518 research outputs found
ERTS Applications in earthquake research and mineral exploration in California
Examples that ERTS imagery can be effectively utilized to identify, locate, and map faults which show geomorphic evidence of geologically recent breakage are presented. Several important faults not previously known have been identified. By plotting epicenters of historic earthquakes in parts of California, Sonora, Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, we found that areas known for historic seismicity are often characterized by abundant evidence of recent fault and crustal movements. There are many examples of seismically quiet areas where outstanding evidence of recent fault movements is observed. One application is clear: ERTS-1 imagery could be effectively utilized to delineate areas susceptible to earthquake recurrence which, on the basis of seismic data alone, may be misleadingly considered safe. ERTS data can also be utilized in planning new sites in the geophysical network of fault movement monitoring and strain and tilt measurements
Ăvaluation des compĂ©tences en laparoscopie : comparaison de la fiabilitĂ© des outils dâĂ©valuation globale et des outils dâĂ©valuation de la confiance
Background: Competence by design (CBD) residency programs increasingly depend on tools that provide reliable assessments, require minimal rater training, and measure progression through the CBD milestones. To assess intraoperative skills, global rating scales and entrustability ratings are commonly used but may require extensive training. The Competency Continuum (CC) is a CBD framework that may be used as an assessment tool to assess laparoscopic skills. The study aimed to compare the CC to two other assessment tools: the Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) and the Zwisch scale.
Methods: Four expert surgeons rated thirty laparoscopic cholecystectomy videos. Two raters used the GOALS scale while the remaining two raters used both the Zwisch scale and CC. Each rater received scale-specific training. Descriptive statistics, inter-rater reliabilities (IRR), and Pearsonâs correlations were calculated for each scale.
Results: Significant positive correlations between GOALS and Zwisch (r = 0.75, p < 0.001), CC and GOALS (r = 0.79, p < 0.001), and CC and Zwisch (r = 0.90, p < 0.001) were found. The CC had an inter-rater reliability of 0.74 whereas the GOALS and Zwisch scales had inter-rater reliabilities of 0.44 and 0.43, respectively. Compared to GOALS and Zwisch scales, the CC had the highest inter-rater reliability and required minimal rater training to achieve reliable scores.
Conclusion: The CC may be a reliable tool to assess intraoperative laparoscopic skills and provide trainees with formative feedback relevant to the CBD milestones. Further research should collect further validity evidence for the use of the CC as an independent assessment tool.Contexte : Les programmes de rĂ©sidence structurĂ©s autour de la compĂ©tence par conception (CPC) dĂ©pendent de plus en plus dâoutils qui fournissent des Ă©valuations fiables, nĂ©cessitent une formation minimale des Ă©valuateurs et mesurent la progression dans les Ă©tapes de la CPC. Pour Ă©valuer les compĂ©tences peropĂ©ratoires, les Ă©chelles dâĂ©valuation globale et de confiance sont couramment utilisĂ©es mais peuvent nĂ©cessiter une formation approfondie. Le Continuum des compĂ©tences (CC) est un cadre de la CPC qui peut ĂȘtre utilisĂ© comme outil dâĂ©valuation des compĂ©tences laparoscopiques. LâĂ©tude visait Ă comparer le CC Ă deux autres outils dâĂ©valuation : lâĂ©valuation globale opĂ©ratoire des compĂ©tences laparoscopiques (GOALS) et lâĂ©chelle de Zwisch.
MĂ©thodes : Quatre chirurgiens experts ont Ă©valuĂ© trente vidĂ©os de cholĂ©cystectomie laparoscopique. Deux Ă©valuateurs ont utilisĂ© lâĂ©chelle GOALS tandis que les deux autres ont utilisĂ© lâĂ©chelle Zwisch et le CC. Chacun dâeux avait reçu une formation spĂ©cifique Ă lâĂ©chelle utilisĂ©e. Des statistiques descriptives, la fiabilitĂ© inter-Ă©valuateurs (FIĂ) et des corrĂ©lations de Pearson ont Ă©tĂ© calculĂ©es pour chaque Ă©chelle.
RĂ©sultats : Des corrĂ©lations positives significatives ont Ă©tĂ© trouvĂ©es entre les Ă©chelles GOALS et Zwisch (r=0.75, p<0.001), CC et GOALS (r=0.79, p<0.001), et CC et Zwisch (r=0.90, p<0.001). Le CC avait une fiabilitĂ© inter-Ă©valuateurs de 0,74 tandis que les Ă©chelles GOALS et Zwisch avaient des fiabilitĂ©s inter-Ă©valuateurs de 0,44 et 0,43, respectivement. Par rapport aux Ă©chelles GOALS et Zwisch, le CC avait la fiabilitĂ© inter-Ă©valuateurs la plus Ă©levĂ©e et ne nĂ©cessitait quâune formation minimale des Ă©valuateurs pour obtenir des scores fiables.
Conclusion : Le CC constituerait un outil fiable pour Ă©valuer les compĂ©tences laparoscopiques peropĂ©ratoires et pour fournir aux stagiaires une rĂ©troaction formatrice pertinente pour les Ă©tapes de la CPC. Des recherches supplĂ©mentaires devraient ĂȘtre entreprises pour recueillir plus de preuves de validitĂ© pour lâutilisation du CC comme outil dâĂ©valuation indĂ©pendant
Irrigation and drainage in the new millennium
Presented at the 2000 USCID international conference, Challenges facing irrigation and drainage in the new millennium on June 20-24 in Fort Collins, Colorado.Includes bibliographical references.Current global population growth rates require an increase in agricultural food production of about 40-50% over the next thirty to forty years, in order to maintain present levels of food intake. To meet the target, irrigated agriculture must play a vital role, in fact the FAO estimates that 60% of future gains will have to come from irrigation. The practice of controlling drainage involves the extension of on-farm water management to include drainage management. With the integration of irrigation and drainage management, the water balance can be managed to reduce excess water losses and increase irrigation efficiencies. Controlled drainage is relatively new and there are many theoretical and practical issues to be addressed. The technique involves maintaining high water table in the soil profile for extended periods of time, requiring careful management to ensure that crop growth is not affected by anaerobic conditions. A fieldwork programme has been investigated to test controlled drainage in the Nile Delta, where water resources are stretched to the limit. Water saving is essential in the next 20 years. Pressures from the fixed Nile water allocation, population growth, industry and other sectors and the horizontal expansion programme mean that this need is urgent. One crop season has been completed at a site in the Western Nile Delta using simple control devices in the subsurface drainage system. This paper discusses the potential benefits of controlled drainage to save water in agricultural areas such as the Nile Delta, and presents findings from the first crop season
Effectiveness of incentivised adherence and abstinence monitoring in buprenorphine maintenance : a pragmatic, randomised controlled trial
Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the patients and staff at the National Rehabilitation Centre for their participation and to the NRC director general, Dr. Hamad Al Ghaferi, for his advice and support. Work on this study was included as part of H.E.'s doctoral studies and supervisor J.M. kindly acknowledge support from the Scholarship Office at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, United Arab Emirates.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Monitoring Voltage-Dependent Charge Displacement of Shaker B-IR K+ Ion Channels Using Radio Frequency Interrogation
Here we introduce a new technique that probes voltage-dependent charge displacements of excitable membrane-bound proteins using extracellularly applied radio frequency (RF, 500 kHz) electric fields. Xenopus oocytes were used as a model cell for these experiments, and were injected with cRNA encoding Shaker B-IR (ShB-IR) K+ ion channels to express large densities of this protein in the oocyte membranes. Two-electrode voltage clamp (TEVC) was applied to command whole-cell membrane potential and to measure channel-dependent membrane currents. Simultaneously, RF electric fields were applied to perturb the membrane potential about the TEVC level and to measure voltage-dependent RF displacement currents. ShB-IR expressing oocytes showed significantly larger changes in RF displacement currents upon membrane depolarization than control oocytes. Voltage-dependent changes in RF displacement currents further increased in ShB-IR expressing oocytes after âŒ120 ”M Cu2+ addition to the external bath. Cu2+ is known to bind to the ShB-IR ion channel and inhibit Shaker K+ conductance, indicating that changes in the RF displacement current reported here were associated with RF vibration of the Cu2+-linked mobile domain of the ShB-IR protein. Results demonstrate the use of extracellular RF electrodes to interrogate voltage-dependent movement of charged mobile protein domains â capabilities that might enable detection of small changes in charge distribution associated with integral membrane protein conformation and/or drugâprotein interactions
Mother-to-Infant Transmission of Intestinal Bifidobacterial Strains Has an Impact on the Early Development of Vaginally Delivered Infant's Microbiota
Objectives: Bifidobacterium species are one of the major components of the infant's intestine microbiota. Colonization with bifidobacteria in early infancy is suggested to be important for health in later life. However, information remains limited regarding the source of these microbes. Here, we investigated whether specific strains of bifidobacteria in the maternal intestinal flora are transmitted to their infant's intestine. Materials and Methods: Fecal samples were collected from healthy 17 mother and infant pairs (Vaginal delivery: 12; Cesarean section delivery: 5). Mother's feces were collected twice before delivery. Infant's feces were collected at 0 (meconium), 3, 7, 30, 90 days after birth. Bifidobacteria isolated from feces were genotyped by multilocus sequencing typing, and the transitions of bifidobacteria counts in infant's feces were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Stains belonging to Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium catenulatum, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum, and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, were identified to be monophyletic between mother's and infant's intestine. Eleven out of 12 vaginal delivered infants carried at least one monophyletic strain. The bifidobacterial counts of the species to which the monophyletic strains belong, increased predominantly in the infant's intestine within 3 days after birth. Among infants delivered by C-section, monophyletic strains were not observed. Moreover, the bifidobacterial counts were significantly lower than the vaginal delivered infants until 7 days of age. Conclusions: Among infants born vaginally, several Bifidobacterium strains transmit from the mother and colonize the infant's intestine shortly after birth. Our data suggest that the mother's intestine is an important source for the vaginal delivered infant's intestinal microbiota
Chemical investigation of some Indian plants. Part VI
Several known compounds belonging to the class of acids, alcohols, alkaloids, anthraquinones, carbohydrates, coumarins, isocoumarins, steroids, triterpenoids and xanthones have been isolated from a number of Indian plants
Microfluidic-Based Formulation of Essential Oils-Loaded Chitosan Coated PLGA Particles Enhances Their Bioavailability and Nematocidal Activity
In this study, poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) particles were synthesized and coated with chitosan. Three essential oil (EO) components (eugenol, linalool, and geraniol) were entrapped inside these PLGA particles by using the continuous flow-focusing microfluidic method and a partially water-miscible solvent mixture (dichloromethane: acetone mixture (1:10)). Encapsulation of EO components in PLGA particles was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction, with encapsulation efficiencies 95.14%, 79.68%, and 71.34% and loading capacities 8.88%, 8.38%, and 5.65% in particles entrapped with eugenol, linalool, and geraniol, respectively. The EO componentsâ dissociation from the loaded particles exhibited an initial burst release in the first 8 h followed by a sustained release phase at significantly slower rates from the coated particles, extending beyond 5 days. The EO components encapsulated in chitosan coated particles up to 5 ÎŒg/mL were not cytotoxic to bovine gut cell line (FFKD-1-R) and had no adverse effect on cell growth and membrane integrity compared with free EO components or uncoated particles. Chitosan coated PLGA particles loaded with combined EO components (10 ”g/mL) significantly inhibited the motility of the larval stage of Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus axei by 76.9%, and completely inhibited the motility of adult worms (p < 0.05). This nematocidal effect was accompanied by considerable cuticular damage in the treated worms, reflecting a synergistic effect of the combined EO components and an additive effect of chitosan. These results show that encapsulation of EO components, with a potent anthelmintic activity, in chitosan coated PLGA particles improve the bioavailability and efficacy of EO components against ovine gastrointestinal nematodes
Incidence and diversity of the fungal genera Aspergillus and Penicillium in Portuguese almonds and chestnuts
Almonds (Prunus dulcis (Miller) D.A. Webb) and European (sweet) chestnuts (Castanea sativa Miller) are of great economic and social impact in Mediterranean countries, and in some areas they constitute the main income of rural populations. Despite all efforts to control fungal contamination, toxigenic fungi are ubiquitous in nature and occur regularly in worldwide food supplies, and these nuts are no exception. This work aimed to provide knowledge on the general mycobiota of Portuguese almonds and chestnuts, and its evolution from field to the end of storage. For this matter, 45 field chestnut samples and 36 almond samples (30 field samples and six storage samples) were collected in TrĂĄs-os-Montes, Portugal. All fungi belonging to genus Aspergillus were isolated and identified to the section level. Fungi representative of other genera were identified to the genus level. In the field, chestnuts were mainly contaminated with the genera Fusarium, Cladosporium, Alternaria and Penicillium, and the genus Aspergillus was only rarely found, whereas almonds were more contaminated with Aspergillus. In almonds, Aspergillus incidence increased significantly from field to the end of storage, but diversity decreased, with potentially toxigenic isolates belonging to sections Flavi and Nigri becoming more significant and widespread throughout storage. These fungi were determined to be moderately associated, which can be indicative of mycotoxin co-contamination problems if adequate storage conditions are not secured.P. Rodrigues was supported by grants SFRH/BD/28332/2006 from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), and SFRH/PROTEC/49555/2009 from FCT and Polytechnic Institute of Braganca, Portugal
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