Sub-Nanometer Interfacial Oxides on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite and Carbon Nanotubes Enabled by Lateral Oxide Growth.

A new generation of compact and high-speed electronic devices, based on carbon, would be enabled through the development of robust gate oxides with sub-nanometer effective oxide thickness (EOT) on carbon nanotubes or graphene nanoribbons. However, to date, the lack of dangling bonds on sp oriented graphene sheets has limited the high precursor nucleation density enabling atomic layer deposition of sub-1 nm EOT gate oxides. It is shown here that by deploying a low-temperature AlO (LT AlO) process, involving atomic layer deposition (ALD) of AlO at 50 °C with a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) component, a high nucleation density layer can be formed, which templates the growth of a high- dielectric, such as HfO.

Obstetric Inpatient and Ultrasound Clinical Personnel Absences during the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York City.

Objective: To review obstetric personnel absences at a hospital during the initial peak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection risk in New York City from March 25 to April 21, 2020.

Study Design: This retrospective study evaluated absences at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. Clinical absences for (1) Columbia University ultrasonographers, (2) inpatient nurses, (3) labor and delivery operating room (OR) technicians, (4) inpatient obstetric nurse assistants, and (5) attending physicians providing inpatient obstetric services were analyzed.

Childhood neurodevelopment after spontaneous versus indicated preterm birth.

Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Individuals who survive preterm birth are at a higher risk for many long-term adverse effects, including neurodevelopmental deficits. There are many well-established risk factors for worse neurologic outcomes spanning the prenatal and postnatal periods; however, investigators have yet to assess whether the cause of preterm birth has an impact on neurodevelopment.

Preparation and redeployment of house staff during a pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic created unique issues for house staff physicians. Gaps in surgical experience due to canceled cases, a focus on obstetrics over gynecology during the spring months when many senior residents and fellows are completing their case requirements and the stress of working with patients infected with a highly communicable disease all contributed to an unprecedented challenge facing residency and fellowship programs. Our objective is to describe how the Obstetrics and Gynecology residency and fellowship programs at Columbia University Irving Medical Center adapted to their changing landscape, redeployed their residents and fellows while assuring ongoing trainee education, wellness and scholarship during the peak of the pandemic.

Primed for a pandemic: Implementation of telehealth outpatient monitoring for women with mild COVID-19.

Close observation and rapid escalation of care is essential for obstetric patients with COVID-19. The pandemic forced widespread conversion of in-person to virtual care delivery and telehealth was primed to enable outpatient surveillance of infected patients. We describe the experience and lessons learned while designing and implementing a virtual telemonitoring COVID-19 clinic for obstetric patients.

Smartphone Technology: Impact on Interprofessional Working Relations between Doctors and Nurses.

Background: For decades, the main communication technology in hospitals has been the paging system. In the era of digital communication, smartphones have been adopted by hospitals seeking to modernize processes and offer real-time, two-way communication to increase efficiency.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore physicians' and nurses' perceptions of the impact of smartphones on communication and efficiency.

Legionnaires' Disease Cases at a Large Community Hospital-Common and Underdiagnosed.

Legionnaires' disease (LD) is a severe pneumonia with a mortality rate of about 10%. The illness remains largely underdiagnosed with outbreaks occurring with alarming incidence. In this study, we assessed the frequency of Legionnaires' disease among pneumonia cases treated at a large community hospital over a summer season.

Readiness: Utilizing bundles and simulation.

Postpartum hemorrhage is an important contributor to maternal morbidity, and is one of the most common worldwide causes of preventable maternal mortality. Preventing significant morbidity and mortality from postpartum hemorrhage necessitates preparedness on both a unit and patient level. Our objectives are to define a bundle, to review the elements of the Council on Patient Safety in Women's Healthcare Obstetric Hemorrhage Bundle and to highlight simulation-based training opportunities, focusing on readiness for this significant obstetric emergency.

The Association between Fetal Fibronectin, Cervical Length, and Amniotic Fluid Sludge with Histological Indicators of Placental Inflammation in Twin Gestations.

Objective:  The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of screening tests for preterm birth (short cervical length [CL], positive fetal fibronectin (FFN), and amniotic fluid [AF] sludge) in twin gestations with histologic evidence of placental inflammation.

Study Design:  Historical cohort study of 596 twin gestations delivered in a single maternal-fetal medicine practice with CL and FFN testing from 22 to 25 weeks. A short CL was defined as ≤25 mm.

Risk factors for blood transfusion in patients undergoing high-order Cesarean delivery.

Background: The objective was to identify risk factors associated with blood transfusion in patients undergoing high-order Cesarean delivery (CD).

Study Design And Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing third or more CD by a single maternal-fetal medicine practice between 2005 and 2016. We compared risk factors between women who did and did not receive a red blood cell transfusion during the operation or before discharge.

Cloud Based Surveys to Assess Patient Perceptions of Health Care: 1000 Respondents in 3 days for US $300.

Background: There are many challenges in conducting surveys of study participants, including cost, time, and ability to obtain quality and reproducible work. Cloudsourcing (an arrangement where a cloud provider is paid to carry out services that could be provided in-house) has the potential to provide vastly larger, less expensive, and more generalizable survey pools.

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate, using Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk), a cloud-based workforce to assess patients' perspectives of health care.

The Independent Association of a Short Cervix, Positive Fetal Fibronectin, Amniotic Fluid Sludge, and Cervical Funneling with Spontaneous Preterm Birth in Twin Pregnancies.

Objective To estimate the independent association of a short cervical length (CL), positive fetal fibronectin (fFN), amniotic fluid (AF) sludge, and cervical funneling with spontaneous preterm birth in twin pregnancies. Methods Retrospective cohort study of twin pregnancies managed by a single maternal-fetal medicine practice from June 2005 to February 2014. All patients underwent transvaginal sonographic CL and fFN testing.

Routine chest x-rays in intensive care units: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Chest x-rays (CXRs) are the most frequent radiological tests performed in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, the utility of performing daily routine CXRs is unclear.

Methods: We searched Medline and Embase (1948 to March 2011) for randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and before-after observational studies comparing a strategy of routine CXRs to a more restrictive approach with CXRs performed to investigate clinical changes among critically ill adults or children.

Intestinal toxemia botulism in 3 adults, Ontario, Canada, 2006-2008.

Five cases of intestinal toxemia botulism in adults were identified within an 18-month period in or near Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We describe findings for 3 of the 5 case-patients. Clinical samples contained Clostridium botulinum spores and botulinum neurotoxins (types A and B) for extended periods (range 41-61 days), indicative of intestinal toxemia botulism.

Noninvasive ventilation during pediatric interhospital ground transport.

Objective: We report our use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) during pediatric interhospital ground transport.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed transport and hospital records for nonneonatal patients View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bowel loops and eyelid droops.

A patient presented with a small-bowel obstruction associated with signs and symptoms of botulism. Fecal cultures were positive for viable Clostridium botulinum. This case emphasizes the importance of a broad differential diagnosis and doing a complete examination to account for all signs and symptoms.

Abdominoplasty: a comparison of outpatient and inpatient procedures shows that it is a safe and effective procedure for outpatients in an office-based surgery clinic.

Background: Abdominoplasty is one of the most commonly performed aesthetic procedures. In our practice, it has recently shifted toward outpatient care as the standard. In this study, the authors investigated the difference in short-term complications in outpatient and inpatient procedures in an office-based surgery clinic.

Dissecting the architecture of a quantitative trait locus in yeast.

Most phenotypic diversity in natural populations is characterized by differences in degree rather than in kind. Identification of the actual genes underlying these quantitative traits has proved difficult. As a result, little is known about their genetic architecture.

Direct detection of mecA, nuc and 16S rRNA genes in BacT/Alert blood culture bottles.

A benzyl alcohol-guanidine hydrochloride extraction method was used to remove sodium polyanetholesulfonate present in BacT/Alert blood culture bottles. Multiplex PCR using touchdown annealing was used to detect the mecA, nuc, and 16S rRNA genes in bottles growing staphylococci. This direct PCR assay demonstrated excellent sensitivity, specificity and improved accuracy compared to routine phenotypic methods for determination of methicillin resistance in coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS).

Cloning of the Arabidopsis RSF1 gene by using a mapping strategy based on high-density DNA arrays and denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography.

Mapping genes by chromosome walking is a widely used technique applicable to cloning virtually any gene that is identifiable by mutagenesis. We isolated the gene responsible for the recessive mutation rsf1 (for reduced sensitivity to far-red light) in the Arabidopsis Columbia accession by using classical genetic analysis and two recently developed technologies: genotyping high-density oligonucleotide DNA array and denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). The Arabidopsis AT412 genotyping array and 32 F(2) plants were used to map the rsf1 mutation close to the top of chromosome 1 to an interval of approximately 500 kb.

High-accuracy DNA sequence variation screening by DHPLC.

Genetic maps based on biallelic single-nucleotide polymorphisms amenable to microarray-based genotyping have significantly accelerated the mapping of mono- and multigenic traits in model organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Arabidopsis thaliana. This advance needs to be matched by highly accurate, inexpensive and robust methodology for fine-structure mapping of the candidate region(s) and the eventual identification of the causative mutation(s). To establish the usefulness of denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) for those purposes, we have amplified 476 fragments from two A.

Excursion of the flexor digitorum profundus tendon: a kinematic study of the human and canine digits.

The most common problem following primary flexor tendon repair is the failure of the tendon apparatus to glide, secondary to the formation of adhesions. Early motion following tendon repair has been shown to be effective in reducing adhesions between the tendon and the surrounding sheath. Therefore, it is important to determine the amount of flexor tendon excursion along the digit during joint motion.