Influence of Humans on Evolution and Mobilization of Environmental Antibiotic Resistome

The clinical failure of antimicrobial drugs that were previously effective in controlling infectious disease is a tragedy of increasing magnitude that gravely affects human health. This resistance by pathogens is often the endpoint of an evolutionary process that began billions of years ago in non–disease-causing microorganisms. This environmental resistome, its mobilization, and the conditions that facilitate its entry into human pathogens are at the heart of the current public health crisis in antibiotic resistance. Understanding the origins, evolution, and mechanisms of transfer of resistance elements is vital to our ability to adequately address this public health issue.     

Application of the pulsed light technology to mycotoxin degradation and inactivation

The persistence of mycotoxins and their metabolites in agricultural products is a major safety concern because of their high resistance to all kinds of decontamination techniques. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the pulsed light technology for the degradation of mycotoxins. We report that eight flashes of pulsed light destroyed of 84.5 ± 1.9, 72.5 ± 1.1, 92.7 ± 0.8 and 98.1 ± 0.2% of zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin in solution. The degradation of the molecules was monitored by HPLC and LC‐MS/MS analysis. We estimated the potential toxicity of zearalenone and deoxynivelenol after exposure to a pulsed light treatment using the Caenorhabditis elegans survival tests. The genotoxicity of aflatoxin B1 was also investigated using a complete Ames test. The results show that the treatment of zearalenone and deoxynivelenol by single or multiple flashes of pulsed light is associated with a stagnation or marginal decrease of the toxicity of the mycotoxins and that treatment of aflatoxin B1 by pulsed light can completely eliminate the mutagenic potential of this mycotoxin. This work provides the first demonstration of a nonthermal technology allowing mycotoxin destruction and inactivation of their mutagenic activity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Attacking Key Performance Indicators in Soccer: Current Practice and Perceptions from the Elite to Youth Academy Level

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used to evaluate the offensive success of a soccer team (e.g. penalty box entries) or player (e.g. pass completion rate). However, knowledge transfer from research to applied practice is understudied. The current study queried practitioners (n = 145, mean ± SD age: 36 ± 9 years) from 42 countries across different roles and levels of competition (National Team Federation to Youth Academy levels) on various forms of data collection, including an explicit assessment of twelve attacking KPIs. 64.3% of practitioners use data tools and applications weekly (predominately) to gather KPIs during matches. 83% of practitioners use event data compared to only 52% of practitioners using positional data, with a preference for shooting related KPIs. Differences in the use and value of metrics derived from positional tracking data (including Ball Possession Metrics) were evident between job role and level of competition. These findings demonstrate that practitioners implement KPIs and gather tactical information in a variety of ways with a preference for simpler metrics related to shots. The low perceived value of newer KPIs afforded by positional data could be explained by low buy-in, a lack of education across practitioners, or insufficient translation of findings by experts towards practice.Key points

• Soccer practitioners collect data and evaluate performance in a variety of ways depending on the level of competition and their role within a club or federation.
• Practitioners reported a preference for shooting related metrics gathered by event data compared to KPIs offered by optical positional tracking technology.
• Despite increased interest and the capability to measure contextual aspects of passing performance with tracking technology, most practitioners still rely on more easily computed metrics (e.g. Pass Completion Percentage) and ball possession KPIs (e.g. Total Duration of Possession).
• This study highlights a gap in knowledge transfer between research and practice, encouraging increased education and collaborative efforts between data/sport scientists and practitioners to progress the field of analytics towards practical use in soccer.

Key words: Football, soccer, match analysis, performance analysis, applied data-science     

Mortality associated with Behçet’s disease in France assessed by multiple-cause-of-death analysis

Clinical Rheumatology - To examine the mortality rates and causes of death among French decedents with Behçet’s disease (BD). Data collected between 1979 and 2016 by the French...     

Reflections on New York City’s 1947 Smallpox Vaccination Program and Its 1976 Swine Influenza Immunization Program

In 1947, a smallpox outbreak occurred in New York City with a total of twelve cases and two deaths. In order to contain this outbreak, the New York City Department of Health launched a mass immunization campaign that over a period of some 60 days vaccinated 6.35 million people. This article examines in detail the epidemiology of this outbreak and the measures employed to contain it. In 1976, a swine influenza strain was isolated among a few recruits at a US Army training camp at Fort Dix, New Jersey. It was concluded at the time that this virus possibly represented a re-appearance of the 1918 influenza pandemic influenza strain. As a result, a mass national immunization program was launched by the federal government. From its inception, the program encountered a myriad of challenges ranging from doubts that it was even necessary to the development of Guillain-Barré paralysis among some vaccine recipients. This paper examines the planning for and implementation of the swine flu immunization program in New York City. It also compares it to the smallpox vaccination program of 1947. Despite equivalent financial and personnel resources, leadership and organizational skills, the 1976 program only immunized approximately a tenth of the number of New York City residents vaccinated in 1947. The reasons for these marked differences in outcomes are discussed in detail.     

Is Going Beyond Rasch Analysis Necessary to Assess the Construct Validity of a Motor Function Scale?

Objective

To examine whether a Rasch analysis is sufficient to establish the construct validity of the Motor Function Measure (MFM) and discuss whether weighting the MFM item scores would improve the MFM construct validity.

Fluid resuscitation in pre-hospital management of septic shock

Background

Septic shock is associated with hypovolemia resulting in organs failure and poor prognosis. The first step in hemodynamic resuscitation relies on early fluid expansion. In this study, we describe qualitative and quantitative fluid resuscitation of septic shock initially managed in a pre-hospital setting by a mobile intensive care unit.