Developing an Adaptable NextGen Interface for the UAS Ground Control Station

Presently a significant number of unmanned aircraft are not included in the existing National Airspace System surveillance system. This is due to many reasons including an inability to carry Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast equipment for weight or power consumption deficiencies, legacy equipment usage, and the experimental nature of unmanned aircraft. In addition, pilots on the ground do not have the situation awareness to proximal aircraft pilots in the cockpit have. However, many unmanned aircraft utilize a link between the aircraft and ground control station that includes periodic updates to the aircraft position. Technologies have been developed to provide the existing national surveillance system with the location of the aircraft while at the same time providing the ground pilot a display with aircraft that are in the aircrafts proximity, thus expanding the national surveillance data as well as provide increased pilot situation awareness

Charge and current-sensitive preamplifiers for pulse shape discrimination techniques with silicon detectors

New charge and current-sensitive preamplifiers coupled to silicon detectors and devoted to studies in nuclear structure and dynamics have been developed and tested. For the first time shapes of current pulses from light charged particles and carbon ions are presented. Capabilities for pulse shape discrimination techniques are demonstrated.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, to be published in Nucl. Inst. Meth.

The quality case for information technology in healthcare

BACKGROUND: As described in the Institute of Medicine's Crossing the Quality Chasm report, the quality of health care in the U.S. today leaves much to be desired. DISCUSSION: One major opportunity for improving quality relates to increasing the use of information technology, or IT. Health care organizations currently invest less in IT than in any other information-intensive industry, and not surprisingly current systems are relatively primitive, compared with industries such as banking or aviation. Nonetheless, a number of organizations have demonstrated that quality can be substantially improved in a variety of ways if IT use is increased in ways that improve care. Specifically, computerization of processes that are error-prone and computerized decision support may substantially improve both efficiency and quality, as well as dramatically facilitate quality measurement. This report discusses the current levels of IT and quality in health care, how quality improvement and management are currently done, the evidence that more IT might be helpful, a vision of the future, and the barriers to getting there. SUMMARY: This report suggests that there are five key policy domains that need to be addressed: standards, incentives, security and confidentiality, professional involvement, and research, with financial incentives representing the single most important lever

In Vitro Evaluation of Enterococcus faecalis Adhesion on Various Endodontic Medicaments

E. faecalis in endodontic infection represents a biofilm type of disease, which explains the bacteria’s resistance to various antimicrobial compounds and the subsequent failure after endodontic treatment. The purpose of this study was to compare antimicrobial activities and bacteria kinetic adhesion in vitro for three endodontic medicaments with a clinical isolate of E. faecalis. We devised a shake culture which contained the following intracanalar preparations: CPD, Endoidrox (EIX), PulpCanalSealer (PCS); these were immersed in a liquid culture medium inoculated with the microorganism. The shake system velocity was able to prevent non-specific bacteria adhesion and simulated the salivary flow. Specimens were collected daily (from both the medium and medicaments) for 10 days; the viable cells were counted by plate count, while the adhesion index AI° [E. faecalis fg DNA] /mm2 was evaluated in the pastes after DNA extraction, by quantitative real time PCR for the 16S rRNA gene. A partial growth inhibition, during the first 24 hours, was observed in the liquid medium and on the medicaments for EIX and subsequently for CPD (six logs). EIX showed the lowest adhesion coefficient (5*102 [fg DNA]/mm2) for nine days and was similar to the control. PCS showed no antimicrobial/antibiofilm properties. This showed that “calcium oxide” base compounds could be active against biofilm progression and at least in the short term (2-4 days) on E. faecalis cells growing in planktonic cultures

Surgical management of facial dog bite trauma: A contemporary perspective and review

Abstract Objective To perform a review evaluating management of and complications stemming from dog bite trauma sustained to the head and neck over the past decade. Data Sources PubMed and Cochrane Library. Methods The authors searched the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases for relevant published literature. A total of 12 peer‐reviewed canine‐exclusive series inclusive of 1384 patient cases describing facial dog bite trauma met inclusion criteria. Wounds including fractures, lacerations, contusions, and other soft‐tissue injuries were evaluated. Demographics related to clinical course and management, operating room requirements, and antibiotic usage were compiled and analyzed. Initial trauma and surgical management complications were also assessed. Results 75.5% of patients sustaining dog bites required surgical intervention. Of these patients, 7.8% suffered from postsurgical complications, including hypertrophic scarring (4.3%), postoperative infection (0.8%), or nerve deficits and persistent paresthesias (0.8%). Prophylactic antibiotics were administered to 44.3% of patients treated for facial dog bites and the overall infection rate was 5.6%. Concomitant fracture was present in 1.0% of patients. Conclusion Primary closure, often in the OR may be necessary, with few cases requiring grafts or flaps. Surgeons should be aware that the most common complication is hypertrophic scarring. Further research is needed to elucidate the role of prophylactic antibiotics