Revised target co-ordinates for the Beagle 2 lander

The revised, IAU 2000 target co-ordinates of the Mars Beagle 2 lander are 11.6oN, 90.75oE

Cervical spine injuries and collar complications in severely injured paediatric trauma patients

Study design:A retrospective registry review.Objectives:To determine the incidence of cervical spine (CS) injuries and collar complications in severely injured paediatric trauma patients.Setting:Regional Trauma Centre, Children\u27s Hospital.Methods:A retrospective review of 365 paediatric severe trauma patients (0-17 years), defined as an Injury Severity Score (ISS)≥12, admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU).Results:Clinically significant CS injuries occurred in 5% (n=18/365) of trauma patients, in 9% (n=13/149) of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and in 11% (n=6/56) of in-hospital trauma deaths. CS injuries were suspected before imaging in 33% (n=6/18) of patients based on either motor/sensory impairment or shock. CS injuries were deemed unstable in 61% (n=11/18) of patients. Patients with CS injuries had higher ISS, and longer PICU and hospital stays (P\u3c0.05). CS collar complications occurred in 10% of patients, mainly identified by day 6 and consisting of either erythema or ulcers. Patients with CS collar complications were older and more likely to have TBI, lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, longer PICU and hospital stays, and increased days to CS clearance (P\u3c0.05). Three CS X-rays, together with flexion/extension views, were used most frequently for CS clearance.Conclusion: CS injuries were prevalent in severely injured paediatric trauma patients, particularly in those with TBI and in nonsurvivors. CS collar complications were associated with a lower GCS and longer CS clearance times. Attention to CS collar management protocols and earlier CS clearance with computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging in obtunded patients might reduce CS collar complications. © 2013 International Spinal Cord Society. All rights reserved

Cervical spine injuries and collar complications in severely injured paediatric trauma patients

Study design:A retrospective registry review.Objectives:To determine the incidence of cervical spine (CS) injuries and collar complications in severely injured paediatric trauma patients.Setting:Regional Trauma Centre, Children\u27s Hospital.Methods:A retrospective review of 365 paediatric severe trauma patients (0-17 years), defined as an Injury Severity Score (ISS)≥12, admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU).Results:Clinically significant CS injuries occurred in 5% (n=18/365) of trauma patients, in 9% (n=13/149) of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and in 11% (n=6/56) of in-hospital trauma deaths. CS injuries were suspected before imaging in 33% (n=6/18) of patients based on either motor/sensory impairment or shock. CS injuries were deemed unstable in 61% (n=11/18) of patients. Patients with CS injuries had higher ISS, and longer PICU and hospital stays (P\u3c0.05). CS collar complications occurred in 10% of patients, mainly identified by day 6 and consisting of either erythema or ulcers. Patients with CS collar complications were older and more likely to have TBI, lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, longer PICU and hospital stays, and increased days to CS clearance (P\u3c0.05). Three CS X-rays, together with flexion/extension views, were used most frequently for CS clearance.Conclusion: CS injuries were prevalent in severely injured paediatric trauma patients, particularly in those with TBI and in nonsurvivors. CS collar complications were associated with a lower GCS and longer CS clearance times. Attention to CS collar management protocols and earlier CS clearance with computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging in obtunded patients might reduce CS collar complications. © 2013 International Spinal Cord Society. All rights reserved

Students' perception of the learning environment in a distributed medical programme

Background : The learning environment of a medical school has a significant impact on students’ achievements and learning outcomes. The importance of equitable learning environments across programme sites is implicit in distributed undergraduate medical programmes being developed and implemented. Purpose : To study the learning environment and its equity across two classes and three geographically separate sites of a distributed medical programme at the University of British Columbia Medical School that commenced in 2004. Method : The validated Dundee Ready Educational Environment Survey was sent to all students in their 2nd and 3rd year (classes graduating in 2009 and 2008) of the programme. The domains of the learning environment surveyed were: students’ perceptions of learning, students’ perceptions of teachers, students’ academic self-perceptions, students’ perceptions of the atmosphere, and students’ social self-perceptions. Mean scores, frequency distribution of responses, and inter- and intrasite differences were calculated. Results : The perception of the global learning environment at all sites was more positive than negative. It was characterised by a strongly positive perception of teachers. The work load and emphasis on factual learning were perceived negatively. Intersite differences within domains of the learning environment were more evident in the pioneer class (2008) of the programme. Intersite differences consistent across classes were largely related to on-site support for students. Conclusions : Shared strengths and weaknesses in the learning environment at UBC sites were evident in areas that were managed by the parent institution, such as the attributes of shared faculty and curriculum. A greater divergence in the perception of the learning environment was found in domains dependent on local arrangements and social factors that are less amenable to central regulation. This study underlines the need for ongoing comparative evaluation of the learning environment at the distributed sites and interaction between leaders of these sites

Provinciality and the Art World: The Midland Group 1961- 1977

This paper takes as its focus the Midland Group Gallery in order to first, make a case for the consideration of the geographies of art galleries. Second, highlight the importance of galleries in the context of cultural geographies of the sixties. Third, discuss the role of provinciality in the operation of art worlds. In so doing it explicates one set of geographies surrounding the gallery – those of the local, regional and international networks that connected to produce art works and art space. It reveals how the interactions between places and practices outside of metropolitan and regional hierarchies provides a more nuanced insight into how art worlds operated during the sixties, a period of growing internationalism of art, and how contested definitions of the provincial played an integral role in this. The paper charts the operations of the Midland Group Gallery and the spaces that it occupied to demonstrate how it was representative of a post-war discourse of provincialism and a corresponding re-evaluation of regional cultural activity

Investigating the Therapeutic Potential of a Probiotic in a Rat Model for Infection Following Fracture Fixation

Background: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the most common pathogen responsible for osteomyelitis. Objectives: Our objective was to investigate the potential of a probiotic as a treatment for S. aureus-induced infection following fracture fixation in a rat model. Methods: Fifty male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to five groups (Control, S. aureus, S. aureus +ceftriaxone, S. aureus + once weekly probiotic, and S. aureus + twice weekly probiotic). Lactobacillus casei subsp. casei (ATCC: 39392) was selected from eight strains of probiotic bacteria with anti-staphylococcal activity. Infection was induced by inoculation with106 colony-forming units (CFU) of S. aureus in a closed femur fracture model stabilized with an intramedullary pin. Three weeks after the surgery, the development of infection and response to the therapy was documented using radiographs, microbiological and histopathological analysis. Results: No bacteria were recovered from rats in the Control group. The analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in the CFU/femur (P < 0.001) and CFU/pin (P = 0.001) across all five treatment groups. When the results were compared, the CFU/femur was significantly lower in the S. aureus + Probiotic twice weekly in comparison with S. aureus (P = 0.008) and the S. aureus + ceftriaxone (P = 0.012) groups. Repeated measure ANOVA to test the radiographic scores during the follow-up time between the intervention groups revealed no significant differences (P = 0.179). Conclusions: Parenteral administration of viable L. casei inhibits S. aureus-induced infection as shown by the bacteriologic analysis, but makes no difference to the radiological union rates. This could be the first step towards developing an effective, biologic adjunctive therapy for the management of osteomyelitis following fracture fixation

Risdiplam in Type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy

BACKGROUND: Type 1 spinal muscular atrophy is a rare, progressive neuromuscular disease that is caused by low levels of functional survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein. Risdiplam is an orally administered, small molecule that modifies SMN2 pre-messenger RNA splicing and increases levels of functional SMN protein. METHODS: We report the results of part 1 of a two-part, phase 2-3, open-label study of risdiplam in infants 1 to 7 months of age who had type 1 spinal muscular atrophy, which is characterized by the infant not attaining the ability to sit without support. Primary outcomes were safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics (including the blood SMN protein concentration), and the selection of the risdiplam dose for part 2 of the study. Exploratory outcomes included the ability to sit without support for at least 5 seconds. RESULTS: A total of 21 infants were enrolled. Four infants were in a low-dose cohort and were treated with a final dose at month 12 of 0.08 mg of risdiplam per kilogram of body weight per day, and 17 were in a high-dose cohort and were treated with a final dose at month 12 of 0.2 mg per kilogram per day. The baseline median SMN protein concentrations in blood were 1.31 ng per milliliter in the low-dose cohort and 2.54 ng per milliliter in the high-dose cohort; at 12 months, the median values increased to 3.05 ng per milliliter and 5.66 ng per milliliter, respectively, which represented a median of 3.0 times and 1.9 times the baseline values in the low-dose and high-dose cohorts, respectively. Serious adverse events included pneumonia, respiratory tract infection, and acute respiratory failure. At the time of this publication, 4 infants had died of respiratory complications. Seven infants in the high-dose cohort and no infants in the low-dose cohort were able to sit without support for at least 5 seconds. The higher dose of risdiplam (0.2 mg per kilogram per day) was selected for part 2 of the study. CONCLUSIONS: In infants with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy, treatment with oral risdiplam led to an increased expression of functional SMN protein in the blood. (Funded by F. Hoffmann-La Roche; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02913482.)

Review debate: we need human rights not nationalism 'lite': globalization and British solidarity

The article explores the relationship of multiculturalism to social solidarity. The multicultural nature of Britain is accepted as a welcome reality but certain problems in relation to the development of multiculturalism in Britain are acknowledged. Various approaches to buttress or replace multiculturalism are reviewed. These are: a strengthened and/or reconstituted nationalism (`Britishness'); human rights; and social equality. The issue of citizenship recurs throughout. It is argued that a combined emphasis on human rights and greater social equality offer a better basis than nationalism for strengthening solidarity in Britain, especially in the longer term. Sociological theory offers a fruitful if strangely neglected starting point for understanding social solidarity. I draw critically on Durkheim and Marx to obtain some objective perspective on this controversial matter. Copyright 2007 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution

Modeling species' distributions to improve conservation in semiurban landscapes: Koala case study

Models of species' distributions are commonly used to inform landscape and conservation planning. In urban and semiurban landscapes, the distributions of species are determined by a combination of natural habitat and anthropogenic impacts. Understanding the spatial influence of these two processes is crucial for making spatially explicit decisions about conservation actions. We present a logistic regression model for the distribution of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in a semiurban landscape in eastern Australia that explicitly separates the effect of natural habitat quality and anthropogenic impacts on koala distributions. We achieved this by comparing the predicted distributions from the model with what the predicted distributions would have been if anthropogenic variables were at their mean values. Similar approaches have relied on making predictions assuming anthropogenic variables are zero, which will be unreliable if the training data set does not include anthropogenic variables close to zero. Our approach is novel because it can be applied to landscapes where anthropogenic variables are never close to zero. Our model showed that, averaged across the study area, natural habitat was the main determinant of koala presence. At a local scale, however, anthropogenic impacts could be more important, with consequent implications for conservation planning. We demonstrated that this modeling approach, combined with the visual presentation of predictions as a map, provides important information for making decisions on how different conservation actions should be spatially allocated. This method is particularly useful for areas where wildlife and human populations exist in close proximity