High Glucose Induces Oxidative Stress That Alters Glycocalyx Proteoglycan Levels in Primary Rat Retinal Microvascular Endothelial Cells and in Isolated Ophthalmic Arteries.

Our purpose in this study was to identify the role played by oxidative stress in the changes to proteoglycans that occur under hyperglycemic conditions, using primary rat retinal microvascular endothelial cells (RRMEC) and cultured ophthalmic arteries. The cells and blood vessels obtained from rats were cultured in normal glucose (5.6 mM) and high glucose (25 mM) with or without N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant. Intracellular oxidative stress was determined by measuring dihydroethidium (DHE) fluorescence and malondialdehyde (MDA)-modified protein levels. mRNA and protein levels were evaluated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunoblot, respectively. High glucose increased levels of glypican-1 mRNA and protein. The level of syndecan-1 mRNA also was increased, but its protein level was decreased, by high glucose. Evaluation of DHE and MDA showed that high glucose increased oxidative stress. These changes caused by high glucose were significantly reversed by NAC treatment. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) levels, which increased under high glucose conditions, were suppressed by NAC treatment. Oxidative stress caused by hyperglycemia may be responsible for significant changes to the ocular endothelial glycocalyx.

Incidence and Risks of HIV Infection, Medication Options, and Adverse Effects in Accidental Needle Stick Injuries: A Narrative Review.

Accidental needle sticks can lead to infections, including HIV. As scientists have learned more about HIV and its replicative physiology, identification of target sites and novel medications have been developed. HIV is spread throughout the population through contact with blood, semen, and rectal or vaginal secretions of infected individuals. Therefore, it is important in general for healthcare workers to be aware of its transmission modes and ways to minimize exposure. In this regard, even with hospitals providing education, training, and safety protocols, there is a continued infection spread with HIV, especially by accidental needle sticks. There is also a wide variety of testing that can be used for HIV utilizing different methodologies, allowing for improved measurement of infection status. Any person with HIV should be tested to clarify infection status and be educated to minimize future virus spread. The current CDC recommendations for HIV infection treatment are antiretroviral therapies, such as an HIV postexposure prophylaxis regimen, which consists of a cocktail of antiretrovirals and postexposure prophylaxis immediately for occupational exposures, such as accidental needlestick exposure from an HIV infected patient. To decrease accidental HIV stick injuries, there are safety precautions in place, that if followed, would help reduce this incidence. HIV accidental needle stick injuries still happen in the hospital workplace, but with proper education and treatment, if exposed, there is hope to minimize the effects.

Chronic heart failure in patients undergoing major head and neck surgery: A hospital-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of chronic heart failure on various post-operative outcomes in head and neck cancer patients undergoing major cancer surgery. STUDY DESIGN: For this retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing major head and neck cancer surgery, a sample of 10,002 patients between 2017 and 2019 were identified through the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. SETTING: Patients were selected as undergoing major head and neck cancer surgery, defined as laryngectomy, pharyngectomy, glossectomy, neck dissection, mandibulectomy, and maxillectomy, then separated based on pre-surgical diagnosis of chronic heart failure. METHODS: The effects of pre-operative chronic heart failure on post-surgical outcomes in these patients were investigated by univariable and multivariable logistic regression using ICD-10 codes and SPSS. RESULTS: A diagnosis of chronic heart failure was observed in 265 patients (2.6 %). Patients with chronic heart failure had more preexisting comorbidities when compared to patients without chronic heart failure (mean ± SD; 4 ± 1 vs. 2 ± 1). Multivariable logistic regression showed that chronic heart failure patients had significantly greater odds of dying during hospitalization (OR 2.86, 95 % CI 1.38-5.91) and experiencing non-routine discharge from admission (OR 1.89, 95 % CI 1.41-2.54) after undergoing major head and neck cancer surgery. CONCLUSION: Chronic heart failure is associated with greater length of stay and hospital charges among head and neck cancer patients undergoing major head and neck cancer surgeries. Chronic heart failure patients have significantly greater rates of unfavorable post-operative outcomes, including death during hospitalization and non-routine discharge from admission.

Model Free Localization with Deep Neural Architectures by Means of an Underwater WSN.

In recent years, there has been a significant effort towards developing localization systems in the underwater medium, with current methods relying on anchor nodes, explicitly modeling the underwater channel or cooperation from the target. Lately, there has also been some work on using the approximation capabilities of Deep Neural Networks in order to address this problem. In this work, we study how the localization precision of using Deep Neural Networks is affected by the variability of the channel, the noise level at the receiver, the number of neurons of the neural network and the utilization of the power or the covariance of the received acoustic signals. Our study shows that using deep neural networks is a valid approach when the channel variability is low, which opens the door to further research in such localization methods for the underwater environment.