An early evaluation of translocation actions for endangered plant species on Mediterranean islands

In situ conservation is widely considered a primary conservation strategy. Plant translocation, specifically, represents an important tool for reducing the extinction risk of threatened species. However, thus far, few documented translocations have been carried out in the Mediterranean islands. The Care-Mediflora project, carried out on six Mediterranean islands, tackles both short- and long-term needs for the insular endangered plants through in situ and ex situ conservation actions. The project approach is based on using ex situ activities as a tool to improve in situ conservation of threatened plant species. Fifty island plants (representing 45 taxa)were selected for translocations using common criteria. During the translocations, several approaches were used, which differed in site selection method, origin of genetic material, type of propagative material, planting method, and more. Although only preliminary data are available, some general lessons can be learned from the experience of the Care-Mediflora project. Among the factors restricting the implementation of translocations, limited financial resources appear to be the most important. Specific preliminary management actions, sometimes to be reiterated after translocation, increase the overall cost, but often are necessary for translocation success. Translocation using juvenile/reproductive plants produces better results over the short term, although seeds may provide good results over the long run (to be assessed in the future). Regardless, plant translocation success can only be detected over long periods; therefore, proper evaluation of plant translocations requires a long-term monitoring protocol. Care-Mediflora project represents the first attempt to combine the existing approaches in a common plant conservation strategy specifically focusing on the Mediterranean islands

A common approach to the conservation of threatened island vascular plants: First results in the mediterranean basin

The Mediterranean islands represent a center of vascular plant diversity featuring a high rate of endemic richness. Such richness is highly threatened, however, with many plants facing the risk of extinction and in need of urgent protection measures. The CARE-MEDIFLORA project promoted the use of ex situ collections to experiment with in situ active actions for threatened plants. Based on common criteria, a priority list of target plant species was elaborated, and germplasm conservation, curation and storage in seed banks was carried out. Accessions were duplicated in the seed banks of the partners or other institutions. Germination experiments were carried out on a selected group of threatened species. A total of 740 accessions from 429 vascular plants were stored in seed banks, and 410 seed germination experiments for 283 plants species were completed; a total of 63 in situ conservation actions were implemented, adopting different methodological protocols. For each conservation program, a specific monitoring protocol was implemented in collaboration with local and regional authorities. This project represents the first attempt to develop common strategies and an opportunity to join methods and methodologies focused on the conservation of threatened plants in unique natural laboratories such as the Mediterranean islands

SAFEGUARDS AND NONPROLIFERATION CONSIDERATIONS RELEVANT TO FUELS REFABRICATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Early in the Fuels Refabrication and Development (FRAD) program, it was recognized that safeguards and nonproliferation design criteria were needed to provide guidance to equipment, process, and facility designers. This need was highlighted by the recent attention given safeguards and proliferation. Because of this heightened concern, it was found that design criteria that adequately address safeguards and nonproliferation do not now exist. For this reason, a three-day workshop was convened to attempt to collect and organize existing information regarding design criteria. This document is a result of that undertaking and the subsequent efforts required to structure the information. In summary, it was found that domestic and international goals and objectives are reasonably well established. Goals and objectives for evaluating the proliferation resistance of a facility are less firmly defined. A listing of design criteria for domestic and international safeguards has not been compiled. This document presents a summary of considerations that must be incorporated into design criteria but stops short of developing a comprehensive list of design criteria. One is certainly needed and should be funded as a follow-on effort. Following the development of the design criteria, the next logical steps are the development of evaluation methodologies and acceptance criteria. These also were proposed as logical follow-on activities which would be needed before a major FRAD design activity could be initiated

Association of thyroid hormone therapy with quality of life and thyroid-related symptoms in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Importance: The benefit of thyroid hormone therapy for subclinical hypothyroidism is uncertain. New evidence from recent large randomized clinical trials warrants an update of previous meta-analyses. Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis of the association of thyroid hormone therapy with quality of life and thyroid-related symptoms in adults with subclinical hypothyroidism. Data Sources: PubMed, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CENTRAL, Emcare, and Academic Search Premier from inception until July 4, 2018. Study Selection: Randomized clinical trials that compared thyroid hormone therapy with placebo or no therapy in nonpregnant adults with subclinical hypothyroidism were eligible. Two reviewers independently evaluated eligibility based on titles and abstracts of all retrieved studies. Studies not excluded in this first step were independently assessed for inclusion after full-text evaluation by 2 reviewers. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Two independent reviewers extracted data, assessed risk of bias (Cochrane risk-of-bias tool), and evaluated the quality of evidence (GRADE tool). For synthesis, differences in clinical scores were transformed (eg, quality of life) into standardized mean differences (SMDs; positive values indicate benefit of thyroid hormone therapy; 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 correspond to small, moderate, and large effects, respectively). Random-effects models for meta-analyses were applied. Main Outcomes and Measures: General quality of life and thyroid-related symptoms after a minimum follow-up of 3 months. Results: Overall, 21 of 3088 initially identified publications met the inclusion criteria, with 2192 adults randomized. After treatment (range, 3-18 months), thyroid hormone therapy was associated with lowering the mean thyrotropin value into the normal reference range compared with placebo (range, 0.5-3.7 mIU/L vs 4.6 to 14.7 mIU/L) but was not associated with benefit regarding general quality of life (n = 796; SMD, −0.11; 95% CI, −0.25 to 0.03; I2=66.7%) or thyroid-related symptoms (n = 858; SMD, 0.01; 95% CI, −0.12 to 0.14; I2=0.0%). Overall, risk of bias was low and the quality of evidence assessed with the GRADE tool was judged moderate to high. Conclusions and Relevance: Among nonpregnant adults with subclinical hypothyroidism, the use of thyroid hormone therapy was not associated with improvements in general quality of life or thyroid-related symptoms. These findings do not support the routine use of thyroid hormone therapy in adults with subclinical hypothyroidism

Functional outcomes in adult patients with herpes simplex encephalitis admitted to the ICU: a multicenter cohort study

PURPOSE: We aimed to study the association of body temperature and other admission factors with outcomes of herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) adult patients requiring ICU admission. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective multicenter study on patients diagnosed with HSE in 47 ICUs in France, between 2007 and 2017. Fever was defined as a body temperature higher or equal to 38.3 °C. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with poor outcome at 90 days, defined by a score of 3-6 (indicating moderate-to-severe disability or death) on the modified Rankin scale. RESULTS: Overall, 259 patients with a score on the Glasgow coma scale of 9 (6-12) and a body temperature of 38.7 (38.1-39.2) °C at admission were studied. At 90 days, 185 (71%) patients had a poor outcome, including 44 (17%) deaths. After adjusting for age, fever (OR = 2.21; 95% CI 1.18-4.16), mechanical ventilation (OR = 2.21; 95% CI 1.21-4.03), and MRI brain lesions > 3 lobes (OR = 3.04; 95% CI 1.35-6.81) were independently associated with poor outcome. By contrast, a direct ICU admission, as compared to initial admission to the hospital wards (i.e., indirect ICU admission), was protective (OR = 0.52; 95% CI 0.28-0.95). Sensitivity analyses performed after adjustment for functional status before admission and reason for ICU admission yielded similar results. CONCLUSIONS: In HSE adult patients requiring ICU admission, several admission factors are associated with an increased risk of poor functional outcome. The identification of potentially modifiable factors, namely, elevated admission body temperature and indirect ICU admission, provides an opportunity for testing further intervention strategies

Stress-related cardiomyopathies

Stress-related cardiomyopathies can be observed in the four following situations: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or apical ballooning syndrome; acute left ventricular dysfunction associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage; acute left ventricular dysfunction associated with pheochromocytoma and exogenous catecholamine administration; acute left ventricular dysfunction in the critically ill. Cardiac toxicity was mediated more by catecholamines released directly into the heart via neural connection than by those reaching the heart via the bloodstream. The mechanisms underlying the association between this generalized autonomic storm secondary to a life-threatening stress and myocardial toxicity are widely discussed. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy has been reported all over the world and has been acknowledged by the American Heart Association as a form of reversible cardiomyopathy. Four "Mayo Clinic" diagnostic criteria are required for the diagnosis of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: 1) transient left ventricular wall motion abnormalities involving the apical and/or midventricular myocardial segments with wall motion abnormalities extending beyond a single epicardial coronary artery distribution; 2) absence of obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease that could be responsible for the observed wall motion abnormality; 3) ECG abnormalities, such as transient ST-segment elevation and/or diffuse T wave inversion associated with a slight troponin elevation; and 4) the lack of proven pheochromocytoma and myocarditis. ECG changes and LV dysfunction occur frequently following subarachnoid hemorrhage and ischemic stroke. This entity, referred as neurocardiogenic stunning, was called neurogenic stress-related cardiomyopathy. Stress-related cardiomyopathy has been reported in patients with pheochromocytoma and in patients receiving intravenous exogenous catecholamine administration. The role of a huge increase in endogenous and/or exogenous catecholamine level in critically ill patients (severe sepsis, post cardiac resuscitation, post tachycardia) to explain the onset of myocardial dysfunction was discussed. Further research is needed to understand this complex interaction between heart and brain and to identify risk factors and therapeutic and preventive strategies

Optimizing Therapy to Prevent Avoidable Hospital Admissions in Multimorbid Older Adults (OPERAM): cluster randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of optimising drug treatment on drug related hospital admissions in older adults with multimorbidity and polypharmacy admitted to hospital. DESIGN Cluster randomised controlled trial. SETTING 110 clusters of inpatient wards within university based hospitals in four European countries (Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, and Republic of Ireland) defined by attending hospital doctors. PARTICIPANTS 2008 older adults (≥70 years) with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic conditions) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs used long term). INTERVENTION Clinical staff clusters were randomised to usual care or a structured pharmacotherapy optimisation intervention performed at the individual level jointly by a doctor and a pharmacist, with the support of a clinical decision software system deploying the screening tool of older person's prescriptions and screening tool to alert to the right treatment (STOPP/START) criteria to identify potentially inappropriate prescribing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Primary outcome was first drug related hospital admission within 12 months. RESULTS 2008 older adults (median nine drugs) were randomised and enrolled in 54 intervention clusters (963 participants) and 56 control clusters (1045 participants) receiving usual care. In the intervention arm, 86.1% of participants (n=789) had inappropriate prescribing, with a mean of 2.75 (SD 2.24) STOPP/START recommendations for each participant. 62.2% (n=491) had ≥1 recommendation successfully implemented at two months, predominantly discontinuation of potentially inappropriate drugs. In the intervention group, 211 participants (21.9%) experienced a first drug related hospital admission compared with 234 (22.4%) in the control group. In the intention-to-treat analysis censored for death as competing event (n=375, 18.7%), the hazard ratio for first drug related hospital admission was 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.77 to 1.17). In the per protocol analysis, the hazard ratio for a drug related hospital admission was 0.91 (0.69 to 1.19). The hazard ratio for first fall was 0.96 (0.79 to 1.15; 237 v 263 first falls) and for death was 0.90 (0.71 to 1.13; 172 v 203 deaths). CONCLUSIONS Inappropriate prescribing was common in older adults with multimorbidity and polypharmacy admitted to hospital and was reduced through an intervention to optimise pharmacotherapy, but without effect on drug related hospital admissions. Additional efforts are needed to identify pharmacotherapy optimisation interventions that reduce inappropriate prescribing and improve patient outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02986425