Veterinary Arsenicals

Feed medication and other forms of chemotherapy in our meat-producing animals have caused heated controversies. Some of this confusion is due to both a distortion of and a lack of information. Arsenicals are some of the oldest compounds whose use in agriculture has been questioned. An attempt will be made to trace the historical use of arsenicals and to discuss their metabolism and side effects from a veterinarian\u27s point of view

Diagnosing people with dementia using automatic conversation analysis

A recent study using Conversation Analysis (CA) has demonstrated that communication problems may be picked up during conversations between patients and neurologists, and that this can be used to differentiate between patients with (progressive neurodegenerative dementia) ND and those with (nonprogressive) functional memory disorders (FMD). This paper presents a novel automatic method for transcribing such conversations and extracting CA-style features. A range of acoustic, syntactic, semantic and visual features were automatically extracted and used to train a set of classifiers. In a proof-of-principle style study, using data recording during real neurologist-patient consultations, we demonstrate that automatically extracting CA-style features gives a classification accuracy of 95%when using verbatim transcripts. Replacing those transcripts with automatic speech recognition transcripts, we obtain a classification accuracy of 79% which improves to 90% when feature selection is applied. This is a first and encouraging step towards replacing inaccurate, potentially stressful cognitive tests with a test based on monitoring conversation capabilities that could be conducted in e.g. the privacy of the patient’s own home

Correlated ππ\pi\pi and KKˉK\bar K exchange in the baryon-baryon interaction

A dynamical model for correlated two-pion and two-kaon exchange in the baryon- baryon interaction is presented, both in the scalar-isoscalar ($\sigma$) and the vector-isovector ($\rho$) channel. The correlations between the two pseudoscalar mesons are taken into account by means of $\pi\pi - K\bar K$ amplitudes derived from a meson-exchange model, which is in line with the empirical $\pi\pi$ data. It is found that correlated $K\bar K$ exchange plays an important role in the $\sigma$-channel for baryon-baryon states with non- vanishing strangeness. The strength of correlated $\pi\pi$ plus $K\bar K$ exchange in the $\sigma$-channel decreases with the strangeness of the baryon- baryon system becoming more negative. The results for correlated $\pi\pi$- exchange in the vector-isovector channel deviate from what is expected in the naive SU(3) picture for genuine $\rho$-exchange. Shortcomings of a simplified description in terms of sharp mass $\sigma$- and $\rho$-exchange are pointed out.Comment: 51 pages, Latex file, figures available from [email protected]

Genetic modification to improve disease resistance in crops

Plant pathogens are a significant challenge in agriculture despite our best efforts to combat them. One of the most effective and sustainable ways to manage plant pathogens is to use genetic modification (GM) and genome editing, expanding the breeder's toolkit. For use in the field, these solutions must be efficacious, with no negative effect on plant agronomy, and deployed thoughtfully. They must also not introduce a potential allergen or toxin. Expensive regulation of biotech crops is prohibitive for local solutions. With 11-30% average global yield losses and greater local impacts, tackling plant pathogens is an ethical imperative. We need to increase world food production by at least 60% using the same amount of land, by 2050. The time to act is now and we cannot afford to ignore the new solutions that GM provides to manage plant pathogens. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Do patients want choice? An observational study of neurology consultations

Objectives: To determine how often patients are given choice in neurology outpatient consultations and whether choice is associated with greater patient satisfaction. Methods: Prospective study in outpatient clinics in two United Kingdom centres. Interactions between 14 neurologists and 223 patients were studied. Participating doctors and patients completed post-appointment questionnaires asking whether choice had been offered/perceived. Patients completed the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale 21 (MISS-21). Results: Choice was reported after most encounters (patients 71.8%, neurologists 67.9%). Patients and Neurologists failed to agree about whether choice was offered after 32% of consultations. Choice was not associated with increased patient satisfaction. In fact, satisfaction was greater when no choice had been offered (p = 0.05). Satisfaction scores were also greater when doctors were more certain about the diagnosis and when symptoms were considered explained by a medical condition (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Choice featured in the majority of clinical interactions but clinicians and patients often disagreed whether this was the case. Choice was not associated with greater patient satisfaction. Practice implications: Clinicians need to be very explicit if they want patients to know that they are being given choices. Choice is not necessarily valued by patients in all clinical interactions

An avatar-based system for identifying individuals likely to develop dementia

This paper presents work on developing an automatic dementia screening test based on patients’ ability to interact and communicate — a highly cognitively demanding process where early signs of dementia can often be detected. Such a test would help general practitioners, with no specialist knowledge, make better diagnostic decisions as current tests lack specificity and sensitivity. We investigate the feasibility of basing the test on conversations between a ‘talking head’ (avatar) and a patient and we present a system for analysing such conversations for signs of dementia in the patient’s speech and language. Previously we proposed a semi-automatic system that transcribed conversations between patients and neurologists and extracted conversation analysis style features in order to differentiate between patients with progressive neurodegenerative dementia (ND) and functional memory disorders (FMD). Determining who talks when in the conversations was performed manually. In this study, we investigate a fully automatic system including speaker diarisation, and the use of additional acoustic and lexical features. Initial results from a pilot study are presented which shows that the avatar conversations can successfully classify ND/FMD with around 91% accuracy, which is in line with previous results for conversations that were led by a neurologist

Toward the Automation of Diagnostic Conversation Analysis in Patients with Memory Complaints.

BACKGROUND: The early diagnosis of dementia is of great clinical and social importance. A recent study using the qualitative methodology of conversation analysis (CA) demonstrated that language and communication problems are evident during interactions between patients and neurologists, and that interactional observations can be used to differentiate between cognitive difficulties due to neurodegenerative disorders (ND) or functional memory disorders (FMD). OBJECTIVE: This study explores whether the differential diagnostic analysis of doctor-patient interactions in a memory clinic can be automated. METHODS: Verbatim transcripts of conversations between neurologists and patients initially presenting with memory problems to a specialist clinic were produced manually (15 with FMD, and 15 with ND). A range of automatically detectable features focusing on acoustic, lexical, semantic, and visual information contained in the transcripts were defined aiming to replicate the diagnostic qualitative observations. The features were used to train a set of five machine learning classifiers to distinguish between ND and FMD. RESULTS: The mean rate of correct classification between ND and FMD was 93% ranging from 97% by the Perceptron classifier to 90% by the Random Forest classifier.Using only the ten best features, the mean correct classification score increased to 95%. CONCLUSION: This pilot study provides proof-of-principle that a machine learning approach to analyzing transcripts of interactions between neurologists and patients describing memory problems can distinguish people with neurodegenerative dementia from people with FMD

Neurologists’ experiences of participating in the CODES study—A multicentre randomised controlled trial comparing cognitive behavioural therapy vs standardised medical care for dissociative seizures

Purpose We investigated neurologists’ experience of participating in the large CODES trial involving around 900 adults with dissociative seizures which subsequently evaluated the effectiveness of tailored cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) plus standardised medical care versus standardised medical care alone in 368 patients with dissociative seizures. Method We asked all neurologists referring patients with dissociative seizures to the CODES study to complete a 43-item online survey. This examined neurologists’ (i) demographics, (ii) knowledge of dissociative seizures before and after their involvement in the CODES trial, (iii) clinical practice before, during and since their involvement, and (iv) their experience of the CODES trial. Results Forty-three (51%) neurologists completed the questionnaire. Only about half of neurologists could make referrals to psychological intervention specific for dissociative seizures before and after the trial. One-third of doctors reported having changed their referral practice following their involvement. The majority (>69%) agreed that patient satisfaction with different aspects of the trial was very high, and 83.7% thought that it was easy to recruit patients for the study. Over 90% agreed they would like the treatment pathway to continue. Respondents found different elements of the trial useful, in particular, the patient factsheet booklet (98%), diagnosis communication advice (93%) and the CBT package (93%). Conclusions Neurologists participating in CODES generally found it easy to recruit patients and perceived patient satisfaction as very high. However, 46.5% of neurologists could not offer psychotherapy once the trial had finished, suggesting that problems with lack of access to psychological treatment for dissociative seizures persist

Magnetic interaction induced by the anomaly in kaon-photoproductions

We study the role of magnetic interaction in the photoproduction of the kaon and hyperon. We find that the inclusion of a higher order diagram induced by the Wess-Zumio-Witten term has a significant contribution to the magnetic amplitude, which is compatible to the observed photon asymmetry in the forward angle region. This enables us to use the K^* coupling constants which have been determined in a microscopic way rather than the phenomenological ones which differ largely from the microscopic ones.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Stapled Oligosaccharides

Stapling short peptides to lock specific conformations and thereby obtain superior pharmacological properties is well established. However, similar concepts have not been applied to oligosaccharides. Here, we describe the design, synthesis, and characterization of the first stapled oligosaccharides. Automated assembly of β-(1,6)-glucans equipped with two alkenyl side chains was followed by on-resin Grubbs metathesis for efficient ring closure with a variety of cross-linkers of different sizes. Oligosaccharide stapling increases enzymatic stability and cell penetration, therefore opening new opportunities for the use of glycans in medicinal chemistry