Anchorage of air bladder with the interspinous bone of the anal fin in Lactarius lactarius (Bloch and Schneider, 1801)

Specimens of the false trevally (Lactarius lactarius ), 127 to 221 mm in total length, were studied for the mode of anchorage of the air-bladder with the interspinous bone of the anal fin. The 1st and 2nd interspinous bones are fused together into a single piece (named here as the anchor bone) which pierces through the air-bladder, dividing it into two intercommunicating chambers at its upper end, and ultimately articulates with the 10th vertebral bone. The lower end of the bone is broad, fan like with one side affording articulation with the 1st and 2nd anal spines. This is an unique feature of great taxonomical importance to L. lactarius, the only species in the family Lactariidae. The anal fin counts (23-27) and vertebral counts (23) are also given

Successful minimally-invasive management of a case of giant prostatic hypertrophy associated with recurrent nephrogenic adenoma of the prostate

BACKGROUND: Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) is said to affect at least a third of men over 60. However, the literature contains fewer than 200 reports of prostates over 200g in mass - Giant Prostatic Hypertrophy (GPH). Nephrogenic adenomas are benign lesions of the urinary tract that are believed to represent the local proliferation of shed renal tubular cells implanting at sites of urothelial injury. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the first case in the literature of these two rare pathologies co-existing in the same patient and the successful management and 36-month follow-up of the patient’s symptoms with minimally invasive therapy, including the still-uncommon selective prostatic artery embolisation. We also briefly discuss the role of PAX2 in injured renal tissues and nephrogenic adenomas. CONCLUSIONS: Symptomatic Giant Prostatic Hypertrophy (GPH) can be successfully managed with a combination of serial TURPs, 5 α-reductase inhibition and selective prostatic artery embolisation (SPAE)

Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy in the elderly: experience from a UK centre

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer has a high incidence in the elderly in the UK, with a significant number of patients aged 75 years or more. While surgery forms the mainstay of treatment, evidence pertaining to the management of gastric cancer in the Western population in this age group is scarce. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the outcomes of laparoscopy-assisted total and distal gastrectomies at our centre from 2005 to 2015. Patients aged 70 years or above were included in the elderly group. RESULTS A total of 60 patients underwent laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy over a 10-year period, with a predominance of male patients. There was no significant difference in the rate of overall surgical and non-surgical complications, in-hospital mortality, operation time and length of hospital stay, between the elderly and non-elderly groups. Univariate analysis, performed for risk factors relating to anastomotic leak and surgical complications, showed that age over 70 years and higher American Association of Anesthesiologists grades are associated with a higher, though not statistically significant, number of anastomotic leaks (P = 1.000 and P = 0.442, respectively) and surgical complications (P = 0.469 and P = 0.162, respectively). The recurrence rate within the first 3 years of surgery was significantly higher in the non-elderly group compared with the elderly group (Log Rank test, P = 0.002). There was no significant difference in survival between the two groups (Log Rank test, P = 0.619). CONCLUSIONS Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy is safe and feasible in an elderly population. There is a need for well-designed, prospective, randomised studies with quality of life data to inform our practice in future

Influence of Various Process Parameters on Mechanical Properties and Ballistics of Nitramine-Based Advanced CMDB Propellants

This paper reports the influence of important process parameters, namely mixing time and batch size; on the mechanical properties and ballistics of nitramine-based advanced CMDB propellants. Considerable improvement to the tune of 67 per cent in tensile strength was observed at a mixing time increase of 60-135 min. Scaling up of batch size from 8 to 25 kg resulted in 30 per cent higher tensile strength. Recorded enhancement of burning rate was of the order of 8 per cent in both the sets of experiments. Ballistically modified composition revealed 11-12 per cent increase in burning rate at all the pressure ranges, on combined increase in mixing time (55 to 85 min) and batch size(5-17kg). These findings are in line with those reported for composite and ballistically modified double-base propellants

Changes in COVID-19 outbreak severity and duration in long-term care facilities following vaccine introduction, England, November 2020 to June 2021

We describe the impact of changing epidemiology and vaccine introduction on characteristics of COVID-19 outbreaks in 330 long-term care facilities (LTCF) in England between November 2020 and June 2021. As vaccine coverage in LTCF increased and national incidence declined, the total number of outbreaks and outbreak severity decreased across the LTCF. The number of infected cases per outbreak decreased by 80.6%, while the proportion of outbreaks affecting staff only increased. Our study supports findings of vaccine effectiveness in LTCF

Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection according to baseline antibody status in staff and residents of 100 long-term care facilities (VIVALDI): a prospective cohort study

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection represents a major challenge for long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and many residents and staff are seropositive following persistent outbreaks. We aimed to investigate the association between the SARS-CoV-2 antibody status at baseline and subsequent infection in this population. Methods: We did a prospective cohort study of SARS-CoV-2 infection in staff (aged 65 years) at 100 LTCFs in England between Oct 1, 2020, and Feb 1, 2021. Blood samples were collected between June and November, 2020, at baseline, and 2 and 4 months thereafter and tested for IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike proteins. PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 was done weekly in staff and monthly in residents. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of a PCR-positive test by baseline antibody status, adjusted for age and sex, and stratified by LTCF. Findings: 682 residents from 86 LCTFs and 1429 staff members from 97 LTCFs met study inclusion criteria. At baseline, IgG antibodies to nucleocapsid were detected in 226 (33%) of 682 residents and 408 (29%) of 1429 staff members. 93 (20%) of 456 residents who were antibody-negative at baseline had a PCR-positive test (infection rate 0·054 per month at risk) compared with four (2%) of 226 residents who were antibody-positive at baseline (0·007 per month at risk). 111 (11%) of 1021 staff members who were antibody-negative at baseline had PCR-positive tests (0·042 per month at risk) compared with ten (2%) of 408 staff members who were antibody-positive staff at baseline (0·009 per month at risk). The risk of PCR-positive infection was higher for residents who were antibody-negative at baseline than residents who were antibody-positive at baseline (adjusted HR [aHR] 0·15, 95% CI 0·05–0·44, p=0·0006), and the risk of a PCR-positive infection was also higher for staff who were antibody-negative at baseline compared with staff who were antibody-positive at baseline (aHR 0·39, 0·19–0·82; p=0·012). 12 of 14 reinfected participants had available data on symptoms, and 11 of these participants were symptomatic. Antibody titres to spike and nucleocapsid proteins were comparable in PCR-positive and PCR-negative cases. Interpretation: The presence of IgG antibodies to nucleocapsid protein was associated with substantially reduced risk of reinfection in staff and residents for up to 10 months after primary infection

Hybrid vigour and inbreeding depression analysis for seed yield and its related attributes in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

The present study was conducted to decipher the genetic information on heterosis and inbreeding depression for seed yield and its contributing characters in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.). The cross, JMU-1339 x NARI-6, showed a positive and significant relative heterosis, standard heterosis and heterobeltiosis for seed yield per plant while, the cross, JMU-1339 x EC-757665, exhibited positive and significant relative heterosis and heterobeltiosis along with negative standard heterosis. The cross, JMU-1339 x NARI-6, noted significant desirable heterosis for other yield contributing traits viz., the number of branches, the number of capitulum and the number of seeds per capitulum and also exhibited positive significant inbreeding depression for these characters. The cross, JMU-1339 x EC-757665, showed desirable heterosis for the number of branches, the number of seeds per capitulum and test weight with positive significant inbreeding depression for these characters. Heterosis in the cross, JMU-1339 x NARI-6, was highly significant indicating its usefulness in the direct release as a variety after thorough testing over locations. The cross, JMU-1339 x EC-757665, exhibited a significant positive heterotic value for test weight and oil content revealing its usefulness in breeding programmes to enhance this trait

Reported exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and relative perceived importance of different settings for SARS-CoV-2 acquisition in England and Wales: Analysis of the Virus Watch Community Cohort [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]

We aimed to assess the relative importance of different settings for SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a large community cohort based on perceived location of infection for self-reported confirmed SARS-COV-2 cases. We demonstrate the importance of home, work and education as perceived venues for transmission. In children, education was most important and in older adults essential shopping was of high importance. Our findings support public health messaging about infection control at home, advice on working from home and restrictions in different venues