Diagnostic data for neurological conditions in interRAI assessments in home care, nursing home and mental health care settings: a validity study

Background: The interRAI suite of assessment instruments can provide valuable information to support person-specific care planning across the continuum of care. Comprehensive clinical information is collected with these instruments, including disease diagnoses. In Canada, interRAI data holdings represent some of the largest repositories of clinical information in the country for persons with neurological conditions. This study examined the accuracy of the diagnostic information captured by interRAI instruments designed for use in the home care, long-term care and mental health care settings as compared with national administrative databases. Methods: The interRAI assessments were matched with an inpatient hospital record and emergency department (ED) visit record in the preceding 90 days. Diagnoses captured on the interRAI instruments were compared to those recorded in either administrative record for each individual. Diagnostic validity was examined through sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value analysis for the following conditions: multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury, stroke, diabetes mellitus, heart failure and reactive airway disease. Results: In the three large study samples (home care: n = 128,448; long-term care: n = 26,644; mental health: n = 13,812), interRAI diagnoses demonstrated high specificity when compared to administrative records, for both neurological conditions (range 0.80 - 1.00) and comparative chronic diseases (range 0.83 - 1.00). Sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were more varied by specific diagnosis, with sensitivities and PPV for neurological conditions ranging from 0.23 to 0.94 and 0.14 to 0.77, respectively. The interRAI assessments routinely captured more cases of the diagnoses of interest than the administrative records. Conclusions: The interRAI assessment collected accurate information about disease diagnoses when compared to administrative records within three months. Such information is likely relevant to day-to-day care in these three environments and can be used to inform care planning and resource allocation decisions.Public Health Agency of Canada. In addition, Dr. Hirdes’ participation is supported through the Ontario Home Care Research and Knowledge Exchange Chair funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Dr. Marrie is supported, in part, by a Don Paty Career Development Award from the MS Society of Canad

Changes in Cholesterol, Triglycerides and Body Composition in Pregnant Mares

Background: Mares are very different from other species during pregnancy, and studies on the physiological changes of this period are important. During late pregnancy, the distribution of weight and body fat are often used as indicators of adequate nutrition. This is a physiological period that results in an increase in metabolic demand. There is a tendency for the Criollo breed to have a higher body condition score that becomes more evident during pregnancy, a period when mares tend to gain more weight. The current study monitored serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in pregnant mares during late gestation to determine a possible correlation with the distribution of fat or body weight.Materials, Methods & Results: Four body parameters of thirty-four Criollo-type mares in late gestation were evaluated: body weight measured with a weight scale, body weight using a commercial weight tape, total body fat and fat thickness and the serum levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides. The fat thickness was measured in an ultrasound device and the prediction of total body fat was calculated using an equation. According to the days prior foaling, biometric monitoring and blood collection were carried out in five periods: F-90 (± 90 days prior to foaling) n = 33; F-60 (± 60 days prior to foaling) n = 33; F-30 (± 30 days prior to foaling) n = 31; F-15 (± 15 days prior to foaling) n = 29 and Foaling (at day of foaling) n = 14. Mares were monitored daily and accompanied foaling was also performed, ensuring collection at the right time. Comparisons of means were performed between variables in addition to the Pearson correlation test. Statistical significance was established at P 0.05). A strong positive correlation was observed between the average weights (P 0.068). There was a strong positive correlation between weights (P 0.191). There was also no correlation with the body composition (P > 0.068).Discussion: The absence of difference between the periods in relation to the weight measures and the correlations existing in these measures is related to the period in which they were collected, since the maximum relative weight of the foal is reached in ten months, causing the mare's weight stability. Interestingly, an unexplained increase in total cholesterol levels was found on the day of foaling. As the same change in triglycerides was not observed and there was no change in the diet or feeding behavior of the mares, the effects of the diet can be excluded in this case, which requires further studies to explain this result. Our hypothesis is that this increase is linked to hormones that tend to change in this pre-delivery period and that have their metabolism strongly linked to cholesterol levels. Levels of body fat and mare weight can therefore be correlated in the late gestation, allowing for their use as indicators of adequate nutritional and energy reserves

Positive Interspecific Relationship between Temporal Occurrence and Abundance in Insects

One of the most studied macroecological patterns is the interspecific abundance–occupancy relationship, which relates species distribution and abundance across space. Interspecific relationships between temporal distribution and abundance, however, remain largely unexplored. Using data for a natural assemblage of tabanid flies measured daily during spring and summer in Nova Scotia, we found that temporal occurrence (proportion of sampling dates in which a species occurred in an experimental trap) was positively related to temporal mean abundance (number of individuals collected for a species during the study period divided by the total number of sampling dates). Moreover, two models that often describe spatial abundance–occupancy relationships well, the He–Gaston and negative binomial models, explained a high amount of the variation in our temporal data. As for the spatial abundance–occupancy relationship, the (temporal) aggregation parameter, k, emerged as an important component of the hereby named interspecific temporal abundance–occurrence relationship. This may be another case in which a macroecological pattern shows similarities across space and time, and it deserves further research because it may improve our ability to forecast colonization dynamics and biological impacts

A database of chlorophyll a in Australian waters

© The Author(s) 2018. Chlorophyll a is the most commonly used indicator of phytoplankton biomass in the marine environment. It is relatively simple and cost effective to measure when compared to phytoplankton abundance and is thus routinely included in many surveys. Here we collate 173, 333 records of chlorophyll a collected since 1965 from Australian waters gathered from researchers on regular coastal monitoring surveys and ocean voyages into a single repository. This dataset includes the chlorophyll a values as measured from samples analysed using spectrophotometry, fluorometry and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The Australian Chlorophyll a database is freely available through the Australian Ocean Data Network portal (https://portal.aodn.org.au/). These data can be used in isolation as an index of phytoplankton biomass or in combination with other data to provide insight into water quality, ecosystem state, and relationships with other trophic levels such as zooplankton or fish

Data Descriptor: Systematic, continental scale temporal monitoring of marine pelagic microbiota by the Australian Marine Microbial Biodiversity Initiative

© 2018 Author(s). Sustained observations of microbial dynamics are rare, especially in southern hemisphere waters. The Australian Marine Microbial Biodiversity Initiative (AMMBI) provides methodologically standardized, continental scale, temporal phylogenetic amplicon sequencing data describing Bacteria, Archaea and microbial Eukarya assemblages. Sequence data is linked to extensive physical, biological and chemical oceanographic contextual information. Samples are collected monthly to seasonally from multiple depths at seven sites: Darwin Harbour (Northern Territory), Yongala (Queensland), North Stradbroke Island (Queensland), Port Hacking (New South Wales), Maria Island (Tasmania), Kangaroo Island (South Australia), Rottnest Island (Western Australia). These sites span ~30° of latitude and ~38° longitude, range from tropical to cold temperate zones, and are influenced by both local and globally significant oceanographic and climatic features. All sequence datasets are provided in both raw and processed fashion. Currently 952 samples are publically available for bacteria and archaea which include 88,951,761 bacterial (72,435 unique) and 70,463,079 archaeal (24,205 unique) 16 S rRNA v1-3 gene sequences, and 388 samples are available for eukaryotes which include 39,801,050 (78,463 unique) 18 S rRNA v4 gene sequences

Sex differences evident in elevated anxiety symptoms in multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoid arthritis

IntroductionImmune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID), such as multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have high rates of elevated anxiety symptoms. This can may worsen functioning and increase IMID disease burden. The rate of and factors associated with elevated anxiety symptoms may differ between males and females, which, in turn can affect diagnosis and disease management. We evaluated whether the frequency and factors associated with comorbid elevated anxiety symptoms in those with an IMID differed by sex.MethodsParticipants with an IMID (MS, IBD or RA) completed two anxiety measures (HADS, GAD-7). We used logistic regression to investigate whether sex differences exist in the presence of comorbid elevated anxiety symptoms or in the endorsement of individual anxiety items in those with an IMID.ResultsOf 656 participants, females with an IMID were more likely to have elevated anxiety symptoms compared to males (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.05; 95%CI: 1.2, 3.6). Younger age, higher depressive symptoms and income were also associated with elevated anxiety symptoms in IMID. Lower income in males with an IMID, but not females, was associated with elevated anxiety symptoms (aOR: 4.8; 95%CI: 1.5, 15.6). No other factors demonstrated a sex difference. Males had nearly twice the odds of endorsing restlessness on the GAD-7 (OR = 1.8, 95%CI: 1.07, 3.15) compared to females.DiscussionWe found evidence for sex differences in the factors associated with experiencing elevated anxiety symptoms in those with an IMID. These findings could be helpful to sensitize clinicians to monitor for comorbid anxiety symptoms in males with an IMID

A database of marine phytoplankton abundance, biomass and species composition in Australian waters

There have been many individual phytoplankton datasets collected across Australia since the mid 1900s, but most are unavailable to the research community. We have searched archives, contacted researchers, and scanned the primary and grey literature to collate 3,621,847 records of marine phytoplankton species from Australian waters from 1844 to the present. Many of these are small datasets collected for local questions, but combined they provide over 170 years of data on phytoplankton communities in Australian waters. Units and taxonomy have been standardised, obviously erroneous data removed, and all metadata included. We have lodged this dataset with the Australian Ocean Data Network (http://portal.aodn.org.au/) allowing public access. The Australian Phytoplankton Database will be invaluable for global change studies, as it allows analysis of ecological indicators of climate change and eutrophication (e.g., changes in distribution; diatom:dinoflagellate ratios). In addition, the standardised conversion of abundance records to biomass provides modellers with quantifiable data to initialise and validate ecosystem models of lower marine trophic levels

Systematic, continental scale temporal monitoring of marine pelagic microbiota by the Australian Marine Microbial Biodiversity Initiative

Sustained observations of microbial dynamics are rare, especially in southern hemisphere waters. The Australian Marine Microbial Biodiversity Initiative (AMMBI) provides methodologically standardized, continental scale, temporal phylogenetic amplicon sequencing data describing Bacteria, Archaea and microbial Eukarya assemblages. Sequence data is linked to extensive physical, biological and chemical oceanographic contextual information. Samples are collected monthly to seasonally from multiple depths at seven sites: Darwin Harbour (Northern Territory), Yongala (Queensland), North Stradbroke Island (Queensland), Port Hacking (New South Wales), Maria Island (Tasmania), Kangaroo Island (South Australia), Rottnest Island (Western Australia). These sites span ~30° of latitude and ~38° longitude, range from tropical to cold temperate zones, and are influenced by both local and globally significant oceanographic and climatic features. All sequence datasets are provided in both raw and processed fashion. Currently 952 samples are publically available for bacteria and archaea which include 88,951,761 bacterial (72,435 unique) and 70,463,079 archaeal (24,205 unique) 16 S rRNA v1-3 gene sequences, and 388 samples are available for eukaryotes which include 39,801,050 (78,463 unique) 18 S rRNA v4 gene sequences