To assess the outcome of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) according to factors associated with necessity for longer treatment in conjunction with the duration of treatment.
We prospectively ...collected the data of patients with SAB consecutively during 12 to 39 months from 11 hospitals. If multiple episodes of SAB occurred in one patient, only the first episode was enrolled. Factors associated with necessity for longer treatment were defined as follows: persistent bacteraemia, metastatic infection, prosthesis and endocarditis. If any of the factors were present, then the case was defined as longer antibiotic treatment warranted (LW) group; those without any factors were defined as shorter antibiotic treatment sufficient (SS) group. Poor outcome was defined as a composite of 90-day mortality or 30-day recurrence. Duration of antibiotic administration was classified as <14 or ≥14 days in the SS group and <28 or ≥28 days in the LW group.
Among 2098 cases, the outcome was analysed in 1866 cases, of which 591 showed poor outcome. The SS group accounted for 964 cases and the LW group for 852. On multivariate analysis, age over 65 years, pneumonia, higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score and chronic liver diseases were risk factors for poor outcome. Administration of antibiotics less than the recommendation was associated with poor outcome, but this significance was observed only in the LW group (adjusted odds ratio = 1.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.00–2.83; p 0.05).
Inappropriately short antibiotic treatment was associated with poor outcome in the LW group. Vigilant evaluation for risk factors to determine the duration of treatment may improve the outcome among patients with SAB.
The real-time navigation problem of a holonomic mobile robot in dynamic environments is addressed. The robot's footprint and obstacles are approximated with the smallest enclosing ellipses, known as ...the Löwner-John ellipses. The robot avoids collisions with obstacles by selecting a translational velocity outside of the ellipse-based velocity obstacle (EBVO) described in this Letter at each time step. Furthermore, the rotational velocity of the robot is controlled to gradually change the EBVO so that the robot can efficiently reach the destination. Finally, the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through simulations.
We search for energetic electron recoil signals induced by boosted dark matter (BDM) from the galactic center using the COSINE-100 array of NaI(Tl) crystal detectors at the Yangyang Underground ...Laboratory. The signal would be an excess of events with energies above 4 MeV over the well-understood background. Because no excess of events are observed in a 97.7 kg·yr exposure, we set limits on BDM interactions under a variety of hypotheses. Notably, we explored the dark photon parameter space, leading to competitive limits compared to direct dark photon search experiments, particularly for dark photon masses below 4 MeV and considering the invisible decay mode. Furthermore, by comparing our results with a previous BDM search conducted by the Super-Kamionkande experiment, we found that the COSINE-100 detector has advantages in searching for low-mass dark matter. This analysis demonstrates the potential of the COSINE-100 detector to search for MeV electron recoil signals produced by the dark sector particle interactions.
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
.
Summary
Sarcopenia is the age-related reduction of skeletal muscle mass in older individuals. Respiratory muscle strength may be related to skeletal muscle mass and, thus, the present study attempted ...to estimate the risk of sarcopenia relative to decreased pulmonary function. The present findings demonstrated that low pulmonary function was associated with low muscle mass in community-dwelling older adults.
Introduction
Lean body mass is related to pulmonary function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the relationship between muscle mass and pulmonary function in healthy older adults has yet to be clarified. Thus, the present study investigated the association of pulmonary function with muscle mass in an older community-dwelling Korean population.
Methods
This study included 463 disease-free subjects over 65 years of age who underwent anthropometric measurements, laboratory tests, spirometry, and the estimation of appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM) mass in the 2008–2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Low muscle mass was defined as the value of ASM divided by height squared (ASM/height
2
) that was less than two standard deviations (SD) below the sex-specific mean of the young reference group.
Results
Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1L) and forced vital capacity (FVCL) were positively correlated with ASM/height
2
in males (
p
< 0.001 and
p
= 0.001, respectively) but not in females (
p
= 0.360 and
p
= 0.779, respectively). A univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that males with low FEV1 or FVC were more likely to have low muscle mass (odds ratio OR = 3.11, 95 % confidence interval CI 1.62–5.99 for FEV1; OR = 1.99, 95 % CI 1.13–3.53 for FVC); similar results were found for females, but the significance was lower (OR = 11.37, 95 % CI 0.97–132.91 for FEV1; OR = 7.31, 95 % CI 1.25–42.74 for FVC). After adjusting for age, smoking, and moderate physical activity, a low FEV1 value was associated with low muscle mass in both males (OR = 2.90, 95 % CI 1.50–5.63) and females (OR = 9.15, 95 % CI 1.53–54.77).
Conclusions
Using nationally representative data from the 2008–2011 KNHANES, low pulmonary function was found to be associated with low muscle mass in community-dwelling older Korean adults.
Progressive peritoneal fibrosis, membrane hyperpermeability, and ultrafiltration failure have been observed in patients on long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD). The present study tested the hypothesis ...that reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by conventional PD solution (PDS) mediate functional and structural alterations of peritoneal membrane in vivo. Sprague–Dawley rats were randomized to control, PDS, PDS with an antioxidant, and PDS with an angiotensin II (Ang II) receptor blocker. Commercial PDS containing 3.86% glucose (20–30 ml) with or without N-acetylcystein (NAC) 10 mM or losartan 5 mg/kg was administered intraperitoneally twice a day for 12 weeks. Control rats received sham injection. Rats treated with PDS had significantly lower drain volume and D4/D0 glucose, but higher D4/P4 creatinine and increased membrane thickness and endothelial NOS (eNOS) expression compared to control rats. Omental transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), collagen I, and heat-shock protein (hsp) 47 expression and lipid peroxide levels and dialysate VEGF and Ang II concentrations were significantly increased in rats treated with PDS compared to control. All of these changes were prevented by both NAC and losartan. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that ROS generated by conventional PDS are, in large part, responsible for peritoneal fibrosis and membrane hyperpermeability. We suggest that antioxidants or Ang II receptor blockers may allow better preservation of the structural and functional integrity of the peritoneal membrane during long-term PD.
The COSINE-100 dark matter search experiment is an array of NaI(Tl) crystal detectors located in the Yangyang Underground Laboratory (Y2L). To understand measured backgrounds in the NaI(Tl) crystals ...we have performed Monte Carlo simulations using the Geant4 toolkit and developed background models for each crystal that consider contributions from both internal and external sources, including cosmogenic nuclides. The background models are based on comparisons of measurement data with Monte Carlo simulations that are guided by a campaign of material assays and are used to evaluate backgrounds and identify their sources. The average background level for the six crystals (70 kg total mass) that are studied is 3.5 counts/day/keV/kg in the (2–6) keV energy interval. The dominant contributors in this energy region are found to be
210
Pb and
3
H.
Presently, co-culture of human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) with BV2 microglia under amyloid-β42 (Aβ42) exposure induced a reduction of Aβ42 in the medium as well as an ...overexpression of the Aβ-degrading enzyme neprilysin (NEP) in microglia. Cytokine array examinations of co-cultured media revealed elevated release of soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) from hUCB-MSCs. Administration of human recombinant ICAM-1 in BV2 cells and wild-type mice brains induced NEP expression in time- and dose-dependent manners. In co-culturing with BV2 cells under Aβ42 exposure, knockdown of ICAM-1 expression on hUCB-MSCs by small interfering RNA (siRNA) abolished the induction of NEP in BV2 cells as well as reduction of added Aβ42 in the co-cultured media. By contrast, siRNA-mediated inhibition of the sICAM-1 receptor, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), on BV2 cells reduced NEP expression by ICAM-1 exposure. When hUCB-MSCs were transplanted into the hippocampus of a 10-month-old transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease for 10, 20, or 40 days, NEP expression was increased in the mice brains. Moreover, Aβ42 plaques in the hippocampus and other regions were decreased by active migration of hUCB-MSCs toward Aβ deposits. These data suggest that hUCB-MSC-derived sICAM-1 decreases Aβ plaques by inducing NEP expression in microglia through the sICAM-1/LFA-1 signaling pathway.
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