An ex vivo, assessor blind, randomised, parallel group, comparative efficacy trial of the ovicidal activity of three pediculicides after a single application - melaleuca oil and lavender oil, eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil, and a "suffocation" pediculicide

Background: There are two components to the clinical efficacy of pediculicides: (i) efficacy against the crawling-stages (lousicidal efficacy); and (ii) efficacy against the eggs (ovicidal efficacy). Lousicidal efficacy and ovicidal efficacy are confounded in clinical trials. Here we report on a trial that was specially designed to rank the clinical ovicidal efficacy of pediculicides. Eggs were collected, pre-treatment and post-treatment, from subjects with different types of hair, different coloured hair and hair of different length.Method: Subjects with at least 20 live eggs of Pediculus capitis (head lice) were randomised to one of three treatment-groups: a melaleuca oil (commonly called tea tree oil) and lavender oil pediculicide (TTO/LO); a eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil pediculicide (EO/LTTO); or a "suffocation" pediculicide. Pre-treatment: 10 to 22 live eggs were taken from the head by cutting the single hair with the live egg attached, before the treatment (total of 1,062 eggs). Treatment: The subjects then received a single treatment of one of the three pediculicides, according to the manufacturers' instructions. Post-treatment: 10 to 41 treated live eggs were taken from the head by cutting the single hair with the egg attached (total of 1,183 eggs). Eggs were incubated for 14 days. The proportion of eggs that had hatched after 14 days in the pre-treatment group was compared with the proportion of eggs that hatched in the post-treatment group. The primary outcome measure was % ovicidal efficacy for each of the three pediculicides.Results: 722 subjects were examined for the presence of eggs of head lice. 92 of these subjects were recruited and randomly assigned to: the "suffocation" pediculicide (n = 31); the melaleuca oil and lavender oil pediculicide (n = 31); and the eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil pediculicide (n = 30 subjects). The group treated with eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil had an ovicidal efficacy of 3.3% (SD 16%) whereas the group treated with melaleuca oil and lavender oil had an ovicidal efficacy of 44.4% (SD 23%) and the group treated with the "suffocation" pediculicide had an ovicidal efficacy of 68.3% (SD 38%).Conclusion: Ovicidal efficacy varied substantially among treatments, from 3.3% to 68.3%. The "suffocation" pediculicide and the melaleuca oil and lavender oil pediculicide (TTO/LO) were significantly more ovicidal than eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil pediculicide (EO/LTTO) (P < 0.0001). Ranking: 1. "Suffocation" pediculicide (68.3% efficacy against eggs); 2. Melaleuca oil and lavender oil (44.4%) pediculicide; 3. Eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil (3.3%) pediculicide. The "suffocation" pediculicide and TTO/LO are also highly efficacious against the crawling-stages. Thus, the "suffocation" pediculicide and TTO/LO should be recommended as first line treatments.Trial Registration: The study was listed at the Australian/New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR): reg. no. 12609000884202

Channelled spectrum liquid refractometer

We describe an experimental demonstration of a novel technique for liquid refractometry. A channeled spectrum is produced from an optical beam generated by a diode laser operating below threshold by intercepting half of the beam with a liquid cell. The spectrum is analyzed using a grating and a linear CCD array and provides information on the refractive index of the liquid. The experimental results show that accuracies of better than 0.3% in the index may be obtained with the present method

Enhanced Huff Model for Estimating Park and Ride (PnR) Catchment Areas in Perth, WA

A train station catchment area delineates the spatial territory from which the users of a train station are drawn. The size and shape of this catchment can be influenced by a variety of factors, such as the transport network, the location of stations and the service quality they offer, as well as the land use density and diversity in the transport corridor. Although numerous studies have been conducted to understand the size of catchment areas, limited research has focused on determining the spatial boundary (shape) of train station catchments. This paper develops a framework for deriving a spatial boundary of a Park and Ride (PnR) catchment area by incorporating the Huff model and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies. The approach is staged, firstly determining the PnR station choice as a function of the attractiveness of a train station and the cost of access between the origin (such as a suburb) and the destination of a trip (such as the Perth CBD). Linear referencing method is then applied to re-define the origins to train stations based on the derived station choice probability. Finally, the spatial boundary of a catchment area is determined according to the adjusted origins, using GIS technologies. The model outputs were evaluated against licence plate survey of station users, where the Kappa coefficient (0.74) and overall accuracy (0.88) statistic suggested that the model's results are robust. The paper then shows how catchment area data can be used to better manage travel demand and plan design solutions aimed at increased accessibility to train stations

Dietary strategies for remission of type 2 diabetes: A narrative review

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a growing health issue globally, which, until recently, was considered to be both chronic and progressive. Although having lifestyle and dietary changes as core components, treatments have focused on optimising glycaemic control using pharmaceutical agents. With data from bariatric surgery and, more recently, total diet replacement (TDR) studies that have set out to achieve remission, remission of T2DM has emerged as a treatment goal. A group of specialist dietitians and medical practitioners was convened, supported by the British Dietetic Association and Diabetes UK, to discuss dietary approaches to T2DM and consequently undertook a review of the available clinical trial and practice audit data regarding dietary approaches to remission of T2DM. Current available evidence suggests that a range of dietary approaches, including low energy diets (mostly using TDR) and low carbohydrate diets, can be used to support the achievement of euglycaemia and potentially remission. The most significant predictor of remission is weight loss and, although euglycaemia may occur on a low carbohydrate diet without weight loss, which does not meet some definitions of remission, it may rather constitute a ‘state of mitigation’ of T2DM. This technical point may not be considered as important for people living with T2DM, aside from that it may only last as long as the carbohydrate restriction is maintained. The possibility of actively treating T2DM along with the possibility of achieving remission should be discussed by healthcare professionals with people living with T2DM, along with a range of different dietary approaches that can help to achieve this

CAD in mammography: lesion-level versus case-level analysis of the effects of prompts on human decisions

Object: To understand decision processes in CAD-supported breast screening by analysing how prompts affect readers’ judgements of individual mammographic features (lesions). To this end we analysed hitherto unexamined details of reports completed by mammogram readers in an earlier evaluation of a CAD tool. Material and methods: Assessments of lesions were extracted from 5,839 reports for 59 cancer cases. Statistical analyses of these data focused on what features readers considered when recalling a cancer case and how readers reacted to CAD prompts. Results: About 13.5% of recall decisions were found to be caused by responses to features other than those indicating actual cancer. Effects of CAD: lesions were more likely to be examined if prompted; the presence of a prompt on a cancer increased the probability of both detection and recall especially for less accurate readers in subtler cases; lack of prompts made cancer features less likely to be detected; false prompts made non-cancer features more likely to be classified as cancer. Conclusion: The apparent lack of impact reported for CAD in some studies is plausibly due to CAD systematically affecting readers’ identification of individual features, in a beneficial way for certain combinations of readers and features and a damaging way for others. Mammogram readers do not ignore prompts. Methodologically, assessing CAD by numbers of recalled cancer cases may be misleading

Mammography Facility Characteristics Associated With Interpretive Accuracy of Screening Mammography

BackgroundAlthough interpretive performance varies substantially among radiologists, such variation has not been examined among mammography facilities. Understanding sources of facility variation could become a foundation for improving interpretive performance.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study conducted between 1996 and 2002, we surveyed 53 facilities to evaluate associations between facility structure, interpretive process characteristics, and interpretive performance of screening mammography (ie, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value [PPV1], and the likelihood of cancer among women who were referred for biopsy [PPV2]). Measures of interpretive performance were ascertained prospectively from mammography interpretations and cancer data collected by the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses estimated the association between facility characteristics and mammography interpretive performance or accuracy (area under the ROC curve [AUC]). All P values were two-sided.ResultsOf the 53 eligible facilities, data on 44 could be analyzed. These 44 facilities accounted for 484 463 screening mammograms performed on 237 669 women, of whom 2686 were diagnosed with breast cancer during follow-up. Among the 44 facilities, mean sensitivity was 79.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 74.3% to 84.9%), mean specificity was 90.2% (95% CI = 88.3% to 92.0%), mean PPV1 was 4.1% (95% CI = 3.5% to 4.7%), and mean PPV2 was 38.8% (95% CI = 32.6% to 45.0%). The facilities varied statistically significantly in specificity (P &lt; .001), PPV1 (P &lt; .001), and PPV2 (P = .002) but not in sensitivity (P = .99). AUC was higher among facilities that offered screening mammograms alone vs those that offered screening and diagnostic mammograms (0.943 vs 0.911, P = .006), had a breast imaging specialist interpreting mammograms vs not (0.932 vs 0.905, P = .004), did not perform double reading vs independent double reading vs consensus double reading (0.925 vs 0.915 vs 0.887, P = .034), or conducted audit reviews two or more times per year vs annually vs at an unknown frequency (0.929 vs 0.904 vs 0.900, P = .018).ConclusionMammography interpretive performance varies statistically significantly by facility

Narrowing gaps between research and policy development in climate change adaptation work in the water resources and agriculture sectors of Cambodia

Narrowing research and policy, while challenging, is especially important in climate change adaptation work (CCA) due to the high uncertainties involved in planning for climate change. This article aims to seek stakeholders’ opinions regarding how research and policy development can be bridged within the Cambodian water resources and agriculture sectors. The study used institutional ethnography methods with informants from government organizations, local academia, and development partners (DPs). This article identifies a number of challenges, and barriers for narrowing research–policy development gaps, including: limited effectiveness of governmental policies and planning; lack of relevant information required to promote evidence-based planning and policy development; and communication barriers. Evidence-based planning is valued by government officials most when there is actual and effective implementation of policies and plans. In practice, this often implies that governmental policies and plans need be scoped and scaled down to meet the available budget, and thus be achievable. In the long term, it also means building the capacity for policy-relevant research on climate change adaptation within Cambodia. Engaging policy stakeholders in research process for co-producing adaptation knowledge, and introducing knowledge intermediaries are suggested by informants as means to narrowing gaps between research and policy development. The presence of the Cambodia's Prime Minister in research–policy dialogues is recommended as important for attracting the attention of high-level policy makers

Observations of red-giant variable stars by Aboriginal Australians

Aboriginal Australians carefully observe the properties and positions of stars, including both overt and subtle changes in their brightness, for subsistence and social application. These observations are encoded in oral tradition. I examine two Aboriginal oral traditions from South Australia that describe the periodic changing brightness in three pulsating, red-giant variable stars: Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), and Antares (Alpha Scorpii). The Australian Aboriginal accounts stand as the only known descriptions of pulsating variable stars in any Indigenous oral tradition in the world. Researchers examining these oral traditions over the last century, including anthropologists and astronomers, missed the description of these stars as being variable in nature as the ethnographic record contained several misidentifications of stars and celestial objects. Arguably, ethnographers working on Indigenous Knowledge Systems should have academic training in both the natural and social sciences.Comment: The Australian Journal of Anthropology (2018

Colloidal Radioalbumin Aggregates for Organ Scanning

Colloidal aggregates (10 to 20 m mu ) of human serum albumin /sup 131/I may be used safely by intravenous injection to perform photoscans of the heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and salivary glands in man. Large particle size suspensions (10 to 50 mu ) of the same material were investigated experimentally in animals for scanning the lungs after intravenous injection and the brain following injection into an internal carotid artery. The advantages of this test material are the relatively low radiation exposure to the target organs and the number of organs that may be examined. Radiation exposure is low because of the rapid turnover in the target organs and removal from the body, mainly by urinary excretion, within 72 hr. The mechanism of liverspleen localization with this organic colloid is the same as for inorganic colloidal /sup 198/Au, namely, rapid removal from the blood by the phagocytic cells of the liver and spleen. However, in contrast to the inorganic colloid, which remains in the phagocytic cells permanently, albumin is digested by proteolytic enzymes and the /sup 131/I label is set free to re-enter the general circulation. With the thyroid blocked, the / sup 131/ is excreted mainly in the urine as free iodide together with other labeled albumin degradation products, such as tyrosine and peptides. The calculated radiation dose to the liver is at least 100 times less from colloidal albumin Jail than from an equal dose of /sup 198/Au. (auth

The impact of point mutations in the human androgen receptor : classification of mutations on the basis of transcriptional activity

Peer reviewedPublisher PD