Microbial epidemiology and carriage studies for the evaluation of vaccines.

Respiratory tract infections are responsible for over 2.8 million deaths per year worldwide. Colonization is the first step in the process of microbes occupying the respiratory tract, which may lead to subsequent infection.

Drugs and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia risk: results from the DARE study cohort.

Objectives: To establish a unique sample of proarrhythmia cases, determine the characteristics of cases and estimate the contribution of individual drugs to the incidence of proarrhythmia within these cases.

Setting: Suspected proarrhythmia cases were referred by cardiologists across England between 2003 and 2011. Information on demography, symptoms, prior medical and drug histories and data from hospital notes were collected.

Pattern of Onset and Risk Factors for Peripheral Oedema During Vildagliptin Use: Analysis from the Vildagliptin Prescription-Event Monitoring Study in England.

Introduction: Clinical trials have identified peripheral oedema (PO) as an adverse event of vildagliptin (an oral anti-diabetic drug [OAD]). A post-marketing study (PMS) was conducted to advance the understanding of vildagliptin use and particular safety concerns identified within the risk-management plan. PMS objectives included comparing the hazards between vildagliptin monotherapy and combination therapy for selected a priori identified risks, including PO.

Utilisation and Tolerability of Aliskiren in the Primary Care Setting in England.

Aliskiren (Rasilez), a direct renin inhibitor, is indicated for the treatment of essential hypertension. A postmarketing prescription-event monitoring (PEM) study was conducted in England to monitor the safety and utilization of aliskiren. Summary statistics and event incidence densities were calculated.

Safety of Intranasal Quadrivalent Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (QLAIV) in Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Prospective Cohort Study in England.

Introduction: Fluenz Tetra is an intranasal quadrivalent live attenuated influenza vaccine (QLAIV) and is recommended as the vaccine of choice for children in the 2014/2015 influenza season vaccination programme in the UK.

Objective: The primary objective of the study was to estimate the crude incidence rate of adverse events of interest (AEIs) following vaccination with the nasal QLAIV early in the 2014/2015 influenza season in children and adolescents in England.

Methods: A pilot non-interventional cohort post-authorisation safety study (PASS) was conducted during the 2014/2015 influenza season in England.

Evaluation of swabbing methods for estimating the prevalence of bacterial carriage in the upper respiratory tract: a cross sectional study.

Objectives: Bacterial carriage in the upper respiratory tract is usually asymptomatic but can lead to respiratory tract infection (RTI), meningitis and septicaemia. We aimed to provide a baseline measure of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis carriage within the community. Self-swabbing and healthcare professional (HCP) swabbing were compared.

Effects of turbulence modelling on prediction of flow characteristics in a bench-scale anaerobic gas-lift digester.

Flow in a gas-lift digester with a central draft-tube was investigated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and different turbulence closure models. The k-ω Shear-Stress-Transport (SST), Renormalization-Group (RNG) k-∊, Linear Reynolds-Stress-Model (RSM) and Transition-SST models were tested for a gas-lift loop reactor under Newtonian flow conditions validated against published experimental work. The results identify that flow predictions within the reactor (where flow is transitional) are particularly sensitive to the turbulence model implemented; the Transition-SST model was found to be the most robust for capturing mixing behaviour and predicting separation reliably.