The impact of the introduction of liquid based cytology on the variation in the proportion of inadequate samples between GP practices

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Historically there has been a wide variation in the proportion of inadequate smears between general practices. Cervical screening in the UK is undergoing a fundamental change by moving from conventional to liquid based cytology (LBC). The main driver for this change has been a predicted reduction in the proportions of inadequate samples. This study investigates the effect of LBC on the variation in the proportion of inadequate samples between general practices using Shewhart's theory of variation and control charts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Routinely collected cervical cytology data was obtained for all general practices in two localities in South Staffordshire for periods before and after the introduction of liquid based cytology. Control charts of the proportion of inadequate smears were plotted for the practices stratified by laboratory. A standardised measure of variation for all of the practices in each laboratory and each time period was also calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Following the introduction of liquid based cytology the overall proportion of inadequate samples in the two localities fell from 11.8 to 1.3% (p < 0.05). This fall was associated with a reduction in the average variation between the GP practices in the two localities from 1.6 to 1.0 standard deviations. There has also been a reduction in the number of practices showing special cause variation from eight to one following the introduction of liquid based cytology.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A reduction in the proportion of inadequate samples has been realised in these localities. The reduction in the overall proportion of inadequate samples has also been accompanied by a reduction in variation between GP practices.</p

Influenza A Virus Coding Regions Exhibit Host-Specific Global Ordered RNA Structure

Influenza A is a significant public health threat, partially because of its capacity to readily exchange gene segments between different host species to form novel pandemic strains. An understanding of the fundamental factors providing species barriers between different influenza hosts would facilitate identification of strains capable of leading to pandemic outbreaks and could also inform vaccine development. Here, we describe the difference in predicted RNA secondary structure stability that exists between avian, swine and human coding regions. The results predict that global ordered RNA structure exists in influenza A segments 1, 5, 7 and 8, and that ranges of free energies for secondary structure formation differ between host strains. The predicted free energy distributions for strains from avian, swine, and human species suggest criteria for segment reassortment and strains that might be ideal candidates for viral attenuation and vaccine development

Managing patients with ICD shocks and programming tachycardia therapies during acute heart failure syndromes

We review the pharmacologic, interventional and device programming treatment options for patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators who present with acute heart failure and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator shocks

18^{18}F-Fluoride and 18^{18}F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography After Transient Ischemic Attack or Minor Ischemic Stroke: Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Combined positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) can assess both anatomy and biology of carotid atherosclerosis. We sought to assess whether $^{18}$F-fluoride or $^{18}$F-fluorodeoxyglucose can identify culprit and high-risk carotid plaque. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed $^{18}$F-fluoride and $^{18}$F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT in 26 patients after recent transient ischemic attack or minor ischemic stroke: 18 patients with culprit carotid stenosis awaiting carotid endarterectomy and 8 controls without culprit carotid atheroma. We compared standardized uptake values in the clinically adjudicated culprit to the contralateral asymptomatic artery, and assessed the relationship between radiotracer uptake and plaque phenotype or predicted cardiovascular risk (ASSIGN score [Assessing Cardiovascular Risk Using SIGN Guidelines to Assign Preventive Treatment]). We also performed micro PET/CT and histological analysis of excised plaque. On histological and micro PET/CT analysis, $^{18}$F-fluoride selectively highlighted microcalcification. Carotid $^{18}$F-fluoride uptake was increased in clinically adjudicated culprit plaques compared with asymptomatic contralateral plaques (log$_{10}$ standardized uptake value$_{mean}$ 0.29±0.10 versus 0.23±0.11, P=0.001) and compared with control patients (log$_{10}$ standardized uptake value$_{mean}$ 0.29±0.10 versus 0.12±0.11, P=0.001). $^{18}$F-Fluoride uptake correlated with high-risk plaque features (remodeling index [r=0.53, P=0.003], plaque burden [r=0.51, P=0.004]), and predicted cardiovascular risk [r=0.65, P=0.002]). Carotid $^{18}$F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake appeared to be increased in 7 of 16 culprit plaques, but no overall differences in uptake were observed in culprit versus contralateral plaques or control patients. However, $^{18}$F-fluorodeoxyglucose did correlate with predicted cardiovascular risk (r=0.53, P=0.019), but not with plaque phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: $^{18}$F-Fluoride PET/CT highlights culprit and phenotypically high-risk carotid plaque. This has the potential to improve risk stratification and selection of patients who may benefit from intervention.Dr Vesey and the study were funded by program grants from the British Heart Foundation (PG12/8/29371) and Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (R13/A147). Dr Jenkins, Vesey, Dweck, and Newby are supported by the British Heart Foundation (FS/14/78/31020, CH/09/002) and the Wellcome Trust (WT103782AIA). Dr Dweck is the recipient of the Sir Jules Thorn Biomedical Research Award 2015. The Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility and the Clinical Research Imaging Centre are supported by National Health Service (NHS) Research Scotland (NRS) through NHS Lothian. Dr Beek is supported by the Scottish Imaging Network—a Platform of Scientific Excellence (SINAPSE). Dr Rudd is part-supported by the National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, the British Heart Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust

The 3′ Splice Site of Influenza A Segment 7 mRNA Can Exist in Two Conformations: A Pseudoknot and a Hairpin

The 3′ splice site of influenza A segment 7 is used to produce mRNA for the M2 ion-channel protein, which is critical to the formation of viable influenza virions. Native gel analysis, enzymatic/chemical structure probing, and oligonucleotide binding studies of a 63 nt fragment, containing the 3′ splice site, key residues of an SF2/ASF splicing factor binding site, and a polypyrimidine tract, provide evidence for an equilibrium between pseudoknot and hairpin structures. This equilibrium is sensitive to multivalent cations, and can be forced towards the pseudoknot by addition of 5 mM cobalt hexammine. In the two conformations, the splice site and other functional elements exist in very different structural environments. In particular, the splice site is sequestered in the middle of a double helix in the pseudoknot conformation, while in the hairpin it resides in a two-by-two nucleotide internal loop. The results suggest that segment 7 mRNA splicing can be controlled by a conformational switch that exposes or hides the splice site

Spatial Variation in Foraging Behaviour of a Marine Top Predator (Phoca vitulina) Determined by a Large-Scale Satellite Tagging Program

The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is a widespread marine predator in Northern Hemisphere waters. British populations have been subject to rapid declines in recent years. Food supply or inter-specific competition may be implicated but basic ecological data are lacking and there are few studies of harbour seal foraging distribution and habits. In this study, satellite tagging conducted at the major seal haul outs around the British Isles showed both that seal movements were highly variable among individuals and that foraging strategy appears to be specialized within particular regions. We investigated whether these apparent differences could be explained by individual level factors: by modelling measures of trip duration and distance travelled as a function of size, sex and body condition. However, these were not found to be good predictors of foraging trip duration or distance, which instead was best predicted by tagging region, time of year and inter-trip duration. Therefore, we propose that local habitat conditions and the constraints they impose are the major determinants of foraging movements. Specifically the distance to profitable feeding grounds from suitable haul-out locations may dictate foraging strategy and behaviour. Accounting for proximity to productive foraging resources is likely to be an important component of understanding population processes. Despite more extensive offshore movements than expected, there was also marked fidelity to the local haul-out region with limited connectivity between study regions. These empirical observations of regional exchange at short time scales demonstrates the value of large scale electronic tagging programs for robust characterization of at-sea foraging behaviour at a wide spatial scale

Clonal Structure of Rapid-Onset MDV-Driven CD4+ Lymphomas and Responding CD8+ T Cells

Lymphoid oncogenesis is a life threatening complication associated with a number of persistent viral infections (e.g. EBV and HTLV-1 in humans). With many of these infections it is difficult to study their natural history and the dynamics of tumor formation. Marek's Disease Virus (MDV) is a prevalent α-herpesvirus of poultry, inducing CD4+ TCRαβ+ T cell tumors in susceptible hosts. The high penetrance and temporal predictability of tumor induction raises issues related to the clonal structure of these lymphomas. Similarly, the clonality of responding CD8 T cells that infiltrate the tumor sites is unknown. Using TCRβ repertoire analysis tools, we demonstrated that MDV driven CD4+ T cell tumors were dominated by one to three large clones within an oligoclonal framework of smaller clones of CD4+ T cells. Individual birds had multiple tumor sites, some the result of metastasis (i.e. shared dominant clones) and others derived from distinct clones of transformed cells. The smaller oligoclonal CD4+ cells may represent an anti-tumor response, although on one occasion a low frequency clone was transformed and expanded after culture. Metastatic tumor clones were detected in the blood early during infection and dominated the circulating T cell repertoire, leading to MDV associated immune suppression. We also demonstrated that the tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cell response was dominated by large oligoclonal expansions containing both “public” and “private” CDR3 sequences. The frequency of CD8+ T cell CDR3 sequences suggests initial stimulation during the early phases of infection. Collectively, our results indicate that MDV driven tumors are dominated by a highly restricted number of CD4+ clones. Moreover, the responding CD8+ T cell infiltrate is oligoclonal indicating recognition of a limited number of MDV antigens. These studies improve our understanding of the biology of MDV, an important poultry pathogen and a natural infection model of virus-induced tumor formation

Gastroplasty for morbid obesity

With the advent of autosuture devices, gastric partitioning procedures have recently become popular surgical treatment of morbid obesity. One such procedure is Gomez gastroplasty. Using an autosuture device a small gastric fundal pouch, having a reservoir capacity of 60 ml and communicating with the remaining stomach through a 12 mm stoma is created along the greater curvature of the stomach. A 3-0 polyprolene internal seromuscular suture is used to reinforce the stoma without incising the stomach. This gastroplasty is extremely attractive because of the disarming simplicity of the procedure and its noninterruption of the normal sequence of the digestive tract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48152/1/261_2005_Article_BF01887641.pd

Vocal Learning and Auditory-Vocal Feedback

Vocal learning is usually studied in songbirds and humans, species that can form auditory templates by listening to acoustic models and then learn to vocalize to match the template. Most other species are thought to develop vocalizations without auditory feedback. However, auditory input influences the acoustic structure of vocalizations in a broad distribution of birds and mammals. Vocalizations are dened here as sounds generated by forcing air past vibrating membranes. A vocal motor program may generate vocalizations such as crying or laughter, but auditory feedback may be required for matching precise acoustic features of vocalizations. This chapter discriminates limited vocal learning, which uses auditory input to fine-tune acoustic features of an inherited auditory template, from complex vocal learning, in which novel sounds are learned by matching a learned auditory template. Two or three songbird taxa and four or ve mammalian taxa are known for complex vocal learning. A broader range of mammals converge in the acoustic structure of vocalizations when in socially interacting groups, which qualifies as limited vocal learning. All birds and mammals tested use auditory-vocal feedback to adjust their vocalizations to compensate for the effects of noise, and many species modulate their signals as the costs and benefits of communicating vary. This chapter asks whether some auditory-vocal feedback may have provided neural substrates for the evolution of vocal learning. Progress will require more precise definitions of different forms of vocal learning, broad comparative review of their presence and absence, and behavioral and neurobiological investigations into the mechanisms underlying the skills.PostprintPeer reviewe