A comparative study of the Keeler Pulsair non-contact tonometer and the Goldmann applanation tonometer

In this study the Keeler Pulsair non-contact tonometer was compared to the Goldmann applanation tonometer. lOP measurements from 80 subjects(age 20-76) were utilized. Single Goldmann readings and multiple Keeler readings were taken. Mean Keeler lOP readings were: 12.79 mm Hg with SD 2.6 mm Hg for OD, 12.85 mm Hg with SD 2.3 mm Hg for OS. Mean Goldmann lOP\u27s were: 17.09 mm Hg with SD 2.4 mm Hg for OD and 16.69 mm Hg with SD 2.2 mm Hg for OS. lOP differences between tonometers were significant. The mean difference between tonometers increased as lOP values increased (6 mm Hg difference at lOP\u27s \u3e 20 mm Hg by Goldmann). The design of the Keeler Pulsair provides certain advantages over the Goldmann method with regard to special patient application and ease of operation. Our results indicate that there is a need for future comparison studies similar to this paper. The reliability of the Pulsair at higher lOP\u27s should also be investigated further

Suveränitet eller Humanitär intervention?

Hur förhåller sig humanitära interventioner till ländernas suveränitet? Har säkerhetsrådets argumentation inför interventioner förändrats något över tiden? Denna uppsats behandlar de två humanitära interventionerna i Somalia och Libyen, där säkerhetsrådets mötesprotokoll och resolutioner ligger som grund för undersökningen. Där det tillämpas i analysen ett postkolonialt perspektiv på argumenten som lägg fram men hjälp utav universalismen och folkrätten. Resultatet utav studien är att mänskliga rättigheter tar större utrymme i argumenten som läggs fram och vid applicering utav postkolonialt perspektiv går det att urskilja en underliggande maktstruktur.How does humanitarian interventions relate to state sovereignty? Has the Security Council argumentation towards interventions changed over time? This paper will deal with the two humanitarian interventions in Somalia and Libya, where the minutes of the Council and resolutions will form the basis of the analysis. Where a postcolonial perspective will be applied on the arguments with the help of universalism and international law. The results of the study is that human rights is take up more space in the arguments and when we apply a postcolonial perspective we can identify a possible underlying power structure

Determining changes in visual behavior resulting from visual training

Determining changes in visual behavior resulting from visual trainin

Civilsamhället i Kina - Vilka faktorer inom civilsamhället kan skapa förutsättningar för en demokratiprocess i Kina?

Är civilsamhället en viktig komponent för en demokratisk utveckling i Kina? Vi har valt att undersöka kinas demokratiska möjligheter. Uppsatsen är en teoriprövande fallstudie med syftet är att förklara vad som talar för en demokratisk utveckling i kina, med hjälp av teorin om civilsamhället. Den valda teorin om civilsamhället kallas för ”aktivistversionen”. Vårt material baseras på sekundärt material med böcker och artiklar kring ämnet. För att erhålla resultat och därefter slutsatser, valde vi att analysera fem demokratiska faktorer utifrån aktivistversionen. Genom vår analys fann vi noterbara resultat. En av slutsatserna som togs var fackförbundens roll för en demokratisk utveckling i kina. En ökad autonomi för fackförbunden skulle kunna ge ringar på vattnet för en ökad autonomi i det övriga samhället

Fetal Exposure to PCBs and Their Hydroxylated Metabolites in a Dutch Cohort

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are still the most abundant pollutants in wildlife and humans. Hydroxylated PCB metabolites (OH-PCBs) are known to be formed in humans and wildlife. Studies in animals show that these metabolites cause endocrine-related toxicity. The health effects in humans have not yet been evaluated, especially the effect on the fetus and newborn. The aim of this study is to measure the levels of PCBs and OH-PCBs in maternal and cord blood samples in a population with background levels of PCBs. We analyzed 51 maternal and corresponding cord blood samples in the northern part of the Netherlands. The PCB concentrations in maternal plasma ranged from 2 to 293 ng/g lipid, and OH-PCB concentrations from nondetectable (ND) to 0.62 ng/g fresh weight. In cord plasma, PCB concentrations were 1–277 ng/g lipid, and OH-PCB concentrations, ND to 0.47 ng/g fresh weight. The cord versus maternal blood calculated ratio was 1.28 ± 0.56 for PCBs and 2.11 ± 1.33 for OH-PCBs, expressed per gram of lipid. When expressed per gram fresh weight, the ratios are 0.32 ± 0.15 and 0.53 ± 0.23 for PCBs and OH-PCBs, respectively. A significant correlation between the respective maternal and cord levels for both PCBs and OH-PCBs was found. Our results indicate that OH-PCBs and PCBs are transferred across the placenta to the fetus in concentrations resulting in levels of approximately 50 and 30%, respectively, of those in maternal plasma. More research in humans is needed to evaluate potential negative effects of these endocrine disruptors on the fetus

Impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination on Estrogenic Activity in Human Male Serum

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are thought to cause numerous adverse health effects, but their impact on estrogen signaling is still not fully understood. In the present study, we used the ER-CALUX bioassay to determine estrogenic/antiestrogenic activities of the prevalent PCB congeners and PCB mixtures isolated from human male serum. The samples were collected from residents of an area with an extensive environmental contamination from a former PCB production site as well as from a neighboring background region in eastern Slovakia. We found that the lower-chlorinated PCBs were estrogenic, whereas the prevalent higher-chlorinated PCB congeners 138, 153, 170, 180, 187, 194, 199, and 203, as well as major PCB metabolites, behaved as anti-estrogens. Coplanar PCBs had no direct effect on estrogen receptor (ER) activation in this in vitro model. In human male serum samples, high levels of PCBs were associated with a decreased ER-mediated activity and an increased dioxin-like activity, as determined by the DR-CALUX assay. 17β-Estradiol (E(2)) was responsible for a major part of estrogenic activity identified in total serum extracts. Significant negative correlations were found between dioxin-like activity, as well as mRNA levels of cytochromes P450 1A1 and 1B1 in lymphocytes, and total estrogenic activity. For sample fractions containing only persistent organic pollutants (POPs), the increased frequency of anti-estrogenic samples was associated with a higher sum of PCBs. This suggests that the prevalent non-dioxin-like PCBs were responsible for the weak antiestrogenic activity of some POPs fractions. Our data also suggest that it might be important to pay attention to direct effects of PCBs on steroid hormone levels in heavily exposed subjects

The goitre rate, its association with reproductive failure, and the knowledge of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) among women in Ethiopia: Cross-section community based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Iodine deficiency is severe public health problem in Ethiopia. Although urinary iodine excretion level (UIE) is a better indicator for IDD the goitre rate is commonly used to mark the public health significance. The range of ill effect of IDD is however beyond goitre in Ethiopia. In this study the prevalence of goitre and its association with reproductive failure, and the knowledge of women on Iodine Deficiency were investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-section community based study was conducted during February to May 2005 in 10998 women in child bearing age of 15 to 49 years. To assess the state of iodine deficiency in Ethiopia, a multistage "Proportional to Population Size" (PPS) sampling methods was used, and WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD recommended method for goitre classification.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Total goitre prevalence (weighted) was 35.8% (95% CI 34.5–37.1), 24.3% palpable and 11.5% visible goitre. This demonstrates that more than 6 million women were affected by goitre.</p> <p>Goitre prevalence in four regional states namely Southern Nation Nationalities and People (SNNP), Oromia, Bebshandul-Gumuz and Tigray was greater than 30%, an indication of severe iodine deficiency. In the rest of the regions except Gambella, the IDD situation was mild to moderate. According to WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD this is a lucid indication that IDD is a major public health problem in Ethiopia. Women with goitre experience more pregnancy failure (X²= 16.5, p < 0.001; OR = 1.26, 1.12 < OR < 1.41) than non goitrous women. Similarly reproductive failure in high goitre endemic areas was significantly higher (X²= 67.52; p < 0.001) than in low. More than 90% of child bearing age women didn't know the cause of iodine deficiency and the importance of iodated salt.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ethiopia is at risk of iodine deficiency disorders. The findings presented in this report emphasis on a sustainable iodine intervention program targeted at population particularly reproductive age women. Nutrition education along with Universal Salt Iodization program and iodized oil capsule distribution in some peripheries where iodine deficiency is severe is urgently required.</p

First-level trigger systems for LHC experiments

We propose to carry out a broad-based programme of R&D on level-1 trigger systems for LHC experiments. We will consider the overall level-1 which coordinates different subtriggers and which interacts with the front end electronics and with the level-2 system. Careful attention will be paid to systems aspects and problems of synchronization within the pipelined processor system. Trigger algorithms for selecting events with high-pt electrons, photons, muons, jets and large missing Et will be evaluated by physics simulation studies. We will study possible implementations of such trigger algorithms in fast electronics by making conceptual design studies and using behavioural simulation models. For critical areas more detailed design studies will be made, and prototypes of some key elements will be constructed and tested. The proposed R&D project builds on existing studies and will complement other R&D projects already funded by the DRDC

Assessment of xenoestrogenic exposure by a biomarker approach: application of the E-Screen bioassay to determine estrogenic response of serum extracts

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological documentation of endocrine disruption is complicated by imprecise exposure assessment, especially when exposures are mixed. Even if the estrogenic activity of all compounds were known, the combined effect of possible additive and/or inhibiting interaction of xenoestrogens in a biological sample may be difficult to predict from chemical analysis of single compounds alone. Thus, analysis of mixtures allows evaluation of combined effects of chemicals each present at low concentrations. METHODS: We have developed an optimized in vitro E-Screen test to assess the combined functional estrogenic response of human serum. The xenoestrogens in serum were separated from endogenous steroids and pharmaceuticals by solid-phase extraction followed by fractionation by high-performance liquid chromatography. After dissolution of the isolated fraction in ethanol-DMSO, the reconstituted extract was added with estrogen-depleted fetal calf serum to MCF-7 cells, the growth of which is stimulated by estrogen. After a 6-day incubation on a microwell plate, cell proliferation was assessed and compared with the effect of a 17-beta-estradiol standard. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: To determine the applicability of this approach, we assessed the estrogenicity of serum samples from 30 pregnant and 60 non-pregnant Danish women thought to be exposed only to low levels of endocrine disruptors. We also studied 211 serum samples from pregnant Faroese women, whose marine diet included whale blubber that contain a high concentration of persistent halogenated pollutants. The estrogenicity of the serum from Danish controls exceeded the background in 22.7 % of the cases, while the same was true for 68.1 % of the Faroese samples. The increased estrogenicity response did not correlate with the lipid-based concentrations of individual suspected endocrine disruptors in the Faroese samples. When added along with the estradiol standard, an indication of an enhanced estrogenic response was found in most cases. Thus, the in vitro estrogenicity response offers a promising and feasible approach for an aggregated exposure assessment for xenoestrogens in serum