308 research outputs found
MUSE observations of a changing-look AGN I: The re-appearance of the broad emission lines
Optical changing-look Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are a class of sources
that change type within a short timescale of years or decades. This change is
characterised by the appearance or disappearance of broad emission lines, often
associated with dramatic AGN continuum flux changes that are orders of
magnitude larger than those expected from typical AGN variability. In this work
we study for the first time the host galaxy of a changing-look AGN, Mrk 590,
using high spatial resolution optical and near-infrared observations. We
discover that after ~ 10 yr absence, the optical broad emission lines of Mrk
590 have reappeared. The AGN optical continuum flux however, is still ~ 10
times lower than that observed during the most luminous state in the 1990s. The
host galaxy shows a 4.5 kpc radius star-forming ring with knots of ionised and
cold molecular gas emission. Extended ionised and warm molecular gas emission
are detected in the nucleus, indicating that there is a reservoir of gas as
close as 60 pc from the black hole. We observe a nuclear gas spiral between
radii r ~ 0.5 - 2 kpc, which has been suggested as a dynamical mechanism able
to drive the necessary gas to fuel AGN. We also discover blue-shifted and high
velocity dispersion [O III] emission out to a radius of 1 kpc, tracing a
nuclear gas outflow. The gas dynamics in Mrk 590 suggest a complex balance
between gas inflow and outflow in the nucleus of the galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Intergroup struggles over victimhood in violent conflict: The victim-perpetrator paradigm
Most groups in violent, intergroup conflict perceive themselves to be the primary or sole
victims of that conflict. This often results in contention over who may claim victim status
and complicates a central aim of post-conflict processes, which is to acknowledge and
address harms experienced by the victims. Drawing from victimology scholarship and
intergroup relations theory, this article proposes the victim-perpetrator paradigm as a
framework to analyse how, why and to what end groups in conflict construct and maintain
their claims to the moral status of victim. This interdisciplinary paradigm builds on the
knowledge that groups utilise the âideal victimâ construction to exemplify their own
innocence and blamelessness in contrast to the wickedness of the perpetrator, setting the
two categories as separate and mutually exclusive even where experiences of violence
have been complex. Additionally, this construction provides for a core intergroup need
to achieve positive social identity, which groups may enhance by demonstrating a
maximum differentiation between the in-group as victims and those out-groups identified
as perpetrators. The paradigm contributes greater knowledge on the social roots of victim
contention in conflict, as well as how groups legitimise their violence against out-groups
during and after conflict
Ethanol production from steam exploded rapeseed straw and the process simulation using artificial neural networks
Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy
Background
A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets.
Methods
Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendallâs tau for dichotomous variables, or JonckheereâTerpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis.
Results
A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both pâ<â0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROCâ=â0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all pâ<â0.001).
Conclusion
We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty
Perceived Object Stability Depends on Multisensory Estimates of Gravity
BACKGROUND: How does the brain estimate object stability? Objects fall over when the gravity-projected centre-of-mass lies outside the point or area of support. To estimate an object's stability visually, the brain must integrate information across the shape and compare its orientation to gravity. When observers lie on their sides, gravity is perceived as tilted toward body orientation, consistent with a representation of gravity derived from multisensory information. We exploited this to test whether vestibular and kinesthetic information affect this visual task or whether the brain estimates object stability solely from visual information. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In three body orientations, participants viewed images of objects close to a table edge. We measured the critical angle at which each object appeared equally likely to fall over or right itself. Perceived gravity was measured using the subjective visual vertical. The results show that the perceived critical angle was significantly biased in the same direction as the subjective visual vertical (i.e., towards the multisensory estimate of gravity). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results rule out a general explanation that the brain depends solely on visual heuristics and assumptions about object stability. Instead, they suggest that multisensory estimates of gravity govern the perceived stability of objects, resulting in objects appearing more stable than they are when the head is tilted in the same direction in which they fall
Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis
Background: There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low-and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods: Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results: Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US 73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was 75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion: For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially
Magnet and button battery ingestion in children: multicentre observational study of management and outcomes
Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.
BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6Â months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30Â days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, pâ=â0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, pâ=â0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, pâ<â0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, pâ<â0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112
Populationâbased cohort study of outcomes following cholecystectomy for benign gallbladder diseases
Background The aim was to describe the management of benign gallbladder disease and identify characteristics associated with allâcause 30âday readmissions and complications in a prospective populationâbased cohort. Methods Data were collected on consecutive patients undergoing cholecystectomy in acute UK and Irish hospitals between 1 March and 1 May 2014. Potential explanatory variables influencing allâcause 30âday readmissions and complications were analysed by means of multilevel, multivariable logistic regression modelling using a twoâlevel hierarchical structure with patients (level 1) nested within hospitals (level 2). Results Data were collected on 8909 patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 167 hospitals. Some 1451 cholecystectomies (16·3 per cent) were performed as an emergency, 4165 (46·8 per cent) as elective operations, and 3293 patients (37·0 per cent) had had at least one previous emergency admission, but had surgery on a delayed basis. The readmission and complication rates at 30 days were 7·1 per cent (633 of 8909) and 10·8 per cent (962 of 8909) respectively. Both readmissions and complications were independently associated with increasing ASA fitness grade, duration of surgery, and increasing numbers of emergency admissions with gallbladder disease before cholecystectomy. No identifiable hospital characteristics were linked to readmissions and complications. Conclusion Readmissions and complications following cholecystectomy are common and associated with patient and disease characteristics
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