Empirical treatment of bacterial keratitis: an international survey of corneal specialists.

Background/aimsNew antibiotic agents and changing susceptibility patterns may have changed the empirical treatment of bacterial keratitis. Our objective in this study was to survey cornea specialists' practice patterns in the initial treatment of bacterial ulcers.MethodsThis study consisted of a short online survey emailed to members of the Cornea Society listserv for an international sample of cornea specialists. Data collection began July 2014 and ended October 2014.ResultsA total of 1009 surveys were emailed, and we received 140 (14%) responses. The majority of US clinicians surveyed (n=83, 80%) chose fortified antibiotics empirically, with 55% (n=57) selecting fortified vancomycin and 16% (n=17) using fluoroquinolone alone. International respondents were twice as likely to use fluoroquinolone monotherapy (31%, n=11, p=0.07) and less likely to use fortified vancomycin (33%, n=12, p=0.03). Forty-five per cent (n=46) of US respondents reported that their initial antibiotic choice covered methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, compared with 22% (n=8) of international respondents (p<0.01). Overall, respondents who were concerned about availability of antibiotics and toxicity were 20.86 (p<0.001) and 7.48 (p<0.001) times more likely to choose fluoroquinolone monotherapy, respectively. If respondents' primary considerations were broad spectrum coverage or antibiotic resistance they had 7.10 (p<0.001) and 12.51 (p<0.001) times the odds of using fortified vancomycin, respectively.ConclusionPractice patterns for the initial treatment of bacterial keratitis vary with clinicians in the USA being more likely to use fortified antibiotics versus fluoroquinolone monotherapy and more concerned with resistant organisms than their international peers

Multiplex genotyping system for efficient inference of matrilineal genetic ancestry with continental resolution

Abstract Background: In recent years, phylogeographic studies have produced detailed knowledge on the worldwide distribution of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants, linking specific clades of the mtDNA phylogeny with certain geographic areas. However, a multiplex genotyping system for the detection of the mtDNA haplogroups of major continental distribution that would be desirable for efficient DNA-based bio-geographic ancestry testing in various applications is still missing. Results: Three multiplex genotyping assays, based on single-base primer extension technology, were developed targeting a total of 36 coding-region mtDNA variants that together differentiate 43 matrilineal haplo-/paragroups. These include the major diagnostic haplogroups for Africa, Western Eurasia, Eastern Eurasia and Native America. The assays show high sensitivity with respect to the amount of template DNA: successful amplification could still be obtained when using as little as 4 pg of genomic DNA and the technology is suitable for medium-throughput analyses. Conclusions: We introduce an efficient and sensitive multiplex genotyping system for bio-geographic ancestry inference from mtDNA that provides resolution on the continental level. The method can be applied in forensics, to aid tracing unknown suspects, as well as in population studies, genealogy and personal ancestry testing. For more complete inferences of overall bio-geographic ancestry from DNA, the mtDNA system provided here can be combined with multiplex systems for suitable autosomal and, in the case of males, Y-chromosomal ancestrysensitive DNA markers

Rosácea ocular: revisão

Rosacea is a prevalent chronic cutaneous disorder with variable presentation and severity. Although considered a skin disease, rosacea may evolve the eyes in 58-72% of the patients, causing eyelid and ocular surface inflammation. About one third of the patients develop potentially sight-threatening corneal involvement. Untreated rosacea may cause varying degrees of ocular morbidity. The importance of early diagnosis and adequate treatment cannot be overemphasized. There is not yet a diagnostic test for rosacea. The diagnosis of ocular rosacea relies on observation of clinical features, which can be challenging in up to 90% of patients in whom accompanying roseatic skin changes may be subtle or inexistent. In this review, we describe the pathophysiologic mechanisms proposed in the literature, clinical features, diagnosis and management of ocular rosacea, as well as discuss the need for a diagnostic test for the disease.A rosácea é uma condição cutânea crônica, que possui apresentações clínicas variáveis. Apesar de considerada uma doença dermatológica, os olhos podem ser acometidos em 58-72% dos casos, causando inflamação palpebral e da superfície ocular. Aproximadamente um terço dos pacientes desenvolve acometimento corneano, podendo causar baixa visual significativa. Diagnóstico precoce e tratamento adequado são de extrema importância, devido à significativa morbidade ocular que a doença pode causar. Não há, até o momento, um teste diagnóstico para rosácea. O diagnóstico da rosácea ocular depende da observação das manifestações clínicas, o que pode ser bastante desafiador em até 90% dos pacientes, em que os achados cutâneos são discretos ou inexistentes. Nesta revisão, descrevemos os mecanismos fisiopatológicos propostos na literatura, manifestações clínicas, diagnóstico e tratamento da rosácea ocular, assim como abordamos a necessidade de um teste diagnóstico.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Department of OphthalmologyUniversity of California Department of OphthalmologyUNIFESP, Department of OphthalmologySciEL

Magnetic Resonance

Contains research objectives and reports on three research projects

Simultaneous Whole Mitochondrial Genome Sequencing with Short Overlapping Amplicons Suitable for Degraded DNA Using the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine

Whole mitochondrial (mt) genome analysis enables a considerable increase in analysis throughput, and improves the discriminatory power to the maximum possible phylo

Decontaminating cobalt-60 from wounds

2013 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Removing radionuclide contamination from wounds in tissue is essential to minimizing incorporation and dose to an individual. This experiment compared the effectiveness of decontaminating wounds inflicted in pig tissue that were contaminated with cobalt-60. The process was established to compare three decontamination methods consisting of: commercially available, non-prescription, surfactant based, non-ionic wound cleanser spray; physiologic saline solution spray; physiologic saline solution pour. Three wound types were used: smooth incision, jagged cut, and blunt force trauma wounds. The cleanser spray and the saline spray were more effective at decontaminating all three wounds than the saline pour. The difference between the cleanser spray and saline spray was not statistically significant, but the cleanser spray did decontaminate the wound to a lower mean value. The spray pressure used for the saline and cleanser sprays produced the most noticeable impact in the decontamination process

Constructing the Exercising Self: Social Media Identity Work and Exercise Behavior

Far too few Americans meet the minimum recommended level of physical activity, an important component of a healthy lifestyle. This dissertation explores the motivational potential of social media as a tool in the development and maintenance of healthy exercise behaviors. The three studies contained herein develop and validate an instrument to measure exercise self-presentation in social media, the SPEQ-SM; use the instrument to assess self-presentation among a sample of exercisers; and explore the relationship between self-presentation, as measured by the instrument, and exercise behavior, using cross-sectional data. Interviews with CrossFit athletes and coaches, along with content analysis of social media profiles and fitness websites, were conducted to determine the types of exercise-related content that individuals generate and consume, as well as their motivations for creating and engaging with such content. The findings of these initial inquiries were leveraged to create surveys, administered online to samples consisting of men and women ages 18-45, most of whom were regular exercisers. Participants answered questions about their social media use, including posting and interacting with fitness-related content; their exercise behavior; their identity as an exerciser; and other psychographic characteristics. The SPEQ-SM was determined to be a good measure of exercise self-presentation in the social media environment, with convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity of the instrument and its two subscales, impression motivation (IM) and impression construction (IC), adequately demonstrated through correlational and factor analyses. The sentiments, beliefs, and behaviors measured by the SPEQ-SM were found to be prevalent in the sample of exercisers. A small but statistically significant relationship emerged between impression construction and exercise volume, and between impression motivation and exercise intensity, both of which appeared to be mediated by identity. Causal claims cannot be made due to the cross-sectional nature of the data; however, this dissertation lays some initial groundwork for future research into the motivational potential of social media-based presentation of the self as exerciser in order to drive healthy exercise behavior

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Hyperfine Structure

Contains reports on seven research projects