Engaging current and potential medical students in clinical research during an elective hospital attachment: a qualitative study

Session - Curriculum Planning; International Medical EducationBACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Exposure of medical students to research may increase the probability of their pursuing postgraduate research involvement(1,2). However, whether research exposure should ideally be mandatory (student-passive) or extra-curricular (student-proactive) is unclear(2-4). Furthermore, whether research exposure has any impact on students interested in but not yet studying medicine is also unknown. This study examines a strategy of actively offering clinical research opportunities to current and potential medical students during an …published_or_final_versio

Rapid Detection of Leishmania infantum Infection in Dogs: Comparative Study Using an Immunochromatographic Dipstick Test, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, and PCR

Current zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) control programs in Brazil include the culling of Leishmania infantum-infected reservoir dogs, a strategy that has failed to prevent a rise of canine and human ZVL cases over the past decade. One of the main reasons this strategy has failed is because of a long delay between sample collection, sample analysis, and control implementation. A rapid, sensitive, and specific diagnostic tool would be highly desirable, because it would allow control interventions to be implemented in situ. We compared an immunochromatographic dipstick test to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and PCR for detecting L. infantum infections in dogs from an area of ZVL endemicity in Brazil. The dipstick test was shown to have 61 to 75% specificity and 72 to 77% sensitivity, compared to 100% specificity for both ELISA and PCR and 71 to 88% and 51 to 64% sensitivity for ELISA and PCR, respectively. Of the field samples tested, 92 of 175 (53%), 65 of 175 (37%), and 47 of 175 (27%) were positive by dipstick, ELISA, and PCR, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values for the tested dipstick were 58 to 77% and 75%, respectively. Efforts should be made to develop a more specific dipstick test for diagnosis of leishmaniasis, because they may ultimately prove more cost-effective than currently used diagnostic tests when used in mass-screening surveys

Cancer incidence in the AGRICAN cohort study (2005-2011).

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have been conducted among farmers, but very few of them have involved large prospective cohorts, and few have included a significant proportion of women and farm workers. Our aim was to compare cancer incidence in the cohort (overall, by sex, and by work on farm, occupational status and pesticide use) within the general population. METHODS: More than 180,000 participants in the AGRICAN cohort were matched to cancer registries to identify cancer cases diagnosed from enrolment (2005-2007) to 31st December 2011. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). RESULTS: Over the period, 11,067 incident cancer cases were identified (7304 men and 3763 women). Overall cancer incidence did not differ between the cohort and the general population. Moreover, SIRs were significantly higher for prostate cancer (SIR=1.07, 95%CI 1.03-1.11) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR=1.09, 95%CI 1.01-1.18) among men, skin melanoma among women (SIR=1.23, 95%CI 1.05-1.43) and multiple myeloma (men: SIR=1.38, 95%CI 1.18-1.62; women: SIR=1.26, 95%CI 1.02-1.54). In contrast, SIRs were lower for upper aerodigestive tract and respiratory cancers. Increase in risk was greater in male farm workers for prostate and lip cancer, in female farm workers for skin melanoma, and in male farm owners for multiple myeloma. Moreover, incidence of multiple myeloma and skin melanoma was higher among male and female pesticide users respectively. CONCLUSION: We found a decreased incidence for tobacco-related cancers and an increased incidence of prostate cancers, skin melanoma and multiple myeloma. Specific subgroups had a higher cancer incidence related to occupational status and pesticide use

Presence of activatable Shiga toxin genotype (stx2d) in Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli from livestock sources

Stx2d is a recently described Shiga toxin whose cytotoxicity is activated 10- to 1,000-fold by the elastase present in mouse or human intestinal mucus. We examined Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) strains isolated from food and livestock sources for the presence of activatable stx(2d). The stx(2) operons of STEC were first analyzed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and categorized as stx(2), stx(2c) (vha), stx(2c) (vhb), or stx(2d) (EH250). Subsequently, the stx(2c) (vha) and stx(2c) (vhb) operons were screened for the absence of a PstI site in the stx(2a) subunit gene, a restriction site polymorphism which is a predictive indicator for the stx(2d) (activatable) genotype. Twelve STEC isolates carrying putative stx(2d) operons were identified, and nucleotide sequencing was used to confirm the identification of these operons as stx(2d). The complete nucleotide sequences of seven representative stx(2d) operons were determined. Shiga toxin expression in stx(2d) isolates was confirmed by immunoblotting. stx(2d) isolates were induced for the production of bacteriophages carrying stx. Two isolates were able to produce bacteriophages phi1662a and phi1720a carrying the stx(2d) operons. RFLP analysis of bacteriophage genomic DNA revealed that phi1662a and phi1720a were highly related to each other; however, the DNA sequences of these two stx(2d) operons were distinct. The STEC strains carrying these operons were isolated from retail ground beef. Surveillance for STEC strains expressing activatable stx(2d) Shiga toxin among clinical cases may indicate the significance of this toxin subtype to human health

Widespread transfer of resistance genes between bacterial species in an intensive care unit: implications for hospital epidemiology

Updated information and services can be found at

Hypereosinophilia: A Diagnostic Dilemma

A case of hypereosinophilia is presented. The case illustrates the complexity of the diagnostic processes in certain conditions like hypereosinophilia

Erythropoietin in traumatic brain injury associated acute kidney injury : A randomized controlled trial

Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) in traumatic brain injury (TBI) is poorly understood and it is unknown if it can be attenuated using erythropoietin (EPO). Methods Pre-planned analysis of patients included in the EPO-TBI (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00987454) trial who were randomized to weekly EPO (40 000 units) or placebo (0.9% sodium chloride) subcutaneously up to three doses or until intensive care unit (ICU) discharge. Creatinine levels and urinary output (up to 7 days) were categorized according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO) classification. Severity of TBI was categorized with the International Mission for Prognosis and Analysis of Clinical Trials in TBI. Results Of 3348 screened patients, 606 were randomized and 603 were analyzed. Of these, 82 (14%) patients developed AKI according to KDIGO (60 [10%] with KDIGO 1, 11 [2%] patients with KDIGO 2, and 11 [2%] patients with KDIGO 3). Male gender (hazard ratio [HR] 4.0 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-11.2, P = 0.008) and severity of TBI (HR 1.3 95% CI 1.1-1.4, P <0.001 for each 10% increase in risk of poor 6 month outcome) predicted time to AKI. KDIGO stage 1 (HR 8.8 95% CI 4.5-17, P <0.001), KDIGO stage 2 (HR 13.2 95% CI 3.9-45.2, P <0.001) and KDIGO stage 3 (HR 11.7 95% CI 3.5-39.7, P <0.005) predicted time to mortality. EPO did not influence time to AKI (HR 1.08 95% CI 0.7-1.67, P = 0.73) or creatinine levels during ICU stay (P = 0.09). Conclusions Acute kidney injury is more common in male patients and those with severe compared to moderate TBI and appears associated with worse outcome. EPO does not prevent AKI after TBI.Peer reviewe

No preference for direct versus averted gaze in autistic adults: a reinforced preferential looking paradigm

Background: With the overarching objective to gain better insights into social attention in autistic adults, the present study addresses three outstanding issues about face processing in autism. First, do autistic adults display a preference for mouths over eyes; second, do they avoid direct gaze; third, is atypical visual exploration of faces in autism mediated by gender, social anxiety or alexithymia? Methods: We used a novel reinforced preferential looking paradigm with a group of autistic adults (n = 43, 23 women) pairwise matched on age with neurotypical participants (n = 43, 21 women). Participants watched 28 different pairs of 5 s video recordings of a speaking person: the two videos, simultaneously displayed on the screen, were identical except that gaze was directed at the camera in one video and averted in the other. After a 680 ms transition phase, a short reinforcement animation appeared on the side that had displayed the direct gaze. Results: None of the groups showed a preference for mouths over eyes. However, neurotypical participants fixated significantly more the stimuli with direct gaze, while no such preference emerged in autistic participants. As the experiment progressed, neurotypical participants also increasingly anticipated the appearance of the reinforcement, based on the location of the stimulus with the direct gaze, while no such anticipation emerged in autistic participants. Limitations: Our autistic participants scored higher on the social anxiety and alexithymia questionnaires than neurotypicals. Future studies should match neurotypical and autistic participants on social anxiety and alexithymia and complement questionnaires with physiological measures of anxiety. Conclusions: The absence of preference for direct versus averted gaze in the autistic group is probably due to difficulties in distinguishing eye gaze direction, potentially linked to a reduced spontaneous exploration or avoidance of the eye region. Social attention and preference for direct versus averted gaze correlated with alexithymia and social anxiety scores, but not gender

Étude biomécanique du traitement de la scoliose idiopathique par orthèse: effets des paramètres de conception des corsets sur les corrections géométriques et sur les contraintes internes du rachis.

RÉSUMÉ La scoliose est une déformation tridimensionnelle évolutive de la colonne vertébrale et de la cage thoracique. Pour des déformations modérées, le principal traitement utilisé est le traitement par corset. Son objectif est, à court-terme, de réduire les déformations scoliotiques et, à long-terme, d’en empêcher la progression. Toutefois le traitement par corset tel qu’il est effectué actuellement n’est pas optimal. La conception des corsets repose encore principalement sur des principes empiriques et l’expérience variée des orthésistes. Aucune étude, clinique ou numérique, n’a étudié directement l’effet des paramètres de conception d’un corset sur son efficacité. De nombreuses controverses existent encore de ce fait sur les paramètres de conception optimaux. De même, aucune étude, expérimentale ou numérique, n’a tenté de prouver que le traitement par corset permet de modifier favorablement les contraintes agissant sur les plaques de croissance d’un sujet scoliotique, démontrant ainsi de façon théorique l’efficacité du traitement à empêcher la progression des déformations. L’objectif général de ce projet est donc d’étudier l’effet du design des corsets sur la correction immédiate des déformations scoliotiques et sur les contraintes agissant sur les plaques de croissance. L’hypothèse que nous souhaitons vérifier est que le traitement par corset peut annuler l’asymétrie des contraintes de compression s’exerçant sur les plaques de croissance à l’apex des courbures scoliotiques mais que cet effet est dépendant des paramètres de conception du corset, ce qui nécessite un ajustement optimal. Cette étude a été divisée en 5 parties. Une méthode a tout d’abord été développée pour représenter les forces de gravité sur un modèle éléments finis (MEF) du tronc d’un patient scoliotique tout en respectant sa géométrie 3D. Un processus d’optimisation a permis de déterminer les forces à soustraire au MEF, dont la géométrie a été construit à partir d’une reconstruction 3D par radiographies biplanaires du patient, afin d’obtenir suite à l’application de la gravité un modèle correspondant à la géométrie réelle du patient. La différence entre la position 3D des vertèbres issue des radiographies et la position simulée des vertèbres du modèle EF après application de la gravité s’est avéré être inférieure à 3 mm. Les contraintes de compression et les moments d’inflexion latérale agissant sur les plateaux vertébraux ont été calculés. Il a été constaté que dans le plan frontal la concavité des courbures scoliotiques était soumise à des contraintes de compression moyennes supérieures de 0.1 à 0.4 MPa à celles de la convexité.----------ABSTRACT Scoliosis is defined as a three-dimensional deformity of the spine and rib cage. For moderate deformities, bracing is the most common treatment. Its aim is to reduce the scoliotic deformities in a short-term perspective and to prevent their progression in a long-term perspective. The brace treatment is however not optimal as it is practiced today. The braces design is mostly based on empirical principles and on the experience of the orthotists. The effects of the design parameters of a brace on its efficiency have never been studied, experimentally or numerically. As a consequence, the optimal brace design parameters are still controversial. No study demonstrated that the brace treatment modifies favorably the stresses in the vertebral growth plates of a scoliotic patient, proving thus that the brace treatment is theoretically efficient in preventing the scoliotic deformities from progressing. The objective of this project was consequently to study the effect of the brace design on the immediate correction of the scoliotic deformities and on the spinal stresses. The hypothesis we want to verify is that the brace treatment is able to nullify the asymmetry of the compressive stresses exerted on the growth plates at the apex of the scoliotic curves but this effect depends on the design parameters of the brace and an optimal adjustment is thus required. This study was divided into 5 parts. A simulation process was firstly developed to represent the gravity forces in a finite element model (FEM) of the trunk of a scoliotic patient. An optimization process computed the forces to substract to the FEM, based on the 3D reconstruction of biplanar x-rays of the patient, in order to obtain after the inclusion of the gravity forces a model corresponding to the actual geometry of the patient. The difference in the vertebral positions between the geometry acquired form radiographs and the computed geometry of the model including the gravity forces was inferior to 3 mm. The forces and compressive stresses in the scoliotic spine were then computed. An asymmetrical load in the coronal plane, particularly at the apices of the scoliotic curves, was present. Difference of mean compressive stresses between concavity and convexity of the scoliotic curves ranged between 0.1 and 0.4 MPa