Can Urethral Retroresistance Pressures Predict Midurethral Sling Outcomes?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether preoperative urethral resistance pressure (URP) measurements could predict success or failure of a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) sling. METHODS: Subjects came from a previously published study comparing URP measurements to a validated urinary incontinence symptom survey (UISS). We contacted patients from that study to determine whether they had subsequently undergone TVT surgery. Within that cohort, we determined the “current” (i.e., postoperative) UISS and Sandvik urinary incontinence severity score. Success of a TVT sling in this group was defined in 4 ways: (1) postoperative UISS score \u3c 3, (2) postoperative UISS score \u3c 75% of the preoperative score, (3) postoperative Sandvik score \u3c 6, and (4) postoperative Sandvik score \u3c 2. These definitions of “success” were compared across demographic and treatment variables using the Student’s t test, ANOVA, χ 2 and ROC curves. RESULTS: We contacted 69 women who had in fact received a TVT sling after their participation in the previously published study mentioned above. Among these 69 women, mean preoperative urethral retroresistance pressure values were not predictive of surgical success. CONCLUSION: Preoperative urethral retroresistance pressure measurements did not reliably predict surgical success or failure; therefore, this urodynamic test is of little value to the clinician

Developing a conversation: A strategy to engage faculty in pedagogical change

Personal interviews were conducted with biochemistry faculty during which they were presented with student performances on a content survey. From these interviews, four themes that reflect faculty responses to the surveys emerged: awareness of student understanding, self reflection on teaching practice, planned collaboration with colleagues, and emotional reactions. Here, we discuss these themes and their implications for creating conversation designed to promote reflection on biochemistry teaching

Chimpanzees demonstrate individual differences in social information use

Studies of transmission biases in social learning have greatly informed our understanding of how behaviour patterns may diffuse through animal populations, yet within-species inter-individual variation in social information use has received little attention and remains poorly understood. We have addressed this question by examining individual performances across multiple experiments with the same population of primates. We compiled a dataset spanning 16 social learning studies (26 experimental conditions) carried out at the same study site over a 12-year period, incorporating a total of 167 chimpanzees. We applied a binary scoring system to code each participant’s performance in each study according to whether they demonstrated evidence of using social information from conspecifics to solve the experimental task or not (Social Information Score—‘SIS’). Bayesian binomial mixed effects models were then used to estimate the extent to which individual differences influenced SIS, together with any effects of sex, rearing history, age, prior involvement in research and task type on SIS. An estimate of repeatability found that approximately half of the variance in SIS was accounted for by individual identity, indicating that individual differences play a critical role in the social learning behaviour of chimpanzees. According to the model that best fit the data, females were, depending on their rearing history, 15–24% more likely to use social information to solve experimental tasks than males. However, there was no strong evidence of an effect of age or research experience, and pedigree records indicated that SIS was not a strongly heritable trait. Our study offers a novel, transferable method for the study of individual differences in social learning

Behavior change interventions: the potential of ontologies for advancing science and practice

A central goal of behavioral medicine is the creation of evidence-based interventions for promoting behavior change. Scientific knowledge about behavior change could be more effectively accumulated using "ontologies." In information science, an ontology is a systematic method for articulating a "controlled vocabulary" of agreed-upon terms and their inter-relationships. It involves three core elements: (1) a controlled vocabulary specifying and defining existing classes; (2) specification of the inter-relationships between classes; and (3) codification in a computer-readable format to enable knowledge generation, organization, reuse, integration, and analysis. This paper introduces ontologies, provides a review of current efforts to create ontologies related to behavior change interventions and suggests future work. This paper was written by behavioral medicine and information science experts and was developed in partnership between the Society of Behavioral Medicine's Technology Special Interest Group (SIG) and the Theories and Techniques of Behavior Change Interventions SIG. In recent years significant progress has been made in the foundational work needed to develop ontologies of behavior change. Ontologies of behavior change could facilitate a transformation of behavioral science from a field in which data from different experiments are siloed into one in which data across experiments could be compared and/or integrated. This could facilitate new approaches to hypothesis generation and knowledge discovery in behavioral science

Standoff Methods for the Detection of Threat Agents: A Review of Several Promising Laser-Based Techniques

Detection of explosives, explosive precursors, or other threat agents presents a number of technological challenges for optical sensing methods. Certainly detecting trace levels of threat agents against a complex background is chief among these challenges; however, the related issues of multiple target distances (from standoff to proximity) and sampling time scales (from passive mines to rapid rate of march convoy protection) for different applications make it unlikely that a single technique will be ideal for all sensing situations. A number of methods for spanning the range of optical sensor technologies exist which, when integrated, could produce a fused sensor system possessing a high level of sensitivity to threat agents and a moderate standoff real-time capability appropriate for portal screening of personnel or vehicles. In this work, we focus on several promising, and potentially synergistic, laser-based methods for sensing threat agents. For each method, we have briefly outlined the technique and report on the current level of capability

Standoff Methods for the Detection of Threat Agents: A Review of Several Promising Laser-Based Techniques

Detection of explosives, explosive precursors, or other threat agents presents a number of technological challenges for optical sensing methods. Certainly detecting trace levels of threat agents against a complex background is chief among these challenges; however, the related issues of multiple target distances (from standoff to proximity) and sampling time scales (from passive mines to rapid rate of march convoy protection) for different applications make it unlikely that a single technique will be ideal for all sensing situations. A number of methods for spanning the range of optical sensor technologies exist which, when integrated, could produce a fused sensor system possessing a high level of sensitivity to threat agents and a moderate standoff real-time capability appropriate for portal screening of personnel or vehicles. In this work, we focus on several promising, and potentially synergistic, laser-based methods for sensing threat agents. For each method, we have briefly outlined the technique and report on the current level of capability

Quinolone Allergy

Quinolones are the second most common antibiotic class associated with drug-induced allergic reactions, but data on quinolone allergy are scarce. This review article discusses the available evidence on quinolone allergy, including prevalence, risk factors, diagnosis, clinical manifestations, cross-reactivity, and management of allergic reactions. Although the incidence of quinolone allergy is still lower than beta-lactams, it has been increasingly reported in recent decades, most likely from its expanded use and the introduction of moxifloxacin. Thorough patient history remains essential in the evaluation of quinolone allergy. Many diagnostic tools have been investigated, but skin tests can yield false-positive results and in vitro tests have not been validated. The drug provocation test is considered the test of choice to confirm a quinolone allergy but is not without risk. Evidence regarding cross-reactivity among the quinolones is limited and conflicting. Quinolone allergy can be manifested either as an immediate or delayed reaction, but is not uniform across the class, with moxifloxacin posing the highest risk of anaphylaxis. Quinolone should be discontinued when an allergic reaction occurs and avoided in future scenarios, but desensitization may be warranted if no alternatives are available

Integrated management of invasive cattails (Typha spp.) for wetland habitat and biofuel in the Northern Great Plains of the United States and Canada: A review

On many public lands in the Great Plains region of the USA and Canada, cattail (Typha spp.) growth has far exceeded the 50:50 distribution recommended for optimum wetland wildlife habitat. Excessive cattail growth is the primary concern of wetland managers and its integrated management is reviewed here. The coverage of this mostly hybrid cattail (T. latifolia × T. angustifolia) is often over 90 % and if partially removed for habitat enhancement represents a substantial biomass resource in sites such as conservation wetlands, water retention basins and roadside drainage ditches. Available biomass is estimated to be 3,000 kg/ha assuming a 50 % harvest rate. Cattail control using mowing, herbicides, and burning is expensive, therefore if harvest logistics can be improved along with developing biomass markets, harvest management would become much more viable. Energy values of cattails are comparable to wood pellets at 20 MJ/kg. Cattails can be simultaneously managed for wetland wildlife, harvested for biofuel, serve as a partial substitute for coal, generate carbon credits, and remove phosphorus from the watershed. Cattails extract nitrogen and phosphorous from runoff water that enters rivers and lakes that could be used for agricultural fertiliser while reducing eutrophication. Additionally, rural economies could be boosted by harvesting a renewable energy resource, especially in areas with little fossil fuels or unsustainable biomass practices