Does the intra-articular injection of antimicrobials alongside corticosteroids or other medications reduce the risk of synovial sepsis?

PICO question&#x0D; In horses, does treatment with intra-articular antimicrobials concurrently with intra-articular corticosteroids reduce the risk of iatrogenic synovial sepsis compared to intra-articular corticosteroids alone?&#x0D; Clinical bottom line&#x0D; From the current literature, there is no evidence showing that intra-articular injection of antibiotics in conjunction with corticosteroids reduces the risk of synovial sepsis. However, the intra-articular injection of polysulphated glycosaminoglycans (PSGAGs) in combination with corticosteroids was noted as a risk factor for developing iatrogenic synovial sepsis and therefore concurrent antibiotic injection when administering PSGAGs may be warranted. The reported frequency of infection following intra-articular injections was very low (0.02–0.08%).  An overall prevalence of iatrogenic synovial sepsis following all intra-articular injections based on data from all included studies was calculated as 0.02% (CI 0.02–0.03%). However, due to the paucity of literature on the topic, further studies are required in this field to determine more accurate clinical recommendations.&#x0D; </jats:p

Nemo phosphorylates Eyes absent and enhances output from the Eya-Sine oculis transcriptional complex during Drosophila retinal determination

AbstractThe retinal determination gene network comprises a collection of transcription factors that respond to multiple signaling inputs to direct Drosophila eye development. Previous genetic studies have shown that nemo (nmo), a gene encoding a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase, can promote retinal specification through interactions with the retinal determination gene network, although the molecular point of cross-talk was not defined. Here, we report that the Nemo kinase positively and directly regulates Eyes absent (Eya). Genetic assays show that Nmo catalytic activity enhances Eya-mediated ectopic eye formation and potentiates induction of the Eya-Sine oculis (So) transcriptional targets dachshund and lozenge. Biochemical analyses demonstrate that Nmo forms a complex with and phosphorylates Eya at two consensus mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation sites. These same sites appear crucial for Nmo-mediated activation of Eya function in vivo. Thus, we propose that Nmo phosphorylation of Eya potentiates its transactivation function to enhance transcription of Eya-So target genes during eye specification and development

Does the Meguma Terrane Extend into SW England?

The peri-Gondwanan Meguma terrane of southern Nova Scotia, Canada, is the only major lithotectonic element of the northern Appalachian orogen that has no clear correlatives elsewhere in the Appalachians and lacks firm linkages to the Caledonide and Variscan orogens of western and southern Europe. This characteristic is in contrast with its immediate peri-Gondwanan neighbor, Avalonia, which has features in common with portions of Carolinia in the southern Appalachians and has been traced from the Rhenohercynian Zone of southern Britain eastward around the Bohemian Massif to the Carpathians and western Pontides. At issue is the tendency in Europe to assign all peri-Gondwanan terranes lying outboard of the Rheic suture to Avalonia, characterized by relatively juvenile basement and detrital zircon ages that include Mesoproterozoic populations, and those inboard of the suture to Cadomia, characterized by a more evolved basement and detrital zircon ages that match Paleoproterozoic and older sources in the West African craton.    Although the unexposed basements of Avalonia and Meguma are thought to be isotopically very similar, the Meguma sedimentary cover contains scarce Mesoproterozoic zircon and is dominated instead by Neoproterozoic and Paleoproterozoic populations like those of Cadomia. Hence, felsic magma produced by crustal melting in the Meguma terrane (e.g. the ca. 370 Ma South Mountain Batholith) is isotopically more juvenile (eNd = –5 to –1, TDM = 1.3 Ga) than the rocks it intruded (eNd= –12 to –7, TDM = 1.7 Ga). By contrast, felsic magma produced by crustal melting in Avalonia (eNd = –1 to +6, TDM = 0.7–1.2 Ga) is isotopically similar to its host rocks (eNd = –3 to +4, TDM = 0.9–1.4).    The isotopic relationship shown by the Meguma terrane has also been recognized in the South Portuguese Zone of southern Spain, which is traditionally assigned to Avalonia. However, the Sierra Norte Batholith of the South Portuguese Zone (ca. 330 Ma; eNd = +1 to –3, TDM = 0.9–1.2 Ga) is on average more juvenile than the Late Devonian host rocks (eNd = –5 to –11) it intruded, suggesting instead an extension of the Meguma terrane into Europe. Available data for the Cornubian Batholith of SW England (ca. 275–295 Ma; eNd = –4 to –7, TDM = 1.3–1.8 Ga) and the Devonian–Carboniferous metasedimentary rocks it intruded (eNd = –8 to –11) suggests this may also be true of that part of the southern Britain (Rhenohercynian Zone) with which the South Portuguese Zone is traditionally correlated.SOMMAIRELe terrane péri-gondwanien de Meguma en Nouvelle-Écosse au Canada, est le seul grand élément lithotectonique de l’orogène des Appalaches du Nord qui n’ait pas de correspondant avéré ailleurs dans les Appalaches et qui ne montre aucun lien sûr avec les orogènes calédonienne et varisque de l’ouest et du sud de l’Europe.  Cette situation contraste avec celle de son voisin péri-gondwanien immédiat, l’Avalonie, qui partage certaines caractéristiques avec des portions de Carolinia des Appalaches du sud et qui a été suivi à partir de la zone rhénohercynienne dans le sud de la Grande-Bretagne vers l’est autour du massif bohémien jusqu’aux Carpates et l’ouest de la chaîne pontique.  Ce qui est en question ici c’est la tendance en Europe à assigner l’Avalonie à tous les terranes péri-gondwaniens situés à l’extérieur de la suture rhéïque lesquels sont caractérisés par un socle relativement juvénile et des âges de zircons détritiques qui comportent des populations mésoprotérozoïques, et ceux situés à l’intérieur de la suture à Cadomia, lesquels sont caractérisés par un socle plus évolué et des âges de zircons détritiques qui correspondent à des sources du craton ouest africain paléoprotérozoïques et plus anciennes.     Bien que l’on estime que les socles non-exposés des terranes d’Avalonie et de Meguma soient très similaires isotopiquement, le couvert sédimentaire de Meguma ne renferme que de rares zircons mésoprotérozoïques, et ce sont plutôt les populations de zircons néoprotérozoïques et paléoprotérozoïques qui dominent, comme c’est le cas pour Cadomia.  Il en ressort que le magma felsique produit par la fusion de croûte dans le terrane de Meguma (par ex. le batholite de South Mountain de 370 Ma env.) est isotopiquement plus jeune (eNd = –5 à –1, TDM = 1.3 Ga) que les roches qu’il recoupe (eNd= –12 à –7, TDM = 1.7 Ga).  Par opposition, le magma felsique produit par la fusion de la croûte dans le terrane d’Avalonie (eNd = –1 à +6, TDM = 0.7–1.2 Ga) est isotopiquement similaire aux roches de son encaissant (eNd = –3 à +4, TDM = 0.9–1.4).     Le profil isotopique du terrane de Meguma, traditionnellement assignée à l’Avalonie,  a aussi été détecté dans la Zone sud-portugaise du sud de l’Espagne.  Cependant, le batholite de Sierra Norte de la Zone sud-portugaise (ca. 330 Ma; eNd = +1 à –3, TDM = 0.9–1.2 Ga) est en moyenne plus jeune que l’encaissant du Dévonien moyen (eNd = –5 à –11) qu’il recoupe, ce qui permet de penser à une extension du terrane de Meguma en Europe.  Les données disponibles du batholite de Cornubian dans le S-O de l’Angleterre (ca. 275–295 Ma; eNd = –4 à –7, TDM = 1.3–1.8 Ga) et des roches métasédimentaires dévono-carbonifères qu’il recoupe (eNd = –8 to –11) permet de penser qu’il pourrait en être de même de cette portion du sud de la Grande-Bretagne (Zone rhénohercynienne) avec laquelle la Zone sud-portugaise est traditionnellement corrélée

40Ar/39Ar phlogopite geochronology of lamprophyre dykes in Cornwall, UK: new age constraints on Early Permian post-collisional magmatism in the Rhenohercynian Zone, SW England

Journal of the Geological Society (2015), http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/content/early/2015/06/03/jgs2014-151. Copyright © Geological Society of London 2015The spatial and temporal association of post-collisional granites and lamprophyre dykes is a common but enigmatic relationship in many orogenic belts, including the Variscan orogenic belt of SW England. The geology of SW England has long been interpreted to reflect orogenic processes associated with the closure of the Rheic Ocean and the formation of Pangaea. The SW England peninsula is composed largely of Early Devonian to Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary successions deposited in synrift and subsequent syncollisional basins that underwent deformation and low-grade regional metamorphism during the Variscan orogeny. Voluminous Early Permian granitic magmatism (Cornubian Batholith) is considered to be broadly coeval with the emplacement of lamprophyric dykes and lamprophyric and basaltic lava flows, largely on the basis of geochronological data from lamprophyric lavas in Devon. Although published geochronological data for Cornish lamprophyre dykes are consistent with this interpretation, these data are limited largely to imprecise K–Ar whole-rock and biotite analyses, hindering the understanding of the processes responsible for their genesis and their relationship to granitic magmatism and regional Variscan tectonics. 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data for four previously undated lamprophyre dykes from Cornwall, combined with published data, suggest that lamprophyre magmatism occurred between c. 293.6 and c. 285.4 Ma, supporting previous inferences that their emplacement was coeval with the Cornubian Batholith. These data provide insights into (1) the relative timing between the lamprophyres and basalts, the Cornubian batholith and post-collisional magmatism elsewhere in the European Variscides, and (2) the post-collisional processes responsible for the generation and emplacement of lamprophyres, basalts and granitoids.NSERC (Canada) Discovery grant

Genome skimming elucidates the evolutionary history of Octopoda

Phylogenies for Octopoda have, until now, been based on morphological characters or a few genes. Here we provide the complete mitogenomes and the nuclear 18S and 28S ribosomal genes of twenty Octopoda specimens, comprising 18 species of Cirrata and Incirrata, representing 13 genera and all five putative families of Cirrata (Cirroctopodidae, Cirroteuthidae, Grimpoteuthidae, Opisthoteuthidae and Stauroteuthidae) and six families of Incirrata (Amphitretidae, Argonautidae, Bathypolypodidae, Eledonidae, Enteroctopodidae, and Megaleledonidae) which were assembled using genome skimming. Phylogenetic trees were built using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference with several alignment matrices. All mitochondrial genomes had the ‘typical’ genome composition and gene order previously reported for octopodiforms, except Bathypolypus ergasticus, which appears to lack ND5, two tRNA genes that flank ND5 and two other tRNA genes. Argonautoidea was revealed as sister to Octopodidae by the mitochondrial protein-coding gene dataset, however, it was recovered as sister to all other incirrate octopods with strong support in an analysis using nuclear rRNA genes. Within Cirrata, our study supports two existing classifications suggesting neither is likely in conflict with the true evolutionary history of the suborder. Genome skimming is useful in the analysis of phylogenetic relationships within Octopoda; inclusion of both mitochondrial and nuclear data may be key

The energy-related inventions program: Continuing benefits to the inventor community

This report provides information on the economic, energy, and environmental impacts of inventions supported by the Energy-Related Inventions Program (ERIP) - a technology commercialization program jointly operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It describes the results of the latest in a series of ERIP evaluation projects that have been completed since 1980. The period of interest is 1980 through 1994. The evaluation is based on data collected in 1995 through mail and telephone surveys of 211 program participants, and historical data collected during previous evaluations for an additional 253 participants. As of September 1993, a total of 609 inventions had been recommended to DOE by NIST, which screens all submitted inventions for technical merit, potential for commercial success, and potential energy impact. By the end of 1994, at least 144 (or 24%) of these inventions had entered the market, generating total cumulative sales of $961 million (in 19944). It is estimated that in 1994 ERIP inventors earned royalties of$2.3 million, and over the lifetime of the program, royalties total $28.2 million. With$47.5 million in grants awarded from 1975 through 1994 and $124 million in program appropriations over the same period, ERIP has generated a 20:1 return in terms of sales values to grants, and an 8:1 return in sales versus program appropriations. Further, it is estimated that at least 757 job-years of employment were supported by ERIP technologies in 1994, and that this resulted in a return of approximately$3.4 million in individual income taxes to the U.S. Treasury. Finally, approximately $334 million of energy expenditures were saved in 1994 as a result of the commercial success of five ERIP projects. These energy savings resulted in reduced emissions of 2.1 million metric tons of carbon in 1994 alone

Far From \u27Easy\u27 Spectroscopy with the 8π and GRIFFIN Spectrometers at TRIUMF-ISAC

The 8π spectrometer, installed at the TRIUMF-ISAC facility, was the world\u27s most sensitive γ-ray spectrometer dedicated to β-decay studies. A description is given of the 8π spectrometer and its auxiliary detectors including the plastic scintillator array SCEPTAR used for β-particle tagging and the Si(Li) array PACES for conversion electron measurements, its moving tape collector, and its data acquisition system. The recent investigation of the decay of 124Cs to study the nuclear structure of 124Xe, and how the β-decay measurements complemented previous Coulomb excitation studies, is highlighted, including the extraction of the deformation parameters for the excited 0+ bands in 124Xe. As a by-product, the decay scheme of the (7+) 124Cs isomeric state, for which the data from the PACES detectors were vital, was studied. Finally, a description of the new GRIFFIN spectrometer, which uses the same auxiliary detectors as the 8π spectrometer, is given

SARS-CoV-2 positivity in asymptomatic-screened dental patients

Enhanced community surveillance is a key pillar of the public health response to COVID-19. Asymptomatic carriage of SARS-CoV-2 is a potentially significant source of transmission, yet remains relatively poorly understood. Disruption of dental services continues with significantly reduced capacity. Ongoing precautions include pre- and/or at appointment COVID-19 symptom screening and use of enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE). This study aimed to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infection in dental patients to inform community surveillance and improve understanding of risks in the dental setting. Thirty-one dental care centres across Scotland invited asymptomatic screened patients over 5-years-old to participate. Following verbal consent and completion of sociodemographic and symptom history questionnaire, trained dental teams took a combined oropharyngeal and nasal swab sample using standardised VTM-containing testkits. Samples were processed by the Lighthouse Lab and patients informed of their results by SMS/e-mail with appropriate self-isolation guidance in the event of a positive test. All positive cases were successfully followed up by the national contact tracing program. Over a 13-week period (from 3August to 31October2020) n=4,032 patients, largely representative of the population, were tested. Of these n=22 (0.5%; 95%CI 0.5%, 0.8%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The positivity rate increased over the period, commensurate with uptick in community prevalence identified across all national testing monitoring data streams. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of a COVID-19 testing survey in asymptomatic-screened patients presenting in a dental setting. The positivity rate in this patient group reflects the underlying prevalence in community at the time. These data are a salient reminder, particularly when community infection levels are rising, of the importance of appropriate ongoing Infection Prevention Control and PPE vigilance, which is relevant as healthcare team fatigue increases as the pandemic continues. Dental settings are a valuable location for public health surveillance

Professionalism, Golf Coaching and a Master of Science Degree: A commentary

As a point of reference I congratulate Simon Jenkins on tackling the issue of professionalism in coaching. As he points out coaching is not a profession, but this does not mean that coaching would not benefit from going through a professionalization process. As things stand I find that the stimulus article unpacks some critically important issues of professionalism, broadly within the context of golf coaching. However, I am not sure enough is made of understanding what professional (golf) coaching actually is nor how the development of a professional golf coach can be facilitated by a Master of Science Degree (M.Sc.). I will focus my commentary on these two issues