Notes

Cold weather decomposition and also corrosion involving β-caryophyllene inside black pepper during subcritical drinking water removal.
Subconjunctival injection of P5 cMSCs in mouse models of mechanical corneal epithelial debridement or ethanol injury led to significantly faster wound healing and decreased inflammation, relative to control.

read more can be reproducibly derived from human cadaveric corneas using an explant method and expanded with preservation of characteristics and corneal wound healing effects.

The results of our study showed that cMSCs produced using this scheme can be potentially used for clinical applications.
The results of our study showed that cMSCs produced using this scheme can be potentially used for clinical applications.
Assessment of functional vision across the visual field is hampered by a reliance on patients' subjective judgement of the presence of a stimulus, and the accompanying demands (time and attention) this places on them. As a first step toward determining whether an objective measure of an involuntary eye movement (optokinetic nystagmus [OKN]) could provide an objective measure of field loss, we determined how various measures of OKN depend on the extent of simulated visual field loss (SVFL).

We used infrared eye-tracking to measure the eye movements of 16 healthy participants viewing horizontally translating 2-dimensional noise patterns over trials of varying contrasts and different levels of SVFL. We quantified the strength of OKN by estimating the velocity of tracking eye movements compared to the stimulus (OKN gain). These measurements were made using an open-loop SVFL paradigm, where a varying amount of gaze-contingent peripheral stimuli was occluded.

Full-field stimulation led to an average OKN gain of 0.92 ± 0.15. This value fell steadily with increasing SVFL to a value of 0.38 ± 0.20 when the periphery was not stimulated at all (i.e., the stimulus was a 5-deg. diameter foveal patch). We note considerable individual variation in OKN gain in all conditions.

Measuring the extent of visual field loss using an objective measure of OKN gain is feasible.

Simulated visual field loss reduces optokinetic nystagmus, but further refinement of this technique would be required to overcome individual differences and to pick up clinically relevant field defects.
Simulated visual field loss reduces optokinetic nystagmus, but further refinement of this technique would be required to overcome individual differences and to pick up clinically relevant field defects.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) leads to optic nerve head swelling and optic atrophy if left untreated. We wanted to assess an easy to perform volumetric algorithm to detect and quantify papilledema in comparison to retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) analysis using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Participants with and without IIH underwent visual acuity testing at different contrast levels and static perimetry. Spectralis-OCT measurements comprised standard imaging of the peripapillary RNFL and macular ganglion cell layer (GCL). The optic nerve head volume (ONHV) was determined using the standard segmentation software and the 3.45mm early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) grid, necessitating manual correction within Bruch membrane opening. Three neuro-ophthalmologists graded fundus images according to the Frisén scale. A mixed linear model (MLM) was used to determine differences between study groups. Sensitivity and specificity was evaluated using the area under the receiver-operatble. Our normative data and OCT preset may be used in further clinical studies.
A simple OCT protocol run on the proprietary software of a commercial OCT device can reliably discriminate between normal optic nerve heads or pseudo-papilledema and true papilledema while being highly reproducible. Our normative data and OCT preset may be used in further clinical studies.
Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) occurs in 5%-10% of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment cases and is the principle cause for failure of retinal reattachment surgery. Although there are a number of surgical adjunctive agents available for preventing the development of PVR, all have limited efficacy. Discovering predictive molecular biomarkers to determine the probability of PVR development after retinal reattachment surgery will allow better patient stratification for more targeted drug evaluations.

Narrative literature review.

We provide a summary of the inflammatory and fibrogenic factors found in ocular fluid samples during the development of retinal detachment and PVR and discuss their possible use as molecular PVR predictive biomarkers.

Studies monitoring the levels of the above factors have found that few if any have predictive biomarker value, suggesting that widening the phenotype of potential factors and a combinatorial approach are required to determine predictive biomarkers for PVR.

The identification of relevant biomarkers relies on an understanding of disease signaling pathways derived from basic science research. We discuss the extent to which those molecules identified as biomarkers and predictors of PVR relate to disease pathogenesis and could function as useful disease predictors. (http//www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ number, UMIN000005604).
The identification of relevant biomarkers relies on an understanding of disease signaling pathways derived from basic science research. We discuss the extent to which those molecules identified as biomarkers and predictors of PVR relate to disease pathogenesis and could function as useful disease predictors. (http//www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ number, UMIN000005604).The Medical Alumni Volunteer Expert Network (MAVEN) Project was one of the first programs in the United States to create a corps of experienced volunteer physicians to provide consults to providers in rural and inner-city safety-net clinics through telehealth. In the fall of 2015, the MAVEN Project started offering telehealth visits, with the expectation of serving three safety-net clinics in Massachusetts and California for a six-month period. RAND Corporation researchers aimed to conduct a qualitative evaluation of the pilot, describing the program's strengths and limitations to inform quality-improvement efforts within the program itself, and to provide lessons learned for other telehealth initiatives under development in the United States. They obtained data from MAVEN Project administrators on telehealth visit volume and site characteristics. They also conducted 13 semistructured interviews with volunteers, on-site referring physicians, and administrators across the three pilot sites and, for comparison, three representatives of additional telehealth programs that link physician volunteers to underserved communities. They identified themes in the interview data and developed recommendations for addressing program challenges or limitations. They conclude that, although stakeholders involved in the pilot were pleased with many of its features, further formative development and experimentation will be needed to address identified barriers to implementation and to establish sustainable and scalable processes. Because the demand for such services on the part of community health centers, as well as the supply of physicians interested in volunteering, will continue to grow, this model, when fully developed, has the potential to increase access to care for underserved populations.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks from all or part of 22 existing federal departments and agencies to oversee and coordinate a national strategy to protect the country from terrorism and to prevent future attacks. The unique organizational structure of DHS and differences in the number and type of employees in each of its components have resulted in a support system that includes both DHS-wide programs and component-specific programs to promote resilience and prevent psychological health problems that can result from long-term stress and exposure to trauma. However, little is known about the nature and effectiveness of these programs. This study provides an overview of the evidence base for common approaches used in workplace psychological health programs and identifies the extent to which programs across DHS that address psychological health, peer support, and resilience align with evidence-based practices. To ensure employees' psychological well-being, DHS must respond to their specific psychological health needs and concerns, as well as measure the effectiveness of existing programs that address psychological health. The study outlines a path forward for DHS to determine whether its investments in these programs are achieving their desired outcomes for the department, its employees, and their families.The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health systems provide services through a mix of direct care, delivered at government facilities, and purchased care, provided through the private sector, mainly by community-based providers who have entered into contracts with third-party administrators (TPAs). #link# In the interest of expanding DoD-VA resource sharing that may lead to greater efficiencies and cost savings, the DoD/VA Joint Executive Committee is exploring options to integrate DoD and VA's purchased care programs. This preliminary feasibility assessment examined how an integrated approach to purchasing care could affect access, quality, and costs for beneficiaries, DoD, and VA and identified general legislative, policy, and contractual challenges to implementing an integrated purchased care program. An integrated approach to purchasing care is feasible under current legal and regulatory authorities, but policy changes may be needed-and the practicality of such an approach depends on the contract and network design. For example, legal/regulatory changes in how contracts are established would be required to achieve any real savings to the government. There are also differences in the populations served by TRICARE (DoD health care) and VA, particularly in terms of age and geographic location. Implementation would be further complicated by contractual differences in the TPA contracts for VA and DoD as they relate to network standards, provider payments, network participation requirements, and reporting requirements and incentive structures. As a result, there are significant uncertainties with respect to increased efficiency or cost savings for the government.The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the effectiveness of health care provider interventions that aim to increase the uptake of evidence-based treatment of depression in routine clinical practice. This study summarizes results of comprehensive searches in the quality improvement, implementation science, and behavior change literature. link2 Studies evaluated diverse provider interventions such as sending out depression guidelines to providers, education and training such as academic detailing, and combinations of education with other components such as targeting implementation barriers. link3 A detailed critical appraisal process assessed risk of bias and study quality. The body of evidence was graded using established evidence synthesis criteria. Twenty-two randomized controlled trials promoting uptake of clinical practice guidelines and guideline-concordant practices met inclusion criteria. Results were heterogeneous and analyses comparing interventions with usual clinical practice did not indicate a statistically significant difference in guideline adherence across studies.
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