Methods in molecular biology
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Case Reports
Clinical diagnosis of sepsis and the combined use of biomarkers and culture- and non-culture-based assays.
Sepsis is among the most common causes of death in hospitalized patients, and early recognition followed by immediate initiation of therapy is an important concept to improve survival in these patients. According to the definition of sepsis, diagnosis of sepsis requires the recognition of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) caused by infection as well as recognition of possible infection-related organ dysfunctions for diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock. Both SIRS and organ dysfunctions may occur frequently in hospitalized patients for various reasons. ⋯ PCR-based pathogen detection can theoretically shorten the recognition of the underlying pathogen to about 8 h. However, this technique is expensive and requires additional staff in the laboratory; controlled prospective studies are missing. Although current studies suggest that PCR-based pathogen detection may be useful to shorten time to adequate antimicrobial therapy and diagnose invasive Candida infections, no general recommendations about the application of PCR for the diagnosis of sepsis can be given.
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The growth and development of plants during spaceflight have important implications for both basic and applied research supported by NASA and other international space agencies. While there have been many reviews of plant space biology, the present chapter attempts to fill a gap in the literature on the actual process and methods of performing plant research in the spaceflight environment. The author has been a principal investigator on six spaceflight projects and has another two space experiments in development. ⋯ Additional issues considered are working at NASA centers, hardware development, safety concerns, and the engineering versus science culture in space agencies. The difficulties of publishing the results from spaceflight research based on such factors as the lack of controls, limited sample size, and the indirect effects of the spaceflight environment also are summarized. Finally, lessons learned from these spaceflight experiences are discussed in the context of improvements for future space-based research projects with plants.
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Clinical epidemiology is the science of human disease investigation with a focus on diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The generation of a reasonable question requires definition of patients, interventions, controls, and outcomes. ⋯ The hierarchy of evidence for clinical decision-making places randomized controlled trials (RCT) or systematic review of good quality RCTs at the top of the evidence pyramid. Prognostic and etiologic questions are best addressed with longitudinal cohort studies.
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Simulated microgravity and partial gravity research on Earth is highly convenient for every space biology researcher due to limitations of access to spaceflight. However, the use of ground-based facilities for microgravity simulation is far from simple. ⋯ Furthermore, ground-based facilities are also capable of generating hypergravity or fractional gravity conditions, which are worth being tested and compared with the results of microgravity exposure. Multiple technologies (2D clinorotation, random positioning machines, magnetic levitators or centrifuges), experimental hardware (proper use of containers and substrates for the seedlings or cell cultures), and experimental requirements (some life support/environmental parameters are more difficult to provide in certain facilities) should be collectively considered in defining the optimal experimental design that will allow us to anticipate, modify, or redefine the findings provided by the scarce spaceflight opportunities that have been (and will be) available.
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Pain assessment in animal models of osteoarthritis is integral to interpretation of a model's utility in representing the clinical condition, and enabling accurate translational medicine. Here we describe two methods for behavioral pain assessments available for use in animal models of experimental osteoarthritic pain: Von Frey filaments and spontaneous activity monitoring.