The Second Wave of COVID-19: Clinical Pharmacy Services During a Field Hospital Operation

The second wave of COVID-19 emerged in the late fall months in the state of Massachusetts and inadvertently caused a rise in the number of cases requiring hospitalization. With a field hospital previously opened in central Massachusetts during the Spring of 2020, the governor decided to reimplement the field hospital. Although operations were effectively accomplished during the first wave, the reimplementation of the field hospital came with its new set of challenges for operating a satellite pharmacy. Experiences gathered include new pharmacy operation workflows, the clinical role of pharmacy services, introduction of remdesivir treatment, and pharmacy involvement in newly diagnosed diabetes patients requiring insulin teaching. Pharmacy services were successful in adapting to the rapidly growing number in patients with a total of over 600 patients served in a course of 2 months.     

输尿管硬镜在尿路疾病治疗中的应用

目的:探讨输尿管硬镜在尿路疾病治疗中的应用效果。方法:对1000例尿路结石、输尿管及尿道狭窄、输尿管息肉、梗阻、异物存留等患者,均以输尿管硬镜配合其他设备进行治疗。结果:肾内结石34例治愈率76.5%,输尿管结石、膀胱及尿道结石治愈率为94.5%～99.8%;泌尿道狭窄治愈率66.7%～75%;33例泌尿道异物取出率97%。结论:基层医院在尿路疾病治疗中,根据病变的不同部位,将输尿管硬镜灵活配合现有并不高档的设备,同样可以取得较好的微创手术效果。     

放疗联合西妥昔单抗治疗局部中晚期头颈部肿瘤：五年生存期及疗效分析

2006年NEngl J Med报道了一项初始放疗联合西妥昔单抗治疗头颈部局部中晚期鳞状上皮细胞癌（LASCCHN）Ⅲ期随机试验,结果显示患者3年总生存率提高。最近Lancet发表了该试验的5年生存数据,以及西妥昔单抗所致皮疹与生存期的相关性分析。     

Theatre of paediatric surgery

In the 50 years since the first edition of this journal, operative paediatric surgery has undergone radical change. Many of the most common instruments are unchanged, both as a testament to their utility and in recognition of past surgeons remembered eponymously. Surrounding that basic core of instruments, theatre has changed radically as new tools and techniques have arisen. Surgeons have come down from their pedestals, recognising surgery as a team sport rather than a solo performance. More than half of the current paediatric surgical trainees are women, a higher proportion than in any other craft group of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. The appearance, and rapid development, of laparoscopy is to many observers the most notable change in surgery over the last 50 years. Placed in its context though, it is simply the most prominent example of a frameshift in surgical thinking. The patient as a whole is now the focus, rather than just the disease. Recent developments are as much about minimising harm to normal tissues as they are about extirpating pathology. As a surgical maxim, ‘Primum non nocere’ is even more in evidence in 2015 than it was in 1965.     

Research on severe maternal morbidities and near-misses in Brazil: what we have learned

The occurrence of complications during pregnancy depends less on the degree of human development than differences in the way complications in pregnancy are detected and managed. It is the quick diagnosis and correct management that really contribute to the enormous differences in maternal mortality ratios between countries and regions. Understanding of the determinants of maternal mortality may be improved by studying cases of severe maternal morbidity. In this paper, various approaches to the concept of severe maternal morbidity and near-misses are discussed, and the relationship between these and maternal deaths. Although no consensus has been reached on a strict definition of near-miss or severe maternal morbidity, we show that the definitions used may be tailored to support diverse objectives, including monitoring progress, epidemiological surveillance and auditing of health care. We conclude that the versatility of the concept, the greater frequency of cases available for study and the possibility of interviewing the survivors of severe complications all support the value of studying severe maternal morbidity to help guide local efforts to reduce maternal mortality. Although this may almost be a reality in developed countries, it continues to represent an important and difficult challenge to overcome in places where its benefits would be most evident.     

One Health surveillance of West Nile and Usutu viruses: a repeated cross-sectional study exploring seroprevalence and endemicity in Southern France, 2016 to 2020

BackgroundWest Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV), two closely related flaviviruses, mainly follow an enzootic cycle involving mosquitoes and birds, but also infect humans and other mammals. Since 2010, their epidemiological situation may have shifted from irregular epidemics to endemicity in several European regions; this requires confirmation, as it could have implications for risk assessment and surveillance strategies.AimTo explore the seroprevalence in animals and humans and potential endemicity of WNV and USUV in Southern France, given a long history of WNV outbreaks and the only severe human USUV case in France in this region.MethodsWe evaluated the prevalence of WNV and USUV in a repeated cross-sectional study by serological and molecular analyses of human, dog, horse, bird and mosquito samples in the Camargue area, including the city of Montpellier, between 2016 and 2020.ResultsWe observed the active transmission of both viruses and higher USUV prevalence in humans, dogs, birds and mosquitoes, while WNV prevalence was higher in horses. In 500 human samples, 15 were positive for USUV and 6 for WNV. Genetic data showed that the same lineages, WNV lineage 1a and USUV lineage Africa 3, were found in mosquitoes in 2015, 2018 and 2020.ConclusionThese findings support existing literature suggesting endemisation in the study region and contribute to a better understanding of USUV and WNV circulation in Southern France. Our study underlines the importance of a One Health approach for the surveillance of these viruses.     

XPS Study on Calcining Mixtures of Brucite with Titania

In this work, we studied the phases in a Mg-Ti-O system using a 1:1 formulation of MgO:TiO₂, mixing synthetic brucite of Mexican origin with TiO₂ microparticles of high purity, with a heat treatment at 1100 °C for 1 h. Due to its valence electrons, TiO₂ can contribute to the sintering process to improve density in MgO products. The raw materials and formulation by XPS and X-RD techniques were characterized. The results demonstrate the presence of different oxidation states in titania and the formation of different oxides in the Mg-Ti-O system when mixed and calcined at 1100 °C; additionally, we estimated the formation of vacancies in the crystal lattice during the transformation from hexagonal brucite to magnesia with a cubic structure centered on the faces. Its thermal behavior is indicated by the MgO-TiO₂ phase diagram.