Determination of particle size by using the angular distribution of backscattered light as measured with low-coherence interferometry

We employ a novel interferometer to measure the angular distribution of light backscattered by a turbid medium. Through comparison of the measured data with the predictions of Mie theory, we are able to determine the size of the scatterers comprising the medium with subwavelength precision. As the technique is based on low-coherence interferometry, we are able to examine the evolution of the angular distribution of scattered light as it propagates into the medium. The effects of multiple scattering as a function of penetration depth in the medium are analyzed. We also present various considerations for extending this technique to determining structural information in biological tissues, such as the effects of a distribution of particle sizes and the need to average out speckle contributions

Significant but Unheralded Growth of Large Externship Programs

Law schools have offered student externships for several decades. The number of participating students has fluctuated over time. At first, more law students participated in externships than in in-house clinics, but that changed in the 1980s and remained consistent for many years. Starting in the early- to mid-1990s, externship enrollment surpassed in-house-clinic participation again and has continued to increase in the past decade, each year widening the gap between these two primary forms of practice-based experiential learning. Today, externships have never been more important as a means of providing practical legal education to the current generation of law students

Psychological principles of successful aging technologies: A mini-review

Based on resource-oriented conceptions of successful life-span development, we propose three principles for evaluating assistive technology: (a) net resource release; (b) person specificity, and (c) proximal versus distal frames of evaluation. We discuss how these general principles can aid the design and evaluation of assistive technology in adulthood and old age, and propose two technological strategies, one targeting sensorimotor and the other cognitive functioning. The sensorimotor strategy aims at releasing cognitive resources such as attention and working memory by reducing the cognitive demands of sensory or sensorimotor aspects of performance. The cognitive strategy attempts to provide adaptive and individualized cuing structures orienting the individual in time and space by providing prompts that connect properties of the environment to the individual's action goals. We argue that intelligent assistive technology continuously adjusts the balance between `environmental support' and `self-initiated processing' in person-specific and aging-sensitive ways, leading to enhanced allocation of cognitive resources. Furthermore, intelligent assistive technology may foster the generation of formerly latent cognitive resources by activating developmental reserves (plasticity). We conclude that `lifespan technology', if co-constructed by behavioral scientists, engineers, and aging individuals, offers great promise for improving both the transition from middle adulthood to old age and the degree of autonomy in old age in present and future generations. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

Health service use and costs associated with fluoroquinolone-related tendon injuries

Y The aim of this study was to assess costs and health service use associated with tendon injuries after the use of fluoroquinolone antimicrobialsin Finland during 2002-2012. This retrospective observational study included data from the Finnish Pharmaceutical Insurance Pool's pharmaceutical injury claims. In total, 145 compensated claimants aged >= 18 years presenting tendon injuries after the use of fluoroquinolones (FQs) were included in the study. Outcomes of interest were the number of outpatient visits to primary, secondary, tertiary, and private healthcare services, hospital days, rehabilitation and their costs. Regression models were used to analyze the impact of patient characteristics on hospital days, as well as the relationship between patient characteristics and tendon ruptures. Direct costs of a tendon injury averaged 14,800euro and indirect costs were estimated to be 9,077euro for employed claimants. Fifty-one percent of the claimants were hospitalized, with an average duration of 21 days. Hospitalization was the costliest form of health service use with an average of 9,915euro per hospital episode. Hospital days and direct costs increased with the severity of the injury. Tendon ruptures, in particular bilateral ruptures, required substantially more hospital days and their direct costs were significantly higher than those of uncomplicated tendinitis. Concurrent use of oral corticosteroids and increasing age were associated with a higher likelihood of tendon ruptures. Although rare, FQ-related tendon injuries can result in considerable costs and health service use. Medical staff should remain vigilant when prescribing FQs, especially in groups at increased risk for tendon injuries.Peer reviewe

Alveolar lavage fluid (ALF) of normal volunteer subjects: cytologic, immunocytochemical, and biochemical reference values

AbstractObjective: Pooled bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), the return of lavage, contains both bronchial and alveolar material which differ from each other. Artifacts may be created by filtering, centrifuging and washing cells before cytopreparation. This study presents reference values of healthy volunteers for the alveolar sample, ALF, cytopreparation being performed without filtration or centrifugation.Methods: Eighteen healthy, non-smoking volunteers underwent a standard bronchoalveolar lavage using 10 aliquots of 20 ml of saline. Excluding the return of the first and second aliquots, the rest were pooled and examined cytologically, immunocytochemically and biochemically. The mean, standard deviation, and 95% confidence limits were calculated for the following variables: amount of return, estimated content of epithelial lining fluid (ELF), total and differential cell counts on filter and cytocentrifuge (CCF) preparations, computed cell counts per unit volume of ALF, distribution of lymphocyte subgroups CD3 + CD2, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD25 and CD57, and the ratio of CD4 to CD8, the amounts of lymphocytes in the same subgroups per volume of ALF, and the concentrations of total protein, albumin, immunoglobulins A, G and M, hyaluronic acid, eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP), procollagen III aminoterminal propeptide (PCP) and β2-microglobulin in ALF and in ELF, as well as the ratios of the concentrations of the solutes in ALF to the same in serum.Results: The 95% confidence limits of means for the most important variables were as follows: estimated ELF content 0·42–0·74%; total cells in ALF 76·6–143·0 × 1061−1; distribution of inflammatory cells on filter and CCF slides: macrophages 74·9–83·6 and 81·4–90·1%, lymphocytes 13·1–22·5 and 8·1–16·4%, and neutrophils 1·0–4·1 and 0·7–2·7%, respectively; distribution of lymphocyte subsets: CD3 + CD2 85·6–90·6%, CD4 44·3–53·1%, CD8 26·9–35·8%; concentration of solutes in ALF: total protein 44·8–61·3 mg l−1, albumin 15·4–22·2 mg l−1, IgA 1·8–3.4 mg l−1, IgG 3·1–6·1 mg l−1, IgM 0·05–0·26 mg l−1, hyaluronic acid 8·8–11·1 μg l−1, ECP 0·19–0·77 μg l−1, PCP 0·005–0·058 μg l−1, β2-microglobulin 62·2–81·5 μg l−1.Conclusions: Our results show that excluding the bronchial sample from ALF of volunteer subjects and omitting filtering and washing before cytopreparation produces cytologic, immunocytochemical and biochemical reference values with reasonable 95% confidence limits to be used in clinical settings

Tulvien hallinta sekä tulvariskien hallinnan toimenpiteet Suomessa:esimerkkialueina Iijoen, Vantaanjoen ja Lapuanjoen vesistöalueet

Tiivistelmä. Tulvat ovat monimutkainen ilmiö. Tulvat ovat luonteeltaan erilaisia eri puolilla maailmaa ja niiden syntyyn vaikuttaa usein yhtäaikaisesti useita tekijöitä. Ihmistoiminta on yksi tekijä, jolla on suuressa osassa tapauksia vaikutusta tulvien esiintymiseen tai ominaisuuksiin. Tehokas maankäyttö kuten kaupunkimainen rakentaminen tulvaherkillä alueilla lisää alueellisia tulvariskejä. Näitä tulvariskejä voidaan pyrkiä vähentämään erilaisilla toimenpiteillä. Tulvia ei kyetä täysin hallitsemaan, mutta toimenpiteitä, joilla pyritään vähentämään tulvia ja niiden aiheuttamia vahinkoja sekä pelastamaan ihmishenkiä ja omaisuutta kutsutaan tulvien hallinnaksi. Tässä tutkielmassa teen yhteenvedon yleisistä tulvien hallintakeinoista aiemman kirjallisuuden avulla sekä tarkastelen suomalaista tulvien hallintaa esimerkkialueiden kautta. Tulvien hallinta on laaja kokonaisuus erilaisia toimenpiteitä ja sitä voidaan jäsentää monin eri tavoin. Tässä tutkielmassa jaan yleiset hallinnankeinot tulvasuojeluun, tulvariskiä vähentäviin toimenpiteisiin sekä reagointitoimenpiteisiin. Esimerkkialueiden tapauksessa jaan toimenpiteet tulvariskien vähentämiseen, tulvasuojeluun, valmiustoimiin, toimiin tulvatilanteessa sekä jälkitoimenpiteisiin. Tulvasuojelu on tulvahallinnan muodoista ehkä yleisimmin tunnettu ja sillä on Suomessakin pitkät perinteet. Tulvasuojelun lisäksi tulvahallintaan kuuluvat monenlaiset ennakoivat ja ennalta ehkäisevät toimet, sekä tulvatilanteen aikainen ja jälkeinen toiminta. Tulvien hallinnassa eri viranomaistahoilla sekä siviileillä on omat vastuualueensa ja tehtävänsä. Tulvien hallinnan toteuttamisesta voidaan säätää laissa. Euroopan Unionin jäsenmaissa tulvien hallintaa ohjaa EU-direktiivi eli lainsäädäntöohje. Tulvien hallinta ei ole uusi ilmiö, mutta se on edelleen ajankohtainen ja kehittyvä aihepiiri. Tulevaisuudessa tulvahallintaa tulee haastamaan muun muassa ilmastonmuutoksen mahdollisesti mukanaan tuomat muutokset tulvien esiintymisessä sekä voimakkuudessa. Ilmastonmuutoksen on arvioitu vaikuttavan tulviin eri tavoin eri alueilla, ja siksi tulvahallinnan alueellista ja yleistä kehittämistä tarvitaan jatkossakin

Force balance and membrane shedding at the Red Blood Cell surface

During the aging of the red-blood cell, or under conditions of extreme echinocytosis, membrane is shed from the cell plasma membrane in the form of nano-vesicles. We propose that this process is the result of the self-adaptation of the membrane surface area to the elastic stress imposed by the spectrin cytoskeleton, via the local buckling of membrane under increasing cytoskeleton stiffness. This model introduces the concept of force balance as a regulatory process at the cell membrane, and quantitatively reproduces the rate of area loss in aging red-blood cells.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

A Spitzer/IRAC Search for Substellar Companions of the Debris Disk Star epsilon Eridani

We have used the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) onboard the Spitzer Space telescope to search for low mass companions of the nearby debris disk star epsilon Eridani. The star was observed in two epochs 39 days apart, with different focal plane rotation to allow the subtraction of the instrumental Point Spread Function, achieving a maximum sensitivity of 0.01 MJy/sr at 3.6 and 4.5 um, and 0.05 MJy/sr at 5.8 and 8.0 um. This sensitivity is not sufficient to directly detect scattered or thermal radiation from the epsilon Eridani debris disk. It is however sufficient to allow the detection of Jovian planets with mass as low as 1 MJ in the IRAC 4.5 um band. In this band, we detected over 460 sources within the 5.70 arcmin field of view of our images. To test if any of these sources could be a low mass companion to epsilon Eridani, we have compared their colors and magnitudes with models and photometry of low mass objects. Of the sources detected in at least two IRAC bands, none fall into the range of mid-IR color and luminosity expected for cool, 1 Gyr substellar and planetary mass companions of epsilon Eridani, as determined by both models and observations of field M, L and T dwarf. We identify three new sources which have detections at 4.5 um only, the lower limit placed on their [3.6]-[4.5] color consistent with models of planetary mass objects. Their nature cannot be established with the currently available data and a new observation at a later epoch will be needed to measure their proper motion, in order to determine if they are physically associated to epsilon Eridani.Comment: 36 pages, to be published on The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 647, August 200

Measuring the Interplanetary Medium with a Solar Sail

NASA has been considering a solar sail that would accelerate a craft to a high velocity (~ 14 AU/yr) by the time it reached 5 AU. Then the sail would be dropped and the craft would coast alone to deep space. We propose that the sail be retained longer. Then the density of the interplanetary medium could be determined by measuring the drag force on the huge sail using radiometric navigational data. Such an experiment would yield an independent, new type of measurement of the interplanetary medium and should be pursued.Comment: 12 page

Fluoroquinolone-related adverse events resulting in health service use and costs : A systematic review

Background and objectives Adverse events (AEs) associated with the use of fluoroquinolone antimicrobials include Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD), liver injury and seizures. Yet, the economic impact of these AEs is seldom acknowledged. The aim of this review was to identify health service use and subsequent costs associated with ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, norfloxacin and ofloxacin -related AEs. Methods A literature search covering Medline, SCOPUS, Cinahl, Web of Science and Cochrane Library was performed in April 2017. Two independent reviewers systematically extracted the data and assessed the quality of the included studies. All costs were converted to 2016 euro in order to improve comparability. Results Of the 5,687 references found in the literature search, 19 observational studies, of which five were case-controlled, fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Hospitalization was an AE-related health service use outcome in 17 studies. Length of hospital stay associated with AEs varied between <5 and 45 days. The estimated cost of an AE episode ranged between 140 and 18,252 (sic). CDAD was associated with the longest stays in hospital. Ten studies reported AE-related length of stays and five evaluated costs associated with AEs. Due to the lack of published literature, health service use and costs associated with many high-risk FQ-related AEs could not be evaluated. Conclusions Because of the wide clinical use of fluoroquinolones, in particular serious fluoroquinolone-related AEs can have substantial economic implications, in addition to imposing potentially devastating health complications for patients. Further measures are required to prevent and reduce health service use and costs associated with fluoroquinolone-related AEs. Equally, better-quality reporting and additional published data on health service use and costs associated with AEs are needed.Peer reviewe