Concurrent Assay for Four Bacterial Species Including Alloiococcus Otitidis in Middle Ear, Nasopharynx and Tonsils of Children with Otitis Media with Effusion: A Preliminary Report

ObjectivesTo detect the prevalences of Alloiococcus otitidis, as well as Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Moraxella catarrhalis in children with chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) and to simultaneously investigate the colonization of these bacteria in the nasopharynx and palatine tonsils of these patients.MethodsThe study included 34 pediatric patients with OME, and 15 controls without OME. In the study group, A. otitidis, H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae, and M. catarrhalis were investigated in the samples obtained from middle ear effusions (MEE), nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) and tonsillar swabs (TS), using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and conventional culture methods. Only the samples obtained from NPS and TS were studied with the same techniques in the control group.ResultsA. otitidis was isolated only in MEE and only with multiplex PCR method. A. otitidis, S. pneumoniae, M. catarrhalis, H. influenzae were identified in 35%, 8.8%, 8.8%, and 2.9%, respectively, in 34 MEE. A. otitidis was not isolated in NPS or TS of the study and the control groups.ConclusionThe prevalence of A.otitidis is high in children with OME and A.otitidis doesn't colonize in the nasopharynx or tonsil

Hybrid reconnaissance mission to the 30 October 2020 Aegean sea earthquake and tsunami (Izmir, Turkey & Samos, Greece): description of data collection methods and damage

On 30 October 2020, an earthquake of Mw 6.9 hit the Aegean coasts of Turkey and Greece. The epicentre was some 14 km northeast of Avlakia on Samos Island, and 25 km southwest of Seferihisar, Turkey, triggering also a tsunami. The event has been followed by >4,000 aftershocks up to Mw 5.2 The Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) has immediately gathered a team to conduct a hybrid reconnaissance study,bringing together remote and field investigation techniques. The mission took place between 16 November and 17 December, inclusive of three sets of field study carried out by the field crews for building damage assessment in the affected areas in Turkey and Greece under the coordination of the remote team. The mission also aimed to assess the viability of alternative data sources for an appraisal of the future viability of hybrid missions. This paper summarises the mission setup and findings, and discusses the benefits of and difficulties encountered during this hybrid reconnaissance activity

Anti-Muslim behavior in everyday interaction: evidence from a field experiment in Paris

International audienceNo other form of group antagonism affects the fate of so many people in France as anti-Muslim racism. While negative attitudes toward Muslims and Muslims’ experience of discrimination are well documented, studies of anti-Muslim behavior are rare, especially in the context of everyday interpersonal encounters. To fill this void, we conducted a field experiment on platforms of the Paris metro (n=270) in which a bearded confederate asked for help to randomly selected passengers giving additional indirect cues of being Muslim in the experimental condition. The outcomes under investigation were the probability of helping the confederate and various behaviors indicative of interpersonal warmth or involvement. Interactions were videotaped, the outcomes objectively measured, and the data analyzed using Generalized Linear Models estimated with Bayesian inference. Passengers were found to offer help less often and to show lower interpersonal warmth in the experimental condition. Also, when considered in isolation the young turn out to discriminate but not the middle-aged. Given that these negative effects were observed despite the use of a minimal stimulus, the results probably underestimate the actual level of anti-Muslim discrimination that Muslim men face in their everyday dealings with non Muslims

PREGNANCY OUTCOMES OF 115 CASES WITH MATERNAL HEART DISEASE

Objective: To evaluate the outcomes of pregnancies with maternal heart disease