Solution hybridization capture methods utilize biotinylated oligonucleotides as baits to enrich homologous sequences from next generation sequencing (NGS) libraries. Coupled with NGS, the method ...generates kilo to gigabases of high confidence consensus targeted sequence. However, in many experiments, a non-negligible fraction of the resulting sequence reads are not homologous to the bait. We demonstrate that during capture, the bait-hybridized library molecules add additional flanking library sequences iteratively, such that baits limited to targeting relatively short regions (e.g. few hundred nucleotides) can result in enrichment across entire mitochondrial and bacterial genomes. Our findings suggest that some of the off-target sequences derived in capture experiments are non-randomly enriched, and that CapFlank will facilitate targeted enrichment of large contiguous sequences with minimal prior target sequence information.
Background: Stroke care across Australian hospitals is variable. The impact on health outcomes, in particular levels of disability for patients in rural areas, is unclear. The aim of this study was ...to determine whether geographic location and access to stroke units are associated with differences in health outcomes in patients with acute stroke.
Methods: Retrospective cohort study of consecutive eligible admissions from 32 hospitals (12 rural) in New South Wales between 2003 and 2007. Health status measured at discharge included level of independence (modified Rankin score: mRS) and frequency of severe complications during hospitalization. Multivariable analyses included adjustment for patient casemix and clustering.
Results: Among 2254 eligible patients, 55% were treated in metropolitan hospitals. Stroke unit treatment varied significantly (rural 3%; metropolitan 77%). Age, gender and stroke type did not differ by location (mean age 74, 50% female). After adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, important risk factors and validated stroke prognostic variables, patients treated in rural hospitals had a greater odds of dying during hospitalization compared with those treated in metropolitan hospitals (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03–2.05). There were no differences in mortality or frequency of severe complications between patients treated in rural and metropolitan hospitals when we adjusted for access to stroke units (aOR 1.00, 95% CI 0.62–1.61). Nevertheless, patients treated in rural hospitals were more dependent (mRS 3–5) at discharge (aOR 1.82, 95% CI 1.23–2.70) despite adjusting for stroke unit status.
Conclusion: Patients with stroke treated in rural hospitals have poorer health outcomes, especially if not managed in stroke units.
Concerns have been raised in recent years regarding co-selection for antibiotic resistance among bacteria exposed to biocides used as disinfectants, antiseptics and preservatives, and to heavy metals ...(particularly copper and zinc) used as growth promoters and therapeutic agents for some livestock species. There is indeed experimental and observational evidence that exposure to these non-antibiotic antimicrobial agents can induce or select for bacterial adaptations that result in decreased susceptibility to one or more antibiotics. This may occur via cellular mechanisms that are protective across multiple classes of antimicrobial agents or by selection of genetic determinants for resistance to non-antibiotic agents that are linked to genes for antibiotic resistance. There may also be relevant effects of these antimicrobial agents on bacterial community structure and via non-specific mechanisms such as mobilization of genetic elements or mutagenesis. Notably, some co-selective adaptations have adverse effects on fitness in the absence of a continued selective pressure. The present review examines the evidence for the significance of these phenomena, particularly in respect of bacterial zoonotic agents that commonly occur in livestock and that may be transmitted, directly or via the food chain, to human populations.
Two samples were taken postmortem from the rectum of each of 14 horses with grass sickness and 10 control horses, and four sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin were examined. By using as a ...criterion of grass sickness the presence of three chromatolytic neurons, 10 of the 14 cases were positive and none of the control horses was positive, giving a sensitivity of 71 per cent and a specificity of 100 per cent. No other histological features appeared to be of diagnostic value, and staining for Nissl substance in neurons with cresyl fast violet and methyl green-pyronin did not improve the sensitivity of the test.
Accurate transition states and pathways for gaseous C
2H
6 and surface-adsorbed C
2H
5 dehydrogenation on Pt{1
1
0} (1
×
2) have been characterised. The electronic structure is treated within a ...density functional theory framework, and the transition states are refined using hybrid eigenvector-following with variational eigenvector refinement and tangent space minimisation.
The laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus) is an indispensable tool in experimental medicine and drug development, having made inestimable contributions to human health. We report here the genome ...sequence of the Brown Norway (BN) rat strain. The sequence represents a high-quality 'draft' covering over 90% of the genome. The BN rat sequence is the third complete mammalian genome to be deciphered, and three-way comparisons with the human and mouse genomes resolve details of mammalian evolution. This first comprehensive analysis includes genes and proteins and their relation to human disease, repeated sequences, comparative genome-wide studies of mammalian orthologous chromosomal regions and rearrangement breakpoints, reconstruction of ancestral karyotypes and the events leading to existing species, rates of variation, and lineage-specific and lineage-independent evolutionary events such as expansion of gene families, orthology relations and protein evolution.
Background
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS
®
) Society guidelines integrate evidence-based practices into multimodal care pathways that have improved outcomes in multiple adult surgical ...specialties. There are currently no pediatric ERAS
®
Society guidelines. We created an ERAS
®
guideline designed to enhance quality of care in neonatal intestinal resection surgery.
Methods
A multidisciplinary guideline generation group defined the scope, population, and guideline topics. Systematic reviews were supplemented by targeted searching and expert identification to identify 3514 publications that were screened to develop and support recommendations. Final recommendations were determined through consensus and were assessed for evidence quality and recommendation strength. Parental input was attained throughout the process.
Results
Final recommendations ranged from communication strategies to antibiotic use. Topics with poor-quality and conflicting evidence were eliminated. Several recommendations were combined. The quality of supporting evidence was variable. Seventeen final recommendations are included in the proposed guideline.
Discussion
We have developed a comprehensive, evidence-based ERAS guideline for neonates undergoing intestinal resection surgery. This guideline, and its creation process, provides a foundation for future ERAS guideline development and can ultimately lead to improved perioperative care across a variety of pediatric surgical specialties.
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