Parental, prenatal, and neonatal associations with ball skills at age 8 using an exposome approach.

There is little consistency in the literature concerning factors that influence motor coordination in children. A hypothesis-free "exposome" approach was used with 7359 children using longitudinal information covering 3 generations in regard to throwing a ball accurately at age 7 years. The analyses showed an independent robust negative association with mother's unhappiness in her midchildhood (6-11 years). No such association was present for study fathers. The offspring of parents who described themselves as having poor eyesight had poorer ability. This hypothesis-free approach has identified a strong negative association with an unhappy childhood. Future studies of this cohort will be used to determine whether the mechanism is manifest through differing parenting skills, or a biological mechanism reflecting epigenetic effects

Articulating ‘public interest’ through complexity theory

The ‘Public interest’, even if viewed with ambiguity or scepticism, has been one of the primary means by which various professional roles of planners have been justified. Many objections to the concept have been advanced by writers in planning academia. Notwithstanding these, ‘public interest’ continues to be mobilised, to justify, defend or argue for planning interventions and reforms. This has led to arguments that planning will have to adopt and recognise some form of public interest in practice to legitimise itself.. This paper explores current debates around public interest and social justice and advances a vision of the public interest informed by complexity theory. The empirical context of the paper is the poverty alleviation programme, the Kudumbashree project in Kerala, India

Exploring the roles of extended reality technologies in advancing colorectal surgical training

Extended reality (XR) is an umbrella term for technologies that incorporate digital and physical elements to alter a user's experience, namely: augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR). With National Health Service waiting lists at record levels, a shortage of trained endoscopists within the UK, and a greater likelihood of non-standard training outcomes following the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a requirement for significant developments in colorectal surgical training. AR has useful applications within both simulation training and intraoperative guidance, such as image overlays and conceptualisation. Both AR and VR offer three-dimensional reconstruction of radiological images, thereby allowing for enhanced appreciation and visualisation of anatomical structures. There is, however, a much greater evidence base for the validity of VR within the sphere of colorectal surgical training; primarily for simulation with respect to endoscopy, laparoscopy and robotics. MR is a developing field with technological advancements allowing for a combination of AR and VR. Potential advantages of XR teaching over conventional approaches include integration with artificial intelligence; objective assessments; immediate feedback; a wider exposure to pathologies and procedures and potential downstream safety benefits to patients. Environmental and socioeconomic factors require further evaluation, with the potential for meta-conferences or meta-hospitals. Disadvantages may include a lack of focus on patient communication skills and the lack of standardised XR training protocols. These technologies have an exciting future in serving as adjuncts to colorectal surgical training

Dyspraxia and autistic traits in adults with and without autism spectrum conditions

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are frequently associated with motor coordination difficulties. However, no studies have explored the prevalence of dyspraxia in a large sample of individuals with and without ASC or associations between dyspraxia and autistic traits in these individuals. METHODS: Two thousand eight hundred seventy-one adults (with ASC) and 10,706 controls (without ASC) self-reported whether they have been diagnosed with dyspraxia. A subsample of participants then completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ; 1237 ASC and 6765 controls) and the Empathy Quotient (EQ; 1147 ASC and 6129 controls) online through the Autism Research Centre website. The prevalence of dyspraxia was compared between those with and without ASC. AQ and EQ scores were compared across the four groups: (1) adults with ASC with dyspraxia, (2) adults with ASC without dyspraxia, (3) controls with dyspraxia, and (4) controls without dyspraxia. RESULTS: Adults with ASC were significantly more likely to report a diagnosis of dyspraxia (6.9%) than those without ASC (0.8%). In the ASC group, those with co-morbid diagnosis of dyspraxia did not have significantly different AQ or EQ scores than those without co-morbid dyspraxia. However, in the control group (without ASC), those with dyspraxia had significantly higher AQ and lower EQ scores than those without dyspraxia. CONCLUSIONS: Dyspraxia is significantly more prevalent in adults with ASC compared to controls, confirming reports that motor coordination difficulties are significantly more common in this group. Interestingly, in the general population, dyspraxia was associated with significantly higher autistic traits and lower empathy. These results suggest that motor coordination skills are important for effective social skills and empathy

Effectiveness and use of prophylactic antibiotics in elective and emergency caesarean section at tertiary care hospital

Background: Post-operative infections in obstetrics and gynecological settings have been higher compared to other specialties. Women undergoing caesarean section have 5 to 20-fold greater risk for infection compared with vaginal delivery. Many studies reported antimicrobial prophylaxis prevent post-operative infections. Hence this study concentrates the evaluation of the prescribing antimicrobial use and to assess the frequency of post-operative morbidity related to infection in subjects undergoing caesarean section. The aim of the study was to analysis the effectiveness, prophylactic antibiotics (amoxicillin versus ceftriaxone) and to evaluate the post-operative (caesarean) infections in patients undergoing lower segment caesarean section (elective and emergency).Methods: This is a prospective observational study which assessed the effectiveness and use of prophylactic antibiotics in patients undergoing cesarean section at department of obstetrics and gynecology. The study was conducted over a period of one year.Results: The corresponding mean age of all the study population in amoxicillin group (n=113) was 56.5±28.5 and in ceftriaxone group (n=97) was 48.5±26.5 respectively. The participant who underwent previous cesarean section in amoxicillin group is 65.48% similarly in ceftriaxone group is 47.42%. The patients with fetal distress in ceftriaxone group are 14.77% and in amoxicillin group is 8.92%. Failed induction in amoxicillin group is 9.82% and in ceftriaxone group is 6.81%. The number of days in hospital stay in amoxicillin group is 42.42% and in ceftriaxone group is 45.94%. The post-operative complications in amoxicillin group reported, with Febrile Illness are 40% and wound Infection is 60%.Conclusions: Administration of pre-operative antibiotics significantly reduce post-operative infections. Use of ceftriaxone as a prophylactic antibiotic in patients undergoing lower segment caesarean section (elective and emergency) is more effective than Amoxicillin in preventing post-operative infections

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients With a History of Gastrointestinal Bleeding (From the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium)

Potent antithrombotic agents are routinely prescribed after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to reduce ischemic complications. However, in patients who are at an increased bleeding risk, this may pose significant risks. We sought to evaluate the association between a history of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) and outcomes after PCI. We linked clinical registry data from PCIs performed at 48 Michigan hospitals between 1/2013 and 3/2018 to Medicare claims. We used 1:5 propensity score matching to adjust for patient characteristics. In-hospital outcomes included bleeding, transfusion, stroke or death. Post-discharge outcomes included 90-day all-cause readmission and long-term mortality. Of 30,206 patients, 1.1% had a history of GIB. Patients with a history of GIB were more likely to be older, female, and have more cardiovascular comorbidities. After matching, those with a history of GIB (n = 312) had increased post-procedural transfusions (15.7% vs 8.4%; p \u3c 0.001), bleeding (11.9% vs 5.2%; p \u3c 0.001), and major bleeding (2.8% vs 0.6%; p = 0.004). Ninety-day readmission rates were similar among those with and without a history of GIB (34.3% vs 31.3%; p = 0.318). There was no significant difference in post-discharge survival (1 year: 78% vs 80%; p = 0.217; 5 years: 54% vs 51%; p = 0.189). In conclusion, after adjusting for baseline characteristics, patients with a history of GIB had increased risk of post-PCI in-hospital bleeding complications. However, a history of GIB was not significantly associated with 90-day readmission or long-term survival

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability