Comparing very low birth weight versus very low gestation cohort methods for outcome analysis of high risk preterm infants

© 2017 The Author(s). Background: Compared to very low gestational age (<32 weeks, VLGA) cohorts, very low birth weight (<1500 g; VLBW) cohorts are more prone to selection bias toward small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants, which may impact upon the validity of data for benchmarking purposes. Method: Data from all VLGA or VLBW infants admitted in the 3 Networks between 2008 and 2011 were used. Two-thirds of each network cohort was randomly selected to develop prediction models for mortality and composite adverse outcome (CAO: mortality or cerebral injuries, chronic lung disease, severe retinopathy or necrotizing enterocolitis) and the remaining for internal validation. Areas under the ROC curves (AUC) of the models were compared. Results: VLBW cohort (24,335 infants) had twice more SGA infants (20.4% vs. 9.3%) than the VLGA cohort (29,180 infants) and had a higher rate of CAO (36.5% vs. 32.6%). The two models had equal prediction power for mortality and CAO (AUC 0.83), and similarly for all other cross-cohort validations (AUC 0.81-0.85). Neither model performed well for the extremes of birth weight for gestation (<1500 g and ≥32 weeks, AUC 0.50-0.65; ≥1500 g and <32 weeks, AUC 0.60-0.62). Conclusion: There was no difference in prediction power for adverse outcome between cohorting VLGA or VLBW despite substantial bias in SGA population. Either cohorting practises are suitable for international benchmarking

Multispecies Scholarship and Encounters : Changing Assumptions at the Human-Animal Nexus

Acknowledgements I would like to thank the two anonymous referees for their constructive comments. I am also grateful to Andrew McKinnon and Steve Bruce for their feedback on earlier drafts of the paper. Funding This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Peer reviewedPostprin

iStim. A New Portable Device for Interoceptive Stimulation

The sense of the physiological condition of the entire organism (i.e. interoception) represents a fundamental perception that serves a correct and balanced functioning of the human body. Interoceptive information constitutes a core element in a variety of psycho-physiological systems and processes; therefore the possibility to consistently stimulate the interoceptive system with specifically targeted inputs has a fundamental value both in assessing and clinical settings. The article illustrates a new technological portable device able to delivered precise interoceptive parasympathetic stimuli to C-T afferents connected to the lamina I spinothalamocortical system. Interoceptive stimuli can be programmed in a variety of parameters, ranging from continuous stimulation to modulation of frequency and variance. Implications and possible applications are discussed in both assessing protocols and clinical treatments as well