112 research outputs found
Production and characterization of PEEK/IF-WS2 nanocomposites for Additive Manufacturing: simultaneous improvement in processing characteristics and material properties
Paediatric distal radial fracture manipulation: Multicentre analysis of process times
Background: Children with simple radial fractures requiring manipulation are conventionally admitted for manipulation under general anaesthesia. On the assumption that children (and their parents) wish to spend as little time in hospital as possible, a study was undertaken to explore the experience of children with distal radial fractures admitted for general anaesthesia. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of the time taken from arrival at the emergency department (ED) to general anaesthesia and the time taken from arrival at the ED to hospital discharge in three centres in south-west England: the Bristol Children's Hospital, Derriford (Plymouth) Hospital and the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. Results: The median wait for general anaesthesia was >8 h and the median wait from ED admission to discharge was >21 h. This compares with a typical arrival to discharge time for paediatric procedural sedation of 4-5 h in the ED of the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. Conclusions: Given the assumption that children (and their parents) wish to spend as little time in hospital as possible, there appears to be a role for procedural sedation in the ED for this group of children, with a significantly reduced turnaround time anticipated
Cell-Specific “Competition for Calories� Drives Asymmetric Nutrient-Energy Partitioning, Obesity, and Metabolic Diseases in Human and Non-human Animals
The mammalian body is a complex physiologic “ecosystem� in which cells compete
for calories (i.e., nutrient-energy). Axiomatically, cell-types with competitive advantages
acquire a greater number of consumed calories, and when possible, increase in
size and/or number. Thus, it is logical and parsimonious to posit that obesity is the
competitive advantages of fat-cells (adipocytes) driving a disproportionate acquisition
and storage of nutrient-energy. Accordingly, we introduce two conceptual frameworks.
Asymmetric Nutrient-Energy Partitioning describes the context-dependent, cell-specific
competition for calories that determines the partitioning of nutrient-energy to oxidation,
anabolism, and/or storage; and Effective Caloric Intake which describes the number
of calories available to constrain energy-intake via the inhibition of the sensorimotor
appetitive cells in the liver and brain that govern ingestive behaviors. Inherent in
these frameworks is the independence and dissociation of the energetic demands
of metabolism and the neuro-muscular pathways that initiate ingestive behaviors and
energy intake. As we demonstrate, if the sensorimotor cells suffer relative caloric
deprivation via asymmetric competition from other cell-types (e.g., skeletal muscle- or
fat-cells), energy-intake is increased to compensate for both real and merely apparent
deficits in energy-homeostasis (i.e., true and false signals, respectively). Thus, we
posit that the chronic positive energy balance (i.e., over-nutrition) that leads to obesity
and metabolic diseases is engendered by apparent deficits (i.e., false signals) driven
by the asymmetric inter-cellular competition for calories and concomitant differential
partitioning of nutrient-energy to storage. These frameworks, in concert with our
previous theoretic work, the Maternal Resources Hypothesis, provide a parsimonious
and rigorous explanation for the rapid rise in the global prevalence of increased body
and fat mass, and associated metabolic dysfunctions in humans and other mammals
inclusive of companion, domesticated, laboratory, and feral animals
Patient experience and reflective learning (PEARL): a mixed methods protocol for staff insight development in acute and intensive care medicine in the UK
INTRODUCTION: Patient and staff experiences are strongly influenced by attitudes and behaviours, and provide important insights into care quality. Patient and staff feedback could be used more effectively to enhance behaviours and improve care through systematic integration with techniques for reflective learning. We aim to develop a reflective learning framework and toolkit for healthcare staff to improve patient, family and staff experience. METHODS & ANALYSIS: Local project teams including staff and patients from the acute medical units (AMUs) and intensive care units (ICUs) of three National Health Service trusts will implement two experience surveys derived from existing instruments: a continuous patient and relative survey and an annual staff survey. Survey data will be supplemented by ethnographic interviews and observations in the workplace to evaluate barriers to and facilitators of reflective learning. Using facilitated iterative co-design, local project teams will supplement survey data with their experiences of healthcare to identify events, actions, activities and interventions which promote personal insight and empathy through reflective learning. Outputs will be collated by the central project team to develop a reflective learning framework and toolkit which will be fed back to the local groups for review, refinement and piloting. The development process will be mapped to a conceptual theory of reflective learning which combines psychological and pedagogical theories of learning, alongside theories of behaviour change based on capability, opportunity and motivation influencing behaviour. The output will be a locally-adaptable workplace-based toolkit providing guidance on using reflective learning to incorporate patient and staff experience in routine clinical activities. ETHICS & DISSEMINATION: The PEARL project has received ethics approval from the London Brent Research Ethics Committee (REC Ref 16/LO/224). We propose a national cluster randomised step-wedge trial of the toolkit developed for large-scale evaluation of impact on patient outcomes
Can artificial intelligence accelerate the diagnosis of inherited retinal diseases? Protocol for a data-only retrospective cohort study (Eye2Gene)
Introduction Inherited retinal diseases (IRD) are a leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in the working age population. Mutations in over 300 genes have been found to be associated with IRDs and identifying the affected gene in patients by molecular genetic testing is the first step towards effective care and patient management. However, genetic diagnosis is currently slow, expensive and not widely accessible. The aim of the current project is to address the evidence gap in IRD diagnosis with an AI algorithm, Eye2Gene, to accelerate and democratise the IRD diagnosis service.
Methods and analysis The data-only retrospective cohort study involves a target sample size of 10 000 participants, which has been derived based on the number of participants with IRD at three leading UK eye hospitals: Moorfields Eye Hospital (MEH), Oxford University Hospital (OUH) and Liverpool University Hospital (LUH), as well as a Japanese hospital, the Tokyo Medical Centre (TMC). Eye2Gene aims to predict causative genes from retinal images of patients with a diagnosis of IRD. For this purpose, 36 most common causative IRD genes have been selected to develop a training dataset for the software to have enough examples for training and validation for detection of each gene. The Eye2Gene algorithm is composed of multiple deep convolutional neural networks, which will be trained on MEH IRD datasets, and externally validated on OUH, LUH and TMC.
Ethics and dissemination This research was approved by the IRB and the UK Health Research Authority (Research Ethics Committee reference 22/WA/0049) ‘Eye2Gene: accelerating the diagnosis of IRDs’ Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) project ID: 242050. All research adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Findings will be reported in an open-access format
Can artificial intelligence accelerate the diagnosis of inherited retinal diseases? Protocol for a data-only retrospective cohort study (Eye2Gene)
INTRODUCTION: Inherited retinal diseases (IRD) are a leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in the working age population. Mutations in over 300 genes have been found to be associated with IRDs and identifying the affected gene in patients by molecular genetic testing is the first step towards effective care and patient management. However, genetic diagnosis is currently slow, expensive and not widely accessible. The aim of the current project is to address the evidence gap in IRD diagnosis with an AI algorithm, Eye2Gene, to accelerate and democratise the IRD diagnosis service. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The data-only retrospective cohort study involves a target sample size of 10 000 participants, which has been derived based on the number of participants with IRD at three leading UK eye hospitals: Moorfields Eye Hospital (MEH), Oxford University Hospital (OUH) and Liverpool University Hospital (LUH), as well as a Japanese hospital, the Tokyo Medical Centre (TMC). Eye2Gene aims to predict causative genes from retinal images of patients with a diagnosis of IRD. For this purpose, 36 most common causative IRD genes have been selected to develop a training dataset for the software to have enough examples for training and validation for detection of each gene. The Eye2Gene algorithm is composed of multiple deep convolutional neural networks, which will be trained on MEH IRD datasets, and externally validated on OUH, LUH and TMC. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This research was approved by the IRB and the UK Health Research Authority (Research Ethics Committee reference 22/WA/0049) 'Eye2Gene: accelerating the diagnosis of IRDs' Integrated Research Application System (IRAS) project ID: 242050. All research adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Findings will be reported in an open-access format
Crop Updates - 2003 Weeds
This session covers Thirty four papers from different authors
INTRODUCTION
INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT
IWM system studies/demonstration sites
Six years of IWM investigation – what does it tell us? Bill Roy, Agricultural Consulting and Research Services Pty Ltd
Long term herbicide resistance site, the final chapter, Peter Newman and Glen Adam, Department of Agriculture
Management of skeleton weed (chondrilla juncea) in a cropping rotation in Western Australia, J. R. Peirce and B. J. Rayner, Department of Agriculture
WEED BIOLOGY AND COMPETITION
Annual ryegrass seedbanks: The good, the bad and the ugly, Kathryn J. Steadman1, Amanda J. Ellery2 and Sally C. Peltzer3 , 1WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative, UWA, 2CSIRO Plant Industry, 3 Department of Agriculture
Annual ryegrass seeds after-ripen faster during a hot summer, Kathryn J. Steadman1, Gavin P. Bignell1 and Amanda J. Ellery2, 1WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative, UWA, 2CSIRO Plant Industry
Predicting annual ryegrass dormancy from climatic variables, Amanda Ellery, Andrew Moore, Sandy Nedelkos, Ross Chapman, CSIRO Plant Industry
Removing dormancy in annual ryegrass seeds for early herbicide resistance testing, Kathryn J. Steadman and Mechelle J. Owen, WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative, UWA
Annual ryegrass germination responds to nitrogen, Amanda Ellery1, Simone Dudley1 and Robert Gallagher2, 1CSIRO Plant Industry, 2Washington State University
The agro-ecology of Malva parviflora (small flowered mallow), Pippa J. Michael, Kathryn J. Steadman and Julie A. Plummer, Western Australia Herbicide Resistance Initiative, School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia
The looming threat of wild radish, Peter Newman, Department of Agriculture
IWM TOOLS
Double knock, how close can we go? Peter Newman and Glen Adam, Department of Agriculture
Double knock herbicide effect on annual ryegrass, Catherine Borger, Abul Hashem and Nerys Wilkins, Department of Agriculture
Tactical techniques for managing Annual Ryegrass, Sally Peltzer1, Alex Douglas1, Fran Hoyle1, Paul Matson1 and Michael Walsh2 Department of Agriculture and 2Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative.
Weed control through soil inversion, Sally Peltzer, Alex Douglas and Paul Matson, Department of Agriculture
The burning issues of annual ryegrass seed control, Darren Chitty and Michael Walsh, Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, UWA
No sign of chaff-cart resistant ryegrass! David Ferris, WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative UWA
PACKAGES AND MODELLING
Conserving glyphosate susceptibility – modelling past, present and future us. Paul Neve1, Art Diggle2, Patrick Smith3 and Stephen Powles1 ,1Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 2Department of Agriculture, 3CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
WEEDEM: A program for predicting weed emergence in Western Australia, Michael Walsh,1 David Archer2, James Eklund2 and Frank Forcella2, 1Western Australia Herbicide Resistance Initiative, UWA, 2USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 803 Iowa Avenue, Morris, MN 56267, USA
Weed and herbicide management for long term profit: A workshop, Alister Draper1 and Rick Llewellyn12, 1WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative, 2School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia
HERBICIDE RESISTANCE
Alternative herbicides for control of triazine and diflufenican multiple resistant wild radish, Aik Cheam1, Siew Lee1, David Nicholson1 and Mike Clarke2 1Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, 2Bayer CropScience
Resistance of wild mustard biotype to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in WA Wheatbelt, Abul Hashem, Department of Agriculture
Glyphosate-resistant ryegrass biotypes in the WA wheatbelt, Abul Hashem, Catherine Borger and Nerys Wilkins, Department of Agriculture
Implications of herbicide rates for resistance management, Paul Neve, Western Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, University of Western Australia
Putting a price on herbicide resistance, Rick Llewellyn, School of Agricultural and Resource Economics/WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative, University of Western Australia
Herbicide resistance from over the fence: Mobility and management, Debbie Allena, Rick Llewellynb, aUniversity of Western Australia, 4th year student, 2002. Mingenew-Irwin Group, bSchool of Agricultural and Resource Economics/Western Australia Herbicide Resistance Initiative, University of Western Australia
HERBICIDE TOLERANCE
Herbicide tolerance of new barley varieties, Harmohinder S. Dhammu and Terry Piper, Department of Agriculture
Herbicide tolerance of new lupins, Harmohinder S. Dhammu, Terry Piper and David Nicholson, Department of Agriculture
Herbicide tolerance of new field pea varieties, Harmohinder S. Dhammu, Terry Piper and David Nicholson, Department of Agriculture
Herbicide tolerance of new lentil varieties, H.S. Dhammu, T.J. Piper and L.E. Young, Department of Agriculture
HERBICIDES – NEW PRODUCTS/PRODUCT USES; USE
Kill half leaf ryegrass with Spray.Seed® at night, Peter Newman and Glenn Adam, Department of Agriculture
CLEARFIELDâ„¢ wheat to control hard-to-kill weeds, Abul Hashem, Catherine Borger and Nerys Wilkins, Department of Agriculture
Diuron, a possible alternative to simazine pre-emergent in lupins, Peter Newman and Glenn Adam, Department of Agriculture
Dual Gold® soft on barley, soft on weeds in dry conditions, Peter Newman and Glenn Adam, Department of Agriculture
Dual Gold® soft on lupins, soft on ryegrass in dry conditions, Peter Newman and Glenn Adam, Department of Agricultur
Target-D: a stratified individually randomized controlled trial of the diamond clinical prediction tool to triage and target treatment for depressive symptoms in general practice: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Differential roles of epigenetic changes and Foxp3 expression in regulatory T cell-specific transcriptional regulation
Naturally occurring regulatory T (Treg) cells, which specifically express the transcription factor forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), are engaged in the maintenance of immunological self-tolerance and homeostasis. By transcriptional start site cluster analysis, we assessed here how genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation or Foxp3 binding sites were associated with Treg-specific gene expression. We found that Treg-specific DNA hypomethylated regions were closely associated with Treg up-regulated transcriptional start site clusters, whereas Foxp3 binding regions had no significant correlation with either up- or down-regulated clusters in nonactivated Treg cells. However, in activated Treg cells, Foxp3 binding regions showed a strong correlation with down-regulated clusters. In accordance with these findings, the above two features of activation-dependent gene regulation in Treg cells tend to occur at different locations in the genome. The results collectively indicate that Treg-specific DNA hypomethylation is instrumental in gene up-regulation in steady state Treg cells, whereas Foxp3 down-regulates the expression of its target genes in activated Treg cells. Thus, the two events seem to play distinct but complementary roles in Treg-specific gene expression
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