Personal protective equipment solution for UK military medical personnel working in an Ebola virus disease treatment unit in Sierra Leone.

The combination of personal protective equipment (PPE) together with donning and doffing protocols was designed to protect British and Canadian military medical personnel in the Kerry Town Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) in Sierra Leone. The PPE solution was selected to protect medical staff from infectious risks, notably Ebola virus, and chemical (hypochlorite) exposure. PPE maximized dexterity, enabled personnel to work in hot temperatures for periods of up to 2h, protected mucosal membranes when doffing outer layers, and minimized potential contamination of the doffing area with infectious material by reducing the requirement to spray PPE with hypochlorite. The ETU was equipped to allow medical personnel to provide a higher level of care than witnessed in many existing ETUs. This assured personnel working as part of the international response that they would receive as close to Western treatment standards as possible if they were to contract Ebola virus disease (EVD). PPE also enabled clinical interventions that are not seen routinely in West African EVD treatment regimens, whilst providing a robust protective barrier. Competency in using PPE was developed during a nine-day pre-deployment training programme. This allowed over 60 clinical personnel per deployment to practice skills in PPE in a simulated ETU and in classrooms. Overall, the training provided: (i) an evidence base underpinning the PPE solution chosen; (ii) skills in donning and doffing of PPE; (iii) personnel confidence in the selected PPE; and (iv) quantifiable testing of each individual's capability to don PPE, perform tasks and doff PPE safely

Ökobilanzanalyse weide- und graslandbasierter Milchproduktionssysteme : Serie Systemvergleich Hohenrain II

Im Rahmen des Projekts «Optimierung von graslandbasierten Milchproduktionssystemen auf Basis von Eingrasen (Hohenrain II)» haben wir die Umweltwirkungen von drei Systemen anhand der Ökobilanzmethode SALCA miteinander verglichen: Vollweide mit saisonaler Abkalbung, sowie zwei Varianten von Eingrasen mit unterschiedlichem Kraftfuttereinsatz (< 500 kg/Kuh/ Jahr und 800–1200 kg/Kuh/Jahr). Systeme mit höherem Kraftfuttereinsatz weisen im Vergleich zu Systemen mit niedrigerem Kraftfuttereinsatz höhere und somit ungünstigere Werte in den Kategorien Kalium-Ressourcenbedarf und Ökotoxizität und teilweise in den Kategorien Phosphor- Ressourcenbedarf sowie Abholzung auf. Beim Treibhauspotenzial, bei der Ozonbildung und bei der Landschaftsästhetik weist das System mit höherem Kraftfuttereinsatz hingegen teilweise günstigere Werte auf als das Vollweide-System. In einigen weiteren Wirkungskategorien sind aufgrund der hohen Variabilität zwischen den untersuchten Betrieben und Jahren keine deutlichen Unterschiede zwischen den Systemen ersichtlich. Die wichtigsten Einflussfaktoren auf die Umweltwirkungen der Milch sind die Futterverwertung (kg Futter/kg energiekorrigierte Milch [ECM]), die Zusammensetzung der Futterration, die Zufuhr von Kraftfutter, die Remontierung von Kühen sowie die Düngung

Oxidation behavior and microstructural evolution of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-4V-1B sheet

A direct comparison between the oxidation behavior of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-4V + 1B has been conducted to elucidate whether the addition of boron to Ti-6Al-4V impacts the oxidation behavior. Industrially prepared sheet of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-4V + 1B were oxidized at temperatures between 650 and 950 °C for holding times of 25 and 50 h. Weight-gain measurements and characterization of surface and near-surface microstructures showed that the addition of 1 wt% B increased the material’s oxidation resistance. Additionally, the ingress of oxygen tends to decrease the solubility of other alloying species in α-Ti and leads to the formation of a distinctive and atypical microstructure with a distinct morphology

Oxidation behavior and microstructural evolution of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-4V-1B sheet

A direct comparison between the oxidation behavior of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-4V + 1B has been conducted to elucidate whether the addition of boron to Ti-6Al-4V impacts the oxidation behavior. Industrially prepared sheet of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-4V + 1B were oxidized at temperatures between 650 and 950 °C for holding times of 25 and 50 h. Weight-gain measurements and characterization of surface and near-surface microstructures showed that the addition of 1 wt% B increased the material’s oxidation resistance. Additionally, the ingress of oxygen tends to decrease the solubility of other alloying species in α-Ti and leads to the formation of a distinctive and atypical microstructure with a distinct morphology

Beratungsinstrument zur Verbesserung der Wirtschaftlichkeit auf Milchbetrieben

Um die Wirtschaftlichkeit von Milchproduktionsbetrieben zu verbessern, wurde eine in Frankreich entwickelte Beratungsmethode auf das Umfeld im Kanton Jura und Berner Jura angepasst. Dazu wurden auf 64 Milchproduktionsbetrieben Daten zu den natürlichen Standortfaktoren, zur Produktionstechnik sowie dem damit in Zusammenhang stehenden wirtschaftlichen Ergebnis erhoben. Mittels multivariater statistischer Analysen wurden die wichtigsten Faktoren für den Betriebserfolg identifiziert. Die Analysen haben gezeigt, dass die Wirtschaftlichkeit sowohl bei Dürrfutter- als auch bei Silagebetrieben massgeblich durch die aus dem Grundfutter erzeugte Milchmenge beeinflusst wird. Auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse wurde ein Klassifizierungsschema entwickelt, mit dem in Abhängigkeit der Standortfaktoren und der Produktionstechnik gezielte Optimierungen abgeleitet und die daraus resultierenden Auswirkungen auf das wirtschaftliche Ergebnis abgeschätzt werden können

The calibration of a Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectrometer for energy and relative intensity measurements

Two aspects of Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectrometry are discussed. The non-linearity of an amplifier-analyzer system was measured using a precision pulser and was checked with gamma-ray standards. The overall accuracy was 2 parts in 104. The relative detection efficiency of gamma-ray full-energy peaks was determined using sources with well measured relative gamma-ray emission rates. Two Ge(Li) detectors with active volumes of 3 cm2 x 0.5 cm and 4 cm2 x 0.5 cm were calibrated in the energy range 80--3200 keV. An overall accuracy of 5% in the energy region from 500-3200 keV and an accuracy of 10% over the entire range was obtained. The relative areas of the single escape peak and double escape peak to the full energy peak as a function of energy are included. The relative intensities of the 569.6, 1063.6 and 1771 keV gamma-rays following the decay of 207Bi were measured.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33388/1/0000787.pd

Text Messaging for Disease Monitoring in Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome

© 2019 International Society of Nephrology Introduction: There is limited information on effective disease monitoring for prompt interventions in childhood nephrotic syndrome. We examined the feasibility and effectiveness of a novel text messaging system (SMS) for disease monitoring in a multicenter, prospective study. Methods: A total of 127 patients results, symptoms, and medication adherence were sent to a designated caregiver (n = 116) or adolescent patient (n = 3). Participants responded by texting. Feasibility of SMS was assessed by SMS adoption, retention, and engagement, and concordance between participant-reported results and laboratory/clinician assessments. The number of disease relapses and time-to-remission data captured by SMS were compared with data collected by conventional visits. Results: A total of 119 of 127 (94%) patients agreed to SMS monitoring. Retention rate was 94%, with a median follow-up of 360 days (interquartile range [IQR] 353–362). Overall engagement was high, with a median response rate of 87% (IQR, 68–97). Concordance between SMS-captured home urine protein results and edema status with same-day in-person study visit was excellent (kappa values 0.88 and 0.92, respectively). SMS detected a total of 108 relapse events compared with 41 events captured by scheduled visits. Median time to remission after enrollment was 22 days as captured by SMS versus 50 days as captured by scheduled visits. Conclusion: SMS was well accepted by caregivers and adolescent patients and reliably captured nephrotic syndrome disease activity between clinic visits. Additional studies are needed to explore the impact of SMS on disease outcomes

Author correction to: Structure and distribution of an unrecognized interstitium in human tissues

© 2018 The Author(s). The Supplementary Figure file that accompanies this Article contains an error in Supplementary Figure S1, where the Small Intestine CD34 panel was duplicated from the Gallbladder CD34 panel. The correct Figure S1 appears below as Figure 1. (Figure Presented)