Evaluation of FRAX® score use in Maltese osteoporosis management guidelines

Objectives: Recent years have brought a shift towards evidence-based fracture risk engines. Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX®) is one such diagnostic tool used to evaluate the ten-year probability of osteoporotic fracture risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Maltese FRAX® score-based osteoporosis management guidelines and identify the suitability of using such a risk factor engine-based protocol. Study design: Data from 702 patients presenting for bone mineral density (BMD) estimation in 2010- 2011 were collected. In this period, local guidelines were devised but not yet put into practice so all referred patients underwent BMD estimation. These patients were below 65 years of age and above the minimum age for FRAX® use: 40 years. Data included Age, Weight, Height, BMI and the presence of any risk factor components of the FRAX® score tool. BMD was assessed using Norland/Hologic densitometers. FRAX® scores (excluding BMD) for each patient were calculated using the online tool www.shef.ac.uk/FRAX as accessed in 2014. The resulting major osteoporotic fracture risk was compared to age-specific assessment thresholds as set by Kanis et al. (2013). Thus the appropriateness (or otherwise) of densitometry measurements as dictated by local guidelines was determined. Main outcome measures: The main outcome measures in this study were the femoral neck and vertebral body BMD. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of using the FRAX®-based guidelines in under 65 year olds were calculated. Results: Local guidelines for managing <65 year olds were found to have a PPV of 11.26% and a NPV of 94.38 % Conclusion: FRAX®-guided local guidelines are well suited at excluding non-osteoporotic patients (False omission rate of 5.62 %). Positive likelihood ratio for the protocol was found to be 1.27. This means that 1 in every 8.8 patients that would have been referred for BMD estimation were actually osteoporotic.peer-reviewe

Extensive Pulmonary Embolism in late pregnancy associated with Anticardiolipin Antibodies

The leading cause of morbidity and mortality during pregnancy and the puerperium is venous thromboembolism. Though uncommon, the risk is five times higher in a pregnant woman than in a non-pregnant woman of similar age.1,2 In pregnancy, all three underlying factors for venous thrombosis are present: hypercoagulability, venous stasis and vascular damage (Virchow's triad). Of these, the most constant predisposing factor is increasing venous stasis due to the pressure of the gravid uterus on the pelvic vasculature. In addition the presence of a thrombophilia, (congenital or acquired) will increase this risk substantially. During pregnancy hypercoagulability is a physiological preparation for the haemostatic challenge of delivery. There are increases in procoagulant factors, such as von Willebrand factor, factor VIII, factor V, and fibrinogen together with an acquired resistance to activated protein C and a reduction in protein S. Increases in plasminogen activator inhibitors impair fibrinolysis. The third factor of this triad, vascular damage, is a possible complication of trophoblastic invasion of the uterine spiral arterioles or of delivery.peer-reviewe

Linkage to chromosome 11p12 in two Maltese families with a highly penetrant form of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease with a strong genetic component. Family-based linkage studies were performed by a number of investigators to try to identify loci that might contain genes responsible for an increased susceptibility to osteoporosis. A whole-genome linkage scan using 400 microsatellite markers was performed in 27 members from two Maltese families with a highly penetrant form of osteoporosis. The phenotype was defined by lumbar and femoral z-scores calculated after measurement of bone mineral density by DEXA. Both males and females were among the affected individuals. Multipoint parametric and non-parametric linkage analyses were performed by EasyLinkage v4.01 using GENEHUNTER v2.1, assuming dominant and recessive modes of inheritance with variable penetrance. Evidence of linkage was observed to a marker at 11p12 where a non-parametric LOD score of 5.77 (P¼0.0006) was obtained. A maximum heterogeneity LOD score of 2.55 for this region was obtained for the dominant mode of inheritance with 90% penetrance and a phenocopy rate of 1%. Following fine mapping, the critical interval was narrowed to a region that is 52.94cM from 11p-telomere. In this region, the gene for tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) is located approximately 1 cM away from the indicated marker. Sequencing of the promoter region and exons of the TRAF6 gene revealed three sequence variants, one of which was found in three affected members within one family.peer-reviewe

Puerperal Streptococcus pneumoniae endometritis : a case report and literature review

Streptococcus pneumoniae endometritis is an exceedingly rare clinical occurrence in the immunocompetent individual. This case report describes such an occurrence in an otherwise healthy woman 39 days post-normal vaginal delivery. The patient responded to prompt broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics and made a full recovery. The clinical relevance of such a scenario, the likely pathogenesis of the event as well as a brief review of relevant clinical literature are discussed. Streptococcus pneumoniae genital infection was a well-documented clinical entity in the pre-antibiotic era with a high mortality rate – 26% for localised infection and 74% for peritonitis and sepsis. More recently, however, there have been only isolated reports of Streptococcus pneumoniae genital infection, with even less frequent accounts of this happening in immunocompetent individuals. In this report, we document a case of Streptococcus pneumoniae endometritis in a young, previously healthy female 39 days post-partum.peer-reviewe

Mitral valve infective endocarditis following device occlusion of a coronary artery fistula

A three year old girl, with a right coronary artery fistula and signs of a hyperdynamic circulation, underwent uncomplicated closure of the fistula using an occluding device introduced via the femoral arterial route and covered with appropriate antibiotics. Two months later she presented with a persistent fever, signs of infective endocarditis (IE) and embolic phenomena in the left lower limb. Mitral valve endocarditis was confirmed immediately and treated effectively. However, initial ultrasound and doppler did not show the femoral artery thrombo-occlusion that was only confirmed on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) one month later. This case highlights the usefulness of MRA in diagnosing suspected vessel occlusion in young children, and is in keeping with the latest NICE guidelines that suggest that prophylactic antibiotics do not always prevent IE. Parent and patient education on ‘what to look out for’, combined with careful clinical vigilance is paramount in the early detection of IE with a consequent reduction in morbidity and mortality.peer-reviewe

Using dynamic binary analysis for tracking pointer data

The examination and monitoring of binaries during runtime, referred to as dynamic binary analysis, is a widely adopted approach, especially in the field of security and software vulnerabilities. Fundamentally, it provides one with a means to understand and reason about binary executions. There are various applications of dynamic binary analysis, including vulnerability analysis, malware analysis, and Web security. One technique typically employed to perform dynamic analysis is taint analysis, which revolves around inspecting interesting information flows [3]. In this approach, taint marks are associated with values that are (1) introduced via defined sources and (2) propagated to other values to keep track of information flow. Marks may also be removed (untainted) once a defined sink has been reached. In addition, taint checking is also carried out in order to determine whether or not certain runtime behaviours of the program occur. The properties describing how taint analysis is performed, i.e taint introduction, propagation and checking, are specified by a set of rules referred to as a taint policy. One convenient way to define taint rules is in the form of operational semantics rules, as it avoids ambiguity issues. Rule 1 specifies the general form of a taint rule used in this paper. Given the current machine context of the program 4 and a statement, the rule specifies the end result, after the computation has been carried out.peer-reviewe

Intervertebral disc height in treated and untreated overweight post-menopausal women

BACKGROUND: The effect of the menopause and HRT on the intervertebral discs has not been investigated. METHODS: One hundred women were recruited, comprising of 44 post-menopausal women on HRT, 33 untreated post-menopausal women and 23 pre-menopausal women. The height of the intervertebral discs between the 12th thoracic vertebra and the 3rd lumbar vertebra was measured by utilizing the bone densitometer height cursors. RESULTS: The untreated menopausal group of women had the lowest total disc height (D1–D3: 1.95 0.31 cm). This was significantly lower than the pre-menopausal group D1–D3: 2.16 0.24 cm) and the hormone-treated group (2.2 0.26 cm) (P > 0.02). The 2nd intervertebral disc consistently maintained a significant difference between the untreated menopausal group (D2: 0.63 0.13) and the other two groups (pre-menopausal group (D2: 0.72 0.09 cm) and treated menopausal group (D2: 0.73 0.12 cm) (P > 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Estrogen-replete women appear to maintain higher intervertebral discs compared to untreated post-menopausal women. The estrogenic milieu may be relevant because of the significant impact it has on the hydrophilic glycosaminoglycans, the water content, collagen and elastin of the intervertebral discs. The maintenance of adequate disc height may allow the intervertebral discs to retain their discoid shape and viscoelastic function, containing vertical forces which may threaten spinal architecture leading to vertebral body compression fractures.peer-reviewe

A comparison of Colletotrichum species associated with berry diseases of Coffea arabica L.

Forty isolates of Colletotrichum species associated with coffee berry anthracnose in Papua New Guinea were characterised and identified on the basis of cultural, morphological and molecular characteristics. Of these, 29 isolates were identified as C. gloeosporioides, while the 11 remaining were identified as C. acutatum. None of the isolates had characteristics common to C. kahawae

A qualitative framing analysis of how firearm manufacturers and related bodies communicate to the public on gun-related harms and solutions

There is a growing understanding that the producers and sellers of harmful products directly and indirectly affect population health and policy, including through seeking to influence public understanding about the nature of harms and their solutions. However, the firearm industry and related organisations have not to date been the subject of this type of enquiry. This study sought to address this evidential gap through examining the ways in which the firearm industry and industry-associated organisations frame firearms, firearm-related harms and possible solutions to gun violence. This was a thematic qualitative documentary analysis of materials from 7 of the largest firearm manufacturers and associated organisations. Two authors independently extracted textual material from web articles, press releases, annual reports and shareholder communications between 1st April 2019 to 1st April 2020 (302 documents). A hybrid approach combining both deductive and inductive coding was adopted, guided by the literature on the commercial determinants of health and using NVivo version 12. The firearm industry and firearm industry-funded organisations use framings about the safety and role of guns, evidence on associated harms and solutions that align with the industry's business interests, consistent with evidence on other harmful product manufacturers. This study identified framing strategies employed by the firearm industry and related organisations. These included attempts to undermine evidence, linking regulation to a dystopian future, minimising some of the most common harms, placing the responsibility for harms on individuals, and attempting to foster a heightened sense of risk to personal safety