subtilis natto in animal nutrition. It focuses on its safety assessment, host-associated efficacy, and industrial requirements.This study aimed at examining atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization of barbituric acid through the corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry (CD-IMS) and the quantum chemical calculations. The results indicated two product ion peaks in the IMS spectrum of barbituric acid. The thermal decomposition of the barbituric acid sample was investigated by scanning the temperature of the injection port and analyzing the temporal evolution of the IMS peaks over elapsed time. It was found that the barbituric acid sample was not thermally decomposed in the injection port of the instrument. Experimental evidences were collected by changing the reactant ions, concentration of barbituric acid sample, and IMS cell temperature. The two observed peaks were then assigned to cationic form and oxygen protonated isomers of barbituric acid. The positions of the product ion peaks were explicated considering the dipole moments of the product ions.

In automated glucose clamp experiments, blood glucose (BG) concentrations are kept close to a predefined target level using variable glucose infusion rates (GIRs) determined by implemented algorithms. Clamp quality (ie, the ability to keep BG close to target) highly depends on the quality of these algorithms. We developed a new Clamp algorithm based on the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) approach and compared clamp quality between this and the established Biostator (BS) algorithm.

In numerical simulations, the PID-based algorithm was optimized in silico. The optimized Clamp-PID algorithm was tested in in vitro experiments and finally validated in vivo in a small (

 = 5) clinical study.

In silico, in vitro, and in vivo experiments showed better clamp quality for the new Clamp-PID algorithm compared with the BS algorithm precision and absolute control deviation (ACD) decreased from 3.7% to 1.1% and from 2.9 mg/dL to 0.6 mg/dL, respectively, in the numerical simulation. The in vitro validation demonstrated reductions in precision (from 3.3% ± 0.1% (mean ± SD) to 1.4% ± 0.4%) and in ACD (from 2.3 mg/dL ± 0.4 mg/dL to 0.8 mg/dL ± 0.2 mg/dL), respectively. In the clinical study, precision and ACD improved from 6.5% ± 1.3% to 4.0% ± 1.1% and from 3.6 mg/dL ± 0.9 mg/dL to 2.2 mg/dl ± 0.6 mg/dl, respectively. The quality parameter utility did not change.

The new Clamp-PID algorithm improves the clamp quality parameters precision and ACD versus the BS algorithm.

The new Clamp-PID algorithm improves the clamp quality parameters precision and ACD versus the BS algorithm.The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has prompted the reorganization in the scheduling and method of care for many patients, including patients diagnosed with cancer. Cancer patients, who have an immunocompromised status, may be at a higher risk of severe symptoms from infection with COVID-19. While information is rapidly evolving regarding COVID-19, Canada, both nationally and provincially, has been conveying new information to patients online. AICAR We assessed the content and readability of COVID-19-related online Canadian patient education material (PEM) for cancer patients to determine if the content of the material was written at a grade reading level that the majority of Canadians can understand. PEMs were extracted from provincial cancer agencies and the national Canadian Cancer Society, evaluated using 10 readability scales, qualitatively analyzed to identify their themes and difficult word content. Thirty-eight PEMs from both national and provincial cancers associations were, on average, written above the recommended 7th grade level. Each of the associations’ average grade levels were BC Cancer (11.00 95% confidence interval [CI] 8.27-13.38), CancerControl Alberta (10.46 95% CI 8.29-12.62), Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (11.08 95% CI 9.37-12.80), Cancer Care Manitoba (9.55 95% CI 6.02-13.01), Cancer Care Ontario (9.35 95% CI 6.80-11.90), Cancer Care Nova Scotia (10.95 95% CI 9.86-12.04), Cancer Care Eastern Health Newfoundland and Labrador (10.14 95% CI 6.87-13.41), and the Canadian Cancer Society (10.06 95% CI 8.07-12.05). Thematic analysis identified 4 themes public health strategy, information about COVID-19, patient instructions during COVID-19, and resources. Fifty-three percent of the complex words identified were medical jargon. This represents an opportunity to improve PEM readability, to allow for greater comprehension amongst a wider target audience.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of acupuncture and medical training therapy alone and in combination with those of usual care on the pain sensation of patients with frequent episodic and chronic tension-type headache.

This was a prospective single-centre randomised controlled trial with four balanced treatment arms. The allocation was carried out by pre-generated randomisation lists in the ratio 1111 with different permutation block sizes.

The study was undertaken in the outpatient clinic of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Hannover Medical School.

Ninety-six adult patients with tension-type headache were included and randomised into usual care (n = 24), acupuncture (n = 24), medical training (n = 24), and combination of acupuncture and medical training (n = 24). One patient was excluded from analysis because of withdrawing her/his consent, leaving 95 patients for intention to treat analysis. Each therapy arm consisted of 6 weeks of treatment with 12 interventions. Follow-up was at 3 an of acupuncture and medical training therapy was significantly superior in reduction of pain intensity compared to usual care.

Registered on 11 February 2019. German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00016723.

In contrast to monotherapy, only the combination of acupuncture and medical training therapy was significantly superior in reduction of pain intensity compared to usual care.Trial registration Registered on 11 February 2019. German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00016723.