Background
Previous research has assessed anxiety around colonoscopy procedures, but has not considered anxiety related to different aspects related to the colonoscopy process.
Aims
Before ...colonoscopy, we assessed anxiety about: bowel preparation, the procedure, and the anticipated results. We evaluated associations between patient characteristics and anxiety in each area.
Methods
An anonymous survey was distributed to patients immediately prior to their outpatient colonoscopy in six hospitals and two ambulatory care centers in Winnipeg, Canada. Anxiety was assessed using a visual analog scale. For each aspect, logistic regression models were used to explore associations between patient characteristics and high anxiety.
Results
A total of 1316 respondents completed the questions about anxiety (52% female, median age 56 years). Anxiety scores > 70 (high anxiety) were reported by 18% about bowel preparation, 29% about the procedure, and 28% about the procedure results. High anxiety about bowel preparation was associated with female sex, perceived unclear instructions, unfinished laxative, and no previous colonoscopies. High anxiety about the procedure was associated with female sex, no previous colonoscopies, and confusing instructions. High anxiety about the results was associated with symptoms as an indication for colonoscopy and instructions perceived as confusing.
Conclusions
Fewer people had high anxiety about preparation than about the procedure and findings of the procedure. There are unique predictors of anxiety about each colonoscopy aspect. Understanding the nuanced differences in aspects of anxiety may help to design strategies to reduce anxiety, leading to improved acceptance of the procedure, compliance with preparation instructions, and less discomfort with the procedure.
The hygroscopic growth and droplet activation of uncoated soot particles and such coated with succinic acid and sulfuric acid were investigated during the IN-11 campaign at the Aerosol Interaction ...and Dynamics in the Atmosphere (AIDA) facility. A GFG-1000 soot generator applying either nitrogen or argon as carrier gas and a miniCAST soot generator were utilized to generate soot particles. Different organic carbon (OC) to black carbon (BC) ratios were adjusted for the CAST-soot by varying the fuel to air ratio. The hygroscopic growth was investigated by means of the mobile Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS-mobile) and two different Hygroscopicity Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzers (HTDMA, VHTDMA). Two Cloud Condensation Nucleus Counter (CCNC) were applied to measure the activation of the particles. For the untreated soot particles neither hygroscopic growth nor activation was observed at a supersaturation of 1%, with exception of a partial activation of GFG-soot generated with argon as carrier gas. Coatings of succinic acid lead to a detectable hygroscopic growth of GFG-soot and enhanced the activated fraction of GFG- (carrier gas: argon) and CAST-soot, whereas no hygroscopic growth of the coated CAST-soot was found. Sulfuric acid coatings led to an OC-content dependent hygroscopic growth of CAST-soot. Such a dependence was not observed for activation measurements. Coating with sulfuric acid decreased the amount of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), which were detected by AMS-measurements in the CAST-soot, and increased the amount of substances with lower molecular weight than the initial PAHs. We assume that these reaction products increased the hygroscopicity of the coated particles in addition to the coating substance itself.
Albinism is a group of genetic disorders characterized by general skin and retinal hypopigmentation. It is in most cases an autosomal recessive condition. Foveal hypoplasia (FH) is one of the main ...criteria for the diagnosis of albinism. The aim of this study was to analyze the macular profile of the parents of patients with albinism.
This study included a case series of 27 patients with albinism seen in Rothschild Foundation between April 2017 and February 2020. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and OCT angiography (OCT-A) were performed in every patient when possible and in every available parents. FH was graded according to Thomas' classification based on OCT. Next generation sequencing-based gene panel testing was performed in parents and children when a FH was detected on OCT in a parent.
Twenty-seven patients with albinism were examined. Nine parents had FH based on the OCT B-scan (33%). In parents without FH based on the SD-OCT B-scan (67%), OCT-A showed a reduced avascular zone in the deep vascular plexus in 4 parents. Six parents carried variants that could explain their phenotype, including TYR R402Q hypomorphic alleles.
This study showed the presence of FH in parents of patients with albinism, and aimed to genetically explain this phenotype.
drug–drug interactions involving efavirenz are of major concern in clinical practice. We evaluated the effects of multiple doses of efavirenz on omeprazole 5‐hydroxylation (CYP2C19) and sulfoxidation ...(CYP3A). Healthy volunteers (n = 57) were administered a single 20 mg oral dose of racemic omeprazole either with a single 600 mg oral dose of efavirenz or after 17 days of administration of 600 mg/day of efavirenz. The concentrations of racemic omeprazole, 5‐hydroxyomeoprazole (and their enantiomers), and omeprazole sulfone in plasma were measured using a chiral liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method. Relative to single‐dose treatment, multiple doses of efavirenz significantly decreased (P < 0.0001) the area under the plasma concentration–time curve from 0 to infinity (AUC0–∞) of racemic‐, R‐ and S‐omeprazole (2.01‐ to 2.15‐fold) and the corresponding AUC0–∞ metabolic ratio (MR) for 5‐hydroxyomeprazole (1.36‐ to 1.44‐fold) as well as the MR for omeprazole sulfone (∼2.0) (P < 0.0001). The significant reduction in the AUC of 5‐hydroxyomeprazole after repeated efavirenz dosing suggests induction of sequential metabolism and mixed inductive/inhibitory effects of efavirenz on CYP2C19. In conclusion, efavirenz enhances omeprazole metabolism in a nonstereoselective manner through induction of CYP3A and CYP2C19 activity.
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2012); 91 3, 475–482. doi:10.1038/clpt.2011.249
► Self-healing composites require a system to localise damage events. ► An array of fibre Bragg gratings detects Lamb waves in a composite structure. ► Lamb wave velocity is measured as a function of ...angle with respect to the fabric. ► An algorithm is implemented to localise impacts using 3 FBG in an orthotropic plate. ► The method is less precise than PZT, but integration into the structure is less intrusive.
We demonstrated the localisation of impacts in orthotropic carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite materials to within a few centimetres, using a sparse array of fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. This type of sensor is easily embedded in composites permitting the development of structures with integrated sensing capability. Impact location was determined by measuring the differences in time-of-flight of ultrasonic Lamb waves at three surface-mounted sensors. An algorithm was developed taking into account the angle dependence of the optical fibre sensor sensitivity and the variation of Lamb waves propagation velocity with direction and wave mode. The performance of FBG sensors for impact localisation was compared to that of standard piezoelectric transducers (PZTs), which are already widely used for that purpose. The FBG-based system showed promising potential for a non-intrusive impact detection system applied to self-healing composite structures.
All three classes of fibre reinforced composite materials (polymer, metal and ceramic matrix) may be produced by flow of liquid matrix into the open spaces left within pores of a fibre preform. Even ...though several specific issues arise from the nature of each composite matrix class, governing phenomena apply to all infiltration processes, and include in particular: (i) capillary phenomena, (ii) transport phenomena, and (iii) the mechanics of potential fibre preform deformation. These phenomena and their governing laws are reviewed for the case of isothermal infiltration with no phase transformations. Four basic functional quantities, which need to be known to model the processes, are identified, and addressed in turn. The paper concludes with some examples of modelling methodologies and comparison with experimental data.
An experimental method based on a falling pressure measurement is proposed to evaluate the through thickness air permeability of prepregs during cure, with two set-up variants. One concerns the ...measurement of the inherent air permeability and the other applies to processing conditions, implying the use of consumables and vacuum-bag. The methods were successfully tested and fulfil the criterions used in soil science for the evaluation of the air permeability. Prepreg permeability to air during cure varies between 10
−17
m
2 and 10
−19
m
2 and is found to depend on the evolution of the resin viscosity, which shifts from an initially immobile phase to a mobile one and back to an immobile phase.
Ni–Mn–Ga is a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy that exhibits large, magnetic-field- and stress-induced strains via energy dissipating twinning when processed into single crystals. Grain boundaries ...suppress twinning and render polycrystalline Ni–Mn–Ga brittle. Ni–Mn–Ga/polymer composites overcome the drawbacks of polycrystals and could thus provide a less expensive and easier to handle alternative to Ni–Mn–Ga single crystals for damping applications. Ni–Mn–Ga wires were produced by melt-spinning and were polycrystalline in the as-spun state. Annealed wires were ferromagnetic at room temperature with non-modulated martensite and a bamboo microstructure. The annealed wires displayed a hysteretic stress–strain behavior typical for twinning. Ni–Mn–Ga wire-epoxy matrix composites were fabricated with as-spun and annealed wires. The damping behavior of annealed Ni–Mn–Ga wire-epoxy matrix composites was higher than that of as-spun Ni–Mn–Ga wire-epoxy matrix composites and of pure epoxy.
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