BAG

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To report refractive outcomes from an National Health Service (NHS) cataract surgery service and assess if results meet suggested benchmark standard. METHODS: Details of all patients undergoing cataract surgery in the Southern General and New Victoria hospitals in Glasgow, UK, between November 2006 and December 2016 were prospectively entered into an electronic database. Patients were reviewed 4 weeks postoperatively in the eye clinic and underwent refraction at their local optometrist prior to this appointment...

We have investigated the nonthermal effect of 10 GHz/22 dBm microwave radiation on hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) over different irradiation times, ranging from 2 min to 1 h. To ensure a control over the radiation parameters, a pair of microwave rectangular waveguides is used to irradiate the samples. Optical spectroscopic measurements, which include UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and far UV CD spectroscopy, reveal the exposure of the buried tryptophan (Trp) residues of the native molecule between 15 and 30 min of radiation...

We report a case of a 50-year-old man with a history of liver cirrhosis and colon cancer post end colostomy presenting to the emergency department with stomal bleeding and passage of clots into the colostomy bag. The patient was treated with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) and concomitant embolization of the stomal varices via the TIPS shunt using N-butyl cyanoacrylate mixed with ethiodol. Although stomal variceal bleeding is uncommon, this entity can have up to 40% mortality upon initial presentation, given the challenges in diagnosis and management...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the toxic effect of vehicle exhaust( VE) on lung epithelial cells by air-liquid interface( ALI) method in vitro, and analyze the different toxicity of VE after being treated with 0. 2 μm filter. METHODS: VE were collected using20 liter Tedlar bags and their particulate matter( PM) number, surface and mass concentration were measured by particle size spectrometer for the interference of 0. 2 μm filter or non-filter. Four groups were included, which divided into blank control group, clean air group, filtered VE exposure group, non-filtered VE exposure group...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the status of pesticides residues in vegetables, fruits, edible mushrooms and tea bags in Shaanxi Province. METHODS: Ten cities in Shaanxi Province were selected as monitoring area, pesticides residues in food were detected by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The total detection rate of pesticide residues was 15. 60%( 159/1019). The detection rate of pesticides in vegetables, fruits, edible mushrooms and tea bag was 18...

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization and the World Bank's "World Report on Disability" reported that over 1 billion people have various kinds of disability worldwide while Indian Census 2011 reported about 26 million in India. The United Nations Convention states, "The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) include accessibility to Information, Transportation, Environment, Communication Technology and Services". OBJECTIVE: This article takes forward the reason of making the "EasenAccess" (EnA) Android-based app to empower PwD with wheelchair-accessibility information, communication sentences and sending SOS signals with location...

Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags were designed to reduce grain storage losses on smallholder farms. The bag consists of three layers: two high-density polyethylene liners fitted inside a woven polypropylene bag. Recently, farmer groups, development relief programs, and government food security agencies have shown interest in PICS bags for large-scale use. PICS bags are conventionally closed by a twist-tie (TT) method, which involves twisting, folding, and tying the lip of each layer individually with a cord...

We present a proof of concept that machine learning techniques can be used to predict the properties of CNOHF energetic molecules from their molecular structures. We focus on a small but diverse dataset consisting of 109 molecular structures spread across ten compound classes. Up until now, candidate molecules for energetic materials have been screened using predictions from expensive quantum simulations and thermochemical codes. We present a comprehensive comparison of machine learning models and several molecular featurization methods - sum over bonds, custom descriptors, Coulomb matrices, Bag of Bonds, and fingerprints...

The data presented here shows a simple method for producing a solution that contains a high partial pressure of oxygen (pO2 ) and a low partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2 ). This novel solution was created by simply injecting oxygen gas into conventional supplemental bicarbonate fluid for renal replacement therapy. We compared the gas profiles of the novel solution and the conventional fluid in vitro. There was a significant increase in pO2 and pH, and a significant decrease in pCO2 in the experimental solution, in each of which an additional volume of oxygen was injected...

BACKGROUND: Online discussion forums allow those in addiction recovery to seek help through text-based messages, including when facing triggers to drink or use drugs. Trained staff (or "moderators") may participate within these forums to offer guidance and support when participants are struggling but must expend considerable effort to continually review new content. Demands on moderators limit the scalability of evidence-based digital health interventions. OBJECTIVE: Automated identification of recovery problems could allow moderators to engage in more timely and efficient ways with participants who are struggling...

Plastics including adhesive tapes, cable ties, and packaging are common evidence types encountered in forensic investigations and casework. Traditional examination techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy lack specificity and are unable to discern differences within the same polymer structures leaving the analyst with a generic identification. High quality manufacturing methods further amplify the limitations in detecting variability between samples. Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) has been shown to be a valuable technique in further discriminating plastics...

Archived soil samples can provide important information on the history of environmental contamination and by comparison with recently collected samples, temporal trends can be inferred. Little previous work has addressed whether mercury (Hg) concentrations in soil samples are stable with long-term storage under standard laboratory conditions. In this study, we have re-analyzed using cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy a set of archived soil samples that ranged from relatively pristine mountainous sites to a polluted site near a non-ferrous metal smelter with a wide range of Hg concentrations (6...

CD4 immunotherapy is potentially useful in immune reconstitution of CD4+ T cells for HIV-infected patients. Transfusion of anti-CD3/28 expanded CD4+ T cells is also proved to be safe and effective in both SIV-infected macaques and HIV-infected patients. However, there is no such standardized and practical protocol available for cell production in order to use in clinics. This study thus aimed to develop a closed-culture system for in vitro CD4+ T lymphocyte expansion by using a commercially available GMP-grade culture bag and anti-CD3/28 activation...

Work on mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) contaminating food is reviewed up to about 2010, when the subject received broad publicity. It covers the period of the main discoveries and elimination or reduction of the dominant sources: release agents used in industrial bakeries, spraying of rice, additions to animal feed, contamination of edible oils from various sources and migration from paperboard packaging. In most cases highly refined ("white") oils were involved, but also technical oils, e.g. from the environment, and more or less crude oil fractions from jute and sisal bags...

Background: The therapeutic efficacy and safety of stored red blood cells (RBCs) relies on minimal in-bag hemolysis. The accuracy of current methods of measuring hemolysis can suffer as a result of specimen collection and processing artefacts. Objective: To test whether Raman spectroscopy could be used to assess hemolysis. Methods: RBCs were stored for as long as 42 days. Raman spectra of RBCs were measured before and after washing, and hemolysis was measured in supernatant by visible spectroscopy...

Objectives: The plasma-thrombin method is commonly used to make cell blocks from fine-needle aspiration (FNA) samples but requires centrifugation. We describe a modification to this method that does not require centrifugation for use in resource-limited settings. Methods: Pooled fresh plasma is aliquoted into 2-mL Eppendorf tubes and the FNA sample directly rinsed into the plasma. Two drops of reconstituted thrombin are added and gently mixed. A cell clot is transferred to a tissue bag, fixed in formalin, and processed...

Packaged water, particularly bagged sachet water, has become an important drinking water source in West Africa as local governments struggle to provide safe drinking water supplies. In Ghana, sachet water has become an important primary water source in urban centers, and a growing literature has explored various dimensions of this industry, including product quality. There is very little data on sachet water quality outside of large urban centers, where smaller markets often mean less producer competition and less government regulation...

Plastic litter is encountered in aquatic ecosystems across the globe, including polar environments and the deep sea. To mitigate the adverse societal and ecological impacts of this waste, there has been debate on whether 'biodegradable' materials should be granted exemptions from plastic bag bans and levies. However, great care must be exercised when attempting to define this term, due to the broad and complex range of physical and chemical conditions encountered within natural ecosystems. Here, we review existing international industry standards and regional test methods for evaluating the biodegradability of plastics within aquatic environments (wastewater, unmanaged freshwater and marine habitats)...

Airborne transmission of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses has occurred among poultry and from poultry to humans during home or live-poultry market slaughter of infected poultry, and such transmission has been experimentally reproduced. In this study, we investigated simple, practical changes in the processing of H5N1 virus-infected chickens to reduce infectious airborne particles and their transmission. Our findings suggest that containing the birds during the killing and bleeding first step by using a disposable plastic bag, a commonly available cooking pot widely used in Egypt (halla), or a bucket significantly reduces generation of infectious airborne particles and transmission to ferrets...

This study investigated four different environmentally relevant microplastic (MP) pollutants which were derived from two facial cleansers, a plastic bag and polyethylene textile fleece. The mean size range of the particles (according to number distribution) was 20-250 μm when measured as a powder and 0.02-200 μm in suspension. In all MP exposures, plastic particles were found inside the guts of D. magna and A. franciscana, but only in the case of daphnids a clear exponential correlation between MP uptake in the gut and the size of the MP was identified...