Corneal erosions in contact lens wear

Contact lens wear continues to be the highest single risk factor for microbial keratitis, particularly when worn in the extended wear modality. For microbial keratitis to occur, the presence of at least a bacterial load as well as a break in the corneal surface is required. One such break occurs in the case of a corneal erosion. These well-circumscribed areas of full thickness epithelial loss can occur both with and without contact lens wear, however the risk of infection is greater in the presence of a lens due to its capacity to provide a vector for the entry of bacterial pathogens. While erosions in non-contact lens wearers are thought to result from defective epithelial basement membrane anchoring, the underlying causes during contact lens wear are yet unknown. This article sets out to review corneal erosions associated with contact lens wear, their associated risk factors such as extended wear, the mechanisms that may be responsible for their formation and the factors that differentiate them from other contact lens related adverse events. Appropriate diagnosis and understanding of the relevant pathophysiology is important to the effective treatment and an understanding of the aetiological factors responsible for erosions is critical to the development of preventative strategies and effective clinical care.     

Moisture content in timber decking exposed to bushfire weather conditions

Ignition of the external combustible elements of a building is one of the key factors leading to house loss in bushfires. Timber elements contain moisture that migrates into and out from the timber surface, depending on the surrounding ambient conditions. In extreme hot and dry conditions, such as those associated with severe bushfire weather, the moisture contents (MCs) in building timbers can drop well below the normal levels. In this paper, we not only qualify a methodology to assess the likely MCs of timbers under typical bushfire conditions, but also quantify the low levels of moisture that can be expected for the climatic conditions experienced in Melbourne—one of Australia's bushfire‐prone regions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

白云新城北部延伸区工程地质分区及评价

以白云新城北部延伸区工程地质勘察与地质环境质量评价为例,在综合分析规划区工程地质条件的基础上,对规划区工程地质分区的影响因素进行了探讨,并对规划区进行了工程地质分区及评价,为工程建设提供了依据。     

低温敏化乳化炸药在低温天气下保持高性能的探讨

为了有效解决低温敏化乳化炸药在低温天气下产品质量不稳定的现状,分别从工艺参数的调整、工装条件的改善、贮存条件的改善三方面入手进行改进,使低温敏化乳化炸药在低温天气下的产品质量稳定性得到明显改善。结果表明,通过对生产线的一系列改进,在低温天气下产品质量得到明显提升,改进效果明显。     

Idiosyncratic Drug-Induced Liver Injury: Mechanistic and Clinical Challenges

Idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (IDILI) remains a significant problem for patients and drug development. The idiosyncratic nature of IDILI makes mechanistic studies difficult, and little is known of its pathogenesis for certain. Circumstantial evidence suggests that most, but not all, IDILI is caused by reactive metabolites of drugs that are bioactivated by cytochromes P450 and other enzymes in the liver. Additionally, there is overwhelming evidence that most IDILI is mediated by the adaptive immune system; one example being the association of IDILI caused by specific drugs with specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes, and this may in part explain the idiosyncratic nature of these reactions. The T cell receptor repertoire likely also contributes to the idiosyncratic nature. Although most of the liver injury is likely mediated by the adaptive immune system, specifically cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, adaptive immune activation first requires an innate immune response to activate antigen presenting cells and produce cytokines required for T cell proliferation. This innate response is likely caused by either a reactive metabolite or some form of cell stress that is clinically silent but not idiosyncratic. If this is true it would make it possible to study the early steps in the immune response that in some patients can lead to IDILI. Other hypotheses have been proposed, such as mitochondrial injury, inhibition of the bile salt export pump, unfolded protein response, and oxidative stress although, in most cases, it is likely that they are also involved in the initiation of an immune response rather than representing a completely separate mechanism. Using the clinical manifestations of liver injury from a number of examples of IDILI-associated drugs, this review aims to summarize and illustrate these mechanistic hypotheses.     

Effects of latitude and weather conditions on sugars,fruit acids and ascorbic acid in currant (Ribes sp.) cultivars

BACKGROUND: Sugars, acids and vitamin C are essential components influencing the sensory and nutritional properties of currants (Ribes sp.). In this study the effects of growth latitude and weather conditions on these components in red, white and green currant cultivars were systematically investigated for the first time. RESULTS: Red Dutch (a red Ribes rubrum cultivar) contained more malic acid but fewer sugars and had a lower sugar/acid ratio than Vertti (a green Ribes nigrum cultivar) and White Dutch (a white R. rubrum cultivar). Fructose (27–56 g L^?1 juice) and glucose (21–54 g L^?1) were the major sugars in all currant samples, but sucrose (7–20 g L^?1) was present only in Vertti. Vertti contained the most ascorbic acid. Sugars, malic acid and the sugar/acid ratio in Red Dutch were 11–28% higher in southern Finland than in northern Finland. The corresponding values in Vertti were 6–16% lower in the south than in the north, but no differences were found in White Dutch. As the relative humidity decreased, the amounts of citric acid and total acid increased in all cultivars, while the amount of sugars increased in Vertti but decreased in White Dutch and Red Dutch. In Red Dutch, high temperature and radiation levels increased the sugar content. CONCLUSION: The influence of latitude and weather conditions on qualitative parameters of currants varies with the cultivar. This study provides important guidance for currant cultivation and for further physiological and enzymological studies. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

依折麦布联合他汀对急性冠脉综合征行急诊介入患者残粒脂蛋白胆固醇及MACE影响的临床研究

目的：研究依折麦布联合他汀对急性冠脉综合征（ACS）行急诊介入术（PCI）后患者残粒样脂蛋白-胆固醇（RLP-C）水平及主要心血管不良事件（MACE）的影响。方法：选取入院诊断ACS并行急诊PCI患者共90人,术后常规冠心病二级预防用药,将其随机分为两组,对照组48例服用阿托伐他汀,研究组42例加用依折麦布治疗,检测治疗前后RLP-C水平,并通过定期随访获取患者治疗期间MACE及药物不良反应。结果：与对照组相比,研究组治疗后RLP-C水平明显下降（P<0.05）,MACE发生率明显降低（P<0.05）,药物不良反应没有增加。结论：依折麦布联合他汀治疗可以降低ACS行急诊PCI术后患者RLP-C水平,减少MACE,不良反应少,值得推广应用。     

Stormwater quality associated with a silt trap (empty and full) discharging into an urban watercourse in Scotland

The aim was to assess the influence of a full silt trap at the end of a stormwater drainage pipe on the water quality of stormwater discharged into a semi‐natural urban watercourse. For approximately eleven weeks, the water qualities of the preliminarily treated stormwater and of the receiving watercourse (Braid Burn) were studied. The mean outflow concentrations of suspended solids were 2.0 mg/l and 34.1 mg/l during dry and wet weather conditions, respectively. Suspended solids concentrations of up to 141.6 mg/l were recorded during storm events. Suspended solids values for treated stormwater were often too high compared to international secondary wastewater treatment standards of around 30 mg/l. Pollutants including heavy metals (e.g., zinc, copper and nickel) accumulated in the silt trap. However, high outflow velocities during heavy rainfall events did not result in clearly defined sediment layers due to sediment re‐suspension. Metals did not accumulate in the receiving watercourse.     

A socio-ecological analysis of hospital resilience to extreme weather events

Hospitals play a critical role in helping communities respond effectively to extreme weather events (EWEs). Despite predictions of more EWEs, little is known about the process by which hospital infrastructure resilience to such events can be built. Using Gunderson and Holling’s Adaptive Cycle, a new theoretical perspective based on socio-ecological resilience theory is provided to understand this process. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, observations of disaster drills and disaster planning meetings, as well as additional documentary analysis of past incident reports. The research findings were then refined and validated in a focus group meeting with respondents. The findings indicate that there are significant organizational barriers which prevent facilities managers improving the resilience of hospital facilities to future EWEs. It was found that the disaster planning process is ad hoc and non-inclusive, focused on man-made disasters and compliance driven, top-down approach, under-resourced and is driven by a general ignorance of the importance of resilient-built facilities to health care delivery during an EWE. It is concluded that to produce more resilient hospital infrastructure, there needs to be a more well-resourced, integrated and collaborative approach to disaster management planning which enables health facilities managers to play a more central role in disaster planning decisions. There also need to be better systems, technologies and training implemented to manage information about health infrastructure performance before, during and after EWEs.