Plos One
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Under natural conditions, large seeds with physical dormancy (PY) may become water permeable earlier than small ones. However, the mechanism for this difference has not been elucidated. Thus, our aim was to evaluate the traits associated with PY in seeds of Senna multijuga (Fabaceae) and to propose a mechanism for earlier dormancy-break in large than in small seeds. ⋯ Since wet, but not dry, high temperatures break PY in sensitive seeds of S. multijuga, the data support our prediction that internal pressure potential in the seed and palisade layer thickness in the water gap (lens), which is related to seed mass (i.e. P:M ratio), act together to modulate the second step (dormancy break) of the two-stage sensitivity cycling model for PY break. In which case, large seeds are predetermined to become water-permeable earlier than small ones.
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Survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) varies across the developed world. Although not all OHCA are recoverable, the survival rate in Scotland is lower than in comparable countries, with higher average survival rates of 7.9% in England and 9% across Europe. The purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers, facilitators and public attitudes to administering bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) which could inform future policy and initiatives to improve the rate of bystander CPR. ⋯ These findings are particularly relevant considering that most OHCA happen in the homes of older people. In a developed country such as Scotland with widely available CPR training, only half of the adult population reported feeling confident about administering bystander CPR. Further efforts tailored specifically for people who are older, unemployed and have a lower social grade are required to increase knowledge, confidence and uptake of training in bystander CPR.
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Detection and monitoring of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is rapidly becoming a diagnostic, prognostic and predictive tool in cancer patient care. A growing number of gene targets have been identified as diagnostic or actionable, requiring the development of reliable technology that provides analysis of multiple genes in parallel. We have developed the InVision™ liquid biopsy platform which utilizes enhanced TAm-Seq™ (eTAm-Seq™) technology, an amplicon-based next generation sequencing method for the identification of clinically-relevant somatic alterations at low frequency in ctDNA across a panel of 35 cancer-related genes. ⋯ These studies demonstrate that eTAm-Seq technology is a robust and reproducible technology for the identification and quantification of somatic mutations in circulating tumor DNA, and support its use in clinical applications for precision medicine.
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Evaluation of multislice-CT (MSCT) during diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making in patients with suspected non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI). ⋯ MSCT is an appropriate non-invasive method for diagnosing NOMI and leads to adequate and immediate therapeutic stratification.
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Patients engaging in shared decision making must weigh the likelihood of positive and negative outcomes and deal with uncertainty and negative emotions in the situations where desirable options might not be available. The use of "nudges," or communication techniques that influence patients' choices in a predictable direction, may assist patients in making complex decisions. However, nudging patients may be perceived as inappropriate influence on patients' choices. ⋯ Both physicians and non-clinicians considered using nudges more positively than not using them, regardless of an initial decision-making bias in patients' considerations. Decomposing this effect, we found that physicians viewed the nudge that endorsed hospice care more favorably than the nudge that endorsed chemotherapy, while non-clinicians viewed the nudge that endorsed chemotherapy more favorably than the nudge that endorsed hospice care. We discuss implications and propose exploring further physicians' and patients' differences in the perception of nudges; the differences may suggest limitations for using nudges in medical decisions.