Publisher Correction: Combining Biomarkers with EMR Data to Identify Patients in Different Phases of Sepsis.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Combining Biomarkers with EMR Data to Identify Patients in Different Phases of Sepsis.

Sepsis is a leading cause of death and is the most expensive condition to treat in U.S. hospitals. Despite targeted efforts to automate earlier detection of sepsis, current techniques rely exclusively on using either standard clinical data or novel biomarker measurements. In this study, we apply machine learning techniques to assess the predictive power of combining multiple biomarker measurements from a single blood sample with electronic medical record data (EMR) for the identification of patients in the early to peak phase of sepsis in a large community hospital setting. Combining biomarkers and EMR data achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.81, while EMR data alone achieved an AUC of 0.75. Furthermore, a single measurement of six biomarkers (IL-6, nCD64, IL-1ra, PCT, MCP1, and G-CSF) yielded the same predictive power as collecting an additional 16 hours of EMR data(AUC of 0.80), suggesting that the biomarkers may be useful for identifying these patients earlier. Ultimately, supervised learning using a subset of biomarker and EMR data as features may be capable of identifying patients in the early to peak phase of sepsis in a diverse population and may provide a tool for more timely identification and intervention.

Effect of two different finishing systems on surface roughness of feldspathic and fluorapatite porcelains in ceramo-metal restorations: Comparative in vitro study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of present study was to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate and compare the effect of two ceramic finishing systems and diamond polishing paste on surface texture of two ceramic materials. METHODOLOGY: The 40 test specimens were randomly divided into two main groups (Group I and Group II). Which were subsequently veneered with feldspathic porcelain and fluorapatite leucite porcelain systems respectively. The samples in Test group I and Test group II were subjected to different abrasion and finishing systems (Soft Lex and White silicon and grey rubber respectively). The surface roughness of all the four groups was assessed qualitatively using the scanning Electron Microscope and profilometer. RESULTS: The surface roughness of Feldspathic and fluorapetite porcelain increased after abrasion and finishing as compared to auto-glazed porcelin. The surface roughness was more in grey rubber disc group (Gp Ib) as compared to the soft lex disc groups. After polishing with the diamond paste, there was reduction in the surface roughness of both the disc groups. The Mean Ra values of the Feldspathic porcelain at three intervals were 0.52 ± 0.06, 0.54 ± 0.06, 0.32 ± 0.06 and 0.50 ± 0.04, 1.25 ± 0.10, 0.45 ± 0.6 respectively for grey rubber disc and soft lex groups. The Mean Ra values of Fluorapetite porcelain at three intervals were 0.40 ± 0.06, 0.52 ± 0.06, 0.30 ± 0.03 and 0.41 ± 0.04, 1.17 ± 0.09, 0.39 ± 0.07 respectively for grey rubber disc and soft lex groups. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The surface roughness was less in the polished samples as compared to the auto-glazed porcelain. The findings were more reinforcing in the soft lex group as compared to the white/grey rubber disc group. Between the two porcelain systems, the Fluorapatite leucite porcelain specimens exhibited better surface smoothness than feldspathic porcelain.

Evaluation of fluoride varnish and its comparison with pumice prophylaxis using self-etching primer in orthodontic bonding--an in vivo study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of fluoride varnish as a prophylaxis method with self etching primer (SEP) and its comparison with pumice before orthodontic bonding. Thirty seven orthodontic patients participated in a prospective clinical trial. A split mouth technique was used in each patient, one quadrant was assigned to fluoride varnish and the contralateral quadrant to pumice prophylaxis. A total of 684 teeth were bonded with SEP (Transbond plus; 3M Unitek) and monitored for 6 months for bond failures. A total of 42 (6.1%) failures were recorded, 9 (2.6%) in the pumice group and 33 (9.6%) in the fluoride varnish group. Chi-square analysis was used to compare the number of bracket failures between the pumice and fluoride varnish groups and the number of patients in each group experiencing at least one bond failure. Statistically significant differences were found both in total number of bond failures (P < 0.001) and in the number of patients with bond failures (P < 0.05) between both groups. A significantly lower and clinically acceptable bond failure rate was observed with Transbond Plus self etching primer after pumice prophylaxis.