GP-initiated preconception counselling in a randomised controlled trial does not induce anxiety

BACKGROUND: Preconception counselling (PCC) can reduce adverse pregnancy outcome by addressing risk factors prior to pregnancy. This study explores whether anxiety is induced in women either by the offer of PCC or by participation with GP-initiated PCC. METHODS: Randomised trial of usual care versus GP-initiated PCC for women aged 18–40, in 54 GP practices in the Netherlands. Women completed the six-item Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before PCC (STAI-1) and after (STAI-2). After pregnancy women completed a STAI focusing on the first trimester of pregnancy (STAI-3). RESULTS: The mean STAI-1-score (n = 466) was 36.4 (95% CI 35.4 – 37.3). Following PCC there was an average decrease of 3.6 points in anxiety-levels (95% CI, 2.4 – 4.8). Mean scores of the STAI-3 were 38.5 (95% CI 37.7 – 39.3) in the control group (n = 1090) and 38.7 (95% CI 37.9 – 39.5) in the intervention group (n = 1186). CONCLUSION: PCC from one's own GP reduced anxiety after participation, without leading to an increase in anxiety among the intervention group during pregnancy. We therefore conclude that GPs can offer PCC to the general population without fear of causing anxiety. Trial Registration: ISRCTN5394291

Distinctions in gastric cancer gene expression signatures derived from laser capture microdissection versus histologic macrodissection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gastric cancer samples obtained by histologic macrodissection contain a relatively high stromal content that may significantly influence gene expression profiles. Differences between the gene expression signature derived from macrodissected gastric cancer samples and the signature obtained from isolated gastric cancer epithelial cells from the same biopsies using laser-capture microdissection (LCM) were evaluated for their potential experimental biases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>RNA was isolated from frozen tissue samples of gastric cancer biopsies from 20 patients using both histologic macrodissection and LCM techniques. RNA from LCM was subject to an additional round of T7 RNA amplification. Expression profiling was performed using Affymetrix HG-U133A arrays. Genes identified in the expression signatures from each tissue processing method were compared to the set of genes contained within chromosomal regions found to harbor copy number aberrations in the tumor samples by array CGH and to proteins previously identified as being overexpressed in gastric cancer.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Genes shown to have increased copy number in gastric cancer were also found to be overexpressed in samples obtained by macrodissection (LS <it>P </it>value < 10^-5), but not in array data generated using microdissection. A set of 58 previously identified genes overexpressed in gastric cancer was also enriched in the gene signature identified by macrodissection (LS <it>P </it>< 10^-5), but not in the signature identified by microdissection (LS <it>P </it>= 0.013). In contrast, 66 genes previously reported to be underexpressed in gastric cancer were enriched in the gene signature identified by microdissection (LS <it>P </it>< 10^-5), but not in the signature identified by macrodissection (LS <it>P </it>= 0.89).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The tumor sampling technique biases the microarray results. LCM may be a more sensitive collection and processing method for the identification of potential tumor suppressor gene candidates in gastric cancer using expression profiling.</p

Machine Learning Approach for Prescriptive Plant Breeding

We explored the capability of fusing high dimensional phenotypic trait (phenomic) data with a machine learning (ML) approach to provide plant breeders the tools to do both in-season seed yield (SY) prediction and prescriptive cultivar development for targeted agro-management practices (e.g., row spacing and seeding density). We phenotyped 32 SoyNAM parent genotypes in two independent studies each with contrasting agro-management treatments (two row spacing, three seeding densities). Phenotypic trait data (canopy temperature, chlorophyll content, hyperspectral reflectance, leaf area index, and light interception) were generated using an array of sensors at three growth stages during the growing season and seed yield (SY) determined by machine harvest. Random forest (RF) was used to train models for SY prediction using phenotypic traits (predictor variables) to identify the optimal temporal combination of variables to maximize accuracy and resource allocation. RF models were trained using data from both experiments and individually for each agro-management treatment. We report the most important traits agnostic of agro-management practices. Several predictor variables showed conditional importance dependent on the agro-management system. We assembled predictive models to enable in-season SY prediction, enabling the development of a framework to integrate phenomics information with powerful ML for prediction enabled prescriptive plant breeding

Prognostic value of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and its complex with the type-1 inhibitor (PAI-1) in breast cancer

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Does vancomycin prescribing intervention affect vancomycin-resistant enterococcus infection and colonization in hospitals? A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE) is a major cause of nosocomial infections in the United States and may be associated with greater morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs than vancomycin-susceptible enterococcus. Current guidelines for the control of VRE include prudent use of vancomycin. While vancomycin exposure appears to be a risk factor for VRE acquisition in individual patients, the effect of vancomycin usage at the population level is not known. We conducted a systematic review to determine the impact of reducing vancomycin use through prescribing interventions on the prevalence and incidence of VRE colonization and infection in hospitals within the United States. METHODS: To identify relevant studies, we searched three electronic databases, and hand searched selected journals. Thirteen studies from 12 articles met our inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and summarized for study setting, design, patient characteristics, types of intervention(s), and outcome measures. The relative risk, 95% confidence interval, and p-value associated with change in VRE acquisition pre- and post-vancomycin prescription interventions were calculated and compared. Heterogeneity in study results was formally explored by stratified analysis. RESULTS: No randomized clinical trials on this topic were found. Each of the 13 included studies used a quasi-experimental design of low hierarchy. Seven of the 13 studies reported statistically significant reductions in VRE acquisition following interventions, three studies reported no significant change, and three studies reported increases in VRE acquisition, one of which reported statistical significance. Results ranged from a reduction of 82.5% to an increase of 475%. Studies of specific wards, which included sicker patients, were more likely to report positive results than studies of an entire hospital including general inpatients (Fisher's exact test 0.029). The type of intervention, endemicity status, type of study design, and the duration of intervention were not found to significantly modify the results. Among the six studies that implemented vancomycin reduction strategies as the sole intervention, two of six (33%) found a significant reduction in VRE colonization and/or infection. In contrast, among studies implementing additional VRE control measures, five of seven (71%) reported a significant reduction. CONCLUSION: It was not possible to conclusively determine a potential role for vancomycin usage reductions in controlling VRE colonization and infection in hospitals in the United States. The effectiveness of such interventions and their sustainability remains poorly defined because of the heterogeneity and quality of studies. Future research using high-quality study designs and implementing vancomycin as the sole intervention are needed to answer this question

Beeldcultuur, een drieluik.I: Deconstructie van het fenomeen culturele studies

An important process in glass manufacture is the forming of the product. The forming process takes place at high rate, involves extreme temperatures and is characterised by large deformations. The process can be modelled as a coupled thermodynamical/mechanical problem including the interaction between glass, air and equipment. In this paper a general mathematical model for glass forming is derived, which is specified for different forming processes, in particular pressing and blowing. The model should be able to correctly represent the flow of the glass and the energy exchange during the process. Various modelling aspects are discussed for each process, while several key issues, such as the motion of the plunger and the evolution of the glass-air interfaces, are examined thoroughly. Finally, some examples of process simulations for existing simulation tools are provided

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV