Use of antibiotic and prevalence of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in-patients with spinal cord injuries: a UK national spinal injury centre experience

BACKGROUND: This was a retrospective audit, with the aims being to (1) record the use of antibiotics; (2) establish the prevalence of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) and Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD); and (3) assess if there was any seasonal variation in antibiotic use and incidence of AAD. METHODS: The study was performed at a single spinal cord injury (SCI) centre in the UK. Data were collected using a standardised questionnaire during October 2014 to June 2015. We define AAD as two or more watery stools of type 5, 6 or 7 (Bristol stool scale) over 24 h. RESULTS: Three-hundred-and-nineteen adults (mean age: 55.9 years, 29.2% female) with SCI (58.2% tetraplegia; 43.7% complete SCI) were included. Of 70 (21.9%) patients on antibiotics, the top three indications for antibiotics were urinary-tract infections, infected pressure ulcers and other skin infections. Seventeen of 78 (21.8%) developed AAD and three of 319 (0.94%) developed CDAD. AAD was more common in the summer season than in spring, autumn and winter (47.1%, 10.0%, 10.0%, 23.8%, P=0.025). AAD was associated with older adults greater than 65 years (70.6% vs 23.8%, P=0.007). Polypharmacy and the summer season were identified as independent predictors for AAD. CONCLUSION: This survey found that AAD is common in SCI patients and may be a risk factor for a poorer outcome and increased hospital costs. A multicentre study is underway to establish the incidence and risk factors for AAD

The Search for Higher TcT_c in Houston

It is a great pleasure to be invited to join the chorus on this auspicious occasion to celebrate Professor K. Alex Mueller's 90th birthday by Professors Annette Bussman-Holder, Hugo Keller, and Antonio Bianconi. As a student in high temperature superconductivity, I am forever grateful to Professor Alex Mueller and Dr. Georg Bednorz "for their important breakthrough in the discovery of superconductivity in the ceramic materials" in 1986 as described in the citation of their 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics. It is this breakthrough discovery that has ushered in the explosion of research activities in high temperature superconductivity (HTS) and has provided immense excitement in HTS science and technology in the ensuing decades till now. Alex has not been resting on his laurels and has continued to search for the origin of the unusual high temperature superconductivity in cuprates.Comment: Dedicated to Alex Mueller, whose "important breakthrough in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials" in 1986 has changed the world of superconductivit

Oxide Heterostructures from a Realistic Many-Body Perspective

Oxide heterostructures are a new class of materials by design, that open the possibility for engineering challenging electronic properties, in particular correlation effects beyond an effective single-particle description. This short review tries to highlight some of the demanding aspects and questions, motivated by the goal to describe the encountered physics from first principles. The state-of-the-art methodology to approach realistic many-body effects in strongly correlated oxides, the combination of density functional theory with dynamical mean-field theory, will be briefly introduced. Discussed examples deal with prominent Mott-band- and band-band-insulating type of oxide heterostructures, where different electronic characteristics may be stabilized within a single architectured oxide material.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figure

Magnetism and its microscopic origin in iron-based high-temperature superconductors

High-temperature superconductivity in the iron-based materials emerges from, or sometimes coexists with, their metallic or insulating parent compound states. This is surprising since these undoped states display dramatically different antiferromagnetic (AF) spin arrangements and N$\rm \acute{e}$el temperatures. Although there is general consensus that magnetic interactions are important for superconductivity, much is still unknown concerning the microscopic origin of the magnetic states. In this review, progress in this area is summarized, focusing on recent experimental and theoretical results and discussing their microscopic implications. It is concluded that the parent compounds are in a state that is more complex than implied by a simple Fermi surface nesting scenario, and a dual description including both itinerant and localized degrees of freedom is needed to properly describe these fascinating materials.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Review article, accepted for publication in Nature Physic

Electronic Origin of High Temperature Superconductivity in Single-Layer FeSe Superconductor

The latest discovery of high temperature superconductivity signature in single-layer FeSe is significant because it is possible to break the superconducting critical temperature ceiling (maximum Tc~55 K) that has been stagnant since the discovery of Fe-based superconductivity in 2008. It also blows the superconductivity community by surprise because such a high Tc is unexpected in FeSe system with the bulk FeSe exhibiting a Tc at only 8 K at ambient pressure which can be enhanced to 38 K under high pressure. The Tc is still unusually high even considering the newly-discovered intercalated FeSe system A_xFe_{2-y}Se_2 (A=K, Cs, Rb and Tl) with a Tc at 32 K at ambient pressure and possible Tc near 48 K under high pressure. Particularly interesting is that such a high temperature superconductivity occurs in a single-layer FeSe system that is considered as a key building block of the Fe-based superconductors. Understanding the origin of high temperature superconductivity in such a strictly two-dimensional FeSe system is crucial to understanding the superconductivity mechanism in Fe-based superconductors in particular, and providing key insights on how to achieve high temperature superconductivity in general. Here we report distinct electronic structure associated with the single-layer FeSe superconductor. Its Fermi surface topology is different from other Fe-based superconductors; it consists only of electron pockets near the zone corner without indication of any Fermi surface around the zone center. Our observation of large and nearly isotropic superconducting gap in this strictly two-dimensional system rules out existence of node in the superconducting gap. These results have provided an unambiguous case that such a unique electronic structure is favorable for realizing high temperature superconductivity

A model of professional self-identity formation in student doctors and dentists: a mixed method study.

BACKGROUND: Professional self-identity [PSI] can be defined as the degree to which an individual identifies with his or her professional group. Several authors have called for a better understanding of the processes by which healthcare students develop their professional identities, and suggested helpful theoretical frameworks borrowed from the social science and psychology literature. However to our knowledge, there has been little empirical work examining these processes in actual healthcare students, and we are aware of no data driven description of PSI development in healthcare students. Here, we report a data driven model of PSI formation in healthcare students. METHODS: We interviewed 17 student doctors and dentists who had indicated, on a tracking questionnaire, the most substantial changes in their PSI. We analysed their perceptions of the experiences that had influenced their PSI, to develop a descriptive model. Both the primary coder and the secondary coder considered the data without reference to the existing literature; i.e. we used a bottom up approach rather than a top down approach. RESULTS: The results indicate that two overlapping frames of reference affect PSI formation: the students' self-perception and their perception of the professional role. They are 'learning' both; neither is static. Underpinning those two learning processes, the following key mechanisms operated: [1] When students are allowed to participate in the professional role they learn by trying out their knowledge and skill in the real world and finding out to what extent they work, and by trying to visualise themselves in the role. [2] When others acknowledge students as quasi-professionals they experience transference and may respond with counter-transference by changing to meet expectations or fulfil a prototype. [3] Students may also dry-run their professional role (i.e., independent practice of professional activities) in a safe setting when invited. CONCLUSIONS: Students' experiences, and their perceptions of those experiences, can be evaluated through a simple model that describes and organises the influences and mechanisms affecting PSI. This empirical model is discussed in the light of prevalent frameworks from the social science and psychology literature

The stellar halo of the Galaxy

Stellar halos may hold some of the best preserved fossils of the formation history of galaxies. They are a natural product of the merging processes that probably take place during the assembly of a galaxy, and hence may well be the most ubiquitous component of galaxies, independently of their Hubble type. This review focuses on our current understanding of the spatial structure, the kinematics and chemistry of halo stars in the Milky Way. In recent years, we have experienced a change in paradigm thanks to the discovery of large amounts of substructure, especially in the outer halo. I discuss the implications of the currently available observational constraints and fold them into several possible formation scenarios. Unraveling the formation of the Galactic halo will be possible in the near future through a combination of large wide field photometric and spectroscopic surveys, and especially in the era of Gaia.Comment: 46 pages, 16 figures. References updated and some minor changes. Full-resolution version available at http://www.astro.rug.nl/~ahelmi/stellar-halo-review.pd

Co-prescription of medication for bipolar disorder and diabetes mellitus : a nationwide population based study with focus on gender differences

BackgroundStudies have shown a correlation between bipolar disorder and diabetes mellitus. It is unclear if this correlation is a part of common pathophysiological pathways, or if medication for bipolar disorder has negative effects on blood sugar regulation.MethodsThe Norwegian prescription database was analyzed. Prescriptions for lithium, lamotrigine, carbamazepine and valproate were used as proxies for bipolar disorder. Prescriptions for insulin and oral anti-diabetic agents were used as proxies for diabetes mellitus. We explored the association between medication for bipolar disorder and diabetes medication by logistic regressionResultsWe found a strong association between concomitant use of medication to treat diabetes mellitus and mood stabilizers for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Females had a 30% higher risk compared to men of being treated for both disorders. Persons using oral anti-diabetic agents had higher odds of receiving valproate than either lithium or lamotrigine. Use of insulin as monotherapy seemed to have lower odds than oral anti-diabetic agents of co-prescription of mood stabilizers, compared to the general population.ConclusionsThis study showed a strong association between the use of mood stabilizers and anti-diabetic agents. The association was stronger among women than men

Rapidity and Centrality Dependence of Proton and Anti-proton Production from Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 130GeV

We report on the rapidity and centrality dependence of proton and anti-proton transverse mass distributions from Au+Au collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 130GeV as measured by the STAR experiment at RHIC. Our results are from the rapidity and transverse momentum range of |y|<0.5 and 0.35 <p_t<1.00GeV/c. For both protons and anti-protons, transverse mass distributions become more convex from peripheral to central collisions demonstrating characteristics of collective expansion. The measured rapidity distributions and the mean transverse momenta versus rapidity are flat within |y|<0.5. Comparisons of our data with results from model calculations indicate that in order to obtain a consistent picture of the proton(anti-proton) yields and transverse mass distributions the possibility of pre-hadronic collective expansion may have to be taken into account.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, submitted to PR

Binary and Millisecond Pulsars at the New Millennium

We review the properties and applications of binary and millisecond pulsars. Our knowledge of these exciting objects has greatly increased in recent years, mainly due to successful surveys which have brought the known pulsar population to over 1300. There are now 56 binary and millisecond pulsars in the Galactic disk and a further 47 in globular clusters. This review is concerned primarily with the results and spin-offs from these surveys which are of particular interest to the relativity community.Comment: 59 pages, 26 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in Living Reviews in Relativity (http://www.livingreviews.org