Patient safety indicators for England from hospital administrative data: case-control analysis and comparison with US data

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The Healthcare Commission received a small grant from the Health and Social Care Information Centre to support the initial recoding work

Cellular xenotransplantation of animal cells into people: benefits and risk

The main benefit of xenotransplantation is its potential to overcome the worldwide organ shortage experienced in allotransplantation. Allogeneic transplantation is the only successful therapy for several life-threatening diseases, with cell, tissue or organ donation only partially meeting the demand and many patients dying while waiting for treatment. With supply falling short of demand, it is foreseen that the use of porcine material may at some stage overcome the existing gap between organ availability and clinical need. Recently, pig islet cells have been utilised in clinical trials, with safety being demonstrated. Indeed, pig-derived cells present several advantages: i) porcine cells have a stable function and differentiation pattern and are not tumorigenic; ii) pig cells have been shown to meet the physiological needs in large animal models; iii) the source of pig cells can be scaled up to meet demands in a highly standardised manner, and with respect to animal welfare regulations; iv) ‘designated-pathogen-free’ (DPF) pig lines can be produced, which could result in a higher safety profile than allotransplantation itself; v) the risk of zoonosis, which was raised years ago as the major hurdle, has been recently circumvented and is actually viewed as a controlled risk; and vi) immune risks are being circumvented via the use of genetically modified donor animals and encapsulation of porcine cells, particularly for the treatment of diabetes. Overall, the benefit appears to outweigh potential risks with respect to cellular xenotransplantation and this is discussed further in this review

Integrated Serologic Surveillance of Population Immunity and Disease Transmission.

Antibodies are unique among biomarkers in their ability to identify persons with protective immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases and to measure past exposure to diverse pathogens. Most infectious disease surveillance maintains a single-disease focus, but broader testing of existing serologic surveys with multiplex antibody assays would create new opportunities for integrated surveillance. In this perspective, we highlight multiple areas for potential synergy where integrated surveillance could add more value to public health efforts than the current trend of independent disease monitoring through vertical programs. We describe innovations in laboratory and data science that should accelerate integration and identify remaining challenges with respect to specimen collection, testing, and analysis. Throughout, we illustrate how information generated through integrated surveillance platforms can create new opportunities to more quickly and precisely identify global health program gaps that range from undervaccination to emerging pathogens to multilayered health disparities that span diverse communicable diseases

The Development Of Wave Power: A Techno-Economic Study

A study of the development of wave power was undertaken by the National Engineering Laboratory for the Department of Energy and was presented in a two-part report (Summary and Full Report) dated February 1975. Because of the interest generated in the development of wave power it was decided to make the NEL contribution generally available in this report which presents in one document the bulk of the material in the two-part report. The text has not been revised to take account of developments which have taken place since February 1975 and it should be emphasised that this report represents the status and NEL's thinking on wave power at that time. Some footnotes have been added to indicate where new information is in conflict with that in the report. No attempt has been made to take account of all new information in this way

Impact of the Kinesiology Career Club: a TPSR-base possible futures program for youth in underserved communities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a 10-week implementation of the Kinesiology Career Club (KCC), a TPSR-based physical activity program. The primary goal of KCC was to help youth envision and discover meaningful, positive possible futures. The program took place at a low performing inner city high school in a large metropolitan city. The participants were 14 freshmen, 14 to 15 years of age, recruited from a second period physical education class. A qualitative approach to program evaluation was used to examine the impact of KCC. Qualitative data sources included field observations, participant daily journal entries, and in-depth interviews with the participants. Results indicated that the program helped participants connect the TPSR goals of respect, effort, goal-setting, and leadership skills to their possible futures; envision and explore a career in kinesiology; and link kinesiology to their own positive possible futures. Results were mixed in demonstrating balanced hopes and fears as suggested by the theory of possible selves. This study extends the development, implementation, and research of Hellisons TPSR. While TPSR has been considered an exemplary youth development model, this study is only the second attempt with possible futures as the main emphasis (Walsh, 2008). Findings indicate that KCC is an effective TPSR program; however, it is still in its infancy and requires further research.El propósito de este trabajo es examinar la eficacia de un programa de actividad física basado en el modelo TPSR de 10 semanas de duración llevado a cabo por el Club Profesional de Kinesiologia (KCC). El objetivo prioritario del KCC es el de ayudar a los jóvenes a visualizar y descubrir futuros posibles positivos y con sentido. El programa se desarrolló en una escuela secundaria de bajo rendimiento académico del centro urbano de una gran ciudad. Los participantes fueron 14 alumnos de primer curso de secundaria (14-15 años), reclutados en la clase de EF. En la evaluación del programa, para valorar el impacto del KCC, se usó un enfoque cualitativo. Entre las fuentes de información cualitativa empleadas se encuentran las observaciones de campo, los comentarios de los participantes en sus diarios y las entrevistas en profundidad con los participantes. Los resultados indican que el programa ayudó a los participantes a conectar los objetivos del TPSR de respeto, esfuerzo, establecimiento de objetivos y cualidades de liderazgo con sus futuros posibles. Tambien muestran el desarrollo de un equilibrio entre la esperanza y el miedo, tal como sugiere la teoría de los yos posibles. Este estudio amplía el campo de implementación e investigación del modelo TPSR de Hellison. Aunque el TPSR es considerado un modelo ejemplar en el desarrollo juvenil, el presente trabajo es sólo el segundo en el que los futuros posibles (Walsh, 2008) constituyen su foco principal. Los resultados indican que el KCC es un programa eficaz de TPSR; sin embargo, está aún en sus inicios y se requiere más investigación

Youth-to-Senior Transition in Elite European Club Soccer

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(6): 1192-1203, 2021. The priority for soccer academies is to develop youth players that graduate and transfer directly to their senior squads. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of this direct youth-to-senior pathway by examining the extent to which club-trained players (CTPs) are currently involved in elite male European soccer. Relevant demographic longitudinal studies between 2009 and 2020 conducted by the International Centre for Sports Studies Football Observatory were analysed. The main findings were that the proportion of CTPs in senior squads has decreased from 23% to 17% over this time period, while the proportion of expatriates (EXPs) has increased from 35% to 42%. Moreover, clubs resorted more frequently to making new signings (NS, i.e. association-trained players (ATPs) and/or EXPs), with squad proportion increasing from 37% to 44%, while only launching one debutant (DBT, i.e. CTP with no previous senior experience) on average per season. Similar trends are observed in the evolution of playing time: while the fielding of CTPs remained constant (15%), EXPs and NS are fielded increasingly more (49% and 36%, respectively), despite a positive relationship between CTP match fielding and league ranking, with a Spearman Rank correlation r = 0.712 (95% confidence interval [0.381-0.881]), p \u3c 0.01. In conclusion, young talents are still provided opportunities; however, these are limited and increasingly less frequent at their parent clubs. This potentially suggests a dysfunctional direct youth-to-senior development pathway

Purge–Mainstream Interactions in a Turbine Stage With Rotor Endwall Contouring

Purge flows are prevalent in modern gas turbine design, allowing for increased turbine entry temperatures. The purge flow passes through a rim seal and interacts with the mainstream flow, modifying the blade secondary flow structures and reducing stage efficiency. These structures may be controlled using end wall contouring (EWC), though experimental demonstration of their benefit is seldom reported in the literature. The optically accessible turbine at the University of Bath was designed to directly measure and visualize the flow field within the blade passage for a rotor with EWC. The single-stage turbine enables phase-locked flow field measurements with volumetric particle image velocimetry (PIV). Purge flow was supplied to investigate a range of operating conditions in which the secondary flow structures were modified. The modular turbine rotor allowed for expedient change of a bladed ring, or bling, featuring non-axisymmetric EWC. The identified secondary flow structures were the pressure-side leg of the horse shoe vortex (PS-HSV) and an egress vortex (EV) of concurrent rotational direction. An increase in purge flowrate monotonically shifted the EV toward the suction-side (SS) of the adjacent blade. The migration of the PS-HSV toward the SS caused the two aforementioned vortices to merge. The EWC rotor design included a leading-edge (LE) feature to alter the PS-HSV and a trough to guide the EV low spanwise in the passage and maintain displacement from the adjacent suction-side. The EWC rotor was found to be effective at altering the formation and positioning of the secondary flow structures at a range of purge flow conditions