192815 research outputs found
Sort by
Outcomes of post-operative drain use after cranioplasty surgery – a systematic review and meta-analysis
Get PDFBackground:
Cranioplasty restores cranial integrity following decompressive craniectomy or skull trauma. Despite its reconstructive benefits, post-cranioplasty complication rates are high. Post-operative drainage has been proposed to mitigate these risks, yet its effectiveness remains uncertain. This study evaluates the impact of post-cranioplasty drain insertion on surgical outcomes.
Methods:
A systematic literature search of MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL Library was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines (PROSPEROID:CRD420251030365). Studies reporting cranioplasty outcomes with post-operative drainage were selected. Primary outcomes were complication rates, including infection, haemorrhage, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak.
Results:
Four studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 522 patients (mean age 43.7 years) who underwent cranioplasty—282 with post-operative drainage and 240 without. Following decompressive craniectomy, the most common indications for cranioplasty were traumatic brain injury (196/514, 38.1%), vascular causes (187/514, 36.4%), and infection (25/514, 4.9%). All studies reported subgaleal drain use, with one study (25%) using epidural drains in an unspecified number of patients. The overall post-operative complication rate was 75/522 (14.4%), occurring in 23/282 drained patients (8.2%) and 52/240 (21.7%) undrained patients. A meta-analysis comparing post-operative complication rates across all studies between patients with and without post-cranioplasty drainage yielded a pooled risk ratio (RR) of 0.51 (95% CI: 0.21–1.24, p = 0.095).
Conclusions:
The results suggest post-cranioplasty drainage does not significantly alter complication rates. However, heterogeneity in drainage protocols limits attribution of outcomes to specific modalities. Going forward, moderated prospective trials are needed to establish standardised post-cranioplasty drainage protocols
Perceived gender equitable norms and previous tuberculosis testing in Malawi: a secondary analysis of a cluster-based prevalence survey
Get PDFSubstantial evidence demonstrates that men have a higher prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) and decreased use of TB services compared to women. Gender roles and norms contribute to these disparities by influencing social and structural determinants, as well as individual behaviours. In this analysis, we investigated attitudes towards gender equitable norms and TB testing behaviours amongst Malawian men and women participating in a prevalence survey conducted before a community-based TB active case finding trial in Blantyre. Attitudes towards equitable gender norms were captured through a modified version of the Gender Equitable Men Scale (GEMS). Gender inequitable views were prevalent among both men (56.1%) and women (55.8%). The association between a composite GEMS score and TB testing history was modelled using logistic regression, accounting for various sociodemographic covariates (age, sex, wealth quantile, education, and HIV status) (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.88-1.42, p = 0.373). Bivariate analysis demonstrated no notable confounding by any covariates and no strong effect modification. While GEMS score had no association with TB testing history among women, men with higher GEMS scores (less gender-equitable views) were more likely to have been tested for TB across age groups. These findings provide a basis for future investigation into the patterns and motives TB behaviours, particularly in older men. Tailored public health strategies may then be implemented to address this important population
Association between body mass index, plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, symptoms and outcome in patients referred for investigation of suspected heart failure
Get PDFBackground and aims: Obesity is associated with lower N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentration, possibly because obese patients become symptomatic with less severe left ventricular dysfunction. We explored the relation among body mass index (BMI), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), symptoms, NT-proBNP and mortality in ambulatory patients investigated for suspected heart failure (HF).
Methods: Between 2001 and 2023, patients referred to a community HF clinic had age, sex, BMI, plasma NT-proBNP, serum creatinine, LVEF, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, cardiac rhythm and systolic blood pressure recorded. Patients were categorised as ‘lean’ BMI <25 kg/m2, ‘overweight’ BMI 25–29.9 kg/m2 or ‘obese’ BMI ≥30 kg/m2.
Results: Among 2866 patients (mean age 71±11 years; 63% men), NT-proBNP concentrations were inversely related to BMI after adjustment for age, sex, LVEF, renal function, rhythm, symptoms and blood pressure (p<0.001). Each 5 kg/m² increase in BMI was associated with a 13% (95% CI 10% to 17%) lower NT-proBNP. Within each NYHA class and across most LVEF values, patients with higher BMI had lower NT-proBNP concentrations. However, within NT-proBNP strata, BMI was not associated with mortality. Patients with NT-proBNP <125 ng/L had <1% 1-year mortality, irrespective of BMI.
Conclusions: In ambulatory patients with suspected HF, higher BMI is associated with lower NT-proBNP concentrations but does not attenuate the prognostic value of NT-proBNP. Lowering guideline-recommended NT-proBNP thresholds for obese patients is unlikely to identify individuals at higher mortality risk
GenHand: generalised human grasp kinematic retargeting
No full textKinematic retargeting is vital for teleoperation and imitation learning, enabling the conversion of human gestures into robotic end-effector actions, particularly in object manipulation tasks requiring robust, human-like grasping. Existing methods primarily focus on replicating hand shapes, especially fingertip locations, but often suffer from reduced grasp quality when adapting to grippers with different morphologies. Thus, we proposed GenHand to address these issues by offering a kinematic retargeting algorithm that generates human-like grasps for different grippers by optimising for force closure and kinematic similarity. The proposed method provides differentiable solutions to generate physically plausible grasping for various grippers based on input human grasping. Extensive evaluations show that GenHand achieves lower net wrench residuals and improved surface contact consistency, and outperforms the key-vector based baseline by 39.8% in simulated experiments across four grippers and twenty objects, while maintaining comparable grasp similarity
Juvenile gadoid distributions are driven by patch boundaries and habitat combinations
No full textFish nursery areas need to be determined at the appropriate spatial scale with an understanding of how juvenile fish are distributed across combinations and arrangements of habitat types within seascapes. A seascape approach allows the influence of seabed type, patch sizes, boundaries, and habitat combinations on species distributions to be understood. This study investigated the influence of seascape ecology and species co-occurrence patterns on the distribution of three juvenile gadoids, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), and whiting (Merlangius merlangus), while also accounting for the interactions between species as latent variables. We used 757 stereo baited remote underwater video (SBRUV) deployments between 2021 and 2023 across two sea lochs and adjacent bays on the north and west coasts of Scotland to gather relative abundance data. A joint species distribution model was used to determine the seascape drivers of 10 fish species as well as using an unobserved random variable to understand how species co-occurrences influence individual species distributions. Atlantic cod, haddock, and whiting distributions were driven by distinct ecological factors yet had limited areas of overlap. Atlantic cod and haddock were most abundant in areas with a diverse mix of habitats. However, whiting were most abundant in areas with lower habitat diversity. Consistently higher relative abundance of all species near habitat patch boundaries indicates that edge effects and access to multiple habitat types are critical determinants of nursery habitat. Despite their distinct distributions explained by environmental variables, species-to-species co-occurrence patterns were very similar across the three species. This may be indicative of similar ecological roles and biological interactions or similar response to an unrecorded variable. The inclusion of how species respond to seascape structures is valuable because it gives a greater level of understanding of what juvenile fish need in nursery areas at the relevant spatial scale
Steroid recognition in adhesion GPCRs: a structural and pharmacological perspective
No full textEmerging evidence suggests steroids may act as generalizable ligands for adhesion GPCRs, a receptor class with considerable pharmacological potential. While most studies have focused on the ADGR‘G' subfamily, recent cryo-EM structures of the androgens 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT) and methenolone bound to ADGRD1 revealed a putative steroid-binding pocket and enabled the rational design of a selective synthetic agonist. This perspective considers the broader significance of these findings amid some debate about the reproducibility and physiological relevance of steroid binding to adhesion GPCRs, reviewing all structural evidence and presenting comparative docking and homology modeling to evaluate conserved features and the plausibility of a shared recognition mechanism
A survey to evaluate the use of the erector spinae plane block (ESPB) in small animal practice
Get PDFObjective:
To describe the current use, techniques, perceived effectiveness and contraindications of the erector spinae plane block (ESPB) in veterinary anaesthesia, and to explore how factors such as workplace, personal experience, and training may influence its application. Study design: Anonymous online voluntary survey. Methods: An online survey, designed following CHERRIES guidelines, was distributed via several platforms relevant to the veterinary anaesthesia community between July and September 2024. Results: The response rate was of 11.8% (235/2000), with a completion rate of 86.4%. Among respondents, 192 reported performing the ESPB in dogs, with 98 doing so several times per week. The most common indications were lumbar and thoracic hemilaminectomies and dorsal laminectomies, and three out of four respondents reported it to be almost always effective. The ESPB was mainly performed under general anaesthesia. A parasagittal approach was most used in the thoracic region, whereas both parasagittal and transverse approaches were commonly used in the lumbar region. The block was performed both unilaterally and bilaterally. Bupivacaine was the most used agent, typically at 2 mg/kg and 0.4 ml/kg. The block was generally considered safe. Skin infection and neoplasia at injection site were the most frequently reported contraindications. The most common reasons for not using the ESPB were unfamiliarity with the technique and with US-guided blocks in general. Conclusions and clinical relevance: The ESPB appears to be a safe, effective and accessible technique for most veterinary anaesthetists in this survey. Its applications extend beyond surgical procedures involving the dorsolateral aspect of the trunk
Shear-induced anisotropic supramolecular gel noodles for improved cell guidance in polarized tissue engineering
No full textTissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications require the integration of multifunctional materials, offering tissue-specific mechanical cues and geometric guidance to support cell differentiation. In this context, supramolecular gel noodles formed by ionic cross-linking of pre-assembled micellar networks offer unique opportunities for creating anisotropic soft materials. However, controlling fibrillar alignment over extended lengths remains a challenge. Herein, a shear-induced method to fabricate 1D gel noodles with enhanced macroscopic alignment using dipeptide-based gelators is reported. By implementing a two-stage extrusion protocol, we generate a thin tail segment with a distinct flow history that exhibits higher retained alignment than the pump-driven segment. Polarized optical microscopy and small-angle neutron scattering confirm superior fibrillar orientation in the thin segment, and mechanical testing reveals up to ∼400-fold increase in nominal stress at failure. The method is effective across multiple gelators, demonstrating its broad applicability for tuning macroscopic alignment in gel noodles. Preliminary C2C12 culture on the thin segment demonstrates improved cell adhesion, elongation, and increased MyoD expression compared to the thick segment. These findings provide a scalable route to introduce anisotropy in supramolecular gel noodles through processing history, and we present cell culture data as proof of compatibility and contact guidance relevant to aligned tissue-mimetic scaffolds
Telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of Microsporidia sp. MB, a microsporidian symbiont of Anopheles coluzzii isolated from Burkina Faso
Get PDFBackground: Microsporidia sp. MB is an intracellular parasite of anopheline mosquitoes identified across the African continent. Microsporidia sp. MB infections appear to have no significant effect
on host fitness and vertically transmit, whilst infected individuals have exhibited significantly
reduced levels of Plasmodium falciparum transmission. These combined characteristics make
Microsporidia sp. MB a promising candidate for use in malaria control. A comprehensive genome would greatly facilitate investigation into the evolution and biological pathways underlying
important phenotypes, such as the mechanism of malarial inhibition.
Results:
In this study, we present the de novo assembly of the first complete genome of
Microsporidia sp. MB SOUVK7. Multi-platform sequencing was performed on ovary samples of
laboratory established Anopheles coluzzii collected from Burkina Faso. The SOUVK7 genome
has a total size of 9.16Mb, encodes 2,435 genes and is organised into 13 chromosomes with
telomeres identified at all flanks. Telomeric repeats exhibit a 4-mer motif due to a glutamine
deletion previously unobserved in Microsporidia. Ploidy analysis of Illumina reads predicts MB
as tetraploid, whilst analysis of CpG methylation and retroelements highlights loci in all
chromosomes with characteristics consistent with regional centromeres. Orthology analysis
identifies several key genes in pathways associated to telomeric and centromeric maintenance,
along with methylation and host invasion machinery. A loss of several components of the
infection machinery is observed in Microsporidia sp. MB and the wider Enterocytozoonida,
consistent with a general trend towards genome size reduction in the clade.
Conclusion:
This study provides the first complete, telomere to telomere assembly of Microsporidia
sp. MB, offering new insight into the genomic architecture of Microsporidia sp. MB and the
broader Mrazekiidae family
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇