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A good estimate of the length of stay (LOS) of elderly people in institutional long-term care (ILTC) is essential to both care providers (care home owners) and purchasers (local authorities in the UK) in order to forecast their resource availability and future requirements. Existing methods usually rely on cohort data, which needs to be collected on a continuous basis for several years and are often not available electronically. In this paper we develop an approach based on multi-census data to fit a Markov model in continuous-time for the LOS of elderly people in ILTC (residential and nursing care), We use 3 year placement data provided by London Borough of Merton Social Services to compare the estimates of the model parameters obtained using multi-census data with those derived from cohort data, hence to validate the multi-census approach in this context. The implications of the proposed multi-census approach and its advantages in the context of long-term care planning are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A colony immunoblotting method has been developed to allow detection of the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis strain DN-173 010 in human faecal samples. Rabbits were immunized with heat-killed DN-173 010 bacteria resulting in the production of an antiserum highly specific for bacteria belonging to Bif. animalis species. Of the 89 strains representative of 29 different bifidobacterial species tested, only the 15 strains of the Bif. animalis species could be detected with the antiserum. In Western immunoblotting the serum reacts with a protein of 45-kDa apparent molecular weight. None of the bacteria classically encountered in human faecal samples and able to grow on non-selective Columbia blood agar (enterobacteria, Bacteroides or Lactobacillus for instance) reacted with the antiserum. Taking advantage of the high specificity of the antiserum and of the absence of Bif. animalis bacteria in faeces samples of five human volunteers, we demonstrated that strain DN-173 010 survives the intestinal transit. Being based on a combination of semiselective cultivation and colony immunoblotting techniques, the method allowed detection of the Bif. animalis strain even when it represented only one thousandth of the total bifidobacterial population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although reported to be effective as a performance validity test (PVT) in TBI and ADHD, little is known about the ability of the CPT-II to model performance validity in psychiatric patients. Also, while repeat CPT-II administrations have been shown to enhance its diagnostic accuracy in ADHD evaluations, the effect of such strategic redundancy on validity assessment is largely unknown. Method: CPT-II subtests previously identified as embedded PVTs (ePVTs) were systematically tested in a sample of 30 patients with a variety of psychiatric conditions but without credible evidence of neuropsychological impairment. Neurocognitive profiles were classified as valid (n = 18) and invalid (n = 12) using a composite measure based on 20 independent PVTs. The CPT-II was administered twice, at the beginning and at the end of the testing session. Results: Significant improvement in signal detection properties was observed from Time 1 to Time 2 for Commission T ≥ 60, Perseveration T ≥ 70, Variability T ≥ 60 and the combination of Commission T ≥ 60 and Variability T ≥ 60. No difference was found for Omission T ≥ 80 and Hit RT T ≥ 60. Negligible loss in sensitivity was noted on Hit RT SE T ≥ 90. Conclusion(s): Results suggest that the ePVTs in the CPT-II developed in TBI and ADHD samples generalize to other clinical populations. Furthermore, invalid neuropsychological profiles are common in psychiatric patients (40% of the current sample). Finally, repeating the CPT-II or administering it later during the day tends to improve its signal detection properties as a PVT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a case of scorpion envenomation occurring during combat in Tagab district, province of Kapisa, Afghanistan. A French soldier was stung by a yellow scorpion (suspected Androctonus australis) and sustained systemic envenomation with hemodynamic and neurological manifestations. We discuss the clinical features, prevention, and management of a scorpion sting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]