Prevalence of mixed genotype hepatitis C virus infections in the UK as determined by genotype‐specific PCR and deep sequencing

The incidence of mixed genotype hepatitis C virus infections in the UK is largely unknown. As the efficacy of direct acting antivirals is variable across different genotypes, treatment regimens are tailored to the infecting genotype, which may pose issues for the treatment of underlying genotypes within undiagnosed mixed genotype HCV infections. There is therefore a need to accurately diagnose mixed genotype infections prior to treatment. PCR-based diagnostic tools were developed to screen for the occurrence of mixed genotype infections caused by the most common UK genotypes, 1a and 3, in a cohort of 506 individuals diagnosed with either of these genotypes. The overall prevalence rate of mixed infection was 3.8% however this rate was unevenly distributed, with 6.7% of individuals diagnosed with genotype 3 harbouring genotype 1a strains and only 0.8% of samples from genotype 1a patients harbouring genotype 3 (p<0.05). Mixed infection samples consisted of a major and a minor genotype, with the latter constituting less than 21% of the total viral load and, in 67% of cases, less than 1% of the viral load. Analysis of a subset of the cohort by Illumina PCR-next generation sequencing resulted in a much greater incidence rate than obtained by PCR. This may have occurred due to the non-quantitative nature of the technique and despite the designation of false positive thresholds based on negative controls

On the relation between adjacent inviscid cell type solutions to the rotating-disk equations

Over a large range of the axial coordinate a typical higher-branch solution of the rotating-disk equations consists of a chain of inviscid cells separated from each other by viscous interlayers. In this paper the leading-order relation between two adjacent cells will be established by matched asymptotic expansions for general values of the parameter appearing in the equations. It is found that the relation between the solutions in the two cells crucially depends on the behaviour of the tangential velocity in the viscous interlayer. The results of the theory are compared with accurate numerical solutions and good agreement is obtained

The effects of foreign language programmes in early childhood education and care: a systematic review

This systematic review investigates the effects of foreign language programmes in early childhood education and care (ECEC), which are increasingly popular. Foreign language ECEC centres familiarise very young children with a foreign language, and in general also expose them to the majority language. This review synthesises research on the effects of foreign language ECEC on children’s development of the foreign language, majority language, first language, and wellbeing, as well as programme-related and child-related factors that influence language development and wellbeing. The reviewed studies indicate that foreign language ECEC fosters foreign language development, without negatively impacting the majority and first language. Children can experience positive wellbeing in these programmes, but only if programmes are play-based and if the language policy is not too strict. Some studies report that programme characteristics, such as input quantity, language policy, and teacher strategies, modulate the effects of foreign language ECEC on language development and wellbeing. Few of the reviewed studies examined child characteristics, but the available findings indicate that children’s age, as well as their temperament and in-class behaviour, are related to foreign language learning. However, these findings need to be interpreted with caution, because research into foreign language ECEC is still in its infancy

Novel model for end-neuroma formation in the amputated rabbit forelimb

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The forelimb amputee poses many reconstructive challenges in the clinical setting, and there is a paucity of established surgical models for study. To further elucidate the pathogenic process in amputation neuroma formation, we created a reproducible, well-tolerated rabbit forelimb amputation model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Upon approval from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, 5 New Zealand White rabbits underwent left forelimb amputation. During this initial surgery, the median, radial and ulnar nerves were transected 1.6-2.5 (mean 2.0) cm distal to the brachial plexus, transposed onto the anterior chest wall and preserved at length. Six weeks subsequent to the amputation, the distal 5 mm of each neuroma was excised, and the remaining stump underwent histomorphometric analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The nerve cross sectional areas increased by factors of 1.99, 3.17, and 2.59 in the median (p = 0.077), radial (p < 0.0001) and the ulnar (p = 0.0026) nerves, respectively. At the axonal level, the number and cross-sectional area of myelinated fibers demonstrated an inverse relationship whereby the number of myelinated fibers in the median, radial and ulnar nerves increased by factors of 5.13 (p = 0.0043), 5.25 (p = 0.0056) and 5.59 (p = 0.0027), and the cross-sectional areas of these myelinated fibers decreased by factors of 4.62 (p < 0.001), 3.51 (p < 0.01), and 4.29 (p = 0.0259), respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Given that the surgical model appears well-tolerated by the rabbits and that patterns of morphologic change are consistent and reproducible, we are encouraged to further investigate the utility of this model in the pathogenesis of neuroma formation.</p

An asymptotic treatment of the Elenbaas–Heller equation for a radiating wall‐stabilized high‐pressure gas‐discharge arc

An asymptotic analysis of the Elenbaas–Heller equation for a radiating wall-stabilized high-pressure gas-discharge arc is given. This analysis applies when the operating temperatures within the arc are lower than the ionization temperature by an order of magnitude. It is shown that for arcs that are radiating highly efficiently a further asymptotic treatment can be given. It is shown under what conditions, governed by a dimensionless parameter M, this limiting case prevails. Comparison with earlier results put forward by Zollweg [J. Appl. Phys. 49, 1077 (1978)] shows satisfactory agreement

Effect of minimal enteral feeding on recovery in a methotrexate-induced gastrointestinal mucositis rat model

Patients suffering from gastrointestinal mucositis often receive parenteral nutrition as nutritional support. However, the absence of enteral nutrition might not be beneficial for the intestine. We aimed to determine the feasibility of minimal enteral feeding (MEF) administration in a methotrexate (MTX)-induced mucositis rat model and thereby determine the effect of MEF on recovery. Male Wistar rats were attached to swivel systems from day 1 to 5 after 45 mg/kg MTX IV injection. The MTX group continued ad libitum feeding, and the MTX + MEF group continued ad libitum feeding and received from day 1 to 5 continuously MEF. MEF consisted of 20 % of their normal caloric intake. We measured body weight, intake, and plasma citrulline. At day 10, the rats were terminated and villus and crypt length were measured. The administration of MEF caused no increased severity of mucositis phenotype, with comparable caloric intake, body weight, and plasma citrulline during mucositis. The recovery of plasma citrulline levels was not different between both groups. At day 7 and 8, the MTX + MEF group gained significantly more weight (p <0.05 and p <0.01, respectively), and at day 8 and 9 the total caloric intake was significantly increased (p <0.01 and p <0.05, respectively) compared to the MTX group. At day 10, the rats from the MTX + MEF group showed a significant increase in jejunal villus length compared to the MTX group (p <0.05). This is the first study in which the feasibility of MEF administration during chemotherapy-induced mucositis was determined. This study indicates that MEF administration is feasible during mucositis and suggests that MEF accelerates recovery after MTX-induced mucositis

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1, human protein interaction database at NCBI

The ‘Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1), Human Protein Interaction Database’, available through the National Library of Medicine at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/RefSeq/HIVInteractions, was created to catalog all interactions between HIV-1 and human proteins published in the peer-reviewed literature. The database serves the scientific community exploring the discovery of novel HIV vaccine candidates and therapeutic targets. To facilitate this discovery approach, the following information for each HIV-1 human protein interaction is provided and can be retrieved without restriction by web-based downloads and ftp protocols: Reference Sequence (RefSeq) protein accession numbers, Entrez Gene identification numbers, brief descriptions of the interactions, searchable keywords for interactions and PubMed identification numbers (PMIDs) of journal articles describing the interactions. Currently, 2589 unique HIV-1 to human protein interactions and 5135 brief descriptions of the interactions, with a total of 14 312 PMID references to the original articles reporting the interactions, are stored in this growing database. In addition, all protein–protein interactions documented in the database are integrated into Entrez Gene records and listed in the ‘HIV-1 protein interactions’ section of Entrez Gene reports. The database is also tightly linked to other databases through Entrez Gene, enabling users to search for an abundance of information related to HIV pathogenesis and replication

Observational Study Design in Veterinary Pathology, Part 1: Study Design

Observational studies are the basis for much of our knowledge of veterinary pathology and are highly relevant to the daily practice of pathology. However, recommendations for conducting pathology-based observational studies are not readily available. In part 1 of this series, we offer advice on planning and conducting an observational study with examples from the veterinary pathology literature. Investigators should recognize the importance of creativity, insight, and innovation in devising studies that solve problems and fill important gaps in knowledge. Studies should focus on specific and testable hypotheses, questions, or objectives. The methodology is developed to support these goals. We consider the merits and limitations of different types of analytic and descriptive studies, as well as of prospective vs retrospective enrollment. Investigators should define clear inclusion and exclusion criteria and select adequate numbers of study subjects, including careful selection of the most appropriate controls. Studies of causality must consider the temporal relationships between variables and the advantages of measuring incident cases rather than prevalent cases. Investigators must consider unique aspects of studies based on archived laboratory case material and take particular care to consider and mitigate the potential for selection bias and information bias. We close by discussing approaches to adding value and impact to observational studies. Part 2 of the series focuses on methodology and validation of methods