Patch Materials for Pulmonary Artery Arterioplasty and Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Augmentation: A Review

Patch augmentation of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) and pulmonary artery (PA) arterioplasty are relatively common procedures in the surgical treatment of patients with congenital heart disease. To date, several patch materials have been applied with no agreed upon clinical standard. Each patch type has unique performance characteristics, cost, and availability. There are limited data describing the various advantages and disadvantages of different patch materials. We performed a review of studies describing the clinical performance of various RVOT and PA patch materials and found a limited but growing body of literature. Short-term clinical performance has been reported for a multitude of patch types, but comparisons are limited by inconsistent study design and scarce histologic data. Standard clinical criteria for assessment of patch efficacy and criteria for intervention need to be applied across patch types. The field is progressing with improvements in outcomes due to newer patch technologies focused on reducing antigenicity and promoting neotissue formation which may have the ability to grow, remodel, and repair

Guidance on noncorticosteroid systemic immunomodulatory therapy in noninfectious uveitis: fundamentals of care for uveitis (focus) initiative

Topic: An international, expert-led consensus initiative to develop systematic, evidence-based recommendations for the treatment of noninfectious uveitis in the era of biologics. Clinical Relevance: The availability of biologic agents for the treatment of human eye disease has altered practice patterns for the management of noninfectious uveitis. Current guidelines are insufficient to assure optimal use of noncorticosteroid systemic immunomodulatory agents. Methods: An international expert steering committee comprising 9 uveitis specialists (including both ophthalmologists and rheumatologists) identified clinical questions and, together with 6 bibliographic fellows trained in uveitis, conducted a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol systematic reviewof the literature (English language studies from January 1996 through June 2016; Medline [OVID], the Central Cochrane library, EMBASE,CINAHL,SCOPUS,BIOSIS, andWeb of Science). Publications included randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective studies with sufficient follow-up, case series with 15 cases or more, peer-reviewed articles, and hand-searched conference abstracts from key conferences. The proposed statements were circulated among 130 international uveitis experts for review.Atotal of 44 globally representativegroupmembersmet in late 2016 to refine these guidelines using a modified Delphi technique and assigned Oxford levels of evidence. Results: In total, 10 questions were addressed resulting in 21 evidence-based guidance statements covering the following topics: when to start noncorticosteroid immunomodulatory therapy, including both biologic and nonbiologic agents; what data to collect before treatment; when to modify or withdraw treatment; how to select agents based on individual efficacy and safety profiles; and evidence in specific uveitic conditions. Shared decision-making, communication among providers and safety monitoring also were addressed as part of the recommendations. Pharmacoeconomic considerations were not addressed. Conclusions: Consensus guidelines were developed based on published literature, expert opinion, and practical experience to bridge the gap between clinical needs and medical evidence to support the treatment of patients with noninfectious uveitis with noncorticosteroid immunomodulatory agents

National Psoriasis Foundation COVID-19 Task Force guidance for management of psoriatic disease during the pandemic: Version 2—Advances in psoriatic disease management, COVID-19 vaccines, and COVID-19 treatments

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Objective To update guidance regarding the management of psoriatic disease during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study Design The task force (TF) includes 18 physician voting members with expertise in dermatology, rheumatology, epidemiology, infectious diseases, and critical care. The TF was supplemented by nonvoting members, which included fellows and National Psoriasis Foundation staff. Clinical questions relevant to the psoriatic disease community were informed by inquiries received by the National Psoriasis Foundation. A Delphi process was conducted. Results The TF updated evidence for the original 22 statements and added 5 new recommendations. The average of the votes was within the category of agreement for all statements, 13 with high consensus and 14 with moderate consensus. Limitations The evidence behind many guidance statements is variable in quality and/or quantity. Conclusions These statements provide guidance for the treatment of patients with psoriatic disease on topics including how the disease and its treatments affect COVID-19 risk, how medical care can be optimized during the pandemic, what patients should do to lower their risk of getting infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (including novel vaccination), and what they should do if they develop COVID-19. The guidance is a living document that is continuously updated by the TF as data emerge

National Psoriasis Foundation COVID-19 Task Force Guidance for Management of Psoriatic Disease During the Pandemic: Version 1

Objective To provide guidance about management of psoriatic disease during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Study design A task force (TF) of 18 physician voting members with expertise in dermatology, rheumatology, epidemiology, infectious diseases, and critical care was convened. The TF was supplemented by nonvoting members, which included fellows and National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) staff. Clinical questions relevant to the psoriatic disease community were informed by questions received by the NPF. A Delphi process was conducted. Results The TF approved 22 guidance statements. The average of the votes was within the category of agreement for all statements. All guidance statements proposed were recommended, 9 with high consensus and 13 with moderate consensus. Limitations The evidence behind many guidance statements is limited in quality. Conclusion These statements provide guidance for the management of patients with psoriatic disease on topics ranging from how the disease and its treatments impact COVID-19 risk and outcome, how medical care can be optimized during the pandemic, what patients should do to lower their risk of getting infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and what they should do if they develop COVID-19. The guidance is intended to be a living document that will be updated by the TF as data emerge

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Factores que influyen en la elección de las carreras de pedagogía en Colombia

Resumen El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo identificar los factores que influyen sobre las motivaciones, la satisfacción y expectativas en torno al ejercicio profesional en estudiantes de las facultades de Educación y ciclos complementarios de Escuelas Normales Superiores (ENS) en Colombia, tomando caso de estudio la región Caribe de este país. Para ello, se aplicó un estudio de tipo cuantitativo, cuya muestra estuvo integrada por 805 estudiantes de programas afines a los antes mencionados, quienes estuvieron a cargo del diligenciamiento de una encuesta orientada a la medición de los factores que influyen en la elección de estos estudios, de acuerdo con la escala FIT-choice (Factors Influencing Teaching choice), desarrollado por Watt y Richardson (2007). Los resultados obtenidos no solo nos permiten establecer un perfil socioeducativo de los futuros maestros analizados en este trabajo; sino también, facilitan la identificación de los factores vinculados a los principales tipos de motivaciones que tienen mayor peso, al momento de elegir carreras relacionadas con la Pedagogía; siendo las motivaciones de tipo altruistas e intrínsecas las más valoradas por los estudiantes encuestados. Las motivaciones extrínsecas, relacionadas con el salario y la conciliación, por ejemplo, tuvieron una valoración menor, con la excepción del factor relacionado con la seguridad del trabajo. La satisfacción de la elección es elevada pese al bajo salario, la falta de estatus social y una alta disuasión social.This paper aims to identify the factors that influence motivation, satisfaction and expectations about the professional practices among students in education colleges and postsecondary education colleges in Colombia, studying the case of the Caribbean region, based on a quantitative study with 805 students linked with the programs mentioned above, who were in charge of measuring the factors that influence the selection of teaching careers, according to the FIT-choice scale (Factors Influencing Teaching choice), developed by Watt and Richardson (2007). Findings not only allow us to establish a socio-educational profile of future teachers analyzed in this work, but also help us to identify factors linked to the main types of motivations that mostly affect the choice of education careers. In this case, the altruistic and intrinsic motivations are the most valued by respondents, compared with extrinsic motivations, related to salary and time for family, for example, whose valuation was lower. Satisfaction with choice is well valued despite low salaries, lack of social status and high social dissuasion