A new fluorescence-based method for characterizing in vitro aerosol exposure systems.

Knowledge of how an in vitro aerosol exposure system delivers a test aerosols to the biological test system is among the most crucial prerequisites for the interpretation of exposure experiments and relies on detailed exposure system characterization. Although various methods for this purpose exist, many of them are time consuming, require extensive instrumentation, or offer only limited ability to assess the performance of the system under experimental settings. We present the development and evaluation of a new, highly robust and sensitive fluorometry-based method for assessing the particle size specific delivery of liquid aerosols.

Detection of the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide in a doping control urine sample as the result of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) tablet contamination.

Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ, 6-chloro-3,4-dihydro-2H-1,2,4-benzothiadiazine-7-sulfonamide-1,1-dioxide) belongs to the class of diuretic agents that represent one of today's cornerstones of the treatment of hypertensive patients. In addition to its clinical relevance, HCTZ is prohibited in sports according to the regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) at all times and has frequently been detected in sports drug testing urine samples worldwide since its ban was introduced in 1988. Despite these facts, the adverse analytical finding concerning HCTZ in an in-competition routine doping control sample collected in December 2014 was further investigated, particularly motivated by the comparably low urinary concentration of the drug accounting for approximately 5ng/mL.

Ciraparantag safely and completely reverses the anticoagulant effects of low molecular weight heparin.

Unlabelled: Major bleeding with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) therapy occurs in up to 5% of patients and its anticoagulation is only partially reversed by protamine sulfate. We studied the ability of ciraparantag (PER977), a novel agent that reverses LMWH in preclinical studies, to reverse LMWH in healthy volunteers.

Methods: In this phase 1/2 trial, 4 cohorts of 10 healthy volunteers received escalating doses of ciraparantag (100 to 300mg) or placebo (8:2 ratio) approximately 4h after a single subcutaneous dose of enoxaparin, 1.

Interferon-free regimens improve health-related quality of life and fatigue in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with advanced liver disease: A retrospective study.

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is impaired in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients (HIV/HCV) and further decreased by interferon (IFN)-based therapies. We aimed to investigate the impact of IFN- and ribavirin (RBV)-free therapies on HRQoL and fatigue.Thirty-three HIV/HCV-coinfected patients who underwent HCV therapy with sofosbuvir in combination with daclatasvir or ledipasvir were retrospectively studied and compared to 17 patients who received boceprevir (BOC)/PEGIFN/RBV.

Mitochondrial impairments contribute to Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 progression and can be ameliorated by the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), due to an unstable polyglutamine expansion within the ubiquitously expressed Ataxin-1 protein, leads to the premature degeneration of Purkinje cells (PCs), decreasing motor coordination and causing death within 10-15 years of diagnosis. Currently, there are no therapies available to slow down disease progression. As secondary cellular impairments contributing to SCA1 progression are poorly understood, here, we focused on identifying those processes by performing a PC specific proteome profiling of Sca1(154Q/2Q) mice at a symptomatic stage.

Challenges and Resources for New Critical Care Transport Crewmembers: A Descriptive Exploratory Study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges new crewmembers experience in the critical care transport (CCT) environment and to determine the most valuable resources when acclimating to the transport environment. To date, no study has focused on the unique challenges nor the resources most effective in CCT training.

Methods: This descriptive exploratory study was conducted with a convenience survey sent to the 3 largest professional CCT organizations: the Association of Air Medical Services, the Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association, and the Association of Critical Care Transport.

Rotarex Mechanical Debulking in Acute and Subacute Arterial Lesions.

Introduction: Data regarding the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) in contemporary routine care are scarce.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing PMT of native lower limb acutely/subacutely occluded arteries were included.

Results: In all, 525 consecutive patients were available for analysis with a mean age of 66.

Diesel exhaust: current knowledge of adverse effects and underlying cellular mechanisms.

Diesel engine emissions are among the most prevalent anthropogenic pollutants worldwide, and with the growing popularity of diesel-fueled engines in the private transportation sector, they are becoming increasingly widespread in densely populated urban regions. However, a large number of toxicological studies clearly show that diesel engine emissions profoundly affect human health. Thus the interest in the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these effects is large, especially concerning the nature of the components of diesel exhaust responsible for the effects and how they could be eliminated from the exhaust.

German Center Subanalysis of the LEVANT 2 Global Randomized Study of the Lutonix Drug-Coated Balloon in the Treatment of Femoropopliteal Occlusive Disease.

Purpose: To report a subanalysis of the German centers enrolling patients in the prospective, global, multicenter, randomized LEVANT 2 pivotal trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01412541) of the Lutonix drug-coated balloon (DCB) for the treatment of femoropopliteal occlusive disease.

Methods: Among the 476 patients in LEVANT 2, 126 patients (mean age 67.

Single-Center Experience With Lutonix Drug-Coated Balloons in Infrapopliteal Arteries.

Purpose: To examine patient outcomes following the use of the Lutonix drug-coated balloon (DCB) in patients undergoing endovascular intervention in below-the-knee (BTK) arteries.

Methods: A retrospective chart review identified 248 patients who were treated for symptomatic peripheral artery disease with the Lutonix DCB between May 2013 and October 2014. Forty patients were lost to follow-up, leaving 208 patients (mean age 74.

Pulmonary Cytomegalovirus Replication in Renal Transplant Patients with Late Onset Pneumonitis.

Background: In renal transplant patients, pneumonitis may be caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV pneumonitis). This condition is usually accompanied by CMV viremia. However, CMV may also reactivate locally in the lungs of renal transplant patients with pneumonitis due to other pathogens.

Molecular imaging of atherosclerotic lesions by positron emission tomography - can it meet the expectations?

Early non-invasive imaging of atherosclerosis and in particular the detection of lesions at risk with high specificity could significantly affect cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Conventional nuclear medicine approaches, in particular using autologous radiolabeled lipoproteins, can be related to histopathological findings; however, they fail to identify lesions at risk. Positron emission tomography (PET) tracers with much better physical properties have been examined, the most detailed information being available for F-18-deoxyglucose (FDG) and F-18-sodium fluoride (NaF).

Drug-Coated Balloons for Complex Femoropopliteal Lesions: 2-Year Results of a Real-World Registry.

Objectives: The authors sought to investigate the efficacy of a drug-coated balloon (DCB) for treatment of complex femoropopliteal lesions.

Background: Superiority of DCBs compared with uncoated balloon angioplasty for femoropopliteal interventions has been demonstrated in randomized trials for short lesions. Their performance in complex lesions with higher restenosis rates is unclear.

Debate: what is the best method to monitor surgical performance?

Background: There is considerable recent interest in the monitoring of individual surgeon or hospital surgical outcomes. If one aggregates data over time and assesses performance with a funnel plot, then the detection of any process deterioration or improvement could be delayed. The variable life adjusted display (VLAD) is widely used for monitoring on a case-by-case basis, but we show that use of the risk-adjusted Bernoulli cumulative sum (RA-CUSUM) chart leads to much better performance.

Synthesis and Evaluation of Macrocyclic Peptide Aldehydes as Potent and Selective Inhibitors of the 20S Proteasome.

This research explores the first design and synthesis of macrocyclic peptide aldehydes as potent inhibitors of the 20S proteasome. Two novel macrocyclic peptide aldehydes based on the ring-size of the macrocyclic natural product TMC-95 were prepared and evaluated as inhibitors of the 20S proteasome. Both compounds inhibited in the low nanomolar range and proved to be selective for the proteasome over other serine and cysteine proteases, particularly when compared to linear analogues with similar amino acid sequences.

Midterm Patency After Femoropopliteal Interventions: A Comparison of Standard and Interwoven Nitinol Stents and Drug-Coated Balloons in a Single-Center, Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Purpose: To describe and compare primary patency rates in patients undergoing endovascular femoropopliteal interventions with standard or interwoven nitinol stents or drug-coated balloons.

Methods: A cohort of 1292 patients was treated for symptomatic femoropopliteal occlusive disease classified as Rutherford category ≥ 1 at a large vascular center between June 2006 and August 2013 using either standard nitinol stents (SNS; n=432), interwoven nitinol stents (INS; n=470), or drug-coated balloons (DCB; n=390). Primary patency rates were assessed by ultrasound or angiographic readings for over 3 years of follow-up.

The content of goals in individual educational programs for students with complex communication needs.

The aim of the study was to explore the contents of communication-related goals in individualized education programs (IEPs) for students with complex communication needs. Goals in 43 IEPs were linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, Children and Youth version (ICF-CY). The results show that the communication-related IEP goals contain information on multiple domains of functioning in the ICF-CY.

Femoral neck anteversion measurement using linear slot scanning radiography.

Measurements between anatomical landmarks on radiographs are useful for diagnosis and treatment planning in the orthopedic field. Direct measurement on single radiographic images, however, does not truly reflect spatial relationships, as depth information is lost. We used stereo images from a slot scanning X-ray machine to estimate coordinates of three-dimensional (3D) bony landmarks for femoral neck anteversion (FNA) measurement.

Interferon-free treatment with sofosbuvir/daclatasvir achieves sustained virologic response in 100% of HIV/hepatitis C virus-coinfected patients with advanced liver disease.

Aim: We aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of interferon (IFN) and ribavirin (RBV)-free therapy with sofosbuvir along with daclatasvir (SOF/DCV) in HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-coinfected patients (HIV/HCV), who have an urgent need for effective antiviral therapy. We also assessed its impact on liver stiffness and liver enzymes.

Design: Thirty-one patients thoroughly documented HIV/HCV with advanced liver disease (advanced liver fibrosis and/or portal hypertension) who were treated with SOF/DCV were retrospectively studied.

Advances in the management of HIV/HCV coinfection.

HCV coinfection has emerged as a major cause of non-AIDS-related morbidity and mortality in HIV-positive patients. As a consequence of the availability of modern combined antiretroviral therapy regimens, for optimally managed HIV/HCV-coinfected patients, the rates of liver fibrosis progression and the risk of liver-related events are increasingly similar to those of HCV-monoinfected patients. Moreover, our understanding of modulators of liver disease progression has greatly improved.

The Communication Supports Inventory-Children & Youth (CSI-CY), a new instrument based on the ICF-CY.

Purpose: Two studies are presented that evaluated the Communication Supports Inventory-Children & Youth (CSI-CY), an instrument designed to facilitate the development of communication-related educational goals for students with complex communication needs (CCN). The CSI-CY incorporates a code set based on the ICF-CY. The studies were designed to determine the effect of using the CSI-CY on IEP goals for students with CCN and to evaluate consumer satisfaction.

Impaired mTORC1-Dependent Expression of Homer-3 Influences SCA1 Pathophysiology.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), due to the expansion of a polyglutamine repeat within the ubiquitously expressed Ataxin-1 protein, leads to the premature degeneration of Purkinje cells (PCs), the cause of which is poorly understood. Here, we identified the unique proteomic signature of Sca1(154Q/2Q) PCs at an early stage of disease, highlighting extensive alterations in proteins associated with synaptic functioning, maintenance, and transmission. Focusing on Homer-3, a PC-enriched scaffold protein regulating neuronal activity, revealed an early decline in its expression.

"Lung packing" in breath hold-diving: An impressive case of pulmo-cardiac interaction.

There is a complex interaction between the heart and the lungs. We report on a healthy female who performs breath hold diving at a high, international level. In order to optimize pressure equalization during diving and to increase oxygen available, apneists employed a special breathing maneuver, so called "lung packing".

Monte-Carlo simulation of a slot-scanning X-ray imaging system.

We present a method for simulating slot-scanning X-ray imaging using the general-purpose Monte Carlo simulation package PENELOPE and penEasy Imaging. Different phantoms can be defined with the PENGEOM package, which defines bodies as combinations of volumes limited by quadric surfaces. The source-detector geometry, the position of the object, the collimator, the X-ray tube properties, the detector material and the pixel dimensions are defined.

Flexible, Mechanically Durable Aerogel Composites for Oil Capture and Recovery.

More than 30 years separate the two largest oil spills in North American history (the Ixtoc I and Macondo well blowouts), yet the responses to both disasters were nearly identical in spite of advanced material innovation during the same time period. Novel, mechanically durable sorbents could enable (a) sorbent use in the open ocean, (b) automated deployment to minimize workforce exposure to toxic chemicals, and (c) mechanical recovery of spilled oils. Here, we explore the use of two mechanically durable, low-density (0.