<i>Legionella</i> species: A potential problem associated with rain water harvesting systems?

The risk of Legionella transmission from rain water harvesting (RWH)-fed water toilet flushing was investigated. Experiments monitored RWH tanks to determine Legionella spp. presence which was successfully isolated from three of four of RWH tanks (site 1: 3600 CFU/dm3 in February and 3600 CFU/dm3 in May; site 2: not detected; site 3: 3; site 4: 44,000 GU/dm3), and to determine whether toilets could generate aerosol droplets capable of harbouring bacteria. The concentrations of particles measuring 10 µm or less in diameter (PM10, capable of reaching the alveolar region of the lungs and causing disease) were monitored following flushes. Aerosols were detectable in an enclosed toilet cubicle (PM10 concentration increased in one experiment from 0.038 mg/m3 when t = 1–600 s to 0.057 mg/m3 when t = 600–800 s). Recovery of Lactobacillus plantarum (surrogate for Legionella) from a seeded toilet cistern (108 CFU ml/dm3) indicated that bacteria were expelled, as demonstrated by recovery on MRS plates placed around the toilet unit. Legionella could be dispersed via aerosols from a toilet flushed with water from an RWH system and the effect would be more pronounced in smaller, enclosed areas, but this is unlikely to pose a risk to human health

"The communication and support from the health professional is incredibly important": A qualitative study exploring the processes and practices that support parental decision-making about postmortem examination

Background Consent rates for postmortem (PM) examination in the perinatal and paediatric setting have dropped significantly in the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Western Europe. We explored the factors that act as facilitators or barriers to consent and identified processes and practices that support parental decision‐making. Methods A qualitative study conducted with bereaved parents, parent advocates, and health care professionals in the United Kingdom. Analysis was conducted on 439 free‐tect comments within a cross‐sectional survey, interviews with a subset of 20 survey respondents and 25 health professionals, and a focus group with five parent advocates. Results Three broad parental decision‐making groups were identified: 1, “Not open to postmortem examination”; 2, “Consent regardless of concerns”; and 3, “Initially undecided.” Decisional drivers that were particularly important for this “undecided” group were “the initial approach,” “adjustment and deliberation,” “detailed discussion about the procedure,” and “formal consent.” The way in which these were managed by health care staff significantly impacted whether those parents' consented to PM, particularly for those who are ambivalent about the procedure. Conclusions We propose a set of recommendations to improve the way PM counselling and consent is managed. Adopting such measures is likely to lead to improved family experience and more consistent and high‐quality discussion regarding PM

Knowledge Graph Exploration: A Usability Evaluation of Query Builders for Laypeople

SPARQL enables users to access and browse knowledge graphs in a precise way. However, using SPARQL requires knowledge that many casual users lack. To counter this, specific tools have been created that enable more casual users to browse and query results. This paper evaluates and compares the most prominent techniques, QueryVOWL, SPARKLIS and the Wikidata Query Service (WQS), through a usability evaluation, using a mixed-method evaluation based on usability metrics and heuristics, containing both quantitative and qualitative data. The findings show that while WQS achieved the best results, usability problems were encountered in all tools. Key aspects for usability, extracted from the evaluation, serve as important contributions for future query builders

Urinary biomarker concentrations of captan, chlormequat, chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin in UK adults and children living near agricultural land

There is limited information on the exposure to pesticides experienced by UK residents living near agricultural land. This study aimed to investigate their pesticide exposure in relation to spray events. Farmers treating crops with captan, chlormequat, chlorpyrifos or cypermethrin provided spray event information. Adults and children residing ≤100 m from sprayed fields provided first-morning void urine samples during and outwith the spray season. Selected samples (1–2 days after a spray event and at other times (background samples)) were analysed and creatinine adjusted. Generalised Linear Mixed Models were used to investigate if urinary biomarkers of these pesticides were elevated after spray events. The final data set for statistical analysis contained 1518 urine samples from 140 participants, consisting of 523 spray event and 995 background samples which were analysed for pesticide urinary biomarkers. For captan and cypermethrin, the proportion of values below the limit of detection was greater than 80%, with no difference between spray event and background samples. For chlormequat and chlorpyrifos, the geometric mean urinary biomarker concentrations following spray events were 15.4 μg/g creatinine and 2.5 μg/g creatinine, respectively, compared with 16.5 μg/g creatinine and 3.0 μg/g creatinine for background samples within the spraying season. Outwith the spraying season, concentrations for chlorpyrifos were the same as those within spraying season backgrounds, but for chlormequat, lower concentrations were observed outwith the spraying season (12.3 μg/g creatinine). Overall, we observed no evidence indicative of additional urinary pesticide biomarker excretion as a result of spray events, suggesting that sources other than local spraying are responsible for the relatively low urinary pesticide biomarkers detected in the study population

Exploring New Physics in the C7-C7' plane

The Wilson coefficient C7 governing the radiative electromagnetic decays of B meson has been calculated to a very high accuracy in the Standard Model, but experimental bounds on either the magnitude or the sign of C7 are often model-dependent. In the present paper, we attempt at constraining both the magnitude and sign of C7 using a systematic approach. We consider already measured observables like the branching ratios of B \rightarrow Xs mu+ mu- and B \rightarrow Xs gamma, the isospin and CP asymmetries in B \rightarrow K* gamma, as well as AFB and FL in B \rightarrow K*l+l-. We also discuss the transverse observable AT2 which, once measured, may help to disentangle some of the scenarios considered. We explore the constraints on C7, C9, C10 as well as their chirality-flipped counterparts. Within our framework, we find that we need to extend the constraints up to 1.6 sigma to allow for the "flipped-sign solution" of C7. The SM solution for C7 exhibits a very mild tension if New Physics is allowed in dipole operators only. We provide semi-numerical expressions for all these observables as functions of the relevant Wilson coefficients at the low scale.Comment: 54 pages, 16 figures, 15 tables. Normalization factor introduced for the integrated AFB and FL in Sec.2.5 (Eq.2.35-2.38). Conclusions unchanged. Not updated in JHE

Genetic risk factors for ischaemic stroke and its subtypes (the METASTROKE Collaboration): a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies

&lt;p&gt;Background - Various genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been done in ischaemic stroke, identifying a few loci associated with the disease, but sample sizes have been 3500 cases or less. We established the METASTROKE collaboration with the aim of validating associations from previous GWAS and identifying novel genetic associations through meta-analysis of GWAS datasets for ischaemic stroke and its subtypes.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Methods - We meta-analysed data from 15 ischaemic stroke cohorts with a total of 12 389 individuals with ischaemic stroke and 62 004 controls, all of European ancestry. For the associations reaching genome-wide significance in METASTROKE, we did a further analysis, conditioning on the lead single nucleotide polymorphism in every associated region. Replication of novel suggestive signals was done in 13 347 cases and 29 083 controls.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Findings - We verified previous associations for cardioembolic stroke near PITX2 (p=2·8×10−16) and ZFHX3 (p=2·28×10−8), and for large-vessel stroke at a 9p21 locus (p=3·32×10−5) and HDAC9 (p=2·03×10−12). Additionally, we verified that all associations were subtype specific. Conditional analysis in the three regions for which the associations reached genome-wide significance (PITX2, ZFHX3, and HDAC9) indicated that all the signal in each region could be attributed to one risk haplotype. We also identified 12 potentially novel loci at p&#60;5×10−6. However, we were unable to replicate any of these novel associations in the replication cohort.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Interpretation - Our results show that, although genetic variants can be detected in patients with ischaemic stroke when compared with controls, all associations we were able to confirm are specific to a stroke subtype. This finding has two implications. First, to maximise success of genetic studies in ischaemic stroke, detailed stroke subtyping is required. Second, different genetic pathophysiological mechanisms seem to be associated with different stroke subtypes.&lt;/p&gt

The potential of unmanned aerial systems for sea turtle research and conservation: A review and future directions

This is the final version. Available on open access from Inter Research via the DOI in this recordThe use of satellite systems and manned aircraft surveys for remote data collection has been shown to be transformative for sea turtle conservation and research by enabling the collection of data on turtles and their habitats over larger areas than can be achieved by surveys on foot or by boat. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are increasingly being adopted to gather data, at previously unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions in diverse geographic locations. This easily accessible, low-cost tool is improving existing research methods and enabling novel approaches in marine turtle ecology and conservation. Here we review the diverse ways in which incorporating inexpensive UAVs may reduce costs and field time while improving safety and data quality and quantity over existing methods for studies on turtle nesting, at-sea distribution and behaviour surveys, as well as expanding into new avenues such as surveillance against illegal take. Furthermore, we highlight the impact that high-quality aerial imagery captured by UAVs can have for public outreach and engagement. This technology does not come without challenges. We discuss the potential constraints of these systems within the ethical and legal frameworks which researchers must operate and the difficulties that can result with regard to storage and analysis of large amounts of imagery. We then suggest areas where technological development could further expand the utility of UAVs as data-gathering tools; for example, functioning as downloading nodes for data collected by sensors placed on turtles. Development of methods for the use of UAVs in sea turtle research will serve as case studies for use with other marine and terrestrial taxa

Effect of mivacurium 200 and 250 μg/kg in infants during isoflurane anesthesia: a randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN07742712]

BACKGROUND: Infants usually respond differently to a neuromuscular relaxant compared to children or adults. Isoflurane is commonly used as an anesthetic gas in infants. In an RCT design, we investigated whether a dose of mivacurium 250 μg/kg results in faster onset of action than 200 μg/kg in infants under isoflurane anesthesia. Spontaneous recovery times and cardiovascular response were also evaluated. METHODS: Twenty-four low surgical risk children, aged 6–24 months, undergoing an elective surgery and requiring tracheal intubation were selected. After anesthetic induction, patients randomly received an iv bolus dose of mivacurium 200 or 250 μg/kg. After maximal relaxation, the patient was intubated. Isoflurane was administered to maintain anesthetic level during the surgical procedure. Neuromuscular function was monitored by accelerometry (TOF-Guard) at the adductor pollicies. The first twitch (T) of the TOF and the T4/T1 were measured. The time-course of heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were analysed by transforming them into their respective areas under the curve. RESULTS: Mivacurium 250 μg/kg produced a maximal T block faster than 200 μg/kg, i.e. 2.4 ± 1.1 vs. 3.5 ± 1.4 min (p < 0.05). Spontaneous recovery times were similar in both groups. Heart rate was similar between doses while systolic and diastolic blood pressures were lower with the higher dose (p < 0.05). Flushing was observed in two cases, one in each group. CONCLUSIONS: The maximal effect of mivacurium 250 μg/kg, in infants under isoflurane anesthesia, was present one minute faster than 200 μg/kg. However, it produced a significant cardiovascular response

CD4+ T Cell Effects on CD8+ T Cell Location Defined Using Bioluminescence

T lymphocytes of the CD8+ class are critical in delivering cytotoxic function and in controlling viral and intracellular infections. These cells are “helped” by T lymphocytes of the CD4+ class, which facilitate their activation, clonal expansion, full differentiation and the persistence of memory. In this study we investigated the impact of CD4+ T cells on the location of CD8+ T cells, using antibody-mediated CD4+ T cell depletion and imaging the antigen-driven redistribution of bioluminescent CD8+ T cells in living mice. We documented that CD4+ T cells influence the biodistribution of CD8+ T cells, favoring their localization to abdominal lymph nodes. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that this was associated with an increase in the expression of specific integrins. The presence of CD4+ T cells at the time of initial CD8+ T cell activation also influences their biodistribution in the memory phase. Based on these results, we propose the model that one of the functions of CD4+ T cell “help” is to program the homing potential of CD8+ T cells

Healthcare workers' attitudes towards working during pandemic influenza: A multi method study

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) will be key players in any response to pandemic influenza, and will be in the front line of exposure to infection. Responding effectively to a pandemic relies on the majority of medical, nursing, laboratory and hotel services staff continuing to work normally. Planning assumes that during a pandemic normal healthcare service levels will be provided, although it anticipates that as caseloads increase only essential care will be provided. The ability of the NHS to provide expected service levels is entirely dependent upon HCWs continuing to work as normal. Methods/design: This study is designed as a two-phase multi-method study, incorporating focus groups and a questionnaire survey. In phase one, qualitative methods will be used to collect the views of a purposive sample of HCWs, to determine the range of factors associated with their responses to the prospect of working through pandemic influenza. In phase two, the findings from the focus groups, combined with the available literature, will be used to inform the design of a survey to determine the generalisability of these factors, enabling the estimation of the likely proportion of HCWs affected by each factor, and how likely it is that they would be willing and/or able to continue to work during an influenza pandemic. Discussion: There are potentially greater than normal health risks for some healthcare workers working during a pandemic, and these workers may be concerned about infecting family members/ friends. HCWs will be as liable as other workers to care for sick family members and friends. It is vital to have information about how motivated HCWs will be to continue to work during such a crisis, and what factors might influence their decision to work/not to work. Through the identification and subsequent management of these factors it may be possible to implement strategies that will alleviate the concerns and fears of HCWs and remove potential barriers to working