1,978 research outputs found
PCV106 PATIENT OUTCOMES AND HEALTH ECONOMICS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF OCTYLCYANOACROLATE TOPICAL SKIN ADHESIVE IN CABG SURGERY
Drought adaptation attributes and associated molecular markers via BSA in the Seri/Babax hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum; L.) population
PHP111 IMPACT OF BLEEDING-RELATED COMPLICATIONS AND BLOOD PRODUCT TRANSFUSIONS ON HOSPITAL LENGTH OF STAY AND COSTS IN INPATIENT SURGICAL PATIENTS
Subchronic administration of phencyclidine produces hypermethylation in the parvalbumin gene promoter in rat brain
Aim: A deficit in parvalbumin neurons is found in schizophrenia and several animal models of the disease. In this preliminary study, we determined whether one such model, phencyclidine (PCP) administration, results in changes in DNA methylation in the rat Pvalb promoter. Materials & methods: DNA from hippocampus and prefrontal cortex from rats, which 6 weeks previously received either 2 mg/kg PCP or vehicle for 7 days, underwent bisulphite pyrosequencing to determine methylation. Results: PCP administration induced significantly greater methylation at one of two Pvalb CpG sites in both prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, while no significant difference was found in long interspersed nucleotide element-1, a global measure of DNA methylation. Conclusion: Subchronic PCP administration results in a specific hypermethylation in the Pvalb promoter which may contribute to parvalbumin deficits in this animal model of psychosis
The unresolved safety concerns of bovine thrombin
A recent review has suggested that bovine thrombin is not associated with an increased risk of bleeding in surgical populations. In spite of extremely limited evidence available, many valuable resources (e.g. safety surveillance and post-marketing programs, case reports) were excluded in reaching this conclusion. While waiting for the adequately powered, controlled clinical trials to address the effects of bovine thrombin on bleeding and thrombotic events, the potential risk cannot be simply ignored. Rather, continued vigilance in the post-surgical setting for bleeding events that may be associated with the development of acquired coagulation factor inhibitors following bovine thrombin administration is warranted
Determining the best method for first-line assessment of neonatal blood glucose levels
Objective: To evaluate and compare the accuracy and performance of two electrochemical glucose meters. To determine the user acceptability of these glucose meters and the ABL 620 Blood Gas Analyser (Radiometer, Copenhagen, Denmark) with an electrochemical glucose oxidase electrode for use in a Level 2 special care baby unit
Complexity, Development, and Evolution in Morphogenetic Collective Systems
Many living and non-living complex systems can be modeled and understood as
collective systems made of heterogeneous components that self-organize and
generate nontrivial morphological structures and behaviors. This chapter
presents a brief overview of our recent effort that investigated various
aspects of such morphogenetic collective systems. We first propose a
theoretical classification scheme that distinguishes four complexity levels of
morphogenetic collective systems based on the nature of their components and
interactions. We conducted a series of computational experiments using a
self-propelled particle swarm model to investigate the effects of (1)
heterogeneity of components, (2) differentiation/re-differentiation of
components, and (3) local information sharing among components, on the
self-organization of a collective system. Results showed that (a) heterogeneity
of components had a strong impact on the system's structure and behavior, (b)
dynamic differentiation/re-differentiation of components and local information
sharing helped the system maintain spatially adjacent, coherent organization,
(c) dynamic differentiation/re-differentiation contributed to the development
of more diverse structures and behaviors, and (d) stochastic re-differentiation
of components naturally realized a self-repair capability of self-organizing
morphologies. We also explored evolutionary methods to design novel
self-organizing patterns, using interactive evolutionary computation and
spontaneous evolution within an artificial ecosystem. These self-organizing
patterns were found to be remarkably robust against dimensional changes from 2D
to 3D, although evolution worked efficiently only in 2D settings.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 1 table; submitted to "Evolution, Development,
and Complexity: Multiscale Models in Complex Adaptive Systems" (Springer
Proceedings in Complexity Series
Study protocol: can a school gardening intervention improve children's diets?
BACKGROUND: The current academic literature suggests there is a potential for using gardening as a tool to improve children's fruit and vegetable intake. This study is two parallel randomised controlled trials (RCT) devised to evaluate the school gardening programme of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Campaign for School Gardening, to determine if it has an effect on children's fruit and vegetable intake. METHOD/DESIGN: Trial One will consist of 26 schools; these schools will be randomised into two groups, one to receive the intensive intervention as "Partner Schools" and the other to receive the less intensive intervention as "Associate Schools". Trial Two will consist of 32 schools; these schools will be randomised into either the less intensive intervention "Associate Schools" or a comparison group with delayed intervention. Baseline data collection will be collected using a 24-hour food diary (CADET) to collect data on dietary intake and a questionnaire exploring children's knowledge and attitudes towards fruit and vegetables. A process measures questionnaire will be used to assess each school's gardening activities. DISCUSSION: The results from these trials will provide information on the impact of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening on children's fruit and vegetable intake. The evaluation will provide valuable information for designing future research in primary school children's diets and school based interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN11396528
Modeling recursive RNA interference.
An important application of the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway is its use as a small RNA-based regulatory system commonly exploited to suppress expression of target genes to test their function in vivo. In several published experiments, RNAi has been used to inactivate components of the RNAi pathway itself, a procedure termed recursive RNAi in this report. The theoretical basis of recursive RNAi is unclear since the procedure could potentially be self-defeating, and in practice the effectiveness of recursive RNAi in published experiments is highly variable. A mathematical model for recursive RNAi was developed and used to investigate the range of conditions under which the procedure should be effective. The model predicts that the effectiveness of recursive RNAi is strongly dependent on the efficacy of RNAi at knocking down target gene expression. This efficacy is known to vary highly between different cell types, and comparison of the model predictions to published experimental data suggests that variation in RNAi efficacy may be the main cause of discrepancies between published recursive RNAi experiments in different organisms. The model suggests potential ways to optimize the effectiveness of recursive RNAi both for screening of RNAi components as well as for improved temporal control of gene expression in switch off-switch on experiments
Does publication bias inflate the apparent efficacy of psychological treatment for major depressive disorder? A systematic review and meta-analysis of US national institutes of health-funded trials
Background The efficacy of antidepressant medication has been shown empirically to be overestimated due to publication bias, but this has only been inferred statistically with regard to psychological treatment for depression. We assessed directly the extent of study publication bias in trials examining the efficacy of psychological treatment for depression. Methods and Findings We identified US National Institutes of Health grants awarded to fund randomized clinical trials comparing psychological treatment to control conditions or other treatments in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder for the period 1972–2008, and we determined whether those grants led to publications. For studies that were not published, data were requested from investigators and included in the meta-analyses. Thirteen (23.6%) of the 55 funded grants that began trials did not result in publications, and two others never started. Among comparisons to control conditions, adding unpublished studies (Hedges’ g = 0.20; CI95% -0.11~0.51; k = 6) to published studies (g = 0.52; 0.37~0.68; k = 20) reduced the psychotherapy effect size point estimate (g = 0.39; 0.08~0.70) by 25%. Moreover, these findings may overestimate the "true" effect of psychological treatment for depression as outcome reporting bias could not be examined quantitatively. Conclusion The efficacy of psychological interventions for depression has been overestimated in the published literature, just as it has been for pharmacotherapy. Both are efficacious but not to the extent that the published literature would suggest. Funding agencies and journals should archive both original protocols and raw data from treatment trials to allow the detection and correction of outcome reporting bias. Clinicians, guidelines developers, and decision makers should be aware that the published literature overestimates the effects of the predominant treatments for depression
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