No randomized controlled trials have evaluated the comparative outcomes of cefazolin versus nafcillin for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteraemia.
A prospective observational ...cohort study including all S. aureus bacteraemia was conducted at 10 hospitals. Patients (≥15 years) with MSSA bacteraemia who received cefazolin or nafcillin as definitive antibiotics were included. The rates of treatment failure (premature discontinuation of antibiotics because of adverse effects, switching of antibiotics because of clinical failure, all-cause mortality within 1 month, or recurrence) were compared between the cefazolin and nafcillin groups. Propensity score matching analyses were performed to balance the factors influencing the selection of antibiotics.
Among the 242 included cases, the bones and joints (36.8%) were the most common sites of infection and 60.7% of the patients had sepsis. The overall treatment failure rate was 43.8% (106/242). All-cause mortality within 1 month was 6.2% (15/242). After propensity score matching, the treatment failure rate of cefazolin was lower than that of nafcillin (30.4% (24/79) vs. 49.4% (39/79), p 0.015) because of a higher rate of discontinuation caused by adverse events. When the data were limited to patients with sepsis, the treatment failure rates of both groups were not significantly different. Approximately 22% (24/110) of MSSA isolates exhibited a cefazolin-inoculum effect (CIE) that had significant impact on the failure rate and mortality of the cefazolin group.
Cefazolin might be recommended as an adequate and better-tolerated treatment for MSSA bacteraemia in the absence of CIE.
Realization of a highly flexible, lightweight, and high performance flexible supercapacitor was achieved using three-dimensional graphene on flexible graphite-paper. A simple and fast self-assembly ...approach was utilized for the uniform deposition of chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown high quality 3D-graphene powders on a flexible graphite-paper substrate. The fabricated paper-based symmetric supercapacitor exhibited a maximum capacitance of 260 F g−1 (15.6 mF cm−2) in a three electrode system, 80 F g−1 (11.1 mF cm−2) in a full cell, high capacitance retention and a high energy density of 8.8 Wh kg−1 (1.24 μWh cm−2) at a power density of 178.5 W kg−1 (24.5 μW cm−2). The flexible supercapacitor maintained its supercapacitor performance well, even under bent, rolled, or twisted conditions, signifying the excellent flexibility of the fabricated device. Our straightforward approach to the fabrication of highly flexible and lightweight supercapacitors offers new design opportunities for flexible/wearable electronics and miniaturized device applications that require energy storage units that meet the demands of the multifarious applications.
•A fully flexible supercapacitor based on 3D-graphene/graphite-paper was fabricated.•The 3D-porous architecture provided space for easy migration of electrolyte ions.•Our device exhibited excellent electrochemical performance and flexibility.•The present approach is simple, fast, scalable, and highly efficient.
Background and Aim
Nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) activation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling play significant roles in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Thus, we ...evaluated whether new therapeutic probiotics have anti‐colitic effects, and we investigated their mechanisms related to NF‐κB and ER‐stress pathways.
Methods
Luciferase, nitric oxide, and cytokine assays using HT‐29 or RAW264.7 cells were conducted. Mouse colitis was induced using dextran sulfate sodium and confirmed by disease activity index and histology. Macrophages and T‐cell subsets in isolated peritoneal cavity cells and splenocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry. Gene and cytokine expression profiles were determined using reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction.
Results
Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA1) and Pediococcus pentosaceus inhibited nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 cells, but only LA1 inhibited Tnfa and induced Il10 expression. LA1 increased the lifespan of dextran sulfate sodium‐treated mice and attenuated the severity of colitis by inducing M2 macrophages in peritoneal cavity cells and Th2 and Treg cells in splenocytes. The restoration of goblet cells in the colon was accompanied by the induction of Il10 expression and the suppression of pro‐inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, we found that LA1 exerts an anti‐colitic effect by improving ER stress in HT‐29 cells as well as in vivo.
Conclusions
We showed that LA1 significantly interferes with ER stress and suppresses NF‐κB activation. Our findings suggest that LA1 can be used as a potent immunomodulator in IBD treatment, and the regulation of ER stress may have significant implications in treating IBD.
This experiment was conducted to investigate the efficacy of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, and Clostridium butyricum supplementation in broilers. A total of 400 one-day-old mixed sex ...Ross 308 broilers with an initial average BW of 46 ± 0.5 g were randomly allotted into 4 treatments with 5 replicate pens per treatment and 20 broilers in each pen for 35 d. Dietary treatments were (1) an antibiotic-free diet (CON), (2) CON + 5 mg/kg of avilamycin, (3) CON + 1 × 105 cfu of multistrain probiotics/kg of diet (P1), and (4) CON + 2 × 105 cfu of multistrain probiotics/kg of diet (P2). Broilers fed the P1 and P2 diets had greater BW gain than broilers fed the CON diet during d 22 to 35 (P = 0.01) and overall (P = 0.02). Feed conversion ratios in P1 and P2 were decreased (P = 0.03) compared with that in CON from d 22 to 35. Ileal digestibility of most essential amino acids, with the exception of His and Phe, were increased (P < 0.05) in P1 and P2 compared with CON. Serum IgA and IgM concentrations in P2 were higher (P < 0.05) than those in CON. The cecal Lactobacillus numbers were increased (P = 0.02), and the counts of Escherichia coli were decreased (P = 0.03) in P1 and P2 compared with CON. Dietary supplementation with multistrain probiotics decreased (P < 0.05) the excreta NH3 content compared with the CON. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with multistrain probiotics improved broiler growth performance, ileal amino acids digestibility, and humoral immunity. Furthermore, the probiotics decreased the cecal numbers of E. coli and decreased the NH3 content of excreta.
Laser-wakefield acceleration offers the promise of a compact electron accelerator for generating a multi-GeV electron beam using the huge field gradient induced by an intense laser pulse, compared to ...conventional rf accelerators. However, the energy and quality of the electron beam from the laser-wakefield accelerator have been limited by the power of the driving laser pulses and interaction properties in the target medium. Recent progress in laser technology has resulted in the realization of a petawatt (PW) femtosecond laser, which offers new capabilities for research on laser-wakefield acceleration. Here, we present a significant increase in laser-driven electron energy to the multi-GeV level by utilizing a 30-fs, 1-PW laser system. In particular, a dual-stage laser-wakefield acceleration scheme (injector and accelerator scheme) was applied to boost electron energies to over 3 GeV with a single PW laser pulse. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations corroborate the multi-GeV electron generation from the dual-stage laser-wakefield accelerator driven by PW laser pulses.
The advanced molybdenum-based rare process experiment (AMoRE) aims to search for neutrinoless double beta decay (
0
ν
β
β
) of
100
Mo with
∼
100
kg
of
100
Mo-enriched molybdenum embedded in cryogenic ...detectors with a dual heat and light readout. At the current, pilot stage of the AMoRE project we employ six calcium molybdate crystals with a total mass of 1.9 kg, produced from
48
Ca-depleted calcium and
100
Mo-enriched molybdenum (
48
depl
Ca
100
MoO
4
). The simultaneous detection of heat (phonon) and scintillation (photon) signals is realized with high resolution metallic magnetic calorimeter sensors that operate at milli-Kelvin temperatures. This stage of the project is carried out in the Yangyang underground laboratory at a depth of 700 m. We report first results from the AMoRE-Pilot
0
ν
β
β
search with a 111 kg day live exposure of
48
depl
Ca
100
MoO
4
crystals. No evidence for
0
ν
β
β
decay of
100
Mo is found, and a upper limit is set for the half-life of
0
ν
β
β
of
100
Mo of
T
1
/
2
0
ν
>
9.5
×
10
22
years
at 90% C.L. This limit corresponds to an effective Majorana neutrino mass limit in the range
⟨
m
β
β
⟩
≤
(
1.2
-
2.1
)
eV
.
The food industry is constantly striving to develop new products to fulfil the ever changing demands of consumers and the strict requirements of regulatory agencies. For foods based on microbial ...fermentation, this pushes the boundaries of microbial performance and requires the constant development of new starter cultures with novel properties. Since the use of ingredients in the food industry is tightly regulated and under close scrutiny by consumers, the use of recombinant DNA technology to improve microbial performance is currently not an option. As a result, the focus for improving strains for microbial fermentation is on classical strain improvement methods. Here we review the use of these techniques to improve the functionality of lactic acid bacteria starter cultures for application in industrial-scale food production. Methods will be described for improving the bacteriophage resistance of specific strains, improving their texture forming ability, increasing their tolerance to stress and modulating both the amount and identity of acids produced during fermentation. In addition, approaches to eliminating undesirable properties will be described. Techniques include random mutagenesis, directed evolution and dominant selection schemes.
Hollow TiO2 hemispheres for application in dye‐sensitized solar cells are prepared by means of rf‐sputtering onto colloidal templated substrates. After removing the organic templates by thermal ...decomposition, quasi‐ordered networks of hollow TiO2 hemispheres were formed. This approach should open up new opportunities for processing material architectures with high surface activity and effective charge transport for high performance photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical cells.
Shape memory and superelastic properties associated with the martensitic transformation from β to α″ martensite were investigated in Ti–(15–35)
at.% Nb alloys. The transformation strain and ...transformation temperature linearly decreased with increasing Nb content. The low critical stress for slip deformation resulted in only a small superelastic strain in solution-treated Ti–Nb binary alloys. Fine and dense ω precipitates formed during aging in the temperature range between 573 and 673
K were effective in increasing the critical stress for slip deformation in a Ti–26
at.% Nb alloy. An intermediate-temperature annealing at 873
K for 600
s without solution treatment was also effective in increasing the critical stress for slip deformation due to the fine subgrain structure. The higher critical stress for slip deformation resulted in a larger recovery strain and stable superelasticity. Excellent superelasticity was achieved by annealing at 873
K for 600
s followed by aging at 573
K due to the combined effect of work hardening and age hardening.
Background
In the eighth edition of the AJCC staging system for differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), minimal extrathyroidal extension (ETE) is no longer a determinant of T3 category. Instead, ...gross ETE invading only strap muscles has been designated as a new T3b category. The long‐term prognosis of patients with DTC and gross ETE invading only strap muscles was investigated.
Methods
This was a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent thyroidectomy between 1996 and 2005. Differences in cancer‐specific and recurrence‐free survival according to extent of ETE were assessed.
Results
A total of 3174 patients with DTC were included. No significant differences were observed in 10‐year cancer‐specific survival among patients with no ETE (98·6 per cent), microscopic ETE (98·3 per cent) and gross ETE invading only strap muscles (98·9 per cent) (P = 0·375). The 10‐year recurrence‐free survival rate for patients with gross ETE invading only strap muscles (89·2 per cent) was shorter than that for patients with no ETE (93·7 per cent; P = 0·016), but similar to that of patients with microscopic ETE (90·3 per cent). In univariable analysis, patients with gross ETE invading only strap muscles had a significantly higher risk of recurrence than those with no ETE (hazard ratio (HR) 1·67, 95 per cent c.i. 1·10 to 2·55; P = 0·017). In multivariable analysis, gross ETE invading only strap muscles was not an independent predictor of recurrence (HR 1·09, 0·71 to 1·69; P = 0·685).
Conclusion
Although gross ETE invading only strap muscles may provide prognostic information about long‐term recurrence, it does not affect mortality. The actual impact of gross ETE invading only strap muscles will be important in revising the staging system in the future.
None, for survival
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