Hemodialysis catheter outcomes pilot study: no dressing coverage with prescribed showering.

This six-month prospective, multi-site study incorporated no dressing coverage over hemodialysis central venous catheter exit sites and compared the outcomes of two groups of patients receiving incenter hemodialysis: a shower group and a non-shower group. Outcomes included exit site infection rates, tunnel infection rates, and catheter-related bloodstream infection rates. The study enrolled 40 patients--31 patients in the shower group and nine patients in the non-shower group. The study was initially designed as a randomized controlled study, but after a month of enrolling patients, most patients insisted on being in the shower group. Results for both groups demonstrated infection rates that were not statistically different and were below levels reported in other studies. The qualitative satisfaction in ability to shower by patients in this study was an additional important finding.

Does pausing ultrafiltration as a treatment for intradialytic hypotension cause backfiltration in hemodialysis?

Ultrafiltration is part of the hemodialysis procedure and can also be used exclusively to remove additional fluid in patients with fluid overload. Ultrafiltration that is too aggressive can result in hypotension, cramping, or other untoward effects. Temporarily pausing the ultrafiltration process is a technique used to help manage the adverse effects of rapid fluid removal. Some nurses prefer not to pause ultrafiltration because of the concern for backfiltration, and they elect to manage hypotension and cramping by normal saline infusions or other interventions. This article reviews the evidence to answer the following question submitted to the Exploring the Evidence Nephrology Nursing Journal Column: "Does pausing ultrafiltration as a treatment for intradialytic hypotension cause backfiltration"?

Localization of deformed wing virus (DWV) in the brains of the honeybee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus.

BACKGROUND: Deformed wing virus (DWV) is a positive-strand RNA virus that infects European honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) and has been isolated from the brains of aggressive bees in Japan. DWV is known to be transmitted both vertically and horizontally between bees in a colony and can lead to both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections in bees. In environmentally stressful conditions, DWV can contribute to the demise of a honeybee colony. The purpose of the current study is to identify regions within the brains of honeybees where DWV replicates using in-situ hybridization. RESULTS: In-situ hybridizations were conducted with both sense and antisense probes on the brains of honeybees that were positive for DWV as measured by real-time RT-PCR. The visual neuropils demonstrated detectable levels of the DWV positive-strand genome. The mushroom bodies and antenna lobe neuropils also showed the presence of the viral genome. Weaker staining with the sense probe in the same regions demonstrates that the antigenome is also present and that the virus is actively replicating in these regions of the brain. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that in bees infected with DWV the virus is replicating in critical regions of the brain, including the neuropils responsible for vision and olfaction. Therefore DWV infection of the brain could adversely affect critical sensory functions and alter normal bee behavior.

A new cryptically dioecious species of bush tomato (Solanum) from the Northern Territory, Australia.

A new species of dioecious Solanum from the Australian "Dioicum Complex" of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum is described. Solanum cowiei Martine sp. nov., is allied with other members of this problematic lineage, but differs in its slender leaves, limited armature and diminutive habit. The species was first segregated by botanists at the Northern Territory Herbarium as Solanum sp. Litchfield (I.D. Cowie 1428); and specimens representing this species have also been referred to by Symon as Solanum sp. Fitzmaurice River. Collections suggest that this is an endemic of the sub-arid tropical zone of the Northern Territory. SEM images support initial assumptions that the new species is cryptically dioecious via production of inaperturate pollen grains in morphologically hermaphrodite flowers.