Record linked retrospective cohort study of 4.6 million people exploring ethnic variations in disease: myocardial infarction in South Asians

Background Law and policy in several countries require health services to demonstrate that they are promoting racial/ethnic equality. However, suitable and accurate data are usually not available. We demonstrated, using acute myocardial infarction, that linkage techniques can be ethical and potentially useful for this purpose. Methods The linkage was based on probability matching. Encryption of a unique national health identifier (the Community Health Index (CHI)) ensured that information about health status and census-based ethnicity could not be ascribed to an identified individual. We linked information on individual ethnic group from the 2001 Census to Scottish hospital discharge and mortality data. Results Overall, 94% of the 4.9 million census records were matched to a CHI record with an estimated false positive rate of less than 0.1 %, with 84.9 – 87.6% of South Asians being successfully linked. Between April 2001 and December 2003 there were 126 first episodes of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) among South Asians and 30,978 among non-South Asians. The incidence rate ratio was 1.45 (95% CI 1.17, 1.78) for South Asian compared to non-South Asian men and 1.80 (95% CI 1.31, 2.48) for South Asian women. After adjustment for age, sex and any previous admission for diabetes the hazard ratio for death following AMI was 0.59 (95% CI 0.43, 0.81), reflecting better survival among South Asians. Conclusion The technique met ethical, professional and legal concerns about the linkage of census and health data and is transferable internationally wherever the census (or population register) contains ethnic group or race data. The outcome is a retrospective cohort study. Our results point to increased incidence rather than increased case fatality in explaining high CHD mortality rate. The findings open up new methods for researchers and health planners

Optimization of Suture-Free Laser-Assisted Vessel Repair by Solder-Doped Electrospun Poly(ε-caprolactone) Scaffold

Poor welding strength constitutes an obstacle in the clinical employment of laser-assisted vascular repair (LAVR) and anastomosis. We therefore investigated the feasibility of using electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffold as reinforcement material in LAVR of medium-sized vessels. In vitro solder-doped scaffold LAVR (ssLAVR) was performed on porcine carotid arteries or abdominal aortas using a 670-nm diode laser, a solder composed of 50% bovine serum albumin and 0.5% methylene blue, and electrospun PCL scaffolds. The correlation between leaking point pressures (LPPs) and arterial diameter, the extent of thermal damage, structural and mechanical alterations of the scaffold following ssLAVR, and the weak point were investigated. A strong negative correlation existed between LPP and vessel diameter, albeit LPP (484 ± 111 mmHg) remained well above pathophysiological pressures. Histological analysis revealed that thermal damage extended into the medial layer with a well-preserved internal elastic lamina and endothelial cells. Laser irradiation of PCL fibers and coagulation of solder material resulted in a strong and stiff scaffold. The weak point of the ssLAVR modality was predominantly characterized by cohesive failure. In conclusion, ssLAVR produced supraphysiological LPPs and limited tissue damage. Despite heat-induced structural/mechanical alterations of the scaffold, PCL is a suitable polymer for weld reinforcement in medium-sized vessel ssLAVR

Exploring the potential of Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) as a better alternative to Hydrogen Peroxide tratment for the IN-SITU mitigation of Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms (CYANO-HABS)

14o Πανελλήνιο Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο Χημικής Μηχανικής Θεσσαλονίκη, 29-31 Μαΐου 2024 EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF PEROXYMONOSULFATE (PMS) AS A BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO HYDROGEN PEROXIDE TREATMENT FOR THE IN-SITU MITIGATION OF CYANOBACTERIA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (CYANO-HABS) M. G. Antoniou1,*, E. Keliri1, A. Zindrou2, Υ. Deligiannakis2,3, Ε. Passa4, Κ. Weitzel4, and D. Dionysiou 4,† 1Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, Lemesos, Cyprus 2 Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Materials & Environment, Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece 3 Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development, University Research Center of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece 4 Environmental Engineering and Science Program, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (DChEE), University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States (*[email protected]) ABSTRACT Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) is a known oxidizing agent used in water treatment (especially in the pool and spa industry) as it can perform targeted oxidation for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern and has disinfection properties. Moreover, PMS has been used in bench-scale studies for the removal of cyanotoxins from drinking water [1], which are a group of naturally occurring toxins produced from the toxic strains of cyanobacteria [2]. Despite that, there is limited information in the literature regarding PMS’s application in mitigating toxic cyanobacteria in surface waters. Other peroxide compounds such as H2O2 have been extensively used on cyanobacteria-contaminated sites with varying efficiencies [3]. Though efficient, the requirement for high H2O2 doses to restore contaminated sites can negatively affect non-targeted species of the aquatic ecosystem (phytoplankton and zooplankton), which impose restrictions on H2O2 in-situ application in surface waters. Thus herein, PMS was investigated as an alternative peroxide compound for its algicidal properties on two cyanobacteria species (Microcystis sp. and Aphanizomenon sp.) and its toxicity on non-targeted zooplankton species (Echinogammarus veneris sp.). The experiments were conducted in an actual surface water matrix (Kouris Reservoir in Cyprus), spiked with pure cultures and PMS doses of 1-5 mg/L (H2O2 equivalents). The loss of the photosynthetic activity of the cyanobacterial cells and mobility of the Gammarus species was monitored for 48 hours. Treatment experiments showed that both species required as low as 3 mg/L PMS, while toxicity studies on zooplankton showed that species are more sensitive to multiple than single PMS doses which is opposite to liquid H2O2. Experiments on the simultaneous degradation of cyanobacterial cells from Microcystis sp. and microcystin-LR confirmed that PMS could degrade both the toxins and the cells at the same time, while H2O2 could not. The structures of the transformation products of microcystin-LR during treatment (up to 72 hours of contact time) were determined in dedicated experiment

The prevalence of anaemia, hypochromia and microcytosis in preoperative cardiac surgical patients

This retrospective study aimed to determine the prevalence of preoperative anaemia, hypochromia and microcytosis in cardiac surgery patients. Data was analysed for 943 patients (over a two-year period) undergoing coronary artery bypass graft, valve or combined coronary artery bypass graft and valve surgery at a tertiary hospital in South Australia. Overall prevalence of preoperative anaemia was 25.2%, greater in males than females (27.6 vs 19.9%, P 65 years of age (P=0.003). Anaemic patients with low red cell indices had lower preoperative haemoglobin than anaemic patients without low red cell indices (median haemoglobin 112 vs 120 g/l, P=0.008). Compared to non-anaemic patients, anaemic patients had higher transfusion rates (79.8 vs 46.4%, P <0.0001), which were greater in those with reduced red cell indices compared to those with normal red cell indices (93.5 vs 76.6%, P=0.01). This study demonstrated a high prevalence of preoperative anaemia, microcytosis and hypochromia in cardiac surgical patients.O David, R Sinha, K Robinson, D Cardon