Porous silica spheres as indoor air pollutant scavengers

Porous silica spheres were investigated for their effectiveness in removing typical indoor air pollutants, such as aromatic and carbonyl-containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and compared to the commercially available polymer styrene-divinylbenzene (XAD-4). The silica spheres and the XAD-4 resin were coated on denuder sampling devices and their adsorption efficiencies for volatile organic compounds evaluated using an indoor air simulation chamber. Real indoor sampling was also undertaken to evaluate the affinity of the silica adsorbents for a variety of indoor VOCs. The silica sphere adsorbents were found to have a high affinity for polar carbonyls and found to be more efficient than the XAD-4 resin at adsorbing carbonyls in an indoor environment

Trends, over 14 years, in the ground cover on an unimproved western hill grazed by sheep, and associated trends in animal performance

peer-reviewedThe frequency of individual plant species at ground level and the species composition of the unimproved vegetation on a western hill farm, stocked with Scottish Blackface sheep, were monitored from 1995 to 2008. Performance criteria of the flock that relied totally, or almost totally, on this vegetation for sustenance from 1994 to 2011 were evaluated. The frequency of vegetation increased over time (from 65% to 82% of the surface area; P 60% better, depending on the variable, than similar flocks in the National Farm Survey at comparable stocking rates. A well-defined rational management system can sustain a productive sheep enterprise on unimproved hill land without negative consequences for the frequency or composition of the vegetation.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe

Analytical method validation for assay determination of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol in hemp oil infused products by RP-HPLC

A simple quantitative reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method has been developed and validated for assay determination of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol in hemp oil infused products. The RP-HPLC method was developed and optimized for the mobile phase composition, flow rate, column selection and detector wavelength. An isocratic elution of samples were performed on SOLAS 100 angstrom C18 150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 mu m column with a mobile phase containing 75/25 acetonitrile/water v/v, with a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min by using an ultraviolet-visible (UV/Vis) detector operating at 214 nm. The RP-HPLC method was validated to meet regulatory requirements which covers specificity, accuracy, range, linearity, precision, system suitability and robustness. The validated assay test method was applied successfully to quantify cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol in commercial hemp oil infused products such as tablets, soft gel capsules, plant extract oils, oral drops, tincture, and beverage enhancers. All the test results were found acceptable as per ICH guidelines, and this confirmed the feasibility of this method for its intended use in regular quality control and assay of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol in hemp oil infused products

Neurosurgical team acceptability of brain-computer interfaces: a two-stage international cross-sectional survey

OBJECTIVE: Invasive brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) require neurosurgical implantation, which confers a range of risks. Despite this, no studies have assessed the acceptability of invasive BCIs amongst the neurosurgical team. This study aims to establish baseline knowledge of BCIs within the neurosurgical team and identify attitudes towards different applications of invasive BCI. METHOD: A two-stage cross-sectional international survey of the neurosurgical team (neurosurgeons, anaesthetists, and operating room nurses) was conducted. Results from the first, qualitative, survey were used to guide the second stage quantitative survey, which assessed acceptability of invasive BCI applications. 5-part Likert Scales were used to collect quantitative data. Surveys were distributed internationally via social media and collaborators. RESULTS: 108 qualitative responses were collected. Themes included the promise of BCIs positively impacting disease targets, concerns regarding stability, and an overall positive emotional reaction to BCI technology. The quantitative survey generated 538 responses from 32 countries. Baseline knowledge of BCI technology was poor, with 9% claiming to have a ‘good’ or ‘expert’ knowledge of BCIs. Acceptability of invasive BCI for rehabilitative purposes was >80%. Invasive BCI for augmentation in healthy populations divided opinion. CONCLUSION: The neurosurgical team’s view of the acceptability of BCI was divided across a range of indications. Some applications (for example stroke rehabilitation) were viewed as more appropriate than other applications (such as augmentation for military use). This range in views highlights the need for stakeholder consultation on acceptable use cases along with regulation and guidance to govern initial BCI implantations if patients are to realise the potential benefits

Changes in Acceptance in a Low-Intensity, Group-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Chronic Pain Intervention

Acceptance and commitment therapy has shown to be effective in chronic pain rehabilitation, and acceptance has been shown to be a key process of change. The influence of treatment dose on acceptance is not clear, and in particular, the effectiveness of a non-intensive treatment

Process analysis of the patient pathway for automated data collection: an exemplar using pituitary surgery

Introduction: Automation of routine clinical data shows promise in relieving health systems of the burden associated with manual data collection. Identifying consistent points of documentation in the electronic health record (EHR) provides salient targets to improve data entry quality. Using our pituitary surgery service as an exemplar, we aimed to demonstrate how process mapping can be used to identify reliable areas of documentation in the patient pathway to target structured data entry interventions. Materials and methods: This mixed methods study was conducted in the largest pituitary centre in the UK. Purposive snowball sampling identified frontline stakeholders for process mapping to produce a patient pathway. The final patient pathway was subsequently validated against a real-world dataset of 50 patients who underwent surgery for pituitary adenoma. Events were categorized by frequency and mapped to the patient pathway to determine critical data points. Results: Eighteen stakeholders encompassing all members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) were consulted for process mapping. The commonest events recorded were neurosurgical ward round entries (N = 212, 14.7%), pituitary clinical nurse specialist (CNS) ward round entries (N = 88, 6.12%) and pituitary MDT treatment decisions (N = 88, 6.12%) representing critical data points. Operation notes and neurosurgical ward round entries were present for every patient. 43/44 (97.7%) had a pre-operative pituitary MDT entry, pre-operative clinic letter, a post-operative clinic letter, an admission clerking entry, a discharge summary, and a post-operative histopathology pituitary multidisciplinary (MDT) team entries. Conclusion: This is the first study to produce a validated patient pathway of patients undergoing pituitary surgery, serving as a comparison to optimise this patient pathway. We have identified salient targets for structured data entry interventions, including mandatory datapoints seen in every admission and have also identified areas to improve documentation adherence, both of which support movement towards automation

Effect of Selenium Nanoparticle Size on IL-6 Detection Sensitivity in a Lateral Flow Device

Sepsis is the body’s response to an infection. Existing diagnostic testing equipment is not available in primary care settings and requires long waiting times. Lateral flow devices (LFDs) could be employed in point-of-care (POC) settings for sepsis detection; however, they currently lack the required sensitivity. Herein, LFDs are constructed using 150–310 nm sized selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and are compared to commercial 40 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for the detection of the sepsis biomarker interleukin-6 (IL-6). Both 310 and 150 nm SeNPs reported a lower limit of detection (LOD) than 40 nm AuNPs (0.1 ng/mL compared to 1 ng/mL), although at the cost of test line visual intensity. This is to our knowledge the first use of larger SeNPs (>100 nm) in LFDs and the first comparison of the effect of the size of SeNPs on assay sensitivity in this context. The results herein demonstrate that large SeNPs are viable alternatives to existing commercial labels, with the potential for higher sensitivity than standard 40 nm AuNPs

Benchtop simulation of the retrosigmoid approach: Validation of a surgical simulator and development of a task-specific outcome measure score

Background: Neurosurgical training is changing globally. Reduced working hours and training opportunities, increased patient safety expectations, and the impact of COVID-19 have reduced operative exposure. Benchtop simulators enable trainees to develop surgical skills in a controlled environment. We aim to validate a highfidelity simulator model (RetrosigmoidBox, UpSurgeOn) for the retrosigmoid approach to the cerebellopontine angle (CPA). Methods: Novice and expert Neurosurgeons and Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeons performed a surgical task using the model – identification of the trigeminal nerve. Experts completed a post-task questionnaire examining face and content validity. Construct validity was assessed through scoring of operative videos employing Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) and a novel Task-Specific Outcome Measure score. Results: Fifteen novice and five expert participants were recruited. Forty percent of experts agreed or strongly agreed that the brain tissue looked real. Experts unanimously agreed that the RetrosigmoidBox was appropriate for teaching. Statistically significant differences were noted in task performance between novices and experts, demonstrating construct validity. Median total OSATS score was 14/25 (IQR 10–19) for novices and 22/25 (IQR 20–22) for experts (p < 0.05). Median Task-Specific Outcome Measure score was 10/20 (IQR 7–17) for novices compared to 19/20 (IQR 18.5–19.5) for experts (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The RetrosigmoidBox benchtop simulator has a high degree of content and construct validity and moderate face validity. The changing landscape of neurosurgical training mean that simulators are likely to become increasingly important in the delivery of high-quality education. We demonstrate the validity of a TaskSpecific Outcome Measure score for performance assessment of a simulated approach to the CPA

A Response to the Draft National Mitigation Plan. Teagasc submission to the Department of Communications, Climate Action & theEnvironment

Teagasc SubmissionThis submission details the mitigation potential of agriculture to shortly be published as an update to the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) for Agriculture and and describes how the MACC mitigation strategies relate to the measures in the National Mitigation Plan

A synthetic model simulator for intracranial aneurysm clipping: validation of the UpSurgeOn AneurysmBox

Background and objectives: In recent decades, the rise of endovascular management of aneurysms has led to a significant decline in operative training for surgical aneurysm clipping. Simulation has the potential to bridge this gap and benchtop synthetic simulators aim to combine the best of both anatomical realism and haptic feedback. The aim of this study was to validate a synthetic benchtop simulator for aneurysm clipping (AneurysmBox, UpSurgeOn). Methods: Expert and novice surgeons from multiple neurosurgical centres were asked to clip a terminal internal carotid artery aneurysm using the AneurysmBox. Face and content validity were evaluated using Likert scales by asking experts to complete a post-task questionnaire. Construct validity was evaluated by comparing expert and novice performance using the modified Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (mOSATS), developing a curriculum-derived assessment of Specific Technical Skills (STS), and measuring the forces exerted using a force-sensitive glove. Results: Ten experts and eighteen novices completed the task. Most experts agreed that the brain looked realistic (8/10), but far fewer agreed that the brain felt realistic (2/10). Half the expert participants (5/10) agreed that the aneurysm clip application task was realistic. When compared to novices, experts had a significantly higher median mOSATS (27 vs. 14.5; p < 0.01) and STS score (18 vs. 9; p < 0.01); the STS score was strongly correlated with the previously validated mOSATS score (p < 0.01). Overall, there was a trend towards experts exerting a lower median force than novices, however, these differences were not statistically significant (3.8 N vs. 4.0 N; p = 0.77). Suggested improvements for the model included reduced stiffness and the addition of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and arachnoid mater. Conclusion: At present, the AneurysmBox has equivocal face and content validity, and future versions may benefit from materials that allow for improved haptic feedback. Nonetheless, it has good construct validity, suggesting it is a promising adjunct to training