10Gbit/s modulation of a fast switching slotted Fabry-Pérot tunable laser

The device used is a three-section, 3mum wide ridge waveguide laser based on commercially available material. During the fabrication a series of slots are introduced into the front and back sections, which act as sites of internal reflections. The slots are etched to a depth that just penetrates the top of the upper waveguide resulting in an internal reflectance of-1% at each slot. The front, middle, and back sections are 180, 690 and 170 microns long respectively. In this work the back and middle sections are tied together electrically allowing simpler control of the device. By varying the applied DC currents, eight discrete channels are observed over a range of approximately 19nm

Major incident triage: Derivation and comparative analysis of the Modified Physiological Triage Tool (MPTT).

BACKGROUND: Triage is a key principle in the effective management at a major incident. There are at least three different triage systems in use worldwide and previous attempts to validate them, have revealed limited sensitivity. Within a civilian adult population, there has been no work to develop an improved system. METHODS: A retrospective database review of the UK Joint Theatre Trauma Registry was performed for all adult patients (>18years) presenting to a deployed Military Treatment Facility between 2006 and 2013. Patients were defined as Priority One if they had received one or more life-saving interventions from a previously defined list. Using first recorded hospital physiological data (HR/RR/GCS), binary logistic regression models were used to derive optimum physiological ranges to predict need for life-saving intervention. This allowed for the derivation of the Modified Physiological Triage Tool-MPTT (GCS≥14, HR≥100, 12<RR≥22). A comparison of the MPTT and existing triage tools was then performed using sensitivities and specificities with 95% confidence intervals. Differences in performance were assessed for statistical significance using a McNemar test with Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: Of 6095 patients, 3654 (60.0%) had complete data and were included in the study, with 1738 (47.6%) identified as priority one. Existing triage tools had a maximum sensitivity of 50.9% (Modified Military Sieve) and specificity of 98.4% (Careflight). The MPTT (sensitivity 69.9%, 95% CI 0.677-0.720, specificity 65.3%, 95% CI 0.632-0.675) showed an absolute increase in sensitivity over existing tools ranging from 19.0% (Modified Military Sieve) to 45.1% (Triage Sieve). There was a statistically significant difference between the performance (p<0.001) between the MPTT and the Modified Military Sieve. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION: The performance characteristics of the MPTT exceed existing major incident triage systems, whilst maintaining an appropriate rate of over-triage and minimising under-triage within the context of predicting the need for a life-saving intervention in a military setting. Further work is required to both prospectively validate this system and to identify its performance within a civilian environment, prior to recommending its use in the major incident setting

Economic analysis of alley farming with small ruminants

Evaluates alley farming models with small ruminants based on field and experimental data from southwest Nigeria, and compares them to basic alley cropping and to fallow systems. Describes the basic fallow model, the basic alley cropping model without animals, the alley farming model with goats, as well as with sheep

Condition of Larval Red Snapper (\u3ci\u3eLutjanus campechanus\u3c/i\u3e) Relative to Environmental Variability and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill(DWHOS)spatially and temporally overlapped with the spawning of many fish species, including Red Snapper, one of the most economically important reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico. To investigate potential impacts of the DWHOS on larval Red Snapper, data from a long-term ichthyoplankton survey off the coast of Alabama were used to examine: (1)larval abundances among pre-impact (2007–2009), impact(2010), and post-impact (2011, 2013) periods; (2) proxies for larval condition (size-adjusted morphometric relationships and dry weight) among the same periods; and (3) the effects of background environmental variation on larval condition. We found that larval Red Snapper were in poorer body condition during 2010, 2011, and 2013 as compared to the 2007–2009 period, a trend that was strongly (and negatively)related to variation in Mobile Bay freshwater discharge. However, larvae collected during and after 2010 were in relatively poor condition even after accounting for variation in freshwater discharge and other environmental variables. By contrast, no differences in larval abundance were detected during these survey years. Taken together, larval supply did not change relative to the timing of the DWHOS, but larval condition was negatively impacted. Even small changes in condition can affect larval survival, so these trends may have consequences for recruitment of larvae to juvenile and adult life stages

Correlation between placental malaria parasitaemia at delivery and infant birth weight in a Nigerian tertiary health centre

Background: Untreated malaria during pregnancy is detrimental to the health and survival of the mother, foetus and neonate due to its great potential to cause maternal anaemia, foetal death and intrauterine growth restriction leading to low birth weight. The foetal complications are due to impaired placental function that results from placental malaria parasitaemia as well as impaired foetal oxygenation from maternal anaemia. This study was conducted to determine the influence of placental malaria parasitaemia on infant birth weight.Methodology: This was a prospective cross-sectional analytical study of 205 parturients recruited consecutively as they presented for delivery at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. After delivery, the neonates were weighed and placental blood was collected for microscopy to detect malaria parasites. Data was analysed using SPSS version 22.Results: The prevalence of placental malaria parasitaemia was 13.7% and Plasmodium falciparum was the only parasite species detected. Placental malaria parasitaemia was associated with a reduction of the mean infant birth weight by 335 grams (P = 0.01).Conclusion: Malaria during pregnancy is still an important public health problem among our obstetric population, with a high prevalence of placental malaria parasitaemia and a significant negative effect on the birth weight of neonates. To enable the developing foetus achieve its full genetic growth potential, pregnant women should be encouraged to register early for antenatal care and utilize all the recommended malaria preventive measures.Keywords: Placenta, malaria infestation, birth weigh

Resistentie tegen antimicrobiële middelen van bacteriën voorkomend binnen en buiten het ziekenhuis

In Nederland is tot nu toe geen systematische studie verricht naar het voorkomen van resistentie voor antimicrobiële middelen bij bacterien. Deze informatie is van belang voor bet bepalen van de omvang van de bacteriele resistentie en om een uitspraak te kunnen doen over de bruikbaarheid van de gangbare antimicrobiele middelen. Ziekenhuispatiënten en mensen buiten bet ziekenhuis of de open bevolking zijn in verschillende mate aan deze middelen blootgesteld. Studies over de omvang van de resistentie waren dan ook als regel op deze groepen gericht. Onderzoek buiten het ziekenhuis. Onderzoek naar bacteriële resistentie buiten bet ziekenhuis is ongeveer 10 jaar geleden op verschillende plaatsen verricht. Dit onderzoek was beperkt van omvang. In Borneo werden bij een etnisch geisoleerde bevolking in 19% van 128 faecesmonsters coliformen gevonden die resistent waren voor ampicilline, tetracycline, chlooramfenicol, kanamycine of sulfonamide (Davis e.a. 1970), Onderzoek dat met dezelfde techniek ongeveer gelijktijdig bij westerse bevolkingsgroepen werd uitgevoerd, leverde telkens hogere frequenties van resistente bacteriestammen op (Guinee e.a. 1970, Datta e.a. 1971, Linton e.a. 1972). Patiënten, die in Londen een huisartspraktijk bezochten, waren in 30% van de gevallen drager van E. coli starnmen, die resistent waren voor een of meer van zeven onderzochte antimicrobiele middelen. Deze patiënten gebruikten geen antimicrobiele middelen (Datta e.a. 1971). Ongeveer hetzelfde resultaat werd gevonden in Bristol; alleen bleek daar dat bij kinderen vaker dan bij volwassenen en op het platteland vaker dan in de stad resistente stammen werden aangetroffen (Linton e.a. 1972). Bij kantoorpersoneel in Utrecht werd bij 38% tetracycline-resistente E. coli gevonden (Guin8e e.a. 1970). Resistentie die in deze drie studies voor drie in de huisartspraktijk veel gebruikte middelen werd gevonden, is samengevat in tabel I. Het mechanisme van de resistentie bleek in de meeste gevallen te berusten op de aanwezigheid van overdraagbare resistentie- plasmiden (Falkow 1976, Broda 1979). Met deze studies wordt de oorzaak van bet frequent voorkomen van resistentie niet opgehelderd. Of er sprake is van een toename van resistentie ten gevolge van het gebruik van antimicrobi€le middelen is niet duidelijk, omdat er geen gegevens beschikbaar zijn over de frequentie van resistentie in de periode dat bet gebruik van antimicrobiele middelen nag schaars was. Als mogelijke bron van waaruit grate hoeveelheden resistente stammen de open bevolking kunnen bereiken, wordt de intensieve veehouderij genoemd

Site investigation for the effects of vegetation on ground stability

The procedure for geotechnical site investigation is well established but little attention is currently given to investigating the potential of vegetation to assist with ground stability. This paper describes how routine investigation procedures may be adapted to consider the effects of the vegetation. It is recommended that the major part of the vegetation investigation is carried out, at relatively low cost, during the preliminary (desk) study phase of the investigation when there is maximum flexibility to take account of findings in the proposed design and construction. The techniques available for investigation of the effects of vegetation are reviewed and references provided for further consideration. As for general geotechnical investigation work, it is important that a balance of effort is maintained in the vegetation investigation between (a) site characterisation (defining and identifying the existing and proposed vegetation to suit the site and ground conditions), (b) testing (in-situ and laboratory testing of the vegetation and root systems to provide design parameters) and (c) modelling (to analyse the vegetation effects)