The Effects of COVID-19 Social Isolation on Binge-Drinking Behaviors in College Students

Alcohol sales have increased drastically during the COVID-19 quarantine (Rehm et al 2020) and people have begun drinking 2-3 more drinks on average, than they did prior to COVID-19 (Lechner et al 2020). We predicted that social isolation due to COVID-19 would negatively correlate with a person\u27s number of binge-drinking episodes. 40 participants completed a survey and answered questions about the number of social contacts they maintain and their drinking habits. Participants took both the AUDIT-C and CAGE-4 questionnaires, which provide an accurate quantifiable value of a person\u27s likelihood to engage in binge-drinking. There was no significant correlation present between social isolation and binge-drinking behaviors. These findings are unlike any similar research studies, but it may indicate that there is not a relationship between isolation and alcohol misuse behaviors

Simulating tidal and storm surge hydraulics with a simple 2D inertia based model, in the Humber Estuary, U.K

The hydraulic modelling of tidal estuarine environments has been largely limited to complex 3D models that are computationally expensive. This makes them unsuitable for applications which make use of live data to make real/near time forecasts, such as the modelling of storm surge propagation and associated flood inundation risks. To address this requirement for a computationally efficient method a reduced complexity, depth-integrated 2D storage cell model (Lisflood-FP) has been applied to the Humber Estuary, UK. The capability of Lisflood-FP to reproduce the tidal heights of the Humber Estuary has been shown by comparing modelled and observed tidal stage heights over a period of a week. The feasibility of using the Lisflood-FP model to forecast flood inundation risk from a storm surge is demonstrated by reproducing the major storm surge that struck the UK East Coast and Humber Estuary on 5 December 2013. Results show that even for this 2013 extreme event the model is capable of reproducing the hydraulics and tidal levels of the estuary. Using present day flood defences and observed flooding extents, the modelled flood inundation areas produced by the model were compared, showing agreement in most areas and illustrating the model's potential as a now-casting early warning system when driven by publically available data, and in near real-time. The Lisflood-FP model used was incorporated into the CAESAR-Lisflood GUI, with the calibration and verification of the estuarine hydraulics reported herein being a key step in creating an estuary evolution model, capable of operating in the decadal to century timescales that are presently underrepresented in estuarine predictive capability, and ultimately developing a model to predict the evolution of flood risk over the longer term

A direct comparison of decision rules for early discharge of suspected acute coronary syndromes in the era of high sensitivity troponin

Background: We tested the hypothesis that a single high sensitivity troponin at limits of detection (LOD HSTnT) (&lt;5 ng/l) combined with a presentation non-ischaemic electrocardiogram is superior to low-risk Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) (&lt;75), Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) (≤1) and History, ECG, Age, Risk factors and Troponin (HEART) score (≤3) as an aid to early, safe discharge for suspected acute coronary syndrome. Methods: In a prospective cohort study, risk scores were computed in consecutive patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome presenting to the Emergency Room of a large English hospital. Adjudication of myocardial infarction, as per third universal definition, involved a two-physician, blinded, independent review of all biomarker positive chest pain re-presentations to any national hospital. The primary and secondary outcome was a composite of type 1 myocardial infarction, unplanned coronary revascularisation and all cause death (MACE) at six weeks and one year. Results: Of 3054 consecutive presentations with chest pain 1642 had suspected acute coronary syndrome (52% male, median age 59 years, 14% diabetic, 20% previous myocardial infarction). Median time from chest pain to presentation was 9.7 h. Re-presentations occurred in eight hospitals with 100% follow-up achieved. Two hundred and eleven (12.9%) and 279 (17%) were adjudicated to suffer MACE at six weeks and one year respectively. Only HEART ≤3 (negative predictive value MACE 99.4%, sensitivity 97.6%, %discharge 53.4) and LOD HSTnT strategy (negative predictive value MACE 99.8%, sensitivity 99.5%, %discharge 36.9) achieved pre-specified negative predictive value of &gt;99% for MACE at six weeks. For type 1 myocardial infarction alone the negative predictive values at six weeks and one year were identical, for both HEART ≤3 and LOD HSTnT at 99.8% and 99.5% respectively. Conclusion: HEART ≤3 or LOD HSTnT strategy rules out short and medium term myocardial infarction with ≥99.5% certainty, and short-term MACE with &gt;99% certainty, allowing for early discharge of 53.4% and 36.9% respectively of suspected acute coronary syndrome. Adoption of either strategy has the potential to greatly reduce Emergency Room pressures and minimise follow-up investigations. Very early presenters (&lt;3 h), due to limited numbers, are excluded from these conclusions. </jats:sec

Adding functionality with additive manufacturing : fabrication of titanium-based antibiotic eluting implants

Additive manufacturing technologies have been utilised in healthcare to create patient-specific implants. This study demonstrates the potential to add new implant functionality by further exploiting the design flexibility of these technologies. Selective laser melting was used to manufacture titanium-based (Ti-6Al-4V) implants containing a reservoir. Pore channels, connecting the implant surface to the reservoir, were incorporated to facilitate antibiotic delivery. An injectable brushite, calcium phosphate cement, was formulated as a carrier vehicle for gentamicin. Incorporation of the antibiotic significantly (p=0.01) improved the compressive strength (5.8±0.7MPa) of the cement compared to non-antibiotic samples. The controlled release of gentamicin sulphate from the calcium phosphate cement injected into the implant reservoir was demonstrated in short term elution studies using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Orientation of the implant pore channels were shown, using micro-computed tomography, to impact design reproducibility and the back-pressure generated during cement injection which ultimately altered porosity. The amount of antibiotic released from all implant designs over a 6hour period (<28% of the total amount) were found to exceed the minimum inhibitory concentrations of Staphylococcus aureus (16μg/mL) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (1μg/mL); two bacterial species commonly associated with periprosthetic infections. Antibacterial efficacy was confirmed against both bacterial cultures using an agar diffusion assay. Interestingly, pore channel orientation was shown to influence the directionality of inhibition zones. Promisingly, this work demonstrates the potential to additively manufacture a titanium-based antibiotic eluting implant, which is an attractive alternative to current treatment strategies of periprosthetic infections

Incidence and phenotypes of childhood-onset genetic epilepsies:a prospective population-based national cohort

Epilepsy is common in early childhood. In this age group it is associated with high rates of therapy-resistance, and with cognitive, motor, and behavioural comorbidity. A large number of genes, with wide ranging functions, are implicated in its aetiology, especially in those with therapy-resistant seizures. Identifying the more common single-gene epilepsies will aid in targeting resources, the prioritization of diagnostic testing and development of precision therapy. Previous studies of genetic testing in epilepsy have not been prospective and population-based. Therefore, the population-incidence of common genetic epilepsies remains unknown. The objective of this study was to describe the incidence and phenotypic spectrum of the most common single-gene epilepsies in young children, and to calculate what proportion are amenable to precision therapy. This was a prospective national epidemiological cohort study. All children presenting with epilepsy before 36 months of age were eligible. Children presenting with recurrent prolonged (&gt;10 min) febrile seizures; febrile or afebrile status epilepticus (&gt;30 min); or with clusters of two or more febrile or afebrile seizures within a 24-h period were also eligible. Participants were recruited from all 20 regional paediatric departments and four tertiary children’s hospitals in Scotland over a 3-year period. DNA samples were tested on a custom-designed 104-gene epilepsy panel. Detailed clinical information was systematically gathered at initial presentation and during follow-up. Clinical and genetic data were reviewed by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and genetic scientists. The pathogenic significance of the genetic variants was assessed in accordance with the guidelines of UK Association of Clinical Genetic Science (ACGS). Of the 343 patients who met inclusion criteria, 333 completed genetic testing, and 80/333 (24%) had a diagnostic genetic finding. The overall estimated annual incidence of single-gene epilepsies in this well-defined population was 1 per 2120 live births (47.2/100 000; 95% confidence interval 36.9–57.5). PRRT2 was the most common single-gene epilepsy with an incidence of 1 per 9970 live births (10.0/100 000; 95% confidence interval 5.26–14.8) followed by SCN1A: 1 per 12 200 (8.26/100 000; 95% confidence interval 3.93–12.6); KCNQ2: 1 per 17 000 (5.89/100 000; 95% confidence interval 2.24–9.56) and SLC2A1: 1 per 24 300 (4.13/100 000; 95% confidence interval 1.07–7.19). Presentation before the age of 6 months, and presentation with afebrile focal seizures were significantly associated with genetic diagnosis. Single-gene disorders accounted for a quarter of the seizure disorders in this cohort. Genetic testing is recommended to identify children who may benefit from precision treatment and should be mainstream practice in early childhood onset epilepsy

Crowdsourcing hypothesis tests: Making transparent how design choices shape research results

To what extent are research results influenced by subjective decisions that scientists make as they design studies? Fifteen research teams independently designed studies to answer fiveoriginal research questions related to moral judgments, negotiations, and implicit cognition. Participants from two separate large samples (total N > 15,000) were then randomly assigned to complete one version of each study. Effect sizes varied dramatically across different sets of materials designed to test the same hypothesis: materials from different teams renderedstatistically significant effects in opposite directions for four out of five hypotheses, with the narrowest range in estimates being d = -0.37 to +0.26. Meta-analysis and a Bayesian perspective on the results revealed overall support for two hypotheses, and a lack of support for three hypotheses. Overall, practically none of the variability in effect sizes was attributable to the skill of the research team in designing materials, while considerable variability was attributable to the hypothesis being tested. In a forecasting survey, predictions of other scientists were significantly correlated with study results, both across and within hypotheses. Crowdsourced testing of research hypotheses helps reveal the true consistency of empirical support for a scientific claim.</div