The Extended Methanol Maser Emission in W51

The European VLBI Network (EVN) has been used to make phase referenced, wide-field (several arcminute) spectral line observations of the 6.7-GHz methanol maser emission towards W51. In the W51main region, the bulk of the methanol is offset from an UCHII region. This probably indicates the methanol emission arises at the interface of the expanding UCHII region and not from an edge-on circumstellar disc, as previously suggested. Near the W51 IRS2 region, the methanol emission is associated with a very compact, extremely embedded source supporting the hypothesis that methanol masers trace the earliest stages of massive star formation. As well as these two previously well studied sites of star formation, many previously unknown regions star formation are detected, demonstrating that methanol masers are powerful means of detection young massive stars.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Novel Loci for Adiponectin Levels and Their Influence on Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Traits : A Multi-Ethnic Meta-Analysis of 45,891 Individuals

J. Kaprio, S. Ripatti ja M.-L. Lokki työryhmien jäseniä.Peer reviewe

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Teaching secondary RE at faith schools in England and Wales: listening to the teachers

The present study begins by distinguishing between three kinds of ‘faith schools’ (known as schools with a religious character) within England and Wales: faith schools that operate within the state-maintained sector and had their origin in voluntary church-related initiatives prior to the Education Act 1870; ‘traditional’ independent faith schools, many of which had their roots in or before the nineteenth century; and ‘new’ independent faith schools, particularly Christian and Muslim schools, following the Rochester initiative in 1969. Second, the present study draws attention to and summarises a quantitative research tradition established in 1982 concerned with identifying the attitudes and values of teachers working specifically within Anglican faith schools within the state-maintained sector, and with modelling the influence of personal and religious factors in shaping their attitudes. Third, the present study reanalyses a new database profiling the views of subject leaders in religious education (RE) across a broad range of secondary schools with a religious character in England. These new analyses demonstrate the different priorities given to different aims of RE by teachers in this sector, and illustrates the relative influence of personal factors (age, sex, and church attendance), professional factors (years teaching, qualifications, and continuing professional development) and contextual factors (type of school) in shaping these priorities. The main findings are that personal and professional factors are largely irrelevant compared with the type of school. The aims of RE promoted within the new independent faith schools are largely indistinguishable from those within Church of England schools within the state-maintained sector. Compared with state-maintained Church of England schools, state-maintained Roman Catholic schools gave less priority in RE to promoting personal and social values, to promoting religious and spiritual nurture, and to promoting community cohesion

Effect of the presence of colostrum on microbial screening methods for antibiotic detection in goats milk

[EN] The aim of this work was to study the response of microbial tests used for the detection of antibiotics in colostrum and in colostrum-containing goats' milk. For this purpose, colostrum and milk samples were collected from 43 Murciano-Granadina goats every 12 h during the first 7 days of lactation. All samples were analysed by the microbial inhibitor tests BRT MRL, Delvotest SP-NT MCS and Eclipse 100. The results show that the tests were not suitable for the analysis of goat colostrum because they presented a high percentage of doubtful and positive results for samples of the first 24h post-partum. Only the Delvotest SP-NT MCS could be used successfully for samples from 36 h post-partum onwards, as it shows a very high specificity, while this was not obtained for BRT MRL and Eclipse 100 until 96 h post-partum. According to the logistic regression model, the occurrence of noncompliant results for these screening tests is mainly related to the high protein content of colostral secretions. Furthermore, to study the influence of the presence of colostrum on goats' milk, antibiotic and colostrum-free farm tank milk was used, to which different concentrations (n = 12) of colostrum obtained at different time points (12, 24,36 and 48 h) were added. Positive results appeared in BRT MRL for milk mixed with relatively low concentrations of colostrum collected at 12-24h post-partum (7.5-10%, respectively), while in the Delvotest SP-NT MCS and Eclipse 100 non-compliant results only occurred for milk with high concentrations (>= 35%) of colostrum for both time points. Moreover, high concentrations >= 20% of colostrum from 36 to 48 h are needed to affect the BRT MRL. Low concentrations of colostrum in milk that may cause non-compliant results can be avoided if good farming practices of identification and separation of goats at the beginning of lactation are respected. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work is part of the AGL-2009-11524 funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (Madrid, Spain) and the Generalitat Valenciana (ACOMP/2012/164, Valencia, Spain). The authors are grateful to AiM Analytik in MilchProduktions-und Vertriebs-GmbH (Munich, Germany), DSM Food Specialties (Delft, The Netherlands) and ZEULAB S.L. (Zaragoza, Spain) for their support.Romero Rueda, T.; Beltrán Martínez, MC.; Pérez Baena, I.; Rodríguez Garcia, M.; Molina Pons, MP. (2014). Effect of the presence of colostrum on microbial screening methods for antibiotic detection in goats milk. Small Ruminant Research. 121(2-3):376-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2014.07.007S3763811212-