ventilation and prone positioning may be effective, but supporting studies have significant limitations.Vitamin C is a novel treatment currently under investigation in the management of sepsis. Adverse renal effects of vitamin C through hyperoxaluria have been described in the past.
  We report the case of a 63-year-old man admitted in a community-based hospital with a diagnosis of sepsis of pulmonary origin.
 
  On day 19, despite a having developed oligoanuric acute kidney injury, a regimen of IV vitamin C, hydrocortisone, and thiamine was undertaken for 4 days. On day 23, the patient required renal replacement therapy with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 7 mL/min. Renal biopsy revealed extensive acute tubular necrosis associated with the presence of intratubular crystal of calcium oxalate.
 
  Although vitamin C seems to be a possible therapeutic asset in the supportive care of sepsis patients, larger cohorts are required to ensure its safety and underlying or novel kidney injury should forewarn clinicians as to its use.
 Although vitamin C seems to be a possible therapeutic asset in the supportive care of sepsis patients, larger cohorts are required to ensure its safety and underlying or novel kidney injury should forewarn clinicians as to its use.Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation that may enhance mental and physical performance in sports, representing a potential new form of doping ("brain doping" or "electromagnetic doping"). This study aims to identify diagnostic biomarkers for detecting the possible abuse of tDCS in sport. Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and other neurotrophins (NT, such as beta nerve growth factor, NGF) were pre-selected as potential candidates since their serum values have been observed to change following tDCS. Neurotrophins were measured using ELISA assays in 92 serum samples collected from elite athletes, classified by sex (males = 74; females = 18), age (range 17-25 n = 27, 26-35 n = 36, and over 35 n = 14; age not known n = 15), type of sports practiced (endurance n = 74; power n = 18), and type of sample collection ("in competition" n = 24; "out of competition" n = 68). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs6265, rs11030099, and rs11030100) were genotyped on 88 samples sed on the longitudinal monitoring of individual data, for the future detection of "brain doping" in sports.Bacterial biofilms are a major cause of delayed wound healing. Consequently, the study of wound biofilms, particularly in host-relevant conditions, has gained importance. Most in vitro studies employ refined laboratory media to study biofilms, representing conditions that are not relevant to the infection state. To mimic the wound milieu, in vitro biofilm studies often incorporate serum or plasma in growth conditions, or employ clot or matrix-based biofilm models. While incorporating serum or plasma alone is a minimalistic approach, the more complex in vitro wound models are technically demanding, and poorly compatible with standard biofilm assays. Based on previous reports of clinical wound fluid composition, we have developed an in vitro wound milieu (IVWM) that includes, in addition to serum (to recapitulate wound fluid), matrix elements and biochemical factors. With Luria-Bertani broth and Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) for comparison, the IVWM was used to study planktonic growth, biofilm features, and interspecies interactions, of common wound pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We demonstrate that the IVWM recapitulates widely reported in vivo biofilm features such as biomass formation, metabolic activity, increased antibiotic tolerance, 3D structure, and interspecies interactions for monospecies and mixed-species biofilms. Further, the IVWM is simple to formulate, uses laboratory-grade components, and is compatible with standard biofilm assays. Given this, it holds potential as a tractable approach to study wound biofilms under host-relevant conditions.
  Barriers to removal of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) threaten reproductive self-determination, but their influence on contraceptive behaviors is not well understood. We describe perspectives of women in Western Kenya concerning LARC removal barriers.
 
  We used a qualitative descriptive approach with conventional content analysis to analyze transcripts for content and themes from eight focus group discussions (
  =55 participants) and one client journey mapping workshop (
  =9 participants) with women ages 18-49 in Western Kenya who were currently using or had formerly used contraceptives.
 
  Our primary themes concerned women's experience of LARC removal barriers and the impact on their behaviors and attitudes towards contraception. Women described providers being unwilling to remove LARC, regardless of rationale (including expiration, seeking pregnancy, or experiencing intolerable side effects) or demanding unaffordable fees. Women were reluctant to try LARC for fear of having to use the method for its entire lifespan even if they did not like it.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/GDC-0449.html  Women saw LARC removal barriers as increasing their risk of unintended pregnancy through non-replacement of expired devices and fostering distrust in the health system.
 
  Barriers to LARC removal may discourage utilization of LARC and contraceptive services generally, which can undermine women's efforts to achieve reproductive self-determination.
 
  Our findings affirm the importance of timely LARC removal to ensure that family planning programs uphold women's reproductive autonomy.
 Our findings affirm the importance of timely LARC removal to ensure that family planning programs uphold women's reproductive autonomy.The experimental vaccine for bovine malignant catarrhal fever consists of viable attenuated alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1) derived by extensive culture passage, combined with an oil-in-water adjuvant, delivered intramuscularly. This immunisation strategy was over 80% effective in previous experimental and field trials and protection appeared to be associated with induction of virus-neutralising antibodies. Whether the vaccine virus is required to be viable at the point of immunisation and whether adjuvant is required to induce the appropriate immune responses remains unclear. To address these issues two studies were performed, firstly to analyse immune responses in the presence and absence of adjuvant and secondly, to investigate immune responses to vaccines containing adjuvant plus viable or inactivated AlHV-1. The first study showed that viable attenuated AlHV-1 in the absence of adjuvant induced virus-specific antibodies but the titres of virus-neutralising antibodies were significantly lower than those induced by vaccine containing viable virus and adjuvant, suggesting adjuvant was required for optimal responses.