A plastic surgery service response to COVID-19 in one of the largest teaching hospitals in Europe.

COVID-19 is presenting a colossal challenge to frontline NHS staff. This paper highlights how plastic surgery teams can use their diverse skills and resources in times of crisis. Through effective strategy and leadership we present how we are adapting as a department to serve our plastic surgery patients, other hospital teams and the Trust.

Facial Comparison from CCTV footage: The competence and confidence of the jury.

CCTV footage is commonly used in the court room to help visualise the crime in question and to help identify the offender. Unfortunately the majority of surveillance cameras produce such poor quality images that the task of identifying individuals can be extremely difficult. This study aimed at determining whether the task of identifying the offender in CCTV footage was one which a jury should be competent to do, or whether expert evidence would be beneficial in such cases.

Therapy Online: A Web-Based Video Support Group for Family Caregivers of Survivors With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: This innovative descriptive study explores the benefits of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) caregiver support group intervention provided using videoconferencing within a password protected Web-based platform.

Methods: Ten caregivers of family members with TBI were registered to a password-protected Web site (Caring for Others) that provided information about caring for a person with TBI and access to a videoconferencing support group intervention program. Where needed, caregivers were provided with computer equipment, Internet access, and training to negotiate the Web site links.

Hetero-azeotropic distillation: combining fungal dehydration and lipid extraction.

A low-cost single-stage laboratory process combining fungal dehydration and lipid extraction was compared with a traditional two-stage method employing freeze-drying and subsequent mechanical disruption in the presence of solvent. The ability of a number of organic solvents to form hetero-azeotropes with water was exploited. Chloroform, cyclohexane and hexane were assessed in their abilities to both dry and extract lipid from the oleaginous phycomycete Mortierella alpina (ATCC 32222).

Experimental verification of a mathematical model for pelleted growth of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) in submerged batch culture.

A published mathematical model for growth of pellets of filamentous microorganisms has been tested by comparison of model predictions with experimental data on growth of Streptomyces coelicolor in liquid batch culture. The original model considered the classification of pellets into a range of size classes. Growth resulted in movement of pellets to classes of increasing size, while shear forces produced mycelial fragments which entered the smallest size class, from which they grew to form further pellets.

A mathematical model for the growth of mycelial pellet populations.

In liquid culture, filamentous organisms often grow in the form of pellets. Growth result in an increase in radius, whereas shear forces result in release of hyphal fragments which act as centers for further pellet growth and development. A previously published model for pellet growth of filamentous microorganisms has been examined and is found to be unstable for certain parameter values.

Growth mechanisms and growth kinetics of filamentous microorganisms.

Filamentous microorganisms are of major biotechnological importance, being responsible for production of the majority of secondary metabolites, particularly antibiotics. Two main groups are involved, filamentous fungi and filamentous actinomycetes, particularly the streptomycetes. In terms of cellular growth mechanisms, these groups differ greatly.