Concordance study between the ParaDNA® Intelligence Test, a rapid DNA profiling assay, and a conventional STR typing kit (AmpFlSTR® SGM Plus®).

The ParaDNA® Intelligence Test enables STR profiling directly from human biological samples and evidence items collected from crime scene in 75min. Designed for non-expert use this system allows DNA information to be available to investigators before it would typically be available from a laboratory. The ParaDNA Intelligence Test system amplifies D3S1358, D8S119, D16S539, D18S1358 and TH01 STR loci and the gender typing locus amelogenin and detects the alleles present with HyBeacon® probes. Individual DNA samples from 381 UK Caucasian individuals were analysed using AmpFlSTR® SGM Plus® and the ParaDNA Intelligence Test with the derived STR profiles compared. Here we describe the high level of concordance demonstrated between the two systems and discuss this with reference to allele frequencies and the discriminatory power offered by the ParaDNA Intelligence Test

ODRL Policy Modelling and Compliance Checking

This paper addresses the problem of constructing a policy pipeline that enables compliance checking of business processes against regulatory obligations. Towards this end, we propose an Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) profile that can be used to capture the semantics of both business policies in the form of sets of required permissions and regulatory requirements in the form of deontic concepts, and present their translation into Answer Set Programming (via the Institutional Action Language (InstAL)) for compliance checking purposes. The result of the compliance checking is either a positive compliance result or an explanation pertaining to the aspects of the policy that are causing the noncompliance. The pipeline is illustrated using two (key) fragments of the General Data Protect Regulation, namely Articles 6 (Lawfulness of processing) and Articles 46 (Transfers subject to appropriate safeguards) and industrially-relevant use cases that involve the specification of sets of permissions that are needed to execute business processes. The core contributions of this paper are the ODRL profile, which is capable of modelling regulatory obligations and business policies, the exercise of modelling elements of GDPR in this semantic formalism, and the operationalisation of the model to demonstrate its capability to support personal data processing compliance checking, and a basis for explaining why the request is deemed compliant or not

Micronutrient malnutrition and wasting in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis with and without HIV co-infection in Malawi

BACKGROUND: Wasting and micronutrient malnutrition have not been well characterized in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis. We hypothesized that micronutrient malnutrition is associated with wasting and higher plasma human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study involving 579 HIV-positive and 222 HIV-negative adults with pulmonary tuberculosis in Zomba, Malawi, anthropometry, plasma HIV load and plasma micronutrient concentrations (retinol, α-tocopherol, carotenoids, zinc, and selenium) were measured. The risk of micronutrient deficiencies was examined at different severity levels of wasting. RESULTS: Body mass index (BMI), plasma retinol, carotenoid and selenium concentrations significantly decreased by increasing tertile of plasma HIV load. There were no significant differences in plasma micronutrient concentrations between HIV-negative individuals and HIV-positive individuals who were in the lowest tertile of plasma HIV load. Plasma vitamin A concentrations <0.70 μmol/L occurred in 61%, and zinc and selenium deficiency occurred in 85% and 87% respectively. Wasting, defined as BMI<18.5 was present in 59% of study participants and was independently associated with a higher risk of low carotenoids, and vitamin A and selenium deficiency. Severe wasting, defined as BMI<16.0 showed the strongest associations with deficiencies in vitamin A, selenium and plasma carotenoids. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that wasting and higher HIV load in pulmonary tuberculosis are associated with micronutrient malnutrition

Bedside Sublingual Video Imaging of Microcirculation in Assessing Bacterial Infection in Cirrhosis

Bacterial infections are common in cirrhosis and can lead to life-threatening complications. Sidestream dark-field (SDF) imaging has recently emerged as a noninvasive tool for capturing real-time video images of sublingual microcirculation in critically ill patients with sepsis. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of SDF in determining underlying infection in patients with cirrhosis. Sublingual microcirculation was compared among patients with compensated cirrhosis (Group A, n = 13), cirrhosis without sepsis (Group B, n = 18), cirrhosis with sepsis (Group C, n = 14), and sepsis only (Group D, n = 10). The blood flow was semi-quantitatively evaluated in four equal quadrants in small (10–25 mm); medium (26–50 mm); and large (51–100 mm) sublingual capillaries. The blood flow was described as no flow (0), intermittent flow (1), sluggish flow (2), and continuous flow (3). The overall flow score or microvascular flow index (MFI) was measured for quantitative assessment of microcirculation and predicting power for concurrent infection in cirrhosis. Marked impairment was observed at all levels of microvasculature in Groups B and C when compared with Group A. This effect was restricted to small vessels only when Group B was compared with Group C. MFI < 1.5 was found to have highest sensitivity (100%) and specificity (100%) for infection in decompensated cirrhosis. SDF imaging of sublingual microcirculation can be a useful bedside diagnostic tool to assess bacterial infection in cirrhosis

Antibiotic consumption and antimicrobial resistance in Poland; findings and implications

Background: The problem of inappropriate use of antibiotics and the resulting growth in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has implications for Poland and the world. The objective of this paper was to compare and contrast antibiotic resistance and antibiotic utilisation in Poland in recent years versus other European countries, including agreed quality indicators, alongside current AMR patterns and ongoing policies and initiatives in Poland to influence and improve antibiotic prescribing. Methods: A quantitative ten-year analysis (2007-2016) of the use of antibiotics based on European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) data combined with a literature review on AMR rates and antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. Results: The system of monitoring AMR and appropriate strategies to address AMR rates remain underdeveloped in Poland. The role of microbiological diagnostics and efforts to prevent infections is currently underestimated by physicians. Overall, Poland had one of the highest rates of total consumption of antibiotics in the analysed European countries. Total consumption of antibacterials for systemic use and relative consumption of beta-lactamase sensitive penicillins were characterized by small but statistically significant average annual increases between 2007 and 2016 (from 22.2DIDs to 23.9 DIDs and from 0.8% to 1.3%, respectively). Conclusions: The integrated activities around appropriate antibiotic prescribing in the pre- and post-graduate training of physicians and dentists seem to be particularly important, as well as changes in policies on prescribing antibiotics within ambulatory care. AMR and appropriate prescribing of antibiotics should be the focus of health policy actions in Poland

RNA delivery by extracellular vesicles in mammalian cells and its applications.

The term 'extracellular vesicles' refers to a heterogeneous population of vesicular bodies of cellular origin that derive either from the endosomal compartment (exosomes) or as a result of shedding from the plasma membrane (microvesicles, oncosomes and apoptotic bodies). Extracellular vesicles carry a variety of cargo, including RNAs, proteins, lipids and DNA, which can be taken up by other cells, both in the direct vicinity of the source cell and at distant sites in the body via biofluids, and elicit a variety of phenotypic responses. Owing to their unique biology and roles in cell-cell communication, extracellular vesicles have attracted strong interest, which is further enhanced by their potential clinical utility. Because extracellular vesicles derive their cargo from the contents of the cells that produce them, they are attractive sources of biomarkers for a variety of diseases. Furthermore, studies demonstrating phenotypic effects of specific extracellular vesicle-associated cargo on target cells have stoked interest in extracellular vesicles as therapeutic vehicles. There is particularly strong evidence that the RNA cargo of extracellular vesicles can alter recipient cell gene expression and function. During the past decade, extracellular vesicles and their RNA cargo have become better defined, but many aspects of extracellular vesicle biology remain to be elucidated. These include selective cargo loading resulting in substantial differences between the composition of extracellular vesicles and source cells; heterogeneity in extracellular vesicle size and composition; and undefined mechanisms for the uptake of extracellular vesicles into recipient cells and the fates of their cargo. Further progress in unravelling the basic mechanisms of extracellular vesicle biogenesis, transport, and cargo delivery and function is needed for successful clinical implementation. This Review focuses on the current state of knowledge pertaining to packaging, transport and function of RNAs in extracellular vesicles and outlines the progress made thus far towards their clinical applications