The Soliya Connect Program: Two Institutions’ Experience with Virtual Intercultural

In 2012, Georgia College and Kennesaw State University partnered with Soliya, a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization, to bring their students a unique international education experience: the opportunity to engage “virtually” in dialogue, via video-conferencing technology, with students around the world about Islam and the relationship between Western countries and Muslim-majority countries. In this article, the authors compare their respective approaches, examining course objectives, student learning outcomes, course structure, students’ experience with Soliya, and student learning outcomes assessment. The authors conclude with some observations about Soliya and, by implication, other virtual international education experiences as alternatives and/or complements to traditional study-abroad programs in educating globally competent students and citizens

Influence of fluoride on the mineralization of collagen via the polymer-induced liquid-precursor (PILP) process.

ObjectiveThe polymer-induced liquid-precursor (PILP) mineralization process has been shown to remineralize artificial dentin lesions to levels consistent with those of native dentin. However, nanoindentation revealed that the moduli of those remineralized lesions were only ∼50% that of native dentin. We hypothesize that this may be due to the PILP process having been previously optimized to obtain high amounts (∼70wt%) of intrafibrillar crystals, but without sufficient interfibrillar mineral, another significant component of dentin.MethodsFluoride was added to the PILP-mineralization of collagen from rat tail tendon at varying concentrations to determine if a better balance of intra- versus inter-fibrillar mineralization could be obtained, as determined by electron microscopy. Nanoindentation was used to determine if fluoridated apatite could improve the mechanical properties of the composites.ResultsFluoride was successfully incorporated into the PILP-mineralization of rat tail tendon and resulted in collagen-mineral composite systems with the mineral phase of hydroxyapatite containing various levels of fluoridation. As the fluoride concentration increased, the crystals became larger and more rod-like, with an increasing tendency to form on the fibril surfaces rather than the interior. Nanomechanical testing of the mineralized tendons revealed that fluoride addition did not increase modulus over PILP mineralization alone. This likely resulted from the separated nature of collagen fibrils that comprise tendon, which does not provide lateral reinforcement and therefore may not be suited for the compressive loads of nanoindentation.SignificanceThis work contributes to the development of minimally invasive approaches to caries treatment by determining if collagen can be functionally mineralized

Interventions for trachoma trichiasis.

BACKGROUND: Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends eliminating trachomatous blindness through the SAFE strategy: Surgery for trichiasis, Antibiotic treatment, Facial cleanliness and Environmental hygiene. This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2003, and previously updated in 2006. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of interventions for trachomatous trichiasis for people living in endemic settings. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group Trials Register) (2015, Issue 4), Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid MEDLINE In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE Daily, Ovid OLDMEDLINE (January 1946 to May 2015), EMBASE (January 1980 to May 2015), the ISRCTN registry (www.isrctn.com/editAdvancedSearch), ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov) and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/search/en). We did not use any date or language restrictions in the electronic searches for trials. We last searched the electronic databases on 7 May 2015. We searched the reference lists of included studies to identify further potentially relevant studies. We also contacted authors for details of other relevant studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised trials of any intervention intended to treat trachomatous trichiasis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Three review authors independently selected and assessed the trials, including the risk of bias. We contacted trial authors for missing data when necessary. Our primary outcome was post-operative trichiasis which was defined as any lash touching the globe at three months, one year or two years after surgery. MAIN RESULTS: Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria with 8586 participants. Most of the studies were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the studies were of a low or unclear risk of bias.Five studies compared different surgical interventions. Most surgical interventions were performed by non-physician technicians. These trials suggest the most effective surgery is full-thickness incision of the tarsal plate and rotation of the terminal tarsal strip. Pooled data from two studies suggested that the bilamellar rotation was more effective than unilamellar rotation (OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.50). Use of a lid clamp reduced lid contour abnormalities (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.98) and granuloma formation (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.97). Absorbable sutures gave comparable outcomes to silk sutures (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.20) and were associated with less frequent granuloma formation (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.99). Epilation was less effective at preventing eyelashes from touching the globe than surgery for mild trichiasis, but had comparable results for vision and corneal change. Peri-operative azithromycin reduced post-operative trichiasis; however, the estimate of effect was imprecise and compatible with no effect or increased trichiasis (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.14; 1954 eyes; 3 studies). Community-based surgery when compared to health centres increased uptake with comparable outcomes. Surgery performed by ophthalmologists and integrated eye care workers was comparable. Adverse events were typically infrequent or mild and included rare postoperative infections, eyelid contour abnormalities and conjunctival granulomas. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: No trials were designed to evaluate whether the interventions for trichiasis prevent blindness as an outcome; however, several found modest improvement in vision following intervention. Certain interventions have been shown to be more effective at eliminating trichiasis. Full-thickness incision of the tarsal plate and rotation of the lash-bearing lid margin was found to be the best technique and is preferably delivered in the community. Surgery may be carried out by an ophthalmologist or a trained ophthalmic assistant. Surgery performed with silk or absorbable sutures gave comparable results. Post-operative azithromycin was found to improve outcomes where overall recurrence was low

A 193 nm Deep-UV Lithography System Using a Line-Narrowed ArF Excimer Laser

A small field refractive projection system for operation at the 193.3 nm wavelength of a spectrally narrowed ArF excimer laser is being constructed. The 1 mm field, 20X system operates with a variable objective lens numerical aperture from 0.30 to 0.60, variable partial coherence, and control over illumination fill and mask tilt. A 30 W maximum power ArF excimer laser has been spectrally line-narrowed through incorporation of tilted Fabry-Perot etalons into the laser cavity, allowing linewidths on the order of7 cm\u27 (26 pm) with one etalon and 0.5 cm1 (2pm) with two etalons. This work reports laser line narrowing and lens performance results. Simulations of aerial image intensity distributions from lens aberration data will be presented for 0.25 and 0.20 micron geometry

Brewster-angle measurements of sea-surface reflectance using a high resolution spectroradiometer

This paper describes the design, construction and testing of a ship-borne spectroradiometer based on an imaging spectrograph and cooled CCD array with a wavelength range of 350-800 nm and 4 nm spectral sampling. The instrument had a minimum spectral acquisition time of 0.1 s, but in practice data were collected over periods of 10 s to allow averaging of wave effects. It was mounted on a ship's superstructure so that it viewed the sea surface from a height of several metres at the Brewster angle (53 degrees) through a linear polarizing filter. Comparison of sea-leaving spectra acquired with the polarizer oriented horizontally and vertically enabled estimation of the spectral composition of sky light reflected directly from the sea surface. A semi-empirical correction procedure was devised for retrieving water-leaving radiance spectra from these measurements while minimizing the influence of reflected sky light. Sea trials indicated that reflectance spectra obtained by this method were consistent with the results of radiance transfer modelling of case 2 waters with similar concentrations of chlorophyll and coloured dissolved organic matter. Surface reflectance signatures measured at three locations containing blooms of different phytoplankton species were easily discriminated and the instrument was sufficiently sensitive to detect solar-stimulated fluorescence from surface chlorophyll concentrations down to 1 mg m−3

A comparison of different criteria for selecting binary tests in diagnostic keys

The problem of selecting tests to be used in nonprobabilistic binary diagnostic keys is discussed. Five selection criteria are compared and it is shown that all except a new criterion suffer from some deficiency. This criterion cannot be extended easily to cope with multi-response tests but another criterion, which behaves satisfactorily with binary tests, can be extended in some circumstances. The only criterion which can always be used with multi-response tests is least satisfactory for binary tests

Comparisons of diabetic retinopathy events associated with glucose‐lowering drugs in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A network meta‐analysis

Aim To assess the comparative effects of glucose‐lowering drugs (GLDs) on the risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods We systematically searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PUBMED and EMBASE from inception to January 17, 2017 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported DR events among T2DM patients receiving any GLD. Random‐effects pairwise and network meta‐analyses were performed to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results A total of 37 independent RCTs with 1806 DR events among 100 928 patients with T2DM were included. The mean duration of diabetes was 8.7 years and mean baseline HbA1c was 8.2% (SD, 0.5%). Our network meta‐analysis found that DPP‐4i (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.87‐1.65), GLP‐1RA (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.94‐1.52) and SGLT2 inhibitors (OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.49‐1.28) were not associated with a higher risk of DR than placebo; however, a significantly increased risk of DR was associated with DPP‐4i in the pairwise meta‐analysis (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.05‐1.53). Sulfonylureas, on the other hand, were associated with a significantly increased risk of DR compared to placebo (OR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.01‐2.76). Conclusions Current evidence indicates that the association between DPP‐4i, GLP‐1RA or SGLT2 inhibitors and risk of DR remains uncertain in patients with T2DM. Some evidence suggests that sulfonylureas may be associated with increased risk of DR. However, given that DR events were not systematically assessed, these effects should be explored further in large‐scale, well‐designed studies

Perioperative antibiotics for prevention of acute endophthalmitis after cataract surgery

Endophthalmitis is a severe inflammation of the anterior or posterior (or both) chambers of the eye that may be sterile or associated with infection. It is a potentially vision-threatening complication of cataract surgery. Prophylactic measures for endophthalmitis are targeted against various sources of infection