Analysis of conference abstract-to-publication rate in UK orthopaedic research

Presentation of research at orthopaedic conferences is an important component for surgical evidence-based practice. However, there remains uncertainty as to how many conference abstracts proceed to achieve full-text publication for wider dissemination. This study aimed to determine the abstract-to-publication rate (APR) of research presented in the largest hip and knee orthopaedic meetings in the UK, and to identify predictive factors which influence the APR.All published abstracts (N=744) from the 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 British Hip Society (BHS) and the 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK) annual conference meetings were examined by four researchers independently. To determine whether abstracts had been published in full-text form, Google Scholar, Medline and EMBASE evidence databases were used to verify full-text publication (FTP) status. Variables including: sample size, statistical significance, grade of the first author, research affiliated institution and research design were extracted and analysed to identify whether these were associated with FTP.176 out of 744 abstracts achieved FTP status (APR: 23.7%). Factors associated with FTP status included statistically significant results (p0.05).APR of the assessed BHS and BASK annual conference presentations are low in comparison to other scientific meetings. Encouragement should be provided to clinicians and academics to submit their work for publication to address this short-fall, thereby enhancing the potential for full-text research publications to inform evidence-based orthopaedics

Guinea pig models for translation of the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis into the clinic

Over 30 years ago Professor David Barker first proposed the theory that events in early life could explain an individual\u27s risk of non-communicable disease in later life: the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis. During the 1990s the validity of the DOHaD hypothesis was extensively tested in a number of human populations and the mechanisms underpinning it characterised in a range of experimental animal models. Over the past decade, researchers have sought to use this mechanistic understanding of DOHaD to develop therapeutic interventions during pregnancy and early life to improve adult health. A variety of animal models have been used to develop and evaluate interventions, each with strengths and limitations. It is becoming apparent that effective translational research requires that the animal paradigm selected mirrors the tempo of human fetal growth and development as closely as possible so that the effect of a perinatal insult and/or therapeutic intervention can be fully assessed. The guinea pig is one such animal model that over the past two decades has demonstrated itself to be a very useful platform for these important reproductive studies. This review highlights similarities in the in utero development between humans and guinea pigs, the strengths and limitations of the guinea pig as an experimental model of DOHaD and the guinea pig\u27s potential to enhance clinical therapeutic innovation to improve human health. (Figure presented.)

Evaluating the Diagnostic Accuracy of a Novel Bayesian Decision-Making Algorithm for Vision Loss

The current diagnostic aids for acute vision loss are static flowcharts that do not provide dynamic, stepwise workups. We tested the diagnostic accuracy of a novel dynamic Bayesian algorithm for acute vision loss. Seventy-nine “participants” with acute vision loss in Windsor, Canada were assessed by an emergency medicine or primary care provider who completed a questionnaire about ocular symptoms/findings (without requiring fundoscopy). An ophthalmologist then attributed an independent “gold-standard diagnosis”. The algorithm employed questionnaire data to produce a differential diagnosis. The referrer diagnostic accuracy was 30.4%, while the algorithm’s accuracy was 70.9%, increasing to 86.1% with the algorithm’s top two diagnoses included and 88.6% with the top three included. In urgent cases of vision loss (n = 54), the referrer diagnostic accuracy was 38.9%, while the algorithm’s top diagnosis was correct in 72.2% of cases, increasing to 85.2% (top two included) and 87.0% (top three included). The algorithm’s sensitivity for urgent cases using the top diagnosis was 94.4% (95% CI: 85–99%), with a specificity of 76.0% (95% CI: 55–91%). This novel algorithm adjusts its workup at each step using clinical symptoms. In doing so, it successfully improves diagnostic accuracy for vision loss using clinical data collected by non-ophthalmologists

CRISPR: On the road to restoring sight to the blind

CRISPR-Cas9 is a novel gene-editing tool that promised to revolutionize our ability to treat genetic conditions when first introduced. Today, it continues to fuel many areas of health research, ranging from cancers to sickle cell disease to Huntington’s disease.1–3 Vision science researchers immediately saw the potential of CRISPR, with some of the earliest experiments exploring CRISPR as a treatment option for inherited ocular disorders.4 Only a few years later, in March 2020, vision research was again at the forefront of this field.5 A CRISPR therapy was injected into the human body for the first time in an attempt to correct a vision threatening mutation.5 Inherited retinal diseases have traditionally presented therapeutic challenges, but CRISPR is now providing hope for a cure

Challenges in transition to practice

N/

Prophetic ministry in India: Empowering priestly and religious formation through religious education

Religious women and men through the profession of the evangelical counsels, and priests by virtue of ordination, participate in the kingly, prophetic, and priestly roles of Jesus Christ. This participation invites religious women and men and priests to be persons of integrity who relive in their own lives and ministry the call of Christ to be His witnesses in the world. This study shows how religious women and men and priests can be more effective prophetic witnesses in their life and ministry in India. The historical method is utilized in dialogue with a variety of sources to present a comprehensive and objective picture of the social and educational life and problems of people in India, the origins of Christianity in India, and the beginnings of seminary formation in the Church. The philosophic method is engaged to present insights of Scripture scholars concerning prophecy in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Particular emphasis is given to the prophetic ministry of Jesus which provides the model for the prophetic ministry of religious and priests in the Church. Practical theology is employed to investigate Church and papal documents related to religious and priestly formation. These documents present the theological grounds for living as religious and priests in India. The works of selected religious educators are considered so as to point to the strong relationship and continuity between religious education and religious and priestly formation. The study concludes by offering some appropriate suggestions for renewal. The researcher postulates that transferring these suggestions will result in empowering and renewing the prophetic witness of religious and priests in India

Global Analysis of a Tall Timber- Concrete Hybrid Structure Subjected to Wind Load : A Parametric Study of Different Hybrid Solutions

  Tall timber structures have received more attention in recent times as building withtimber contributes to environmental benefits in comparison to other building materials.Timber- concrete hybrid structures have become an alternative as previous investigationshave shown that building tall timber buildings implies complexities with regardsto sufficient stiffness and discomfort for occupants. Thereby, it can be stated that thedynamic properties of such tall buildings, which are partly dependent on the mass andstiffness, are vital for the structural engineers in the early design stages.A parametric study has been conducted in order to evaluate the influence on comfortby changing the material and positions of an increased mass in form of added concrete/TCC- floors in the buildings. The study has been accomplished by simplified numerical3D-models in FEM Design in order to obtain eigenfrequencies and translationaldisplacements. The conceptual models were based on Sara Kulturhus comprised of apillar deck system with two cores positioned along the shorter sides of the buildingproviding lateral stiffness.It has been identified that a pure timber structure of 20- storeys is prone to lift whichindicated that hybrid solutions were beneficial to implement. The results also impliedthat adding mass on the the upper part of a 20- storey building is largely influentialas this action has shown to reduce the accelerations and thereby have a significantlyfavorable impact on the comfort. In contrast, it has been shown that adding massin the lower part of the building has negligible impact on the comfort. Furthermore,the results have shown that the most optimal hybrid solution to counteract swaysis to have concrete in the cores and floors of timber. However, this hybrid optioncontributed to most environmental impact, implying that other options with moretimber are more suitable from an environmental perspective. Additionally, it has beenestablished through the results that timber- concrete composite floors do not differremarkably from pure concrete floors in regards of the dynamic response related tocomfort with the thicknesses used in this thesis.Investigating in only one geometry of a tall building and not adapting dimensionsto each case is a simplified approach which, in regards of the ISO- criteria, can beconsidered to fail at capturing the general behaviour of tall timber- concrete hybridstructures accurately, and is therefore not suggested for future studies. While on thesubject of future research projects, the complex relationship between the mass andstiffness should be studied when changing one parameter at a time.Keywords: Parametric study, Dynamic response, Comfort, Tall timber-building

Global Analysis of a Tall Timber- Concrete Hybrid Structure Subjected to Wind Load : A Parametric Study of Different Hybrid Solutions

  Tall timber structures have received more attention in recent times as building withtimber contributes to environmental benefits in comparison to other building materials.Timber- concrete hybrid structures have become an alternative as previous investigationshave shown that building tall timber buildings implies complexities with regardsto sufficient stiffness and discomfort for occupants. Thereby, it can be stated that thedynamic properties of such tall buildings, which are partly dependent on the mass andstiffness, are vital for the structural engineers in the early design stages.A parametric study has been conducted in order to evaluate the influence on comfortby changing the material and positions of an increased mass in form of added concrete/TCC- floors in the buildings. The study has been accomplished by simplified numerical3D-models in FEM Design in order to obtain eigenfrequencies and translationaldisplacements. The conceptual models were based on Sara Kulturhus comprised of apillar deck system with two cores positioned along the shorter sides of the buildingproviding lateral stiffness.It has been identified that a pure timber structure of 20- storeys is prone to lift whichindicated that hybrid solutions were beneficial to implement. The results also impliedthat adding mass on the the upper part of a 20- storey building is largely influentialas this action has shown to reduce the accelerations and thereby have a significantlyfavorable impact on the comfort. In contrast, it has been shown that adding massin the lower part of the building has negligible impact on the comfort. Furthermore,the results have shown that the most optimal hybrid solution to counteract swaysis to have concrete in the cores and floors of timber. However, this hybrid optioncontributed to most environmental impact, implying that other options with moretimber are more suitable from an environmental perspective. Additionally, it has beenestablished through the results that timber- concrete composite floors do not differremarkably from pure concrete floors in regards of the dynamic response related tocomfort with the thicknesses used in this thesis.Investigating in only one geometry of a tall building and not adapting dimensionsto each case is a simplified approach which, in regards of the ISO- criteria, can beconsidered to fail at capturing the general behaviour of tall timber- concrete hybridstructures accurately, and is therefore not suggested for future studies. While on thesubject of future research projects, the complex relationship between the mass andstiffness should be studied when changing one parameter at a time.Keywords: Parametric study, Dynamic response, Comfort, Tall timber-building