Early identification of patients at risk for delirium is important, since adequate well timed interventions could prevent occurrence of delirium and related detrimental outcomes. The aim of this ...study is to evaluate prognostic factors for delirium, including factors describing frailty, in elderly patients undergoing major surgery.
We included patients of 65 years and older, who underwent elective surgery from March 2013 to November 2014. Patients had surgery for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) or colorectal cancer. Delirium was scored prospectively using the Delirium Observation Screening Scale. Pre- and peri-operative predictors of delirium were analyzed using regression analysis. Outcomes after delirium included adverse events, length of hospital stay, discharge destination and mortality.
We included 232 patients. 51 (22%) underwent surgery for AAA and 181 (78%) for colorectal cancer. Postoperative delirium occurred in 35 patients (15%). Predictors of postoperative delirium included: delirium in medical history (Odds Ratio 12 95% Confidence Interval 2.7-50), advancing age (Odds Ratio 2.0 95% Confidence Interval 1.1-3.8) per 10 years, and ASA-score ≥3 (Odds Ratio 2.6 95% Confidence Interval 1.1-5.9). Occurrence of delirium was related to an increase in adverse events, length of hospital stay and mortality.
Postoperative delirium is a frequent complication after major surgery in elderly patients and is related to an increase in adverse events, length of hospital stay, and mortality. A delirium in the medical history, advanced age, and ASA-score may assist in defining patients at increased risk for delirium. Further attention to prevention of delirium is essential in elderly patients undergoing major surgery.
A fundamental question in microbial ecology is how microbes are spatially organized with respect to each other and their host. A test bed for examining this question is the tongue dorsum, which ...harbors a complex and important microbial community. Here, we use multiplexed fluorescence spectral imaging to investigate the organization of the tongue microbiome at micron to hundred-micron scales. We design oligonucleotide probes for taxa both abundant and prevalent, as determined by sequence analysis. Imaging reveals a highly structured spatial organization of microbial consortia, ranging in linear dimension from tens to hundreds of microns. The consortia appear to develop from a core of epithelial cells, with taxa clustering in domains suggestive of clonal expansion. Quantitative proximity analysis provides the basis for a model of tongue dorsum microbiome organization and dynamics. Our work illustrates how high-resolution analysis of micron-scale organization provides insights into physiological functions and microbiome-host interactions.
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•Bacteria on the tongue form large organized consortia with a patch mosaic structure•Consortia are organized around a core of keratinized epithelial cells•Spatial organization can be quantified and permits inferences on dynamics
How microbes are spatially organized is a fundamental question in microbial ecology about which little is known. Using fluorescence spectral imaging, Wilbert et al. discover dense, highly structured microbial consortia on the human tongue. Analysis of the organization of these consortia permits inferences about community dynamics and oral microbial ecology.
The electrophoresis on cellulose acetate membrane is most widely used because of its simplicity, and is without the use of any sophisticated instrument other than electrophoresis apparatus and the ...cellulose acetate strip. Here we describe a modified version of cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis for hemoglobin separation from blood sample. Sharp, clear bands without tailing effects can be obtained with this method. The method and apparatus described here would be appropriate to separate protein fractions under 1 h at voltages up to 60 V/cm measured between the electrodes.
BackgroundAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is an important risk factor for development of knee osteoarthritis (OA). To identify those ACL injured patients at increased risk for knee OA, it is ...necessary to understand risk factors for OA.AimTo summarise the evidence for determinants of (1) tibiofemoral OA and (2) patellofemoral OA in ACL injured patients.MethodsMEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and CINAHL databases were searched up to 20 December 2013. Additionally, reference lists of eligible studies were manually and independently screened by two reviewers. 2348 studies were assessed for the following main inclusion criteria: ≥20 patients; ACL injured patients treated operatively or non-operatively; reporting OA as outcome; description of relationship between OA outcome and determinants; and a follow-up period ≥2 years. Two reviewers extracted the data, assessed the risk of bias and performed a best-evidence synthesis.ResultsSixty-four publications were included and assessed for quality. Two studies were classified as low risk of bias. Medial meniscal injury/meniscectomy showed moderate evidence for influencing OA development (tibiofemoral OA and compartment unspecified). Lateral meniscal injury/meniscectomy showed moderate evidence for no relationship (compartment unspecified), as did time between injury and reconstruction (tibiofemoral and patellofemoral OA).ConclusionsMedial meniscal injury/meniscectomy after ACL rupture increased the risk of OA development. In contrast, it seems that lateral meniscal injury/meniscectomy has no relationship with OA development. Our results suggest that time between injury and reconstruction does not influence patellofemoral and tibiofemoral OA development. Many determinants showed conflicting and limited evidence and no determinant showed strong evidence.
We study the geometry and topology of exotic Springer fibers for orbits corresponding to one-row bipartitions from an explicit, combinatorial point of view. This includes a detailed analysis of the ...structure of the irreducible components and their intersections as well as the construction of an explicit affine paving. Moreover, we compute the ring structure of cohomology by constructing a CW-complex homotopy equivalent to the exotic Springer fiber. This homotopy equivalent space admits an action of the type C Weyl group inducing Kato’s original exotic Springer representation on cohomology. Our results are described in terms of the diagrammatics of the one-boundary Temperley–Lieb algebra (also known as the blob algebra). This provides a first step in generalizing the geometric versions of Khovanov’s arc algebra to the exotic setting.
Chlamydia trachomatis infections are often associated with acute syndromes including cervicitis, urethritis, and endometritis, which can lead to chronic sequelae such as pelvic inflammatory disease ...(PID), chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy, and tubal infertility. As epithelial cells are the primary cell type productively infected during genital tract Chlamydia infections, we investigated whether Chlamydia has any impact on the integrity of the host epithelial barrier as a possible mechanism to facilitate the dissemination of infection, and examined whether TLR3 function modulates its impact.
We used wild-type and TLR3-deficient murine oviduct epithelial (OE) cells to ascertain whether C. muridarum infection had any effect on the epithelial barrier integrity of these cells as measured by transepithelial resistance (TER) and cell permeability assays. We next assessed whether infection impacted the transcription and protein function of the cellular tight-junction (TJ) genes for claudins1-4, ZO-1, JAM1 and occludin via quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and western blot.
qPCR, immunoblotting, transwell permeability assays, and TER studies show that Chlamydia compromises cellular TJ function throughout infection in murine OE cells and that TLR3 deficiency significantly exacerbates this effect.
Our data show that TLR3 plays a role in modulating epithelial barrier function during Chlamydia infection of epithelial cells lining the genital tract. These findings propose a role for TLR3 signaling in maintaining the integrity of epithelial barrier function during genital tract Chlamydia infection, a function that we hypothesize is important in helping limit the chlamydial spread and subsequent genital tract pathology.
Chlamydia trachomatis urogenital serovars primarily replicate in epithelial cells lining the reproductive tract. Epithelial cells recognize Chlamydia through cell surface and cytosolic receptors, ...and/or endosomal innate receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Activation of these receptors triggers both innate and adaptive immune mechanisms that are required for chlamydial clearance, but are also responsible for the immunopathology in the reproductive tract. We previously demonstrated that Chlamydia muridarum (Cm) induces IFN-β in oviduct epithelial cells (OE) in a TLR3-dependent manner, and that the synthesis of several cytokines and chemokines are diminished in Cm-challenged OE derived from TLR3-/- 129S1 mice. Furthermore, our in vitro studies showed that Cm replication in TLR3-/- OE is more efficient than in wild-type OE. Because TLR3 modulates the release inflammatory mediators involved in host defense during Cm infection, we hypothesized that TLR3 plays a protective role against Cm-induced genital tract pathology in congenic C57BL/6N mice. Using the Cm mouse model for human Chlamydia genital tract infections, we demonstrated that TLR3-/- mice had increased Cm shedding during early and mid-stage genital infection. In early stage infection, TLR3-/- mice showed a diminished synthesis of IFN-β, IL-1β, and IL-6, but enhanced production of IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ. In mid-stage infection, TLR3-/- mice exhibited significantly enhanced lymphocytic endometritis and salpingitis than wild-type mice. These lymphocytes were predominantly scattered along the endometrial stroma and the associated smooth muscle, and the lamina propria supporting the oviducts. Surprisingly, our data show that CD4+ T-cells are significantly enhanced in the genital tract TLR3-/- mice during mid-stage Chlamydial infection. In late-stage infections, both mouse strains developed hydrosalpinx; however, the extent of hydrosalpinx was more severe in TLR3-/- mice. Together, these data suggest that TLR3 promotes the clearance of Cm during early and mid-stages of genital tract infection, and that loss of TLR3 is detrimental in the development hydrosalpinx.
Purpose
The development of a symptomatic lymphocele (SL) is a frequent postoperative surgical complication after kidney transplantation. It may lead to pain and discomfort and cause transplant ...malfunction or even secondary graft loss. A large cohort of renal recipients was investigated to identify the possible risk factors for SL.
Methods
All renal transplant patients of a single centre were retrospectively analysed for SL between January 2010 and December 2017. The SL group was compared to a control group from the same cohort.
Results
45 out of 1003 transplanted patients developed an SL (incidence 4.5%), on average 50 days after kidney transplantation. SLs developed more in older patients, in those with a PD catheter and in ADKDP as primary diagnosis. Surgical predictors for SLs were venous anastomosis on the external iliac vein, concomitant PD catheter removal, perfusion defects, shorter operating time, splint > 7 days, double J stenting, discharge with drain, low initial drain production and ureteral obstruction. Opening of the peritoneum, re-operation for postoperative bleeding and previous nephrectomy seem protective for developing SL.
Conclusion
We found multiple heterogeneous predictors for SL with a common denominator related to surgical management of the retroperitoneal space, peritoneum and the ureter. Future prospective studies are necessary to evaluate the influence of these variables on the development of SL.
Reproductive tract pathology caused by
infection is an important global cause of human infertility. To better understand the mechanisms associated with
-induced genital tract pathogenesis in humans, ...we used CRISPR genome editing to disrupt Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) function in the human oviduct epithelial (hOE) cell line OE-E6/E7 in order to investigate the possible role(s) of TLR3 signaling in the immune response to
Disruption of TLR3 function in these cells significantly diminished the
-induced synthesis of several inflammation biomarkers, including interferon beta (IFN-β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-6 receptor alpha (IL-6Rα), soluble interleukin-6 receptor beta (sIL-6Rβ, or gp130), IL-8, IL-20, IL-26, IL-34, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNF-R1), tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 13B (TNFSF13B), matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1), MMP-2, and MMP-3. In contrast, the
-induced synthesis of CCL5, IL-29 (IFN-λ1), and IL-28A (IFN-λ2) was significantly increased in TLR3-deficient hOE cells compared to their wild-type counterparts. Our results indicate a role for TLR3 signaling in limiting the genital tract fibrosis, scarring, and chronic inflammation often associated with human chlamydial disease. Interestingly, we saw that
infection induced the production of biomarkers associated with persistence, tumor metastasis, and autoimmunity, such as soluble CD163 (sCD163), chitinase-3-like protein 1, osteopontin, and pentraxin-3, in hOE cells; however, their expression levels were significantly dysregulated in TLR3-deficient hOE cells. Finally, we demonstrate using hOE cells that TLR3 deficiency resulted in an increased amount of chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) within
inclusions, which is suggestive that TLR3 deficiency leads to enhanced chlamydial replication and possibly increased genital tract pathogenesis during human infection.