orientational averages connecting the molecular frame to the macroscopic frame in uniaxial assemblies were derived for several common molecular symmetry groups for coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) measurements, coherent anti-Stokes two-photon spectroscopy (CATS) probing electronic transitions, resonant two-photon absorption (2PA), and traditional Raman measurements.