Carbon dioxide baited trap catches do not correlate with human landing collections of Anopheles aquasalis in Suriname

Three types of carbon dioxide-baited traps, i.e., the Centers for Disease Control Miniature Light Trap without light, the BioGents (BG) Sentinel Mosquito Trap (BG-Sentinel) and the Mosquito Magnet® Liberty Plus were compared with human landing collections in their efficiency in collecting Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) aquasalis mosquitoes. Of 13,549 total mosquitoes collected, 1,019 (7.52%) were An. aquasalis. Large numbers of Culex spp were also collected, in particular with the (BG-Sentinel). The majority of An. aquasalis (83.8%) were collected by the human landing collection (HLC). None of the trap catches correlated with HLC in the number of An. aquasalis captured over time. The high efficiency of the HLC method indicates that this malaria vector was anthropophilic at this site, especially as carbon dioxide was insufficiently attractive as stand-alone bait. Traps using carbon dioxide in combination with human odorants may provide better results

Evaluation of Methods for Sampling the Malaria Vector Anopheles darlingi (Diptera, Culicidae) in Suriname and the Relation With Its Biting Behavior

The effectiveness of CO2-baited and human-baited mosquito traps for the sampling of Anopheles darlingi Root was evaluated and compared with human landing collections in Suriname. Biting preferences of this mosquito on a human host were studied and related to trapping data. Traps used were the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Miniature Light trap, the BG Sentinel mosquito trap, the Mosquito Magnet Liberty Plus mosquito trap (MM-Plus), and a custom-designed trap. Carbon dioxide and humans protected by a bed net were used as bait in the studies. The number of An. darlingi collected was greater with human landing collections than with all other collection methods. An. darlingi did not show a preference for protected humans over CO2 bait. The BG Sentinel mosquito trap with CO2 or human odor as bait and the MM-Plus proved the best alternative sampling tools for An. darlingi. The BG Sentinel mosquito trap with CO2 or human odor as bait was also very efficient at collecting Culex spp. In a field study on biting preferences of wild An. darlingi, the females showed directional biting behavior (P <0.001), with a majority of females (93.3%) biting the lower legs and feet when approaching a seated human host. Higher efficiency of the closer-to-the-ground collecting MM-Plus and BG Sentinel mosquito trap when compared with the other trapping methods may be a result of a possible preference of this mosquito species for low-level biting. It is concluded that odor-baited sampling systems can reliably collect An. darlingi, but the odor bait needs to be improved, for instance, by including host-specific volatiles, to match live human baits

What do we know about rail suicide incidents?: analysis of 257 fatalities on the rail network in Great Britain

There are over two hundred and fifty suicides on the railway in Great Britain (GB) each year. Descriptive statistics are compiled, producing national and international data. The industry know how many and, to a limited extent, where these fatalities occur. There is little in-depth analysis of events. Therefore, there are gaps in knowledge of these fatalities and this is a weakness when considering the best approaches to prevention. This paper reports on the analysis of data on 257 suicide events at or near to 51 stations on three rail routes in Great Britain over a 20 year period. The analysis uses data from the industry Safety Management System (SMIS) database and produces simple descriptive statistics on a range of variables, including comparisons across the three rail routes. Additional data from staff and route based documentation have been used to verify, supplement and interpret information in the database. Examples of patterns of immediate and precursor behaviours during incidents have been presented, illustrating the potential to explore both common and anomalous behaviours during events. The findings demonstrate the type of content that can be explored within the industry data and through use of other data that are available within the industry. Commentary is provided on the strengths and weaknesses of the data and how findings from the analysis can be used to improve future data collection and prevention of incidents

QRS classification and spatial combination for robust heart rate detection in low-quality fetal ECG recordings

Non-invasive fetal electrocardiography (ECG) can be used for prolonged monitoring of the fetal heart rate (FHR). However, the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) of non-invasive ECG recordings is often insufficient for reliable detection of the FHR. To overcome this problem, source separation techniques can be used to enhance the fetal ECG. This study uses a physiology-based source separation (PBSS) technique that has already been demonstrated to outperform widely used blind source separation techniques. Despite the relatively good performance of PBSS in enhancing the fetal ECG, PBSS is still susceptible to artifacts. In this study an augmented PBSS technique is developed to reduce the influence of artifacts. The performance of the developed method is compared to PBSS on multi-channel non-invasive fetal ECG recordings. Based on this comparison, the developed method is shown to outperform PBSS for the enhancement of the fetal ECG

Applicability and accuracy of an intraoral scanner for scanning multiple implants in edentulous mandibles:A pilot study

Statement of problem. In the past 5 years, the use of intraoral digitizers has increased. However, data are lacking on the accuracy of scanning implant restorative platforms for prosthodontics with intraoral digitizers. Purpose. The purpose of this clinical pilot study was to assess the applicability and accuracy of intraoral scans by using abutments designed for scanning (scan abutments) in edentulous mandibles. Material and methods. Twenty-five participants with complete mandibular overdentures retained by 2 implants and frameworks were included in this study. Scan abutments were placed on the implants intraorally and scanned with the iTero intraoral scanner. Also, scan abutments were placed on the implant analogs of the definitive casts and scanned with an extraoral laboratory scanner (Lava Scan ST scanner). Two 3-dimensional computer-aided design models of the scan abutments with predetermined center lines were subsequently imported and registered, together with each of the scanned equivalents. The distance between the centers of the top of the scan abutments and the angulations between the scan abutments was assessed. These values were compared with the measurements made on the 3-dimensional scans ofthe definitive casts, which were the participants' original definitive casts used for fabrication of soldered bars. The threshold for distance error was established to be 100 mu m. Results. Four of the 25 intraoral scans were not suitable for research because the intraoral scanner was not able to stitch the separate scans together. Five of the 21 suitable scans demonstrated an interimplant distance error >100 Rm. Three of the 25 intraoral scans showed interimplant angulation errors >0.4 degrees. Only 1 scan showed both an acceptable interimplant distance ( Conclusions. Based on the intraoral scans obtained in this study, distance and angulation errors were too large to fabricate well-fitting frameworks on implants in edentulous mandibles. The main reason for the unreliable scans seemed to be the lack of anatomic landmarks for scanning

Hard-to-heal venous-lymphatic leg ulcers: a special case

In the treatment of this 56-year-old male, the aim was to attend to his multiple pathologies, reducing his venous-lymphatic oedema on both legs, closing the extended ulcers and improving his quality of life. The patient received treatment in a community-based wound healing clinic. After various local therapies were not successful, the wounds were cleansed with saline and covered with a biocellulose dressing (BWD) and polyhexanide (PHMB), after which a short-stretch bandage system was applied. Compression was then switched to a tubular compression system. At day 0, both lower legs had significant oedema and circumferential venous-lymphatic ulcers, and the left leg showed signs of inflammation. However, at day 8, inflammation, oedema and ulcer area had reduced. After 2 months, the ulcers were almost closed and the oedema had reduced to a level where the tubular compression system could be applied. Treatment using BWD and compression and good adherence to this regimen led to ulcer closure. This improved the patients' quality of life significantly

Ga+, In+ and Tl+ Impurities in Alkali Halide Crystals: Distortion Trends

A computational study of the doping of alkali halide crystals (AX: A = Na, K; X = Cl, Br) by ns2 cations (Ga+, In+ and Tl+) is presented. Active clusters of increasing size (from 33 to 177 ions) are considered in order to deal with the large scale distortions induced by the substitutional impurities. Those clusters are embedded in accurate quantum environments representing the surrounding crystalline lattice. The convergence of the distortion results with the size of the active cluster is analyced for some selected impurity systems. The most important conclusion from this study is that distortions along the (100) and (110) crystallographic directions are not independent. Once a reliable cluster model is found, distortion trends as a function of impurity, alkali cation and halide anion are identified and discussed. These trends may be useful when analycing other cation impurities in similar host lattices.Comment: LaTeX file. 7 pages and 2 pictures. Accepted for publication in J. Chem. Phy

Bilateral proximal tibia fracture

A bilateral fracture of the proximal tibia is rare in children. We describe a girl with a bilateral fracture just distal of the epiphyseal plate after minimal trauma