Proficiency Testing Performance for Point of Care Glucose Users in a Tertiary Hospital in Kenya

Introduction/Objective Introduction: Point of Care (POC) blood glucose measurements are widely used for monitoring diabetes in hospitals. Ensuring quality of POC glucose is important for patient safety. Proficiency testing (PT) where POC users are provided with samples to analyze in the same way as they would patient samples, and the test results are compared with those of peers, is especially important for hospitals with multiple glucose meters where multiple operators with varying levels of education and experience are performing POC glucose analysis. Objective To evaluate the performance of POC glucose users at a tertiary hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods/Case Report Methodology: The study was conducted at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), an 1800 bed public teaching and referral hospital located in Nairobi, Kenya.Nurses in 46 wards and clinics who use blood glucose machines (BGM) were given low and high glucose quality control (QC) materials to analyze using BGMs like patient samples. The results of each ward were analyzed. Comparison of each participant was made with the group (consensus values) and the central laboratory (assigned values), and graded as acceptable or unacceptable. Results (if a Case Study enter NA) Results:Most participants obtained acceptable glucose results but 7.6% and 13% results were unacceptable when consensus values and assigned values were used respectively. Two participants (4.3%) obtained unacceptable with both low and high glucose controls. Conclusion The unacceptable results indicate need for improvement, and two BGM users who should be trained and their competency assessed to ensure quality of glucose tests.

Regional Differences in the Diagnosis of Sarcopenia in Older People in Brazil

Introduction: Sarcopenia is a prevalent condition, and that is strongly associated with morbimortality outcomes. The optimal way to diagnose sarcopenia is currently a matter of debate. Despite evidence suggesting differences in body composition and physical performance of individuals from different regions, the diagnosis of sarcopenia in Brazil is still conducted using cutoff values established by international consensus. Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish cutoff values for appendicular muscle mass and muscle strength in a population of elderly outpatients with cardiovascular diseases from the city of São Paulo, using this data to compare populations with sarcopenia diagnosed in Brazil with individuals diagnosed using the European consensus values. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis including 502 older individuals from the SARCOS-Brazil study. All subjects underwent densitometry to assess muscle mass and measure strength using a manual dynamometer. The cutoff values for the SARCOS-Brazil criteria were obtained from the 25th percentile of each variable. Results and Discussion: There was no difference in the prevalence of muscle weakness using the two methods (180 patients, 35.9% of the sample). However, a difference was observed concerning low muscle mass. According to the European criteria, a total of 215 older individuals (42.8%) had low muscle mass and 123 (24.5%) according to the SARCOS-Brazil criteria. The prevalence of sarcopenia was 20.3% according to European criteria versus 13.7% according to the SARCOS-Brazil criteria. The kappa coefficient was 0.79. Conclusion: This study suggests that weakness and muscle mass can, in isolation, predict variables related to past vulnerability outcomes, as well as highlights the possibility of using regional cutoff values for the diagnosis of sarcopenia. Keywords: Sarcopenia; Aging; Muscle mass; Muscle strength

A thematic analysis of library association policies on services to persons with disabilities

PurposeLibrary association policies and guidelines are important to study because they reflect consensus values of the profession. As such, they can shape the association, itself, and set the tone for the values of its individual members in their professional practice. From the titles alone, these documents proclaim themselves to be guides for the development of individual library policy. Additionally, as library and information science (LIS) graduate education programs are accredited by national associations, LIS schools pay attention to association policies and guidelines to help shape professional and continuing education. In these ways, they have a role in shaping professional ideology around a topic. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe services to persons with disabilities policies from three national-level LIS organizations were analyzed through a thematic analysis.FindingsThe guidelines speak to a shared understanding of disability and accessibility around the themes of library staff, library policies and library resources and services. While not surprising, additional themes around disability context and legislation show a shared understanding of accessibility that is much broader than what the legislation requires.Originality/valueAn analysis of guidelines on services to persons with disabilities from the American Library Association (ALA), Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) is of interest because of the ways these organizations intersect. The ALA and ALIA have reciprocal agreements so that students in LIS education programs are recognized as equivalents. Second, the ALA accredits library education programs in Canada. Given these intersecting relationships, the guidelines-shared notions of accessibility become of high interest.

A NEW RAMPED PYROXIDATION/COMBUSTION FACILITY AT 14CHRONO, BELFAST: SETUP DESCRIPTION AND INITIAL RESULTS

ABSTRACT The Belfast Ramped Pyroxidation/Combustion (RPO/RC) facility was established at the 14CHRONO Centre (Queen’s University Belfast). The facility was created to provide targeted analysis of bulk material for refined chronological analysis and carbon source attribution for a range of sample types. Here we report initial RPO results, principally on background material, but also including secondary standards that are routinely analyzed at 14CHRONO. A description of our setup, methodology, and background (blank) correction method for the system are provided. The backgrounds (anthracite, spar calcite, Pargas marble) reported by the system are in excess of 35,000 14C years BP with a mean age of 39,345 14C years BP (1σ = 36,497–43,800 years BP, N=44) with F14C = 0.0075 ± 0.0032. Initial results for standards are also in good agreement with consensus values: TIRI-B pine radiocarbon age = 4482 ± 47 years BP (N=13, consensus = 4508 years BP); IAEA-C6 ANU Sucrose F14C= 1.5036 ± 0.0034 (N=10, consensus F14C = 1.503). These initial tests have allowed problematic issues to be identified and improvements made for future analyses.

MAXIMUM CONSENSUS LOCALIZATION USING LIDAR SENSORS

Real world localization tasks based on LiDAR usually face a high proportion of outliers arising from erroneous measurements and changing environments. However, applications such as autonomous driving require a high integrity in all of their components, including localization. Standard localization approaches are often based on (recursive) least squares estimation, for example, using Kalman filters. Since least squares minimization shows a strong susceptibility to outliers, it is not robust.In this paper, we focus on high integrity vehicle localization and investigate a maximum consensus localization strategy. For our work, we use 2975 epochs from a Velodyne VLP-16 scanner (representing the vehicle scan data), and map data obtained using a Riegl VMX-250 mobile mapping system. We investigate the effects of varying scene geometry on the maximum consensus result by exhaustively computing the consensus values for the entire search space. We analyze the deviations in position and heading for a circular course in a downtown area by comparing the estimation results to a reference trajectory, and show the robustness of the maximum consensus localization.

Discrimination Ability of Assessors in Check-All-That-Apply Tests: Method and Product Development

Binary similarity measures have been used in several research fields, but their application in sensory data analysis is limited as of yet. Since check-all-that-apply (CATA) data consist of binary answers from the participants, binary similarity measures seem to be a natural choice for their evaluation. This work aims to define the discrimination ability of CATA participants by calculating the consensus values of 44 binary similarity measures. The proposed methodology consists of three steps: (i) calculating the binary similarity values of the assessors, sample pair-wise; (ii) clustering participants into good and poor discriminators based on their binary similarity values; (iii) performing correspondence analysis on the CATA data of the two clusters. Results of three case studies are presented, highlighting that a simple clustering based on the computed binary similarity measures results in higher quality correspondence analysis with more significant attributes, as well as better sample discrimination (even according to overall liking).

Application of the ECT9 protocol for radiocarbon-based source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosols

Carbonaceous aerosol is mainly composed of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC). Both OC and EC originate from a variety of emission sources. Radiocarbon (14C) analysis can be used to apportion bulk aerosol, OC, and EC into their sources. However, such analyses require the physical separation of OC and EC. Here, we apply of ECT9 protocol to physically isolate OC and EC for 14C analysis and evaluate its effectiveness. Several reference materials are selected, including two pure OC (fossil “adipic acid” and contemporary “sucrose”), two pure EC (fossil “regal black” and “C1150”), and three complex materials containing contemporary and/or fossil OC and EC (“rice char”, NIST urban dust standards “SRM1649a” and “SRM8785”, i.e., fine fraction of resuspended SRM1649a on filters). The pure materials were measured for their OC, EC, and total carbon (TC) mass fractions and corresponding carbon isotopes to evaluate the uncertainty of the procedure. The average accuracy of TC mass, determined via volumetric injection of a sucrose solution, was approximately 5 %. Ratios of EC/TC and OC/TC were highly reproducible, with analytical precisions better than 2 % for all reference materials, ranging in size from 20 to 100 µg C. Consensus values were reached for all pure reference materials for both δ13C and fraction modern (F14C), with an uncertainty of < 0.3 ‰ and approximately 5 %, respectively. The procedure introduced 1.3 ± 0.6 µg of extraneous carbon, an amount compatible to that of the Swiss_4S protocol. In addition, OC and EC were isolated from mixtures of pure contemporary OC (sucrose) with pure fossil EC (regal black) and fossil OC (adipic acid) with contemporary EC (rice char EC) to evaluate the effectiveness of OC and EC separation. Consensus F14C values were reached for all OC (∼ 5–30 µg) and EC (∼ 10–60 µg) fractions with an uncertainty of ∼ 5 % on average. We found that the ECT9 protocol efficiently isolates OC or EC from complex mixtures. Based on δ13C measurements, the average contribution of charred OC to EC is likely less than 3 % when the OC loading amount is less than 30 µg C. Charring was further assessed by evaluating thermograms of various materials, including aerosol samples collected in the Arctic and from tailpipes of gasoline or diesel engines. These data demonstrate that the ECT9 method effectively removes pyrolyzed OC. Thus, the ECT9 protocol, initially developed for concentration and stable isotope measurements of OC and EC, is suitable for 14C-based apportionment studies, including µg C-sized samples from arctic environments.

Importance of time in traditional medicine: a case of three plants use of Togolese pharmacopoeia

Introduction. The effectiveness of folk medicine has been demonstrated by several studies. However, the chrono-toxicological aspect is barely addressed. Objective. The present study, conducted in the region of Kara in Togo, assessed the importance of the factor "time" in the use of 3 plants commonly used in traditional pharmacopoeia: Sarcocephalus latifolius, Jatropha multifida, and Blighia sapida. Material and methods. The methodology was based on ethnobotanical surveys, semi-structured individual interviews of 36 traditional healers using the three plants. Analysis of these data was based on consensus values (CV), and use values (UV). A chrono-toxicological assessment of their hydro-alcoholic extracts permitted to determine the impact of administration time on liver and kidney of Swiss albinos mice male. Results. The most used organs by traditional healers were roots (UV=0.62) for S. latifolius, bark (UV=0.53) for B. sapida, and leaves (0.66) for J. multifida. Malaria was the most treated disease with S. latifolius (CV=0.44), and J. multifida (CV=0.5). Haemorrhoid was cured with B. sapida (CV=0.28). Plant parts were harvested mainly in the morning (VC≥ 0.55). The most recommended dosing period was morning - evening for S. latifolius (VC=0.70), and B. sapida (VC=0.70), and only in the morning for J. multifida (VC=0.50). The hydro-alcoholic extracts administration of S. latifolius at 12H increased significantly mice liver weight. There was also a significant increase in liver weight in mice treated morning and evening by a hydro-alcoholic extract of J. multifida. Conclusion. Checking account of harvest time, and/or administration of phytomedicines will contribute to improve significantly the effectiveness of traditional medicine.