Abstract
Background
We conducted a cross-sectional study of pregnant women with acute respiratory illness during delivery hospitalizations during influenza season to describe clinical testing for ...respiratory viruses and infection prevention practices.
Methods
Women had nasal swabs tested for influenza and other respiratory viruses. Among 91 enrolled women, 22 (24%) had clinical testing for influenza.
Results
Based on clinical and study testing combined, 41 of 91 (45%) women had samples positive for respiratory viruses. The most common virus was influenza (17 of 91, 19%); 53% (9 of 17) of influenza virus infections were identified through study testing alone. Only 16% of women were on droplet precautions.
Conclusions
Peripartum respiratory infections may be underrecognized.
In this study, half of pregnant women with acute respiratory illness during delivery hospitalizations had respiratory viral infections based on clinical and study testing, but only 16% were on droplet precautions. Peripartum respiratory infections during influenza season may be underrecognized.
Abstract
Objective: To determine the prenatal variables predicting the risk of perinatal death in congenital right heart defects.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of 28 fetuses with right heart ...defects was performed. Logistic regression analyses were performed to obtain odds ratios (OR) for the relationship between the risk of death and echocardiographic parameters. The parameters that correlated with the outcome were incorporated in an attempt to devise a disease-specific cardiovascular profile score.
Results: Fetal echocardiograms (143) from 28 patients were analyzed. The cardiovascular profile score predicted the risk of death. A lower right ventricle (RV) pressure was associated with mortality (OR 0.959; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.940-0.978). Higher peak aortic velocity through the aortic valve (OR 0.104; 95% CI 0.020-0.529) was associated with a better outcome. These cardiac function parameters were incorporated in a modified disease-specific CVP Score. Patients with a mean modified cardiovascular profile score of 6 were over 3.7 times more likely to die than those with scores of 7-10.
Conclusions: The original Cardiovascular Profile Score predicted the risk of death in right heart defects. The modified score was not validated as a good prediction tool by this study. Fetal RV pressure estimate and peak aortic velocity can be used as independent prognostic predictors.
An experimental two-group comparison pilot study of forty chronically ill hospitalized children was carried out at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Three Godly Play interventions ...were given to participants in the experimental group. Children in the control group did not participate but received a fairy tale book as a control. The sample was evenly distributed with twenty (20) males and twenty (20) females. Ages ranged from six (6) to fifteen (15) years and all participants were chronically ill. Five (5) variables were studied. Of the five (5), three (3) showed significant differences before and after Godly Play: the Staic-Trait Anxiety Scale (p=.049), the Children's Depression Inventory (p=.011), and the McBride Spirituality Assessment (p=.033). A marginal difference in parent satisfaction with hospital care of children in the experimental and control groups was also determined (p=.058). Findings suggest that Godly Play had a significant effect on anxiety, depression, and spirituality of children and support the idea that the parents of children who participated in Godly Play were more satisfied with hospital care than those parents whose children did not engage in Godly Play.
Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (sELISA) allow for rapid detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7. Acidic conditions similar to those in certain foods and juices may reduce the ...ability to detect E. coli O157:H7. Growth of E. coli O157:H7 at pH 4 compared to pH 5-7 reduced fluorescent signal at the lower bacterial concentrations without altering the range of detection. Both acid-adaptation and a subsequent pH 7 incubation reversed sensitivity. Incubation in apple juice was not deleterious to sELISA detection. Exposure to acidic conditions can cause a small reduction in sELISA sensitivity used to detect E. coli O157:H7.
The purpose of this dissertation in Christian ethics is to undertake a critical examination of the “moral theology” underlying the formulation and evolution of Adam Smith's system of moral philosophy ...expressed first in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS), published in 1759, and later in his political/economic analysis of commercial society, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (WN), published in 1776, thus demonstrating his ongoing dialogical relationship with both texts and with the Stoic natural law and Scottish Presbyterianism which inform them. Though Adam Smith is not a moral theologian, we will examine why and how his works are grounded in theistic natural law. As an example, in TMS, Smith maintains that “the first duty” which “the natural principles of religion” require “is to fulfil all the obligations of morality” which can be discerned through our God-given natural, moral faculties, or “the moral sentiments.” Thus, the central theme of investigation in this dissertation is focused on Smith's personal system of beliefs and his understanding of the relationship between reason, religion, and morality and how they translate into the social, political, and economical dimensions of human life.
A family of single-element, NACA 0012 wings was computationally studied to find a correlation between mean flow parameters and the noise produced by the wingtip. An incompressible Navier-Stokes flow ...solver was used to compute the flowfield. Dimensional analysis suggested combinations of mean flow parameters that could consistently scale with the wingtip noise. Correlations were formed between the computed flow variables and experimentally measured sound pressure levels. The results suggest that wingtip noise scales with an appropriate integral of the eighth power of the velocity multiplied by the chord of the wing. Combinations of two freestream flow velocities (39.6 and 78.1 m/s), three angles of attack (5.4, 10.8, and 14.4 deg.), and five aspect ratios (2, 2.67, 4, 6, 12) defined the regime investigated. To further validate the correlations, two additional configurations were investigated. A single-element, square-tip wing was investigated at four angles of attack (0, 4, 8, and 12 deg.) and three freestream velocities (30, 40, and 50 m/s). Finally, a multi-element wing with three flap tip shapes was used to emphasize the generality of the results. The eighth power of velocity correlation held for both additional cases.
Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in recognizing and killing pathogen-infected or malignant cells. Changes in their numbers or activation can contribute to several diseases and ...pathologies including systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation and tissue remodeling. In these patients, increased expression of the AP-1 transcription factor, Fra-2 was reported. In mice ectopic overexpression of Fra-2 (TG) leads to SSc with strong pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, and inflammation. Analysis of the underlying immune cell profile in the lungs of young TG mice, which do not yet show any signs of lung disease, revealed increased numbers of eosinophils and T cells but strongly reduced NK numbers. Therefore, we aimed to identify the cause of the absence of NK cells in the lungs of these mice and to determine the potential role of Fra-2 in NK development. Examination of inflammatory cell distribution in TG mice revealed similar NK deficiencies in the spleen, blood, and bone marrow. Deeper analysis of the WT and TG bone marrow revealed a potential NK cell developmental defect beginning at the preNKP stage. To determine whether this defect was cell-intrinsic or extrinsic, mixed bone marrow chimera and
in vitro
differentiation experiments were performed. Both experiments showed that the defect caused by Fra-2 was primarily cell-intrinsic and minimally dependent on the environment. Closer examination of surface markers and transcription factors required for NK development, revealed the expected receptor distribution but changes in transcription factor expression. We found a significant reduction in Nfil3, which is essential for the transition of common lymphoid cells to NK committed precursor cells and an AP-1 binding site in the promotor of this gene. In Summary, our data demonstrates that regulation of Fra-2 is essential for NK development and maturation, and suggests that the early NK dysfunction plays an important role in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis.
Reliable, robust, large-scale molecular testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential for monitoring the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. ...We have developed a scalable analytical approach to detect viral proteins based on peptide immuno-affinity enrichment combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). This is a multiplexed strategy, based on targeted proteomics analysis and read-out by LC-MS, capable of precisely quantifying and confirming the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) swab media from combined throat/nasopharynx/saliva samples. The results reveal that the levels of SARS-CoV-2 measured by LC-MS correlate well with their correspondingreal-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) read-out (r = 0.79). The analytical workflow shows similar turnaround times as regular RT-PCR instrumentation with a quantitative read-out of viral proteins corresponding to cycle thresholds (Ct) equivalents ranging from 21 to 34. Using RT-PCR as a reference, we demonstrate that the LC-MS-based method has 100% negative percent agreement (estimated specificity) and 95% positive percent agreement (estimated sensitivity) when analyzing clinical samples collected from asymptomatic individuals with a Ct within the limit of detection of the mass spectrometer (Ct ≤ 30). These results suggest that a scalable analytical method based on LC-MS has a place in future pandemic preparedness centers to complement current virus detection technologies.
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