Haneyhsu9833

Arteriovenous (AV) fistulas for hemodialysis can lead to cardiac volume loading and increased serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. Whether short-term AV loop placement in patients undergoing microsurgery has an impact on cardiac biomarkers and circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), potentially indicating an increased hemodynamic risk, remains elusive. Fifteen patients underwent AV loop placement with delayed free flap anastomosis for microsurgical reconstructions of lower extremity soft-tissue defects. N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP), copeptin (CT-proAVP), and miRNA expression profiles were determined in the peripheral blood before and after AV loop placement. MiRNA expression in the blood was correlated with miRNA expression from AV loop vascular tissue. Epacadostat Serum NT-proBNP and copeptin levels exceeded the upper reference limit after AV loop placement, with an especially strong NT-proBNP increase in patients with preexistent cardiac diseases. A miRNA signature of 4 up-regulated (miR-3198, miR-3127-5p, miR-1305, miR-1288-3p) and 2 down-regulated miRNAs (miR30a-5p, miR-145-5p) which are related to cardiovascular physiology, showed a significant systemic deregulation in blood and venous tissue after AV loop placement. AV loop placement causes serum elevations of NT-proBNP, copeptin as well as specific circulating miRNAs, indicating a potentially increased hemodynamic risk for patients with cardiovascular comorbidities, if free flap anastomosis is delayed.Burn wounds are highly susceptible sites for colonization and infection by bacteria and fungi. Large wound surface, impaired local immunity, and broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy support growth of opportunistic fungi such as Candida albicans, which may lead to invasive candidiasis. Currently, it remains unknown whether depressed host defenses or fungal virulence drive the progression of burn wound candidiasis. Here we established an ex vivo burn wound model, where wounds were inflicted by applying preheated soldering iron to human skin explants, resulting in highly reproducible deep second-degree burn wounds. Eschar removal by debridement allowed for deeper C. albicans penetration into the burned tissue associated with prominent filamentation. Active migration of resident tissue neutrophils towards the damaged tissue and release of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β accompanied the burn. The neutrophil recruitment was further increased upon supplementation of the model with fresh immune cells. Wound area and depth decreased over time, indicating healing of the damaged tissue. Importantly, prominent neutrophil presence at the infected site correlated to the limited penetration of C. albicans into the burned tissue. Altogether, we established a reproducible burn wound model of candidiasis using ex vivo human skin explants, where immune responses actively control the progression of infection and promote tissue healing.Tuberculosis (TB) preclinical testing relies on in vivo models including the mouse aerosol challenge model. The only method of determining colony morphometrics of TB infection in a tissue in situ is two-dimensional (2D) histopathology. 2D measurements consider heterogeneity within a single observable section but not above and below, which could contain critical information. Here we describe a novel approach, using optical clearing and a novel staining procedure with confocal microscopy and mesoscopy, for three-dimensional (3D) measurement of TB infection within lesions at sub-cellular resolution over a large field of view. We show TB morphometrics can be determined within lesion pathology, and differences in infection with different strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mesoscopy combined with the novel CUBIC Acid-Fast (CAF) staining procedure enables a quantitative approach to measure TB infection and allows 3D analysis of infection, providing a framework which could be used in the analysis of TB infection in situ.Reservoir computing (RC) is a machine learning algorithm that can learn complex time series from data very rapidly based on the use of high-dimensional dynamical systems, such as random networks of neurons, called "reservoirs." To implement RC in edge computing, it is highly important to reduce the amount of computational resources that RC requires. In this study, we propose methods that reduce the size of the reservoir by inputting the past or drifting states of the reservoir to the output layer at the current time step. To elucidate the mechanism of model-size reduction, the proposed methods are analyzed based on information processing capacity proposed by Dambre et al. (Sci Rep 2514, 2012). In addition, we evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed methods on time-series prediction tasks the generalized Hénon-map and NARMA. On these tasks, we found that the proposed methods were able to reduce the size of the reservoir up to one tenth without a substantial increase in regression error.Although cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), the incidence of CMV retinitis is considered to be lower than the incidence of CMV infection in other organs following allogeneic HSCT. In this study, the incidence and characteristics of CMV retinitis were retrospectively evaluated in recipients of allogeneic HSCT. Ophthalmological screening was performed at the development of ocular symptoms or positive CMV infection using peripheral blood evaluated by pp65 antigenemia or polymerase chain reaction. Of the 514 patients, 13 patients developed CMV retinitis. The median onset of CMV retinitis was day 34 (range, 21-118) post transplant, and the cumulative incidence was 2.5% (95% CI, 1.6-4.2) at 6 months after transplantation. Five patients presented ocular symptoms at the onset. In the remaining eight asymptomatic patients, the diagnosis of CMV retinitis was made by the screening guided by positive CMV infection. All evaluable patients responded to antiviral treatment but three showed incomplete improvement with ocular sequela. Our results suggest that the incidence of CMV retinitis after allogeneic HSCT is not negligible and active ophthalmological screening based not only on symptoms but also positive CMV infection monitoring contributes to the early diagnosis of CMV retinitis.