Sodium-based osmotherapy for hyponatremia in acute decompensated heart failure

Heart Failure Reviews - Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) accounts for more than 1 million hospital admissions annually and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Decongestion with...     

Surface and thermal properties of synthesized cationic poly(ethylene oxide) gemini surfactants: the role of the spacer

The solubility and heat stability of surfactants are the prerequisites for their oilfield applications. Most commercial surfactants undergo hydrolysis at high temperature and prolonged heating at 40 °C or above leads to decomposition. In this report, three cationic poly(ethylene oxide) gemini surfactants (GSs) containing flexible and rigid spacers were synthesized for oilfield applications. The chemical structures of the GSs were elucidated with the aid of ¹³C NMR, ¹H NMR, FT-IR, and MALDI-TOF MS. The GSs exhibit pronounced solubility in deionized water, seawater, and formation brine and no cloudiness, phase separation, or precipitation were detected after keeping GS solutions in an oven at 90 °C for three weeks. According to thermal gravimetric analysis, the degradation temperature of all the GSs was above 240 °C, which is higher than the existing oilfield temperature (≥90 °C). The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the synthesized GSs decreases upon increasing the temperature. Additionally, CMC values were observed to increase even further with increasing salinity. The low CMC values of gemini surfactants containing a flexible structure indicate that they create a more closely packed micelle structure compared with gemini surfactants with a rigid structure. The distinct surface and thermal features of the synthesized GSs reveal them to be appropriate materials for high salinity and elevated temperature reservoirs.

Synthesis of new cationic poly(ethylene oxide) gemini surfactants containing flexible and rigid spacer groups to tolerate harsh reservoir condition.     

Heavy metals transported through a multi-trophic food chain influence the energy metabolism and immune responses of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri

Ecotoxicology - Contamination of environment with heavy metals is increasingly becoming an issue of major concern across the globe. Heavy metals are highly toxic to humans as well as other...     

The influence of peripheral arterial disease on outcomes: a pooled analysis of mortality in eight large randomized percutaneous coronary intervention trials.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes among peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of patients with coronary artery disease undergoing PCI have concomitant PAD, which may be associated with worse outcomes. METHODS: We performed a pooled analysis of 8 randomized PCI trials. We included multicenter PCI trials that compared antiplatelet therapies (EPIC, EPILOG, EPISTENT, RAPPORT, CAPTURE, IMPACT-II, TARGET, and CREDO) and had baseline PAD status recorded. Multivariable analyses were performed with stepwise logistic regression for 7- and 30-day outcomes and Cox regression for 6-month and 1-year events. RESULTS: In our pooled analysis of 19,867 patients undergoing PCI, 1,602 (8.1%) were previously diagnosed with PAD. Patients with PAD had higher incidences of 7-day death (1.0% vs. 0.4%; p < 0.001) or myocardial infarction (MI) (6.8% vs. 5.6%; p = 0.047), 30-day death (1.7% vs. 0.7%; p < 0.001) or MI (7.4% vs. 6.1%; p = 0.05), 6-month death (4.2% vs. 1.5%; p < 0.001) or MI (9.1%, vs. 7.7%; p = 0.048), and 1-year death (5.0% vs. 2.1%; p < 0.001). There was a trend toward higher major bleeding risk with PAD (4.8% vs. 3.9%; p = 0.06). With multivariable analyses, PAD remains a significant predictor of mortality at 30 days (hazard ratio [HR] 1.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03 to 2.70; p = 0.039), 6 months (HR 1.76, 95% CI 1.31 to 2.37; p < 0.001), and 1 year (HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.96; p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of PAD is associated with higher rates of post-PCI death and MI, and is an independent predictor of short- and long-term mortality.     

Correlation between the percentages of myeloblasts in bone marrow obtained by flow cytometry and manual counting on glass slide smears in 74 hematologic patients

To investigate reliability of calculating percentage of myeloblasts by flow cytometric method, data were obtained from 74 hematologic patients (76 paired data). Myeloblast counts obtained by manual count versus flow cytometry were compared. Our data show that the percentage of myeloblasts in the bone marrow obtained with flow cytometric method correlates well with manual count (correlation coefficient is 0.9912). A very high correlation coefficient means that reliable percentage of myeloblasts in the bone marrow can be obtained by either method alone. Flow cytometry is a useful adjunct (or quality control) to validate manual myeloblast count and vice versa.     

Multifocal osseous tuberculosis involving hand and feet

A rare case of multifocal cystic tuberculosis of hands and feet is presented in an adolescent female. The presence of multiple lytic areas mimicked secondary metastases and biopsy remained the mainstay for final diagnosis.