Stroke patterns and outcomes during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.

Unlabelled: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the number of stroke activations, admission of patients with various types of strokes, the rate and timely administration of reperfusion therapy, and all types of time-based stroke-related quality assessment metrics. In this study, we describe the different types of strokes, different delays in seeking and completing treatment occurring during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and predictors of outcome at 3 months follow-up.

Materials And Methods: This is a single-centered prospective cross-sectional study carried out from May 2021 to November 2021, enrolling patients with stroke.

Anxiety and depression among nurses in COVID and non-COVID intensive care units.

Background: Frontline nurses dealing with the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic face various mental health challenges ranging from excessive stress and anxiety to severe depression.

Aims: To study the comparative prevalence of anxiety and depression, and their contributing factors, between nurses working in intensive care units (ICU) with COVID-19 patients (COVID ICU) and nurses working in ICU with patients admitted for other reasons (non-COVID ICU).

Design: Quantitative comparative cross-sectional study.

Effect of storage on survival of infectious Treponema pallidum spiked in whole blood and platelets.

Background: Blood donations must be tested for evidence of syphilis, a transfusion-transmitted infection. Screening blood for syphilis-related antibodies greatly reduced the risk of transfusion-transmitted syphilis (TTS). It is commonly believed that Treponema pallidum (Tp), the bacterium causing syphilis, does not survive in blood during cold storage-suggested as one reason why no cases of TTS have been recognized in the United States for many years.

Air-Evacuation-Relevant Hypobaria Following Traumatic Brain Injury Plus Hemorrhagic Shock in Rats Increases Mortality and Injury to the Gut, Lungs, and Kidneys.

Rats exposed to hypobaria equivalent to what occurs during aeromedical evacuation within a few days after isolated traumatic brain injury exhibit greater neurologic injury than those remaining at sea level. Moreover, administration of excessive supplemental O2 during hypobaria further exacerbates brain injury. This study tested the hypothesis that exposure of rats to hypobaria following controlled cortical impact (CCI)-induced brain injury plus mild hemorrhagic shock worsens multiple organ inflammation and associated mortality.

Targeted lipopolysaccharide biosynthetic intermediate analysis with normal-phase liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Lipopolysacharride (LPS) forms the outer leaflet of the outer membrane in Gram-negative bacteria and contributes to the permeability barrier and immune response. In this study, we established a method for monitoring the LPS biosynthetic intermediates of the Raetz pathway (lpxA-lpxK) in Escherichia coli. Metabolites from compound-treated cells and genetically-perturbed cells were extracted from whole cells and concentrated by mixed-mode weak anion exchange (WAX) solid-phase extraction (SPE) prior to analysis by normal phase (NP)LC-MS/MS.

Development and Optimization of a Higher-Throughput Bacterial Compound Accumulation Assay.

The Gram-negative bacterial permeability barrier, coupled with efflux, raises formidable challenges to antibiotic drug discovery. The absence of efficient assays to determine compound penetration into the cell and impact of efflux makes the process resource-intensive, small-scale, and lacking much success. Here, we present BacPK: a label-free, solid phase extraction-mass spectrometry (SPE-MS)-based assay that measures total cellular compound accumulation in Escherichia coli.

Mode of Action of the Monobactam LYS228 and Mechanisms Decreasing Susceptibility in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The monobactam scaffold is attractive for the development of new agents to treat infections caused by drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria because it is stable to metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs). However, the clinically used monobactam aztreonam lacks stability to serine β-lactamases (SBLs) that are often coexpressed with MBLs. LYS228 is stable to MBLs and most SBLs.

Effect of hypobaria and hyperoxia during sepsis on survival and energy metabolism.

Background: Injured warfighters air evacuated to tertiary medical care facilities are subjected to many stresses that may promote the development of sepsis. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that exposure to "in-flight" hypobaria and/or hyperoxia within 24 hours after onset of intra-abdominal infection in rats accelerates the development and/or severity of sepsis and neurologic injury in survivors.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats underwent cecal ligation/puncture (CLP) or sham procedures.

Calcium uptake and cytochrome c release from normal and ischemic brain mitochondria.

At abnormally elevated levels of intracellular Ca, mitochondrial Ca uptake may compromise mitochondrial electron transport activities and trigger membrane permeability changes that allow for release of cytochrome c and other mitochondrial apoptotic proteins into the cytosol. In this study, a clinically relevant canine cardiac arrest model was used to assess the effects of global cerebral ischemia and reperfusion on mitochondrial Ca uptake capacity, Ca uptake-mediated inhibition of respiration, and Ca-induced cytochrome c release, as measured in vitro in a K-based medium in the presence of Mg, ATP, and NADH-linked oxidizable substrates. Maximum Ca uptake by frontal cortex mitochondria was significantly lower following 10 min cardiac arrest compared to non-ischemic controls.

Assessing Antibiotic Permeability of Gram-Negative Bacteria via Nanofluidics.

While antibiotic resistance is increasing rapidly, drug discovery has proven to be extremely difficult. Antibiotic resistance transforms some bacterial infections into deadly medical conditions. A significant challenge in antibiotic discovery is designing potent molecules that enter Gram-negative bacteria and also avoid active efflux mechanisms.

Impact of recurrent hypoglycemic stress on hindbrain A2 nerve cell energy metabolism and catecholamine biosynthesis: modulation by estradiol.

It is unclear if habituation of hindbrain A2 metabolo‑sensory neurons to recurrent insulin-induced hypoglycemia (RIIH) correlates with estradiol-dependent adjustments in energy metabolism that favor positive energy balance. Laser-microdissected A2 cells from estradiolor oil-implanted ovariectomized female rats were analyzed by Western blot to assess effects of three prior daily insulin injections on basal and hypoglycemic patterns of catecholamine biosynthetic enzyme dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DβH) and rate-limiting energy pathway enzyme protein expression. Precedent hypoglycemia respectively decreased or increased baseline DβH expression in estradiol- (E) vs.

Dorsomedial hindbrain catecholamine regulation of hypothalamic astrocyte glycogen metabolic enzyme protein expression: Impact of estradiol.

The brain astrocyte glycogen reservoir is a vital energy reserve and, in the cerebral cortex, subject among other factors to noradrenergic control. The ovarian steroid estradiol potently stimulates nerve cell aerobic respiration, but its role in glial glycogen metabolism during energy homeostasis or mismatched substrate supply/demand is unclear. This study examined the premise that estradiol regulates hypothalamic astrocyte glycogen metabolic enzyme protein expression during normo- and hypoglycemia in vivo through dorsomedial hindbrain catecholamine (CA)-dependent mechanisms.

Estradiol regulation of hypothalamic astrocyte adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase activity: role of hindbrain catecholamine signaling.

Recent work challenges the conventional notion that metabolic monitoring in the brain is the exclusive function of neurons. This study investigated the hypothesis that hypothalamic astrocytes express the ultra-sensitive energy gauge adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and that the ovarian hormone estradiol (E) controls activation of this sensor by insulin-induced hypoglycemia (IIH). E- or oil (O)-implanted ovariectomized (OVX) rats were pretreated by caudal fourth ventricular administration of the catecholamine neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) prior to sc insulin or vehicle injection.

Energy metabolism and hindbrain AMPK: regulation by estradiol.

Nerve cell energy status is screened within multiple classically defined hypothalamic and hindbrain components of the energy balance control network, including the hindbrain dorsal vagal complex (DVC). Signals of caudal DVC origin have a physiological role in glucostasis, e.g.

Estrogen regulates energy metabolic pathway and upstream adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase and phosphatase enzyme expression in dorsal vagal complex metabolosensory neurons during glucostasis and hypoglycemia.

The ability of estrogen to shield the brain from the bioenergetic insult hypoglycemia is unclear. Estradiol (E) prevents hypoglycemic activation of the energy deficit sensor adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in hindbrain metabolosensory A2 noradrenergic neurons. This study investigates the hypothesis that estrogen regulates A2 AMPK through control of fuel metabolism and/or upstream protein kinase/phosphatase enzyme expression.

Sex-specific basal and hypoglycemic patterns of in vivo caudal dorsal vagal complex astrocyte glycogen metabolic enzyme protein expression.

Astrocytes contribute to neurometabolic stability through uptake, catabolism, and storage of glucose. These cells maintain the major brain glycogen reservoir, which is a critical fuel supply to neurons during glucose deficiency and increased brain activity. We used a combinatory approach incorporating immunocytochemistry, laser microdissection, and Western blotting to investigate the hypothesis of divergent expression of key enzymes regulating glycogen metabolism and glycolysis during in vivo normo- and/or hypoglycemia in male versus female hindbrain astrocytes.

Hindbrain medulla catecholamine cell group involvement in lactate-sensitive hypoglycemia-associated patterns of hypothalamic norepinephrine and epinephrine activity.

Cell-type compartmentation of glucose metabolism in the brain involves trafficking of the oxidizable glycolytic end product, l-lactate, by astrocytes to fuel neuronal mitochondrial aerobic respiration. Lactate availability within the hindbrain medulla is a monitored function that regulates systemic glucostasis as insulin-induced hypoglycemia (IIH) is exacerbated by lactate repletion of that brain region. A2 noradrenergic neurons are a plausible source of lactoprivic input to the neural gluco-regulatory circuit as caudal fourth ventricular (CV4) lactate infusion normalizes IIH-associated activation, e.

Hindbrain lactostasis regulates hypothalamic AMPK activity and metabolic neurotransmitter mRNA and protein responses to hypoglycemia.

Nerve cell metabolic activity is monitored in multiple brain regions, including the hypothalamus and hindbrain dorsal vagal complex (DVC), but it is unclear if individual metabolosensory loci operate autonomously or interact to coordinate central nervous system (CNS) reactivity to energy imbalance. This research addressed the hypothesis that hypoglycemia-associated DVC lactoprivation stimulates hypothalamic AMPK activity and metabolic neurotransmitter expression. As DVC catecholaminergic neurons express biomarkers for metabolic monitoring, we investigated whether these cells are a source of lactate deficit signaling to the hypothalamus.

Efficient ethanol production from brown macroalgae sugars by a synthetic yeast platform.

The increasing demands placed on natural resources for fuel and food production require that we explore the use of efficient, sustainable feedstocks such as brown macroalgae. The full potential of brown macroalgae as feedstocks for commercial-scale fuel ethanol production, however, requires extensive re-engineering of the alginate and mannitol catabolic pathways in the standard industrial microbe Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we present the discovery of an alginate monomer (4-deoxy-L-erythro-5-hexoseulose uronate, or DEHU) transporter from the alginolytic eukaryote Asteromyces cruciatus.

Caudal fourth ventricular administration of the AMPK activator 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-riboside regulates glucose and counterregulatory hormone profiles, dorsal vagal complex metabolosensory neuron function, and hypothalamic Fos expression.

This study investigated the hypothesis that estrogen controls hindbrain AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity and regulation of blood glucose, counterregulatory hormone secretion, and hypothalamic nerve cell transcriptional status. Dorsal vagal complex A2 noradrenergic neurons were laser microdissected from estradiol benzoate (E)- or oil (O)-implanted ovariectomized female rats after caudal fourth ventricular (CV4) delivery of the AMPK activator 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-riboside (AICAR), for Western blot analysis. E advanced AICAR-induced increases in A2 phospho-AMPK (pAMPK) expression and in blood glucose levels and was required for augmentation of Fos, estrogen receptor-α (ERα), monocarboxylate transporter-2, and glucose transporter-3 protein in A2 neurons and enhancement of corticosterone secretion by this treatment paradigm.

Hypoglycemia differentially regulates hypothalamic glucoregulatory neurotransmitter gene and protein expression: role of caudal dorsomedial hindbrain catecholaminergic input.

The hypothalamic neurochemicals neuropeptide Y (NPY), orexin-A (ORX), and oxytocin (OXY) exert glucoregulatory effects upon intracerebral administration, findings that support their potential function within neural pathways that maintain glucostasis. Current understanding of how these neurotransmitter systems respond to the diabetes mellitus complication, insulin-induced hypoglycemia, is limited to knowledge of neuropeptide gene transcriptional reactivity. We investigated the hypothesis that hypoglycemia elicits hypothalamic site-specific alterations in levels of these neurochemicals, and that adjustments in local neurotransmitter availability may be regulated by catecholaminergic (CA) input from the caudal dorsomedial hindbrain.

Analysis of cellular response to isocyanate using N-succinimidyl N-methylcarbamate exposure in cultured mammalian cells.

Isocyanates (R--N==C==O), one of the highly reactive industrial intermediates, possess the capability to modulate the bio-molecules by forming toxic metabolites and adducts which may cause adverse health effects. Some of their toxic degradations have previously been unknown and overlooked; of which, molecular repercussions underlying their genetic hazards upon occupational/accidental exposures still remain as an intricate issue and are hitherto unknown. To assess the genotoxic potential of methyl isocyanate in cultured mammalian cells after in vitro exposure, we performed a study in three different normal cell lines MM55.

Application of voltammetric methods for the analysis of gold and other transition metals in quartzite rock.

Simple, rapid and accurate voltammetric methods viz. DCP, DPP and DPASV have been presented for the trace determination of gold and other transition metals in quartzite rock sample. The analysis has been performed using 0.

Protonation Equilibrium of 4-Substituted Benzohydroxamic Acids in Mineral Acids.

The protonation equilibria of some 4-substituted benzohydroxamic acids 4-X(C(6)H(4)CONHOH) (X = H, OMe, Cl) have been investigated in aqueous sulfuric, perchloric, and hydrochloric acids at 25 degrees C UV spectrophotometrically. The Hammett acidity function method, the Bunnett-Olsen method, Cox-Yates excess acidity function method, and Marziano-Cimino-Passerini method have been compared in order to rationalize the differences observed between pK(BH)()+ values determined by each method. An attempt has been made to apply multivariate analysis to separate the effect of protonation from the medium effect for benzohydroxamic acid.