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Motivation Sepsis is a leading cause of death and disability in children globally, accounting for ∼3 million childhood deaths per year. In pediatric sepsis patients, the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is considered a significant risk factor for adverse clinical outcomes characterized by high mortality and morbidity in the pediatric intensive care unit. The recent rapidly growing availability of electronic health records (EHRs) has allowed researchers to vastly develop data-driven approaches like machine learning in healthcare and achieved great successes. However, effective machine learning models which could make the accurate early prediction of the recovery in pediatric sepsis patients from MODS to a mild state and thus assist the clinicians in the decision-making process is still lacking. Results This study develops a machine learning-based approach to predict the recovery from MODS to zero or single organ dysfunction by 1 week in advance in the Swiss Pediatric Sepsis Study cohort of children with blood-culture confirmed bacteremia. Our model achieves internal validation performance on the SPSS cohort with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) of 79.1% and area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC) of 73.6%, and it was also externally validated on another pediatric sepsis patients cohort collected in the USA, yielding an AUROC of 76.4% and AUPRC of 72.4%. These results indicate that our model has the potential to be included into the EHRs system and contribute to patient assessment and triage in pediatric sepsis patient care. Availability and implementation Code available at https://github.com/BorgwardtLab/MODS-recovery. The data underlying this article is not publicly available for the privacy of individuals that participated in the study. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Background Controversy exists on emergency setting as a risk factor for peritoneal metastases (PM) in colon cancer patients. Data in patients with obstruction are scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of synchronous and metachronous PM, risk factors for the development of metachronous PM, and prognostic implications within a large nationwide cohort of left-sided obstructive colon cancer (LSOCC). Methods Patients with LSOCC treated between 2009 and 2016 were selected from the Dutch ColoRectal Audit. Additional treatment and long-term outcome data were retrospectively collected from original patient files in 75 hospitals in 2017. Results In total, 3038 patients with confirmed obstruction and without perforation were included. Synchronous PM (at diagnosis or p p Conclusion This population based study revealed a 5.0% incidence of synchronous peritoneal metastases in patients who underwent resection of left-sided obstructive colon cancer. The subsequent 3-year cumulative metachronous PM rate was 9.9%, with advanced tumor and nodal stage as independent risk factors for the development of PM.

Background Antibiotics are advised in most guidelines on acute diverticulitis, despite a lack of evidence to support their routine use. This trial compared the effectiveness of a strategy with or without antibiotics for a first episode of uncomplicated acute diverticulitis. Methods Patients with CT-proven, primary, left-sided, uncomplicated, acute diverticulitis were included at 22 clinical sites in the Netherlands, and assigned randomly to an observational or antibiotic treatment strategy. The primary endpoint was time to recovery during 6 months of follow-up. Main secondary endpoints were readmission rate, complicated, ongoing and recurrent diverticulitis, sigmoid resection and mortality. Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were done. Results A total of 528 patients were included. Median time to recovery was 14 (i.q.r. 6–35) days for the observational and 12 (7–30) days for the antibiotic treatment strategy, with a hazard ratio for recovery of 0·91 (lower limit of 1-sided 95 per cent c.i. 0·78; P = 0·151). No significant differences between the observation and antibiotic treatment groups were found for secondary endpoints: complicated diverticulitis (3·8 versus 2·6 per cent respectively; P = 0·377), ongoing diverticulitis (7·3 versus 4·1 per cent; P = 0·183), recurrent diverticulitis (3·4 versus 3·0 per cent; P = 0·494), sigmoid resection (3·8 versus 2·3 per cent; P = 0·323), readmission (17·6 versus 12·0 per cent; P = 0·148), adverse events (48·5 versus 54·5 per cent; P = 0·221) and mortality (1·1 versus 0·4 per cent; P = 0·432). Hospital stay was significantly shorter in the observation group (2 versus 3 days; P = 0·006). Per-protocol analyses were concordant with the intention-to-treat analyses. Conclusion Observational treatment without antibiotics did not prolong recovery and can be considered appropriate in patients with uncomplicated diverticulitis. Registration number: NCT01111253 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).

We present the timing solutions for four pulsars discovered in the Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap (GBNCC) survey. Timing observations were processed and timing solutions were obtained by undergraduate students participating in course-based research at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Both discovery and timing observations were conducted at a center frequency of 350 MHz using the 100-m Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope. All four pulsars are isolated with spin periods between 0.26 s and 1.84 s. PSR J0038-2501 has a 0.26 s period and a period derivative of 7.6 × 10-19 s s-1, which is unusually low for isolated, longer period pulsars. This low period derivative may be simply an extreme value for an isolated pulsar or it could indicate an unusual evolution path for PSR J0038-2501, such as a disrupted recycled pulsar (DRP) from a binary system or an orphaned central compact object (CCO). Correcting the observed spin-down rate for the Shklovkii effect suggests that this pulsar may have an unusually low space velocity, which is consistent with expectations for DRPs since they come from disrupted binaries. There is no X-ray emission detected from PSR J0038-2501 in an archival Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory observation, which suggests that it is not a young orphaned CCO. A second pulsar, PSR J1949+3426 has a high dispersion measure suggesting that it is one of the most distant pulsars discovered in the GBNCC survey at an estimated distance of 12.3 kpc. Among the pulsars discovered in the GBNCC survey that makes it one of the brightest pulsars discovered in the GBNCC survey with a pseudo-luminosity of 570 mJy kpc2.

Background: Although colorectal adenomas serve as prime target for colorectal cancer (CRC) surveillance in other high-risk groups, data on adenoma risk after childhood cancer are lacking. We evaluated the risk of histologically confirmed colorectal adenomas among childhood cancer survivors. A secondary aim was to assess CRC risk. Methods: The DCOG-LATER cohort study includes five-year Dutch childhood cancer survivors and a sibling comparison group (n = 883). Colorectal tumors were identified from the population-based Dutch Pathology Registry (PALGA). We calculated cumulative incidences of adenomas/CRCs for survivors and siblings. For adenomas, multivariable Cox regression models were used to evaluate potential risk factors. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Among 5843 five-year survivors (median follow-up = 24.9 years), 78 individuals developed an adenoma. Cumulative incidence by age 45 years was 3.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.2% to 5.6%) after abdominopelvic radiotherapy (AP-RT; 49 cases) vs 2.0% (95% CI = 1.3% to 2.8%) among survivors without AP-RT (28 cases; Pdifference = .07) and vs 1.0% (95% CI = 0.3% to 2.6%) among siblings (6 cases) (Pdifference = .03). Factors associated with adenoma risk were AP-RT (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.24 to 3.60), total body irradiation (TBI; HR = 10.55, 95% CI = 5.20 to 21.42), cisplatin (HR = 2.13; 95% CI = 0.74 to 6.07 for

This paper presents an argument for moral education as a crucial component of lifelong education . Lifelong education is by definition comprehensive normative education committed to the "grand ideal" of universal human betterment . Moral education is most likely to be effective when viewed as lifelong education because it requires three attributes of lifelong education for its success: a long-term effort, an educational setting, and a commitment to the advancement of universal goals. Society should seek to educate a core of moral teachers sufficient to generate a "critical mass" capable of ensuring that lifelong moral education will become self-sustaining. The approach to moral education developed by the Association for Values Education and Research (AVER) is outlined and it is suggested that this programme (or something like it) should be central to all programmes of lifelong education., Journal of Educational Thought / Revue de la Pensée Educative, Vol 15 No 1 (1981)

Discrimination statistics describe the ability of a survival model to assign higher risks to individuals who experience earlier events: examples are Harrell's C-index and Royston and Sauerbrei's D, which we call the D-index. Prognostic covariates whose distributions are controlled by the study design (e.g. age and sex) influence discrimination and can make it difficult to compare model discrimination between studies. Although covariate adjustment is a standard procedure for quantifying disease-risk factor associations, there are no covariate adjustment methods for discrimination statistics in censored survival data.To develop extensions of the C-index and D-index that describe the prognostic ability of a model adjusted for one or more covariate(s).We define a covariate-adjusted C-index and D-index for censored survival data, propose several estimators, and investigate their performance in simulation studies and in data from a large individual participant data meta-analysis, the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration.The proposed methods perform well in simulations. In the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration data, the age-adjusted C-index and D-index were substantially smaller than unadjusted values. The study-specific standard deviation of baseline age was strongly associated with the unadjusted C-index and D-index but not significantly associated with the age-adjusted indices.The proposed estimators improve meta-analysis comparisons, are easy to implement and give a more meaningful clinical interpretation.? 2014 The Author. Biometrical Journal published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

BACKGROUND. The Road-to-Health booklet (RtHB), a standardised national tool for growth monitoring and the assessment of health among children from birth to five years of age, was introduced in South Africa in February 2011. OBJECTIVES. The study assessed the implementation of growth monitoring and promotion, immunisation, vitamin A supplementation, and deworming sections of the RtHB. Caregivers' (CGs) and healthcare workers' (HCWs') knowledge, attitudes and practices were investigated as well as HCWs' perceptions of barriers undermining implementation. METHODS. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on a proportional sample of randomly selected primary healthcare facilities across six health districts (35%; n=143) in the Western Cape Province. HCWs involved in the implementation of the RtHB booklet, children (aged 0 - 36 months) and CGs were included. Information was obtained through scrutiny of the RtHB, observation of consultations and structured questionnaires. RESULTS. A total of 2 442 children, 2 481 CGs and 270 HCWs were recruited. Weight measurements (94.7%, n=2 251/2 378) were performed routinely. Less than half (40.2%; n=997/2 481) of CGs reported that their child's growth had been explained to them. Sixty-eight percent of HCWs (n=178/260) correctly identified criteria for underweight classification, whereas only 55% (n=134/245) and 39% (n=95/245) could do so for stunting and wasting, respectively. The RtHB sections were completed adequately for immunisation (89.3%; n=2 171/2 431) and vitamin A supplementation (94.6%; n=1 305/1 379) but not for deworming (48.8%; n=176/361). Most HCWs (93%; n=209/223) knew the correct regimens for vitamin A supplementation, but few CGs knew when treatment was due for vitamin A supplementation (16.4%, n=409/1 646) and deworming (26.2%; n=650/2 481). Potential barriers identified related to inadequate training, staff shortages and limited time. CONCLUSION. Focused efforts and resources should be channelled towards HCWs' training and monitoring regarding growth monitoring and promotion to optimise utilisation of the RtHB. Mobilisation of community health workers is needed to strengthen community awareness of preventive health interventions.

Background: Antibiotics are advised in most guidelines on acute diverticulitis, despite a lack of evidence to support their routine use. This trial compared the effectiveness of a strategy with or without antibiotics for a first episode of uncomplicated acute diverticulitis. Methods: Patients with CT-proven, primary, left-sided, uncomplicated, acute diverticulitis were included at 22 clinical sites in the Netherlands, and assigned randomly to an observational or antibiotic treatment strategy. The primary endpoint was time to recovery during 6 months of follow-up. Main secondary endpoints were readmission rate, complicated, ongoing and recurrent diverticulitis, sigmoid resection and mortality. Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were done. Results: A total of 528 patients were included. Median time to recovery was 14 (i.q.r. 6–35) days for the observational and 12 (7–30) days for the antibiotic treatment strategy, with a hazard ratio for recovery of 0·91 (lower limit of 1-sided 95 per cent c.i. 0·78; P = 0·151). No significant differences between the observation and antibiotic treatment groups were found for secondary endpoints: complicated diverticulitis (3·8 versus 2·6 per cent respectively; P = 0·377), ongoing diverticulitis (7·3 versus 4·1 per cent; P = 0·183), recurrent diverticulitis (3·4 versus 3·0 per cent; P = 0·494), sigmoid resection (3·8 versus 2·3 per cent; P = 0·323), readmission (17·6 versus 12·0 per cent; P = 0·148), adverse events (48·5 versus 54·5 per cent; P = 0·221) and mortality (1·1 versus 0·4 per cent; P = 0·432). Hospital stay was significantly shorter in the observation group (2 versus 3 days; P = 0·006). Per-protocol analyses were concordant with the intention-to-treat analyses. Conclusion: Observational treatment without antibiotics did not prolong recovery and can be considered appropriate in patients with uncomplicated diverticulitis. Registration number: NCT01111253 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).

The INTENSE project: Intensify production, transform biomass to energy and novel goods and protect soils in Europe. International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements ICOBTE

Michael A Veronin,1,2 Lacy Daniels,1,2 Elaine Demps21Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Kingsville, TX, 2Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Kingsville, TX, USAAbstract: Interactive pharmacy case studies are an essential component of the pharmacy curriculum. We recently developed an elective course at the Rangel College of Pharmacy in pharmacy case studies for second- and third-year Doctor of Pharmacy students using Second Life® (SL), an interactive three-dimensional virtual environment that simulates the real world. This course explored the use of SL for education and training in pharmacy, emphasizing a case-based approach. Virtual worlds such as SL promote inquiry-based learning and conceptual understanding, and can potentially develop problem-solving skills in pharmacy students. Students were presented ten case scenarios that primarily focused on drug safety and effective communication with patients. Avatars, representing instructors and students, reviewed case scenarios during sessions in a virtual classroom. Individually and in teams, students participated in active-learning activities modeling both the pharmacist’s and patient’s roles. Student performance and learning were assessed based on SL class participation, activities, assignments, and two formal, essay-type online exams in Blackboard 9. Student course-evaluation results indicated favorable perceptions of content and delivery. Student comments included an enhanced appreciation of practical issues in pharmacy practice, flexibility of attendance, and an increased ability to focus on course content. Excellent student participation and performance in weekly active-learning activities translated into positive performance on subsequent formal assessments. Students were actively engaged and exposed to topics pertinent to pharmacy practice that were not covered in the required pharmacy curriculum. The multiple active-learning assignments were successful in increasing students’ knowledge, and provided additional practice in building the communication skills beneficial for students preparing for experiential clinical rotations.Keywords: Second Life, virtual worlds, pharmacy case studies, computer simulation, health education, pharmacy education

Introduction Supporting individuals as they disclose their HIV serostatus may lead to a variety of individual and public health benefits. However, many women living with HIV are hesitant to disclose their HIV status due to fear of negative outcomes such as violence, abandonment, relationship dissolution and stigma. Methods We conducted a systematic review of studies evaluating interventions to facilitate safer disclosure of HIV status for women living with HIV who experience or fear violence. Articles, conference abstracts and programme reports were included if they reported post-intervention evaluation results and were published before 1 April 2015. Searching was conducted through electronic databases for peer-reviewed articles and conference abstracts, reviewing websites of relevant organizations for grey literature, hand searching reference lists of included studies and contacting experts. Systematic methods were used for screening and data abstraction, which was conducted in duplicate. Study quality (rigor) was assessed with the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results Two interventions met the inclusion criteria: the Safe Homes and Respect for Everyone cluster-randomized trial of combination HIV and intimate partner violence (IPV) services in Rakai, Uganda, and the South Africa HIV/AIDS Antenatal Post-Test Support study individual randomized trial of an enhanced counselling intervention for pregnant women undergoing HIV testing and counselling. Both programmes integrated screening for IPV into HIV testing services and trained counsellors to facilitate discussions about disclosure based on a woman's risk of violence. However, both were implemented as part of multiple-component interventions, making it impossible to isolate the impact of the safer disclosure components. Conclusions The existing evidence base for interventions to facilitate safe HIV serostatus disclosure for women who experience or fear violence is limited. Development and implementation of new approaches and rigorous evaluation of safe disclosure outcomes is needed to guide programme planners and policy makers.

Er bestaat veel controverse rondom diverticulitis. Er is tegenstrijdigheid omtrent de beste behandeling van de verschillende stadia. Voor acute ongecompliceerde diverticulitis is het onzeker of antibiotica nodig zijn. De waarde van routine follow-up colonoscopie wordt betwijfeld. Er bestaat onduidelijkheid over de aanpak van recidiverende diverticulitis. Ten slotte is de pathogenese niet geheel bekend. Aan de basis van dit proefschrift staat de DIABOLO trial, een gerandomiseerde multicentrische klinische trial die het effect van antibiotica op het ziektebeloop van acute ongecompliceerde diverticulitis onderzoekt. Tevens werden twee vergelijkende cohort studies en (systematische) reviews uitgevoerd en een hypothese ontwikkeld. De DIABOLO trial toont aan dat antibiotica veilig weggelaten gelaten kunnen worden bij de behandeling van primaire acute ongecompliceerde diverticulitis. Routine follow-up colonoscopie na CT-bewezen ongecompliceerde diverticulitis kan achterwege gelaten worden. Er is weinig bewijs voor medicamenteuze therapieën ter preventie van recidiverende diverticulitis. Diverticulitis patiënten hebben een hogere diversiteit van fecale microbiota dan controles. Middels microbioom analyse kan de diagnose diverticulitis met relatief goede accuratesse gesteld worden. Een veranderde microbiota samenstelling is een plausibele factor in de pathogenese, die waarschijnlijk multifactorieel is en het resultaat van complexe interacties. Bleven internationale richtlijnen eerder ongewijzigd, omdat gesteld werd dat meer onderzoek nodig is alvorens een antibiotica-vrije behandelstrategie in te voeren, nu is er voldoende bewijs voor de implementatie van een observationele behandelstrategie. Hetzelfde geldt voor het achterwege laten van routine follow-up colonoscopie na een CT-bewezen ongecompliceerde episode. Ten aanzien van de darm microbiota zijn verdere studies noodzakelijk. Dit zou kunnen leiden tot diagnostische, preventieve en therapeutische toepassingen.

© 2004 Nature Publishing Group. We present here a draft genome sequence of the red jungle fowl, Gallus gallus. Because the chicken is a modern descendant of the dinosaurs and the first non-mammalian amniote to have its genome sequenced, the draft sequence of its genome - composed of approximately one billion base pairs of sequence and an estimated 20,000-23,000 genes - provides a new perspective on vertebrate genome evolution, while also improving the annotation of mammalian genomes. For example, the evolutionary distance between chicken and human provides high specificity in detecting functional elements, both non-coding and coding. Notably, many conserved non-coding sequences are far from genes and cannot be assigned to defined functional classes. In coding regions the evolutionary dynamics of protein domains and orthologous groups illustrate processes that distinguish the lineages leading to birds and mammals. The distinctive properties of avian microchromosomes, together with the inferred patterns of conserved synteny, provide additional insights into vertebrate chromosome architecture.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of bacteremia, with a substantial impact on morbidity and mortality. Because of increasing rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin has become the standard empirical therapy. However, beta-lactam antibiotics remain the best treatment choice for methicillin-susceptible strains. Placing patients quickly on the optimal therapy is one goal of antimicrobial stewardship. This retrospective, observational, single-center study compared 33 control patients utilizing only traditional full-susceptibility methodology to 22 case patients utilizing rapid methodology with CHROMagar medium to detect and differentiate methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus strains hours before full susceptibilities were reported. The time to targeted therapy was statistically significantly different between control patients (mean, 56.5 ± 13.6 h) and case patients (44.3 ± 17.9 h) (P = 0.006). Intensive care unit status, time of day results emerged, and patient age did not make a difference in time to targeted therapy, either singly or in combination. Neither length of stay (P = 0.61) nor survival (P = 1.0) was statistically significantly different. Rapid testing yielded a significant result, with a difference of 12.2 h to targeted therapy. However, there is still room for improvement, as the difference in time to susceptibility test result between the full traditional methodology and CHROMagar was even larger (26.5 h). This study supports the hypothesis that rapid testing plays a role in antimicrobial stewardship by getting patients on targeted therapy faster.

Biologisch Ondernemen is een speciale uitgave van het bedrijfsnetwerk biologische pluimveehouderij.

We present experiments on a monolayer of air-fluidized beads in which a jamming transition is approached by increasing pressure, increasing packing fraction, and decreasing kinetic energy. This is accomplished, along with a noninvasive measurement of pressure, by tilting the system and examining behavior vs depth. We construct an equation of state and analyze relaxation time vs effective temperature. By making time and effective temperature dimensionless using factors of pressure, bead size, and bead mass, we obtain a good collapse of the data but to a functional form that differs from that of thermal hard-sphere systems. The relaxation time appears to diverge only as the effective temperature to pressure ratio goes to zero.

This article describes the role and function of the Centre for Palliative Care Education and Research at the University of Central England in Birmingham. The authors describe the development of the centre, which is a multidisciplinary venture in collaboration with Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund and palliative care providers throughout the west Midlands. Current educational and research initiatives are identified and some future challenges indicated.

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The complex needs of palliative care patients require an informed, expert, and swift response from out-of-hours general medical services, particularly if hospital admission is to be avoided. Few general practitioners (GPs) reported routinely handing over information on their palliative care patients, particularly to GP co-operatives. District nurses and inner-city GPs were least satisfied with aspects of out-of-hours care. Most responders wanted 24-hour availability of specialist palliative care. This indicates a need to develop and evaluate out-of-hours palliative care procedures and protocols, particularly for GP co-operatives, and to improve inter-agency collaboration.

After exocytosis, synaptic vesicles rapidly endocytose and recycle but little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved. Rab5 is a ubiquitous low molecular weight GTP-binding protein required for endosomal fusion in fibroblasts. We have now raised polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to rat Rab5 and show that in rat brain. Rab5 is a major synaptic vesicle protein. Immunoisola tion of vesicular organelles from brain with antibodies to either Rab3A and Rab5 as small GTP-binding proteins or with synaptophysin as general synaptic vesicle marker demonstrates that there are overlapping populations of synaptic vesicles containing either Rab5 or Rab3A or both, suggesting a stage-specific association of these low-molecular weight GTP-binding proteins with synaptic vesicles. Our data provide the first biochemical evidence that synaptic vesicle recycling involves an endosomal intermediate similar to that of the receptor mediated endocytosis pathway.

Includes bibliography., Several physical characteristics, the carbon isotopic compositions, inclusion mineralogy, and distribution of the Dokolwayo diamonds were investigated. A representative suite of concentrate garnet megacrysts and macrocrysts were analyzed for their compositions. Concentrate macrocryst spinels and silicate inclusions recovered from these spinels were analyzed. The physical characteristics of the diamonds investigated were mass, size, morphology and colour. The relationship between mass and size in a population of diamonds recovered from a single hypabyssal intrusion and the general production as a whole, was found to be statistically the same. The most recognizable morphology is the dodecahedron. Octahedra decrease in significance with a decrease in size. Colourless stones predominate. Brown stones are more common than yellow stones, which is uncommon in primary southern Africa diamond populations. Diamonds characterized by "Tanganyika naats" have hitherto not been described from southern Africa. The relationship between the various physical characteristics investigated indicate that the general Dokolwayo diamond population consists of at least four sub-populations.

Fresh fescue (Festuca arundinacea) was obtained from farms where toxicity was encountered in cattle grazing the fescue. The fescue was dried in a forced draft oven at 60 degrees C and then ground. The dry ground fescue was extracted with ether and then re-extracted with either 1% sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid. The residual ether was evaporated and the residue resuspended in ethyl alcohol diluted with water 1% (control) and 1 mL of the above extracts of fescue were given daily to rats, via stomach tube, beginning the seventh day after breeding. Two of the seven rats given the 1% NaHCO3 fraction of the extract of fescue gave birth to live young. One of these litters contained only five pups, with one being stillborn. Three of the seven rats aborted, one gave birth to seven stillborn pups and one female died during birth. All females fed the 1% NaHCO3 and the other extracts of the fescue gave birth to normal litters. Rats fed the ether extract which was re-extracted with 1% NaHCO3, acidified and re-extracted with ether, dried and resuspended in 1% NaHCO3 produced similar reproductive problems as those rats given the ether extract of fescue which was re-extracted only once with 1% NaHCO3. Therefore, it appears that the toxic entity(s) of fescue can be extracted and that infertility/abortion/still-birth ratio of rats may be used as a bioassay.

pep4 mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae accumulate inactive precursors of vacuolar hydrolases. The PEP4 gene was isolated from a genomic DNA library by complementation of the pep4-3 mutation. Deletion analysis localized the complementing activity to a 1.5-kilobase pair EcoRI-XhoI restriction enzyme fragment. This fragment was used to identify an 1,800-nucleotide mRNA capable of directing the synthesis of a 44,000-dalton polypeptide. Southern blot analysis of yeast genomic DNA showed that the PEP4 gene is unique; however, several related sequences exist in yeasts. Tetrad analysis and mitotic recombination experiments localized the PEP4 gene proximal to GAL4 on chromosome XVI. Analysis of the DNA sequence indicated that PEP4 encodes a polypeptide with extensive homology to the aspartyl protease family. A comparison of the PEP4 predicted amino acid sequence with the yeast protease A protein sequence revealed that the two genes are, in fact, identical (see also Ammerer et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 6:2490-2499, 1986). Based on our observations, we propose a model whereby inactive precursor molecules produced from the PEP4 gene self-activate within the yeast vacuole and subsequently activate other vacuolar hydrolases.

In recent times, researchers have argued that coaches should develop relationships that are caring and meet the needs of athletes. Yet, the views of athletes themselves are notably absent from this research. In response, this study used interviews to explore the care experiences of 4 case study footballers. Findings demonstrated that; 1) club culture influenced the care that participants received; 2) dialogue was both an enabler of good care, but also a means of disseminating uncaring attitudes; 3) a ‘web of care’ was provided by individuals other than the coach. These findings provide an original contribution by using the voice of athletes themselves to consider care in coaching.

The authors regret that errors were present in the above article. On page 1174, in the second paragraph of the Statistical methods section, the second sentence should read as follows: The incidence of difficult intubation was determined including those whose tracheas were already intubated and is reported as a percentage with a 95% exact binomial CI. On page 1175, in the third paragraph of the Statistical methods section ‘mean standardised difference (MSD)’ should read ‘standardised mean difference (SMD)’ The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Background/Objectives: Previous research has shown, in predominantly European populations, that dietary patterns are evident early in life. However, little is known about early-life dietary patterns in Australian children. We aimed to describe dietary patterns of Australian toddlers and their associations with socio-demographic characteristics and adiposity. Subjects/Methods: Principal component analysis was applied to 3 days (1 × 24-h recall and 2 × 24-h record) data of 14 (n=552)- and 24 (n=493)-month-old children from two Australian studies, NOURISH and South Australian Infant Dietary Intake (SAIDI). Associations with dietary patterns were investigated using regression analyses. Results: Two patterns were identified at both ages. At 14 months, the first pattern was characterised by fruit, grains, vegetables, cheese and nuts/seeds (‘14-month core foods’) and the second pattern was characterised by white bread, milk, spreads, juice and ice-cream (‘basic combination’). Similarly, at 24 months the ‘24-month core foods’ pattern included fruit, vegetables, dairy, nuts/seeds, meat and water, whereas the ‘non-core foods’ included white bread, spreads, sweetened beverages, snacks, chocolate and processed meat. Lower maternal age and earlier breastfeeding cessation were associated with higher ‘basic combination’ and ‘non-core foods’ pattern scores, whereas earlier and later solid introduction were associated with higher ‘basic combination’ and ‘24-month core foods’ pattern scores, respectively. Patterns were not associated with body mass index (BMI) z-score. Conclusions: Dietary patterns reflecting core and non-core food intake are identifiable in Australian toddlers. These findings support the need to intervene early with parents to promote healthy eating in children and can inform future investigations on the effects of early diet on long-term health. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Poor exposure and consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) in early childhood influence lifelong eating habits that may influence weight and health outcomes. This study explored the multi-directional relationships between maternal socio-demographic and psycho-behavioural factors in predicting of FV intake in a cohort of 21814-month old children from the South Australian Infants Dietary Intake study. Mothers with healthy infants weighing ≥2500 g and ≥37 weeks’ gestation were recruited post-natally from 11 South Australian hospitals. Socio-demographic data were collected at recruitment. At 14 months postnatal, mothers completed a questionnaire exploring their perceptions of child feeding behaviour, exposure to novel foods, reactivity, maternal psychological distress and feeding self-efficacy. The number of sub-groups (variety) of FV consumed by children were estimated from a 24-hour dietary recall and 2-day food record. Structural Equation Modelling was performed using MPlus 6.11. Median variety (IQR) scores were 3(1–4) for fruit and 4(1–6)for vegetable. Parity was inversely related to the variety of vegetable intake (−1.0, p < 0.001) while maternal feeding self-efficacy predicted the variety of vegetables consumed (0.12, p < 0.05) via the frequency novel foods were offered. The variety of fruit intake was predicted by maternal fruit intake (0.31, p < 0.05). Future interventions should consider a whole family approach and address the antecedents of maternal feeding self-efficacy.