BACKGROUND Persistent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia is associated with high mortality rates, but no treatment strategy has yet been established. We performed this study to evaluate the efficacy of linezolid with or without carbapenem in salvage treatment for persistent MRSA bacteremia. METHODS All adult patients with persistent MRSA bacteremia for 7 days from J...

Forest-based natural catastrophes are regular features of timber production in the United States, especially from hurricanes, fires, and insect and disease outbreaks. These catastrophes affect timber prices and result in economic transfers. We develop a model of timber market dynamics after such a catastrophe that shows how timber salvage affects the welfare of different market groups and quant...

Biochemical recurrence after treatment of prostate cancer occurs in 30–50 % of patients. Confirming that recurrence is localized to the pelvis is challenging as PSA is nonspecific and imaging modalities are imperfect in identifying location of recurrent disease. Salvage therapy after radical prostatectomy is limited to external beam radiotherapy and androgen-deprivation therapy. After radiothe...

Free flap success rates are in excess of 95%. Vascular occlusion (thrombosis) remains the primary reason for flap loss, with venous thrombosis being more common than arterial occlusion. The majority of flap failures occur within the first 48 hours. With early recognition and intervention of flap compromise salvage is possible. Successful salvage rates range from 28% to over 90%. Rapid re-explor...

Collective construction of topologically complex structures is one of the triumphs of social behavior. For example, many ant species construct underground nests composed of networks of tunnels and chambers. Excavation by these 'superorganisms' depends on the biomechanics of substrate manipulation, the interaction of individuals, and media stability and cohesiveness. To discover principles of ro...

BACKGROUND To investigate possible differences in neuroretinal rim distribution, vascular pattern, and peripapillary region appearance between eyes with presumed large physiological optic disc cupping (pLPC) and eyes with minimal optic disc excavation. METHODS We prospectively enrolled consecutive subjects with pLPC and individuals with minimal excavation (optic disc excavation within normal ...

Termites construct complex mounds that are orders of magnitude larger than any individual and fulfil a variety of functional roles. Yet the processes through which these mounds are built, and by which the insects organize their efforts, remain poorly understood. The traditional understanding focuses on stigmergy, a form of indirect communication in which actions that change the environment prov...

One of the challenges of field testing planetary rovers on Earth is the difference in gravity between the test and the intended operating conditions. This not only changes the weight exerted by the robot on the surface but also affects the behaviour of the granular surface itself, and unfortunatly no field test can fully address this shortcoming. This research introduces novel experimentation t...

On August 2004, the SPC-II robofish, developed by the Robotics Institute in Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, was used for aiding underwater archaeology in an experiment at the shipwreck site of Donggu gulf in Dongshan Island, Fujian Province. This experiment is not only the combination achievement of many subjects such as bionics, robotics, archaeology, oceanology, and so on,...