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Ayers Zachariassen posted an update 3 days, 6 hours ago
Nurses worldwide have striven to establish nursing as a profession, autonomous but complementary to the medical profession. Literature as far back as the Renaissance demonstrates an overall derogatory attitude toward the nurse’s role. The modern notion of the nurse working side by side the medical practitioner continues to be overshadowed by the heroic medical doctor. This paper will discuss Christine Chapel and Alyssia Ogawa, who arguably are the only two nurses on board Star Trek’s Enterprise, given prominent roles. In various and multiple episodes, their roles reveal a recurrence of the subservient attitude to the medical practitioner. Yet, there seems to be a shift toward a more multi-disciplinarian approach a century later in the ST time-line. The general concept of the nurses’ role is similar and parallels real life – a role subsumed by and subservient to the medical doctor. Machine intelligence, whether it constitutes Strong artificial intelligence (AI) or Weak AI, may have varying degrees of independence. Both Strong and Weak AIs are often depicted as being programmed with safeguards which prevent harm to humanity, informed by Asimov’s programs called the Laws of Robotics. This paper will review these programs through a reading of instances of machine intelligence in Star Trek, and will attempt to show that these “ethical subroutines” may well be vital to our continued existence, irrespective of whether the machine intelligences constitute Strong or Weak AI. In effect, this paper will analyse the machine analogues of conscience in Star Trek, and will do so through an analysis of the android Data and the Emergency Medical Hologram. We will argue that AI should be treated with caution, lest we create powerful intelligences that may not only ignore us but also find us threatening. Cutaneous wound healing is one of the public health interests. This study aimed to investigate the effects of nanoemulsion cream containing lavender essential oil and licorice extract on the healing of deep skin wound in a rat model. Eighty-five male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups including untreated defects as negative control and defects treated with vehicle ointment, lavender essential oil and licorice extract in emulsion and nanoemulsion forms, and phenytoin 1% as the positive control with an excisional wound on the dorsal neck of each rat. On days 2, 7 and 14 oxidative stress factors were evaluated in wound tissue homogenates. The expression of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and type I and type III collagen genes were evaluated. Also, wound tissue samples were processed for Hematoxylin & Eosin and Masson-Trichrome staining. Nanoemulsion reduced the wound area more than other groups significantly. Real-time PCR data demonstrated that nanoemulsion and phenytoin groups have shown the best result in increasing TGF-β1, Type I and type III collagen genes expression compared to the other groups. Reduction in lipid peroxidation level and increasing in SOD and GPx activity was also significant in the nanoemulsion and phenytoin groups. The formation of granular tissue likewise the appearance of collagen in nanoemulsion and phenytoin groups were faster than the other groups. Nanoemulsion cream containing lavender essential oil and licorice extract exhibited a promising wound healing potential towards the excisional wound model in rats. We report the case of a 71-year-old woman who developed advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) affecting the right eyebrow, invading the orbit. Globe displacement resulted in visual disturbances. Following multidisciplinary assessment, the tumour was deemed technically resectable for excision and right orbital exenteration. The patient however refused ablative surgical treatment; in view of her multiple comorbidities, the tumour was considered unresectable for her. Targeted therapy with vismodegib (Erivedge; Roche Pharmaceuticals) was therefore initiated in accordance with the patient’s desire to avoid disfiguring surgery. After nine 28-day cycles of treatment, the tumour showed dramatic regression both clinically and radiographically. click here Mapping biopsies taken after 9 months confirmed the absence of any residual tumour, negating the need for ablative surgery. Grade 1 adverse events including muscle cramps, loss of taste, and reduced appetite were reported. Treatment was discontinued at 15 months owing to cumulative toxicity. The patient remains in remission 14 months after cessation of vismodegib. The use of vismodegib for advanced BCC is emerging and a number of reports exist. However, its application is mainly reserved for patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease, patients who are medically unfit for surgery, and cases where primary surgical resection would cause unacceptable disfigurement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intuitive placement of titanium miniplates. The hypothesis was that virtual planning can improve miniplate placement. Twenty patients were included in the study. These patients were fitted with 21 titanium miniplates (16 y-plates, three t-plates, and two u-plates) to retain nasal prostheses between 2005 and 2017. Colour-coded topographic bone thickness maps (TBTMs) were created in fused pre- and postoperative computed tomography. Implants were virtually transposed at the position of highest bone thickness. The bone thickness index (BTI) was calculated as the sum of points assigned at each screw (1 point per millimetre up to 4 mm, and 5 points for greater values) divided by the number of screws. One plate broke after 2.8 years, thus plate survival after 5 years was 91% using the Kaplan-Meier method. The BTI for all 21 plates increased from 3.4 to 4.1 points using virtual transposition (P less then 0.001). No significant changes were observed in t- and u-plates, but the median BTI increased from 3.1 to 4.1 points (P less then 0.0005) in 16 y-plates. The change was substantial (≥0.5 points) in 9/16 y-plates. Therefore, the hypothesis that virtual planning improves implant placement was accepted. The application of gene therapy is widely expanding in research and continuously improving in preparation for clinical applications. The inner ear is an attractive target for gene therapy for treating environmental and genetic diseases in both the auditory and vestibular systems. With the lack of spontaneous cochlear hair cell replacement, hair cell regeneration in adult mammals is among the most important goals of gene therapy. In addition, correcting gene defects can open up a new era for treating inner ear diseases. The relative isolation and small size of the inner ear dictate local administration routes and carefully calculated small volumes of reagents. In the current review, we will cover effective timing, injection routes and types of vectors for successful gene delivery to specific target cells within the inner ear. Differences between research purposes and clinical applications are also discussed.