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  • Closed Access
    Authors: 
    Joel B. Epstein; Crispian Scully;
    Publisher: Elsevier BV

    The clinical findings of patients with oral Kaposi's sarcoma are reviewed. These oral findings commonly included candidiasis, hairy leukoplakia, gingivitis associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), periodontitis, and other symptoms, including xerostomia. The other common symptoms of HIV disease that may be of importance in leading to a diagnosis are reviewed in this patient group. Treatment by local radiotherapy or by intralesional vinblastine of these oral Kaposi's sarcomas resulted in successful palliation, with more than 50% regression of the lesions in 80% of the patients treated.

  • Open Access
    Authors: 
    Muriel Tabariés; Viviane Tchernonog;
    Publisher: CAIRN
    Countries: France, Canada

    Cet article analyse l’évolution de la participation des femmes aux structures dirigeantes des associations. Les femmes apparaissent largement en retrait des fonctions de président d’association et leur accession aux postes de dirigeants s’effectue principalement à partir des associations créées récemment et dans des types d’associations orientées vers des populations fragiles ou vulnérables. L’article montre que l’on peut imputer leur plus forte présence essentiellement aux évolutions sociétales en cours depuis les années 70 : activité croissante des femmes, hausse de leur qualification, démocratisation de la société et de la vie associative, ouverture plus grande des associations récentes aux plus jeunes et à des catégories sociales plus variées. This article examines the evolution of the participation of women in the governing bodies of nonprofit organizations. There appear to be very few women CEOs in nonprofit organizations, and women who have reached executive positions have mainly done so in recently created nonprofit organizations and those concerned with people at risk and vulnerable social groups. The article shows that the increase is essentially due to societal changes since the 1970s: growing female participation in the workforce, their higher level of education, democratization of society and nonprofit organizations, and recent nonprofit organizations more open to younger people and a broader cross-section of the population.

  • Publication . Conference object . Preprint . Article . Part of book or chapter of book . 2010
    Open Access English
    Authors: 
    Britt Reichborn-Kjennerud; Asad M. Aboobaker; Peter A. R. Ade; François Aubin; Carlo Baccigalupi; Chaoyun Bao; Julian Borrill; Christopher Cantalupo; Daniel Chapman; Joy Didier; +36 more
    Countries: United States, France, France, France, France

    EBEX is a NASA-funded balloon-borne experiment designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Observations will be made using 1432 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometric detectors read out with frequency multiplexed SQuIDs. EBEX will observe in three frequency bands centered at 150, 250, and 410 GHz, with 768, 384, and 280 detectors in each band, respectively. This broad frequency coverage is designed to provide valuable information about polarized foreground signals from dust. The polarized sky signals will be modulated with an achromatic half wave plate (AHWP) rotating on a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) and analyzed with a fixed wire grid polarizer. EBEX will observe a patch covering ~1% of the sky with 8' resolution, allowing for observation of the angular power spectrum from \ell = 20 to 1000. This will allow EBEX to search for both the primordial B-mode signal predicted by inflation and the anticipated lensing B-mode signal. Calculations to predict EBEX constraints on r using expected noise levels show that, for a likelihood centered around zero and with negligible foregrounds, 99% of the area falls below r = 0.035. This value increases by a factor of 1.6 after a process of foreground subtraction. This estimate does not include systematic uncertainties. An engineering flight was launched in June, 2009, from Ft. Sumner, NM, and the long duration science flight in Antarctica is planned for 2011. These proceedings describe the EBEX instrument and the North American engineering flight. 12 pages, 9 figures, Conference proceedings for SPIE Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy V (2010)

  • Closed Access
    Authors: 
    Gifty Gyamah Nyante; Christine Carpenter;

    Aim This study aims to explore the experiences of carers of children with cerebral palsy living in rural areas of Ghana who have received no rehabilitation services. Background Cerebral palsy is the most common chronic disability from childhood, which needs lifelong rehabilitation. Most of the population living in rural communities in Ghana have virtually no form of rehabilitation services for their chronic disabling conditions. Caring for children with disability are known to be challenging especially when coupled with environmental challenges in rural communities. Results Purposive and snowball techniques were used to recruit 12 carers, age 22 to 68 years, of children with cerebral palsy aged 7 to 15 years. Two main themes, developing personal beliefs to support the caregiving role and the demands that shape the experience of caring, emerged from six subthemes and 25 theme clusters of the narratives of the carers. The essential structure of the phenomenon demonstrated the complex interaction of personal and environmental factors in harmony with the actual demands to influence the experiences of participants positively or negatively. Positively, carers achieved coping, committed to caring, hoped for the future, and accepted the condition. However, negatively, carers described the triggering factors of feeling of despair and sorrow as frustration and lack of understanding of the condition, felt stigmatized, and perceived the child was going through pain and suffering. Conclusions Carers derived strength from their religious and spiritual beliefs to balance the demands of caregiving. Findings could be used as basis for developing interventions to support carers and inform new strategies for rehabilitation service and sensitization of community members about inclusion of children with disabilities.

  • Authors: 
    Julia Müller; Anke Karl; Claudia Denke; Fabienne Mathier; Jennifer Dittmann; Nicolas Rohleder; Christine Knaevelsrud;
    Publisher: Informa UK Limited

    Chronic pain (CP) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are both frequent and often comorbid in refugees. To date, few controlled trials have studied the efficacy of treatments targeting this comorbidity; no treatment guidelines yet exist. The authors examined the feasibility and efficacy of short-term cognitive behavioural biofeedback (BF) addressing CP in traumatised refugees. The sample comprised 11 severely traumatised refugees with CP and PTSD (mean age = 36 years, SD = 6), who underwent assessment with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale, Pain Disability Index, and Visual Rating Scale. Additionally, coping with pain and psychotherapy tolerance were assessed. Acceptance of BF was high. Pre-post effects were small to medium for increased pain management and associated heart rate reactivity but large for coping with pain. The results encourage further research to confirm whether BF is indicated as a treatment component, but not a stand-alone treatment, for traumatised refugees with comorbid CP and PTSD.

  • Authors: 
    Florence Loisel; Chantal Farmer; P. Ramaekers; Hélène Quesnel;
    Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)

    Dietary fiber given during pregnancy may influence sow endocrinology and increase piglet BW gain during early lactation. The aim of the current study was to determine whether dietary fiber given to sows during late pregnancy induces endocrine changes that could modulate sow colostrum production and, thus, piglet performance. From d 106 of pregnancy until parturition, 29 Landrace×Large White nulliparous sows were fed gestation diets containing 23.4 [high fiber (HF); n=15] or 13.3% total dietary fiber [low fiber (LF); n=14]. In the HF diet, wheat and barley were partly replaced by soybean hulls, wheat bran, sunflower meal (undecorticated), and sugar beet pulp. After parturition, sows were fed a standard lactation diet. Colostrum production was estimated during 24 h, starting at the onset of parturition (T0) and ending at 24 h after parturition (T24) based on piglet weight gains. Jugular blood samples were collected from sows on d 101 of pregnancy, daily from d 111 of gestation to d 3 of lactation, and then on d 7 and 21 of lactation (d 0 being the day of parturition). Postprandial kinetics of plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were determined on d 112 of pregnancy. The feeding treatment did not influence sow colostrum yield (3.9±0.2 kg) or piglet weight gain during the first day postpartum to d 21 of lactation. Colostrum intake of low birth weight piglets (<900 g) was greater in litters from HF sows than from LF sows (216±24 vs. 137±22 g; P=0.02). Preweaning mortality was lower in HF than LF litters (6.2 vs. 14.7%; P=0.01). Circulating concentrations of progesterone, prolactin, estradiol-17β, and cortisol were not influenced by the treatment. Sows fed the HF diet had greater postprandial insulin concentrations than LF sows (P=0.02) whereas the postprandial glucose peak was similar. At T24, colostrum produced by HF sows contained 29% more lipid than colostrum produced by LF sows (P=0.04). Immunoglobulin A concentrations in colostrum were lower at T0 and T24 (P=0.02) in HF than LF sows (at T0: 8.6±1.1 vs. 11.9±1.1 mg/mL; at T24: 2.5±0.7 vs. 4.8±0.7 mg/mL). In conclusion, dietary fiber in late pregnancy affected sow colostrum composition but not colostrum yield, increased colostrum intake of low birth weight piglets, and decreased preweaning mortality, but these effects were not related to changes in peripartum concentrations of the main hormones involved in lactogenesis.

  • Open Access English
    Authors: 
    Elizabeth R. Hopper; Thomas M. R. Wayman; Jérémie Asselin; Bruno Pinho; Christina Boukouvala; Laura Torrente-Murciano; Emilie Ringe;
    Country: United Kingdom
    Project: NSERC , EC | SPECs (804523)

    Nanoparticles of plasmonic materials can sustain oscillations of their free electron density, called localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs), giving them a broad range of potential applications. Mg is an earth-abundant plasmonic material attracting growing attention owing to its ability to sustain LSPRs across the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelength range. Tuning the LSPR frequency of plasmonic nanoparticles requires precise control over their size and shape; for Mg, this control has previously been achieved using top-down fabrication or gas-phase methods, but these are slow and expensive. Here, we systematically probe the effects of reaction parameters on the nucleation and growth of Mg nanoparticles using a facile and inexpensive colloidal synthesis. Small NPs of 80 nm were synthesized using a low reaction time of 1 min and ���100 nm NPs were synthesized by decreasing the overall reaction concentration, replacing the naphthalene electron carrier with biphenyl or using metal salt additives of FeCl3 or NiCl2 at longer reaction times of 17 h. Intermediate sizes up to 400 nm were further selected via the overall reaction concentration or using other metal salt additives with different reduction potentials. Significantly larger particles of over a micrometer were produced by reducing the reaction temperature and, thus, the nucleation rate. We showed that increasing the solvent coordination reduced Mg NP sizes, while scaling up the reaction reduced the mixing efficiency and produced larger NPs. Surprisingly, varying the relative amounts of Mg precursor and electron carrier had little impact on the final NP sizes. These results pave the way for the large-scale use of Mg as a low-cost and sustainable plasmonic material. Support for this project was provided by the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (ERC Starting Grant SPECs 804523). E.R.H. is thankful for funding from the EPSRC NanoDTC Cambridge (EP/L015978/1). J.A. acknowledges financial support from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Fonds de Recherche du Qu��bec���Nature et Technologies postdoctoral fellowships (BP and B3X programs). C.B. is thankful for funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Standard Research Studentship (DTP) EP/R513180/1). B.P. and L.T.M. acknowledge support from UK Engineering and Physical Science and Research Council (grant number EP/L020443/2). Thanks to Giulio I. Lampronti for helpful discussions and support.

  • Open Access English
    Authors: 
    Nisaharan Srikandarajah; Adam J. Noble; Simon Clark; Martin Wilby; Brian J. C. Freeman; Michael G. Fehlings; Paula R Williamson; Tony Marson;
    Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    Country: United Kingdom

    Background Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES) is an emergency condition that requires acute intervention and can lead to permanent neurological deficit in working age adults. A Core Outcome Set (COS) is the minimum set of outcomes that should be reported by a research study within a specific disease area. There is significant heterogeneity in outcome reporting for CES, which does not allow data synthesis between studies. The hypothesis is that a COS for CES can be developed for future research studies using patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) as key stakeholders. Methods and findings Qualitative semi-structured interviews with CES patients were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using NVivo to identify the outcomes of importance. These were combined with the outcomes obtained from a published systematic literature review of CES patients. The outcomes were grouped into a list of 37, for rating through two rounds of an international Delphi survey according to pre-set criteria. The Delphi survey had an overall response rate of 63% and included 172 participants (104 patients, 68 HCPs) from 14 countries who completed both rounds. Thirteen outcomes reached consensus at the end of the Delphi survey and there was no attrition bias detected. The results were discussed at an international consensus meeting attended by 34 key stakeholders (16 patients and 18 HCPs) from 8 countries. A further three outcomes were agreed to be included. There was no selection bias detected at the consensus meeting. There are 16 outcomes in total in the CESCOS. Discussion This is the first study in the literature that has determined the core outcomes in CES using a transparent international consensus process involving healthcare professionals and CES patients as key stakeholders. This COS is recommended as the most important outcomes to be reported in any research study investigating CES outcomes and will allow evidence synthesis in CES.

  • Publication . Article . 2020
    Open Access English
    Authors: 
    João Pedro Ferreira; Ulrik M. Mogensen; Pardeep S. Jhund; Akshay S. Desai; Jean-Lucien Rouleau; Michael R. Zile; Patrick Rossignol; Faiez Zannad; Milton Packer; Scott D. Solomon; +1 more
    Publisher: HAL CCSD
    Country: France

    Aims: The associations between potassium level and outcomes, the effect of sacubitril–valsartan on potassium level, and whether potassium level modified the effect of sacubitril–valsartan in patients with heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction were studied in PARADIGM‐HF. Several outcomes, including cardiovascular death, sudden death, pump failure death, non‐cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization, were examined. Methods and results: A total of 8399 patients were randomized to either enalapril or sacubitril–valsartan. Potassium level at randomization and follow‐up was examined as a continuous and categorical variable (≤3.5, 3.6–4.0, 4.1–4.9, 5.0–5.4 and ≥5.5 mmol/L) in various statistical models. Hyperkalaemia was defined as K+ ≥5.5 mmol/L and hypokalaemia as K+ ≤3.5 mmol/L. Compared with potassium 4.1–4.9 mmol/L, both hypokalaemia [hazard ratio (HR) 2.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.84–3.14] and hyperkalaemia (HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.10–1.83) were associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular death. However, potassium abnormalities were similarly associated with sudden death and pump failure death, as well as non‐cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization. Sacubitril–valsartan had no effect on potassium overall. The benefit of sacubitril–valsartan over enalapril was consistent across the range of baseline potassium levels. Conclusions: Although both higher and lower potassium levels were independent predictors of cardiovascular death, potassium abnormalities may mainly be markers rather than mediators of risk for death.

  • Authors: 
    Leonard Joseph Appleman; Michael Paul Kolinsky; William R. Berry; Margitta Retz; Loic Mourey; Josep M. Piulats; Emanuela Romano; Gwenaelle Gravis; Howard Gurney; Johann S. de Bono; +10 more
    Publisher: American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

    10 Background: For men with mCRPC, systemic therapies such as docetaxel and cabazitaxel improve survival, but more effective treatments are needed. KEYNOTE-365 (NCT02861573) is a phase 1b/2 study to examine the safety and efficacy of pembro in combination with 4 different study medications (cohorts A, B, C, D) in mCRPC. Previous data from cohort B with a median of 20 months of follow-up showed that pembro + docetaxel and prednisone was well tolerated and had antitumor activity in patients (pts) with mCRPC previously treated with abi or enza. New efficacy and safety data after an additional year of follow-up are presented. Methods: Cohort B enrolled pts who did not respond to or were intolerant to ≥4 weeks of abi or enza in the prechemotherapy mCRPC state and whose disease progressed within 6 months of screening (determined by PSA progression or radiologic bone/soft tissue progression). Pts received pembro 200 mg IV every 3 weeks (Q3W), docetaxel 75 mg/m2 IV Q3W, and oral prednisone 5 mg twice daily. Primary end points were safety, PSA response rate (PSA decrease >50% from baseline), and ORR per RECIST v1.1 by blinded independent central review. Efficacy and safety were assessed in all pts as treated. Results: Of the 104 treated pts, median age was 68.0 years (range, 50-86), 23.1% had PD-L1–positive tumors (combined positive score ≥1), 25.0% had visceral disease, and 50.0% had measurable disease. Median time from enrollment to data cutoff was 32.4 months (range 13.9-40.3); 101 pts discontinued, primarily because of disease progression (77.9%). Efficacy outcomes are reported in the table below. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 100 pts (96.2%); the most frequent (≥30%) were diarrhea (41.3%), fatigue (41.3%), and alopecia (40.4%). Grade 3-5 TRAEs occurred in 46 pts (44.2%). Five pts (4.8%) died of AEs; 2 were treatment-related pneumonitis. Conclusions: After another year of follow-up, pembro + docetaxel and prednisone showed improved ORR and PSA response rates compared to the prior dataset in pts with mCRPC previously treated with abi or enza. Safety was consistent with known profiles of each agent and will be further evaluated in a phase 3 study (KEYNOTE-921). Clinical trial information: NCT02861573. [Table: see text]

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The following results are related to Canada. Are you interested to view more results? Visit OpenAIRE - Explore.
183,793 Research products, page 1 of 18,380
  • Closed Access
    Authors: 
    Joel B. Epstein; Crispian Scully;
    Publisher: Elsevier BV

    The clinical findings of patients with oral Kaposi's sarcoma are reviewed. These oral findings commonly included candidiasis, hairy leukoplakia, gingivitis associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), periodontitis, and other symptoms, including xerostomia. The other common symptoms of HIV disease that may be of importance in leading to a diagnosis are reviewed in this patient group. Treatment by local radiotherapy or by intralesional vinblastine of these oral Kaposi's sarcomas resulted in successful palliation, with more than 50% regression of the lesions in 80% of the patients treated.

  • Open Access
    Authors: 
    Muriel Tabariés; Viviane Tchernonog;
    Publisher: CAIRN
    Countries: France, Canada

    Cet article analyse l’évolution de la participation des femmes aux structures dirigeantes des associations. Les femmes apparaissent largement en retrait des fonctions de président d’association et leur accession aux postes de dirigeants s’effectue principalement à partir des associations créées récemment et dans des types d’associations orientées vers des populations fragiles ou vulnérables. L’article montre que l’on peut imputer leur plus forte présence essentiellement aux évolutions sociétales en cours depuis les années 70 : activité croissante des femmes, hausse de leur qualification, démocratisation de la société et de la vie associative, ouverture plus grande des associations récentes aux plus jeunes et à des catégories sociales plus variées. This article examines the evolution of the participation of women in the governing bodies of nonprofit organizations. There appear to be very few women CEOs in nonprofit organizations, and women who have reached executive positions have mainly done so in recently created nonprofit organizations and those concerned with people at risk and vulnerable social groups. The article shows that the increase is essentially due to societal changes since the 1970s: growing female participation in the workforce, their higher level of education, democratization of society and nonprofit organizations, and recent nonprofit organizations more open to younger people and a broader cross-section of the population.

  • Publication . Conference object . Preprint . Article . Part of book or chapter of book . 2010
    Open Access English
    Authors: 
    Britt Reichborn-Kjennerud; Asad M. Aboobaker; Peter A. R. Ade; François Aubin; Carlo Baccigalupi; Chaoyun Bao; Julian Borrill; Christopher Cantalupo; Daniel Chapman; Joy Didier; +36 more
    Countries: United States, France, France, France, France

    EBEX is a NASA-funded balloon-borne experiment designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Observations will be made using 1432 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometric detectors read out with frequency multiplexed SQuIDs. EBEX will observe in three frequency bands centered at 150, 250, and 410 GHz, with 768, 384, and 280 detectors in each band, respectively. This broad frequency coverage is designed to provide valuable information about polarized foreground signals from dust. The polarized sky signals will be modulated with an achromatic half wave plate (AHWP) rotating on a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) and analyzed with a fixed wire grid polarizer. EBEX will observe a patch covering ~1% of the sky with 8' resolution, allowing for observation of the angular power spectrum from \ell = 20 to 1000. This will allow EBEX to search for both the primordial B-mode signal predicted by inflation and the anticipated lensing B-mode signal. Calculations to predict EBEX constraints on r using expected noise levels show that, for a likelihood centered around zero and with negligible foregrounds, 99% of the area falls below r = 0.035. This value increases by a factor of 1.6 after a process of foreground subtraction. This estimate does not include systematic uncertainties. An engineering flight was launched in June, 2009, from Ft. Sumner, NM, and the long duration science flight in Antarctica is planned for 2011. These proceedings describe the EBEX instrument and the North American engineering flight. 12 pages, 9 figures, Conference proceedings for SPIE Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy V (2010)

  • Closed Access
    Authors: 
    Gifty Gyamah Nyante; Christine Carpenter;

    Aim This study aims to explore the experiences of carers of children with cerebral palsy living in rural areas of Ghana who have received no rehabilitation services. Background Cerebral palsy is the most common chronic disability from childhood, which needs lifelong rehabilitation. Most of the population living in rural communities in Ghana have virtually no form of rehabilitation services for their chronic disabling conditions. Caring for children with disability are known to be challenging especially when coupled with environmental challenges in rural communities. Results Purposive and snowball techniques were used to recruit 12 carers, age 22 to 68 years, of children with cerebral palsy aged 7 to 15 years. Two main themes, developing personal beliefs to support the caregiving role and the demands that shape the experience of caring, emerged from six subthemes and 25 theme clusters of the narratives of the carers. The essential structure of the phenomenon demonstrated the complex interaction of personal and environmental factors in harmony with the actual demands to influence the experiences of participants positively or negatively. Positively, carers achieved coping, committed to caring, hoped for the future, and accepted the condition. However, negatively, carers described the triggering factors of feeling of despair and sorrow as frustration and lack of understanding of the condition, felt stigmatized, and perceived the child was going through pain and suffering. Conclusions Carers derived strength from their religious and spiritual beliefs to balance the demands of caregiving. Findings could be used as basis for developing interventions to support carers and inform new strategies for rehabilitation service and sensitization of community members about inclusion of children with disabilities.

  • Authors: 
    Julia Müller; Anke Karl; Claudia Denke; Fabienne Mathier; Jennifer Dittmann; Nicolas Rohleder; Christine Knaevelsrud;
    Publisher: Informa UK Limited

    Chronic pain (CP) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are both frequent and often comorbid in refugees. To date, few controlled trials have studied the efficacy of treatments targeting this comorbidity; no treatment guidelines yet exist. The authors examined the feasibility and efficacy of short-term cognitive behavioural biofeedback (BF) addressing CP in traumatised refugees. The sample comprised 11 severely traumatised refugees with CP and PTSD (mean age = 36 years, SD = 6), who underwent assessment with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale, Pain Disability Index, and Visual Rating Scale. Additionally, coping with pain and psychotherapy tolerance were assessed. Acceptance of BF was high. Pre-post effects were small to medium for increased pain management and associated heart rate reactivity but large for coping with pain. The results encourage further research to confirm whether BF is indicated as a treatment component, but not a stand-alone treatment, for traumatised refugees with comorbid CP and PTSD.

  • Authors: 
    Florence Loisel; Chantal Farmer; P. Ramaekers; Hélène Quesnel;
    Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)

    Dietary fiber given during pregnancy may influence sow endocrinology and increase piglet BW gain during early lactation. The aim of the current study was to determine whether dietary fiber given to sows during late pregnancy induces endocrine changes that could modulate sow colostrum production and, thus, piglet performance. From d 106 of pregnancy until parturition, 29 Landrace×Large White nulliparous sows were fed gestation diets containing 23.4 [high fiber (HF); n=15] or 13.3% total dietary fiber [low fiber (LF); n=14]. In the HF diet, wheat and barley were partly replaced by soybean hulls, wheat bran, sunflower meal (undecorticated), and sugar beet pulp. After parturition, sows were fed a standard lactation diet. Colostrum production was estimated during 24 h, starting at the onset of parturition (T0) and ending at 24 h after parturition (T24) based on piglet weight gains. Jugular blood samples were collected from sows on d 101 of pregnancy, daily from d 111 of gestation to d 3 of lactation, and then on d 7 and 21 of lactation (d 0 being the day of parturition). Postprandial kinetics of plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were determined on d 112 of pregnancy. The feeding treatment did not influence sow colostrum yield (3.9±0.2 kg) or piglet weight gain during the first day postpartum to d 21 of lactation. Colostrum intake of low birth weight piglets (<900 g) was greater in litters from HF sows than from LF sows (216±24 vs. 137±22 g; P=0.02). Preweaning mortality was lower in HF than LF litters (6.2 vs. 14.7%; P=0.01). Circulating concentrations of progesterone, prolactin, estradiol-17β, and cortisol were not influenced by the treatment. Sows fed the HF diet had greater postprandial insulin concentrations than LF sows (P=0.02) whereas the postprandial glucose peak was similar. At T24, colostrum produced by HF sows contained 29% more lipid than colostrum produced by LF sows (P=0.04). Immunoglobulin A concentrations in colostrum were lower at T0 and T24 (P=0.02) in HF than LF sows (at T0: 8.6±1.1 vs. 11.9±1.1 mg/mL; at T24: 2.5±0.7 vs. 4.8±0.7 mg/mL). In conclusion, dietary fiber in late pregnancy affected sow colostrum composition but not colostrum yield, increased colostrum intake of low birth weight piglets, and decreased preweaning mortality, but these effects were not related to changes in peripartum concentrations of the main hormones involved in lactogenesis.

  • Open Access English
    Authors: 
    Elizabeth R. Hopper; Thomas M. R. Wayman; Jérémie Asselin; Bruno Pinho; Christina Boukouvala; Laura Torrente-Murciano; Emilie Ringe;
    Country: United Kingdom
    Project: NSERC , EC | SPECs (804523)

    Nanoparticles of plasmonic materials can sustain oscillations of their free electron density, called localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs), giving them a broad range of potential applications. Mg is an earth-abundant plasmonic material attracting growing attention owing to its ability to sustain LSPRs across the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelength range. Tuning the LSPR frequency of plasmonic nanoparticles requires precise control over their size and shape; for Mg, this control has previously been achieved using top-down fabrication or gas-phase methods, but these are slow and expensive. Here, we systematically probe the effects of reaction parameters on the nucleation and growth of Mg nanoparticles using a facile and inexpensive colloidal synthesis. Small NPs of 80 nm were synthesized using a low reaction time of 1 min and ���100 nm NPs were synthesized by decreasing the overall reaction concentration, replacing the naphthalene electron carrier with biphenyl or using metal salt additives of FeCl3 or NiCl2 at longer reaction times of 17 h. Intermediate sizes up to 400 nm were further selected via the overall reaction concentration or using other metal salt additives with different reduction potentials. Significantly larger particles of over a micrometer were produced by reducing the reaction temperature and, thus, the nucleation rate. We showed that increasing the solvent coordination reduced Mg NP sizes, while scaling up the reaction reduced the mixing efficiency and produced larger NPs. Surprisingly, varying the relative amounts of Mg precursor and electron carrier had little impact on the final NP sizes. These results pave the way for the large-scale use of Mg as a low-cost and sustainable plasmonic material. Support for this project was provided by the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (ERC Starting Grant SPECs 804523). E.R.H. is thankful for funding from the EPSRC NanoDTC Cambridge (EP/L015978/1). J.A. acknowledges financial support from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Fonds de Recherche du Qu��bec���Nature et Technologies postdoctoral fellowships (BP and B3X programs). C.B. is thankful for funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Standard Research Studentship (DTP) EP/R513180/1). B.P. and L.T.M. acknowledge support from UK Engineering and Physical Science and Research Council (grant number EP/L020443/2). Thanks to Giulio I. Lampronti for helpful discussions and support.

  • Open Access English
    Authors: 
    Nisaharan Srikandarajah; Adam J. Noble; Simon Clark; Martin Wilby; Brian J. C. Freeman; Michael G. Fehlings; Paula R Williamson; Tony Marson;
    Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    Country: United Kingdom

    Background Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES) is an emergency condition that requires acute intervention and can lead to permanent neurological deficit in working age adults. A Core Outcome Set (COS) is the minimum set of outcomes that should be reported by a research study within a specific disease area. There is significant heterogeneity in outcome reporting for CES, which does not allow data synthesis between studies. The hypothesis is that a COS for CES can be developed for future research studies using patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) as key stakeholders. Methods and findings Qualitative semi-structured interviews with CES patients were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using NVivo to identify the outcomes of importance. These were combined with the outcomes obtained from a published systematic literature review of CES patients. The outcomes were grouped into a list of 37, for rating through two rounds of an international Delphi survey according to pre-set criteria. The Delphi survey had an overall response rate of 63% and included 172 participants (104 patients, 68 HCPs) from 14 countries who completed both rounds. Thirteen outcomes reached consensus at the end of the Delphi survey and there was no attrition bias detected. The results were discussed at an international consensus meeting attended by 34 key stakeholders (16 patients and 18 HCPs) from 8 countries. A further three outcomes were agreed to be included. There was no selection bias detected at the consensus meeting. There are 16 outcomes in total in the CESCOS. Discussion This is the first study in the literature that has determined the core outcomes in CES using a transparent international consensus process involving healthcare professionals and CES patients as key stakeholders. This COS is recommended as the most important outcomes to be reported in any research study investigating CES outcomes and will allow evidence synthesis in CES.

  • Publication . Article . 2020
    Open Access English
    Authors: 
    João Pedro Ferreira; Ulrik M. Mogensen; Pardeep S. Jhund; Akshay S. Desai; Jean-Lucien Rouleau; Michael R. Zile; Patrick Rossignol; Faiez Zannad; Milton Packer; Scott D. Solomon; +1 more
    Publisher: HAL CCSD
    Country: France

    Aims: The associations between potassium level and outcomes, the effect of sacubitril–valsartan on potassium level, and whether potassium level modified the effect of sacubitril–valsartan in patients with heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction were studied in PARADIGM‐HF. Several outcomes, including cardiovascular death, sudden death, pump failure death, non‐cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization, were examined. Methods and results: A total of 8399 patients were randomized to either enalapril or sacubitril–valsartan. Potassium level at randomization and follow‐up was examined as a continuous and categorical variable (≤3.5, 3.6–4.0, 4.1–4.9, 5.0–5.4 and ≥5.5 mmol/L) in various statistical models. Hyperkalaemia was defined as K+ ≥5.5 mmol/L and hypokalaemia as K+ ≤3.5 mmol/L. Compared with potassium 4.1–4.9 mmol/L, both hypokalaemia [hazard ratio (HR) 2.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.84–3.14] and hyperkalaemia (HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.10–1.83) were associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular death. However, potassium abnormalities were similarly associated with sudden death and pump failure death, as well as non‐cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization. Sacubitril–valsartan had no effect on potassium overall. The benefit of sacubitril–valsartan over enalapril was consistent across the range of baseline potassium levels. Conclusions: Although both higher and lower potassium levels were independent predictors of cardiovascular death, potassium abnormalities may mainly be markers rather than mediators of risk for death.

  • Authors: 
    Leonard Joseph Appleman; Michael Paul Kolinsky; William R. Berry; Margitta Retz; Loic Mourey; Josep M. Piulats; Emanuela Romano; Gwenaelle Gravis; Howard Gurney; Johann S. de Bono; +10 more
    Publisher: American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

    10 Background: For men with mCRPC, systemic therapies such as docetaxel and cabazitaxel improve survival, but more effective treatments are needed. KEYNOTE-365 (NCT02861573) is a phase 1b/2 study to examine the safety and efficacy of pembro in combination with 4 different study medications (cohorts A, B, C, D) in mCRPC. Previous data from cohort B with a median of 20 months of follow-up showed that pembro + docetaxel and prednisone was well tolerated and had antitumor activity in patients (pts) with mCRPC previously treated with abi or enza. New efficacy and safety data after an additional year of follow-up are presented. Methods: Cohort B enrolled pts who did not respond to or were intolerant to ≥4 weeks of abi or enza in the prechemotherapy mCRPC state and whose disease progressed within 6 months of screening (determined by PSA progression or radiologic bone/soft tissue progression). Pts received pembro 200 mg IV every 3 weeks (Q3W), docetaxel 75 mg/m2 IV Q3W, and oral prednisone 5 mg twice daily. Primary end points were safety, PSA response rate (PSA decrease >50% from baseline), and ORR per RECIST v1.1 by blinded independent central review. Efficacy and safety were assessed in all pts as treated. Results: Of the 104 treated pts, median age was 68.0 years (range, 50-86), 23.1% had PD-L1–positive tumors (combined positive score ≥1), 25.0% had visceral disease, and 50.0% had measurable disease. Median time from enrollment to data cutoff was 32.4 months (range 13.9-40.3); 101 pts discontinued, primarily because of disease progression (77.9%). Efficacy outcomes are reported in the table below. Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 100 pts (96.2%); the most frequent (≥30%) were diarrhea (41.3%), fatigue (41.3%), and alopecia (40.4%). Grade 3-5 TRAEs occurred in 46 pts (44.2%). Five pts (4.8%) died of AEs; 2 were treatment-related pneumonitis. Conclusions: After another year of follow-up, pembro + docetaxel and prednisone showed improved ORR and PSA response rates compared to the prior dataset in pts with mCRPC previously treated with abi or enza. Safety was consistent with known profiles of each agent and will be further evaluated in a phase 3 study (KEYNOTE-921). Clinical trial information: NCT02861573. [Table: see text]