Development of a neonatal incubator with phototherapy,biometric fingerprint reader,remote monitoring,and heart rate control adapted for developing countries hospitals

This paper aims to develop an automatic neonatal incubator equipped with phototherapy, biometric fingerprint reader, remote monitoring and heart rate control modules for developing countries due to the lack of neonatal incubators. The proposed device consists of an acquisition module that senses temperatures (of the enclosure and the baby) and humidity, a biometric fingerprint reader to identify the user, a remote monitoring module in charge of supervising the temperature and the heart rate of the baby, a video surveillance module which allows filming and transmitting the images to the web server in order to give parents and nurses the possibility of being able to visualize whatever their location the newborn baby, a phototherapy module used to treat newborn jaundice by lowering the bilirubin levels in the baby's blood, a digital control module from a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal generated by a microcontroller of Arduino Nano type for system operation monitoring, and a human machine interface module for setting parameters. The equations describing the energy balance and heat transfer for newborn baby (Ostrowski and Rojczyk, 2018) are taken into account for the implementation of power supply and the choice of the heating resistor. The desired temperature of 37 °C was obtained after only a few minutes inside the incubator.     

Do amyloid structures formed by Staphylococcus aureus phenol-soluble modulins have a biological function?

Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) are alpha-helical, amphipathic peptides that have multiple functions in staphylococcal physiology and virulence. Recent research has suggested that PSMs form amyloid fibrils and amyloids are involved in PSM-mediated phenotypes such as cytolysis and biofilm stability. While we observed PSM amyloid formation using electron microscopy and dye assays, there were no apparent differences in the production of extracellular fibrous material between a PSM-deficient strain and the isogenic wild-type strain. Furthermore, we detected no correlation between cytolytic or pro-inflammatory activities with the propensity of PSM derivatives to form amyloids. In addition, we propose a model based on our finding of non-specific attachment of PSMs to DNA, which we here report results in resistance to DNase digestion, explaining previous findings on PSM-mediated biofilm stability without the necessity to assume amyloid involvement. Collectively, our results indicate that PSM amyloid formation may not be of major relevance for known key biological functions of PSMs. Intriguingly, however, we found that amyloid-forming capacity of PSMalpha3 allows almost no amino acid exchanges, suggesting importance of amyloid formation in possibly yet unknown functions of PSMs.     

Evaluation of heat stress and heat strain among employees working outdoors in an extremely hot environment

A heat stress evaluation was conducted among employees engaged in strenuous work in an extremely hot outdoor environment. Environmental conditions that contribute to heat stress along with various physiological indicators of heat strain were monitored on a task-basis for nine employees daily across four workdays. Employees performed moderate to heavy tasks in elevated environmental conditions for longer periods of time than recommended by various heat stress exposure limits. Seven of nine employees showed evidence of excessive heat strain according to criteria yet all employees were able to self-regulate task duration and intensity to avoid heat-related illness.     

On the psychosocial dimension of the IPPNW meeting in Coventry

Science and Conscience

In the Shadow of the Bomb: Oppenheimer, Bethe, and the Moral Responsibility of the Scientist By Silvan S. Schweber Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 2000, 260 pp., £15.95, ISBN 0–691–04989–0.

Sanctions

Iraq Under Siege: The Deadly Impact of Sanctions and War Edited by Anthony Amove Pluto, London, 2000, 224 pp., £10.99 pbk. ISBN 0–7453–16S9‐X, £35.00 hbk, ISBN 0–7453–1660–3.

Nurses at War

Nurses at War: Women on the Frontline 1939–45 By Penny Starns Sutton, Stroud, 2000, xvii + 174 pp., £19.99 hbk, ISBN 0–7509–23873.

Peace Education

Saying No to Violence — Children and Peace: Activities for a Peaceful World By Jan Melichar and Margaret Melicharova Peace Pledge Union, London, 2000, 58 pp., £9.99, ISBN 0–902680–46–3.     

患处热敷对膝关节置换患者术后CPM锻炼效果影响的分析

目的探讨患处热敷对膝关节置换患者术后CPM功能锻炼效果的影响。方法将选取的符合条件的70例病例随机分为热敷组和对照组各35例，两组患者在遵医嘱拔除引流管的第2天开始使用CPM进行功能锻炼。热敷组在使用CPM功能锻炼前先热敷患处20min，对照组不做热敷处理直接行CPM功能锻炼。结果两组患者锻炼的最初2d关节活动度相同，热敷组第3～7天关节活动度的度数均较对照组有所增加（P〈0．01）。结论在CPM锻炼前先于患处热敷20min，能更有效地提高功能锻炼效果，值得推广应用。     

Laser-Assisted Skin Healing (LASH) in hypertrophic scar revision

Abstract

Laser-Assisted Skin Healing (LASH) is based on the therapeutic effects of controlled thermal post-conditioning. The authors have previously demonstrated on humans that an 810-nm diode-laser system could assist wound closure leading to an improvement of wound healing with a resulting indiscernible scar. A 47-year-old woman (skin type II), who developed systematically hypertrophic scars after surgery, was enrolled for a hypertrophic scar revision. Excess scar tissue was removed. Immediately after the conventional closure of the incision, laser irradiation (120 J/cm²) using a 0.8 cm² spot size (rectangular spot, length = 20 mm, width = 4 mm) was applied. Topical silicone gel sheeting (Cerederm®) was applied for 2 months afterwards to prevent a thick scar from reforming. No complications occurred during the course of this study. No recurrence of hypertrophic scarring was noticed 6 months after scar revision. This study reports, for the first time, the possibility of improving the appearance of hypertrophic scarring in scar revision by altering through thermal stress the wound-healing process. Since the appropriate initial management of wounds is of importance, the LASH technique could be offered as a new approach to prevent hypertrophic scarring.     

The potential health impacts of climate change: An overview

Climate change would have a range of impacts on human health. Health impacts would be caused by the direct effect of climatic factors on human health, such as heat stress, and possible changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as storms, floods and droughts. Impacts on health would also be mediated by the indirect effects of climate change, such as changes in availability of food and water and the distribution of vector‐borne diseases. The majority of health impacts would be adverse and would depend greatly on the vulnerability of populations.     

An accurate,convective energy equation based automated meshing technique for analysis of blood vessels and tissues

An automated three-element meshing method for generating finite element based models for the accurate thermal analysis of blood vessels imbedded in tissue has been developed and evaluated. The meshing method places eight noded hexahedral elements inside the vessels where advective flows exist, and four noded tetrahedral elements in the surrounding tissue. The higher order hexahedrals are used where advective flow fields occur, since high accuracy is required and effective upwinding algorithms exist. Tetrahedral elements are placed in the remaining tissue region, since they are computationally more efficient and existing automatic tetrahedral mesh generators can be used. Five noded pyramid elements connect the hexahedrals and tetrahedrals. A convective energy equation (CEE) based finite element algorithm solves for the temperature distributions in the flowing blood, while a finite element formulation of a generalized conduction equation is used in the surrounding tissue. Use of the CEE allows accurate solutions to be obtained without the necessity of assuming ad hoc values for heat transfer coefficients. Comparisons of the predictions of the three-element model to analytical solutions show that the three-element model accurately simulates temperature fields. Energy balance checks show that the three-element model has small, acceptable errors. In summary, this method provides an accurate, automatic finite element gridding procedure for thermal analysis of irregularly shaped tissue regions that contain important blood vessels. At present, the models so generated are relatively large (in order to obtain accurate results) and are, thus, best used for providing accurate reference values for checking other approximate formulations to complicated, conjugated blood heat transfer problems.     

Comparison of the content of tobacco alkaloids and tobacco-specific nitrosamines in ‘heat-not-burn’ tobacco products before and after aerosol generation

Abstract

Standardized methods for collecting smoke and for measuring smoke components in heat not burn tobacco product (HTP) are yet to be established, and there is a lack of consensus as to whether the content of HTP cigarettes can be assayed in the same manner as for conventional cigarettes. Since HTPcigarettes do not generate ash when smoked, we compared the levels of tobacco alkaloids (TAs) and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) of HTP cigarettes before and after aerosol generation. HTP cigarettes were smoked according to two international standardization methods. The TAs and TSNAs contents of the cigarettes were analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF and UPLC-MSMS, respectively. Smoking was found to significantly decrease the content of nicotine, nornicotine, anatabine, and anabasine by 53?～?100% in all samples, and the maximum inhalable amounts of these entities were determined to be 4.24?mg/cig, 103.52?μg/cig, 258.72?μg/cig, and 33.03?μg/cig, respectively. By contrast, smoking significantly increased the content of NNK and NAB. we suggested that the reduced nicotine content minus the nicotine content remaining in the filter is an amount that could potentially be inhaled during smoking. The increase of NNK and NAB in HTP cigarette after aerosol generation is expected to be caused by the precursor, but more specific behavioral studies should be performed.     

四种重要生物恐怖毒素液相芯片多重检测方法的建立

目的建立包括蓖麻毒素B(Ricin toxion B,RTB)、肉毒梭菌毒素A(Clostri botulinum toxin A,CBTA)、金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素B(Staphylococcal enterotoxin B,SEB)及产气荚膜毒素ε(Clostridium perfringens toxinε,CPTε)在内的4种重要生物恐怖因子的多重液相芯片检测方法。方法采用双抗夹心法原理和液相芯片技术平台,通过优化偶联抗体浓度和检测抗体浓度以及抗原抗体最佳孵育时间,建立4种生物恐怖因子液相芯片多重检测方法。结果反应条件优化实验结果表明,RTB、CBTA、SEA和CPTε偶联抗体的最佳用量分别为20μg、40μg、80μg、80μg;RTB、CBTA、SEA和CPTε检测抗体的最佳稀释比分别为1∶5000、1∶1000、1∶2000、1∶4000;4种毒素抗原抗体最佳孵育时间为60min。多重检测结果表明,本研究建立的毒素液相芯片多重检测方法可有效检测上述任意1种毒素、任意2种毒素组合、任意3种毒素组合并能同时检测4种毒素。灵敏度检测结果表明,RTB、CBTA、SEA、CPTε检测灵敏度分别为1 ng/ml、10 ng/ml、5 ng/ml、10 ng/ml。结论本研究建立的4种常见生物恐怖毒素液相芯片多重检测方法通过1次检测能同时检测RTB、CBTA、SEA、CPTε,是一种准确、灵敏、快速和高通量的检测方法。