Successful adult domino living donor liver transplantation in methylmalonic acidemia:case report

Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is a therapeutic option in multiple inherited metabolic diseases (IMDs), including methylmalonic acidemia (MMA), as LT reduces the risk of acute metabolic decompensations and long-term complications associated with these diseases. In certain IMDs, such as maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), domino liver transplant (DLT) is an accepted and safe method which expands the donor pool. However, only one adult case of DLT using an MMA donor liver has been reported; outcome and safety are still unknown and questioned. Case Description: In this case report, we describe our experience with DLT using MMA livers. Two adult MMA patients underwent living donor liver transplant (LDLT); their MMA livers were consecutively transplanted into two patients on the liver transplant waiting list who had limited chance of receiving a liver transplant in the short term due to their low model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores. No severe peri- or postoperative complications occurred, however the recipients of the MMA livers biochemically now have mild MMA. Conclusions: DLT using MMA grafts is a feasible strategy to treat end-stage liver disease and expand the donor organ pool. However, the recipient of the MMA domino liver may develop mild MMA which could affect quality of life, and long-term safety remains unclear. Further long-term of outcomes for domino recipients of MMA livers, focusing on quality of life and any metabolic complications of transplantation are needed to better define the risks and benefits

Ventricular Dysrhythmias Associated with Poisoning and Drug Overdose: A 10-Year Review of Statewide Poison Control Center Data from California

Background: Ventricular dysrhythmias are a serious consequence associated with drug overdose and chemical poisoning. The risk factors for the type of ventricular dysrhythmia and the outcomes by drug class are not well documented. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the most common drugs and chemicals associated with ventricular dysrhythmias and their outcomes. Methods: We reviewed all human exposures reported to a statewide poison control system between 2002 and 2011 that had a documented ventricular dysrhythmia. Cases were differentiated into two groups by type of arrhythmia: (1) ventricular fibrillation and/or tachycardia (VT/VF); and (2) torsade de pointes (TdP). Results: Among the 300 potential cases identified, 148 cases met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 132 cases (89 %) experienced an episode of VT or VF, while the remaining 16 cases (11 %) had an episode of TdP. The most commonly involved therapeutic classes of drugs associated with VT/VF were antidepressants (33/132, 25 %), stimulants (33/132, 25 %), and diphenhydramine (16/132, 12.1 %). Those associated with TdP were antidepressants (4/16, 25 %), methadone (4/16, 25 %), and antiarrhythmics (3/16, 18.75 %). Drug exposures with the greatest risk of death in association with VT/VF were antidepressant exposure [odds ratio (OR) 1.71; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.705–4.181] and antiarrhythmic exposure (OR 1.75; 95 % CI 0.304–10.05), but neither association was statistically significant. Drug exposures with a statistically significant risk for TdP included methadone and antiarrhythmic drugs. Conclusions: Antidepressants and stimulants were the most common drugs associated with ventricular dysrhythmias. Patients with suspected poisonings by medications with a high risk of ventricular dysrhythmia warrant prompt ECG monitoring

Berechnungen zur Optimierung des SAPHIR-Tagging-Systems

SIGLETIB: RN 4852 (87-10) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Expert Surveys and Workshops Exploring Links Between Energy, Productivity, Wellbeing and Productivity, 2019

This data explores the knowledge base around productivity and its links to energy and wellbeing. The data was generated as part of a project that mapped and reviewed 1) links between energy and productivity and 2) wellbeing and productivity. The project used two forms of expert elicitation to guide a literature review and visualisation exercise. Experts in productivity, energy, productivity and wellbeing were surveyed. Initial participants were selected based on the networks of project researchers, and the ESRC. Recruitment then followed a snowballing methodology. In total, 58 people were invited to participate in the energy study. Of these 32 completed the survey, and 12 (not including research team members) attended the workshop. 53 people were invited to participate in the wellbeing study. Of these 20 completed the survey, and 7(not including research team members) attended the workshop. The surveys contain details of who the participants believe are key figures and key papers in energy/productivity/wellbeing research. The workshop outputs are visualisations of key relationships between energy/wellbeing /productivity by participants.Productivity growth means getting more output from fewer inputs. It is a key goal of conventional economic policy. But ‘productivity growth’ is a vague concept and there are large gaps in our understanding of it. This ESRC funded project explores links between the different types of productivity and two major gaps: the relationship between energy and productivity, and wellbeing and productivity. The aim is to map the existing evidence base and guide future ESRC productivity research. Among policymakers and economists it is widely agreed that the UK has a ‘productivity problem’. In the UK, Labour productivity growth has been falling since the mid-1960s. This trend intensified after the financial crisis, when UK labour productivity growth collapsed altogether. Although the UK situation is particularly acute, it is not unusual. Falling labour productivity growth is seen in economies across the world. This could be because of changes in the nature of energy supply and demand over the last few decades. Energy is closely related to the key elements conventionally thought to impact productivity (such as technology), but could also be linked in less obvious ways. For example, changes in the structure of the economy (as we shift from manufacturing to services), gender and income inequalities, and the physical quality of energy itself may all play a role in mediating the energy-productivity relation. Properly understanding all these factors is essential, partly because we expect big changes in the energy base of the economy as we move to low-carbon energy sources. Falling productivity growth is considered a problem because in conventional economics productivity growth (particularly labour productivity growth) is thought to be linked to material standards of living. In this view as productivity growth falls, so does growth in material living standards. In the dominant political economy, reductions in the growth of material living standards are assumed to lead to reduced wellbeing. However, it is unclear just how strong the link between productivity growth and wellbeing actually is. Productivity growth does impact some parts material living standards, such as the distribution of income. However, its impact on these elements is mediated by other factors such as government policy. At the same time, it is also possible that an over focus on productivity growth could negatively impact societal wellbeing. For example, many activities that are key providers of societal wellbeing have low levels of productivity growth. Low labour productivity growth activities include health and social care, and education—all key sectors in terms of the economy’s ability to generate wellbeing. The relation between productivity growth and wellbeing is complex and underexplored.</p

Population genomics of Tillandsia landbeckii reveals unbalanced genetic diversity and founder effects in the Atacama Desert

In hyper-arid habitats vegetation tends to be highly patchy with individual plant populations set widely apart from each other. In the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, rainfall is essentially absent, but fog occurring both at the coast and sometimes reaching inland areas supports patches of vegetation in an otherwise barren environment. Tillandsia landbeckii (Bromeliaceae), a epiarenic plant without functional roots, completely depends on fog as source for water, therefore it is found only in fog corridors. Here, we investigate the genetic connectivity within and between populations of T. landbeckii, using genome-wide single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNP) obtained through genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). The 21 sampled populations from the Chilean Atacama Desert are distributed in three geographically ordered south to north clusters, with the southern cluster containing only one population that is genetically very distant from the others. From our study we obtained three genetic groups that corresponded to these three geographical clusters, with the exception of the two populations 16 and 18, where genetic affiliation lies at least in part with the central cluster. Further, our results show uneven distribution of genetic diversity among the populations with highest diversity in the central cluster. We found large amounts of shared heterozygous SNPs as well as negative values for the inbreeding coefficient F-IS in the populations of the north and south. They indicate that these populations are strongly affected by clonal reproduction, while the populations in the center are mostly reproducing sexually. We interpret these data as the result of genetic bottlenecks due to founder events involving few dispersing genotypes combined with strong geographical isolation for the northern and southern populations, following stepping stone dispersal of Tillandsia during more climatically favorable episodes

Magnetothermoelectric figure of merit of Co/Cu multilayers

Hu XK, Krzysteczko P, Liebing N, et al. Magnetothermoelectric figure of merit of Co/Cu multilayers. Applied Physics Letters. 2014;104(9): 092411.The switching of the magnetic configuration of giant magnetoresistance multilayers not only changes the electrical and thermal conductivities but also the thermopower. We study the magnetotransport and the magnetothermoelectric properties of Co/Cu multilayer devices in a lateral thermal gradient. The Seebeck coefficient reaches values up to -18 mu V/K at room temperature and shows a magnetic field dependence up to 28.6% upon spin reversal. In combination with thermal conductivity data of the same Co/Cu stack, we find a magnetothermoelectric figure of merit of up to 65%. Furthermore, a magneto-power factor of up to 110% is derived. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC