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To identify characteristics of US health systems and end users that report antimicrobial use and resistance (AUR) data, to determine how NHSN AUR data are used by hospitals and health systems and end users, and to identify barriers to AUR reporting.
Design:
An anonymous survey was sent to Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Research Network members.
Methods:
Data were collected via Survey Monkey from January 21 to February 21, 2020. Respondent and hospital data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results:
We received responses from 238 individuals across 43 US states. Respondents were primarily pharmacists (84%), from urban areas, (44%), from nonprofit medical centers (81%), and from hospitals with >250 beds (72%). Also, 62% reported data to the AU module and 19% reported data to the AR module. Use of software for local AU or AR tracking was associated with increased reporting to the AU module (19% vs 64%) and the AR module (2% vs 30%) (P < .001 each). Only 36% of those reporting data to the AU module used NHSN AUR data analysis tools regularly and only 9% reported data to the AR module regularly. Technical challenges and time and/or salary support were the most common barriers to AUR participation cited by all respondents. Among those not reporting AUR data, increased local expectations to report and better software solutions were the most commonly identified solutions to increase AUR reporting.
Conclusions:
Efforts to increase AUR reporting should focus on software solutions and salary support for data-entry activities. Increasing expectations to report may incentivize local resource allocation to improve AUR reporting rates.
Chapter Abstract: This chapter explores how to cultivate wisdom through public education. To educate for wisdom, we need to be clear about our target outcome. We suggest a wise student is one who is healthy and well-integrated physically, personally, intellectually and socially—what Rogers called “a fully functioning person.” Educational programs need specific indicators of progress, so we propose six connections to being, feeling, and thinking. These connections are established and strengthened by curricula that include: studying inspirational exemplars; teaching strategies to become like those exemplars (e.g., journaling); teaching concepts related to wisdom (e.g., critical thinking); and building real and virtual educational environments. Although the best teachers already teach for wisdom, many (perhaps most) teachers in public education do not. Making teaching for wisdom more common requires changes to current teacher education, student assessment and educational policy.
Background: Smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity worldwide and therefore developing effective smoking cessation strategies is a public health priority. However, what brain networks support maintenance of smoking cessation in the long term remains unexplored. Methods: We analyzed the baseline resting-state fMRI data acquired in 23 smokers (Mage = 61.52 ± 3.7) who were followed longitudinally in a cohort of cognitively normal older adults. Self-reported smoking status and amount were recorded at baseline and repeated after 4 years. We investigated the effect of smoking behaviour change on functional brain connectivity using seed-to-voxel approach. We examined a-priori regions of interest (ROIs) including the reward network (ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) and ventral striatum) and the right insula. These ROIs are promising target mechanisms given prior behavioural research linking it to smoking cessation. Results: Our results revealed that reduced smoking was associated with reduced connectivity between ventral striatum and middle frontal gyrus and enhanced connectivity between right insula and middle temporal gyrus (voxel p <0.001, cluster p<0.05 FDR corrected). However, change in smoking did not reveal any significant effects in the vMPFC. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that successful smoking behaviour change is associated with altered reward network and insular functional connectivity in the long term.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Whole-genome viral sequencing is vital to inform public health and study evolution. Arboviruses evolve in vectors, reservoir hosts, and humans, and require surveillance at all points. We developed a new rigorous method of sequencing that captures whole viral genomes in field-collected and clinical samples. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: ClickSeq is a novel method of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) library synthesis using azido-nucleotides to terminate reverse transcription. The cDNA generated can be ligated to sequencing and indexing primers at room temperature using copper (Cu I) and vitamin C. With this approach, we designed primers located ~250 bp apart along the genomes of the arboviruses Chikungunya 37797, Zika Dakar, Yellow Fever Asibi, Dengue serotype 2, West Nile 385-99, and St. Louis Encephalitis Virus (SLEV) clade II. We tested this method with varying viral titers: lab-infected mosquito pools, field-collected mosquito pools from a Texas West Nile and SLEV outbreak, and patient isolates from a Pakistani CHIKV outbreak. The cDNA was sequenced in the UTMB NGS Core and aligned using bowtie. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The use of a single protocol to capture whole viral genomes including UTRs for multiple viruses from different sample collection styles is ideal for arboviruses. Primers for multiple viruses were pooled and used to sequence mosquito pools. The Tiled ClickSeq method captured whole viral genomes without the need for host depletion. UTRs were captured even when the viral strain used for primer design differed from the resulting strain. Discreet variants were captured in both the hypervariable nsP3 region and the UTR in the patient isolates from the CHIKV outbreak compared to the 2017 outbreak. Texas WNV and SLEV outbreaks are now defined from the 2020 outbreak and can be further tracked to update public health measures and understand viral evolution. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: UTRs impact both human and mosquito fitness, leading to further outbreaks. Tiled ClickSeq aims to capture whole viral genomes with a method and cost that can be implemented by public health researchers to understand disease evolution as it happens to update both public health and basic virology to the effects of evolution on arboviruses.
Constant-flux gravity currents of viscoplastic fluid remain axisymmetric when extruded onto a dry horizontal plane. However, if the plane is coated with a shallow layer of water, the current suffers a dramatic non-axisymmetric instability in which localized $v$-shaped cuts appear in the outer edge where the viscoplastic fluid is in contact with water. These ‘fractures’ lengthen and guide the subsequent radial outflow, leading to distinctive flower-like patterns. This pattern formation process is illustrated for two viscoplastic materials, an aqueous suspension of Carbopol, and a mixture of water and joint compound (a kaolin-based, commercially available product). The fracturing spreads over the entire upper surface of the current when deeper water baths are used, complicating the extrusion patterns. The instability can be removed entirely when the ambient water layer is replaced by an immiscible liquid of comparable viscosity, indicating that the presence of water at the surface is key to the pattern formation process. We conjecture that the underlying mechanism is the fracture under tension of the viscoplastic material, exacerbated by the ambient water.
Globally, the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created an interpersonally threatening context within which other people have become a source of possible threat. This study reports on the development and validation of a self-report measure of pandemic paranoia; that is, heightened levels of suspicion and mistrust towards others due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
An international consortium developed an initial set of 28 items for the Pandemic Paranoia Scale (PPS), which were completed by participants from the UK (n = 512), USA (n = 535), Germany (n = 516), Hong Kong (n = 454) and Australia (n = 502) using stratified quota sampling (for age, sex and educational attainment) through Qualtrics and translated for Germany and Hong Kong.
Results
Exploratory factor analysis in the UK sample suggested a 25-item, three-factor solution (persecutory threat; paranoid conspiracy and interpersonal mistrust). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the remaining combined sample showed sufficient model fit in this independent set of data. Measurement invariance analyses suggested configural and metric invariance, but no scalar invariance across cultures/languages. A second-order factor CFA on the whole sample indicated that the three factors showed large loadings on a common second-order pandemic paranoia factor. Analyses also supported the test–retest reliability and internal and convergent validity.
Conclusion
The PPS offers an internationally validated and reliable method for assessing paranoia in the context of a pandemic. The PPS has the potential to enhance our understanding of the impact of the pandemic, the nature of paranoia and to assist in identifying and supporting people affected by pandemic-specific paranoia.
A field study was conducted in Mississippi to determine the effect of reduced dicamba rates on sweetpotato crop tolerance and storage root yield, simulating off-target movement or sprayer tank contamination. Treatments included a nontreated control and four rates of dicamba [70 g ae ha−1 (1/8×), 35 g ae ha−1 (1/16×), 8.65 g ae ha−1 (1/64×), and 1.09 g ae ha−1 (1/512×)] applied either 3 d before transplanting (DBP) or 1, 3, 5, or 7 wk after transplanting (WAP). An additional treatment consisted of 560 g ae ha−1 (1×) dicamba applied 3 DBP. Crop injury ratings were taken 1, 2, 3, and 4 wk after treatment (WAT). Across application timings, predicted sweetpotato plant injury 1, 2, 3, and 4 WAT increased from 3T to 22%, 3% to 32%, 2% to 58%, and 1% to 64% as dicamba rate increased from 0 to 70 g ha−1 (1/8×), respectively. As dicamba rate increased from 1/512× to 1/8×, predicted No. 1 yield decreased from 127% to 55%, 103% to 69%, 124% to 31%, and 124% to 41% of the nontreated control for applications made 1, 3, 5, and 7 WAP, respectively. Similarly, as dicamba rate increased from 1/512× to 1/8×, predicted marketable yield decreased from 123% to 57%, 107% to 77%, 121% to 44%, and 110% to 53% of the nontreated control for applications made 1, 3, 5, and 7 WAP, respectively. Dicamba residue (5.3 to 14.3 parts per billion) was detected in roots treated with 1/16× or 1/8× dicamba applied 5 or 7 WAP and 1/64× dicamba applied 7 WAP with the highest residue detected in roots harvested from sweetpotato plants treated at 7 WAP. Collectively, care should be taken to avoid sweetpotato exposure to dicamba especially at 1/8× and 1/16× rates during the growing season.
Scimitar syndrome is a rare CHD composed of partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection from the right lung, via a scimitar vein, to the inferior vena cava rather than the left atrium. Genetic conditions associated with scimitar syndrome have not been well investigated at present.
Methods:
Our study included patients with scimitar syndrome diagnosed at Texas Children’s Hospital from January 1987 to July 2020. Medical records were evaluated to determine if genetic testing was performed, including chromosomal microarray analysis or whole-exome sequencing. Copy number variants identified as pathogenic/likely pathogenic and variants of unknown significance were collected. Analyses of cardiac and extracardiac findings were performed via chart review.
Results:
Ninety-eight patients were identified with scimitar syndrome, 89 of which met inclusion criteria. A chromosome analysis or chromosomal microarray analysis was performed in 18 patients (20%). Whole-exome sequencing was performed in six patients following negative chromosomal microarray analysis testing. A molecular genetic diagnosis was made in 7 of 18 cases (39% of those tested). Ninety-six per cent of the cohort had some type of extracardiac finding, with 43% having asthma and 20% having a gastrointestinal pathology. Of the seven patients with positive genetic testing, all had extracardiac anomalies with all but one having gastrointestinal findings and 30% having congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
Conclusions:
Genetic testing revealed an underlying diagnosis in roughly 40% of those tested. Given the relatively high prevalence of pathogenic variants, we recommend chromosomal microarray analysis and whole-exome sequencing for patients with scimitar syndrome and extracardiac defects.
Substantial progress has been made in the standardization of nomenclature for paediatric and congenital cardiac care. In 1936, Maude Abbott published her Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease, which was the first formal attempt to classify congenital heart disease. The International Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code (IPCCC) is now utilized worldwide and has most recently become the paediatric and congenital cardiac component of the Eleventh Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). The most recent publication of the IPCCC was in 2017. This manuscript provides an updated 2021 version of the IPCCC.
The International Society for Nomenclature of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease (ISNPCHD), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), developed the paediatric and congenital cardiac nomenclature that is now within the eleventh version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). This unification of IPCCC and ICD-11 is the IPCCC ICD-11 Nomenclature and is the first time that the clinical nomenclature for paediatric and congenital cardiac care and the administrative nomenclature for paediatric and congenital cardiac care are harmonized. The resultant congenital cardiac component of ICD-11 was increased from 29 congenital cardiac codes in ICD-9 and 73 congenital cardiac codes in ICD-10 to 318 codes submitted by ISNPCHD through 2018 for incorporation into ICD-11. After these 318 terms were incorporated into ICD-11 in 2018, the WHO ICD-11 team added an additional 49 terms, some of which are acceptable legacy terms from ICD-10, while others provide greater granularity than the ISNPCHD thought was originally acceptable. Thus, the total number of paediatric and congenital cardiac terms in ICD-11 is 367. In this manuscript, we describe and review the terminology, hierarchy, and definitions of the IPCCC ICD-11 Nomenclature. This article, therefore, presents a global system of nomenclature for paediatric and congenital cardiac care that unifies clinical and administrative nomenclature.
The members of ISNPCHD realize that the nomenclature published in this manuscript will continue to evolve. The version of the IPCCC that was published in 2017 has evolved and changed, and it is now replaced by this 2021 version. In the future, ISNPCHD will again publish updated versions of IPCCC, as IPCCC continues to evolve.
Women with underlying cardiac conditions have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Counselling reproductive age women with heart disease is important to assist them in deciding whether to pursue pregnancy, to ensure their best cardiovascular status prior to pregnancy, and that they understand the risks of pregnancy for them and baby. This also provides an opportunity to explore management strategies to reduce risks. For this growing cohort of women, there is a great need for pre-conceptual counselling.
This retrospective comparative audit assessed new referrals and pre-conceptual counselling of women attending a joint obstetric–cardiology clinic at a tertiary maternity centre in a 12-month period of 2015–2016 compared with 2018–2019. This reflected the timing of the introduction of a multidisciplinary meeting prior to clinics and assessed the impact on referrals with the introduction of the European Society of Cardiology guidelines.
Data were reviewed from 56 and 67 patients in respective audit periods. Patient’s risk was stratified using modified World Health Organization classification.
Less than 50% of women with pre-existing cardiac conditions had received pre-conceptual counselling, although half of them had risks clearly documented. The majority of patients had a recent electrocardiograph and echocardiogram performed prior to counselling, and there was a modest improvement in the number of appropriate functional tests performed between time points. One-third of patients in both cohorts were taking cardiac medications during pregnancy.
There was a significant increase in the number of pregnant women with cardiac disease and in complexity according to modified World Health Organization risk classification. While there have been improvements, it is clear that further work to improve availability and documentation of pre-pregnancy counselling is needed.
Quantitative plant biology is an interdisciplinary field that builds on a long history of biomathematics and biophysics. Today, thanks to high spatiotemporal resolution tools and computational modelling, it sets a new standard in plant science. Acquired data, whether molecular, geometric or mechanical, are quantified, statistically assessed and integrated at multiple scales and across fields. They feed testable predictions that, in turn, guide further experimental tests. Quantitative features such as variability, noise, robustness, delays or feedback loops are included to account for the inner dynamics of plants and their interactions with the environment. Here, we present the main features of this ongoing revolution, through new questions around signalling networks, tissue topology, shape plasticity, biomechanics, bioenergetics, ecology and engineering. In the end, quantitative plant biology allows us to question and better understand our interactions with plants. In turn, this field opens the door to transdisciplinary projects with the society, notably through citizen science.
Dural venous sinus injury is a rare complication of otological surgery that can lead to life-threatening sequelae, the management of which is complex and poorly described.
Case report
This paper describes the case of a 40-year-old female who underwent routine right myringoplasty complicated by sigmoid sinus laceration. The patient subsequently developed right-sided lateral sinus thrombosis leading to fulminant intracranial hypertension. The patient underwent successful emergency management by surgical reconstruction of the sigmoid sinus, followed by endovascular thrombolysis, catheter balloon angioplasty and endovascular stenting.
Conclusion
Torrential haemorrhage following otological procedures is uncommon and rarely requires packing of a bleeding venous sinus. This case highlights that injury to a highly dominant venous sinus can lead to venous outflow obstruction and life-threatening intracranial hypertension. To our knowledge, the development of this complication following otological surgery and its management has not been reported previously.
Quantitative approaches in plant biology have a long history that have led to several ground-breaking discoveries and given rise to new principles, new paradigms and new methodologies. We take a short historical trip into the past to explore some of the many great scientists and influences that have led to the development of quantitative plant biology. We have not been constrained by historical fact, although we have tried not to deviate too much. We end with a forward look, expressing our hopes and ambitions for this exciting interdisciplinary field.
Comparative transcriptomics can be used to translate an understanding of gene regulatory networks from model systems to less studied species. Here, we use RNA-Seq to determine and compare gene expression dynamics through the floral transition in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana and the closely related crop Brassica rapa. We find that different curve registration functions are required for different genes, indicating that there is no single common ‘developmental time’ between Arabidopsis and B. rapa. A detailed comparison between Arabidopsis and B. rapa and between two B. rapa accessions reveals different modes of regulation of the key floral integrator SOC1, and that the floral transition in the B. rapa accessions is triggered by different pathways. Our study adds to the mechanistic understanding of the regulatory network of flowering time in rapid cycling B. rapa and highlights the importance of registration methods for the comparison of developmental gene expression data.
Delineating the proximal urethra can be critical for radiotherapy planning but is challenging on computerised tomography (CT) imaging.
Materials and methods:
We trialed a novel non-invasive technique to allow visualisation of the proximal urethra using a rapid sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol to visualise the urinary flow in patients voiding during the simulation scan.
Results:
Of the seven patients enrolled, four were able to void during the MRI scan. For these four patients, direct visualisation of urinary flow through the proximal urethra was achieved. The average volume of the proximal urethra contoured on voiding MRI was significantly higher than the proximal urethra contoured on CT, 4·07 and 1·60 cc, respectively (p = 0·02). The proximal urethra location also differed; the Dice coefficient average was 0·28 (range 0–0·62).
Findings:
In this small, proof-of-concept prospective clinical trial, the volume and location of the proximal urethra differed significantly when contoured on a voiding MRI scan compared to that determined by a conventional CT simulation. The shape of the proximal urethra on voiding MRI may be more anatomically correct compared to the proximal urethra shape determined with a semi-rigid catheter in place.