Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of bacterial diarrhoea worldwide. The objective of this study was to examine the association between C. jejuni capsule types and clinical signs and symptoms of diarrhoeal disease in a well-defined birth cohort in Peru. Children were enrolled in the study at birth and followed until 2 years of age as part of the Malnutrition and Enteric Infections birth cohort. Associations between capsule type and clinical outcomes were assessed using the Pearson's χ2 and the Kruskal–Wallis test statistics. A total of 318 C. jejuni samples (30% from symptomatic cases) were included in this analysis. There were 22 different C. jejuni capsule types identified with five accounting for 49.1% of all isolates. The most common capsule types among the total number of isolates were HS4 complex (n = 52, 14.8%), HS5/31 complex (n = 42, 11.9%), HS15 (n = 29, 8.2%), HS2 (n = 26, 7.4%) and HS10 (n = 24, 6.8%). These five capsule types accounted for the majority of C. jejuni infections; however, there was no significant difference in prevalence between symptomatic and asymptomatic infection (all p > 0.05). The majority of isolates (n = 291, 82.7%) were predicted to express a heptose-containing capsule. The predicted presence of methyl phosphoramidate, heptose or deoxyheptose on the capsule was common.

Introduction: Patients with chronic diseases are known to benefit from exercise. Such patients often visit the emergency department (ED). There are few studies examining prescribing exercise in the ED. We wished to study if exercise prescription in the ED is feasible and effective. Methods: In this pilot prospective block randomized trial, patients in the control group received routine care, whereas the intervention group received a combined written and verbal prescription for moderate exercise (150 minutes/week). Both groups were followed up by phone at 2 months. The primary outcome was achieving 150 min of exercise per week. Secondary outcomes included change in exercise, and differences in reported median weekly exercise. Comparisons were made by Mann-Whitney and Fishers tests (GraphPad). Results: Follow-up was completed for 22 patients (11 Control; 11 Intervention). Baseline reported median (with IQR) weekly exercise was similar between groups; Control 0(0-0)min; Intervention 0(0-45)min. There was no difference between groups for the primary outcome of 150 min/week at 2 months (Control 3/11; Intervention 4/11, RR 1.33 (95%CI 0.38-4.6;p=1.0). There was a significant increase in median exercise from baseline in both groups, but no difference between the groups (Control 75(10-225)min; Intervention 120(52.5-150)min;NS). 3 control patients actually received exercise prescription as part of routine care. A post-hoc comparison of patients receiving intervention vs. no intervention, revealed an increase in patients meeting the primary target of 150min/week (No intervention 0/8; Intervention 7/14, RR 2.0 (95%CI 1.2-3.4);p=0.023). Conclusion: Recruitment was feasible, however our study was underpowered to quantify an estimated effect size. As a significant proportion of the control group received the intervention (as part of standard care), any potential measurable effect was diluted. The improvement seen in patients receiving intervention and the increase in reported exercise in both groups (possible Hawthorne effect) suggests that exercise prescription for ED patients may be beneficial.

Introduction: Data regarding adverse events (AEs) (unintended harm to the patient from health care provided) among children seen in the emergency department (ED) are scarce despite the high risk setting and population. The objective of our study was to estimate the risk and type of AEs, and their preventability and severity, among children treated in pediatric EDs. Methods: Our prospective cohort study enrolled children <18 years of age presenting for care during 21 randomized 8 hr-shifts at 9 pediatric EDs from Nov 2014 to October 2015. Exclusion criteria included unavailability for follow-up or insurmountable language barrier. RAs collected demographic, medical history, ED course, and systems level data. At day 7, 14, and 21 a RA administered a structured telephone interview to all patients to identify flagged outcomes (e.g. repeat ED visits, worsening/new symptoms, etc). A validated trigger tool was used to screen admitted patients’ health records. For any patients with a flagged outcome or trigger, 3 ED physicians independently determined if an AE occurred. Primary outcome was the proportion of patients with an AE related to ED care within 3 weeks of their ED visit. Results: We enrolled 6377 (72.0%) of 8855 eligible patients; 545 (8.5%) were lost to follow-up. Median age was 4.4 years (range 3 months to 17.9 yrs). Eight hundred and seventy seven (13.8%) were triaged as CTAS 1 or 2, 2638 (41.4%) as CTAS 3, and 2839 (44.7%) as CTAS 4 or 5. Top entrance complaints were fever (11.2%) and cough (8.8%). Flagged outcomes/triggers were identified for 2047 (32.1%) patients. While 252 (4.0%) patients suffered at least one AE within 3 weeks of ED visit, 163 (2.6%) suffered an AE related to ED care. In total, patients suffered 286 AEs, most (67.9%) being preventable. The most common AE types were management issues (32.5%) and procedural complications (21.9%). The need for a medical intervention (33.9%) and another ED visit (33.9%) were the most frequent clinical consequences. In univariate analysis, older age, chronic conditions, hospital admission, initial location in high acuity area of the ED, having >1 ED MD or a consultant involved in care, (all p<0.001) and longer length of stay (p<0.01) were associated with AEs. Conclusion: While our multicentre study found a lower risk of AEs among pediatric ED patients than reported among pediatric inpatients and adult ED patients, a high proportion of these AEs were preventable.

Introduction: The positive health outcomes of exercise have been well-studied, and exercise prescription has been shown to reduce morbidity in several chronic health conditions. However, patient attitudes around the prescription of exercise in the emergency department (ED) have not been explored. The aim of our pilot study is to explore patients’ willingness and perceptions of exercise being discussed and prescribed in the ED. Methods: This study is a survey of patients who had been previously selected for exercise prescription in a pilot study conducted at a tertiary care ED. This intervention group were given a standardized provincial written prescription to perform moderate exercise for 150 minutes per week. Participants answered a discharge questionnaire and were followed up by a telephone interview 2 months later. A structured interview of opinions around exercise prescription was conducted. Questions included a combination of non-closed style interview questions and Likert scale. Patients rated prescription detail, helpfulness and likelihood on a Likert scale from 1-5 (1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree). Median values (+/-IQRs) are presented, along with dominant themes. Results: 17 people consented to exercise prescription and follow up surveys. 2 were excluded due to hospital admission. 15 participants were enrolled and completed the discharge survey. Two-month follow up survey response rate was 80%. Patients rated the detail given in their prescription as 5 (+/-1). Helpfulness of prescription was rated as 4 (+/-2). Likelihood to continue exercising based on the prescription was rated as 4 (+/-2). 11/12 participants felt that exercise should be discussed in the Emergency Department either routinely or on a case-by-case basis.1 participant felt it should not be discussed at all. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that most patients are open to exercise being discussed during their Emergency Department visit, and that the prescription format was well-received by study participants.

Introduction: Point-of-care-ultrasound is an established tool in the early diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), with a reported pooled sensitivity of 97.5% and pooled specificity 98.9%. Despite these impressive numbers, body habitus and bowel gas often render emergency department (ED) PoCUS for AAA inconclusive. We devised a manual aid “the modified peace sign technique” to improve visualization of the aorta, consisting of placing the divided fingers of the free hand of the sonographer around the probe to increase gas dispersion and improve the view of the obscured aorta. We tested the technique on volunteers during a training course when the initial scan was indeterminate due to inability to view the aorta from sub-xiphoid to bifurcation. Methods: In our pilot study, 7 physicians were asked to make a best attempt to perform an aortic scan. If they were unable to visualize the aorta, they were asked to use the modified peace sign technique. Participants recorded the number of times which they used the technique and the frequency that the technique allowed for a complete aortic scan, previously unobtainable. All scans were supervised by certified PoCUS physicians. Results: The technique was used a total of 25 times. Following failure to complete an aortic scan using their best attempt, participants were subsequently able to obtain a complete aortic scan 70% (95% CI 48 to 83%) of the time using the modified peace sign technique. Conclusion: In our pilot study, the modified peace sign technique had an estimated effect size of 70% improvement for visualization of the aorta in volunteers. Further studies are required to validate the technique in clinical practice.

Objective: Administrative data validation is essential for identifying biases and misclassification in research. The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of diagnostic codes for acute stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) using the Ontario Stroke Registry (OSR) as the reference standard. Methods: We identified stroke and TIA events in inpatient and emergency department (ED) administrative data from eight regional stroke centres in Ontario, Canada, from April of 2006 through March of 2008 using ICD–10–CA codes for subarachnoid haemorrhage (I60, excluding I60.8), intracerebral haemorrhage (I61), ischemic (H34.1 and I63, excluding I63.6), unable to determine stroke (I64), and TIA (H34.0 and G45, excluding G45.4). We linked administrative data to the Ontario Stroke Registry and calculated sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV). Results:: We identified 5,270 inpatient and 4,411 ED events from the administrative data. Inpatient administrative data had an overall sensitivity of 82.2% (95% confidence interval [CI 95%]=81.0, 83.3) and a PPV of 68.8% (CI 95%=67.5, 70.0) for the diagnosis of stroke, with notable differences observed by stroke type. Sensitivity for ischemic stroke increased from 66.5 to 79.6% with inclusion of I64. The sensitivity and PPV of ED administrative data for diagnosis of stroke were 56.8% (CI 95%=54.8, 58.7) and 59.1% (CI 95%=57.1, 61.1), respectively. For all stroke types, accuracy was greater in the inpatient data than in the ED data. Conclusion: The accuracy of stroke identification based on administrative data from stroke centres may be improved by including I64 in ischemic stroke type, and by considering only inpatient data.

A multi-faceted, multi-institutional laboratory astrophysics program is carried out at the Livermore electron beam ion trap facility, which is a mature spectroscopic source with unsurpassed controls and capabilities, and an unparalleled assortment of spectroscopic equipment, including a full complement of grating and crystal spectrometers and a 6x6 micro-calorimeter array. Recent results range from the calibration of x-ray diagnostics, including the Fe XVII and Fe XXV emission lines, extensive lists of L-shell ions, the first laboratory simulation and fit of a cometary x-ray emission spectrum, and the discovery of new spectral diagnostics for measuring magnetic field strengths.

Microalgal blooms are a natural part of the seasonal cycle of photosynthetic organisms in marine ecosystems. They are key components of the structure and dynamics of the oceans and thus sustain the benefits that humans obtain from these aquatic environments. However, some microalgal blooms can cause harm to humans and other organisms. These harmful algal blooms (HABs) have direct impacts on human health and negative influences on human wellbeing, mainly through their consequences to coastal ecosystem services (fisheries, tourism and recreation) and other marine organisms and environments. HABs are natural phenomena, but these events can be favoured by anthropogenic pressures in coastal areas. Global warming and associated changes in the oceans could affect HAB occurrences and toxicity as well, although forecasting the possible trends is still speculative and requires intensive multidisciplinary research. At the beginning of the 21st century, with expanding human populations, particularly in coastal and developing countries, mitigating HABs impacts on human health and wellbeing is becoming a more pressing public health need. The available tools to address this global challenge include maintaining intensive, multidisciplinary and collaborative scientific research, and strengthening the coordination with stakeholders, policymakers and the general public. Here we provide an overview of different aspects of the HABs phenomena, an important element of the intrinsic links between oceans and human health and wellbeing.

Resonance lines of coronal ions of silicon are prominent in the spectral ranges 40–62 Å and 254–356 Å.

An unexpected feature of the soft X-ray spectrum is the weakness or absence of the resonance lines of iron in ionization stages XI through XV.

A second feature is the prominence of lines of the type (3d → 2p) relative to the resonance transitions (3p → 2s) in Li-like and Beryllium-like spectra. It is suggested that the upper levels (3d) are excited by quadrupole collisions from the ground 2s or 2s2 levels.

The intensity of the soft X-ray lines relative to the resonance lines in the 300 Å region seems to be more consistent with temperatures well above one million degrees than with temperatures as low as 700000°K, but the data are not adequate for a precise comparison. The relative intensity of the line emission from the various stages of silicon ionization may be interpreted as indicating that the ionization of silicon peaks in stages IX and X.

The abundances of C, Mg, S, and Al relative to silicon do not seem to be greatly different from the chromospheric abundances reported by Pottasch or with the photospheric abundances.

For five years from 1976 to 1980 the archaeology and environment of a block of landscape centred around Shaugh Moor on south-west Dartmoor were analysed prior to the destruction of some of the evidence by china clay working. The investigations began in 1976 with a survey of the field monuments and the initiation of soil, vegetation, small mammal and phosphate studies in addition to the search for peat deposits of sufficient antiquity. From 1977 the programme was determined by the encroachment of the quarries and other works, so that early in that year a group of cairns were excavated (site 10) and subsequently the first of two seasons work on a walled enclosure (site 15) was initiated. The excavation of the enclosure was completed in 1978 and in that year it was also necessary to undertake a small investigation near the northern edge of the project area on the Trowlesworthy cross-dyke (site 202) and near its southern edge on Wotter Playground (site 201). Settlements and field systems were surveyed and excavated on Wotter Common in 1979 and these investigations were completed in 1980 when the Saddlesborough Reave, which crosses the centre of the project area from east to west was also surveyed in detail and sampled by excavation.

More field work could have been undertaken on threatened areas and indeed a limited operation was undertaken in 1981 on the Saddlesborough Reave to confirm some points of detail. Instead, it was thought best to conclude the project after five years, to complete the publication of the results and to allow mature consideration of these so as to generate a new set of questions.

At an early stage the decision was taken to publish the work as a series of annual reports in these Proceedings rather than as a single monograph. The first report (Wainwright et al. 1979) set out the simple research design for the project and contained accounts of the 1976 survey and of the excavation of the cairn group.