Comparing Bedside Methods of Determining Placement of Gastric Tubes in Children

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy and predictive validity of pH, bilirubin, and CO2 in identifying gastric tube placement errors in children. Design and Methods After the tube was inserted into 276 children, the CO2 monitor reading was obtained. Fluid was then aspirated to test pH and bilirubin. Results Lack of ability to obtain tube aspirate was the best predictor of NG/OG placement errors with a sensitivity of 34.9% and a positive predictive value of 66.7%. Measuring pH, bilirubin, and CO2 of tube aspirate was less helpful. Practice Implications Health care providers should suspect NG/OG tube misplacement when no fluid is aspirated

Comparison of X-ray and gamma-ray dose-response curves for pink somatic mutations in Tradescantia clone 02

Microdosimetric data indicate that the mean specific energy,zeta, produced by individual charged particles from X rays and gamma rays is different for the two radiation qualities by nearly a factor of two. In order to test whether this influences the initial, linear component in the dose-effect relations, a comparison was made between dose-response curves for pink somatic mutations inTradescantia clone 02 stamen hairs following X and gamma irradiations. Absorbed doses ranged from 2.66 to 300 rad. The results are in agreement with predictions made on the basis of microdosimetric data. At low doses gamma rays are substantially less effective than X rays. The RBE of gamma rays vs. X rays at low doses was approximately 0.6, a value lower than those usually reported in other experimental systems

A randomised controlled trial of a brief online mindfulness-based intervention on paranoia in a non-clinical sample

Paranoia is common and distressing in the general population and can impact on health, emotional well-being and social functioning, such that effective interventions are needed. Brief online mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in non-clinical samples, however at present there is no research investigating whether they can reduce paranoia. The current study explored whether a brief online MBI increased levels of mindfulness and reduced levels of paranoia in a non-clinical population. The mediating effect of mindfulness on any changes in paranoia was also investigated. One hundred and ten participants were randomly allocated to either a two week online MBI including 10 minutes of daily guided mindfulness practice or to a waitlist control condition. Measures of mindfulness and paranoia were administered at baseline, post-intervention and one-week follow-up. Participants in the MBI group displayed significantly greater reductions in paranoia compared to the waitlist control group. Mediation analysis demonstrated that change in mindfulness skills (specifically the observe, describe and nonreact facets of the FFMQ) mediated the relationship between intervention type and change in levels of paranoia. This study provides evidence that a brief online MBI can significantly reduce levels of paranoia in a non-clinical population. Furthermore, increases in mindfulness skills from this brief online MBI can mediate reductions in non-clinical paranoia. The limitations of the study are discussed

β-glucan-dependent shuttling of conidia from neutrophils to macrophages occurs during fungal infection establishment

The initial host response to fungal pathogen invasion is critical to infection establishment and outcome. However, the diversity of leukocyte-pathogen interactions is only recently being appreciated. We describe a new form of interleukocyte conidial exchange called "shuttling." In Talaromyces marneffei and Aspergillus fumigatus zebrafish in vivo infections, live imaging demonstrated conidia initially phagocytosed by neutrophils were transferred to macrophages. Shuttling is unidirectional, not a chance event, and involves alterations of phagocyte mobility, intercellular tethering, and phagosome transfer. Shuttling kinetics were fungal-species-specific, implicating a fungal determinant. β-glucan serves as a fungal-derived signal sufficient for shuttling. Murine phagocytes also shuttled in vitro. The impact of shuttling for microbiological outcomes of in vivo infections is difficult to specifically assess experimentally, but for these two pathogens, shuttling augments initial conidial redistribution away from fungicidal neutrophils into the favorable macrophage intracellular niche. Shuttling is a frequent host-pathogen interaction contributing to fungal infection establishment patterns

Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS): Assessments and Results from First Year Operations

No abstract availabl

Comparative effectiveness and safety of low-strength and high-strength direct oral anticoagulants compared with warfarin: a sequential cohort study

OBJECTIVES:The aim of this study was to compare effectiveness and safety of low-strength and high-strength direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) with warfarin in the Australian Veteran population. DESIGN:Sequential cohort study using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and propensity score matching. Initiators of high-strength (apixaban 5 mg, dabigatran 150 mg, rivaroxaban 20 mg) and low-strength DOACS (apixaban 2.5 mg, dabigatran 110 mg, rivaroxaban 15 mg) were compared with warfarin initiators. SETTING:Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs claims database. PARTICIPANTS:4836 patients who initiated oral anticoagulants (45.8%, 26.0% and 28.2% on low-strength, high-strength DOACs and warfarin, respectively) between August 2013 and March 2015. Mean age was 85, 75 and 83 years for low-strength, high-strength DOACs and warfarin initiators, respectively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:One-year risk of hospitalisation for ischaemic stroke, any bleeding event or haemorrhagic stroke. Secondary outcomes were 1-year risk of hospitalisation for myocardial infarction and death. RESULTS:Using the IPTW method, no difference in risk of ischaemic stroke or bleeding was found with low-strength DOACs compared with warfarin. As a class, no increased risk of myocardial infarction was found for low-strength DOACs, however, risk was elevated for apixaban (HR 2.25, 95% CI 1.23 to 4.13). For high-strength DOACs, no difference was found for ischaemic stroke compared with warfarin, however, there was a significant reduction in risk of bleeding events (HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.89) and death (HR 0.40, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.58). Propensity score matching showed no difference in risk of ischaemic stroke or bleeding. CONCLUSION:We found that in the practice setting both DOAC formulations were similar to warfarin with regard to effectiveness and had no increased risk of bleeding.Nicole L Pratt, Emmae Ramsay, Lisa M Kalisch Ellett, Katherine Duszynski, Sepehr Shakib, Mhairi Kerr, Gillian Caughey, Elizabeth Ellen Roughea

Ornamental plants: a summary of research, 1990

Physical facilities and capital requirements for establishing a three-acre perennial container nursery in Ohio -1989 / Reed D. Taylor, Elton M. Smith, George P. Pealer -- Production costs of operating a three-acre perennial container nursery in Ohio - 1989 / Reed D. Taylor, Elton M. Smith, George P. Pealer -- Comparative costs of producing alternative plants in a three-acre perennial container nursery in Ohio – 1989 / Reed D. Taylor, Elton M. Smith, George P. Pealer -- Marketing and sales strategies practiced by Ohio nurseries / Reed D. Taylor, Elton M. Smith, W. Timothy Rhodus -- Evaluation of flowering crabapple susceptibility to apple scab in Ohio - 1989 / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- Fertilizing trees in the landscape: an 18-year evaluation / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- The influence of irrigation water temperature upon leaf abscision in Ficus benjamina and Dracaena marginata / Julia A. O’Bryan and John C. Peterson -- A two-year tolerance study of narcissus cultivars to selected pre-emergence herbicides / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- Tolerance of clematis and wisteria to Ronstar and Devrinol / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- Increasing efficiency of slow-release herbicide tablets / Elton M. Smith and Sharon A. Treaster -- Developing biorational pesticides for the landscape industry / David G. Nielsen -- Interactions between subdue and slow-release fertilizers at high temperatures / Y. Inbar, H. A. J. Hoitink, M. E. Watson, K. D. Cochran, E. M. Smith -- Evaluation of powdery mildew severity on deciduous azaleas at the Secrest Arboretum - 1989 / Kenneth D. Cochran and C. Wayne Ellett -- Winter damage, regrowth and vigor of old garden roses / Gary A. Anderso

Model studies of dense water overflows in the Faroese Channels Topical Collection on the 5th International Workshop on Modelling the Ocean (IWMO) in Bergen, Norway 17-20 June 2013

The overflow of dense water from the Nordic Seas through the Faroese Channel system was investigated through combined laboratory experiments and numerical simulations using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology General Circulation Model. In the experimental study, a scaled, topographic representation of the Faroe-Shetland Channel, Wyville-Thomson Basin and Ridge and Faroe Bank Channel seabed bathymetry was constructed and mounted in a rotating tank. A series of parametric experiments was conducted using dye-tracing and drogue-tracking techniques to investigate deep-water overflow pathways and circulation patterns within the modelled region. In addition, the structure of the outflowing dense bottom water was investigated through density profiling along three cross-channel transects located in the Wyville-Thomson Basin and the converging, up-sloping approach to the Faroe Bank Channel. Results from the dye-tracing studies demonstrate a range of parametric conditions under which dense water overflow across the Wyville-Thomson Ridge is shown to occur, as defined by the Burger number, a non-dimensional length ratio and a dimensionless dense water volume flux parameter specified at the Faroe-Shetland Channel inlet boundary. Drogue-tracking measurements reveal the complex nature of flow paths and circulations generated in the modelled topography, particularly the development of a large anti-cyclonic gyre in the Wyville-Thompson Basin and up-sloping approach to the Faroe Bank Channel, which diverts the dense water outflow from the Faroese shelf towards the Wyville-Thomson Ridge, potentially promoting dense water spillage across the ridge itself. The presence of this circulation is also indicated by associated undulations in density isopycnals across the Wyville-Thomson Basin. Numerical simulations of parametric test cases for the main outflow pathways and density structure in a similarly-scaled Faroese Channels model domain indicate excellent qualitative agreement with the experimental observations and measurements. In addition, the comparisons show that strong temporal variability in the predicted outflow pathways and circulations have a strong influence in regulating the Faroe Bank Channel and Wyville-Thomson Ridge overflows, as well as in determining the overall response in the Faroese Channels to changes in the Faroe-Shetland Channel inlet boundary conditions. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg