Normative Findings for Periocular Anthropometric Measurements among Chinese Young Adults in Hong Kong

Measurement of periocular structures is of value in several clinical specialties including ophthalmology, optometry, medical and clinical genetics, oculoplastic surgery, and traumatology. Therefore we aimed to determine the periocular anthropometric norms for Chinese young adults using a noninvasive 3D stereophotography system. Craniofacial images using the 3dMDface system were acquired for 103 Chinese subjects (51 males and 52 females) between the ages of 18 and 35 years. Anthropometric landmarks were identified on these digital images according to standard definitions, and linear distances between these landmarks were calculated. It was found that ocular measurements were significantly larger in Chinese males than females for intercanthal width, biocular width, and eye fissure lengths. No gender differences were found in the eye fissure height and the canthal index which ranged between 43 and 44. Both right and left eye fissure height-length ratios were significantly larger in females. This is the first study to employ 3D stereophotogrammetry to create a database of anthropometric normative data for periocular measurements. These data would be useful for clinical interpretation of periocular pathology and serve as reference values when planning aesthetic and posttraumatic surgical interventions

Investigation of trace metals in air particulate matter collected from Colombo

The suspended particulate matter (SPM) in air is a complex multi-phase mixture of all airborne chemicals.Among the airborne inorganic chemicals, compounds associated with heavy metals have subjected tonumerous chemical investigations due their known health effects. Uniqueness of the heavy metalshas attributed its use in identifying or tracing the pollutant sources through source apportionmentstudies and in understanding the distribution of pollutants through computer modeling.In general, airborne metals exist in trace quantities. The suspended particulate matter may contain themetallic species as fine particles or they may have adsorbed onto other particulate matter originatedfrom natural or human activities. Agglomerated heavier particle settles due to gravitation and pose alesser risk to human health. Finer particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 urn (PM2) arebelieved to posses the biggest health threat through respirationCentral Environmental Authority (CEA) has been involved in air quality monitoring at the ColomboFort Railway Station. Using their high volume air sampler, particles having aerodynamic diameter lessthan I0 ~L1n(PM 10) were collected onto glass fiber filters daily during the period of November 2003 toNovember 2005 November. They were gravimetrically analyzed by CEA. This study was focused tofurther investigate randomly selected filters (two filters per month) to differentiate the levels of selectedmetals during the period. The filters were acid digested to recover the airborne metallic species.Levels of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn) were analyzed byusing atom ic absorption spectrophotometer at the Department of Chemistry, University of ColomboThe average concentrations found during the study were Cu = 0.29 ± 0.25 ng/rri', N i = 0.21 ± 0.1 0 ng/m', Pb = 0.59 ± 0.48 ng/rn", Cd = 0.03 ± 0.03 ng/rn ', Mn = 0.43 ± 0.22 ng/rn '. During the study periodPb levels were found to be the highest and Cd levels were found to be the lowest. The maximumairborne levels were 1.24 ng/rn ' for ClI in April 2005,0.56 ng/rn ' for Ni in January 2005,2.37 ng/m 'for Pb in February 2004, 0.09 ng/m ' for Cd in February 2004 and 0.78 ng/rn ' for Ni in May 2005.On average the minimum airborne levels were found in the period of May to August. This is attributedto the settling of particles with rainfall as well as the wind patterns which drifts the pollutants awayfrom the sampler during the season. From November to Apri I all the five metals have showed relati velyhigher concentrations compared to any other months in each year. This may be due to poor dispersionpatterns in the Colombo air which results in stagnating pollutants. In general, wind speed is relativelyhigher for the period of May to August compared to the period of November to AprilThe most prevailing metal in the Colombo air is Pb while the least prevailing metal is Cd. The levelsofPb have demonstrated a pronounced decline in concentration starting from April 2005 whrch coincideswith the introductiorr of un-leaded petrol to Sri Lankan market in January 2004.

Assessment of information resources for people with hypodontia

Aim: To assess the adequacy of patient information to support understanding and decision-making for people affected by hypodontia. Methods: 1) Questionnaire to understand the provision of patient information by dentists; 2) Systematic search to identify online open-access patient information; 3) Quality assessment of written patient information. Results: Questionnaire response rate was 49% (319/649); 91% examined and/or treated people with hypodontia. Most general dentists referred patients to specialist services without providing written hypodontia information. The majority of dental specialists provide patient leaflets but less than a third used web-resources. Only 19% of respondents felt current resources were fit-for-purpose. Thirty-one patient resources (18 leaflets and 13 online) were assessed against quality criteria. The aim of the resource was seldom explicit, the content was often incomplete and variation in readability scores indicated high levels of literacy were required. Discussion: Access to, and quality of, patient information for hypodontia is inadequate. Current resources are not sufficiently comprehensive to prepare young patients to engage in shared dental care decisions with their parents and/or dental professionals. Conclusion: There is a need for improved access to, and provision of, information about hypodontia if dental professionals want to meet best practice guidance and involve patients in shared decision-making

Stability of Breakwater Armor Units against Tsunami Attacks

The design of breakwater armour units against tsunami attacks has received little attention in the past because of the comparative low frequency of these events and the rarity of structures designed specifically to withstand them. However, field surveys of recent events, such as the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake Tsunami and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, have shown flaws in the design of protection structures. During these extreme events, many breakwaters suffered partial or catastrophic damage. Although it is to be expected that most normal structures fail due to such high order events, practicing engineers need to possess tools to design certain important breakwaters that should not fail even during level 2 events. Research into the design of critical structures that only partially fail (i.e., “resilient” or “tenacious” structures) during a very extreme level 2 tsunami event should be prioritized in the future, and in this sense the present paper proposes a formula that allows the estimation of armour unit damage depending on the tsunami wave height

Biodiversity baseline survey of up country tea plantations in Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka

Tea plantation is a prominent and very abundant land use type in the up country of Sri Lanka. Though they are disturbed habitats they still sustains a significant portion of up country biodiversity. Here we have studied the floral and faunal diversity of five selected tea estates in the Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka. Though this type of studies has been carried out previously, most of them have only covered a few well known taxa. The present study has covered all vertebrate taxa excluding fishes, three main invertebrate taxa namely butterflies, odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) and land mollusks and higher plants widening the knowledge on biodiversity in up country tea plantations and providing baseline information for biodiversity conservation. Seven major habitat types were surveyed randomly in order to record flora and fauna. They are managed tea plantations, streams and ponds, wet marshy grasslands, fuel wood plantations, abandoned land, rock outcrops and anthropogenic habitats. Field work was carried out randomly from March 2011 to June 2012. Both day and night sampling was done and direct observations, indirect observations and reliable information from local people were used for the survey. Visual encounter survey method was the main sampling technique used during field surveys.Presence of 245 fauna and 158 flora species at the up country tea plantations in Nuwara Eliya district was confirmed during the study carried out. The vertebrates comprises of 22 amphibians, 19 reptiles, 95 birds and 21 mammals including 16, 10, 10 and 2 endemics respectively. The recorded bird fauna consists of 16 migrant species and 1 species known to have both migrant and resident population within the country. The invertebrates recorded from the study comprises of 43 butterflies, 18 land snails and 27 odonates. Respectively these invertebrate taxa consist of 2, 8 and 7 endemic species. A total of 28 vertebrates and 10 invertebrates are threatened species according to the 2007 Redlist of threatened fauna and flora in Sri Lanka. Endangered species such as the agamid lizards Calotes liocephalus and Ceratophora stoddartii, butterflies Udara lanka and Euthalia lubentina were found to be very rare within the study area as all of them were recorded on only one occasion during the study period. The 158 species of flora recorded from the study area comprised of 95 introduced species, 52 native species and 11 endemic species. From the introduced plants 46 were weeds and 17 were invasive plants. 5 of the recorded plant species are nationally threatenedOne of the main conservation issues observed at the study area was the spread of alien invasive species. Invasive fauna such as the mollusks Milax gagates, Allopeas gracile, Bradybaena similaris, Deroceras reticulatum and invasive flora such as Clidermia hirta, Eupatorium riparium and Ludwigia peruviana were commonly found in the surveyed areas. Other main conservation issues are use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and soil erosion. Increase of organic farming practices and habitat enrichment programs may improve the biodiversity in these plantations. Aforestation of native plant species especially butterfly host plants and fruit trees, eradication of alien invasive species, establishment of reserved forest areas are some steps that can be followed in order to achieve this

Child Health Partnerships: a review of program characteristics, outcomes and their relationship

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Novel approaches are increasingly employed to address the social determinants of health of children world-wide. Such approaches have included complex social programs involving multiple stakeholders from different sectors jointly working together (hereafter Child Health Partnerships). Previous reviews have questioned whether these programs have led to significant improvements in child health and related outcomes. We aim to provide definitive answers to this question as well as identifying the characteristics of successful partnerships.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A comprehensive literature search identified 11 major Child Health Partnerships in four comparable developed countries. A critical review is focused on various aspects of these including their target groups, program mechanics and outcomes.</p> <p>Results and Conclusions</p> <p>There was evidence of success in several major areas from the formation of effective joint operations of partners in different partnership models to improvement in both child wellbeing and parenting. There is emerging evidence that Child Health Partnerships are cost-effective. Population characteristics and local contexts need to be taken into account in the introduction and implementation of these programs.</p