Trends in the Sources of Endophthalmitis at Kresge Eye Institute

Purpose Endophthalmitis is a defined as a purulent inflammation of the intraocular fluids, namely the vitreous and aqueous humor. Endophthalmitis most commonly develops from infection, but can also be acquired from inflammatory and neoplastic conditions. We sought to determine these sources at our institute and to look for trends in our urban population. Methods A retrospective chart review of patients who attended the Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit, MI between 2003 to 2018 was performed. Patient list was identified from our EMR using the diagnoses codes related endophthalmitis. Information gathered included demographics, type of tissue/fluid cultured, the presumed source of endophthalmitis as well as culture results and sensitivities to anti-microbials, if known. Results From billing results, 168 patients were identified, of these, 101 with culture results were included. The average age of patients was 63.7 years old and 52% were female. Majority of the samples were of vitreous (72.3%), 21 were aqueous humor, and 3 from retinal tissue. Culture results were negative in 60 patients, positive for bacteria in 30, and positive for fungi and viruses respectively in 4 patients. Gram-positive bacteria including staph epidermidis were the most common pathogens cultured. Presumed sources of endophthalmitis included 29 patients who were post-op, 17 in whom the source was endogenous and exogenous in 14. Other sources included bleb-induced, post injection and unknown. Conclusion We believe this information will prove beneficial in guiding diagnosis and management strategies of endophthalmitis in urban populations. Future directions include the analysis of the specific organisms involved and their susceptibilities. We will use this information to create an institutional biogram which will prove especially useful in the age of antibiotic resistance

Air Force Role and Support at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport

Our goal here is to ensure commercially viable domestic launch service providers that will give us assured access to space for our national security space mission. Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, Air Force Association Air Force Update -Orlando, Fla. -February 13, 2015 The U.S. government now has an opportunity to leverage the commercial launch market more than we have in the past, to drive price points on the [national security] launch solution that would be more competitive for commercial launch. AFSPC Commander General John Hyten, House Armed Services Committee, March 17, 201

An examination of the psychometrics of the cognitive fusion questionnaire and its relationship to other constructs

More than one billion humans currently suffer from one or more mental health difficulties, the leading cause of disability in the world. Psychotherapy is well-established as efficacious and cost effective in the treatment of mental health difficulties, particularly the widely-used family of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT). The most prominent, new CBT–acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)–has shown efficacy equal to or better than traditional CBT across a range of such difficulties. ACT’s novel approach to language, defusion (the opposite of fusion), can help improve mental health by changing one’s relationship with their thoughts. Efforts to better understand this mechanism of ACT has been hampered by the absence of a robust fusion measure until recently, with the creation of the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ). The present study sought to confirm the psychometrics of the CFQ with a large adult undergraduate student sample from the U.S. and to further expand our empirical understanding of the relationship between fusion and other important clinical constructs. Results showed that the CFQ exhibited strong internal consistency reliability; a unidimensional factor structure; and construct, concurrent criterion, and incremental validity in relation to a number of other important clinical scales as predicted. However, the results also showed that the factor structure of the CFQ was shared with the predominant measure of the central ACT construct of psychological flexibility, implying the two are measuring the same underlying construct. These results, limitations of the present study and the CFQ, and future research directions are discussed

Contrasting Changes Caused by Drought and Submergence Stresses in Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)

In this study, we investigated the mechanisms by which bermudagrass withstands the drought and submergence stresses through physiological, proteomic and metabolomic approaches. The results showed that significant physiological changes were observed after drought treatment, while only slight changes after submergence treatment, including compatible solute contents, ROS levels and antioxidant enzyme activities. Proteomics results showed that 81 proteins regulated by drought or submergence treatment were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. Among them, 76 proteins were modulated by drought stress with 46 increased abundance and 30 decreased abundance. Forty-five showed abundance changes after submergence treatment with 10 increased and 35 decreased. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that pathways of amino acid metabolism and mitochondrial electron transport/ATP synthesis were only enriched by drought treatment, while other pathways including photosynthesis, biodegradation of xenobiotics, oxidative pentose phosphate, glycolysis and redox were commonly over-represented after both drought and submergence treatments. Metabolomic analysis indicated that most of the metabolites were up-regulated by drought stress, while 34 of 40 metabolites contents exhibited down-regulation or no significant changes when exposed to submergence stress, including sugars and sugar alcohols. These data indicated that drought stress extensively promoted photosynthesis and redox metabolisms while submergence stress caused declined metabolisms and dormancy in Cynodon dactylon. Taken together, the quiescence strategy with retarded growth might allow bermudagrass to be adaptive to long-term submerged environment, while activation of photosynthesis and redox, and accumulation of compatible solutes and molecular chaperones increased bermudagrass tolerance to drought stress

Anxiety sensitivity as a moderator for PTSD mediated combat exposure in predicting suicide risk in a military sample

Suicide took almost 40,000 U.S. lives in 2011, with military rates exceeding the general population (and rising). Anxiety sensitivity (AS; the fear of fear) includes three components: physical, cognitive, and social. Recent studies indicate a connection between AS and suicidality through the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS). Separate research has proposed that the development of severe psychopathology, like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide, may be moderated by AS. The present study considered this mechanism from an IPTS perspective with a cross-sectional sample of veterans and active duty members from a Veterans Affairs clinic database. Regression models tested whether physical AS would moderate the relationship between combat exposure and PTSD; whether PTSD would mediate the relationship between combat exposure and suicidality; and whether social AS would predict suicidality. None of the hypotheses were supported. However, PTSD, combat exposure, and cognitive AS predicted suicidality, supporting other recent results

NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE- NIH Comprehensive Strategic Plan and Budget To Reduce and Ultimately Eliminate Heath Disparities

The National Eye Institute’s latest strategic plan, Vision Research-A National Plan: 1999-2003, was developed under the auspices of the National Advisory Eye Council. Over 100 experts from all fields of vision research were assembled to make recommendations on research priorities over the period covered by the plan. Among the priorities identified by these experts were several related to health disparities. These priorities included research on glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, myopia, and health services delivery and use. Recommendations were also made regarding training and attracting minority scientists into vision research. During the review of the strategic plan, the draft was sent to over 50 professional, scientific, or advocacy organizations that support vision research. They were asked to consider whether any important areas of research or specific issues of importance to vision research had been overlooked. The final document reflects the comments and input received during that process.http://www.ncmhd.nih.gov/strategicmock/our_programs/strategic/pubs/NEI-rev.pd

Alien Registration- Eye, Mary E. (Calais, Washington County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/1170/thumbnail.jp

Dehydrogenation of Ethanol to Acetaldehyde over Co/C Catalysts

This study focuses on the production of acetaldehyde from ethanol by catalytic dehydrogenation using Co/C catalysts with different Co loading on the activated carbon derived from coffee ground residues. The simple impregnation was used to obtain the Co/C catalysts having Co loading of ca. 4 and 6 wt%. The catalysts were characterized using various techniques. The dehydrogenation of vaporized ethanol was conducted in order to measure the catalytic activity and product distribution at temperatures ranging from 250 to 400°C. Based on this study, it appeared that the Co/C catalyst having ca. 4 wt% of cobalt loading (4%Co/C) exhibited the highest ethanol conversion (54%) at 400oC with the acetaldehyde yield of 50%. In addition, all catalysts behaved similar catalytic properties, where the ethanol conversion increased with increasing the reaction temperature having acetaldehyde as a major product. The high activity obtained from 4%Co/C and C catalysts can be remarkably attributed to the high acidity to basicity (~1.50). Hence, the 4%Co/C is promising catalyst for ethanol dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde

Bird\u27s-Eye View of the City of Spartanburg, South Carolina, looking southeast, 1891

This map shows the streets and many buildings that existed in the city of Spartanburg in 1891, with Wofford College\u27s buildings in the foreground. It also notes the city\u27s population at 3,200 in 1880 and 8,000 in 1890. The rail lines are also visible, and the map lists a number of the businesses that were then operating.https://digitalcommons.wofford.edu/localhist/1012/thumbnail.jp