A retrospective randomized study to compare the energy delivered using CDE with different techniques and OZil® settings by different surgeons in phacoemulsification

Cumulative dissipated energy (CDE) was used with Infiniti® Vision System (Alcon Labs) as an energy delivery guide to compare four different phaco techniques and phaco settings. The supracapsular phaco technique and burst mode is known for efficiency and surgery is faster compared with the old phaco unit. In this study, we found that supracapsular phaco with burst mode had the least CDE in both cataract and nuclear sclerosis cataract with the new Infiniti® unit. We suggest that CDE can be used as one of the references to modify technique and setting to improve outcome for surgeons, especially for new surgeons

Surface Application of Soybean Peroxidase and Calcium Peroxide for Reducing Odorous VOC Emissions from Swine Manure Slurry

A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate and compare surface-applied versus fully-mixed treatments of soybean peroxidase (SBP) plus calcium peroxide (CaO2) for reducing odorous volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from swine manure slurry. Industrial-grade SBP (5-50 g L-1) and powdered CaO2 (0.16-1.6 g L-1) were applied to swine manure slurry in 7.6 L containers, and odorous VOC emission rates (phenolics, indolics, volatile fatty acids, methyl sulfides) were measured over a 14 d period using sorbent tubes and gas chromatography. The five treatments consisted of a control, the fully-mixed rate of 50 g L-1 SBP plus 1.6 g L-1 CaO2, and three surface-applied treatments of 10%, 50%, and 100% of the fully-mixed application rate. The odorants 4-methylphenol and skatole accounted for the majority of the odor activity value (OAV). The 10% surface-applied rate was as effective as the 100% surface-applied and fully-mixed application rates at reducing 4-methylphenol and skatole emissions for up to 10 d (P2 every 4-7 d. Future pilot- and field-scale research should focus on surface application of SBP and CaO2 at a rate equal to 10% of the fully-mixed rate

A Survey of Kansas Physicians' Perceptions of Physician Assistant Education and Qualifications

BACKGROUND: Effective physician-physician assistant (PA) teams improve patient access and satisfaction, and increase productivity and revenue while reducing physician workload. This survey assessed perceptions of Kansas primary care physicians regarding educational requirements and qualifications of PAs, professional and legal regulations, and the most important skills and competencies for PAs to possess. Understanding these perceptions may lead to improved communication and refined expectations of physician-physician assistant teams, thereby increasing their utilization and effectiveness. METHODS: A 20-question survey was emailed to all 1,551 primary care physicians registered with the Kansas Board of Healing Arts in 2012. Descriptive data were reported as frequencies; comparisons between groups were analyzed using Chi-square. RESULTS: The response rate was 9.2% (n = 143). Physicians were highly accurate regarding the program’s generalist/primary care educational model and moderately accurate regarding the degree awarded, average pre-program grade point average, lock-step full-time curriculum, weeks of clinical rotations, recertification and continuing medical education hours, and Medicare PA fee schedule. Physicians had low accuracy regarding program and pharmacology credit hours, strict dismissal policy, pre-program healthcare experience, and co-signatory regulations. Physicians with PA supervisory experience had higher knowledge than those without (p = 0.001). Physicians most commonly selected history taking and performing physical exam as the most important skill (49%) and providing patient care that is patient-centered, efficient, and equitable as the most important competency (42%). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians often underestimated the average PA applicant qualifications, program rigor and intensity, professional regulatory standards, and co-signatory requirements. Correcting misperceptions and improving understanding of which PA skills and competencies are most valued by physicians may optimize PAs as part of the healthcare team

Transcriptional response of human mast cells stimulated via the FcεRI and identification of mast cells as a source of IL-11

BACKGROUND: In asthma and other allergic disorders, the activation of mast cells by IgE and antigen induces the cells to release histamine and other mediators of inflammation, as well as to produce certain cytokines and chemokines. To search for new mast cell products, we used complementary DNA microarrays to analyze gene expression in human umbilical cord blood-derived mast cells stimulated via the high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI). RESULTS: One to two hours after FcεRI-dependent stimulation, more than 2,400 genes (about half of which are of unknown function) exhibited 2–200 fold changes in expression. The transcriptional program included changes in the expression of IL-11 and at least 30 other cytokines and chemokines. Human mast cells secreted 130–529 pg of IL-11/10(6) cells by 6 h after stimulation with anti-IgE. CONCLUSION: Our initial analysis of the transcriptional program induced in in vitro-derived human mast cells stimulated via the FcεRI has identified many products that heretofore have not been associated with this cell type, but which may significantly influence mast cell function in IgE-associated host responses. We also have demonstrated that mast cells stimulated via the FcεRI can secrete IL-11. Based on the previously reported biological effects of IL-11, our results suggest that production of IL-11 may represent one link between IgE-dependent mast cell activation in subjects with allergic asthma and the development of a spectrum of structural changes in the airways of these individuals; such changes, collectively termed "airway remodeling," can constitute an important long term consequence of asthma

Predicting Tumor Response in Breast Cancer Patients Using Diffuse Optical Tomography

Abstract: We have developed a diffuse optical tomography imaging system to track breast tumor progression in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Preliminary results have shown that tumor response can be predicted by the second week of treatment

Mapping and monitoring carbon stocks with satellite observations: a comparison of methods

Mapping and monitoring carbon stocks in forested regions of the world, particularly the tropics, has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years as deforestation and forest degradation account for up to 30% of anthropogenic carbon emissions, and are now included in climate change negotiations. We review the potential for satellites to measure carbon stocks, specifically aboveground biomass (AGB), and provide an overview of a range of approaches that have been developed and used to map AGB across a diverse set of conditions and geographic areas. We provide a summary of types of remote sensing measurements relevant to mapping AGB, and assess the relative merits and limitations of each. We then provide an overview of traditional techniques of mapping AGB based on ascribing field measurements to vegetation or land cover type classes, and describe the merits and limitations of those relative to recent data mining algorithms used in the context of an approach based on direct utilization of remote sensing measurements, whether optical or lidar reflectance, or radar backscatter. We conclude that while satellite remote sensing has often been discounted as inadequate for the task, attempts to map AGB without satellite imagery are insufficient. Moreover, the direct remote sensing approach provided more coherent maps of AGB relative to traditional approaches. We demonstrate this with a case study focused on continental Africa and discuss the work in the context of reducing uncertainty for carbon monitoring and markets

Emerging New Crop Pests: Ecological Modelling and Analysis of the South American Potato Psyllid Russelliana solanicola (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) and Its Wild Relatives

© 2017 Syfert et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited