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Saudi Journal of Ophthalmology :... 2022Aqueous flare and cells are inflammatory parameters of anterior chamber inflammation resulting from disruption of the blood-ocular barrier. The ocular inflammation...
Aqueous flare and cells are inflammatory parameters of anterior chamber inflammation resulting from disruption of the blood-ocular barrier. The ocular inflammation related to anterior chamber cells and flare is assessed by conventional clinical grading systems through using the slit-lamp examination. However, a more quantitative and objective assessment is needed for more precise and reproducible inflammatory assessment in uveitis. Laser flare photometer (LFP) was introduced as a noninvasive, objective, and quantitative evaluation of aqueous flare intensity and number of cells in the anterior chamber with good accuracy and repeatability. The success of LFP allowed clinicians to further evaluate the pathophysiology of intra-ocular inflammation and to incorporate LFP measurements to their routine clinical practice for diagnosis, management, and treatment of uveitis cases. In this review, we will discuss the importance of clinical utilization of LFP and the correlation between LFP and clinical grading systems along with some technical aspects. Furthermore, we will give a literature summary on the current applications of LFP in clinical practice of cases which present with various types of uveitis and diverse ocular conditions with or without inflammation.
PubMed: 36618569
DOI: 10.4103/sjopt.sjopt_119_22 -
International Journal of Environmental... Apr 2022This study aimed to assess the physicochemical, microbiological and toxicological hazards at an illegal landfill in central Poland. The research included the analysis of...
This study aimed to assess the physicochemical, microbiological and toxicological hazards at an illegal landfill in central Poland. The research included the analysis of airborne dust (laser photometer), the number of microorganisms in the air, soil and leachate (culture method) and the microbial diversity in the landfill environment (high-throughput sequencing on the Illumina Miseq); the cytotoxicity () and genotoxicity (alkaline comet assay) of soil and leachate were tested. Moreover, an analysis of UHPLC-Q-ToF-UHRMS (ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry) was performed to determine the toxic compounds and microbial metabolites. The PM dust fraction constituted 99.89% and 99.99% of total dust and exceeded the threshold of 0.025 mg m at the tested locations. In the air, the total number of bacteria was 9.33 × 10-1.11 × 10 CFU m, while fungi ranged from 1.17 × 10 to 4.73 × 10 CFU m. Psychrophilic bacteria were detected in the largest number in leachates (3.3 × 10 to 2.69 × 10 CFU mL) and in soil samples (8.53 × 10 to 1.28 × 10 CFU g). Bacteria belonging to Proteobacteria (42-64.7%), Bacteroidetes (4.2-23.7%), Actinobacteria (3.4-19.8%) and Firmicutes (0.7-6.3%) dominated. In the case of fungi, Basidiomycota (23.3-27.7%), Ascomycota (5.6-46.3%) and Mortierellomycota (3.1%) have the highest abundance. Bacteria (, , , , ) and fungi (, , , , , , , , , ) that are potentially hazardous to human health were detected in samples collected from the landfill. Tested leachates and soils were characterised by varied cyto/genotoxins. Common pesticides (carbamazepine, prometryn, terbutryn, permethrin, carbanilide, pyrethrin, carbaryl and prallethrin), quaternary ammonium compounds (benzalkonium chlorides), chemicals and/or polymer degradation products (melamine, triphenylphosphate, diphenylphtalate, insect repellent diethyltoluamide, and drugs (ketoprofen)) were found in soil and leachate samples. It has been proven that the tested landfill is the source of the emission of particulate matter; microorganisms (including potential pathogens) and cyto/genotoxic compounds.
Topics: Air Microbiology; Bacteria; Dust; Fungi; Humans; Poland; Soil; Waste Disposal Facilities
PubMed: 35457694
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19084826 -
Vision Research Sep 2013Electronic displays and computer systems offer numerous advantages for clinical vision testing. Laboratory and clinical measurements of various functions and in...
Electronic displays and computer systems offer numerous advantages for clinical vision testing. Laboratory and clinical measurements of various functions and in particular of (letter) contrast sensitivity require accurately calibrated display contrast. In the laboratory this is achieved using expensive light meters. We developed and evaluated a novel method that uses only psychophysical responses of a person with normal vision to calibrate the luminance contrast of displays for experimental and clinical applications. Our method combines psychophysical techniques (1) for detection (and thus elimination or reduction) of display saturating non-linearities; (2) for luminance (gamma function) estimation and linearization without use of a photometer; and (3) to measure without a photometer the luminance ratios of the display's three color channels that are used in a bit-stealing procedure to expand the luminance resolution of the display. Using a photometer we verified that the calibration achieved with this procedure is accurate for both LCD and CRT displays enabling testing of letter contrast sensitivity to 0.5%. Our visual calibration procedure enables clinical, internet and home implementation and calibration verification of electronic contrast testing.
Topics: Calibration; Contrast Sensitivity; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; Humans; Lighting; Psychophysics; User-Computer Interface; Vision Tests
PubMed: 23643843
DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2013.04.011 -
Scientific Reports Oct 2022The growing concern about the negative impact of artificial light at night on biodiversity and human health increases the need of defining a general indicator that could...
The growing concern about the negative impact of artificial light at night on biodiversity and human health increases the need of defining a general indicator that could be used for characterizing light pollution as well as performing both spatial and temporal comparisons. In this paper, we show that the traditional indicators based on direct numerical measurements of sky brightness suffer from significant limitation due to calibration bias and lack of reproducibility. Furthermore, these measures are most often performed in periods of clear sky. They do not reflect the wide variety of meteorological conditions that can produce highly inhomogeneous levels of light pollution on a given site. To overcome these issues, we propose a statistical indicator called NSB Dispersion Ratio. This indicator is derived from a statistically significant number of individual night sky brightness measurements, under various meteorological conditions. It is independent of any absolute photometer calibration. It only requires on-time precise corrections of the contribution of natural light sources such as the Galactic plane.
Topics: Calibration; Humans; Light Pollution; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 36220856
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21460-5 -
Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2023This article systematizes available data from the literature on biliary gastritis (BG) in order to increase the awareness of specialists about the latest possibilities... (Review)
Review
This article systematizes available data from the literature on biliary gastritis (BG) in order to increase the awareness of specialists about the latest possibilities for diagnosing the disease. BG occurs as a result of pathological duodenogastric reflux. In patients with a preserved duodenogastric junction, the dominant factor is represented by motor disorders of the upper digestive tract (primary biliary gastritis), while in patients recovering from surgical interventions it is represented by structural changes (secondary biliary gastritis). Progressive BG can lead to atrophy of the gastric mucosa, intestinal metaplasia, epithelial dysplasia, and eventually to gastric cancer. Diagnostic methods for BG are carried out to identify risk factors, exclude alarm symptoms and identify persistent motor disorders and pathological reflux (24 h pH-impedancemetry, hepatobiliary scintigraphy, 24 h monitoring of bilirubin content in the reflux using a Bilitec 2000 photometer), as well as to diagnose gastritis itself (esophagogastroduodenoscopy, morphological gastrobiopsy examination). The diagnosis of BG should be based on a multidisciplinary approach that combines a thorough analysis of a patient's complaints, an anamnesis of the disease, and the results of endoscopic and histological research methods.
PubMed: 36672996
DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13020186 -
Current Research in Biotechnology 2022We catalog and summarize evidence of the analytical performance of portable quantitative and semi-quantitative devices for the assessment of vitamin A status and vitamin... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
We catalog and summarize evidence of the analytical performance of portable quantitative and semi-quantitative devices for the assessment of vitamin A status and vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in various biological samples-including whole blood, plasma, serum, and milk-in addition to VAD determination by functional indicators such as pupillary response.
METHODS
We searched the literature for published research articles, patents, and information from manufacturers of mobile devices, particularly those appropriate for low-resource settings. The included devices were required to be portable (lightweight and ideally not needing a power outlet) and to measure vitamin A as well as define VAD. Eligible studies compared a portable device to a reference standard of high-performance liquid chromatography for blood and milk, or a Goldmann-Weekers dark adaptometer for eyes/vision. Where available, identified devices were compared with reference methods across several performance criteria. When possible, we compared the device's performance reported in published studies against the stated performance criteria from the manufacturers' websites.
RESULTS
We catalogued 25 portable devices for measuring vitamin A and/or VAD via biological samples. We also identified 18 comparison studies (plus associated reports) assessing nine methods: the iCheck Fluoro, iCheck Carotene, CRAFTi, Tidbit with or without the HYPER filtration system, custom field-friendly immunoassays, and microfluidic assays for blood; the iCheck Fluoro and iCheck Carotene for milk; and the Scotopic Sensitivity Tester-1 for eye function.
CONCLUSIONS
The iCheck Fluoro and iCheck Carotene are commercially available for use and are acceptable for measuring vitamin A in blood and milk samples, according to the available validation data. Many of the other identified devices, including other portable fluorometers, photometers, immunoassays, microfluidics-based devices, and dark adaptometers, were proofs of concept and not yet commercially available. Furthermore, none of these other devices included manufacturer-described device performance criteria to compare with descriptions from experimental studies. Several gaps remain, including studies comparing the other portable devices against a reference standard, particularly for functional indicators of vitamin A status/deficiency; available manufacturer-reported device performance criteria against which to compare future results of investigations; and more comprehensive reporting of validation metrics including sensitivity, specificity, precision, and Bland-Altman analysis.
PubMed: 36033130
DOI: 10.1016/j.crbiot.2022.04.003 -
Journal of Occupational and... Jul 2021Recently, total inward leakage (TIL) for filtering facepiece and elastomeric half-mask respirators (EHRs) was measured according to the International Organization for... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Evaluation of total inward leakage for NIOSH-approved elastomeric half-facepiece, full-facepiece, and powered air-purifying respirators using sodium chloride and corn oil aerosols.
Recently, total inward leakage (TIL) for filtering facepiece and elastomeric half-mask respirators (EHRs) was measured according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) test method standard 16900-1:2014 that showed larger TIL for corn oil aerosol than for NaCl aerosol. Comparison of TIL measured for different aerosols for higher protection level respirators is lacking. The objective of this study was to determine TIL for EHRs, full-facepiece respirators, and loose-fitting and tight-fitting powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) using NaCl and corn oil aerosols to compare. TIL was measured for two models each of EHRs, full-facepiece respirators, and loose-fitting and tight-fitting PAPRs. After fit testing with a PortaCount (TSI, St. Paul, MN) using the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protocol, eight subjects were tested in the NaCl aerosol chamber first and then in the corn oil aerosol chamber, while another eight subjects tested in the reverse order. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two groups. TIL was measured as a ratio of mass-based aerosol concentrations inside the mask to the test chamber while the subjects performed ISO 16900-1-defined exercises using continuous sampling methods. The concentration of corn oil aerosol was measured with one light scattering photometer, alternately, and NaCl aerosol was measured using two flame photometers. Results showed the geometric mean TIL for EHR was significantly ( < 0.05) larger for corn oil aerosol than for NaCl aerosol. EHR models equipped with P100 filters showed relatively smaller TIL values than the same models with N95 filters showing that TIL was inversely related to filter efficiency. Interestingly, TIL was significantly ( < 0.05) larger for NaCl aerosol than for corn oil aerosol for PAPRs, but not for full-facepiece respirators. TIL was inversely related to fit factors of respirator types. Overall, filter efficiency and faceseal leakage determine TIL. The relative trends in TIL for the two aerosols' test methods differ between respirator types indicating that generalization of TIL for respirator types may not be appropriate when using different test agents.
Topics: Aerosols; Corn Oil; Filtration; Humans; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.; Occupational Exposure; Particle Size; Respiratory Protective Devices; Sodium Chloride; United States
PubMed: 34038318
DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2021.1919685 -
African Journal of Laboratory Medicine 2013.
UNLABELLED
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BACKGROUND
Anaemia is a global public health problem, especially in developing countries. Anaemia has major repercussions on health status, as well as on the economic and social development of a country. Effective care of anaemic patients requires a reliable and precise diagnostic test that can determine haemoglobin levels.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the Hemocue test Hb201+.
METHOD
This study compared haemoglobin levels measured using the photometer Hemocue Hb201+ with those measured by analysers of haematology. Children aged 6 to 59 months who suffered from uncomplicated malaria were eligible for inclusion. Haemoglobin levels determined by the analysers were considered the reference for evaluation of the levels measured using Hemocue Hb201+.
RESULTS
72.8% of the values obtained by Hemocue Hb201 were within ±1g/dl of the reference value. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.80. The prevalence of anaemia was 79.3% using the reference method and 77.9% using Hemocue 201+. The sensitivity and the specificity of Hemocue Hb201+ were 95.1% and 65.3% respectively.
CONCLUSION
The study results showed that the Hemocue Hb201 test+ provided good sensitivity, average specificity and average precision, both for the diagnosis of anaemia and for the determination of haemoglobin levels. It may be used in peripheral centres to facilitate the laboratory diagnosis of anaemia and its management in populations that live in areas with difficult accessibility.
PubMed: 29114478
DOI: 10.4102/ajlm.v2i1.28 -
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Sep 1980We describe an instrument for monitoring either transmitted or scattered light intensity, or both, simultaneously on up to eight channels. The use of a laser light...
We describe an instrument for monitoring either transmitted or scattered light intensity, or both, simultaneously on up to eight channels. The use of a laser light source (at 632.8-nm wavelength) provides high accuracy and dynamic range: optical density can be measured from 0.0004 up to 6, and a scattered light fraction down to 10(-6) can be resolved. Built-in thermostat and magnetic stirrers allow precise monitoring of aqueous microbial growth over a practical range of 4 orders of magnitude of cell concentration.
Topics: Escherichia coli; Lasers; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry; Penicillin G; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Scattering, Radiation
PubMed: 6999988
DOI: 10.1128/aem.40.3.458-461.1980 -
Bio-protocol May 2022Bacterial studies based on growth curves are common in microbiology and related fields. Compared to the standard photometer and cuvette based protocols, bacterial growth...
Bacterial studies based on growth curves are common in microbiology and related fields. Compared to the standard photometer and cuvette based protocols, bacterial growth curve measurements with microplate readers provide better temporal resolution, higher efficiency, and are less laborious, while analysis and interpretation of the microplate-based measurements are less straightforward. Recently, we developed a new analysis method for evaluating bacterial growth with microplate readers based on time derivatives. Here, we describe a detailed protocol for this development and provide the homemade program for the new analysis method.
PubMed: 35800461
DOI: 10.21769/BioProtoc.4410