Normative values of renin and aldosterone in clinically stable preterm neonates.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of literature on the normative levels of plasma renin concentration (PRC) and serum aldosterone (SA) in premature neonates. This study aims to provide normative data on PRC and SA levels in preterm neonates in the first 2 weeks after birth and explore associations with maternal, perinatal, or postnatal factors. METHODS: Neonates born at 26- to 34-week gestation were recruited from two neonatal intensive care units in Canada and Australia. The direct renin assay PRC and SA were analyzed on day 1 and days 14-21 after birth to compare across categorical variables and to produce normative values. RESULTS: A total of 262 subjects were enrolled from the Canadian (29%) and Australian (71%) sites. The mean gestational age was 30 weeks, with a mean birth weight of 1457 g. The normative values of PRC and SA for neonates born between 26 + 0 and 29 + 6 weeks and 30 + 0 and 34 + 0 weeks of gestation were produced for day 1 and day 14-21 after birth. Both PRC and SA increased from day 1 to day 14-21. The more premature neonates reached a higher PRC on days 14-21 after birth but exhibited lower SA levels on day 1 after birth. When comparing gender, birth weight, and maternal risk factor categories, no statistical differences in PRC or SA were found. A small but significant decrease in PRC, but not SA, was noted for neonates with placental pathology. CONCLUSIONS: This study produced normative values of PRA and SA in clinically stable preterm neonates that can be referenced for use in clinical practice. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

Living with frailty and haemodialysis: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Frailty is highly prevalent in people receiving haemodialysis (HD) and is associated with poor outcomes. Understanding the lived experiences of this group is essential to inform holistic care delivery. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with N = 25 prevalent adults receiving HD from 3 HD units in the UK. Eligibility criteria included a Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) score of 4-7 and a history of at least one fall in the last 6 months. Sampling began guided by maximum variation sampling to ensure diversity in frailty status; subsequently theoretical sampling enabled exploration of preliminary themes. Analysis was informed by constructivist grounded theory; later we drew upon the socioecological model. RESULTS: Participants had a mean age of 69 ± 10 years, 13 were female, and 13 were White British. 14 participants were vulnerable or mildly frail (CFS 4-5), and 11 moderately or severely frail (CFS 6-7). Participants characterised frailty as weight loss, weakness, exhaustion, pain and sleep disturbance arising from multiple long-term conditions. Participants' accounts revealed: the consequences of frailty (variable function and psychological ill-health at the individual level; increasing reliance upon family at the interpersonal level; burdensome health and social care interactions at the organisational level; reduced participation at the community level; challenges with financial support at the societal level); coping strategies (avoidance, vigilance, and resignation); and unmet needs (overprotection from family and healthcare professionals, transactional health and social care exchanges). CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a holistic needs assessment, person-centred health and social care systems, greater family support and enhancing opportunities for community participation may all improve outcomes and experience. An approach which encompasses all these strategies, together with wider public health interventions, may have a greater sustained impact. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN12840463 .

Frequency of Unscheduled Visits to the Obstetrical Triage Assessment Unit by Pregnant Adolescents in an Urban Canadian Centre Compared with a Matched Cohort of Pregnant Women.

OBJECTIVES: People from marginalized and vulnerable populations present more frequently for unscheduled, emergency obstetrical services at labour and delivery triage units. Based on our clinical experience, pregnant adolescents visit the obstetrical triage assessment units (OTAU) more often than adults do. This study was designed to assess this phenomenon by quantifying and describing the frequency of unscheduled visits to the OTAU by pregnant adolescents (age <20 y) compared with a matched cohort of adult pregnant patients (age ≥20 y). METHODS: A retrospective database review was performed for data on all adolescent patients that delivered at our institution at ≥20 weeks gestation between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2017. Adolescent pregnant patients were matched in a 1:1 ratio with adult pregnant patients. Demographic and clinical characteristics as well as the number of visits to the OTAU were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 162 adolescent pregnant patients visited the OTAU during the study period. The mean number of visits to the OTAU by adolescents was 2.77 ± 2.40 compared with 1.96 ± 1.80 visits in the adult cohort (P = 0.0001). Adolescents were 63% more likely than adults to access triage services (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.63; 95% CI 1.09-2.44, P = 0.017). Diagnosis of a mental health condition was the only identified risk factor for accessing OTAU, irrespective of age (IRR 1.64; 95% CI 1.05, 2.55, P = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent pregnant patients tend to visit the OTAU on an unscheduled basis more often than do adult patients. The presence of a mental health condition was identified as an important predictor of unscheduled visits to OTAUs for adolescent patients.

Combined influence of practice guidelines and prospective audit and feedback stewardship on antimicrobial treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and empyema in children: 2012 to 2016.

BACKGROUND: Aminopenicillins are recommended empiric therapy for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The aim of the study was to assess treatment over a 5-year period after CAP guideline publication and introduction of an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP). METHODS: Using ICD-10 discharge codes for pneumonia, children less than 18 years admitted to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016 were identified. Children ≥ 2 months with consolidation were included. One day of therapy (DOT) was one or more doses of an antimicrobial given for 1 day. RESULTS: Of 1,707 patients identified, 713 met inclusion criteria. Eighteen (2.5%) had bacteria identified by culture and 79 of 265 (29.8%) had Mycoplasma pneumoniae detected. Mean DOT/1,000 patient days of aminopenicillins/penicillin (AAP) increased by 18.1% per year (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.2, 39.9%) and decreased by 37.6% per year (95% CI -56.1, -11.3%) for second- and third-generation cephalosporins in the post-ASP period. The duration of discharge antimicrobials decreased. Of 74 (10.4%) patients who had pleural fluid drained, 35 (47.3%) received more than 5 days of AAP and ≤ 5 days of second-/third-generation cephalosporins with no difference in median length of stay nor mean duration of antimicrobials. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of CAP management guidelines followed by prospective audit and feedback stewardship was associated with a sustained decrease in the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in childhood CAP. Use of AAP should also be strongly considered in patients with effusions (even if no pathogen is identified), as clinical outcome appears similar to patients treated with broad-spectrum antimicrobials.

Factors Impacting Physician Recommendation for Tracheostomy Placement in Pediatric Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Stated Practice.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize the stated practices of qualified Canadian physicians toward tracheostomy for pediatric prolonged mechanical ventilation and whether subspecialty and comorbid conditions impact attitudes toward tracheostomy. DESIGN: Cross sectional web-based survey. SUBJECTS: Pediatric intensivists, neonatologists, respirologists, and otolaryngology-head and neck surgeons practicing at 16 tertiary academic Canadian pediatric hospitals. INTERVENTIONS: Respondents answered a survey based on three cases (Case 1: neonate with bronchopulmonary dysplasia; Cases 2 and 3: children 1 and 10 years old with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome, respectively) including a series of alterations in relevant clinical variables. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We compared respondents' likelihood of recommending tracheostomy at 3 weeks of mechanical ventilation and evaluated the effects of various clinical changes on physician willingness to recommend tracheostomy and their impact on preferred timing (≤ 3 wk or > 3 wk of mechanical ventilation). Response rate was 165 of 396 (42%). Of those respondents who indicated they had the expertise, 47 of 121 (38.8%), 23 of 93 (24.7%), and 40 of 87 (46.0%) would recommend tracheostomy at less than or equal to 3 weeks of mechanical ventilation for cases 1, 2, and 3, respectively (p < 0.05 Case 2 vs 3). Upper airway obstruction was associated with increased willingness to recommend earlier tracheostomy. Life-limiting condition, severe neurologic injury, unrepaired congenital heart disease, multiple organ system failure, and noninvasive ventilation were associated with a decreased willingness to recommend tracheostomy. CONCLUSION: This survey provides insight in to the stated practice patterns of Canadian physicians who care for children requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. Physicians remain reluctant to recommend tracheostomy for children requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation due to lung disease alone at 3 weeks of mechanical ventilation. Prospective studies characterizing actual physician practice toward tracheostomy for pediatric prolonged mechanical ventilation and evaluating the impact of tracheostomy timing on clinically important outcomes are needed as the next step toward harmonizing care delivery for such patients.

Effect of anesthesia for hypospadias repair on perioperative complications.

BACKGROUND: Recent publications from the United States, India, and Korea report that children undergoing hypospadias repair with caudal regional anesthesia/analgesia could have increased postoperative surgical complications. AIMS: The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to assess the impact between caudal regional anesthesia, other regional anesthesia, and no regional anesthesia on complications after hypospadias repair at a tertiary care children's hospital in Ottawa, Canada, with an expectation to changing practices if a link was found. METHOD: We reviewed the health records of 827 children with hypospadias undergoing penile surgery from January 1991-June 2017. The final sample size for the analysis consisted of 764 patients and 825 procedures. RESULTS: The overall complications were almost identical when considering anesthesia effects, and this similarity persisted when we assessed specifically for only surgical complications. We had 716, 94, and 15 subjects who had a caudal block, penile block, and general anesthesia only, respectively, and their complication rates were 28, 31, and 27%, respectively, and their fistula formation rates were 10, 6, and 0%, respectively, and their stricture formation rates were 8, 7, and 20%,, respectively. Hypospadias type and surgical repair technique were marked predictors of complications in the postoperative period. CONCLUSION: Anesthesia technique appears to have minor impact on complications after hypospadias repair, while surgical technique and type of hypospadias impact complications after hypospadias surgery in children. Based upon these results, we will not change our current practice of using a variety of regional anesthesia techniques for children undergoing hypospadias repair.

Practice variation in the management of children hospitalized with bronchiolitis: A Canadian perspective.

OBJECTIVES: To describe variations in the monitoring, treatment, and discharge of children hospitalized with bronchiolitis among physicians across Canadian paediatric teaching hospitals. METHODS: We conducted an electronic survey of paediatricians with experience in the management of inpatient bronchiolitis at 20 Canadian paediatric teaching hospitals. Only physicians who worked a minimum of 6 weeks on their hospital inpatient unit in the 2015 calendar year were eligible to participate in the study. The questionnaire explored the monitoring, treatment, and discharge of children with bronchiolitis. Central tendency (mean) and dispersion (SD) statistics were produced for continuous variables and frequency distributions for categorical variables. RESULTS: A total of 142 respondents were included in the analysis. 45.1% reported the routine use of continuous oxygen saturation monitoring. 27.5% used a higher cut-off for oxygen supplementation of 92% and 12.7% use a lower cut-off of 88%. 29.6% routinely used deep nasal suctioning. Seventy-three per cent reported using nebulized therapies. 55.6% reported having preprinted order sheets or guidelines for management of inpatient bronchiolitis at their institutions and 28.2% reported having specific discharge criteria. The length of time required to be off oxygen prior to discharge varied (31% at 12 hours, 27.5% at 24 hours, and 24.6% after the last sleep period without oxygen). CONCLUSION: There is significant practice variation in the monitoring, treatment, and discharge of children hospitalized with bronchiolitis within and between Canadian paediatric teaching hospitals. Future research is needed to establish best practices, effective knowledge translation, and implementation strategies to standardize care and decrease length of stay.

RELEASE, REFRAME, REFOCUS, AND RESPOND: A PRACTITIONER TRANSFORMATION PROCESS IN A REFLECTIVE CONSULTATION PROGRAM.

This article presents findings from a qualitative research study exploring the experiences of early intervention practitioners in a reflective consultation program. Fifteen licensed early childhood special education teachers and speech, occupational, and physical therapists as well as a psychologist from an urban school district participated in interviews discussing their work stressors and involvement with monthly reflective consultation groups. They described a loosely temporal, iterative process which transformed how they thought and felt about both themselves as practitioners and the children and families with whom they worked. These practitioners also shared ways that their participation in reflective consultation changed some of their intervention strategies with young children and families. Analysis of themes from their descriptions led to the creation of a change process model defined as release, reframe, refocus, and respond. These findings contribute the practitioners' voices and experiences in a structured way to a growing body of evidence about the efficacy of reflective supervision and consultation.

Implementation of the Mind Youth Questionnaire (MY-Q) for routine health-related quality of life screening of adolescents with type 1 diabetes in a large tertiary care center.

OBJECTIVES: Prevalence of diabetes distress and mental health comorbidities among adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) is high. Despite recommendations for routine psychosocial risk assessment, there is little guidance for their implementation. This study aims to describe the implementation and baseline outcomes of the Mind Youth Questionnaire (MY-Q), a validated psychosocial screening tool for health-related quality of life (QoL) including mood, among adolescents living with T1D. METHODS: Adolescents aged 13-18 years completed the MY-Q from October 1, 2019-April 1, 2023. Baseline characteristics, MY-Q results including categories flagged positive (noting possible areas of concern), debrief duration, and frequency of social work or mental health referral were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 343 adolescents (mean age 15.3 years; 52 % female) completed a baseline MY-Q. Median overall MY-Q debrief time (IQR) was 10.0 min (6.0, 20.0). About 290 (84.5 %) adolescents had at least one of seven categories flagged, most commonly "Family" (61 %). About 30 % of adolescents had "Mood" flagged, and 2.9 % of adolescents were referred to mental health following debrief. CONCLUSIONS: Without the need for additional resources, implementation of the MY-Q in a pediatric tertiary care diabetes clinic successfully identified QoL issues and mental health concerns among adolescents with T1D.

Patient-Reported Status and Heart Failure Outcomes in Asia by Sex, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status.

Background: In heart failure (HF), symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are known to vary among different HF subgroups, but evidence on the association between changing HRQoL and outcomes has not been evaluated. Objectives: The authors sought to investigate the relationship between changing symptoms, signs, and HRQoL and outcomes by sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Methods: Using the ASIAN-HF (Asian Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure) Registry, we investigated associations between the 6-month change in a "global" symptoms and signs score (GSSS), Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire overall score (KCCQ-OS), and visual analogue scale (VAS) and 1-year mortality or HF hospitalization. Results: In 6,549 patients (mean age: 62 ± 13 years], 29% female, 27% HF with preserved ejection fraction), women and those in low SES groups had higher symptom burden but lower signs and similar KCCQ-OS to their respective counterparts. Malay patients had the highest GSSS (3.9) and lowest KCCQ-OS (58.5), and Thai/Filipino/others (2.6) and Chinese patients (2.7) had the lowest GSSS scores and the highest KCCQ-OS (73.1 and 74.6, respectively). Compared to no change, worsening of GSSS (>1-point increase), KCCQ-OS (≥10-point decrease) and VAS (>1-point decrease) were associated with higher risk of HF admission/death (adjusted HR: 2.95 [95% CI: 2.14-4.06], 1.93 [95% CI: 1.26-2.94], and 2.30 [95% CI: 1.51-3.52], respectively). Conversely, the same degrees of improvement in GSSS, KCCQ-OS, and VAS were associated with reduced rates (HR: 0.35 [95% CI: 0.25-0.49], 0.25 [95% CI: 0.16-0.40], and 0.64 [95% CI: 0.40-1.00], respectively). Results were consistent across all sex, ethnicity, and SES groups (interaction P > 0.05). Conclusions: Serial measures of patient-reported symptoms and HRQoL are significant and consistent predictors of outcomes among different groups with HF and provide the potential for a patient-centered and pragmatic approach to risk stratification.

The Impact of Falls: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of People Receiving Haemodialysis.

The prevalence of falls is high in people receiving haemodialysis (HD). This study aimed to explore the experiences of people receiving HD who had fallen in the last six months. A qualitative study, informed by constructivist grounded theory, used semi-structured interviews in combination with falls diaries. Twenty-five adults (mean age of 69 ± 10 years, 13 female, 13 White British) receiving HD with a history of at least one fall in the last six months (median 3, IQR 2-4) participated. Data were organised within three themes: (a) participants' perceptions of the cause of their fall(s): poor balance, weakness, and dizziness, exacerbated by environmental causes, (b) the consequences of the fall: injuries were disproportionate to the severity of the fall leading to loss of confidence, function and disruptions to HD, (c) reporting and coping with falls: most did not receive any specific care regarding falls. Those who attended falls services reported access barriers. In response, personal coping strategies included avoidance, vigilance, and resignation. These findings indicate that a greater focus on proactively identifying falls, comprehensive assessment, and timely access to appropriate falls prevention programmes is required to improve care and outcomes.

Validating the Implementation Leadership Scale in Chinese nursing context: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the validity, reliability and acceptability of the Implementation Leadership Scale in the Chinese nursing context. DESIGN: This study utilized a cross-sectional design. METHODS: This study was conducted in one general tertiary hospital with 234 nurses (85.3% response rate) from 35 clinical units in China. Content validity, structural validity, convergent validity, reliability (internal consistency), agreement indices and acceptability were evaluated. The data collection was from December 1st, 2017 to June 30th, 2018. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good model fit to the four-factor implementation leadership model. The psychometric testing also indicated good convergent validity, high internal consistency and acceptable aggregation. Most participants completed the scale in two minutes or less and agreed or strongly agreed that the questions were relevant to implementation leadership, clear and easy to answer. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the Chinese Implementation Leadership Scale is a valid, reliable and pragmatic tool for measuring strategic leadership for implementing evidence-based practices.

Factors related to positive airway pressure therapy adherence in children with obesity and sleep-disordered breathing.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Positive airway pressure (PAP) is used to treat children with concurrent obesity and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), but achieving adherence remains challenging. We aimed to identify factors associated with PAP adherence in a prospective cohort of children with obesity prescribed PAP for newly diagnosed SDB. METHODS: A questionnaire to assess factors related to PAP adherence was administered to participants and their parent ≥12 months after enrollment. Adherence (PAP use ≥4 hours/night on >50% of nights) was measured with PAP machine downloads, diaries, and physician assessments. Questionnaire responses were compared between adherent/nonadherent participants and between children/parents. Age, total and obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (OAHI), lowest oxygen saturation, and highest carbon dioxide were compared between adherent/nonadherent children with univariate differences of medians, with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Fourteen children (median age: 14.3 years; 93% male; all with obstructive sleep apnea) were included. Eleven (79%) were adherent to PAP. SDB symptom improvement was reported in 9 of 14 children (64%); 8 of 14 children (57%) had positive experiences with PAP. Most children assumed an active role in PAP initiation and felt supported by the clinical team. Responses between adherent/nonadherent groups and between children/parents were similar. Oxygen saturation nadir (median difference between nonadherent and adherent groups: 8.9%; 95% confidence interval: 1.7, 16.1), but not age, apnea-hypopnea index, OAHI, or maximum carbon dioxide, was associated with PAP adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Children with obesity-related SDB with lower nocturnal oxygen saturation nadir were more likely to adhere to PAP therapy. Ensuring adequate understanding of PAP therapy and medical team support are key factors in PAP success.

Scaling of noisy fluctuations in complex networks and applications to network prediction.

We study the collective dynamics of oscillator-network systems in the presence of noise. By focusing on the time-averaged fluctuation of dynamical variable of interest about the mean field, we discover a scaling law relating the average fluctuation to the node degree. The scaling law is quite robust as it holds for a variety of network topologies and node dynamics. Analyses and numerical support for different types of networks and node dynamics are provided. We also point out an immediate application of the scaling law: predicting complex networks based on time series only, and we articulate how this can be done.

Contemporary Microbiology and Antimicrobial Treatment of Complicated Appendicitis: The Value of a Short-term Study.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial stewardship interventions to curtail the use of third-generation cephalosporins and antipseudomonal penicillins for the treatment of complicated appendicitis in children are challenging given the tendency to treat complicated disease with broad-spectrum antimicrobials. Reasons for this are unclear, but there is a paucity of contemporary microbiologic data associated with the child presenting with either acute perforated or gangrenous appendicitis. This study aimed to justify the appropriateness of an empiric regimen consisting of ampicillin, tobramycin/gentamicin plus metronidazole and to analyze duration of postoperative therapy. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study from February 1, 2017, to October 31, 2018, in children who underwent appendectomy or interventional radiologic drainage for primary complicated appendicitis. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who had a pathogen isolated from peritoneal fluid culture that was not susceptible to the recommended empiric therapy. The secondary outcomes were the total duration of antimicrobial therapy and the proportion of patients with a postoperative infectious complication within 30 days after intervention. RESULTS: Of 425 children with primary acute appendicitis, 158 (37%) had complicated appendicitis at presentation. Culture was performed in 53 (40%) of the 133 who underwent a surgical or interventional radiologic intervention. The group with peritoneal cultures was more likely to present with longer symptom duration before admission [3 (interquartile range, 2-5) vs 2 (interquartile range, 1-2) days; P < 0.001] and with purulent peritonitis [47% (25/53) vs 13% (10/80); P < 0.001]. The most common pathogens isolated were anaerobes (81%), Escherichia coli (74%) and Streptococcus anginosus group (62%). Only 4% of isolated bacteria were resistant to empiric therapy. Postoperative infectious complications were documented in 23 (17%) patients and were not associated with the presence of a resistant pathogen or the choice of antimicrobial agents but with more severe disease and higher C-reactive protein values (303 vs 83 mg/L; P=0.03) at presentation. CONCLUSIONS: In a cohort of previously healthy children presenting with complicated appendicitis requiring surgical drainage, the most common bacteria from peritoneal cultures continue to be S. anginosus, aminoglycoside-susceptible Gram-negative bacilli and anaerobes. In an attempt to reduce extended-spectrum cephalosporin use, these data were useful in supporting the use of metronidazole with ampicillin and an aminoglycoside, rather than third-generation cephalosporins.

Influence of timing of initiation of therapeutic hypothermia on brain MRI and neurodevelopment at 18 months in infants with HIE: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of timing of initiation of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) on brain injury on MRI and on neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary neonatal intensive care unit in Ontario, Canada. PATIENTS: Ninety-one patients with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) were included, 54 in the early TH group and 37 in the late TH group. INTERVENTION: Whole-body hypothermia administered for 72 hours, initiated either before 3 hours of life (early TH) or between 3 and 6 hours of life (late TH). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Brain injury on MRI after TH (assessed by two neuroradiologists), and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months old. RESULTS: TH was initiated at a median time of 1.4 hours (early TH) and 4.4 hours (late TH). Sixty-four neonates (early TH=36, late TH=28) survived and completed neurodevelopmental assessment at 18 months. Neonates in the early TH group received more extensive resuscitation than neonates in the late TH group (p=0.0008). No difference was observed between the two groups in the pattern or severity of brain injury on MRI, or in the neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months. The non-survivors (n=16) had lower Apgar scores at 10 min, more extensive resuscitation, suffered from more severe HIE and had significantly more abnormal cerebral function monitoring. CONCLUSION: In this retrospective cohort study, TH initiated early was associated neither with a difference in brain injury on MRI nor better neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months.

Detection of seizure rhythmicity by recurrences.

Epileptic seizures show a certain degree of rhythmicity, a feature of heuristic and practical interest. In this paper, we introduce a simple model of this type of behavior, and suggest a measure for detecting and quantifying it. To evaluate our method, we develop a set of test segments that incorporate rhythmicity features, and present results from the application of this measure to test segments. We then analyze electrocorticogram segments containing seizures, and present two examples. Finally, we discuss the similarity of our method to techniques for detecting unstable periodic orbits in chaotic time series.

Clostridium taeniosporum is a close relative of the Clostridium botulinum Group II.

Clostridium taeniosporum is a Gram-positive, anaerobic, rod-shaped non-toxigenic organism isolated from Crimean lake silt. It is unique in forming spores from which about twelve large, flat, ribbon-like appendages emanate. These ribbon-like structures, about 4.5 microm long and 0.45 microm wide, are assembled from smaller fibrils with 5 nm diameter spherical heads attached to thin tails about 1-2 nm in diameter and about 40 nm in length. The appendages have four major components, a glycoprotein with a collagen-like region, two proteins each of which contains two conserved domains of unknown function, and an ortholog of the Bacillus subtilis spore morphogenetic protein SpoVM. Genes for three of these and other, possibly related proteins, cluster on two chromosome fragments. Here we report that C. taeniosporum is saccharolytic, non-proteolytic, and produces both acetic and butyric acid fermentation products. It synthesizes alpha-D-glucosidase and N-acetyl-beta,D-glucoseaminidase constitutively. These physiological properties are similar to those of the C. botulinum Group II. Genotypically, C. taeniosporum is also closely related to the same Group II, based on 16S rDNA sequences. C. taeniosporum differs from typical C. botulinum Group II strains because it is non-toxigenic and in forming the ribbon-like spore appendages. These major differences among otherwise closely related organisms suggest lateral transfer of genes for appendage synthesis and for toxigenicity.

Discussion on wound care in the 21st century.

In June of this year, Liverpool John Moores University was the venue for the Advancing Wound Care conference. Experts in wound healing from both the university and from the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust gave keynote speeches aimed at informing, improving and advancing healthcare knowledge on such topics as: wound healing in the 21st century; evidence-based practice for superficial burns; infected and complex wounds; and the use of silver in wound care. This paper introduced the conference and considered some of the complex issues involved in clinical decision making for wound management.