Interobserver Reliability of Three Validated Scoring Systems in the Assessment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Scoring systems for diabetic foot ulcers may be used for clinical purposes, research or audit, to help assess disease severity, plan management, and even predict outcomes. While many have been validated in study populations, little is known about their interobserver reliability. This prospective study aimed to evaluate interobserver reliability of 3 scoring systems for diabetic foot ulceration. After sharp debridement, diabetic foot ulcers were classified by a multidisciplinary pool of trained observers, using the PEDIS (Perfusion, Extent, Depth, Infection, Sensation), SINBAD (Site, Ischemia, Neuropathy, Bacterial infection, Depth), and University of Texas (UT) wound classification systems. Interobserver reliability was assessed using intraclass correlations (0 = no agreement; 1 = complete agreement). Thirty-seven patients (78.4% male) were assessed by a pool of 12 observers. Single observer reliability was slight to moderate for all scoring systems (UT 0.53; SINBAD 0.44; PEDIS 0.23-0.42), but multiple observer reliability was almost perfect (UT 0.94; SINBAD 0.91; PEDIS 0.80-0.90). The worst agreement for single observers was when scoring infection (SINBAD 0.28; PEDIS 0.28), ischemia (SINBAD 0.26; PEDIS 0.23), or both (UT 0.25); however, this improved to almost perfect agreement for multiple observers (infection: 0.83; ischemia: 0.80-0.82; both: 0.81). These classification systems may be reliably used by multiple observers, for example, when conducting research and audit. However, they demonstrate only slight to moderate reliability when used by a single observer on an individual subject and may therefore be less helpful in the clinical setting, when documenting ulcer characteristics or communicating between colleagues. </jats:p

Discovery of diverse and functional antibodies from large human repertoire antibody libraries

AbstractPhage display antibody libraries have a proven track record for the discovery of therapeutic human antibodies, increasing the demand for large and diverse phage antibody libraries for the discovery of new therapeutics. We have constructed naïve antibody phage display libraries in both Fab and scFv formats, with each library having more than 250billion clones that encompass the human antibody repertoire. These libraries show high fidelity in open reading frame and expression percentages, and their V-gene family distribution, VH-CDR3 length and amino acid usage mirror the natural diversity of human antibodies. Both the Fab and scFv libraries show robust sequence diversity in target-specific binders and differential V-gene usage for each target tested, supporting the use of libraries that utilize multiple display formats and V-gene utilization to maximize antibody-binding diversity. For each of the targets, clones with picomolar affinities were identified from at least one of the libraries and for the two targets assessed for activity, functional antibodies were identified from both libraries

String figures as mathematics?

PARIS7-Bibliothèque centrale (751132105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Enormous brachio-cephalic arteriovenous fistula aneurysm after renal transplantation: Case report and review of the literature

Creation of arteriovenous fistulae provides readily available vascular access for haemodialysis in patients with end-stage renal disease. However, it is associated with various potentially serious complications if left unattended.We report a case of a 73-year-old male presenting with an enormous brachio-cephalic fistula aneurysm measuring 70-5.4 cm 20 years after successful renal transplantation. Despite attending regular renal outpatient clinic follow-up, this was only noticed as an incidental finding when the patient attended the emergency department after a fall that severely bruised his access. The patient subsequently underwent ligation with complete removal of the aneurismal fistula and discharged to a rehabilitation unit 3 days post-operatively.Systematic closure of an arteriovenous fistula should be considered in all patients after successful renal transplantation to avoid potentially catastrophic complications of an arteriovenous fistula. In patients in whom the closure of vascular access is contraindicated, it is crucial to regularly assess the status of any arteriovenous fistula when following up patients after renal transplantation.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Arteriovenous fistula creation using the Optiflow™ vascular anastomotic connector:the OPEN (Optiflow PatEncy and MaturatioN) study

Purpose Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are the preferred form of vascular access for hemodialysis. However, non-maturation and patency are major clinical problems. The Optiflow™ device is an implantable anastomotic connector used to standardize the creation of an AVF. Studies have suggested that the geometry of the anastomosis and experience of the surgeon impact patency and maturation rates. The Optiflow serves as a surgical template whereby the geometry and flow path of the anastomosis are predetermined. This prospective study was intended to evaluate maturation, patency and safety of the Optiflow. Methods Forty-one upper arm AVFs were created in 41 end-stage renal disease patients using the Optiflow device at two investigational sites. Patients were followed for 90 days with serial Doppler ultrasounds performed at approximately 14, 42 and 90 days to determine AVF maturation. The primary performance endpoint was unassisted maturation, defined as an outflow vein that was equal to or greater than 5 mm in diameter, and with flow equal to or greater than 500 mL/min without the need for any intervention intended to promote or maintain maturation. The primary safety endpoint was the rate of device-related serious adverse events. Results Unassisted maturation rates were 76%, 72% and 68% and unassisted patency rates were 93%, 88% and 78%, at 14, 42 and 90 days, respectively. There were no device-related serious adverse events. Conclusions The results suggest that the Optiflow is safe for its intended use and could play an important role in enhancing AVF maturation while standardizing the anastomotic technique. </jats:sec

Optical solutions for the multi-IFU instrument EAGLE for the European ELT

International audienceThis paper summarizes the different optical concepts developed for the EAGLE Phase A design. EAGLE will be an MOAO (Multi-object AO) IFU spectrometer operating between 0.8 and 2.5mum. The EAGLE consortium have developed different concepts for the challenging problem of acquiring more than twenty objects in the patrol field of view (FOV), correcting the wavefront along the line of sight to each of the objects and analyzing each object spatially and spectrally with an Integral Field Spectrograph. The target selection FOV will be >=20 square arcmin and the individual target FOV can be selected to be either 1.65×1.65arcsec or 1.65×3.3arcsec. They will be sampled spatially at 75mas and with spectral resolutions of 4000 and 10000. Optical designs for target acquisition systems, integral-field unit, and spectrographs have been developed. These will be compared and the expected performance will be described in terms of the number of targets, overall patrol field of view, individual field of view, throughput, spectral resolving power and image quality