A novel 4-dimensional live-cell imaging system to study leukocyte-endothelial dynamics in ANCA-associated vasculitis

This work was supported by the Lauren Currie Twilight Foundation, NHS Grampian Renal Endowment Fund and Aberdeen University Development Fund.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship ETR300 : Wonderuz Kids House / Nur Kamilah Abd Razak… [et al.]

Our company is known as Wonderuz Kids House. The business is in the form of partnership, which consists of six members. Each partner contributes certain amounts of cash as agreed in our agreement. We also get a loan from Bank Rakyat. Our nature of business is providing services. Generally our business will be operating at No. 15, Jalan Hibiscus 2, Taman Tiya Vista, 94300,Kota Samarahan Sarawak. All partners are entitled to participate in the business management. Now days, people are busy doing work. Most of them are parents which have small children. There are many parents looking for best nursery for their child age 3 month to 4 years old. Therefore, we would like to take this opportunity to establish a nursery service. Our group chooses this business because this service is demanded

Development of a Non-invasive Device for Swallow Screening in Patients at Risk of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia : Results from a Prospective Exploratory Study

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is prevalent in several at-risk populations, including post-stroke patients, patients in intensive care and the elderly. Dysphagia contributes to longer hospital stays and poor outcomes, including pneumonia. Early identification of dysphagia is recommended as part of the evaluation of at-risk patients, but available bedside screening tools perform inconsistently. In this study, we developed algorithms to detect swallowing impairment using a novel accelerometer-based dysphagia detection system (DDS). A sample of 344 individuals was enrolled across seven sites in the United States. Dual-axis accelerometry signals were collected prospectively with simultaneous videofluoroscopy (VFSS) during swallows of liquid barium stimuli in thin, mildly, moderately and extremely thick consistencies. Signal processing classifiers were trained using linear discriminant analysis and 10,000 random training-test data splits. The primary objective was to develop an algorithm to detect impaired swallowing safety with thin liquids with an area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) > 80% compared to the VFSS reference standard. Impaired swallowing safety was identified in 7.2% of the thin liquid boluses collected. At least one unsafe thin liquid bolus was found in 19.7% of participants, but participants did not exhibit impaired safety consistently. The DDS classifier algorithms identified participants with impaired thin liquid swallowing safety with a mean AUC of 81.5%, (sensitivity 90.4%, specificity 60.0%). Thicker consistencies were effective for reducing the frequency of penetration-aspiration. This DDS reached targeted performance goals in detecting impaired swallowing safety with thin liquids. Simultaneous measures by DDS and VFSS, as performed here, will be used for future validation studies.Peer reviewe

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Influence of Ocean Acidification on a Natural Winter-to-Summer Plankton Succession : First Insights from a Long-Term Mesocosm Study Draw Attention to Periods of Low Nutrient Concentrations

Every year, the oceans absorb about 30% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) leading to a re-equilibration of the marine carbonate system and decreasing seawater pH. Today, there is increasing awareness that these changes-summarized by the term ocean acidification (OA)-could differentially affect the competitive ability of marine organisms, thereby provoking a restructuring of marine ecosystems and biogeochemical element cycles. In winter 2013, we deployed ten pelagic mesocosms in the Gullmar Fjord at the Swedish west coast in order to study the effect of OA on plankton ecology and biogeochemistry under close to natural conditions. Five of the ten mesocosms were left unperturbed and served as controls (similar to 380 mu atm pCO(2)), whereas the others were enriched with CO2-saturated water to simulate realistic end-of-the-century carbonate chemistry conditions (mu 760 mu atm pCO(2)). We ran the experiment for 113 days which allowed us to study the influence of high CO2 on an entire winter-to-summer plankton succession and to investigate the potential of some plankton organisms for evolutionary adaptation to OA in their natural environment. This paper is the first in a PLOS collection and provides a detailed overview on the experimental design, important events, and the key complexities of such a "long-term mesocosm" approach. Furthermore, we analyzed whether simulated end-of-the-century carbonate chemistry conditions could lead to a significant restructuring of the plankton community in the course of the succession. At the level of detail analyzed in this overview paper we found that CO2-induced differences in plankton community composition were non-detectable during most of the succession except for a period where a phytoplankton bloom was fueled by remineralized nutrients. These results indicate: (1) Long-term studies with pelagic ecosystems are necessary to uncover OA-sensitive stages of succession. (2) Plankton communities fueled by regenerated nutrients may be more responsive to changing carbonate chemistry than those having access to high inorganic nutrient concentrations and may deserve particular attention in future studies.Peer reviewe

Deutsche Spuren in Lodz : Lehr- und Forschungsprojekte im Rahmen einer germanistischen Institutspartnerschaft

Women who have sex with women (WSW) have a higher burden of bacterial vaginosis (BV) than heterosexual women; studies of risk factors specific to this population are limited. We summarised current knowledge regarding risk factors for BV among WSW by systematic review.This systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. PUBMED, EMBASE, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library were searched to 31st December, 2014.1) WSW included in the study population; 2) accepted BV diagnostic method; 3) investigated or could extrapolate factors(s) associated with BV acquisition, persistence or transmission in WSW specifically by comparing BV positive to BV negative women. Search was limited to English-language publications.A limited number of studies have investigated BV in WSW. Of 71 unique references, 18 full-text articles were assessed and 14 studies fulfilled inclusion criteria. BV was positively associated with higher numbers of female partners, both lifetime and in the three months prior to diagnosis, and confirmed BV in a female partner, but inconsistently associated with partners' BV history or symptoms. BV was not associated with ethnicity, vaginal douching or hormonal contraception. The impact of specific sexual activities, male sexual contact, smoking and the menstrual cycle varied considerably between study populations.BV in WSW is associated with increased numbers of recent and past female partners and confirmed BV in a female partner. There are limited studies of BV in WSW populations, and research is needed to further elucidate risk factors for BV among WSW. However these data provide epidemiological evidence that BV risk in women is directly related to exposure to other female partners and a partner with BV, providing support for the concept that BV is likely to be transmitted between women.CRD42014009536 (PROSPERO)

Method for assessment of internal and statistical validity of studies included for review.

<p>Some criteria not applicable depending on study design, these boxes left blank in <b><i><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0141905#pone.0141905.t005" target="_blank">Table 5</a></i></b>.</p

Summary of associations with prevalent or incident/recurrent/persistent BV.

<p>^dDefined in recent sexual partner(s) in cross-sectional studies (either within last 12 months, or last 3 months), or a new sexual partner in longitudinal cohort studies.</p><p>^eSignificant on univariate analysis; significant on multivariate analysis when new FSP/MSP was combined with new MSP/FSP in a broader “new partner” category but for the majority of women this represented a new FSP. FSP (female sexual partner), MSP (male sexual partner)</p><p>Summary of associations with prevalent or incident/recurrent/persistent BV.</p

Variables investigated for association with BV in studies included for review.

<p>Blank where the variable not investigated or variable not stratified by WSW alone. Odds ratios/ Risk Ratio/ Hazard Ratio/ Proportions/ Kappa score for correlation of vaginal flora (95% confidence intervals) are displayed (<b>Bold</b> where significant) for factors associated with BV. Variables positively/ negatively associated with BV are from multivariate analyses unless otherwise indicated (P reported proportions only, ^U univariate analysis only). ^aSame study population (^aaSub-population; different variables investigated), ^bSame study population (^bbSub-population; different outcomes measured: prevalent, incident and persistent BV). */**/*** See ‘Notes’ column.–Data not shown; variable not associated with BV. FSP (female sexual partner), MSP (male sexual partner), m (months). BV (bacterial vaginosis), BVAB (bacterial vaginosis-associated bacteria)</p

Assessment of internal and statistical validity of studies included for review.

<p>^aaSub-population (of study^a); different variables investigated)</p><p>^bSame study population (^bbSub-population; different outcomes measured: prevalent, incident and persistent BV)</p><p>^cIncludes both women who have sex with women (WSW), women who have sex with men (WSM) and women who have sex with women and men (WSWM)</p><p>Blank where criteria not required due to study design.</p