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Summary: The domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) is a valued companion animal throughout the world. Over 60 different cat breeds are accepted for competition by the cat fancy registries in different countries. Genetic markers, including short tandem repeats and SNPs, are available to evaluate and manage levels of inbreeding and genetic diversity, population and breed structure relationships, and individual identification for forensic and registration purposes. The International Society of Animal Genetics (ISAG) hosts the Applied Genetics in Companion Animals Workshop, which supports the standardization of genetic marker panels and genotyping for the identification of cats via comparison testing. SNP panels have been in development for many species, including the domestic cat. An ISAG approved core panel of SNPs for use in cat identification and parentage analyses is presented. SNPs (n = 121) were evaluated by different university‐based and commercial laboratories using 20 DNA samples as part of the ISAG comparison testing procedures. Different SNP genotyping technologies were examined, including DNA arrays, genotyping‐by‐sequencing and mass spectroscopy, to select a robust and efficient panel of 101 SNPs as the ISAG core panel for cats. The SNPs are distributed across all chromosomes including two on the X chromosome and an XY pseudo‐autosomal sexing marker (zinc‐finger XY; ZFXY). A population study demonstrated that the markers have an average polymorphic information content of 0.354 and a power of exclusion greater than 0.9999. The SNP panel should keep testing affordable while also allowing for the development of additional panels to monitor health, phenotypic traits, hybrid cats and highly inbred cats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Current guidelines advocate empirical antibiotic treatment (EAT) in haematological patients with febrile neutropenia. However, the optimal duration of EAT is unknown. In 2011, we have introduced a protocol, promoting discontinuation of carbapenems as EAT after 3 days in most patients and discouraging the standard use of vancomycin. This study assesses the effect of introducing this protocol on carbapenem and vancomycin use in high-risk haematological patients and its safety. Methods: A retrospective before-after study was performed comparing a cohort from 2007 to 2011 (period I, before restrictive EAT use) with a cohort from 2011 to 2014 (period II, restrictive EAT use). Neutropenic episodes related to chemotherapy or stem cell transplantation (SCT) in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) were analysed. The primary outcome was the use of carbapenems and vancomycin as EAT during neutropenia, expressed as days of therapy (DOT)/100 neutropenic days and analysed with interrupted time series (ITS). Also the use of other antibiotics was analysed. Safety measurements included 30-day mortality, ICU admittance within 30 days after start of EAT and positive blood cultures with carbapenem-susceptible microorganisms. Results: Three hundred sixty-two neutropenic episodes with a median duration of 18 days were analysed, involving 201 patients. ITS analysis showed decreased carbapenem use with a step change of − 16.1 DOT/100 neutropenic days (95% CI − 26.77 to − 1.39) and an overall reduction of 21.6% (8.7 DOT/100 neutropenic days). Vancomycin use decreased with a step change of − 13.7 DOT/100 neutropenic days (95% CI − 23.75 to − 3.0) and an overall reduction of 54.7% (14.6 DOT/100 neutropenic days). The use of all antibiotics combined decreased from 155.6 to 138 DOT/100 neutropenic days, a reduction of 11.3%. No deaths directly related to early discontinuation of EAT were identified, also no notable difference in ICU-admission (9/116 in period I, 9/152 in period II) and positive blood cultures (4/116 in period I, 2/152 in period II) was detected. Conclusion: The introduction of a protocol promoting restrictive use of EAT resulted in reduction of carbapenem and vancomycin use and appears to be safe in AML or high-risk MDS patients with febrile neutropenia during chemotherapy or SCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current assembly enterprises are under a lot of pressure, as they are faced with increasing volume demands and product variations, needs for shorter delivery times and cost reduction. This pressure is likely to increase the pressure on individual workers. In many small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we observe that traditional assembly concepts are no longer fulfilled. These are challenged to find other concepts to meet today's demands. In a company where emergency lighting devices are assembled in batches (large series of products are assembled step by step), we applied a participatory and integrative approach to set up a mixed flow assembly system including ergonomically designed work stations. In this paper, we describe the approach and the effects which were studied by a within-subject design. We observed an increase of 44% in productivity and a reduction in order lead time of 46%. The time that workers spent to added-value activities increased significantly from 74% to 92%, without any increase in postural and experienced loads. Instead, the workers experienced significantly less overall fatigue at the end of the day in the new situation. The results show the potential benefits of the approach for the many SMEs where products are assembled in batches and faced with the problem of meeting current production demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A mathematical model based on a generalized Maxwell-Stefan equation has been developed to describe multicomponent ion and water transport inside a cation-exchange membrane. This model has been validated using experimental data and has been used to predict concentration profiles, membrane potential drop, and transport numbers of ions and water for the chlor-alkali process at increased current densities. Several improvements have been made to previously developed Maxwell-Stefan models. In our model, the generalized Maxwell-Stefan equation is written in terms of concentration instead of mole fraction and the fixed group (membrane) concentration is assumed to be constant. We have adapted the Augmented matrix method using the built-in partial differential equation parabolic elliptic (pdepe) solver in Matlab®, and both the concentration and the electrical potential gradients have been solved simultaneously. The boundary conditions are determined with the Donnan equilibrium at the membrane-solution interface. We have also employed semi-empirical correlations to define the Maxwell-Stefan diffusivities inside the membrane. For the bulk diffusivities, we applied the correlations for the concentrated solution instead of the values at infinite dilution. With the diffusivities presented in this work, the model shows a better fit to the experimental data than with previously reported fitted diffusivities. Prediction of the sodium transport number and water transport number is generally good, whereas the deviations with regard to membrane potential might also be related to issues with the experimental data. The model predicts an increase in both sodium and water transport numbers at increased current density operation of chlor-alkali production.Graphical abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the first-line treatment of patients with Idiopathic aplastic anemia (AA). Topics discussed include effectiveness of of antithymocyte globul in the treatment of aplastic anemia and mentions treatment options for AA by allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation and immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporin A.

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A brain MRI revealed multiple linear and punctiform T2 hyperintense white matter lesions with subtle enhancement on T1-weighted post-gadolinium MRI (Fig. In Susac's syndrome, brain MRI shows multiple white matter high-intensity lesions on T2-weighted images. According to the proposed criteria for Susac's syndrome, our patient can be classified as probable Susac's syndrome, since no lesions were present in the corpus callosum [[11]]. Our case report shows that Susac's syndrome can occur as a rare neurological irAE and illustrates the difficulties to discern this syndrome from LM. [Extracted from the article]

This experiment was designed to study if liquid conservation buffer used in the novel Tissue Sampling Technology (TST) from Allflex can be used for Illumina BeadChip genotyping. Ear punches were collected from 6 bovine samples, using both the Tissue Sampling Unit (TSU) as well as the Total Tagger Universal (TTU) collection system. The stability of the liquid conservation buffer was tested by genotyping samples on Illumina BeadChips, incubated at 0, 3, 15, 24, 48, 72, 168, 336, 720 h after sample collection. Additionally, a replenishment study was designed to test how often the liquid conservation buffer could be completely replenished before a significant call rate drop could be observed. Results from the stability study showed an average call rate of 0.993 for samples collected with the TSU system and 0.953 for samples collected with the TTU system, both exceeding the inclusion threshold call rate of 0.85. As an additional control, the identity of the individual animals was confirmed using the International Society of Animal Genetics (ISAG) recommended SNP panel. The replenishment study revealed a slight drop in the sample call rate after replenishing the conservation buffer for the fourth time for the TSU as well as the TTU samples. In routine analysis, this application allows for multiple experiments to be performed on the liquid conservation buffer, while maintaining the tissue samples for future use. The data collected in this study shows that the liquid conservation buffer used in the TST system can be used for Illumina BeadChip genotyping applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine whether successful coronary reperfusion after thrombolytic treatment in patients with confirmed acute myocardial infarction can be diagnosed from the plasma marker fatty acid binding protein (FABP), for either acute clinical decision making or retrospective purposes.Design: Retrospective substudy of the GUSTO trial.Setting: 10 hospitals in four European countries.Patients: 115 patients were treated with thrombolytic agents within six hours after the onset of acute myocardial infarction. Patency of the infarct related artery was determined by angiography within 120 minutes of the start of thrombolysis.Main Outcome Measures: First hour rate of increase in plasma FABP concentration after thrombolytic treatment, compared with increase in plasma myoglobin concentration and creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) activity. Infarct size was estimated from the cumulative release of the enzyme alpha hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase in plasma during 72 hours, or from the sum of ST segment elevations on admission. Logistic regression analyses were performed to construct predictive models for patency.Results: Complete reperfusion (TIMI 3) occurred in 50 patients, partial reperfusion (TIMI 2) in 36, and no reperfusion (TIMI 0+1) in 29. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses showed that the best performance of FABP was obtained when TIMI scores 2 and 3 were grouped and compared with TIMI score 0+1. The performance of FABP as a reperfusion marker was improved by combining it with alpha hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase infarct size, but not with an early surrogate of infarct size (ST segment elevation on admission). In combination with infarct size FABP performed as well as myoglobin (areas under the ROC curve 0.868 and 0.857, respectively) and better than CK-MB (area = 0.796). At optimum cut off levels, positive predictive values were 97% for FABP, 95% for myoglobin, and 89% for CK-MB (without infarct size, 87%, 88%, and 87%, respectively), and negative predictive values were 55%, 52%, and 50%, respectively (without infarct size, 44%, 42%, and 34%).Conclusions: FABP and myoglobin perform equally well as reperfusion markers, and successful reperfusion can be assessed, with positive predictive values of 87% and 88%, or even 97% and 95% when infarct size is also taken into account. However, identification of non-reperfused patients remains a problem, as negative predictive values will generally remain below 70%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Depression is common among patients with diabetes, but its relationship to glycemic control has not been systematically reviewed. Our objective was to determine whether depression is associated with poor glycemic control.Research Design and Methods: Medline and PsycINFO databases and published reference lists were used to identify studies that measured the association of depression with glycemic control. Meta-analytic procedures were used to convert the findings to a common metric, calculate effect sizes (ESs), and statistically analyze the collective data.Results: A total of 24 studies satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Depression was significantly associated with hyperglycemia (Z = 5.4, P < 0.0001). The standardized ES was in the small-to-moderate range (0.17) and was consistent, as the 95% CI was narrow (0.13-0.21). The ES was similar in studies of either type 1 or type 2 diabetes (ES 0.19 vs. 0.16) and larger when standardized interviews and diagnostic criteria rather than self-report questionnaires were used to assess depression (ES 0.28 vs. 0.15).Conclusions: Depression is associated with hyperglycemia in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Additional studies are needed to establish the directional nature of this relationship and to determine the effects of depression treatment on glycemic control and the long-term course of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Please cite this paper as: Ravelli A, Jager K, de Groot M, Erwich J, Rijninks-van Driel G, Tromp M, Eskes M, Abu-Hanna A, Mol B. Travel time from home to hospital and adverse perinatal outcomes in women at term in the Netherlands. BJOG 2011;118:457-465. To study the effect of travel time, at the start or during labour, from home to hospital on mortality and adverse outcomes in pregnant women at term in primary and secondary care. Population-based cohort study from 2000 up to and including 2006. The Netherlands Perinatal Registry. A total of 751 926 singleton term hospital births. We assessed the impact of travel time by car, calculated from the postal code of the woman's residence to the 99 maternity units, on neonatal outcome. Logistic regression modelling with adjustments for gestational age, maternal age, parity, ethnicity, socio-economic status, urbanisation, tertiary care centres and volume of the hospital was used. Mortality (intrapartum, and early and late neonatal mortality) and adverse neonatal outcomes (mortality, Apgar <4 and/or admission to a neonatal intensive care unit). The mortality was 1.5 per 1000 births, and adverse outcomes occurred in 6.0 per 1000 births. There was a positive relationship between longer travel time (≥20 minutes) and total mortality (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.002-1.36), neonatal mortality within 24 hours (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.13-2.02) and with adverse outcomes (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.17-1.38). In addition to travel time, both delivery at 37 weeks of gestation (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.81-2.73) or 41 weeks of gestation (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.29-1.80) increased the risk of mortality. A travel time from home to hospital of 20 minutes or more by car is associated with an increased risk of mortality and adverse outcomes in women at term in the Netherlands. These findings should be considered in plans for the centralisation of obstetric care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression affects one in four people with diabetes and significantly affects diabetes health. Earlier studies of the treatment of depression have documented that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exercise have each been found to be effective in treating depression in people with and without diabetes in the context of medical settings. Individuals in rural areas lack regular access to medical centers and require treatment options that may be adapted for local communities. To date, no studies have combined CBT and exercise for people with diabetes. This article presents a translational behavioral depression intervention study designed for individuals with type 2 diabetes in a rural Appalachian region as a model of an interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of depression in diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Many enzymes are not absolutely specific, or even promiscuous: they can catalyze transformations of more compounds than the traditional ones as listed in, e.g. KEGG. This information is currently only available in databases, such as the BRENDA enzyme activity database. In this article, we propose to model enzyme aspecificity by predicting whether an input compound is likely to be transformed by a certain enzyme. Such a predictor has many applications, for example, to complete reconstructed metabolic networks, to aid in metabolic engineering or to help identify unknown peaks in mass spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Relatives who are bereaved by suicide likely consult their GP when they feel the need for professional help. GPs may play a key role in establishing who is at risk for adverse consequences of the loss as they are familiar with relatives' possible psychiatric vulnerabilities. The availability of evidence-based services for relatives of suicide victims is limited. Successful implementation of services needs analysis of key factors considered critical in the achievement of changes. We investigated GPs' management of help requests of relatives bereaved by suicide and examined determinants of GPs willingness to refer for evidence-based follow-up care.Methods: A cross-sectional survey among 488 GPs in the northern part of The Netherlands.Results: A 44% response was achieved (n = 214) during the last 3 years, 38 (18%) were exposed to suicide, 21 (10%) to help requests without being exposed to suicide and 52 (24%) to both suicide and help requests. Out of 106 requests, 69 (65%) were handled by the GP; 60 (57%) were either directly or additionally referred, principally for mental health care. Suicide exposure and female gender were associated with the doctor's perception that follow-up care following a loss through suicide is useful. The perception that help is useful increased the likelihood of GPs' referral for evidence-based follow-up care.Conclusions: GPs support the availability of evidence-based follow-up care for relatives of suicide victims. To modify GPs' key role in referring relatives for it, GPs should be well informed of its usefulness and to whom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents The final stages of cervical ripening and parturition resemble an inflammatory process. Although the role of cytokines in both spontaneous and experimentally induced parturitions has been described in several small laboratory animals and humans, the involvement of pro-inflammatory and regulatory cytokines in physiologic parturition in cows has not been determined. In this study, the cytokine expression profiles were assessed in bovine cervical tissue at several stages of pregnancy and at parturition. Serial biopsy samples of the cervix were obtained from 10 cows on day 185 and day 275 of pregnancy (which was on average 5.4 days before parturition) and at parturition. Messenger RNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α were determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction and the number of neutrophils and eosinophils was estimated by Luna and Sirius Red staining. At parturition, IL-8 expression had increased 430-fold (p < 0.001) when compared with that of the day 185 of pregnancy, large numbers of neutrophils had invaded the cervix while eosinophils remained scarce, IL-1β had increased eightfold (p < 0.05) and IL-6 had not changed significantly. Additionally, IL-10 was increased by 10-fold (p < 0.001) and TNFα decreased by 57% (p < 0.05) when compared with that of the day 185 of pregnancy. The large increase in expression of IL-8, enabling the influx of neutrophils, is indicative of its important role in the final stage of cervical ripening and at parturition. As previous studies have shown that neutrophils excrete matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), this might contribute to softening of the cervix. In contrast, the only slightly increased levels of IL-1, steady concentrations of IL-6 and decreased TNFα, the potential consequences of increased IL-10 expression, indicate that final cervical of cows in ripening at term parturition is an inflammatory process influenced by regulatory cytokines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study which aims to provide evidence on the effectiveness and tolerability of switching between biologics treatment for psoriasis. The study analysed and compared data of patients' characteristics who switched between biologics either successfully treated or not. Results of the study show that unsatisfactory results with one biologic do not predict the response to another biologic.

Objective: To determine which of the changes in synovial tissue correlates best with clinical response associated with effective therapy (adalimumab) to facilitate the planning of future studies with therapeutic agents for psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods: A total of 24 patients with active PsA were randomised to receive adalimumab (n = 12) or placebo (n = 12) for 4 weeks. Synovial biopsies were obtained before and after 4 weeks of treatment. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to characterise the cell infiltrate, expression of cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and vascularity. Sections were analysed by digital image analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using covariance analysis. Results: The mean Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) after 4 weeks was 1.92 units lower (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07 to 2.77) after adalimumab therapy compared with placebo. Paired pretreatment and post-treatment synovial samples were available from 19 patients. Many cell types were reduced after adalimumab treatment compared to placebo. After applying a ranked analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) model to correct for baseline imbalances, a significant effect of treatment was observed on CD3-positive cells: there was a median reduction of 248 cells/mm after adalimumab versus placebo treatment (p = 0.035). In addition, the expression of MMP13 was significantly reduced after active treatment: the integrated optical density (IOD)/mm was 18 190 lower after adalimumab treatment as compared to placebo (p = 0.033). Conclusion: Adalimumab therapy in PsA is associated with a marked reduction in T cell infiltration and MMP13 expression in synovial tissue, suggesting that these parameters could be used as biomarkers that are sensitive to change after active treatment in small proof of concept studies in PsA. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]