Empirical tests of the effectiveness of EnChroma multi-notch filters for enhancing color vision in deuteranomaly.

Manufacturers of notch filter-based aids for color vision claim that their products can enhance color perception for people with anomalous trichromacy, a form of color vision deficiency (CVD). Anecdotal reports imply that people with CVD can have radically enhanced color vision when using the filters. However, existing empirical research largely focussed on the effect of notch filters on performance on diagnostic tests for CVD has not found that they have any substantial effect.

Predicted effectiveness of EnChroma multi-notch filters for enhancing color perception in anomalous trichromats.

EnChroma filters are aids designed to improve color vision for anomalous trichromats. Their use is controversial because the results of lab-based assessments of their effectiveness have so far largely failed to agree with positive anecdotal reports. However, the effectiveness of EnChroma filters will vary depending on the conditions of viewing, including whether the stimuli are broadband reflective surfaces or colors presented on RGB displays, whether illumination spectra are broadband or narrowband, the transmission spectra of particular filters, and the cone spectral sensitivity functions of the observer.

Development and Validation of a Scale to Measure Person-Centered Care in Fetal Care Centers.

Introduction: Fetal care centers (FCCs) in the USA lack a standardized instrument to measure person-centered care. This study aimed to develop and validate the Person-Centered Care in Fetal Care Centers (PCC-FCC) Scale.

Methods: Initial items were developed based on literature and input from clinicians and former patients.

[An analysis of child psychiatric emergency department consultations from 2019 to 2022 in the context of COVID-19].

This article investigates changes in child psychiatric consultations in the emergency department at the Citadelle (Liège) from 2019 to 2022, especially in the context of restrictions related to COVID-19 epidemics. For each year of follow up, age, gender, mode of admission, diagnostic categories and proposed referrals when quitting the emergency department were compared. Age remains stable.

A MIXTURE OF NALBUPHINE, AZAPERONE, AND MEDETOMIDINE FOR IMMOBILIZING RINGTAILS (BASSARISCUS ASTUTUS).

We evaluated a combination of nalbuphine HCl (40 mg/mL), azaperone tartrate (10 mg/mL), and medetomidine HCl (10 mg/mL), a combination known as NAM or NalMed-A, in 23 ringtails (Bassariscus astutus) during 29 handling events for a radio-collaring study in southern Oregon, US, from August 2020 to March 2022. The combination was delivered to ringtails by hand injection at 0.075 mL NAM per estimated 1 kg body mass.

Screening for mild anomalous trichromacy using the Ishihara plates test.

The Ishihara plates test is one of the most established and widely used means of identifying color vision deficiencies. However, literature examining the effectiveness of the Ishihara plates test has identified weaknesses, particularly when screening for milder anomalous trichromacy. We constructed a model of the chromatic signals expected to contribute to false negative readings by calculating, for particular anomalous trichromatic observers, the differences in chromaticity between the ground and pseudoisochromatic portions of plates.

Integrated orbital angular momentum mode sorters on vortex fibers.

We design, fabricate, and characterize integrated mode sorters for multimode fibers that guide well-separated vortex modes. We use 3D direct laser printing to print a collimator and a Cartesian to a log-polar mode transformer on the tip of the fiber. This polarization insensitive device can send different modes into different exit angles and is therefore useful for space division multiplexed optical communication.

Barriers and facilitators to the adoption of electronic clinical decision support systems: a qualitative interview study with UK general practitioners.

Background: Well-established electronic data capture in UK general practice means that algorithms, developed on patient data, can be used for automated clinical decision support systems (CDSSs). These can predict patient risk, help with prescribing safety, improve diagnosis and prompt clinicians to record extra data. However, there is persistent evidence of low uptake of CDSSs in the clinic.

Comparing the performance of three methods to assess DOM dynamics within two distinct glacierized watersheds of the tropical Andes.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is recognized as a good indicator of water quality as its concentration is influenced by land use, rainwater, windborne material and anthropogenic activities. Recent technological advances make it possible to characterize fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM), the fraction of DOM that fluoresces. Among these advances, portable fluorometers and benchtop fluorescence excitation and emission spectroscopy coupled with a parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) have shown to be reliable.

Neutropenia management in patients receiving myelosuppressive polychemotherapy for early breast cancer in Belgium: BRONS study results.

: Chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of early breast cancer (EBC). Granulocyte-colony stimulating factors (G-CSF) can reduce the risk of febrile neutropenia as primary prophylaxis (PP) or secondary prophylaxis (SP). The BRONS study investigated the incidence of serious neutropenic events (SNE) and G-CSF use in a Belgian population of EBC patients treated with myelosuppressive polychemotherapy.

Real-world use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in ambulatory breast cancer patients: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: To prevent febrile neutropenia (FN), European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) guidelines recommend primary prophylaxis with granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (PPG) for patients at high risk (≥ 20%) of FN. In Belgium, the use of PPG is restricted by specific reimbursement criteria. The impact of these criteria on PPG use and adherence to guidelines is unknown.

Gender and mental health: An examination of procedural justice in a specialized court context.

The procedural justice framework has been applied in the criminal justice contexts of policing, corrections, and courts. According to this perspective, fair treatment, respectful dialogue and being given a proper voice will contribute to citizens' positive views of authority figures. While this literature has grown immensely, several questions remain unanswered.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Prophylaxis Treatment Strategies to Reduce the Incidence of Febrile Neutropenia in Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer or Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of no prophylaxis, primary prophylaxis (PP), or secondary prophylaxis (SP) with granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs), i.e., pegfilgrastim, lipegfilgrastim, filgrastim (6- and 11-day), or lenograstim (6- and 11-day), to reduce the incidence of febrile neutropenia (FN) in patients with stage II breast cancer receiving TC (docetaxel, cyclophosphamide) and in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) receiving R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) over a lifetime horizon from a Belgian payer perspective.

The use of chemotherapy regimens carrying a moderate or high risk of febrile neutropenia and the corresponding management of febrile neutropenia: an expert survey in breast cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Background: The use of chemotherapy regimens with moderate or high risk of febrile neutropenia (defined as having a FN incidence of 10% or more) and the respective incidence and clinical management of FN in breast cancer and NHL has not been studied in Belgium. The existence of a medical need for G-CSF primary and secondary prophylaxis with these regimens was investigated in a real-life setting.

Methods: Nine oncologists and six hematologists from different Belgian general hospitals and university centers were surveyed to collect expert opinion and real-life data (year 2007) on the use of chemotherapy regimens with moderate or high risk of febrile neutropenia and the clinical management of FN in patients aged <65 years with breast cancer or NHL.

Size-selective nanoparticle growth on few-layer graphene films.

We observe that gold atoms deposited by physical vapor deposition onto few-layer graphenes condense upon annealing to form nanoparticles with an average diameter that is determined by the graphene film thickness. The data are well described by a theoretical model in which the electrostatic interactions arising from charge transfer between the graphene and the gold particle limit the size of the growing nanoparticles. The model predicts a nanoparticle size distribution characterized by a mean diameter D that follows a D proportional, variant m(1/3) scaling law where m is the number of carbon layers in the few-layer graphene film.

High yield preparation of macroscopic graphene oxide membranes.

Graphene oxide membranes up to 2000 microm(2) in size can be synthesized with 90% yield in bulk quantities through a microwave-assisted chemical method. Membranes are readily visualized on an oxidized silicon substrate, which enables efficient fabrication of electronic devices and sensors. Field effect transistors made of the membrane show ambipolar behavior, and their conductivity is significantly higher than previously reported values.

Food allergy: nutritional considerations for primary care providers.

Although food allergy may put some children at risk for inadequate growth or nutritional deficiency, with education and follow-up it is possible to prevent and treat these problems. The primary care setting is the ideal setting for monitoring and intervention due to the continuity of care and rapport with the family that has already been established.

Case of the month: "bugs are eating my soul"--sternal abscess, osteomyelitis, and mediastinitis complicating a closed sternal fracture.

Wound complications of closed sternal fracture are rare, but may have serious consequences if not effectively managed. We report a case of a patient who presented to the emergency department with a sternal abscess, osteomyelitis, and mediastinitis complicating a closed sternal fracture. It is hypothesised that in our patient bacteraemia post intravenous drug use resulted in seeding of the haematoma with Staphylococcus aureus.

FGDP: functional genomics data pipeline for automated, multiple microarray data analyses.

Unlabelled: Gene expression microarrays and oligonucleotide GeneChips have provided biologists with a means of measuring, in a single experiment, the expression levels of entire genomes under a variety of conditions. As with any nascent field, there is no single accepted method for analyzing the new data types, with new methods appearing monthly. Investigators using the new technology must constantly seek access to the latest tools and explore their data in multiple ways.

Improving the delivery of analgesia to children in pain.

Objectives: To improve the time taken for children arriving to the accident and emergency (A&E) department in pain to receive analgesia. Delivery within 30 minutes of triage was taken as an achievable goal.

Methods: 262 children who had received analgesia in the "minor injuries" area of West Middlesex University Hospital A&E department were studied over a four month period.