Hospital-Level Variations in Rates of Inpatient Urinary Tract Infections in Stroke.

Background and purpose: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common complications following stroke and has prognostic significance. UTI rates have been shown to vary between hospitals, but it is unclear whether this is due to case-mix differences or heterogeneities in care among hospitals. Methods: A prospective multi-center cohort study of acute stroke patients admitted to eight National Health Service (NHS) acute hospital trusts within the Anglia Stroke & Heart Clinical Network between 2009 and 2011 was conducted. We modeled the association between hospital (as a fixed-effect) and inpatient UTI using a multivariable logistic regression model, adjusting for established patient-level risk factors. We graphically and descriptively analyzed heterogeneities in hospital-level characteristics. Results: We included 2,241 stroke admissions in our analysis; 171 (7.6%) acquired UTI as an inpatient. UTI rates varied significantly between the eight hospitals, ranging from 3 to 11%. The hospital that had the lowest odds of UTI [odds ratio (OR) = 0.50 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.22-.11)] in adjusted analysis, had the highest number of junior doctors and occupational therapists per five beds of all hospitals. The hospital with the highest adjusted UTI rate [OR=2.69 (1.56-4.64)] was tertiary, the largest and had the highest volume of stroke patients, lowest number of stroke unit beds per 100 admissions, and the highest number of hospital beds per CT scanner. Conclusions: There is hospital-level variation in post-stroke UTI. Our results suggest the potential influence of service characteristics independently of patient-level factors which may be amenable to be addressed to improve the ultimate stroke outcome

Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study in NMOSD

OBJECTIVE: To develop a resource of systematically collected, longitudinal clinical data and biospecimens for assisting in the investigation into neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. METHODS: To illustrate its research-enabling purpose, epidemiologic patterns and disease phenotypes were assessed among enrolled subjects, including age at disease onset, annualized relapse rate (ARR), and time between the first and second attacks. RESULTS: As of December 2017, the Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study (CIRCLES) had enrolled more than 1,000 participants, of whom 77.5% of the NMOSD cases and 71.7% of the controls continue in active follow-up. Consanguineous relatives of patients with NMOSD represented 43.6% of the control cohort. Of the 599 active cases with complete data, 84% were female, and 76% were anti-AQP4 seropositive. The majority were white/Caucasian (52.6%), whereas blacks/African Americans accounted for 23.5%, Hispanics/Latinos 12.4%, and Asians accounted for 9.0%. The median age at disease onset was 38.4 years, with a median ARR of 0.5. Seropositive cases were older at disease onset, more likely to be black/African American or Hispanic/Latino, and more likely to be female. CONCLUSION: Collectively, the CIRCLES experience to date demonstrates this study to be a useful and readily accessible resource to facilitate accelerating solutions for patients with NMOSD

Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study in NMOSD.

Objective: To develop a resource of systematically collected, longitudinal clinical data and biospecimens for assisting in the investigation into neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. Methods: To illustrate its research-enabling purpose, epidemiologic patterns and disease phenotypes were assessed among enrolled subjects, including age at disease onset, annualized relapse rate (ARR), and time between the first and second attacks. Results: As of December 2017, the Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study (CIRCLES) had enrolled more than 1,000 participants, of whom 77.5% of the NMOSD cases and 71.7% of the controls continue in active follow-up. Consanguineous relatives of patients with NMOSD represented 43.6% of the control cohort. Of the 599 active cases with complete data, 84% were female, and 76% were anti-AQP4 seropositive. The majority were white/Caucasian (52.6%), whereas blacks/African Americans accounted for 23.5%, Hispanics/Latinos 12.4%, and Asians accounted for 9.0%. The median age at disease onset was 38.4 years, with a median ARR of 0.5. Seropositive cases were older at disease onset, more likely to be black/African American or Hispanic/Latino, and more likely to be female. Conclusions: Collectively, the CIRCLES experience to date demonstrates this study to be a useful and readily accessible resource to facilitate accelerating solutions for patients with NMOSD

Narcissism: a factor behind the selective sharing of news online

The current study examined the extent to which narcissism influences the social network users’ intention to share positive and negative life events with (close or unknown) online contacts. Using an online survey, small vignettes and a cross-sectional convenience sample of 119 participants, the results showed that narcissism positively predicted sharing intention of positive and negative life events with strangers. However, individuals rating higher in narcissism were less likely to share negative news with family. The research findings suggest that personality traits such as narcissism, the type of contacts online, and the nature of the news may shape what information is shared by online users. The type of news presented may therefore be a function of who is posting the content, their personality, and the kind of social network contacts they have online

Descriptive and predictive models of Thrips tabaci populations in garlic plantations

7 ilus. 11 ref.A partir de los resultados obtenidos en un estudio sobre la fluctuaci?n de la poblaci?n de Thrips tabaci Lindeman en el cultivo del ajo (Allium sativum L.) en las provincias de La Habana y Holgu?n, se llev? a cabo el an?lisis y la selecci?n de modelos para la descripci?n y la predicci?n del crecimiento de las poblaciones de esa especie a partir de su relaci?n con los factores abi?ticos. Se demostr? que el modelo logar?tmico basado en la fenolog?a y las variables clim?ticas (precipitaci?n, humedad relativa y la temperatura media) resulta eficiente para estimar las densidades de poblaci?n de esta plaga. Se obtuvieron ecuaciones, con altos coeficientes de determinaci?n, que permiten predecir el crecimiento de las poblaciones, de las cuales se consider? como m?s eficientes, para La Habana el modelo Log (Pob-tot) = 0,8354 Log (Pob-tot*) + 0,5495 Log (35 - Tmed*), y para Holgu?n el modelo Log (Pob-tot) = 0,9016 Log (Pob-tot*) + 0,3086 Log (35 - Tmed*). With the results obtained from a study on the population dynamics of Thrips tabaci Lindeman in garlic (Allium sativum L.) crops in Havana and Holgu?n, an analysis and a model selection were carried out to describe and predict population growth patterns of this species, starting from its relationship to abiotic factors. It was demonstrated that the logarithmic model based on the phenology and climatic variables (rainfall, relative humidity and the mean temperature) is efficient at estimating population densities of this pest. Equations were obtained, with high coefficients of determination that allow predicting the population growth. For Havana, the most efficient model is Log(Pob-tot)= 0.8354 Log (Pob-tot*)+ 0.5495 Log (35- Tmed*), and for Holgu?n the model Log(Pob-tot)= 0.9016 Log (Pob-tot*)+ 0.3086 Log (35- Tmed*)

Isolated Abdominal Motor Seizures of Mesial Parietal Origin: Epileptic Belly Dancing?

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