Hypercapnia in hospitalized children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa as a predictive marker for readmission: a prospective study

To determine whether hypercapnia is associated with risk of hospital readmission related to anorexia nervosa (AN) in children and adolescents. Methods We performed a prospective study of patients≤18 years old admitted due to AN decompensation from November 2018 to October 2019. Both subtypes of AN, restricting subtype (AN-R) and binge-eating/purging subtype (AN-BP), were included. Study participants were evaluated upon admission, at discharge and six months after discharge. T-tests or Mann–Whitney U tests was used to compare means values. Pearson or Spearman correlations were used to measure the association between two variables. Logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the relationship between scoring methods and readmission. Results Of the 154 persons admitted during the study period, 131 met the inclusion criteria. Median age was 15.1 years. At admission, 71% of participants were malnourished and 33 (25%) had been previously admitted. We observed a marked decrease in venous pH and stable pCO2 elevation during follow-up period. Hypercapnia at discharge was associated with a twofold increased likelihood of readmission and the odds of readmission increased as discharge pCO2 rose. These fndings did not depend on AN subtype or participant sex. Electrolytes persisted within the normal range. Conclusion Hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis are common alterations in children and adolescents hospitalized due to AN decompensation. Hypercapnia persists for at least 6 months after discharge despite clinical improvement and is associated with higher odds of readmission. This is the frst study to identify an abnormal laboratory fnding as a potential predictor of readmission in AN. Level of evidence IV: Multiple time series without interventio

A Personal Robot as an Improvement to the Customers’ In- Store Experience

Robotics is a growing industry with applications in numerous markets, including retail, transportation, manufacturing, and even as personal assistants. Consumers have evolved to expect more from the buying experience, and retailers are looking at technology to keep consumers engaged. In today’s highly competitive business climate, being able to attract, serve, and satisfy more customers is a key to success. It is our belief that smart robots will play a significant role in physical retail in the future. One successful example is wGO, a robotic shopping assistant developed by Follow Inspiration. The wGO is an autonomous and self-driven shopping cart, designed to follow people with reduced mobility (the elderly, people in wheelchair, pregnant women, those with temporary reduced mobility, etc.) in commercial environments. With the Retail Robot, the user can control the shopping cart without the need to push it. This brings numerous advantages and a higher level of comfort since the user does not need to worry about carrying the groceries or pushing the shopping cart. The wGO operates under a vision-guided approach based on user-following with no need for any external device. Its integrated architecture of control, navigation, perception, planning, and awareness is designed to enable the robot to successfully perform personal assistance, while the user is shopping

Hypercapnia in hospitalized children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa as a predictive marker for readmission: a prospective study

Abstract Purpose To determine whether hypercapnia is associated with risk of hospital readmission related to anorexia nervosa (AN) in children and adolescents. Methods We performed a prospective study of patients ≤ 18 years old admitted due to AN decompensation from November 2018 to October 2019. Both subtypes of AN, restricting subtype (AN-R) and binge-eating/purging subtype (AN-BP), were included. Study participants were evaluated upon admission, at discharge and six months after discharge. T-tests or Mann–Whitney U tests was used to compare means values. Pearson or Spearman correlations were used to measure the association between two variables. Logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the relationship between scoring methods and readmission. Results Of the 154 persons admitted during the study period, 131 met the inclusion criteria. Median age was 15.1 years. At admission, 71% of participants were malnourished and 33 (25%) had been previously admitted. We observed a marked decrease in venous pH and stable pCO2 elevation during follow-up period. Hypercapnia at discharge was associated with a twofold increased likelihood of readmission and the odds of readmission increased as discharge pCO2 rose. These findings did not depend on AN subtype or participant sex. Electrolytes persisted within the normal range. Conclusion Hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis are common alterations in children and adolescents hospitalized due to AN decompensation. Hypercapnia persists for at least 6 months after discharge despite clinical improvement and is associated with higher odds of readmission. This is the first study to identify an abnormal laboratory finding as a potential predictor of readmission in AN. Level of evidence IV: Multiple time series without intervention

Analysis of the Impact of Communication Campaigns under the Project “Syphilis No”: A National Tool for Inducing and Promoting Health

Syphilis is increasingly prevalent around the world as a result of complex factors. In Brazil, the government declared a syphilis epidemic in 2016 and then set a strategic agenda to respond to this serious public health problem. In a joint effort, Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) recommended that novel and diversified health communication strategies should be developed, which the “Syphilis No” project (SNP) later conducted through nationwide mass communication campaigns. We performed exploratory data analysis to identify and understand the results of three health communication campaigns by considering syphilis data trends in Brazil. The SNP, by using traditional and innovative means of communication, focused on multiple target audiences to encourage behavior changes through awareness and syphilis knowledge acquisition via the internet. In addition, the SNP disseminated information on syphilis testing, prevention, and treatment through social media and multiple media outlets. We observed that the period of the health campaigns corresponded to the period when the syphilis testing uptake increased and the number of reported cases dropped. Thus, our findings indicate that public health responses could substantially benefit from the use of health communication campaigns as a tool for health promotion, education, and transformation

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved