Updated and Validated Pan-Coronavirus PCR Assay to Detect All Coronavirus Genera.

Coronavirus (CoV) spillover events from wildlife reservoirs can result in mild to severe human respiratory illness. These spillover events underlie the importance of detecting known and novel CoVs circulating in reservoir host species and determining CoV prevalence and distribution, allowing improved prediction of spillover events or where a human-reservoir interface should be closely monitored. To increase the likelihood of detecting all circulating genera and strains, we have modified primers published by Watanabe et al. in 2010 to generate a semi-nested pan-CoV PCR assay. Representatives from the four coronavirus genera (α-CoVs, β-CoVs, γ-CoVs and δ-CoVs) were tested and all of the in-house CoVs were detected using this assay. After comparing both assays, we found that the updated assay reliably detected viruses in all genera of CoVs with high sensitivity, whereas the sensitivity of the original assay was lower. Our updated PCR assay is an important tool to detect, monitor and track CoVs to enhance viral surveillance in reservoir hosts

Natural hazards in Australia : sea level and coastal extremes

The Australian coastal zone encompasses tropical, sub- and extra-tropical climates and accommodates about 80 % of Australia’s population. Sea level extremes and their physical impacts in the coastal zone arise from a complex set of atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial processes that interact on a range of spatial and temporal scales and will be modified by a changing climate, including sea level rise. This review details significant progress over recent years in understanding the causes of past and projections of future changes in sea level and coastal extremes, yet a number of research questions, knowledge gaps and challenges remain. These include efforts to improve knowledge on past sea level extremes, integrate a wider range of processes in projections of future changes to sea level extremes, and focus efforts on understanding long-term coastline response from the combination of contributing factors

Splenic peliosis with spontaneous splenic rupture: report of two cases

BACKGROUND: Peliosis is a rare condition characterised by multiple cyst-like, blood-filled cavities within the parenchyma of solid organs. Most commonly affecting the liver, isolated splenic peliosis is an even more unique phenomenon. Patients with the condition are often asymptomatic. However, this potentially lethal condition can present with spontaneous organ rupture. We present two such cases, discuss their management and review what is currently known in the existing literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A previously well twenty-six year old woman presented with abdominal pain following a trivial episode of coughing. A diagnosis of spontaneous splenic rupture was made following clinical and radiological examination. She underwent emergency splenectomy and made a full, uneventful recovery. Histopathological examination confirmed splenic peliosis. The second case describes an eighty six year old lady who sustained a trivial fall and developed pain in her left side. A CT confirmed splenic rupture. She became haemodynamically unstable during her admission and underwent emergency splenectomy. Histopathological examination revealed splenic peliosis. She went on to make an uneventful recovery. CONCLUSION: Splenic peliosis is very rare. It has a number of associations including immunosuppression, drug therapy and infection. Although patients are often asymptomatic, life-threatening spontaneous organ rupture may occur. If the diagnosis of peliosis is confirmed, additional investigations should be considered to detect its presence in other organs. Furthermore, the presence of the condition may be relevant if further medical or surgical intervention is planned

USArray Imaging of Continental Crust in the Conterminous United States

The thickness and bulk composition of continental crust provide important constraints on the evolution and dynamics of continents. Crustal mineralogy and thickness both may influence gravity anomalies, topographic elevation, and lithospheric strength, but prior to the inception of EarthScope’s USArray, seismic measurements of crustal thickness and properties useful for inferring lithology are sparse. Here we improve upon a previously published methodology for joint inversion of Bouguer gravity anomalies and seismic receiver functions by using parameter space stacking of cross correlations of modeled synthetic and observed receiver functions instead of standard H-κ amplitude stacking. The new method is applied to estimation of thickness and bulk seismic velocity ratio, vP/vS, of continental crust in the conterminous United States using USArray and other broadband network data. Crustal thickness variations are reasonably consistent with those found in other studies and show interesting relationships to the history of North American continental formation. Seismic velocity ratios derived in this study are more robust than in other analyses and hint at large-scale variations in composition of continental crust. To interpret the results, we model the pressure-/temperature-dependent thermodynamics of mineral formation for various crustal chemistries, with and without volatile constituents. Our results suggest that hydration lowers bulk crustal vP/vS and density and releases heat in the shallow crust but absorbs heat in the lowermost crust (where plagioclase breaks down to pyroxene and garnet resulting in higher seismic velocity). Hence, vP/vS variations may provide a useful proxy for hydration state in the crust

The impact of psychological factors on recovery from injury: a multicentre cohort study

Purpose Unintentional injuries have a significant long-term health impact in working age adults. Depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are common post-injury, but their impact on self-reported recovery has not been investigated in general injury populations. This study investigated the role of psychological predictors 1 month post-injury in subsequent self-reported recovery from injury in working-aged adults. Methods A multicentre cohort study was conducted of 668 unintentionally injured adults admitted to five UK hospitals followed up at 1, 2, 4 and 12 months post-injury. Logistic regression explored relationships between psychological morbidity 1 month post-injury and self-reported recovery 12 months post-injury, adjusting for health, demographic, injury and socio-legal factors. Multiple imputations were used to impute missing values. Results A total of 668 adults participated at baseline, 77% followed up at 1 month and 63% at 12 months, of whom 383 (57%) were included in the main analysis. Multiple imputation analysis included all 668 participants. Increasing levels of depression scores and increasing levels of pain at 1 month and an increasing number of nights in hospital were associated with significantly reduced odds of recovery at 12 months, adjusting for age, sex, centre, employment and deprivation. The findings were similar in the multiple imputation analysis, except that pain had borderline statistical significance. Conclusions Depression 1 month post-injury is an important predictor of recovery, but other factors, especially pain and nights spent in hospital, also predict recovery. Identifying and managing depression and providing adequate pain control are essential in clinical care post-injury

Changing portrayals of medicine and patients in eighteenth-century medical writing : Lexical bundles in Public Health, Methods, and case studies

Peer reviewe

Towards new knowledge : The corpus of Late Modern English Medical Texts

Peer reviewe

Scientific Periodicals : The Philosophical Transactions and the Edinburgh Medical Journal

Peer reviewe

Manual to the LMEMT corpus

Peer reviewe