Malaria in South Sudan 2: clinical features and diagnosis

No Abstrac

Towards a Situated Non-Objective Art Practice

This project is a practice-led investigation into the potential for a situated Non-Objective art practice. Taking the divergent impulses that currently inform my own creative practice as a starting point, the project aims to reconcile the differing aesthetic and ideological principles that define both Non-Objective, and situated practice, to achieve new syntheses

Management of malaria at Juba Teaching Hospital: a clinical audit

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Editorial

No Abstrac

Editorial: Launching our new website

No Abstrac

The application of detrended fluctuation analysis to assess physical characteristics of the human cell line ECV304 following toxic challenges

© 2019 In this paper we present a non-contact, impedance-based sensor system capable of characterizing the toxic response of cells to three different types of toxin. ECV304 cells were treated with 1 mM Hydrogen peroxide, 5% Dimethyl Sulfoxide, and 10 μg/ml saponin. Impedance spectroscopy was performed over a 2 h period on the cells within a commercial cell growth chamber, positioned on a pair of measurement electrodes, at frequencies between 200 and 830 kHz at 10 kHz intervals. Analysis of the impedance data was undertaken using the feature-extraction technique, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA). DFA scales the autocorrelation of a non-stationary signal, such as those generated using impedance spectroscopy for cytotoxicity testing. The correlation between the average fluctuation of the signal, F(n) (and scaling exponent, α) and a measurement of the cell size from image analysis was evaluated. The results showed that F(n) and α were strongly related to the changes of the morphological size of the cells. The results demonstrated that non-contact impedance spectroscopy, coupled with DFA can be used to monitor cell size in real time

The Effect of Glass Shape on Alcohol Consumption in a Naturalistic Setting: A Feasibility Study

BACKGROUND: Alcohol-related harms are a major public health concern, and population-level interventions are needed to reduce excessive alcohol consumption. Glass shape is an easily modifiable target for public health intervention. Laboratory findings show beer is consumed slower from a straight glass compared to a curved glass, but these findings have not been replicated in a naturalistic setting. The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial investigating the effect of glass shape on alcohol consumption in public houses. METHODS: Straight and curved half-pint and pint glasses were delivered to three public houses over two weekends. Glass type was counterbalanced over the two weekends and between the public houses. Monetary takings were recorded as an indirect measure of consumption. RESULTS: Replacing stocks of glassware in public houses was feasible and can be enacted in a short space of time. One landlord found the study too disruptive, possibly due to a laborious exchange of glassware and complaints about the new glassware from some customers. One public house’s dishwasher could not accommodate the supplied curved full-pint glasses. Obtaining monetary takings from public house staff was a feasible and efficient way of measuring consumption, although reporting absolute amounts may be commercially sensitive. Monetary takings were reduced by 24 % (95 % confidence interval 77 % reduction to 29 % increase) when straight glasses were used compared to curved glasses. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that it is feasible to carry out a trial investigating glass shape in a naturalistic environment, although a number of challenges were encountered. Brewery owners and landlords are willing to engage with public health research in settings where alcohol is consumed, such as public houses. Good communication with stakeholders was vital to acquire good data, and highlighting the potential commercial benefits of participating was vital to the study’s success. A full scale evaluation of the effects of glass shape on alcohol consumption could inform local and national policy

Investigation of the microwave curing of the PR500 epoxy resin system

Microwave heating has been used to cure a resin system, PR500 (3M). The same resin has been cured using a conventional oven. The cured resins have been compared using a number of techniques including modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC), dynamic thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy (IR) and solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The reaction path appears to be slightly different depending upon the nature of the heating. The epoxy-amine reaction occurs to a greater extent than the epoxy-hydroxyl reaction in the microwave cured resin compared to the thermally cured resin. The dielectric properties for the thermally and microwave cured materials were measured for degrees of cure greater than 75% and over this range are similar for materials cured by the two techniques and thus not sensitive to this change. Broadening of the glass transition for microwave-cured epoxy resins was observed. Since the IR and solid-state NMR results show small differences as does the DMA behaviour of materials cured using the two routes the broadening is attributed to a difference in network structur

Effect of nucleation on the likeability and drinking rate of lager in social alcohol drinkers

Background. The aim of these studies was to investigate the effect of nucleated glasses on the likeability and drinking rate of lager in social alcohol drinkers. Methods. In Study 1, participants (n = 116) were asked to taste two glasses of lager (280 ml each) in separate 5-minute taste tests and fill out a likeability questionnaire (items on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS)) after each glass in a within-subjects design with one factor of glass (nucleated, non-nucleated). In Study 2, participants (n = 160) were asked to consume a pint of lager (568 ml) and fill out a likeability questionnaire in a between-subjects design with one factor of glass (nucleated, non-nucleated). Results. There was no clear evidence that likeability of lager differed between nucleated and non-nucleated glasses in either study. In Study 1, there was strong evidence (nucleated: 74.2, non-nucleated: 64.0, MD = 10.2, 95% CI: 6.1, 14.2, p < 0.001) that lager in nucleated glasses was more visually appealing (single item from likeability measure) than lager in non-nucleated glasses. In Study 2, there was no clear evidence (nucleated: 16.9 mins, non-nucleated: 16.3 mins, MD: 0.6 mins, p = 0.57) that lager was consumed at different rates from nucleated and non-nucleated glasses. Conclusions. Nucleated lager glasses do not appear to alter the likeability or consumption (volume consumed or drinking rate) of lager, although they do seem to increase the visual appeal of lager

Intercomparison of Multiple UV-LIF Spectrometers using the Aerosol Challenge Simulator

Measurements of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) have been conducted worldwide using ultraviolet light-induced fluorescence (UV-LIF) spectrometers. However, how these instruments detect and respond to known biological and non-biological particles, and how they compare, remains uncertain due to limited laboratory intercomparisons. Using the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Aerosol Challenge Simulator (ACS), controlled concentrations of biological and non-biological aerosol particles, singly or as mixtures, were produced for testing and intercomparison of multiple versions of the Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Spectrometer (WIBS) and Multiparameter Bioaerosol Spectrometer (MBS). Although the results suggest some challenges in discriminating biological particle types across different versions of the same UV-LIF instrument, a difference in fluorescence intensity between the non-biological and biological samples could be identified for most instruments. While lower concentrations of fluorescent particles were detected by the MBS, the MBS demonstrates the potential to discriminate between pollen and other biological particles. This study presents the first published technical summary and use of the ACS for instrument intercomparisons. Within this work a clear overview of the data pre-processing is also presented, and documentation of instrument version/model numbers is suggested to assess potential instrument variations between different versions of the same instrument. Further laboratory studies sampling different particle types are suggested before use in quantifying impact on ambient classification.Peer reviewe