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Potential Spatial Distribution of the Newly Introduced Long-horned Tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis in North America
The North American distributional potential of the recently invaded tick,
Haemaphysalis longicornis
, was estimated using occurrence data from its geographic range in other parts of the world and relevant climatic data sets. Several hundred candidate models were built using a correlative maximum entropy approach, and best-fitting models were selected based on statistical significance, predictive ability, and complexity. The median of the best-fitting models indicates a broad potential distribution for this species, but restricted to three sectors—the southeastern United States, the Pacific Northwest, and central and southern Mexico.
Journal Article
The isolated working guinea pig heart: A functional and electrophysiological characterisation
Small animal isolated perfused hearts have been used for over 150 years for the study of cardiac physiology and pharmacology. The guinea pig heart represents the smallest mammalian heart that replicates key features of the human heart – for example, with respect to cardiac action potential duration, ion channel expression, excitation–contraction coupling and intracellular Ca2+ handling. In this study we describe the apparatus, instrumentation and characterisation of the isolated working guinea pig heart and utilise state‐of‐the‐art pressure–volume catheters and so forth to characterise systolic and diastolic function in this auxotonically contracting preparation. We describe novel correction formulae to allow rate‐dependent variables, such as the QT interval of the ECG and left‐ventricular pressure, to be reliably corrected for changes in heart rate. What is the central question of this study? The aim of this study was to establish an isolated working heart model from a small animal species with a long ventricular action potential. What is the main finding and its importance? This work describes and characterises the isolated working guinea pig heart in sufficient detail to allow this useful preparation to be reproduced by other investigators. In addition, it describes a generic algorithm for the rate correction of electrophysiological and functional variables that are influenced by changes in heart rate (such as the QT interval or left‐ventricular pressure). Specifically, for QT interval correction, for example, this has been shown to outperform standard correction equations such as Bazett's or Fridericia's equations.
Journal Article
Fort Worth then : the art of Samuel P. Ziegler
\"Rare images of Fort Worth, Texas in the 1920s and 1930s abound in the art of Samuel P. Ziegler (1882-1967). Standing apart from his local contemporaries, Ziegler regarded Fort Worth's rapid urban development as an indispensable source of ideas. He expressed these ideas in paintings, drawings, etchings and lithographs of significant buildings, street scenes, demolition sites, construction sites, the Texas Christian University campus, where he taught music and art, and the Trinity River. In the late 1920s, his artistic output grew to include depictions of oil production efforts in counties west of Fort Worth. In this publication, many representative examples of Ziegler's work from this period are presented for the first time. Taken as a whole, these little-known works of art capture a sense of the metamorphosis that the City of Fort Worth experienced in the first half of the twentieth century, as seen through the eyes of a Texas Christian University art professor who never had to look far to find inspiration. Because of his ability to absorb the sights of the city and the oil boom spectacle unfolding on Fort Worth's doorstep, and turn these sights into art, Samuel P. Ziegler embodied the mindset of all Texas artists living in the Depression era who believed in and pursued the regionalist ideal\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
A July Spike in Fatal Medication Errors: A Possible Effect of New Medical Residents
BACKGROUND
Each July thousands begin medical residencies and acquire increased responsibility for patient care. Many have suggested that these new medical residents may produce errors and worsen patient outcomes—the so-called “July Effect;” however, we have found no U.S. evidence documenting this effect.
OBJECTIVE
Determine whether fatal medication errors spike in July.
DESIGN
We examined all U.S. death certificates, 1979–2006 (n = 62,338,584), focusing on medication errors (n = 244,388). We compared the observed number of deaths in July with the number expected, determined by least-squares regression techniques. We compared the July Effect inside versus outside medical institutions. We also compared the July Effect in counties with versus without teaching hospitals.
OUTCOME MEASURE
JR = Observed number of July deaths / Expected number of July deaths.
RESULTS
Inside medical institutions, in counties containing teaching hospitals, fatal medication errors spiked by 10% in July and in no other month [JR = 1.10 (1.06–1.14)]. In contrast, there was no July spike in counties without teaching hospitals. The greater the concentration of teaching hospitals in a region, the greater the July spike (r = .80; P = .005). These findings held only for medication errors, not for other causes of death.
CONCLUSIONS
We found a significant July spike in fatal medication errors inside medical institutions. After assessing competing explanations, we concluded that the July mortality spike results at least partly from changes associated with the arrival of new medical residents.
Journal Article
The pangenome of an agronomically important crop plant Brassica oleracea
There is an increasing awareness that as a result of structural variation, a reference sequence representing a genome of a single individual is unable to capture all of the gene repertoire found in the species. A large number of genes affected by presence/absence and copy number variation suggest that it may contribute to phenotypic and agronomic trait diversity. Here we show by analysis of the
Brassica oleracea
pangenome that nearly 20% of genes are affected by presence/absence variation. Several genes displaying presence/absence variation are annotated with functions related to major agronomic traits, including disease resistance, flowering time, glucosinolate metabolism and vitamin biosynthesis.
Brassica oleracea
is a single species that includes diverse crops such as cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Here, the authors identify genes not captured in existing
B. oleracea
reference genomes by the assembly of a pangenome and show variations in gene content that may be related to important agronomic traits
Journal Article
Randomized Trial of Postoperative Radiation Therapy After Wide Excision of Neurotropic Melanoma of the Head and Neck (RTN2 Trial 01.09)
Background
Cutaneous neurotropic melanoma (NM) of the head and neck (H&N) is prone to local relapse, possibly due to difficulties widely excising the tumor. This trial assessed radiation therapy (RT) to the primary site after local excision.
Methods
Participants from 15 international centers were randomized to observation or RT. The participants were required to have microscopically negative excision margins 5 mm wide or wider and no evidence of disease elsewhere. The primary outcome was time to local relapse. The secondary outcomes included time to any recurrence, overall survival (OS), and toxicity.
Results
The trial ceased prematurely due to slow recruitment and the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2009–2020, 50 participants were randomized: 23 to observation and 27 to RT. The most common NM subsites were scalp (32%), midface (22%), and lip (20%). The median depth of invasion was 5 mm, and desmoplasia observed in 69%. The median duration from randomization to last contact was 4.8 years. Four participants (8%) experienced local relapse as a first recurrence during the study period: 3 in the observation arm and 1 in the RT arm (hazard ratio [HR] 0.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.03–2.76;
p
= 0.279). No statistically significant difference in time to any relapse or OS was observed. More than 6 months after randomization, grade 3 or greater toxicity was experienced by 10% of the participants in the observation arm and 12.5% of the participants in the RT arm of the study.
Conclusion
Due to low accrual, the role of adjuvant RT for cutaneous NM of the H&N excised with microscopically negative margins 5 mm wide or wider remains undefined. Its routine use cannot be recommended. Local relapse might be less common than previously anticipated based on retrospective reports.
Journal Article
Listeria monocytogenes in Cooked Chicken: Detection of an Outbreak in the United Kingdom (2016 to 2017) and Analysis of L. monocytogenes from Unrelated Monitoring of Foods (2013 to 2017)
In England and Wales, Public Health England applies whole genome sequencing to cultures of Listeria monocytogenes recovered from human cases of listeriosis, foods, and food production environments. Following the routine inspection of a small retailer in February and March 2016, two unopened packs of cooked chicken produced by the same manufacturer were found to be contaminated with L. monocytogenes at levels of 340 and 20 CFU/g. A public recall of this product was issued in March 2016. Early in 2017, a less than five single-nucleotide polymorphism single-linkage cluster was detected between the L. monocytogenes isolates from the two cooked chicken products and cultures from five cases of human listeriosis in England and Scotland with onsets of illness between March 2016 and February 2017. Epidemiological data provided further supportive evidence that this cluster was an outbreak linked to a manufacturer of cooked chicken whose products were supplied to the small retailer that initiated the outbreak investigation. Unrelated to this outbreak, 34 L. monocytogenes isolates recovered from routine food monitoring of 2,007 samples of cooked chicken during 2013 to 2017 were analyzed by whole genome sequencing. Previously undetected fewer than five single-nucleotide polymorphism single-linkage clusters were identified between cultures from cooked chicken and with those from two clusters and two sporadic cases of human listeriosis that were consistent with foodborne transmission. This analysis identified linkage of L. monocytogenes clusters within specific food chains more readily than traditional manual tracing. Linking of data associated with L. monocytogenes cultures from cases of listeriosis with those from unrelated food testing is a unique source of information for communicable disease risk assessment, epidemiological studies, and disease prevention and control. This report provides further evidence that should act as a reminder of the association between cooked chicken consumption and human listeriosis.
Journal Article
Extraction of Vanillin Following Bioconversion of Rice Straw and Its Optimization by Response Surface Methodology
Value-added chemicals, including phenolic compounds, can be generated through lignocellulosic biomass conversion via either biological or chemical pretreatment. Currently vanillin is one of the most valuable of these products that has been shown to be extractable on an industrial scale. This study demonstrates the potential of using rice straw inoculated with Serpula lacrymans, which produced a mixture of high value bio-based compounds including vanillin. Key extraction conditions were identified to be the volume of solvent used and extraction time, which were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The vanillin compounds extracted from rice straw solid state fermentation (SSF) was confirmed through LC-ESI MS/MS in selective ion mode. The optimum concentration and yield differed depending on the solvent, which was predicted using 60 mL ethyl acetate for 160 min were 0.408% and 3.957 μg g−1 respectively. In comparison, when ethanol was used, the highest concentration and yields of vanillin were 0.165% and 2.596 μg g−1. These were achieved using 40 mL of solvent, and extraction time increased to 248 min. The results confirm that fungal conversion of rice straw to vanillin could consequently offer a cost-effect alternative to other modes of production.
Journal Article