Thromboelastography (TEG) provides a more comprehensive global coagulation assessment than routine tests (international normalized ratio [INR] and platelet [PLT] count), and its use may avoid unnecessary blood component transfusion in patients with advanced cirrhosis and significant coagulopathy who have nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. A total of 96 patients with significant coagulopathy (defined in this study as INR >1.8 and/or PLT count < 50 × 109/L) and nonvariceal upper GI bleed (diagnosed after doing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, which showed ongoing bleed from a nonvariceal source) were randomly allocated to TEG‐guided transfusion strategy (TEG group; n = 49) or standard‐of‐care (SOC) group (n = 47). In the TEG group, only 26.5% patients were transfused with all three blood components (fresh frozen plasma [FFP], PLTs, and cryoprecipitate) versus 87.2% in the SOC group (P < 0.001). Although 7 (14.3%) patients in the TEG group received no blood component transfusion, there were no such patients in the SOC group (P = 0.012). Also, there was a significantly lower use of blood components (FFP, PLTs, and cryoprecipitate) in the TEG group compared with the SOC group. Failure to control bleed, failure to prevent rebleeds, and mortality between the two groups were similar. Conclusion: In patients with advanced cirrhosis with coagulopathy and nonvariceal upper GI bleeding, TEG‐guided transfusion strategy leads to a significantly lower use of blood components compared with SOC (transfusion guided by INR and PLT count), without an increase in failure to control bleed, failure to prevent rebleed, and mortality.
FilmArray Meningitis/Encephalitis (ME) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panel was tested on 62 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from young infants (0-3 months) with suspected meningitis and compared with CSF cultures. Twelve CSF samples from 9 infants were positive by ME PCR panel (10 Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and 2 Escherichia coli) of which only 5 were positive by culture. The 7 CSF samples that were positive only by ME PCR panel were obtained from infants who had received prior antibiotic treatment. The ME PCR panel can be a useful tool in the rapid diagnosis of bacterial meningitis in pretreated young infants.
Rapid industrialization, economic development, and population overgrowth are the major reasons responsible for the release of organic and inorganic substances into the environment, further leading to environmental pollution and contamination of water. Nowadays, it is truism that wastewater treatment has raised concern worldwide and is the need of the hour. Therefore, it is necessary to conserve sustainable energy and adopt advanced wastewater treatment technologies. Microalgae culture is gaining tremendous attention as it provides a combined benefit of treating wastewater as a growth medium and algae biomass production which can be used for several livestock purposes. Microalgae are ubiquitous and extremely diverse microorganisms which can accumulate toxic contaminants and heavy metals from wastewater, making them superior contender to become a powerful nanofactory. Furthermore, they are versatile, relatively convenient, and easy to handle, along with various other advantages such as synthesis can be performed at low temperature with greater energy efficiency, less toxicity, and low risk to the environment. Comparing with other organisms such as fungi, yeast, and bacteria, microalgae are equally important organisms in the synthesis of nanoparticles; therefore, the study of algae-mediated biosynthesis of nanometals can be taken towards a newer branch and it has been termed as phytonanotechnology. Here, an overview of recent advances in wastewater treatment processes through an amalgamation of nanoparticles and microalgae is provided.
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