Mini workshop - Real World Engineering Projects: Discovery-based curriculum modules for first-year students

This mini workshop is organized to provide an interactive forum for the introduction a set of six new curriculum modules developed under IEEE's Real World Engineering Projects (RWEP) program. The modules, which are representative of a larger collection of curriculum modules available to the public via an open-access RWEP web portal, are designed for use in the first-year engineering and computer science classroom, and are hands-on, team-based projects that emphasize the societal impact of the work that engineers do. After a brief introduction to the RWEP program and the six showcased curriculum modules, the authors of the modules will present their ideas and demonstrate the laboratory activities associated with their modules in interactive, informal simultaneous sessions. © 2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 40th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) 2010, Arlington, VA., 27-30 October 2010. In Proceedings of 40th FIE, 2010, p. T2A1-T2A

Mini workshop - Real World Engineering Projects: Discovery-based curriculum modules for first-year students

This mini workshop is organized to provide an interactive forum for the introduction a set of six new curriculum modules developed under IEEE's Real World Engineering Projects (RWEP) program. The modules, which are representative of a larger collection of curriculum modules available to the public via an open-access RWEP web portal, are designed for use in the first-year engineering and computer science classroom, and are hands-on, team-based projects that emphasize the societal impact of the work that engineers do. After a brief introduction to the RWEP program and the six showcased curriculum modules, the authors of the modules will present their ideas and demonstrate the laboratory activities associated with their modules in interactive, informal simultaneous sessions. © 2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 40th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) 2010, Arlington, VA., 27-30 October 2010. In Proceedings of 40th FIE, 2010, p. T2A1-T2A

Late periorbital haemorrhage following functional endoscopic sinus surgery: a caution for potential day case surgery

BACKGROUND: Orbital complications following functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) are fortunately rare. They are usually easily and rapidly recognizable. CASE PRESENTATION: We present an unusual case of a forty-five year old woman who underwent routine FESS and was not packed nasally after the procedure. Six hours later she started bleeding and nasal packs were inserted. She soon developed unilateral periorbital bruising and within hours her condition had worsened so much that the viability of the eye was thrown into question. She underwent medial and lateral canthotomies and made an uneventful post-operative recovery. CONCLUSION: This rare case demonstrates that late, brisk post-operative bleeding can occur after FESS with potentially catastrophic consequences. Clinicians should be aware that discharging patients after FESS too early may lead to medico-legal problems

Systematic review of antiepileptic drugs’ safety and effectiveness in feline epilepsy

Understanding the efficacy and safety profile of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in feline epilepsy is a crucial consideration for managing this important brain disease. However, there is a lack of information about the treatment of feline epilepsy and therefore a systematic review was constructed to assess current evidence for the AEDs’ efficacy and tolerability in cats. The methods and materials of our former systematic reviews in canine epilepsy were mostly mirrored for the current systematic review in cats. Databases of PubMed, CAB Direct and Google scholar were searched to detect peer-reviewed studies reporting efficacy and/or adverse effects of AEDs in cats. The studies were assessed with regards to their quality of evidence, i.e. study design, study population, diagnostic criteria and overall risk of bias and the outcome measures reported, i.e. prevalence and 95% confidence interval of the successful and affected population in each study and in total

Dead on arrival in a low-income country: results from a multicenter study in Pakistan

BACKGROUND: This study assessed the characteristics of dead on arrival (DOA) patients in Pakistan. METHODS: Data about the DOA patients were extracted from Pakistan National Emergency Department Surveillance study (Pak-NEDS). This study recruited all ED patients presenting to seven tertiary care hospitals during a four-month period between November 2010 and March 2011. This study included patients who were declared dead-on-arrival by the ED physician. RESULTS: A total of 1,557 DOA patients (7 per 1,000 visits) were included in the Pak-NEDS. Men accounted for two-thirds (64%) of DOA patients. Those aged 20-49 years accounted for about 46% of DOA patients. Nine percent (n = 72) of patients were brought by ambulance, and most patients presented at a public hospital (80%). About 11% of DOA patients had an injury. Factors significantly associated (p \u3c 0.05) with ambulance use were men (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.72), brought to a private hospital (OR = 2.74), and being injured (aOR = 1.89). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was performed on 6% (n = 42) of patients who received treatment. Those brought to a private hospital were more likely to receive CPR (aOR = 2.81). CONCLUSION: This study noted a higher burden of DOA patients in Pakistan compared to other resourceful settings (about 1 to 2 per 1,000 visits). A large proportion of patients belonging to productive age groups, and the low prevalence of ambulance and CPR use, indicate a need for improving the prehospital care and basic life support training in pakistan

International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force Consensus Proposal: Outcome of therapeutic interventions in canine and feline epilepsy

Common criteria for the diagnosis of drug resistance and the assessment of outcome are needed urgently as a prerequisite for standardized evaluation and reporting of individual therapeutic responses in canine epilepsy. Thus, we provide a proposal for the definition of drug resistance and partial therapeutic success in canine patients with epilepsy. This consensus statement also suggests a list of factors and aspects of outcome, which should be considered in addition to the impact on seizures. Moreover, these expert recommendations discuss criteria which determine the validity and informative value of a therapeutic trial in an individual patient and also suggest the application of individual outcome criteria. Agreement on common guidelines does not only render a basis for future optimization of individual patient management, but is also a presupposition for the design and implementation of clinical studies with highly standardized inclusion and exclusion criteria. Respective standardization will improve the comparability of findings from different studies and renders an improved basis for multicenter studies. Therefore, this proposal provides an in-depth discussion of the implications of outcome criteria for clinical studies. In particular ethical aspects and the different options for study design and application of individual patient-centered outcome criteria are considered

Differences in police, ambulance, and emergency department reporting of traffic injuries on Karachi-Hala road, Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Research undertaken in developing countries has assessed discrepancies in police reporting of Road Traffic Injury (RTI) for urban settings only. The objective of this study was to assess differences in RTI reporting across police, ambulance, and hospital Emergency Department (ED) datasets on an interurban road section in Pakistan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study setting was the 196-km long Karachi-Hala road section. RTIs reported to the police, Edhi Ambulance Service (EAS), and five hospital EDs in Karachi during 2008 (Jan to Dec) were compared in terms of road user involved (pedestrians, motorcyclists, four-wheeled vehicle occupants) and outcome (died or injured). Further, records from these data were matched to assess ascertainment of traffic injuries and deaths by the three datasets.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 143 RTIs were reported to the police, 531 to EAS, and 661 to hospital EDs. Fatality per hundred traffic injuries was twice as high in police records (19 per 100 RTIs) than in ambulance (10 per 100 RTIs) and hospital ED records (9 per 100 RTIs). Pedestrian and motorcyclist involvement per hundred traffic injuries was lower in police records (8 per 100 RTIs) than in ambulance (17 per 100 RTIs) and hospital ED records (43 per 100 RTIs). Of the 119 deaths independently identified after matching, police recorded 22.6%, EAS 46.2%, and hospital ED 50.4%. Similarly, police data accounted for 10.6%, EAS 43.5%, and hospital ED 54.9% of the 1 095 independently identified injured patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Police reporting, particularly of non-fatal RTIs and those involving vulnerable road users, should be improved in Pakistan.</p

Fingolimod: therapeutic mechanisms and ocular adverse effects.

Fingolimod is an oral immunomodulating drug used in the management of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). We aim to review the published literature on ocular manifestations of fingolimod therapy and their possible underlying mechanisms. The therapeutic effects of fingolimod are mediated via sphingosine receptors, which are found ubiquitously in various organs, including lymphoid cells, central nervous system, cardiac myocytes, and smooth muscle cells. Fingolimod-associated macular oedema (FAME) is the most common ocular side effect but retinal haemorrhages and retinal vein occlusion can occur. The visual consequences appear to be mild and, in cases of FAME, resolution is often attained with discontinuation of therapy. However, in cases of retinal vein occlusion, discontinuation of fingolimod alone may not be sufficient and intra-vitreal therapy may be required. We also propose a pragmatic service pathway for monitoring patients on fingolimod therapy, which includes stratifying them by risk and visual acuity

Speciation of common Gram-negative pathogens using a highly multiplexed high resolution melt curve assay

The identification of the bacterial species responsible for an infection remains an important step for the selection of antimicrobial therapy. Gram-negative bacteria are an important source of hospital and community acquired infections and frequently antimicrobial resistant. Speciation of bacteria is typically carried out by biochemical profiling of organisms isolated from clinical specimens, which is time consuming and delays the initiation of tailored treatment. Whilst molecular methods such as PCR have been used, they often struggle with the challenge of detecting and discriminating a wide range of targets. High resolution melt analysis is an end-point qPCR detection method that provides greater multiplexing capability than probe based methods. Here we report the design of a high resolution melt analysis assay for the identification of six common Gram-negative pathogens; Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella Sp, and Acinetobacter baumannii, and a generic Gram-negative specific 16S rRNA control. The assay was evaluated using a well characterised collection of 113 clinically isolated Gram-negative bacteria. The agreement between the HRM assay and the reference test of PCR and sequencing was 98.2% (Kappa 0.96); the overall sensitivity and specificity of the assay was 97.1% (95% CI: 90.1–99.7%) and 100% (95% CI: 91.78–100%) respectively