Category: Nevin Manimala

Adv Skin Wound Care. 2021 Jul 13. doi: 10.1097/01.ASW.0000765916.20726.41. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of hand dermatitis among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic and factors affecting this.

METHODS: The research sample consisted of 175 nurses working in state hospitals. Research data were collected via Google Survey between October and September 2020. The data were collected using a Sociodemographic Data Collection Form, and a self-assessment form was used to determine dermatological symptoms.

RESULTS: The frequency of hand dermatitis among nurses was 70.9%. A statistically significant difference was found between sex, allergy history, and increased frequency of handwashing and the frequency of hand dermatitis. No significant difference in terms of the frequency of hand dermatitis was found between the nurses who provided care to COVID-19 positive patients and the nurses who did not provide care to COVID-19 positive patients. However, the frequency of washing hands and using hand disinfectants and hand creams was found to have increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period.

CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of hand dermatitis increased among nurses during the pandemic. The increased frequency of handwashing during the pandemic poses a risk of hand dermatitis symptoms among nurses. The increased frequency of handwashing during the pandemic should not discourage nurses from appropriate hand hygiene practices.

PMID:34261909 | DOI:10.1097/01.ASW.0000765916.20726.41

Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2021 Jul 14. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002808. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To derive and internally validate a bronchiolitis-specific illness severity score (the Critical Bronchiolitis Score) that out-performs mortality-based illness severity scores (e.g., Pediatric Risk of Mortality) in measuring expected duration of respiratory support and PICU length of stay for critically ill children with bronchiolitis.

DESIGN: Retrospective database study using the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS, LLC; Los Angeles, CA) database.

SETTING: One-hundred twenty-eight North-American PICUs.

PATIENTS: Fourteen-thousand four-hundred seven children less than 2 years old admitted to a contributing PICU with primary diagnosis of bronchiolitis and use of ICU-level respiratory support (defined as high-flow nasal cannula, noninvasive ventilation, invasive mechanical ventilation, or negative pressure ventilation) at 12 hours after PICU admission.

INTERVENTIONS: Patient-level variables available at 12 hours from PICU admission, duration of ICU-level respiratory support, and PICU length of stay data were extracted for analysis. After randomly dividing the cohort into derivation and validation groups, patient-level variables that were significantly associated with the study outcomes were selected in a stepwise backward fashion for inclusion in the final score. Score performance in the validation cohort was assessed using root mean squared error and mean absolute error, and performance was compared with that of existing PICU illness severity scores.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Twelve commonly available patient-level variables were included in the Critical Bronchiolitis Score. Outcomes calculated with the score were similar to actual outcomes in the validation cohort. The Critical Bronchiolitis Score demonstrated a statistically significantly stronger association with duration of ICU-level respiratory support and PICU length of stay than mortality-based scores as measured by root mean squared error and mean absolute error.

CONCLUSIONS: The Critical Bronchiolitis Score performed better than PICU mortality-based scores in measuring expected duration of ICU-level respiratory support and ICU length of stay. This score may have utility to enrich interventional trials and adjust for illness severity in observational studies in this very common PICU condition.

PMID:34261942 | DOI:10.1097/PCC.0000000000002808

Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2021 Jul 13. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000001845. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on swallowing function in post-stroke patients.

DESIGN: We searched for potentially eligible randomized controlled trials from electronic databases, including the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and Chinese Science and Technology Periodical (VIP) databases, from their inception to January 15, 2021. All statistical analyses were performed using RevMan 5.4, and the standardized mean difference with 95% confidence intervals was estimated for the swallowing function outcomes and to understand the mean effect size.

RESULTS: Ten studies involving 343 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The overall analyses demonstrated a significant effect size for swallowing function. Subgroup analyses suggested that both acute and chronic stroke patients showed significant effects on swallowing function after tDCS. Furthermore, compared with sham stimulation, tDCS anodal to the affected, unaffected, and bilateral hemispheres can produce a significant effect size for swallowing function in stroke patients.

CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis showed that tDCS is likely to be effective for the recovery of dysphagia in post-stroke patients, in the acute or chronic phase, and that the effect of anodal tDCS to unaffected hemispheres is larger.

PMID:34261896 | DOI:10.1097/PHM.0000000000001845

Mol Ecol Resour. 2021 Jul 14. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.13468. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Determining how pollinators visit plants versus how they carry and transfer pollen is an ongoing project in pollination ecology. The current tools for identifying the pollens that bees carry have different strengths and weaknesses when used for ecological inference. In this study we use three methods to better understand a system of congeneric, co-flowering plants in the genus Clarkia and their bee pollinators: observations of plant-pollinator contact in the field, and two different molecular methods to estimate the relative abundance of each Clarkia pollen in samples collected from pollinators. We use these methods to investigate if observations of plant-pollinator contact in the field correspond to the pollen bees carry; if individual bees carry Clarkia pollens in predictable ways, based on previous knowledge of their foraging behaviors; and how the three approaches differ for understanding plant-pollinator interactions. We find that observations of plant-pollinator contact are generally predictive of the pollens that bees carry while foraging, and network topologies using the three different methods are statistically indistinguishable from each other. Results from molecular pollen analysis also show that while bees can carry multiple species of Clarkia at the same time, they often carry one species of pollen. Our work contributes to the growing body of literature aimed at resolving how pollinators use floral resources. We suggest our novel relative amplicon quantification method as another tool in the developing molecular ecology and pollination biology toolbox.

PMID:34260821 | DOI:10.1111/1755-0998.13468

J Diabetes. 2021 Jul 14. doi: 10.1111/1753-0407.13212. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To estimate the associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and methylation of KCNQ1 gene and T2DM risk, and the interactions among SNPs, methylation and environmental factors on T2DM risk.

METHODS: We genotyped 5 SNPs and tested methylation at 39 CpG loci of KCNQ1 in 290 T2DM cases and 290 matched controls nested in the Rural Chinese Cohort Study. Conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate the associations between SNPs and KCNQ1 methylation and T2DM risk. Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (MDR) analysis was used to estimate the effect of the interactions SNPs-SNPs, SNPs-methylation, methylation-methylation and SNPs and methylation-environment on T2DM risk.

RESULTS: Probability of T2DM was decreased with rs2283228 of KCNQ1 (CA vs AA, odds ratio [OR] = 0.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42-0.99). T2DM probability was significantly increased with rs2237895 combined with hypertriglyceridemia (OR_eg = 2.76, 95% CI 1.35-5.62), with hypertension (OR_eg = 2.23, 95% CI 1.25-3.98) and with BMI (OR_eg = 1.93, 95% CI 1.12-3.34). T2DM probability was associated with methylation of CG11 and CG41 (OR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.23-2.89, P = 0.003). It was significantly associated with the interaction between BMI, hypertriglyceridemia and CG5 methylation (P = 0.028 and 0.028), and the combined effects of CG11 with hypertriglyceridemia and hypertension. On MDR analysis, no significant interaction was observed.

CONCLUSION: T2DM probability was reduced 35% with rs2283228 polymorphism. It was associated with rs2237895 combined with hypertension, with BMI and with hypertriglyceridemia. The methylation at 2 CpG loci of KCNQ1 significantly increased T2DM risk by 89%. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:34260825 | DOI:10.1111/1753-0407.13212

Clin Otolaryngol. 2021 Jul 14. doi: 10.1111/coa.13836. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

●A functioning facial nerve is a critical structure that limits the margin of resection in parotid malignancies. There was no difference in disease-free survival with close or negative resection margins. ●Microscopic positive (R1) resection margins were associated with poorer disease free survival, but this was not statistically significant, implying that more functional and less radical surgery may be acceptable when followed by adjuvant therapy. ●Perineural invasion was found in 37% of tumours ●Five-year overall and disease-free survival were 82% and 71%. ●Age >50, pT classification 3-4, higher tumour grade, perineural invasion, and advanced TNM stage were all associated with worse overall and disease-free survival.

PMID:34260814 | DOI:10.1111/coa.13836

Clin Respir J. 2021 Jul 14. doi: 10.1111/crj.13421. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical role of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand (CXCL) family members in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) patients.

METHODS: CXCL1, CXCL8, CXCL10 and CXCL12 expressions in the serum samples of IPAH patients (N=39) and age/gender-matched controls (N=40) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In IPAH patients, clinical features were collected and survival information was documented.

RESULTS: CXCL1 (P<0.001), CXCL8 (P=0.001), CXCL10 (P<0.001) and CXCL12 (P<0.001) were increased in IPAH patients compared with controls, and receiver’s operating characteristic curves showed that their combination was highly correlated with IPAH risk (area under curve: 0.881, 95% confidence interval: 0.805-0.958). Meanwhile, CXCL1 was positively correlated with mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) (P=0.029) and high sensitive C-reactive protein (HsCRP) (P=0.015); CXCL8 was positively correlated with mPAP (P=0.044) and HsCRP (P=0.018) but negatively correlated with 6-minute walk test (6MWT) distance (P=0.029); CXCL10 was positively correlated with mean right artery pressure (P=0.002); and CXCL12 was positively correlated with World Health Organization functional class (P=0.047), mPAP (P=0.009), pulmonary vascular resistance (P=0.004), HsCRP (P=0.003) but negatively correlated with 6MWT distance (P=0.003) in IPAH patients. Moreover, CXCL12 was negatively correlated with overall survival (OS) (P=0.025), while CXCL1, CXCL8 and CXCL10 only showed minor tendencies to be negatively correlated with OS in IPAH patients without statistical significance (all P>0.05).

CONCLUSION: CXCL1, CXCL8, CXCL10 and CXCL12 associate with increased IPAH risk, unfavorable clinical features; besides, CXCL12 correlates with worse OS in IPAH patients.

PMID:34260815 | DOI:10.1111/crj.13421

Pest Manag Sci. 2021 Jul 14. doi: 10.1002/ps.6554. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Lolium rigidum is the weed of greatest economic impact in Australia due to its formidable capacity to evolve herbicide resistance. In this study, 579 field-sampled L. rigidum populations were tested for resistance to 21 herbicides applied at the recommended rate. Nine herbicide treatments were binary mixtures.

RESULTS: A total of 15 876 individual resistance tests were conducted by screening two million seeds at the recommended label rate. The overall frequency of resistant populations was 31%, 14%, 71%, 6% and 0% in response to the post-emergence herbicide treatments clethodim, clethodim + butroxydim, imazamox + imazapyr, glyphosate and paraquat, respectively. The resistance frequency to stand-alone pre-emergence wheat-selective herbicides ranged from 10% to 34%. Conversely, the levels of resistance to pre-emergence mixtures or stand-alone propyzamide were significantly lower, ranging from 6% to 0%. In winter, the responses to glyphosate, paraquat, cinmethylin, prosulfocarb, pyroxasulfone and trifluralin were reassessed, with 7%, 0%, 0%, 21%, 21% and 28% as the respective resistance frequency. South Australia and Victoria are identified as epicenters for L. rigidum population resistance to pyroxasulfone, whereas populations in New South Wales have the greatest resistance to glyphosate and in Western Australia to clethodim.

CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, resistance levels to stand-alone herbicides and binary mixtures are geographically ranked across the Australian continent by benchmark statistical analysis of resistance frequencies and distribution. The extension of these results will raise awareness of rapidly-emerging patterns of herbicide resistance, encouraging the adoption of cost-effective modes of action and integration of diverse strategies for weed resistance management. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:34260812 | DOI:10.1002/ps.6554

J Thromb Haemost. 2021 Jul 14. doi: 10.1111/jth.15463. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 have increased risks of venous (VTE) and arterial thromboembolism (ATE). Active cancer diagnosis and treatment are well-known risk factors; however, a risk assessment model (RAM) for VTE in patients with both cancer and COVID-19 is lacking.

METHODS: Among patients with cancer in the CCC19 cohort study, we assessed the incidence of VTE and ATE within 90 days of COVID-19 associated hospitalization. A multivariable logistic regression model specifically for VTE was built using a priori determined clinical risk factors. A simplified RAM was derived and internally validated using bootstrap.

FINDINGS: From 3/17/2020 to 11/30/2020, 2804 hospitalized patients were analyzed. The incidence of VTE and ATE was 7.6% and 3.9%, respectively. The incidence of VTE, but not ATE, was higher in patients receiving recent anti-cancer therapy. A simplified RAM for VTE was derived and named CoVID-TE (Cancer subtype high to very-high risk by original Khorana score +1, VTE history +2, ICU admission +2, D-dimer elevation +1, recent systemic anti-cancer Therapy +1, and non-Hispanic Ethnicity +1). The RAM stratified patients into two cohorts (low-risk, 0-2 points, n=1423 vs. high-risk, 3+ points, n=1034) where VTE occurred in 4.1% low-risk and 11.3% high-risk patients (c statistic 0.67, 95% CI 0.63-0.71). The RAM performed similarly well in subgroups of patients not on anticoagulant prior to admission and moderately ill patients not requiring direct ICU admission.

INTERPRETATION: Hospitalized patients with cancer and COVID-19 have elevated thrombotic risks. The CoVID-TE RAM for VTE prediction may help real-time data-driven decisions in this vulnerable population.

PMID:34260813 | DOI:10.1111/jth.15463

J Appl Microbiol. 2021 Jul 14. doi: 10.1111/jam.15218. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: Detection of bacterial contamination in healthcare and industry takes many hours if not days. Thermal imaging, the measurement of heat by an infrared camera, was investigated as a potential none-invasive method of detecting bacterial growth.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Infrared thermography can detect the presence of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus on solid growth media by an increase in temperature before they are visually observable. A heat decrease is observed after treatment with ultraviolet light and heat increased after incubation with dinitrophenol.

CONCLUSIONS: Infrared thermography can detect early growth of bacteria before they are detectable by other microbiology-based method. The heat observed is due to the cells being viable and metabolically active, as cells killed with ultraviolet light exhibit reduced increase in temperature and treatment with dinitrophenol increases heat detected.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Infrared thermography detects bacterial growth without the need for specialised temperature control facilities. The method is statistically robust and can be undertaken in situ, thus is highly versatile. These data support the application of infrared thermography in a laboratory, clinical and industrial setting for vegetative bacteria, thus may become into an important methodology for the timely and straightforward detection of early-stage bacterial growth.

PMID:34260801 | DOI:10.1111/jam.15218