Influence of performance feedback and academic performance on parent-family involvement and parent satisfaction in US schools.

Parental and family involvement in schools has been a concern for educators and administrators. The authors set out to assess the path directions and significance of the interrelationships between Performance Feedback (PF), Academic Performance (AP) on Parent-Family Involvement (PFI), and Parent Satisfaction (PS) in schools. This study utilizes data from the PFI in Education Survey 2019 under the National Household Education Surveys program done by the US Department of Education. The sample for this research is 954 parents. Structural equation modeling was employed using AMOS. Results establish the three research propositions: influence of PFI on PS with the mediation of AP and PF, influence of AP on PS is moderated by PF, influence of AP on PFI is moderated by PF. The findings are important for school administrators and all stakeholders for ensuring greater PFI, improved PF and AP of students, and higher PS. This study is unique in assessing the interactional effects of the variables considered. The study also establishes mediating and moderating influences and offers new insights in understanding the influences on PFI and PS and some bidirectional effects.

High power custom toric intraocular lens for correcting high corneal astigmatism in post-keratoplasty and keratoconus patients with cataract.

Purpose: To analyze the outcomes of phacoemulsification with high power customized toric intraocular lens implantation (IOL) in patients with high corneal astigmatism (6-10 D Cyl) post keratoplasty and keratoconus eyes with cataract. Methods: Five eyes post keratoplasty with clear graft, four eyes with stable keratoconus, one eye with pterygium excision scar with visually significant cataract were included in this retrospective study. Phacoemulsification was done followed by implantation of custom made high power toric IOL in all patients. Outcomes included uncorrected and best-corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA, BCVA), pre-operative astigmatism at the corneal plane and IOL plane, post-operative residual astigmatism, mean torus of all IOLs used were calculated. Results: The minimum follow-up time was 12 months. At the last follow-up visit, there was a significant improvement (pre-operative vs post-operative) of UDVA (1.5 ± 0.47 vs 0.28 ± 0.14 logMAR; P < 0.05), cylindrical refraction (-9.0 ± 1.80 D vs -1.1 ± 0.45 vs ; P < 0.05). Range of IOL powers used was 1.0-26.50 DSph and 9.0-15.5 DCyl. Post-operative mean residual spherical equivalent was 0.75 ± 0.5. Conclusion: This novel study describes the effectiveness of custom toric IOLs in high astigmatism in the range of 9.0-15.5 DCyl. Phacoemulsification with implantation of a customized high power toric IOL was effective in correcting high astigmatism in complex cases in our study.

Recovery of proteins from coconut milk whey employing ultrafiltration and spray drying.

The coconut whey (CW) (underutilized by-product of virgin coconut oil production, with 2-3% protein) was subjected to ultrafiltration for concentration of protein and sugar removal prior to spray drying. The process parameters of ultrafiltration were standardised with respect to transmembrane flux, protein retention efficiency and removal of sugar by using 300 kDa membrane cut off, feed pH 4 and 2 bar transmembrane pressure at temperature 25 ± 2 °C. The protein content was found to increase in the retentate after ultrafiltration (termed as concentrated coconut whey, CCW) (from 21 to 46%, w/w) and sugar content to reduce (from 59 to 34%, w/w). The color lightness (L*) values of the CW and CCW powders obtained by spray drying were found to be 83.81 ± 0.33 and 80.70 ± 0.47, respectively. Both the samples of coconut protein powders were found to be microbiologically safe having water activity index for CCWP of 0.27 and CWP of 0.26. Carr index values for CCW (32.95) and CW (33.14) powders indicate both of them to have fair flowability. The powders have high potential as new source of protein or as a functional ingredient in the food processing industries.

Severe focal stromal degeneration up to Descemet membrane after corneal collagen cross-linking.

Corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) is an effective treatment for arresting progression in keratoconus cases. It is considered safe despite a few complications that have been recorded earlier. In this case series, we report a rare and late complication caused due to severe stromal thinning up to Descemet's membrane in three patients who underwent CXL 3 to 6 years back for keratoconus. Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) was then done for the affected eye with good outcomes. This case series highlights the possible late effects of UVA irradiation post CXL.

Characterization of orally efficacious influenza drug with high resistance barrier in ferrets and human airway epithelia.

Influenza viruses constitute a major health threat and economic burden globally, frequently exacerbated by preexisting or rapidly emerging resistance to antiviral therapeutics. To address the unmet need of improved influenza therapy, we have created EIDD-2801, an isopropylester prodrug of the ribonucleoside analog N 4-hydroxycytidine (NHC, EIDD-1931) that has shown broad anti-influenza virus activity in cultured cells and mice. Pharmacokinetic profiling demonstrated that EIDD-2801 was orally bioavailable in ferrets and nonhuman primates. Therapeutic oral dosing of influenza virus-infected ferrets reduced group pandemic 1 and group 2 seasonal influenza A shed virus load by multiple orders of magnitude and alleviated fever, airway epithelium histopathology, and inflammation, whereas postexposure prophylactic dosing was sterilizing. Deep sequencing highlighted lethal viral mutagenesis as the underlying mechanism of activity and revealed a prohibitive barrier to the development of viral resistance. Inhibitory concentrations were low nanomolar against influenza A and B viruses in disease-relevant well-differentiated human air-liquid interface airway epithelia. Correlating antiviral efficacy and cytotoxicity thresholds with pharmacokinetic profiles in human airway epithelium models revealed a therapeutic window >1713 and established dosing parameters required for efficacious human therapy. These data recommend EIDD-2801 as a clinical candidate with high potential for monotherapy of seasonal and pandemic influenza virus infections. Our results inform EIDD-2801 clinical trial design and drug exposure targets.

Detection of Moving Object in Dynamic Visual Sequences Based on Partial Least Squares Classifier.

Detection of moving object from a visual sequence plays a vital role for the tracking of object. The main objective of this proposed work is to detect and classify the various video sequences with the help of different classification algorithms. The input video sequences from the publicly available datasets are collected and the individual frames are extracted. These frames are pre-processed and then applied to the novel background subtraction process. Important features based on the Local Binary Pattern (LBP) and grey level co-efficient are extracted. Finally these features are classified by three different classifiers like SVM, PLS, and PNN. The performance of these different classifiers are evaluated and compared. It is found that PLS classifier produces more classification accuracy but with more computation time.

Octave-wide supercontinuum generation of light-carrying orbital angular momentum.

Nonlinear frequency generation of light-carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM), which facilitates realization of on-demand, frequency-diverse optical vortices, would have utility in fields such as super-resolution microscopy, space-division multiplexing and quantum hyper-entanglement. In bulk media, OAM beams primarily differ in spatial phase, so the nonlinear overlap integral for self-phase matched χ(3) processes remains the same across the 4-fold degenerate subspace of beams (formed by different combinations of spin and orbital angular momentum) carrying the same OAM magnitude. This indistinguishable nature of nonlinear coupling implies that supercontinuum generation, which substantially relies on self/cross-phase modulation, and Raman soliton shifting of ultrashort pulses typically results in multimode outputs that do not conserve OAM. Here, using specially designed optical fibers that support OAM modes whose group velocity can be tailored, we demonstrate Raman solitons in OAM modes as well as the first supercontinuum spanning more than an octave (630 nm to 1430 nm), with the entire spectrum in the same polarization as well as OAM state. This is fundamentally possible because spin-orbit interactions in suitably designed fibers lead to large effective index and group velocity splitting of modes, and this helps tailoring nonlinear mode selectivity such that all nonlinearly generated frequencies reside in modes with high spatial mode purity.

Epidemiology of gunshot wounds to the hand.

Due to increased gun availability/prevalence in current times, low-velocity firearm injuries have risen dramatically. This study describes the epidemiology of gunshot wounds (GSW) to the hand. We identified all patients (January 2005 - August 2015) who presented to our Level 1 trauma center with GSW's to the hand. Analysis of each record was performed to collect epidemiological variables. Cross-sectional analyses were performed to quantify the results. Following inclusion/exclusion criteria, 97 patients were selected. Individuals who sustained GSW's to the hand were typically male (93.8%) between the ages of 18 and 30 (48.5%). Injuries were mostly self-inflicted (81.4%), and isolated (89.7%) to the digits (55.7%) or metacarpals (35.1%) of the left hand (74.2%). Most were fired from BB/pellet guns (45.4%) or handguns (33.0%), while cleaning/loading them (65.1%). Over one-half of patients (58.8%) were uninsured. Surgery was required in 35.1% of patients. Patients shot with something other than a BB/Pellet gun (e.g., handgun, shotgun) required surgery significantly more than those shot with a BB/Pellet gun (P < 0.0001). An odds ratio further describing this relationship was 0.13 (P = 0.0002), reflecting an 87% reduction in the odds of surgery for individuals shot by a BB/pellet vs. a different type of gun. The typical GSW to the hand involves a middle-aged male receiving an isolated injury to the digits or metacarpals of the left hand, from a BB/Pellet gun or handgun while they are cleaning/loading the firearm. Patients sustaining injury by a BB/pellet gun are least likely to require surgery.

Management of extra-articular segmental defects in long bone using a titanium mesh cage as an adjunct to other methods of fixation: a multicentre report of 17 cases.

Aims: This study reviews the use of a titanium mesh cage (TMC) as an adjunct to intramedullary nail or plate reconstruction of an extra-articular segmental long bone defect. Patients and Methods: A total of 17 patients (aged 17 to 61 years) treated for a segmental long bone defect by nail or plate fixation and an adjunctive TMC were included. The bone defects treated were in the tibia (nine), femur (six), radius (one), and humerus (one). The mean length of the segmental bone defect was 8.4 cm (2.2 to 13); the mean length of the titanium mesh cage was 8.3 cm (2.6 to 13). The clinical and radiological records of the patients were analyzed retrospectively. Results: The mean time to follow-up was 55 months (12 to 126). Overall, 16 (94%) of the patients achieved radiological filling of their bony defect and united to the native bone ends proximally and distally, resulting in a functioning limb. Complications included device failure in two patients (12%), infection in two (12%), and wound dehiscence in one (6%). Four patients (24%) required secondary surgery, four (24%) had a residual limb-length discrepancy, and one (6%) had a residual angular limb deformity. Conclusion: A titanium mesh cage is a useful adjunct in the treatment of an extra-articular segmental defect in a long bone. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:646-51.

Wavelength-agile high-power sources via four-wave mixing in higher-order fiber modes.

Frequency doubling of conventional fiber lasers in the near-infrared remains the most promising method for generating integrated high-peak-power lasers in the visible, while maintaining the benefits of a fiber geometry; but since the shortest wavelength power-scalable fiber laser sources are currently restricted to either the 10XX nm or 15XX nm wavelength ranges, accessing colors other than green or red remains a challenge with this schematic. Four-wave mixing using higher-order fiber modes allows for control of dispersion while maintaining large effective areas, thus enabling a power-scalable method to extend the bandwidth of near-infrared fiber lasers, and in turn, the bandwidth of potential high-power sources in the visible. Here, two parametric sources using the LP0,7 and LP0,6 modes of two step-index multi-mode fibers are presented. The output wavelengths for the sources are 880, 974, 1173, and 1347 nm with peak powers of 10.0, 16.2, 14.7, and 6.4 kW respectively, and ~300-ps pulse durations. The efficiencies of the sources are analyzed, along with a discussion of wavelength tuning and further power scaling, representing an advance in increasing the bandwidth of near-infrared lasers as a step towards high-peak-power sources at wavelengths across the visible spectrum.

Polymer-clad silica fibers for tailoring modal area and dispersion.

We demonstrate higher-order-mode (Aeff up to ∼2000 µm2) propagation in a 100 µm outer diameter pure-silica fiber with a low-index polymer jacket commonly used for fiber laser pump guidance. This simple structure obviates the need for complex designs deemed necessary for realizing large-mode-area fibers. Modes ranging from HE1,12 to HE1,22 were found to propagate stably over 15 m in this fiber. The index step is approximately 4 times larger than that obtained with fluorine down doping; thus the fiber supports even higher-order modes, which may have implications for building rare-earth-doped fiber lasers or achieving enhanced dispersion tunability for high-energy fiber nonlinear phenomena.

A novel no-carrier-added submicromolar scale radiosynthesis of [S-methyl-14C]-florfenicol.

In this paper is reported a novel reaction scheme for the no-carrier-added submicromolar scale radiosynthesis of [S-methyl-(14)C]-florfenicol that has been newly designed, developed and employed by us successfully. The [(14)C]-product was obtained in an overall radiochemical yield of 30% based on [(14)C]-methyl iodide taken for the reaction with a radiochemical purity of more than 96%. The specific activity of the product was ~50 mCi (1.85 GBq)/mmol. Chlorosulfonation of compound I was followed by sodium salt formation in situ and it was succeeded by the introduction of [(14)C]-methyl group by coupling with [(14)C]-CH3 I. Subsequently, the oxazolidin-2-one protecting group was opened up by a reaction with sulfuric acid in dioxane and later, the amino group was dichloroacetylated with methyl-2,2-dichloroacetate in triethylamine to obtain [S-methyl-(14)C]-florfenicol.

Multiloculated cervical thymic cyst.

In this study, we report a rare case of cervical thymic cyst in an 8-year-old child.

Efficient production of therapeutic doses of [131I]-metaiodobenzylguanidine for clinical use.

[(131)I]-metaiodobenzylguanidine (mIBG) is a known radiopharmaceutical used for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors. The development of therapeutic [(131)I]-mIBG doses at production level is highly challenging due to rapid product degradation and high radiation exposures to the production plant personnel. In the present work, a working module for the production of 10 doses (100 mCi each) in a single operation was developed following copper (I) assisted isotope exchange. The labeled product complies with the pharmaceutical specifications suitable for in-vivo patient use.

Multiplexing of discrete chaotic signals in presence of noise.

Multiplexing of discrete chaotic signals in presence of noise is investigated. The existing methods are based on chaotic synchronization, which is susceptible to noise, precision limitations, and requires more iterates. Furthermore, most of these methods fail for multiplexing more than two discrete chaotic signals. We propose novel methods to multiplex multiple discrete chaotic signals based on the principle of symbolic sequence invariance in presence of noise and finite precision implementation of finding the initial condition of an arbitrarily long symbolic sequence of a chaotic map. Our methods work for single precision and as less as 35 iterates. For two signals, our method is robust up to 50% noise level.

VP6 capsid protein of chicken rotavirus strain CH2: sequence, phylogeny and in silico antigenic analyses.

The inner capsid protein VP6 of group A rotavirus possesses group and subgroup epitope specificities. Avian rotaviruses have a unique VP6 that is antigenically different from its mammalian counterpart. The lack of information on the VP6 protein of chicken rotavirus strain, CH2, at the genetic and antigenic level was a major motivation for this work. Sequencing of the complete cDNA of the VP6 gene of CH2, revealed a nucleotide (amino acid) identity that varied from 78.3 to 98.5% (86.4-98.2%) when compared with other avian rotaviruses. Regardless of its host origin dissimilarity, CH2 VP6 showed a close sequence homology (97.4-98.2%) with turkey and pigeon rotaviruses. Homology-based modeling of the CH2 VP6 from the corresponding crystal structure of the bovine rotavirus, RF strain, demonstrated that the hypervariable region (residue 228-240) does have a critical role in strain specific antigenic characteristics of avian and mammalian rotaviruses. A predicted conformational epitope encompasses experimentally characterized group and subgroup epitopes suggesting that it is a major antibody binding site on the VP6 protein. The VP6 structure modeling and conformational epitope prediction together with enzyme immuno assay of SG MAbs placed CH2 in SGI/II. The study may be helpful in designing peptides for group A rotavirus diagnostic assays and to achieve heterotypic protection against rotavirus serotypes.

Development of samarium [32P] phosphate colloid for radiosynoviorthesis applications: preparation, biological and preliminary clinical studies experience.

A new therapeutic radio colloid for radiosynoviorthesis (RS) applications is reported. The method of preparation involves the reaction of SmCl3 carrier with carrier added [32P]H3PO4 in the presence of gelatin. The pure colloid was recovered by dialysis purification leading to radiochemical yield of around 90%. The radiochemical purity of the pure colloid formulated in isotonic saline was over 98%, for the usage period of 14 days, as assessed by paper chromatography. Ninety percent of colloid particles were in the size of 1-10 microm as evident from the laser diffraction particle size analysis, ideally suitable for the intended end use. Animal studies revealed complete retention of the radio colloid in the rabbit knee joint. The results of clinical trials in humans are satisfactory and encouraging, satisfactory retention of the colloid in the knee joint and negligible leakage into the systemic circulation.

Pleomorphic adenoma of the nasal septum--a case report.

Pleomorphic adenoma which is also called mixed tumour occur in major salivary glands like parotid and submandibular glands, and is rare in other sites such as the nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea and lacrimal glands. Here, we discuss a case of pleomorphic adenoma of the nasal cavity.

Stabilisation of [131I]meta-iodobenzylguanidine at room temperature as organic extract in ethyl acetate/chloroform.

A method of purification of [131I]mIBG (diagnostic dose) by solvent extraction and possibility of its stabilisation by storage in ethyl acetate and chloroform at up to 40 degrees C for not less than 14 days is described. In order to further enhance the utility of this finding, the organic extract was dispensed into vials and dried. Vials containing such dried residue of [131I]mIBG stored at up to 40 degrees C was also found to be stable for at least 10 days. The final product reconstituted as aqueous solution resulted in 90% recovery with 99% radiochemical purity as assessed by previously reported methods, as well as a relatively more rapid paper chromatography method standardised by us. These interesting findings promise simpler and economic packaging besides transport of diagnostic doses of [131I]mIBG.

Preparation and evaluation of samarium (III) phosphate [(153)Sm] colloid (SMPC) for possible therapeutic use.

A simple method of preparation of a new therapeutic colloid, samarium(III) phosphate-(153)Sm (SMPC), is reported involving the reaction of carrier-added (153)SmCl(3) with phosphoric acid. Recovery of the colloid was accomplished by dialysis leading to purification and a radiochemical (RC) yield of more than 90%. The RC purity of purified colloid formulated in isotonic phosphate buffer was more than 99% as assessed by paper chromatography. The product retained its RC purity throughout the period of stability study of 7 days. Complete retention of radioactivity instilled in the rabbit knee joint was observed over the study period of 6 days, with radioactivity in the blood being indistinguishable from the natural background activity. Ninety-six percent of colloidal particles were in the size range of 0.3-2 microm. The promising results demonstrated warrant further studies on SMPC for assessing the suitability for therapy.