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Snider Harding posted an update 2 days, 9 hours ago
Our results show that this filter significantly reduces the amount of penetration of these particles. This will allow for healthcare workers to create a disposable added layer of protection to their surgical masks, N95s, or homemade masks by using household available products.Background Manual disinfection of medical devices is prone to failure. Disinfection by aerosolized hydrogen peroxide might be a promising adjunctive method. We aimed to assess effectiveness of dry mist of hydrogen peroxide (HPDM) on noncritical medical equipment. Methods One cycle of HPDM was applied on a convenience sample of 16 different types of “ready to use” noncritical medical devices in a closed, but nonsealed room. Of every object, 2 adjacent areas with assumed similar bacterial burden were swabbed before and after HPDM deployment, respectively. After culturing, colony forming units (CFU) were counted, and bacterial burden per cm2 calculated. Results Of 160 objects included in the study, 36 (23%) showed a CFU-count of zero both before and after HPDM use. A decrease from a median of 0.14 CFU/cm2 (range 0.00-125.00/cm2) to a median of 0.00 CFU/cm2 (range 0.00-4.00/cm2) (P less then .001) was observed. The bacterial burden was reduced by more than 90% in 45% (95% CI 37-53) of objects. No pathogenic bacteria were identified. Discussion HPDM reduced bacterial burden on noncritical medical items. Since cleanliness of the included “ready to use” objects was high and no pathogens were found before nebulization, the HPDM device did not increase patient safety in this setting. Conclusion HPDM nebulization can be a useful nonmanual adjunctive disinfection method in high-risk settings.When two objects are presented in alternation at two locations, they are seen as a single object moving from one location to the other. This apparent motion (AM) percept is experienced for objects located at short and also at long distances. However, current models cannot explain how the brain integrates information over large distances to create such long-range AM. This study investigates the neural markers of AM by parcelling out the contribution of spatial and temporal interactions not specific to motion. In two experiments, participants’ EEG was recorded while they viewed two stimuli inducing AM. Different combinations of these stimuli were also shown in a static context to predict an AM neural response where no motion is perceived. We compared the goodness of fit between these different predictions and found consistent results in both experiments. At short-range, the addition of the inhibitory spatial and temporal interactions not specific to motion improved the AM prediction. However, there was no indication that spatial or temporal non-linear interactions were present at long-range. This suggests that short- and long-range AM rely on different neural mechanisms. Importantly, our results also show that at both short- and long-range, responses generated by a moving stimulus could be well predicted from conditions in which no motion is perceived. That is, the EEG response to a moving stimulus is simply a combination of individual responses to non-moving stimuli. This demonstrates a dissociation between the brain response and the subjective percept of motion.As the population ages, the incidence of age-related neurological diseases and cognitive decline increases. To further understand disease-related changes in brain function it is advantageous to examine brain activity changes in healthy aging rodent models to permit mechanistic investigation. Here, we examine the suitability, in rodents, of using a novel, minimally invasive anaesthesia protocol in combination with a functional MRI protocol to assess alterations in neuronal activity due to physiological aging. 11 Wistar Han female rats were studied at 7, 9, 12, 15 and 18 months of age. Under an intravenous infusion of propofol, animals underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) with forepaw stimulation to quantify neurotransmitter activity, and resting cerebral blood flow (CBF) quantification using arterial spin labelling (ASL) to study changes in neurovascular coupling over time. Animals showed a significant decrease in size of the active region with age (P less then 0.05). fMRS results showed a significant decrease in glutamate change with stimulation (ΔGlu) with age (P less then 0.05), and ΔGlu became negative from 12 months onwards. Global CBF remained constant for the duration of the study. PTC-028 ic50 This study shows age related changes in the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response in rodents that correlate with those seen in humans. The results also suggest that a reduction in synaptic glutamate turnover with age may underlie the reduction in the BOLD response, while CBF is preserved.Objective Comparison of the efficacy and safety of endovascular and endoscopic interventions on the gonadal vein in the treatment of patients with pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS). Materials and methods We evaluated the treatment outcomes in 95 patients with PCS who underwent endovascular embolization of gonadal veins (EEGV) (group 1, n=67) or endoscopic resection of the gonadal veins (ERGV) (group 2; n=28). A comparative analysis of the efficacy and safety of EEGV and ERGV in the treatment of PCS included assessments of their effects on the pelvic venous pain (PVP), pelvic venous reflux, diameter of the pelvic veins, and restoration of daily activity, as well as treatment safety assessment. Clinical examinations and ultrasound studies of the pelvic veins were repeated at 1, 10 and 30 days, and 36 months after EEGV and ERGV. Pain was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Von Korff questionnaire. Results Pelvic venous pain. The reduction in the PVP intensity was observed at 3.6±1.4 days after EEthen 0.05). The relative risk (RR) of this complication after EEGV was 1.4 (95% CI 1.146 – 1.732). In 2 (7.1%) patients after the bilateral laparoscopic resection of the gonadal veins, ileus was developed. No complications of anesthesia were observed in either group. Conclusion Endovascular and endoscopic techniques for reducing blood flow through the gonadal veins are effective and safe in treating the PCS. The obvious advantages of EEGV are minimal injury and possibility to perform procedure under local anesthesia. The ERGV is associated with at least similar and, in some cases, even superior outcomes, in the terms of significantly (P less then 0.05) shorter time to the postprocedural pain relief and avoiding PES.