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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) affected daily activities since December 2019. Burn injuries to head and neck can result in cosmetic and functional deformities. The purpose of this study was to characterize patients with burns to head and neck during the pandemic. This cross-sectional study reviewed patients in Burn Care Quality Platform Registry. Patients were included if they were age 18 years of age or older, and sustained burns to head and neck. Patients were stratified according to date of injury into (1) March 13 to September 13, 2019 (i.e., before COVID-19 pandemic, BC19) or (2) March 13 to September 13, 2020. March 13, 2020 was chosen because (1) COVID-19 was announced as a national emergency on that date and (2) it was the last day of in-person schools in state of Georgia. Data collection included patient demographics, admission details, burn details, and hospital related variables were documented. During the study period, 157 patients had burn to head and neck (BC-19; 70, C-19; 71). Our data showed a 375% increase in March following the announcement of the pandemic (BC19; 4, C19;19). Admissions from another facility were statistically more than in C19 group (p= less then 0.0001). For C19 group, there were 53% more admissions from ED than BC19 (p=0.001). Additionally, in BC19 group patients presented with concomitant inhalation injuries significantly more than C19 group (p=0.04). In conclusion, the total number of burns is the same during BC and C19, however there was a significant spike in number of cases in March 2020.

Floral developmental studies are crucial for understanding the evolution of floral structures and sexual systems in angiosperms. Within the monocot order Poales, both subfamilies of Eriocaulaceae have unisexual flowers bearing unusual nectaries. Few previous studies have investigated floral development in subfamily Eriocauloideae, which includes the large, diverse and widespread genus Eriocaulon. To understand floral variation and the evolution of the androecium, gynoecium and floral nectaries of Eriocaulaceae, we analysed floral development and vasculature in Eriocaulon and compared it with that of subfamily Paepalanthoideae and the related family Xyridaceae in a phylogenetic context.

Thirteen species of Eriocaulon were studied. Developmental analysis was carried out using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and vasculature analysis was carried out using light microscopy (LM). Fresh material was also analysed using SEM with a Cryo function. Character evolution was reconstructed over well-resolved phylogeive biology and floral evolution in other groups.

Floral morphology is highly diverse in Eriocaulon, as a result of fusion, reduction or loss of perianth parts. The nectariferous carpellodes of staminate flowers originated first in the ancestor of Eriocaulaceae; petal glands and nectariferous branches of pistillate flowers originated independently in Eriocaulaceae through transfer of function. We present a hypothesis of floral evolution for the family, illustrating a shift from bisexuality to unisexuality and the evolution of nectaries in a complex monocot family that can contribute to future studies on reproductive biology and floral evolution in other groups.The incredible complexity of biological processes across temporal and spatial scales hampers defining common underlying mechanisms driving the patterns of life. However, recent advances in sequencing, big data analysis, machine learning, and molecular dynamics simulation have renewed the hope and urgency of finding potential hidden rules of life. There currently exists no framework to develop such synoptic investigations. Some efforts aim to identify unifying rules of life across hierarchical levels of time, space, and biological organization, but not all phenomena occur across all the levels of these hierarchies. see more Instead of identifying the same parameters and rules across levels, we posit that each level of a temporal and spatial scale and each level of biological organization has unique parameters and rules that may or may not predict outcomes in neighboring levels. We define this neighborhood, or the set of levels, across which a rule functions as the zone of influence. Here, we introduce the zone of influence framework and explain using three examples (Smocovitis, 1992) randomness in biology, where we use a Poisson process to describe processes from protein dynamics to DNA mutations to gene expressions, (Leroi, 2014) island biogeography, and (Gropp, 2016) animal coloration. The zone of influence framework may enable researchers to identify which levels are worth investigating for a particular phenomenon and reframe the narrative of searching for a unifying rule of life to the investigation of how, when, and where various rules of life operate.

To investigate the role of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in dermatomyositis (DM)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD).

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with DM-ILD who underwent bronchoscopy between October 2015 and September 2019. We then collated clinical features, laboratory data, and bronchoscopy findings. The follow-up study was terminated on the 1st May 2020.

A total of 113 DM-ILD patients were included in this study, including 27 patients with acute/subacute interstitial pneumonia (A/SIP) and 86 patients with chronic interstitial pneumonia (CIP). The A/SIP group had significantly lower proportions of lymphocytes and eosinophils in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) than the CIP group, but had a significantly higher proportion of neutrophils. Pathogens were discovered in BALF from 28 (24.8%) patients. Twenty-five (22.1%) patients commenced or changed antibiotic therapy on the basis of their bronchoscopy results. Lymphopenia and ICU care were significantly associated with pathogen-positive BALF findings. Complications of bronchoscopy occurred in 9 (8.0%) patients; fever (5.3%) was the most common complication. Twenty-five deaths (25/106, 23.6%) were observed during a mean follow-up of 22 months. Age, A/SIP, and anti-MDA5 antibody, were identified as independent predictors of a poor outcome, while mechanic’s hands was an independent protective factor. However, cellular and pathogen findings in BALF had no significant influence on 30-day or overall mortality.

Bronchoscopy is a relatively useful instrument to evaluate ILD in patients with DM and BAL can improve the diagnosis of infection. However, cellular and pathogen findings from BALF had no significant influence on prognosis.

Bronchoscopy is a relatively useful instrument to evaluate ILD in patients with DM and BAL can improve the diagnosis of infection. However, cellular and pathogen findings from BALF had no significant influence on prognosis.