Awareness of the risk of endocarditis associated with tattooing and body piercing among patients with congenital heart disease and paediatric cardiologists in the United Kingdom.

Body art in the form of tattoos and piercing has become increasingly popular amongst children and teenagers, and is nowadays more socially acceptable despite media reports citing tissue destruction and death. Our study explored the awareness and experience of patients with congenital heart disease, and of cardiologists and professionals responsible for their care.     

An efficient SNP system for mouse genome scanning and elucidating strain relationships

A set of 1638 informative SNP markers easily assayed by the Amplifluor genotyping system were tested in 102 mouse strains, including the majority of the common and wild-derived inbred strains available from The Jackson Laboratory. Selected from publicly available databases, the markers are on average ~1.5 Mb apart and, whenever possible, represent the rare allele in at least two strains. Amplifluor assays were developed for each marker and performed on two independent DNA samples from each strain. The mean number of polymorphisms between strains was 608±136 SD. Several tests indicate that the markers provide an effective system for performing genome scans and quantitative trait loci analyses in all but the most closely related strains. Additionally, the markers revealed several subtle differences between closely related mouse strains, including the groups of several 129, BALB, C3H, C57, and DBA strains, and a group of wild-derived inbred strains representing several Mus musculus subspecies. Applying a neighbor-joining method to the data, we constructed a mouse strain family tree, which in most cases confirmed existing genealogies.     

Assessing change in chronic pain severity: the chronic pain grade compared with retrospective perceptions.

BACKGROUND: There is no standard method of measuring change in chronic pain severity. Clinical trials commonly use serial assessment scales, completed at two points in time, to estimate change in pain severity, while clinicians usually ask patients to make a retrospective assessment of change. How the two methods compare is not known. AIM: To assess different methods of measuring change in chronic pain severity, by comparing changes in scores on a serial measure of chronic pain severity using the Chronic Pain Grade (CPG) questionnaire and responders' retrospective perception of change in pain severity. DESIGN OF STUDY: Postal self-completion questionnaires. SETTING: The Grampian region of Scotland. METHOD: Postal questionnaires were sent in March and September 1998 to a random sample of 535 adults with chronic pain, drawn from responders to a postal survey of the region conducted in 1996. RESULTS: Corrected response rates of 87.5% and 90.7% were obtained. Over a six-month period poor levels of agreement were found, with responders' retrospective perceptions mirroring recorded changes in 41.8% of individuals (kappa = 0.081). A low partial correlation coefficient between the two measures (-0.209) was also found. Over a two-year period there were again poor levels of agreement, with responders' retrospective perceptions mirronng recorded changes in 35.2% of individuals (kappa = 0.071). A low partial correlation coefficient (-0.401) was again found. CONCLUSION: There was poor agreement and low correlation between two commonly used methods for assessing change in pain severity over time. This finding has important implications for both service practitioners and researchers.     

A case of maternal tetanus in Korea

Tetanus is uncommon in Korea due to the introduction of vaccination programs and advances in public health. A case of maternal tetanus occurred on the 9 day postpartum in a 29-yr-old woman, who had not received a 10-yr-booster of tetanus-diphtheria toxoid after receiving the primary series of tetanus-toxoid-containing vaccine. There has hitherto been no reports on maternal tetanus in Korea. This case illustrates that tetanus remains a medical problem, principally among non- and under-immunized adults. The only way to fully prevent this disease is to ensure adequate immunization in all adults.     

Characterization of a novel leucine-rich repeat protein antigen from group B streptococci that elicits protective immunity

Group B streptococci (GBS) usually behave as commensal organisms that asymptomatically colonize the gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts of adults. However, GBS are also pathogens and the leading bacterial cause of life-threatening invasive disease in neonates. While the events leading to transmission and disease in neonates remain unclear, GBS carriage and level of colonization in the mother have been shown to be significant risk factors associated with invasive infection. Surface antigens represent ideal vaccine targets for eliciting antibodies that can act as opsonins and/or inhibit colonization and invasion. Using a genetic screen for exported proteins in GBS, we identified a gene, designated lrrG, that encodes a novel LPXTG anchored surface antigen containing leucine-rich repeat (LRR) motifs found in bacterial invasins and other members of the LRR protein family. Southern blotting showed that lrrG was present in all GBS strains tested, representing the nine serotypes, and revealed the presence of an lrrG homologue in Streptococcus pyogenes. Recombinant LrrG protein was shown in vitro to adhere to epithelial cells in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that it may function as an adhesion factor in GBS. More importantly, immunization with recombinant LrrG elicited a strong immunoglobulin G response in CBA/ca mice and protected against lethal challenge with virulent GBS. The data presented in this report suggest that this conserved protein is a highly promising candidate antigen for use in a GBS vaccine.     

Clinical and cost-effectiveness of a new nurse-led continence service: a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Continence services in the UK have developed at different rates within differing care models, resulting in scattered and inconsistent services. Consequently, questions remain about the most cost-effective method of delivering these services. AIM: To evaluate the impact of a new service led by a continence nurse practitioner compared with existing primary/secondary care provision for people with urinary incontinence and storage symptoms. DESIGN OF STUDY: Randomised controlled trial with a 3- and 6-month follow-up in men and women (n = 3746) aged 40 years and over living in private households (intervention [n = 2958]; control [n = 788]). SETTING: Leicestershire and Rutland, UK. METHOD: The continence nurse practitioner intervention comprised a continence service provided by specially trained nurses delivering evidence-based interventions using predetermined care pathways. They delivered an 8-week primary intervention package that included advice on diet and fluids; bladder training; pelvic floor awareness and lifestyle advice. The standard care arm comprised access to existing primary care including GP and continence advisory services in the area. Outcome measures were recorded at 3 and 6 months post-randomisation. RESULTS: The percentage of individuals who improved (with at least one symptom alleviated) at 3 months was 59% in the intervention group compared with 48% in the standard care group (difference of 11%, 95% CI = 7 to 16; P<0.001) The percentage of people reporting no symptoms or 'cured' was 25% in the intervention group and 15% in the standard care group (difference of 10%, 95% CI = 6 to 13, P = 0.001). At 6 months the difference was maintained. There was a significant difference in impact scores between the two groups at 3 and 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The continence nurse practitioner-led intervention reduced the symptoms of incontinence, frequency, urgency and nocturia at 3 and 6 months; impact was reduced; and satisfaction with the new service was high.     

Considerable differences exist between prevalent and incident myocardial infarction cohorts derived from the same population

ObjectiveBoth prevalent and incident cohorts have been used in epidemiological and prognostic studies of ischemic heart disease (IHD). This study considers the differences between the cohort types.Study Design and SettingUsing linked primary care, secondary care, and death certification data, prevalent and incident cohorts of people with a first acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were formed from the same population. They were analyzed independently in terms of baseline characteristics and survival to revascularization, another AMI, or death.Results55.7% of the prevalent cohort members were males, with a mean age of 71.0 years (standard deviation [SD]: 12.0). 59.0% of the incident cohort members were males, with a mean age of 64.7 years (SD: 13.3). Over 5 years, a greater proportion of prevalent cases died from any cause (31.4% [95% confidence interval(CI): 28.6–34.3]) and IHD (18.5% [95% CI: 16.2–21.0]) than incident cases (18.0% [95% CI: 15.0–21.4] and 12.2% [95% CI: 9.7–15.2], respectively). Mean time to death was shorter in prevalent cases. There was a small difference in the numbers of subsequent AMIs between cohorts. In the incident cohort, mean time to AMI was shorter. Fewer prevalent cases underwent coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.ConclusionConsiderable differences existed between the two cohorts in terms of baseline characteristics and prognosis. Incident cohorts derived from whole populations should be sought for estimation of survival.     

Triblock copolymer based thermoplastic elastomeric gels of a large service temperature range: preparation and characterization

Poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-polybutadiene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (MBM) triblock copolymers and their hydrogenated counterparts with poly(ethylene-co-1,2-butylene) midblock (MEBM) were swollen by an aliphatic oil of high boiling point which is a selective solvent for the central block. Thermoreversible gels are accordingly formed by both MBM and MEBM copolymers above a critical polymer content (Cr), which depends on the nature of the midblock and not on the copolymer molecular weight, at least in the investigated range. Cr has been found to be 5 wt.-% for an MBM block copolymer and 2 wt.-% for MEBM copolymers of various molecular weights. Gels of MEBM triblock copolymers exhibit interesting mechanical properties, such as high elongation at break (up to 870%) and high tensile strength (32 kPa). The most interesting feature of the MEBM gels is an upper service temperature as high as 170°C, thus more than 100°C higher than the value (47°C) reported for gels of an SEBS copolymer (S = polystyrene) of comparable molecular weight (100000) and composition (ca. 30 wt.-% hard block). The morphology of MEBM gels was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and found to be cocontinuous in case of a gel containing 20 wt.-% copolymer.