98 research outputs found

    The effect of posterior capsule repair upon post-operative hip dislocation following primary total hip arthroplasty

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Herein, we evaluated, retrospectively, the effect of posterior capsular repair upon postoperative hip dislocation subsequent to total hip arthroplasty (THA) incorporating a posterolateral approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 181 patients undergoing 204 primary non-complicated THA surgical procedures in the period from January 2000 to October 2005 inclusively were included in this study. The patients were separated into two groups by whether the posterior capsular repair had been incorporated in the surgical procedure. For the surgeon did not commence repairing the posterior capsule until July, 2003, all members in the group that did not undergo posterior capsular repair (142 hips from 131 patients) were collected since January, 2000 to July, 2003, while the members in the group that underwent posterior capsular repair (62 hips from 52 patients) were followed since July, 2003, to October, 2005. With a minimum follow-up period of 12 months, we evaluated the early post-operative dislocation rate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The early postoperative hip-dislocation rate for the group who did not undergo posterior capsular repair appeared to be substantially greater (6.38% versus 0%) than the corresponding figure for the group the members of which underwent posterior capsular repair. In addition, patient demographics and the orientation of acetabular components for the replaced hip joints, as presented in postoperative radiographs, did not differ between the two groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Thus, surgeons should include posterior capsular repair as an important step in the surgical procedures of posterolateral approach for all THA in order to reduce the likelihood of early hip dislocation subsequent to THA.</p

    Medium and long-term adherence to postabortion contraception among women having experienced unsafe abortion in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Postabortion contraceptive service is considered an effective means in addressing the problem of unsafe abortion; in spite this fact this component remains one of the weakest parts of postabortion care. In this context, the paper aims to describe the impact of a postabortion contraceptive service intervention among women admitted with complications from unsafe abortions and to explore the women's long-term contraceptive adherence.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>392 women having experienced unsafe abortion were identified by an empathetic approach and offered postabortion contraceptive service, which included counselling on HIV and condom use. Questionnaire interviews about contraceptive use were conducted at the time of inclusion and 12 months after the abortion. Additionally, in-depth interviews were performed 6–12 months after the abortion.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighty-nine percent of the women accepted postabortion contraception. Follow-up information was obtained 12 months after the abortion among 59 percent of the women. Among these, 79 percent of the married women and 84 percent of the single women stated they were using contraception at 12 months. Condom use among the single women increased significantly during the 12 months follow up.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Postabortion contraceptive services appear to be well accepted by women who are admitted with complications after an unsafe abortion and should thus be recognized as an important means in addressing the problem of unsafe abortion. In addition, counselling about HIV and condom use should be considered an essential aspect of postabortion care.</p

    Quality versus quantity of social ties in experimental cooperative networks

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    Recent studies suggest that allowing individuals to choose their partners can help to maintain cooperation in human social networks; this behaviour can supplement behavioural reciprocity, whereby humans are influenced to cooperate by peer pressure. However, it is unknown how the rate of forming and breaking social ties affects our capacity to cooperate. Here we use a series of online experiments involving 1,529 unique participants embedded in 90 experimental networks, to show that there is a ‘Goldilocks’ effect of network dynamism on cooperation. When the rate of change in social ties is too low, subjects choose to have many ties, even if they attach to defectors. When the rate is too high, cooperators cannot detach from defectors as much as defectors re-attach and, hence, subjects resort to behavioural reciprocity and switch their behaviour to defection. Optimal levels of cooperation are achieved at intermediate levels of change in social ties

    Conceptualising spirituality for medical research and health service provision

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    The need to take account of spirituality in research and health services provision is assuming ever greater importance. However the field has long been hampered by a lack of conceptual clarity about the nature of spirituality itself. We do not agree with the sceptical claim that it is impossible to conceptualise spirituality within a scientific paradigm. Our aims are to 1) provide a brief over-view of critical thinking that might form the basis for a useful definition of spirituality for research and clinical work and 2) demystify the language of spirituality for clinical practice and research

    Fussy Feeders: Phyllosoma Larvae of the Western Rocklobster (Panulirus cygnus) Demonstrate Prey Preference

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    The Western Rocklobster (Panulirus cygnus) is the most valuable single species fishery in Australia and the largest single country spiny lobster fishery in the world. In recent years a well-known relationship between oceanographic conditions and lobster recruitment has become uncoupled, with significantly lower recruitment than expected, generating interest in the factors influencing survival and development of the planktonic larval stages. The nutritional requirements and wild prey of the planktotrophic larval stage (phyllosoma) of P. cygnus were previously unknown, hampering both management and aquaculture efforts for this species. Ship-board feeding trials of wild-caught mid-late stage P. cygnus phyllosoma in the eastern Indian Ocean, off the coast of Western Australia, were conducted in July 2010 and August-September 2011. In a series of experiments, phyllosoma were fed single and mixed species diets of relatively abundant potential prey items (chaetognaths, salps, and krill). Chaetognaths were consumed in 2–8 times higher numbers than the other prey, and the rate of consumption of chaetognaths increased with increasing concentration of prey. The highly variable lipid content of the phyllosoma, and the fatty acid profiles of the phyllosoma and chaetognaths, indicated they were from an oligotrophic oceanic food chain where food resources for macrozooplankton were likely to be constrained. Phyllosoma fed chaetognaths over 6 days showed significant changes in some fatty acids and tended to accumulate lipid, indicating an improvement in overall nutritional condition. The discovery of a preferred prey for P. cygnus will provide a basis for future oceanographic, management and aquaculture research for this economically and ecologically valuable species

    Cost-effectiveness of In-home Automated External Defibrillators for Individuals at Increased Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

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    In-home automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are increasingly recommended as a means for improving survival of cardiac arrests that occur at home. The current study was conducted to explore the relationship between individuals' risk of cardiac arrest and cost-effectiveness of in-home AED deployment. Design : Markov decision model employing a societal perspective. Patients : Four hypothetical cohorts of American adults 60 years of age at progressively greater risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD): 1) all adults (annual probability of SCD 0.4%); 2) adults with multiple SCD risk factors (probability 2%); 3) adults with previous myocardial infarction (probability 4%); and 4) adults with ischemic cardiomyopathy unable to receive an implantable defibrillator (probability 6%). Intervention : Strategy 1: individuals suffering an in-home cardiac arrest were treated with emergency medical services equipped with AEDs (EMS-D). Strategy 2: individuals suffering an in-home cardiac arrest received initial treatment with an in-home AED, followed by EMS. Results : Assuming cardiac arrest survival rates of 15% with EMS-D and 30% with AEDs, the cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained (QALY) of providing in-home AEDs to all adults 60 years of age is 216,000.CostsofprovidinginhomeAEDstoadultswithmultipleriskfactors(2216,000. Costs of providing in-home AEDs to adults with multiple risk factors (2% probability of SCD), previous myocardial infarction (4% probability), and ischemic cardiomyopathy (6% probability) are 132,000, 104,000,and104,000, and 88,000, respectively. Conclusions : The cost-effectiveness of in-home AEDs is intimately linked to individuals' risk of SCD. However, providing in-home AEDs to all adults over age 60 appears relatively expensive.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72168/1/j.1525-1497.2005.40247.x.pd

    Food additives : Assessing the impact of exposure to permitted emulsifiers on bowel and metabolic health – introducing the FADiets study

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    Acknowledgements Additional members of the academic team including Dr Carrie Duckworth, Professor John Wilding, Professor Mark Pritchard and Professor Chris Probert (University of Liverpool, UK), Professor Harry Flint (Rowett Institute, UK), Dr Graham Horgan (Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland), Professor Johan Söderholm and Dr Åsa Keita (University Hospital Linköping, Sweden). Funding This study is funded by the Medical Research Council (MR/P023606/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    Synthetic biology to access and expand nature's chemical diversity

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    Bacterial genomes encode the biosynthetic potential to produce hundreds of thousands of complex molecules with diverse applications, from medicine to agriculture and materials. Accessing these natural products promises to reinvigorate drug discovery pipelines and provide novel routes to synthesize complex chemicals. The pathways leading to the production of these molecules often comprise dozens of genes spanning large areas of the genome and are controlled by complex regulatory networks with some of the most interesting molecules being produced by non-model organisms. In this Review, we discuss how advances in synthetic biology — including novel DNA construction technologies, the use of genetic parts for the precise control of expression and for synthetic regulatory circuits — and multiplexed genome engineering can be used to optimize the design and synthesis of pathways that produce natural products

    Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

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    On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta
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