Clinical studies of the high-intensity narrow-spectrum light environmental decontamination system (HINS-light EDS), for continuous disinfection in the burn unit inpatient and outpatient settings

Infections are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in burn patients and prevention of contamination from exogenous sources including the hospital environment is becoming increasingly emphasised. The High-Intensity Narrow-Spectrum light Environmental Decontamination System (HINS-light EDS) is bactericidal yet safe for humans, allowing continuous disinfection of the environment surrounding burn patients. Environmental samples were collected from inpatient isolation rooms and the outpatient clinic in the burn unit, and comparisons were then made between the bacterial contamination levels observed with and without use of the HINS-light EDS. Over 1000 samples were taken. Inpatient studies, with sampling carried out at 0800 h, demonstrated a significant reduction in the average number of bacterial colonies following HINS-light EDS use of between 27% and 75%, (p<0.05). There was more variation when samples were taken at times of increased activity in the room. Outpatient studies during clinics demonstrated a 61% efficacy in the reduction of bacterial contamination on surfaces throughout the room during the course of a clinic (p=0.02). The results demonstrate that use of the HINS-light EDS allows efficacious bacterial reductions over and above that achieved by standard cleaning and infection control measures in both inpatient and outpatient settings in the burn unit

Cortical Network for Gaze Control in Humans Revealed Using Multimodal MRI

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques allow definition of cortical nodes that are presumed to be components of large-scale distributed brain networks involved in cognitive processes. However, very few investigations examine whether such functionally defined areas are in fact structurally connected. Here, we used combined fMRI and diffusion MRI-based tractography to define the cortical network involved in saccadic eye movement control in humans. The results of this multimodal imaging approach demonstrate white matter pathways connecting the frontal eye fields and supplementary eye fields, consistent with the known connectivity of these regions in macaque monkeys. Importantly, however, these connections appeared to be more prominent in the right hemisphere of humans. In addition, there was evidence of a dorsal frontoparietal pathway connecting the frontal eye field and the inferior parietal lobe, also right hemisphere dominant, consistent with specialization of the right hemisphere for directed attention in humans. These findings demonstrate the utility and potential of using multimodal imaging techniques to define large-scale distributed brain networks, including those that demonstrate known hemispheric asymmetries in human

Factor XI/ADAMTS13 complexes are quantitatively insignificant in human plasma

Reportedly, complexes between factor XI and ADAMTS13 are detected with a commercial ADAMTS13/FXI ELISA kit in plasma and are decreased in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Using this kit, control and TTP patient plasma contained varying amounts of signal (25-670% of a reference plasma) but no signal was observed for mixtures of recombinant enzymes, suggesting little interaction. ADAMTS13/FXI complexes were undetectable by immunoprecipitation or gel filtration chromatography in control plasma or mixtures of recombinant proteins. These results suggest that ADAMTS13/FXI complexes are insignificant in plasma and unlikely to affect the function of either protein during normal hemostasis or in TTP

Monocular signals in human lateral geniculate nucleus reflect the Craik-CornsweetO’Brien effect

The human visual system has a remarkable ability to accurately estimate the relative brightness of adjacent objects despite large variations in illumination. However, the lightness of two identical equiluminant gray regions can appear quite different when a light-dark luminance transition falls between them. This illusory brightness &quot;filling-in&quot; phenomenon, the Craik-Cornsweet-O&apos;Brien (CCOB) illusion, exposes fundamental assumptions made by the visual system in estimating lightness, but its neural basis remains unclear. While the responses of high-level visual cortex can be correlated with perception of the CCOB, simple computational models suggest that the effect may originate from a much lower level, possibly subcortical. Here, we used high spatial resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging to show that the CCOB illusion is strongly correlated with signals recorded from the human lateral geniculate nucleus. Moreover, presenting the light and dark luminance transitions that induce the CCOB effect separately to each eye abolishes the illusion, suggesting that it depends on eye-specific signals. Our observations suggest that the CCOB effect arises from signals in populations of monocular neurons very early in the human geniculostriate visual pathway

Visual surround suppression in schizophrenia

Compared to unaffected observers patients with schizophrenia (SZ) show characteristic differences in visual perception, including a reduced susceptibility to the influence of context on judgments of contrast - a manifestation of weaker surround suppression (SS). To examine the generality of this phenomenon we measured the ability of 24 individuals with SZ to judge the luminance, contrast, orientation, and size of targets embedded in contextual surrounds that would typically influence the target's appearance. Individuals with SZ demonstrated weaker SS compared to matched controls for stimuli defined by contrast or size, but not for those defined by luminance or orientation. As perceived luminance is thought to be regulated at the earliest stages of visual processing our findings are consistent with a suppression deficit that is predominantly cortical in origin. In addition, we propose that preserved orientation SS in SZ may reflect the sparing of broadly tuned mechanisms of suppression. We attempt to reconcile these data with findings from previous studies

Endoscopic Evidence That Randall's Plaque is Associated with Surface Erosion of the Renal Papilla

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to assess the reliability and precision of an endoscopic grading scale to identify renal papillary abnormalities across a spectrum of equipment, locations, graders, and patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Intra- and interobserver reliability of the papillary grading system was assessed using weighted kappa scoring among 4 graders reviewing a single renal papilla from 50 separate patients on 2 occasions. Grading was then applied to a cohort of patients undergoing endoscopic stone removal procedures at two centers. Patient factors were compared with papillary scores on the level of the papilla, kidney, and patient. RESULTS: Graders achieved substantial (kappa >0.6) intra- and inter-rater reliability in scored domains of ductal plugging, surface pitting, and loss of contour. Agreement for Randall's Plaque (RP) was moderate. Papillary scoring was then performed for 76 patients (89 kidneys, 533 papillae). A significant association was discovered between pitting and RP that held both within and across institutions. A general linear model was then created to further assess this association and it was found that RP score was a highly significant independent correlate of pitting score (F = 7.1; p < 0.001). Mean pitting scores increased smoothly and progressively with increasing RP scores. Sums of the scored domains were then calculated as a reflection of gross papillary abnormality. When analyzed in this way, a history of stone recurrence and shockwave lithotripsy were strongly predictive of higher sums. CONCLUSIONS: Renal papillary pathology can be reliably assessed between different providers using a newly described endoscopic grading scale. Application of this scale to stone-forming patients suggests that the degree of RP appreciated in the papilla is strongly associated with the presence of pitting. It also suggests that patients with a history of recurrent stones and lithotripsy have greater burdens of gross papillary disease

Social network market: Storytelling on a web 2.0 original literature site

This article looks at a Chinese Web 2.0 original literature site, Qidian, in order to show the coevolution of market and non-market initiatives. The analytic framework of social network markets (Potts et al., 2008) is employed to analyse the motivations of publishing original literature works online and to understand the support mechanisms of the site, which encourage readers’ willingness to pay for user-generated content. The co-existence of socio-cultural and commercial economies and their impact on the successful business model of the site are illustrated in this case. This article extends the concept of social network markets by proposing the existence of a ripple effect of social network markets through convergence between PC and mobile internet, traditional and internet publishing, and between publishing and other cultural industries. It also examines the side effects of social network markets, and the role of market and non-market strategies in addressing the issues