Studies in the chromatographic analysis of some anthraquinone derivatives

Hydrogen peroxide is made commercially by the cyclic reduction and oxidation of solutions containing alkyl-substituted anthraquinones. Such solutions contain not only the alkyl anthraquinone, but also certain oxidation and reduction products which do not revert to the active compounds in the plant working solution, and which thus reduce the efficiency of the plant for the production of hydrogen peroxide. Section 2 examines the chemistry involved in the hydrogen peroxide manufacturing process and degradation routes of the various active materials. The identification and quantitation of the components of the working solution is thus of considerable significance in the economic production of industrially important hydrogen peroxide

Electronic Health Record Availability and Anxiety Treatment in Office Based Practices

Objective: This study compared the probability of receiving anxiety treatment during a physician visit to primary care practices with and without an electronic health record (EHR). Methods: The 2007–2010 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey was used to identify visits for anxiety (N=290). The outcome was receipt of anxiety treatment. The independent variable was the presence of a fully functioning EHR. Logistic regression was used to conduct the analysis. Results: Patients who were seen in practices with a fully functioning EHR had lower odds of being offered antianxiety medication (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=.37, 95% confidence interval [CI]=.15–.90, p=.028), mental health counseling (AOR=.43, CI=.18–1.04, p=.061), and any anxiety treatment (AOR=.40, CI=.15–1.05, p=.062) compared with patients at practices without a fully functioning EHR. Conclusions: EHRs may have a negative impact on the delivery of care for anxiety during primary care visits. Future studies should monitor the impact of EHRs on delivery and quality of care

Weakening and warming of the European slope current since the late 1990s attributed to basin-scale density changes

Oceanic influences on shelf seas are mediated by flow along and across continental slopes, with consequences for regional hydrography and ecosystems. Here we present evidence for the variable North Atlantic influence on European shelf seas over the last 4 decades using ocean analysis and reanalysis products, as well as an eddy-resolving ocean model hindcast. To first order, flows oriented along isobaths at the continental slope are related to the poleward increase in density in the adjacent deep ocean that supports a geostrophic inflow towards the slope. In the North Atlantic, this density gradient and associated inflow have undergone substantial, sometimes abrupt, changes in recent decades. Inflow in the range 10–15 Sv is identified with eastward transport in temperature classes at 30∘ W in the latitude range 45–60∘ N. Associated with major subpolar warming around 1997, a cool and fresh branch of the Atlantic inflow was substantially reduced, while a warm and more saline inflow branch strengthened, with respective changes of the order of 5 Sv. Total inflow fell from ∼ 15 Sv pre-1997 to ∼ 10 Sv post-1997. In the model hindcast, particle tracking is used to trace the origins of poleward flows along the continental slope to the west of Ireland and Scotland before and after 1997. Backtracking particles up to 4 years, a range of subtropical and subpolar pathways is identified from a statistical perspective. In broad terms, cold, fresh waters of subpolar provenance were replaced by warm, saline waters of subtropical provenance. These changes have major implications for the downstream shelf regions that are strongly influenced by Atlantic inflow, in particular the northern North Sea, where “subtropicalization” of ecosystems has already been observed since the late 1990s

Campylobacter fetus Bacteremia Revealed by Cellulitis without Gastrointestinal Symptoms in the Context of Acquired Hypogammaglobulinemia: A Report of Three Cases

Campylobacter fetus bacteremia is rare and occurs mainly in patients with immunosuppression. This infection, which often involves secondary localizations has already been reported in some primary humoral immune deficiencies. We describe three cases of severe infection due to C. fetus with cellulitis at presentation, but without any gastrointestinal symptoms, occurring in patients with acquired hypogammaglobulinemia

Spatial and spectral features utilization on a hyperspectral imaging system for rice seed varietal purity inspection

A conventional method to inspect the varietal purity of rice seeds is based on evaluating human visual inspection where a random sample is drawn from a batch. This is a tedious, laborious, time consuming and extremely inefficient task. This paper presents an automatic rice seed inspection method using Hyperspectral imaging and machine learning, to automatically detect unwanted seeds from other varieties which may be contained in a batch. Hyperspectral image data from Near-infrared (NIR) and Visible cameras are acquired for six common rice seed varieties. The results of applying two classifiers are presented, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) and a Random Forest (RF), where each consists of six one-versus-rest binary classifiers. The results show that combining spectral and shape- based features derived from the rice seeds, increase precision of the multi-label classification to 84% compared 74% when only visual features are used

Contextual location in the home using Bluetooth Beacons

Location sensing is a key enabling technology for Ubicomp to support contextual interaction. However, the laboratories where calibrated testing of location technologies is done are very different to the domestic situations where “context” is a problematic social construct. This study reports measurements of Bluetooth beacons, informed by laboratory studies, but done in diverse domestic settings. The design of these surveys has been motivated by the natural environment implied in the Bluetooth beacon standards relating to the technical environment of the beacon to the function of spaces within the home. This research method can be considered as a situated, “ethnographic” technical response to the study of physical infrastructure that arises through social processes. The results offer insights for the future design of “seamful” approaches to indoor location sensing, and to the ways that context might be constructed and interpreted in a seamful manner

An Analysis of Primary Care Clinician Communication About Risk, Benefits, and Goals Related to Chronic Opioid Therapy

Background. Safe opioid prescribing and effective pain care are particularly important issues in the United States, where decades of widespread opioid prescribing have contributed to high rates of opioid use disorder. Because of the importance of clinician-patient communication in effective pain care and recent initiatives to curb rising opioid overdose deaths, this study sought to understand how clinicians and patients communicate about the risks, benefits, and goals of opioid therapy during primary care visits. Methods. We recruited clinicians and patients from six primary care clinics across three health systems in the Midwest United States. We audio-recorded 30 unique patients currently receiving opioids for chronic noncancer pain from 12 clinicians. We systematically analyzed transcribed, clinic visits to identify emergent themes. Results. Twenty of the 30 patient participants were females. Several patients had multiple pain diagnoses, with the most common diagnoses being osteoarthritis (n = 10), spondylosis (n = 6), and low back pain (n = 5). We identified five themes: 1) communication about individual-level and population-level risks, 2) communication about policies or clinical guidelines related to opioids, 3) communication about the limited effectiveness of opioids for chronic pain conditions, 4) communication about nonopioid therapies for chronic pain, and 5) communication about the goal of the opioid tapering. Conclusions. Clinicians discuss opioid-related risks in varying ways during patient visits, which may differentially affect patient experiences. Our findings may inform the development and use of more standardized approaches to discussing opioids during primary care visits

The Effect of EHR-Integrated Patient Reported Outcomes on Satisfaction with Chronic Pain Care

Objective Given its complexity, chronic noncancer pain presents an opportunity to use health information technology (IT) to improve care experiences. The objective of this study was to assess whether integrating patient-reported outcomes (PRO) data in an electronic health record (EHR) affects providers and patient satisfaction with chronic noncancer pain care. Study Design We conducted a pragmatic cluster randomized trial involving four family medicine clinics. Methods We enrolled primary care providers (PCPs) and their patients with chronic noncancer pain. In the first seven months (education phase), PCPs in intervention practices received education on how to use PROs for pain care. In the second seven months (PRO phase), patients in intervention practices reported pain-related outcomes upon arrival at their visits. PROs were immediately reported to PCPs through the EHR. Control group PCPs provided usual care. We compared intervention and control practices in terms of provider and patient satisfaction with care. Results During the education phase, patients’ mean ratings of their visits did not differ between control and intervention (9.33 vs. 9.08, p=0.20). During the PRO phase, patients’ mean ratings did not differ between control and intervention (9.28 vs 9.01, p=0.20). Similarly, there were no differences between the intervention and control groups in terms of provider satisfaction. Conclusion Delivering EHR-integrated PROs did not consistently improve patient or provider satisfaction. Positively, we found no evidence that the PRO tools negatively affected satisfaction. Future studies and technological innovations are needed to translate point-of-care health IT tools to improvements in patient and provider experiences