Background The effects of 7 weeks plyometric training on a stable surface and on sand were compared in junior male handball players. Methods A team of experienced players was divided randomly between three groups, undertaking a standard in-season regimen (C, n = 10), or supplementing this regimen by plyometric training on sand (PS, n = 11) or a stable surface (P, n = 10) for 7 weeks. Assessments included 20 m sprint times, change of direction tests (Modified change-of-direction T-test and Modified Illinois test), a repeated sprint T-test, jumping ability (squat, countermovement and five jump tests), and static and dynamic balance. Results After the intervention, PS showed significant increases of sprint speed relative to P and C. Change of direction scores were also improved for PS relative to P and C. Both PS and P increased vertical jump performance (squat jump, p = 0.005; ES = 0.170; counter-movement jump p  P). Conclusions We conclude that for reasons that remain to be clarified, several performance measures in adolescent male handball players were increased more by 7 weeks of PS than by P. © The Author(s) 2020.Background Leptospirosis is a potentially fatal zoonosis. It can cause a wide range of symptoms, including diffuse alveolar haemorrhage which occurs in a minority of cases but carries a mortality of over 70%. These patients may present with severe acute respiratory failure. The differential diagnosis for diffuse alveolar haemorrhage is broad whereas prompt diagnosis and treatment can be lifesaving. Case presentation A 20-year-old previously fit and well trout farm worker presented with a 3-day history of malaise, fevers, diarrhoea, vomiting and jaundice. He developed haemoptysis, severe headaches, neck stiffness and photophobia on the day of emergency admission. He was anaemic and thrombocytopenic.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/bindarit.html  Anuric acute kidney injury (urea 32, creat 507) required immediate haemofiltration. In view of progressive respiratory failure with four-quadrant lung infiltrates on imaging, he was given broad spectrum antibiotics and pulsed methylprednisolone empirically, in case of a vasculitic pulmonary-renal presentation. He ws. However, resulting acute severe respiratory failure can ensue. In this situation, early consideration for respiratory ECMO support offers time for clearance of endobronchial clot, parenchymal recovery, and prevention of ventilator-induced lung injury. Steroids have no clear evidence but may be used to avoid delay in treating suspected vasculitic or autoimmune causes of diffuse alveolar haemorrhage. © The Author(s) 2020.Background Candidemia is one of the most life-threatening infections among critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. However, the number of studies on the impact of host- and early treatment-related factors on mortality in this cohort is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between clinically relevant factors, including early treatment (appropriate antifungal therapy and/or central venous catheter removal) and mortality in intensive care unit patients with candidemia. Methods We performed a retrospective observational study in two Japanese University hospitals between January 2007 and December 2016. Adult intensive care unit patients with candidemia who met the following inclusion criteria (1) ≥ 18 years old; (2) admitted in intensive care unit at the time of onset; and (3) central venous catheter in situ at the time of onset were included. We performed univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with 30-day crude mortality. Ridemia onset. Early empiric antifungal therapy and/or early CVC removal conferred no significant clinical benefit on survival in this patient population. © The Author(s) 2020.Three-dimensional (3D) nano-printing of freeform optical waveguides, also referred to as photonic wire bonding, allows for efficient coupling between photonic chips and can greatly simplify optical system assembly. As a key advantage, the shape and the trajectory of photonic wire bonds can be adapted to the mode-field profiles and the positions of the chips, thereby offering an attractive alternative to conventional optical assembly techniques that rely on technically complex and costly high-precision alignment. However, while the fundamental advantages of the photonic wire bonding concept have been shown in proof-of-concept experiments, it has so far been unclear whether the technique can also be leveraged for practically relevant use cases with stringent reproducibility and reliability requirements. In this paper, we demonstrate optical communication engines that rely on photonic wire bonding for connecting arrays of silicon photonic modulators to InP lasers and single-mode fibres. In a first experiment, we show an eight-channel transmitter offering an aggregate line rate of 448 Gbit/s by low-complexity intensity modulation. A second experiment is dedicated to a four-channel coherent transmitter, operating at a net data rate of 732.7 Gbit/s - a record for coherent silicon photonic transmitters with co-packaged lasers. Using dedicated test chips, we further demonstrate automated mass production of photonic wire bonds with insertion losses of (0.7 ± 0.15) dB, and we show their resilience in environmental-stability tests and at high optical power. These results might form the basis for simplified assembly of advanced photonic multi-chip systems that combine the distinct advantages of different integration platforms. © The Author(s) 2020.Visible light communication (VLC) is a wireless technology that relies on optical intensity modulation and is potentially a game changer for internet-of-things (IoT) connectivity. However, VLC is hindered by the low penetration depth of visible light in non-transparent media. One solution is to extend operation into the "nearly (in)visible" near-infrared (NIR, 700-1000 nm) region, thus also enabling VLC in photonic bio-applications, considering the biological tissue NIR semitransparency, while conveniently retaining vestigial red emission to help check the link operativity by simple eye inspection. Here, we report new far-red/NIR organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with a 650-800 nm emission range and external quantum efficiencies among the highest reported in this spectral range (>2.7%, with maximum radiance and luminance of 3.5 mW/cm2 and 260 cd/m2, respectively). With these OLEDs, we then demonstrate a "real-time" VLC setup achieving a data rate of 2.2 Mb/s, which satisfies the requirements for IoT and biosensing applications.