Using NLP technology in CALL

This paper outlines the research and guiding research principles of the (I)CALL group at Dublin City University, Ireland. Our research activities include the development of (I)CALL systems targeted at a variety of user groups including advanced Romance language learners, intermediate to advanced German learners, primary and secondary school students as well as students with L1 learning disabilities requiring a variety of system types which cater to individual user needs and abilities. Suitable CL/NLP technology is incorporated where appropriate for the learner

Stability of tetracycline residues in honey

The problem of availability of veterinary medicines to treat honeybees is discussed extensively worldwide. An uncontrolled administration of antibiotics may lead to contamination of beehive products and contributes to the problem of food safety. In this study, the kinetics of tetracycline (TC) degradation in honey was studied for samples provided by four sideline beekeepers located in the west region of Romania. The samples of honey were stored in the dark at room temperature for 30 days and subsamples were analyzed every 3 days by Elisa method. The results of the study revealed that the level of tetracycline decreases in time for all honey samples. The tetracycline degradation follows a first-order kinetic model with reaction rate constants between 1.2•10-3 - 2•10-3 days-1. The half-life time of tetracycline in monofloral honeys: acacia and lime was 251 and 232 days respectively. Tetracycline degradation in polyfloral honey was accelerated since τ1/2 of TC was 151 days

Fetal Central Nervous System Abnormalities

Central nervous system (CNS) is one of the most frequent sites for prenatal diagnosed congenital abnormalities (10 per 1000 live births, much higher than the heart—eight per 1000, kidneys—four per 1000, and other fetal systems). Due to the evolving pattern, ultrasound screening for fetal brain malformations is usually performed at 19–22 weeks’ gestation, but severe congenital anomalies can be diagnosed much earlier. This chapter is a short review, structured in eight subchapters: the first one is dedicated to the normal ultrasound aspect of different CNS segments, and the following ones are to detect pathology in prenatal life. We used many ultrasound images and tried to correlate the prenatal findings with the ones obtained postpartum/postabortum for each case, by means of pathology/imaging techniques

Congenital Abnormalities of the Fetal Heart

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most frequent congenital malformations, the costliest hospital admissions for structural defects and the leading cause of infant general and malformations related mortality. Fetal echocardiography represents a skilled ultrasound examination, because of the complexity, physiological and structural particularities of the fetal heart. The efficiency of the cardiac scan is reported with great variation, depending on the scanning protocol, examiner experience and equipment quality but CHDs remains among the most frequently missed congenital abnormalities

Study protocol for the Multiple Symptoms Study 3: a pragmatic, randomised controlled trial of a clinic for patients with persistent (medically unexplained) physical symptoms

Introduction: Persistent physical symptoms (which cannot be adequately attributed to physical disease) affect around 1 million people (2% of adults) in the UK. They affect patients’ quality of life and account for at least one third of referrals from General Practitioners (GPs) to specialists. These referrals give patients little benefit but have a real cost to health services time and diagnostic resources. The symptoms clinic has been designed to help people make sense of persistent physical symptoms (especially if medical tests have been negative) and to reduce the impact of symptoms on daily life. Methods and analysis: This pragmatic, multicentre, randomised controlled trial will assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the symptoms clinic intervention plus usual care compared with usual care alone. Patients were identified through GP searches and mail-outs and recruited by the central research team. 354 participants were recruited and individually randomised (1:1). The primary outcome is the self-reported Physical Health Questionnaire-15 at 52 weeks postrandomisation. Secondary outcome measures include the EuroQol 5 dimension 5 level and healthcare resource use. Outcome measures will also be collected at 13 and 26 weeks postrandomisation. A process evaluation will be conducted including consultation content analysis and interviews with participants and key stakeholders. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval has been obtained via Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee (Reference 18/NW/0422). The results of the trial will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals, presented at relevant conferences and disseminated to trial participants and patient interest groups. Trial registration number: ISRCTN57050216

Effectiveness of a symptom-clinic intervention delivered by general practitioners with an extended role for people with multiple and persistent physical symptoms in England:the Multiple Symptoms Study 3 pragmatic, multicentre, parallel-group, individually randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: People with multiple and persistent physical symptoms have impaired quality of life and poor experiences of health care. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based symptom-clinic intervention in people with multiple and persistent physical symptoms, hypothesising that this symptoms clinic plus usual care would be superior to usual care only.METHODS: The Multiple Symptoms Study 3 was a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel-group, individually randomised controlled trial conducted in 108 general practices in the UK National Health Service in four regions of England between Dec 6, 2018, and June 30, 2023. Participants were individually randomised (1:1) to the symptom-clinic intervention plus usual care or to usual care only via a computer-generated, pseudo-random list stratified by trial centre. Allocation was done by the trial statistician and concealed with a centralised, web-based randomisation system; masking participants was not possible due to the nature of the intervention. The symptom-clinic intervention was a sequence of up to four medical consultations that aimed to elicit a detailed clinical history, fully hear and validate the participant, offer rational explanations for symptoms, and assist the participant to develop ways of managing their symptoms; it was delivered by general practitioners with an extended role. The primary outcome was Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) score 52 weeks after randomisation, analysed by intention to treat. The trial is registered on the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN57050216).FINDINGS: 354 participants were randomly assigned; 178 (50%) were assigned to receive the community-based symptoms clinic plus usual care and 176 (50%) were assigned to receive usual care only. At the primary-outcome point of 52 weeks, PHQ-15 scores were 14·1 (SD 3·7) in the group receiving usual care and 12·2 (4·5) in the group receiving the intervention. The adjusted between-group difference of -1·82 (95% CI -2·67 to -0·97) was statistically significantly in favour of the intervention group (p&lt;0·0001). There were 39 adverse events in the group receiving usual care and 36 adverse events in the group receiving the intervention. There were no statistically significant between-group differences in the proportion of participants who had non-serious adverse events (-0·03, 95% CI -0·11 to 0·05) or serious adverse events (0·02, -0·02 to 0·07). No serious adverse event was deemed to be related to the trial intervention.INTERPRETATION: Our symptom-clinic intervention, which focused on explaining persistent symptoms to participants in order to support self-management, led to sustained improvement in multiple and persistent physical symptoms.FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health and Care Research.</p

Study protocol for the Multiple Symptoms Study 3:A pragmatic, randomised controlled trial of a clinic for patients with persistent (medically unexplained) physical symptoms

Introduction: Persistent physical symptoms (which cannot be adequately attributed to physical disease) affect around 1 million people (2 of adults) in the UK. They affect patients’ quality of life and account for at least one third of referrals from GPs to specialists. These referrals give patients little benefit but have a real cost to health services time and diagnostic resources. The Symptoms Clinic has been designed to help people make sense of persistent physical symptoms (especially if medical tests have been negative) and to reduce the impact of symptoms on daily life.Methods and analysis:This pragmatic, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial will assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the Symptoms Clinic intervention plus usual care compared with usual care alone. Patients were identified through GP searches and mail-outs and recruited by the central research team. 354 participants were recruited and individually randomised (1:1). The primary outcome is the self-reported PHQ-15 at 52 weeks post-randomisation. Secondary outcome measures include the EQ-5D-5L and health care resource use. Outcome measures will also be collected at 13 and 26 weeks post-randomisation. A process evaluation will be conducted including consultation content analysis and interviews with participants and key stakeholders.Ethics and dissemination:Ethics approval has been obtained via Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee (Reference 18/NW/0422). The results of the trial will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals, presented at relevant conferences and disseminated to trial participants and patient interest groups.Trial Registration ISRCTN5705021

Corrigendum to "Translating big data to better treatment in bipolar disorder - a manifesto for coordinated action [European Neuropsychopharmacology (2020) 36, 121-136]"

The authors regret that there was an error in the author list, this should appear as above. The authors apologise for any inconvenience caused