A Novel test structure for automated measurement of charge transfer efficiency in charge coupled imaging devices

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Clinical effectiveness of bidirectional fecal microbiota transfer in the treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections

Background: Fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) has become a standard of care in the prevention of multiple recurrent Clostridioides difficile (rCDI) infection. Aim: While primary cure rates range from 70-80% following a single treatment using monodirectional approaches, cure rates of combination treatment remain largely unknown. Methods: In a retrospective case-control study, outcomes following simultaneous bidirectional FMT (bFMT) with combined endoscopic application into the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract, compared to standard routes of application (endoscopy via upper or lower gastrointestinal tract and oral capsules; abbreviated UGIT, LGIT and CAP) on day 30 and 90 after FMT were assessed. Statistical matching partners were identified using number of recurrences ( = 3), age and gender. Results: Primary cure rates at D30 and D90 for bFMT were 100% ( p = .001). The matched control groups showed cure rates of 81.3% for LGIT ( p = .010), 62.5% for UGIT ( p = .0 0 0) and 78.1% for CAP ( p = .005) on D30 and 81.3% for LGIT ( p = .010), 59.4% for UGIT ( p = .0 0 0) and 71.9% for CAP ( p = .001) on D90. Conclusion: In our analysis, bFMT on the same day significantly increased primary cure rate at D30 and D90. These data require prospective confirmation but suggest that route of application may play a signif-icant role in optimizing patient outcomes. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT026 8106 8 (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Conservation of grassland leafhoppers: A brief review

The leafhoppers, planthoppers and their allies (collectively known as the Auchenorrhyncha) are presented as a group of insects that are highly appropriate for studying grassland ecology and conservation, evaluating the conservation status of sites and monitoring environmental and habitat change. Semi-natural grasslands typically support dense populations and a wide range of species with diverse ecological strategies. Their numerical dominance in many grasslands means that they have considerable functional significance, both as herbivores and as prey for higher trophic levels. Population and assemblage studies are supported by good ecological knowledge about most species and modern identification keys. Hitherto, most studies have focused on the composition and structure of assemblages and how they are affected by conservation management. However, grasslands support many rare species with small and fragmented populations which deserve conservation attention in their own right, and recent work has started to reflect this. The effects of management on the composition and structure of grassland leafhopper populations and assemblages are described and an assessment is given of the main threats facing individual species and overall diversity. There is a need to synthesise the scattered literature on grassland leafhoppers, to provide a model for how the composition and structure of populations and assemblages respond to major environmental and anthropogenic gradients across large biogeographic areas. Such an analysis could help predict the impact of likely future changes in land use and climate