Forgotten but not gone : yersinia infections in England, 1975 to 2020

Background Yersiniosis is one of the most common food-borne zoonoses in Europe, but there are large variations in the reported incidence between different countries. Aim We aimed to describe the trends and epidemiology of laboratory-confirmed Yersinia infections in England and estimate the average annual number of undiagnosed Yersinia enterocolitica cases, accounting for under-ascertainment. Methods We analysed national surveillance data on Yersinia cases reported by laboratories in England between 1975 and 2020 and enhanced surveillance questionnaires from patients diagnosed in a laboratory that has implemented routine Yersinia testing of diarrhoeic samples since 2016. Results The highest incidence of Yersinia infections in England (1.4 cases per 100,000 population) was recorded in 1988 and 1989, with Y. enterocolitica being the predominant species. The reported incidence of Yersinia infections declined during the 1990s and remained low until 2016. Following introduction of commercial PCR at a single laboratory in the South East, the annual incidence increased markedly (13.6 cases per 100,000 population in the catchment area between 2017 and 2020). There were notable changes in age and seasonal distribution of cases over time. The majority of infections were not linked to foreign travel and one in five patients was admitted to hospital. We estimate that around 7,500 Y. enterocolitica infections may be undiagnosed in England annually. Conclusions Findings suggest a considerable number of undiagnosed yersiniosis cases in England, with possibly important changes in the epidemiology. The apparently low incidence of yersiniosis in England is probably due to limited laboratory testing

Correlation of psychomotor findings and the ability to partially weight bear

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Partial weight bearing is thought to avoid excessive loading that may interfere with the healing process after surgery of the pelvis or the lower extremity. The object of this study was to investigate the relationship between the ability to partially weight bear and the patient's psychomotor skills and an additional evaluation of the possibility to predict this ability with a standardized psychomotor test.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>50 patients with a prescribed partial weight bearing at a target load of 15 kg following surgery were verbally instructed by a physical therapist. After the instruction and sufficient training with the physical therapist vertical ground reaction forces using matrix insoles were measured while walking with forearm crutches. Additionally, psychomotor skills were tested with the Motorische Leistungsserie (MLS). To test for correlations Spearman's Rank correlation was used. For further comparison of the two groups a Mann-Withney test was performed using Bonferroni correction.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The patient's age and body weight significantly correlated with the ability to partially weight bear at a 15 kg target load. There were significant correlations between several subtests of the MLS and ground reaction forces measured while walking with crutches. Patients that were able to correctly perform partial weight bearing showed significant better psychomotor skills especially for those subtests where both hands had to be coordinated simultaneously.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The ability to partially weight bear is associated with psychomotor skills. The MLS seems to be a tool that helps predicting the ability to keep within the prescribed load limits.</p

Influenza vaccination for immunocompromised patients: systematic review and meta-analysis from a public health policy perspective.

Immunocompromised patients are vulnerable to severe or complicated influenza infection. Vaccination is widely recommended for this group. This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses influenza vaccination for immunocompromised patients in terms of preventing influenza-like illness and laboratory confirmed influenza, serological response and adverse events

Role of external white and nonwhite poisson noise in the behaviour of chemically reacting systems: the case of single variable multistationary systems

The present paper analyses some common forms of the rate function to assess the influence of white and nonwhite Poisson noise on the behaviour of reacting systems. The results afford a comparison with the corresponding results for the case of Gaussian noise and show the variations between the two types of noise. The first example analysed shows the opposing influences of the intensity of Gaussian and Poisson noise in bringing about a noise-induced transition in the system, while the second shows that the new transitions, not permissible in the case of white Gaussian noise, can be induced due to Poisson noise. The role of time-correlation effects of the two types of noise has also been analysed and discussed

Hyperbolic wavelet family

This article reports early results on digital implementation of first- and nth-order hyperbolic wavelets whose important parameters are explicitly expressed and numerically estimated. The first-order hyperbolic, Morlet and Choi-Williams wavelets are compared in detail by numerically calculating their band-peak frequencies, minimum numbers of sampling points, scale resolutions, and maximum numbers of scales. One of the main aims is to show that there exists a strong link among time-frequency kernels and wavelets. This relationship helps to expand and link time-frequency and wavelet approaches to signal analysis. One example of using the hyperbolic wavelet for speech recognition is also given

Hyperbolic wavelet power spectra of nonstationary signals

The hyperbolic kernel and hyperbolic wavelet were shown to be useful and effective in time-frequency signal processing (Le et al. , 2001 and 2003). We introduce the time-frequency wavelet power spectrum as a useful technique to study signal characteristics in which the hyperbolic and sym3 wavelets are employed. The hyperbolic wavelet power spectrum technique is employed for signals including electrocardiogram (ECG), sinusoidal, transient exponential, music, and speech. Comparisons between the Fourier power spectrum technique and hyperbolic wavelet power spectrum technique are also made

A stochastic approach to the analysis of chemically reacting systems-VII. Influence of external noise on the behaviour of a fluid bed with nonlinear reaction rates

The basic model of Ligon and Amundson (1981, Chem. Engng Sci.36, 653-660) has been employed to assess the influence of white and nonwhite external noise on the behaviour of a fluidized bed where nonlinear reaction occurs. The paper presents a self-consistent linearization scheme for such problems and illustrates its use by considering an example. The analysis gives a quick and easy solution for such complex cases. The analysis for other examples indicates that white and coloured (or nonwhite) noise have different effects on the reactor's behaviour and also reveals that the presence of noise destroys features such as multistationary behaviour which exists in the absence of noise