Improved detection of gastrointestinal pathogens using generalised sample processing and amplification panels.

We aimed to streamline the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease by producing multiplexed real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panels employing universal sample processing for DNA and RNA containing pathogens. A total of 487 stored, previously characterised stool samples comprising bacterial, viral, protozoan and Clostridium difficile positive samples were tested using four multiplexed real time PCR panels. A further 81 pre-selected clinical samples from a teaching hospital were included to provide an independent validation of assay performance.

Individualised pelvic floor muscle training in women with pelvic organ prolapse (POPPY): a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Pelvic organ prolapse is common and is strongly associated with childbirth and increasing age. Women with prolapse are often advised to do pelvic floor muscle exercises, but evidence supporting the benefits of such exercises is scarce. We aimed to establish the effectiveness of one-to-one individualised pelvic floor muscle training for reducing prolapse symptoms.

Evaluation of the EasyScreen™ enteric parasite detection kit for the detection of Blastocystis spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Dientamoeba fragilis, Entamoeba complex, and Giardia intestinalis from clinical stool samples.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the EasyScreen™ Enteric Parasite Detection Kit (Genetic Signatures, Sydney, Australia) for the detection and identification of 5 common enteric parasites: Blastocystis spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Dientamoeba fragilis, Entamoeba complex, and Giardia intestinalis in human clinical samples.

Treatment failure in patients with chronic Blastocystis infection.

This article reports long-term infection and treatment failure in 18 symptomatic individuals infected with Blastocystis spp. Patients were initially treated with either metronidazole, iodoquinol or triple combination therapy consisting of nitazoxanide, furazolidone and secnidazole. Following treatment, resolution of clinical symptoms did not occur and follow-up testing revealed ongoing infection with the same subtype.

Reflecting on the methodological challenges of recruiting to a United Kingdom-wide, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial in gynaecology outpatient settings.

Background: Successful recruitment of participants to any trial is central to its success. Trial results are routinely published, and recruitment is often cited to be slower and more difficult than anticipated. This article reflects on the methodological challenges of recruiting women with prolapse attending United Kingdom (UK) gynaecology outpatient clinics to a multi-centre randomised controlled trial (RCT) of physiotherapy, and the systems put in place in an attempt to address them.

Improving outcomes for teenagers and young adults (TYA) with cancer.

The management of TYA with cancer is characterized by biological features in comparison to children. Therefore specialized treatment units have been established within professional structures of care for this group, and a European multidisciplinary framework for the treatment of TYA with cancer was founded.Objectives are to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and provide strategic concepts to improve patient care centered to the special needs of this age group.

'Just in case': the fertility information needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer.

Understanding the reproductive and fertility concerns of teenagers and young adults with cancer (TYA) is one aspect of comprehensive age appropriate care. However, limited options for fertility preservation, coupled with vague policy recommendations, give rise to variations in information-sharing between health care professionals and TYAs, particularly as it involves sensitive discussions regarding the short- and long-term effects of cancer and treatments on fertility and reproduction. This paper presents findings from a wider evaluation at a specialist unit for TYAs with cancer.

Isothiourea-mediated one-pot synthesis of functionalized pyridines.

Acids to bases: The synthesis of 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyridines from (phenylthio)acetic acid and a range of α,β-unsaturated ketimines is reported. This process proceeds by intermolecular Michael addition/lactamization, thiophenol elimination, and N- to O-sulfonyl migration, giving 2-sulfonate-substituted pyridines which are readily derivatized to generate structural diversity.

Evaluation of methods to assess reduced body fat in patients with anorexia nervosa.

Objective: To evaluate skinfold anthropometry and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to estimate percentage of body fat (%BF) in adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa (AN).

Methods: We examined 80 female AN patients (age 15.6 ± 1.

Optimization of microbial screening for cord blood.

Background: Collection and processing of cord blood (CB) is associated with significant risk of contamination; hence standards mandate microbial screening of the final product. The sensitivity of current methods to evaluate the microbial content of CB is unknown, given the small volume tested and reduced sensitivity of pediatric bottles. Hence, this study was undertaken to evaluate an optimal microbial screening method.

Cyst formation and faecal-oral transmission of Dientamoeba fragilis--the missing link in the life cycle of an emerging pathogen.

Dientamoeba fragilis is a protozoan parasite emerging as a cause of diarrhoea and "irritable-bowel-like" gastrointestinal disease in humans with a propensity for establishing long-term, chronic infections in humans. Although Dientamoeba was discovered over a century ago its life cycle and mode of transmission is not known. No cyst stage has been described and no animal models are presently available for the study of this parasite.

Gastrointestinal pathogen distribution in symptomatic children in Sydney, Australia.

There is limited information on the causes of paediatric diarrhoea in Sydney. This cross-sectional study used clinical and microbiological data to describe the clinical features and pathogens associated with gastrointestinal illnesses for children presenting to two major public hospitals in Sydney with diarrhoea, for the period January 2007-December 2010. Of 825 children who tested positive for an enteric pathogen, 430 medical records were reviewed.

Effects of cryopreservation on microbial-contaminated cord blood.

Background: Cord blood units (CBUs) are associated with significant risk of exposure to microbial contamination during collection and processing; however, the survival of bacteria within a CBU is poorly understood. This study aimed to determine whether contaminating organisms in CBU survive the cryopreservation, frozen storage, and subsequent thawing conditions before infusion.

Study Design And Methods: A total of 134 CBUs rejected from banking due to known contamination were thawed and rescreened using blood culture bottles (BacT/ALERT, bioMérieux).

A cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals to determine what they believe constitutes 'specialist' care for teenage and young adult patients with cancer.

Objectives: To examine the attitudes of UK healthcare professionals towards what they believe constitutes specialist care for teenage and young adult (TYA) patients with cancer, to determine which factors they considered to be the most important components of specialist TYA care, and whether opinion varied between clinical specialties and reflected the drivers for care improvements within National Health Service (NHS) policy.

Design And Methods: The study utilised a cross-sectional survey, using Likert scales, to assess attitudes towards specialist care. Responses were grouped using model-based clustering methods implemented in LatentGold 4.

Informing future research priorities into the psychological and social problems faced by cancer survivors: a rapid review and synthesis of the literature.

Purpose: To establish what is known regarding the psychological and social problems faced by adult cancer survivors (people who are living with and beyond a diagnosis of cancer) and identify areas future research should address.

Method: A rapid search of published literature reviews held in electronic data bases was under taken. Inclusion and exclusion criteria, and removal of duplicated papers, reduced the initial number of papers from 4051 to 38.

Implications of sperm banking for health-related quality of life up to 1 year after cancer diagnosis.

Background: Sperm banking is recommended for all men diagnosed with cancer where treatment is associated with risk of long-term gonadatoxicity, to offer the opportunity of fatherhood and improved quality of life. However, uptake of sperm banking is lower than expected and little is known about why men refuse. Our aims were to determine: (i) demographic and medical variables associated with decisions about banking and (ii) differences in quality of life between bankers and non-bankers at diagnosis (Time 1 (T1)) and 1 year later (Time 2 (T2)).

The impact of a managed transition of care upon psychosocial characteristics and patient satisfaction in a cohort of adult survivors of childhood cancer.

Objective: Many adult survivors of childhood cancer receive care in paediatric departments, despite national policy to transition their care to adult services. When long-term follow-up care for survivors of childhood cancer in our region moved from a paediatric to an adult environment in 2009, we prospectively assessed the impact of this change on patient satisfaction.

Methods: Questionnaire data were collected in paediatric and adult clinical environments regarding the level of satisfaction with care and potential mediators: quality of life, psychological health and social difficulties.

Subtype distribution of Blastocystis isolates from a variety of animals from New South Wales, Australia.

A total of 438 stool samples from 38 different species of animal from seven different locations were studied for the presence of Blastocystis. PCR analysis was completed on all samples and DNA sequence data from the rDNA were submitted to subtype allocation. There was a total of 80 (18%) sequences from 18 species, and nine different subtypes were identified - ST1, ST2, ST3, ST4, ST5, ST7, ST11, ST12 and ST13.

Health care provider surveys in the United States, 2000-2010: a review.

Surveys of health care providers (e.g., physicians and other health care professionals) are an important tool for assessing health care practices and the settings in which care is delivered.

Standard chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab in advanced ovarian cancer: quality-of-life outcomes from the International Collaboration on Ovarian Neoplasms (ICON7) phase 3 randomised trial.

Background: In the Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup International Collaboration on Ovarian Neoplasms 7 (ICON7) trial, bevacizumab improved progression-free survival in patients with ovarian cancer when used in combination with first-line chemotherapy and as a single-drug continuation treatment for 18 cycles. In a preliminary analysis of a high-risk subset of patients, there was also an improvement in overall survival. This study aims to describe the health-related quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes from ICON7.

Cobalt-chromium toxic retinopathy case study.

Purpose: To report the clinical case of a 65-year-old male who developed retinal dysfunction following cobalt-chromium toxicity.

Methods: A review of the clinical, haematological, radiological and electrophysiological investigations into a single patient was performed in order to form a case report.

Results: A 65-year-old male presented to his ophthalmologist with a 1-year history of worsening vision on the background of a multisystem illness including motor axonopathy, pericardiomyopathy and bulbar palsy.

Immobilization of proteins on carboxylic acid functionalized nanopatterns.

The immobilization of proteins on nanopatterned surfaces was investigated using in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ex situ infrared reflectance-absorption spectroscopy (IRAS). The AFM-based lithography technique of nanografting provided control of the size, geometry, and spatial placement of nanopatterns within self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Square nanopatterns of carboxylate-terminated SAMs were inscribed within methyl-terminated octadecanethiolate SAMs and activated using carbodiimide/succinimide coupling chemistry.

Current treatment options for Dientamoeba fragilis infections.

Dientamoeba fragilis belongs to the trichomonad group of protozoan parasites and it has been implicated as a cause of gastrointestinal disease with world-wide prevalences ranging from 0.5% to 16%. The majority of patients with dientamoebiasis present with gastrointestinal complaints.

Changes in the patterns of care of central nervous system tumours among 16-24 year olds and the effect on survival in Yorkshire between 1990 and 2009.

Aim: There is a paucity of work documenting the influence of patterns of care on survival for teenagers and young adults with primary central nervous system tumours. Therefore, the aim of this study was to undertake a detailed assessment examining any changes in the patterns of care over time and how these related to survival outcomes for 16-24 year olds diagnosed with a primary central nervous system tumour between 1990 and 2009.

Materials And Methods: We used high-quality data from one population-based cancer registry in Yorkshire, UK to describe primary central nervous system tumours in teenagers and young adults (16-24 years) diagnosed between 1990 and 2009.