Elucidating the 16S rRNA 3' boundaries and defining optimal SD/aSD pairing in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis using RNA-Seq data.

PubMed

Wei, Yulong; Silke, Jordan R; Xia, Xuhua

2017-12-15

Bacterial translation initiation is influenced by base pairing between the Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence in the 5' UTR of mRNA and the anti-SD (aSD) sequence at the free 3' end of the 16S rRNA (3' TAIL) due to: 1) the SD/aSD sequence binding location and 2) SD/aSD binding affinity. In order to understand what makes an SD/aSD interaction optimal, we must define: 1) terminus of the 3' TAIL and 2) extent of the core aSD sequence within the 3' TAIL. Our approach to characterize these components in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis involves 1) mapping the 3' boundary of the mature 16S rRNA using high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), and 2) identifying the segment within the 3' TAIL that is strongly preferred in SD/aSD pairing. Using RNA-Seq data, we resolve previous discrepancies in the reported 3' TAIL in B. subtilis and recovered the established 3' TAIL in E. coli. Furthermore, we extend previous studies to suggest that both highly and lowly expressed genes favor SD sequences with intermediate binding affinity, but this trend is exclusive to SD sequences that complement the core aSD sequences defined herein.

Products of the SNPP VIIRS SD Screen Transmittance and the SD BRDFs From Both Yaw Maneuver and Regular On-Orbit Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lei, Ning; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

2017-01-01

To ensure data quality, the Earth-observing Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite regularly performs on-orbit radiometric calibration of its 22 spectral bands. The primary radiance source for the calibration of the VIIRS reflective solar bands (RSBs) is a sunlit onboard solar diffuser (SD).During the calibration process, sunlight goes through a perforated plate (the SD screen) and then strikes the SD. The sunlight, scattered off the SD of near-Lambertian property, is used for the calibration. Consequently, the spectral radiance of the scattered sunlight is proportional to the product of the SD screen transmittance and the SD bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) value at the observation direction. The BRDF value is decomposed to the product of its initial value at launch and a numerical degradation factor that quantifies the decrease from the initial value. The degradation factor is determined by an onboard SD stability monitor (SDSM). During the BRDF degradation factor determination process, the SDSM receives the SD scattered sunlight and the sunlight that goes through another perforated plate at almost the same time. The ratio of the signal strengths from the two observations is used to determine the BRDF degradation factor. Consequently, the RSB radiometric calibration requires the accurate knowledge of the product of the SD screen transmittance and the initial BRDF value as sensed by the RSB and the SDSM detectors. We use both yaw maneuver and a small portion of regular on-orbit data to determine the products.

Purification, Characterization, and Optimum Conditions of Fermencin SD11, a Bacteriocin Produced by Human Orally Lactobacillus fermentum SD11.

PubMed

Wannun, Phirawat; Piwat, Supatcharin; Teanpaisan, Rawee

2016-06-01

Fermencin SD11, a bacteriocin produced by human orally Lactobacillus fermentum SD11, was purified, characterized, and optimized in conditions for bacterial growth and bacteriocin production. Fermencin SD11 was purified using three steps of ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration chromatography, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The molecular weight was found to be 33,000 Da using SDS-PAGE and confirmed as 33,593.4 Da by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fermencin SD11 exhibited activity against a wide range of oral pathogens including cariogenic and periodontogenic pathogens and Candida. The active activity was stable between 60 - 80 °C in a pH range of 3.0 to 7.0. It was sensitive to proteolytic enzymes (proteinase K and trypsin), but it was not affected by α-amylase, catalase, lysozyme, and saliva. The optimum conditions for growth and bacteriocin production of L. fermentum SD11 were cultured at acidic with pH of 5.0-6.0 at 37 or 40 °C under aerobic or anaerobic conditions for 12 h. It is promising that L. fermentum SD11 and its bacteriocin may be an alternative approach for promoting oral health or prevention of oral diseases, e.g., dental caries and periodontitis, which would require further clinical trials.

User's Manual for Space Debris Surfaces (SD_SURF)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elfer, N. C.

1996-01-01

A unique collection of computer codes, Space Debris Surfaces (SD_SURF), have been developed to assist in the design and analysis of space debris protection systems. SD_SURF calculates and summarizes a vehicle's vulnerability to space debris as a function of impact velocity and obliquity. An SD_SURF analysis will show which velocities and obliquities are the most probable to cause a penetration. This determination can help the analyst select a shield design which is best suited to the predominant penetration mechanism. The analysis also indicates the most suitable parameters for development or verification testing. The SD_SURF programs offer the option of either FORTRAN programs and Microsoft EXCEL spreadsheets and macros. The FORTRAN programs work with BUMPERII version 1.2a or 1.3 (Cosmic released). The EXCEL spreadsheets and macros can be used independently or with selected output from the SD_SURF FORTRAN programs.

SD DOT Customer Survey

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-06-30

Following a series of qualitative interviews with South Dakota Department of Transportation (SD DOT) as well as consumers during the week of March 24, 1997, a telephone survey of 800 interviews was conducted between April 17 and May 8, 1997 among two...

77 FR 4617 - Environmental Impact Statement: Pennington County, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-30

...: Pennington County, SD AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of Intent. SUMMARY..., Suite A, Pierre, SD 57501, (605) 226-7326; Mr. Terry Keller, Environmental Supervisor, Project Development, South Dakota Department of Transportation, 700 E. Broadway Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501, (605) 773...

PREFACE: EDS2010 Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heggie, Malcolm I.

2011-03-01

The biennial international conference on Extended Defects in Semiconductors started in 1978 with a meeting in Hünfeld, Germany. Subsequent meetings rotated between Poland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Russia and Italy, culminating in EDS2004 in Chernogolovka, EDS2006 in Halle and EDS2008 in Poitiers. EDS2010 was held at the University of Sussex at Brighton, UK from September 19th to 24th. An extension of the tabulation of this history, which first appeared on the EDS2006 website, is given in the attached PDF. It is with sadness that we note one of the founders of the series, Prof. Dr Helmut Alexander, passed away on 3 December 2009 and we were proud to dedicate EDS2010 to his memory. It has become a tradition to make an award in his name, and this year it was made to Ivan Isacov for his poster "Electrical levels of dislocation networks in p- and n-type silicon". A short and warm celebration of Prof. Dr Alexander's life by his friends and colleagues, Prof. Drs Helmut Gottschalk, Eicke Weber and Wolfgang Schröter, is included in this volume. The conference was a forum for the state-of-the-art of investigation and modelling of extended defects in semiconductors. Scientists from universities, research institutes and industry made contributions to a deeper understanding of extended defects, their interaction with point defects and their role in the development of semiconductor technology. The remit of the conference included extended defects, nanostructures, nanoparticles, quantum dots and interfaces within semiconducting materials ranging from narrow to wide band gaps, including graphene-derived materials and diamond. Scientific interests range from defect geometry, electronic structure, dynamics, spectroscopy, microscopy, reactions and chemistry to introduction mechanisms, such as implantation and strained layers and the operation of devices such as integrated circuits, heterostructures, and solar cells. The organisers were confronted with a long period between

Rebooting the EdD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wergin, Jon F.

2011-01-01

In this essay, Jon Wergin reminds readers of the philosophical and historical foundations of the doctor of education (EdD) degree. He argues that the EdD should be based, in large part, on John Dewey's progressive ideals of democratization and Paulo Freire's concepts of emancipatory education. Drawing on theories of reflective practice,…

A Quantitative Content Analysis of Mercer University MEd, EdS, and Doctoral Theses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randolph, Justus J.; Gaiek, Lura S.; White, Torian A.; Slappey, Lisa A.; Chastain, Andrea; Harris, Rose Prejean

2010-01-01

Quantitative content analysis of a body of research not only helps budding researchers understand the culture, language, and expectations of scholarship, it helps identify deficiencies and inform policy and practice. Because of these benefits, an analysis of a census of 980 Mercer University MEd, EdS, and doctoral theses was conducted. Each thesis…

What Is Ag-Ed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindley, Judy

Ag-Ed is an agricultural education project aimed at upper primary students, held in conjunction with the Toowoomba Show (similar to a county fair) in Queensland, Australia. The program achieves its purpose of helping children understand the impact and relevance that agriculture has on their everyday lives through two components, an Ag-Ed day and a…

Snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies treated in US EDs, 1990 to 2006.

PubMed

Watson, Daniel S; Shields, Brenda J; Smith, Gary A

2011-01-01

Injuries and medical emergencies associated with snow shovel use are common in the United States. This is a retrospective analysis of data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. This study analyzes the epidemiologic features of snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies treated in US emergency departments (EDs) from 1990 to 2006. An estimated 195 100 individuals (95% confidence interval, 140 400-249 800) were treated in US EDs for snow shovel-related incidents during the 17-year study period, averaging 11 500 individuals annually (SD, 5300). The average annual rate of snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies was 4.15 per 100 000 population. Approximately two thirds (67.5%) of these incidents occurred among males. Children younger than 18 years comprised 15.3% of the cases, whereas older adults (55 years and older) accounted for 21.8%. The most common diagnosis was soft tissue injury (54.7%). Injuries to the lower back accounted for 34.3% of the cases. The most common mechanism of injury/nature of medical emergency was acute musculoskeletal exertion (53.9%) followed by slips and falls (20.0%) and being struck by a snow shovel (15.0%). Cardiac-related ED visits accounted for 6.7% of the cases, including all of the 1647 deaths in the study. Patients required hospitalization in 5.8% of the cases. Most snow shovel-related incidents (95.6%) occurred in and around the home. This is the first study to comprehensively examine snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies in the United States using a nationally representative sample. There are an estimated 11 500 snow shovel-related injuries and medical emergencies treated annually in US EDs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cytokeratin 8 in Association with sdLDL and ELISA Development

PubMed Central

Ashmaig, Mohmed

2015-01-01

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Cytokeratins (CKs) which may also be expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are generally considered to be markers for the differentiation of epithelial cells. Small, dense, low-density lipoprotein (sdLDL) particles, also termed LDL-IV, independently predict risk of CVD. Aims: The aims of this study were to develop an analytical method, apart from ultracentrifugation capable of isolating sdLDL in order to study any associated proteins. Materials and Methods: Using modified gradient gel electrophoresis (GGE), de-identified sdLDL-enriched plasma was used to physically elute and isolate sdLDL particles. To validate the finding, additional plasma from 77 normal and 48 higher risk subjects were used to measure sdLDL particles and CK8. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting method were used to identify the characteristics of proteins associated with sdLDL. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was developed and validated for the measurement of CK8 in plasma. Results: The validation of the CK8 ELISA method showed good analytical performance. The isolated sdLDL particles were verified with nondenaturing GGE with the apolipoprotein B component confirmed by Western immunoblotting. Confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western immunoblotting, CK8 was associated with sdLDL. Two-tailed statistical analysis showed that CK8 and sdLDL particles were significantly higher in the high-risk CVD group compared to control group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: This study reports a novel association between CK8 and sdLDL in individuals with CVD who have a predominance of sdLDL. PMID:26713292

The use of mechanical ventilation in the ED.

PubMed

Easter, Benjamin D; Fischer, Christopher; Fisher, Jonathan

2012-09-01

Although EDs are responsible for the initial care of critically ill patients and the amount of critical care provided in the ED is increasing, there are few data examining mechanical ventilation (MV) in the ED. In addition, characteristics of ED-based ventilation may affect planning for ventilator shortages during pandemic influenza or bioterrorist events. The study examined the epidemiology of MV in US EDs, including demographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics; indications for MV; ED length of stay (LOS); and in-hospital mortality. This study was a retrospective review of the 1993 to 2007 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey ED data sets. Ventilated patients were compared with ED patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and to all other ED visits. There were 3.6 million ED MV visits (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.2-4.0 million) over the study period. Sex, age, race, and payment source were similar for mechanically ventilated and ICU patients (P > .05 for all). Approximately 12.5% of ventilated patients underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation compared with 1.7% of ICU admissions and 0.2% of all other ED visits (P < .0001). Accordingly, in-hospital mortality was significantly higher for ventilated patients (24%; 95% CI, 13.1%-34.9%) than both comparison groups (9.3% and 2.5%, respectively). Median LOS for ventilated patients was 197 minutes (interquartile range, 112-313 minutes) compared with 224 minutes for ICU admissions and 140 minutes for all other ED visits. Patients undergoing ED MV have particularly high in-hospital mortality rates, but their ED LOS is sufficient for implementation of evidence-based ventilator interventions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Population-based burden of COPD-related visits in the ED: return ED visits, hospital admissions, and comorbidity risks.

PubMed

Yeatts, Karin B; Lippmann, Steven J; Waller, Anna E; Hassmiller Lich, Kristen; Travers, Debbie; Weinberger, Morris; Donohue, James F

2013-09-01

Little is known about the population-based burden of ED care for COPD. We analyzed statewide ED surveillance system data to quantify the frequency of COPD-related ED visits, hospital admissions, and comorbidities. In 2008 to 2009 in North Carolina, 97,511 COPD-related ED visits were made by adults ≥ 45 years of age, at an annual rate of 13.8 ED visits/1,000 person-years. Among patients with COPD (n = 33,799), 7% and 28% had a COPD-related return ED visit within a 30- and 365-day period of their index visit, respectively. Compared with patients on private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and noninsured patients were more likely to have a COPD-related return visit within 30 and 365 days and have three or more COPD-related visits within 365 days. There were no differences in return visits by sex. Fifty-one percent of patients with COPD were admitted to the hospital from the index ED visit. Subsequent hospital admission risk in the cohort increased with age, peaking at 65 to 69 years (risk ratio [RR], 1.41; 95% CI, 1.26-1.57); there was no difference by sex. Patients with congestive heart failure (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.22-1.37), substance-related disorders (RR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.13-1.60), or respiratory failure/supplemental oxygen (RR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.19-1.31) were more likely to have a subsequent hospital admission compared with patients without these comorbidities. The population-based burden of COPD-related care in the ED is significant. Further research is needed to understand variations in COPD-related ED visits and hospital admissions.

The sdA problem - I. Physical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelisoli, Ingrid; Kepler, S. O.; Koester, D.

2018-04-01

The so-called sdA stars are defined by having H-rich spectra and surface gravities similar to hot subdwarf stars, but effective temperature below the zero-age horizontal branch. Their evolutionary history is an enigma: their surface gravity is too high for main-sequence stars, but too low for single evolution white dwarfs. They are most likely byproducts of binary evolution, including blue-stragglers, extremely-low mass white dwarf stars (ELMs) and their precursors (pre-ELMs). A small number of ELMs with similar properties to sdAs is known. Other possibilities include metal-poor A/F dwarfs, second generation stars, or even stars accreted from dwarf galaxies. In this work, we analyse colours, proper motions, and spacial velocities of a sample of sdAs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to assess their nature and evolutionary origin. We define a probability of belonging to the main sequence and a probability of being a (pre-)ELM based on these properties. We find that 7 per cent of the sdAs are more likely to be (pre-)ELMs than main-sequence stars. However, the spacial velocity distribution suggests that over 35 per cent of them cannot be explained as single metal-poor A/F stars.

Expedition 7 Crew Interview: Ed Lu

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Ed Lu of Expedition Seven is seen during a pre-launch interview. He explains why he became interested in space flight. He states that this is a different type of mission and gives his reaction to the Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy. The handover of Expedition six is explained by Ed Lu. The challenges of this mission are also described by Lu. These challenges include working with a crew member reduction from three to two, and the conservation of clothing and consumables. Ed Lu talks about what it is like to work with commander Yuri Malenchenko in space. Finally, Ed Lu states that he will continue scientific experiments in space on calcium loss in bones.

Characterising non-urgent users of the emergency department (ED): A retrospective analysis of routine ED data.

PubMed

O'Keeffe, Colin; Mason, Suzanne; Jacques, Richard; Nicholl, Jon

2018-01-01

The pressures of patient demand on emergency departments (EDs) continue to be reported worldwide, with an associated negative impact on ED crowding and waiting times. It has also been reported that a proportion of attendances to EDs in different international systems could be managed in settings such as primary care. This study used routine ED data to define, measure and profile non-urgent ED attendances that were suitable for management in alternative, non-emergency settings. We undertook a retrospective analysis of three years of Hospital Episode and Statistics Accident Emergency (HES A&E) data for one large region in England, United Kingdom (April 1st 2011 to March 31st 2014). Data was collected on all adult (>16 years) ED attendances from each of the 19 EDs in the region. A validated process based definition of non-urgent attendance was refined for this study and applied to the data. Using summary statistics non-urgent attenders were examined by variables hypothesised to influence them as follows: age at arrival, time of day and day of week and mode of arrival. Odds ratios were calculated to compare non-urgent attenders between groups. There were 3,667,601 first time attendances to EDs, of which 554,564 were defined as non-urgent (15.1%). Non-urgent attendances were significantly more likely to present out of hours than in hours (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.18 to 1.20, P<0.001). The odds of a non-urgent attendance were significantly higher for younger patients (aged 16-44) compared to those aged 45-64 (odds ratio: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.41 to 1.43, P<0.001) and the over 65's (odds ratio: 3.81, 95% CI: 3.78 to 3.85, P<0.001). Younger patients were significantly more likely to attend non-urgently out of hours compared to the 45-64's (OR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.22 to 1.25, P<0.001) and the 65+'s (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.35 to 1.40, P<0.001). 110,605/554,564 (19.9%) of the non-urgent attendances arrived by ambulance, increasing significantly out of hours versus in hours (OR = 2.12, 95

Pattern Driven Selection and Configuration of S&D Mechanisms at Runtime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crespo, Beatriz Gallego-Nicasio; Piñuela, Ana; Soria-Rodriguez, Pedro; Serrano, Daniel; Maña, Antonio

In order to satisfy the requests of SERENITY-aware applications, the SERENITY Runtime Framework’s main task is to perform pattern selection, to provide the application with the most suitable S&D Solution that satisfies the request. The result of this selection process depends on two main factors: the content of the S&D Library and the information stored and managed by the Context Manager. Three processes are involved: searching of the S&D Library to get the initial set of candidates to be selected; filtering and ordering the collection, based on the SRF configuration; and perform a loop to check S&D Pattern preconditions over the remaining S&D Artifacts in order to select the most suitable S&D Pattern first, and later the appropriate S&D Implementation for the environment conditions. Once the S&D Implementation is selected, the SERENITY Runtime Framework instantiates an Executable Component (EC) and provides the application with the necessary information and mechanism to make use of the EC.

76 FR 67058 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Sturgis, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-31

...-0430; Airspace Docket No. 11-AGL-10] Amendment of Class E Airspace; Sturgis, SD AGENCY: Federal... Sturgis, SD, to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Sturgis... proposed rulemaking to amend Class E airspace for Sturgis, SD, creating controlled airspace at Sturgis...

76 FR 44257 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Mobridge, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-25

...-0134; Airspace Docket No. 11-AGL-3] Amendment of Class E Airspace; Mobridge, SD AGENCY: Federal... Mobridge, SD, to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Mobridge... notice of proposed rulemaking to amend Class E airspace for Mobridge, SD, creating additional controlled...

An Instrument to Study State-Wide Implementation of edTPA: Validating the Levels of edTPA Integration Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhatnagar, Ruchi; Kim, Jihye; Many, Joyce E.

2017-01-01

Use of edTPA for preservice teacher assessment is becoming increasingly common across the country, with some states, including Georgia, mandating the passing of the edTPA for initial teacher licensure. This state-wide study investigated whether edTPA as a new policy initiative was being integrated by the teacher education programs and faculty in…

How UV photolysis accelerates the biodegradation and mineralization of sulfadiazine (SD).

PubMed

Pan, Shihui; Yan, Ning; Liu, Xinyue; Wang, Wenbing; Zhang, Yongming; Liu, Rui; Rittmann, Bruce E

2014-11-01

Sulfadiazine (SD), one of broad-spectrum antibiotics, exhibits limited biodegradation in wastewater treatment due to its chemical structure, which requires initial mono-oxygenation reactions to initiate its biodegradation. Intimately coupling UV photolysis with biodegradation, realized with the internal loop photobiodegradation reactor, accelerated SD biodegradation and mineralization by 35 and 71 %, respectively. The main organic products from photolysis were 2-aminopyrimidine (2-AP), p-aminobenzenesulfonic acid (ABS), and aniline (An), and an SD-photolysis pathway could be identified using C, N, and S balances. Adding An or ABS (but not 2-AP) into the SD solution during biodegradation experiments (no UV photolysis) gave SD removal and mineralization rates similar to intimately coupled photolysis and biodegradation. An SD biodegradation pathway, based on a diverse set of the experimental results, explains how the mineralization of ABS and An (but not 2-AP) provided internal electron carriers that accelerated the initial mono-oxygenation reactions of SD biodegradation. Thus, multiple lines of evidence support that the mechanism by which intimately coupled photolysis and biodegradation accelerated SD removal and mineralization was through producing co-substrates whose oxidation produced electron equivalents that stimulated the initial mono-oxygenation reactions for SD biodegradation.

78 FR 48302 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; Wagner, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-08

...-0004; Airspace Docket No. 13-AGL-1] Establishment of Class E Airspace; Wagner, SD AGENCY: Federal... at Wagner, SD. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard... Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to establish Class E airspace for the Wagner, SD...

76 FR 40597 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Madison, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-11

...-0135; Airspace Docket No. 11-AGL-4] Amendment of Class E Airspace; Madison, SD AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This action amends Class E airspace for Madison, SD, to... rulemaking to amend Class E airspace for Madison, SD, creating controlled airspace at Madison Municipal...

77 FR 46284 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Lemmon, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-03

...-0391; Airspace Docket No. 12-AGL-2] Amendment of Class E Airspace; Lemmon, SD AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This action amends Class E airspace at Lemmon, SD... rulemaking (NPRM) to amend Class E airspace for the Lemmon, SD, area, creating additional controlled airspace...

Positional dependence of the SNPP VIIRS SD BRDF degradation factor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Ning; Chen, Xuexia; Chang, Tiejun; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

2017-09-01

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite is a passive scanning radiometer and an imager. The VIIRS regularly performs on-orbit radiometric calibration of its reflective solar bands (RSBs) through observing an onboard sunlit solar diffuser (SD). The reflectance of the SD changes over time and the change is denoted as the SD bidirectional reflectance distribution function degradation factor. The degradation factor, measured by an onboard solar diffuser stability monitor, has been shown to be both incident sunlight and outgoing direction dependent. In this Proceeding, we investigate the factor's dependence on SD position. We develop a model to relate the SD degradation factor with the amount of solar exposure. We use Earth measurements to evaluate the effectiveness of the model.

Mechanical Ventilation and ARDS in the ED

PubMed Central

Mohr, Nicholas M.; Miller, Christopher N.; Deitchman, Andrew R.; Castagno, Nicole; Hassebroek, Elizabeth C.; Dhedhi, Adam; Scott-Wittenborn, Nicholas; Grace, Edward; Lehew, Courtney; Kollef, Marin H.

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: There are few data regarding mechanical ventilation and ARDS in the ED. This could be a vital arena for prevention and treatment. METHODS: This study was a multicenter, observational, prospective, cohort study aimed at analyzing ventilation practices in the ED. The primary outcome was the incidence of ARDS after admission. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of ARDS. RESULTS: We analyzed 219 patients receiving mechanical ventilation to assess ED ventilation practices. Median tidal volume was 7.6 mL/kg predicted body weight (PBW) (interquartile range, 6.9-8.9), with a range of 4.3 to 12.2 mL/kg PBW. Lung-protective ventilation was used in 122 patients (55.7%). The incidence of ARDS after admission from the ED was 14.7%, with a mean onset of 2.3 days. Progression to ARDS was associated with higher illness severity and intubation in the prehospital environment or transferring facility. Of the 15 patients with ARDS in the ED (6.8%), lung-protective ventilation was used in seven (46.7%). Patients who progressed to ARDS experienced greater duration in organ failure and ICU length of stay and higher mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Lung-protective ventilation is infrequent in patients receiving mechanical ventilation in the ED, regardless of ARDS status. Progression to ARDS is common after admission, occurs early, and worsens outcome. Patient- and treatment-related factors present in the ED are associated with ARDS. Given the limited treatment options for ARDS, and the early onset after admission from the ED, measures to prevent onset and to mitigate severity should be instituted in the ED. TRIAL REGISTRY: ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT01628523; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov PMID:25742126

SD-CAS: Spin Dynamics by Computer Algebra System.

PubMed

Filip, Xenia; Filip, Claudiu

2010-11-01

A computer algebra tool for describing the Liouville-space quantum evolution of nuclear 1/2-spins is introduced and implemented within a computational framework named Spin Dynamics by Computer Algebra System (SD-CAS). A distinctive feature compared with numerical and previous computer algebra approaches to solving spin dynamics problems results from the fact that no matrix representation for spin operators is used in SD-CAS, which determines a full symbolic character to the performed computations. Spin correlations are stored in SD-CAS as four-entry nested lists of which size increases linearly with the number of spins into the system and are easily mapped into analytical expressions in terms of spin operator products. For the so defined SD-CAS spin correlations a set of specialized functions and procedures is introduced that are essential for implementing basic spin algebra operations, such as the spin operator products, commutators, and scalar products. They provide results in an abstract algebraic form: specific procedures to quantitatively evaluate such symbolic expressions with respect to the involved spin interaction parameters and experimental conditions are also discussed. Although the main focus in the present work is on laying the foundation for spin dynamics symbolic computation in NMR based on a non-matrix formalism, practical aspects are also considered throughout the theoretical development process. In particular, specific SD-CAS routines have been implemented using the YACAS computer algebra package (http://yacas.sourceforge.net), and their functionality was demonstrated on a few illustrative examples. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

NDPC-SD Data Probes Worksheet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities, 2011

2011-01-01

This worksheet from the National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) is an optional tool to help schools organize multiple years of student and program data for the purpose of identifying school-completion needs that can be addressed through the implementation of research-based interventions. It is designed for use…

CERES GEO Ed4 Available Data

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2017-10-11

... Spatial Resolution Temporal Coverage CER_GEO_Ed4_GOE08 Hourly 2-4km observation at nadir, subsampled every 8-9 km 2000-03-01 to 2003-04-01 CER_GEO_Ed4_GOE09 Hourly 2-4km observation at nadir, subsampled ...

76 FR 21828 - Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Mobridge, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-19

...-0134; Airspace Docket No. 11-AGL-3] Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Mobridge, SD AGENCY... action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Mobridge, SD. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to... accommodate new standard instrument approach procedures at Mobridge Municipal Airport, Mobridge, SD...

76 FR 43610 - Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Spearfish, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-21

...-0431; Airspace Docket No. 11-AGL-11] Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Spearfish, SD AGENCY... action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Spearfish, SD. Additional controlled airspace is necessary... instrument approach procedures at Black Hills Airport-Clyde Ice Field, Spearfish, SD. Controlled airspace is...

78 FR 73751 - Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Philip, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-09

...-0916; Airspace Docket No. 13-AGL-30] Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Philip, SD AGENCY: Federal... proposes to amend Class E airspace at Philip, SD. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to... the surface to accommodate new standard instrument approach procedures at Philip Airport, Philip, SD...

76 FR 43612 - Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Sturgis, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-21

...-0430; Airspace Docket No. 11-AGL-10] Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Sturgis, SD AGENCY... action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Sturgis, SD. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to... instrument approach procedures at Sturgis Municipal Airport, Sturgis, SD. Controlled airspace is needed for...

77 FR 29920 - Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Lemmon, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-21

...-0391; Airspace Docket No. 12-AGL-2] Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Lemmon, SD AGENCY: Federal... proposes to amend Class E airspace at Lemmon, SD. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to... Municipal Airport, Lemmon, SD. Controlled airspace is needed for the safety and management of IFR operations...

ED leadership competency matrix: an administrative management tool.

PubMed

Propp, Douglas A; Glickman, Seth; Uehara, Dennis T

2003-10-01

A successful ED relies on its leaders to master and demonstrate core competencies to be effective in the many arenas in which they interact and are responsible. A unique matrix model for the assessment of an ED leadership's key administrative skill sets is presented. The model incorporates capabilities related to the individual's cognitive aptitude, experience, acquired technical skills, behavioral characteristics, as well as the ability to manage relationships effectively. Based on the personnel inventory using the matrix, focused evaluation, development, and recruitment of ED key leaders occurs. This dynamic tool has provided a unique perspective for the evaluation and enhancement of overall ED leadership performance. It is hoped that incorporation of such a model will similarly improve the accomplishments of EDs at other institutions.

Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov Websites

System Model The Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model helps the U.S. Department of model. Visualize Future Capacity Expansion of Renewable Energy Watch this video of the ReEDS model audio. Model Documentation ReEDS Model Documentation: Version 2016 ReEDS Map with Numbered Regions

An evaluation of the SD Bioline HIV/syphilis duo test.

PubMed

Holden, Jeffrey; Goheen, Joshua; Jett-Goheen, Mary; Barnes, Mathilda; Hsieh, Yu-Hsiang; Gaydos, Charlotte A

2018-01-01

Many health agencies now recommend routine HIV and syphilis testing for pregnant women and most-at-risk populations such as men who have sex with men. With the increased availability of highly sensitive, low cost rapid point-of-care tests, the ability to meet those recommendations has increased, granting wider access to quick and accurate diagnoses. Using blood specimens collected from a Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) sexually transmitted infection clinic, we evaluated the SD Bioline HIV/Syphilis Duo, a rapid test that simultaneously detects antibodies to HIV and syphilis and has the potential to further benefit clinics and patients by reducing costs, testing complexity, and patient wait times. SD DUO HIV sensitivity and specificity, when compared to BCHD results, were 91.7 and 99.5%, respectively. SD DUO syphilis sensitivity and specificity, when compared to rapid plasma reagin, were 85.7 and 96.8%, respectively, and 69.7 and 99.7%, respectively, when compared to Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA). SD DUO syphilis sensitivity and specificity, when compared to a traditional screening algorithm, improved to 92.3 and 100%, respectively, and improved to 72.9 and 99.7%, respectively, when compared to a reverse screening algorithm. The HIV component of the SD DUO performed moderately well. However, results for the SD DUO syphilis component, when compared to TPPA, support the need for further testing and assessment.

Using Kentucky State Standards as Benchmarks: Quantifying Incoming Ed.S. Students' Knowledge as They Journey toward Principalship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hearn, Jessica E.

2015-01-01

Principal preparation programs in Kentucky can use the items in the Dispositions, Dimensions, and Functions for School Leaders (EPSB, 2008) as mastery benchmarks to quantify incoming Educational Specialist (Ed.S) students' perceived level of mastery. This can serve both internal and external purposes by providing diagnostic feedback to students…

TechEdSat Nano-Satellite Series Fact Sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murbach, Marcus; Martinez, Andres; Guarneros Luna, Ali

2014-01-01

TechEdSat-3p is the second generation in the TechEdSat-X series. The TechEdSat Series uses the CubeSat standards established by the California Polytechnic State University Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo. With typical blocks being constructed from 1-unit (1U 10x10x10 cm) increments, the TechEdSat-3p has a 3U volume with a 30 cm length. The project uniquely pairs advanced university students with NASA researchers in a rapid design-to-flight experience lasting 1-2 semesters.The TechEdSat Nano-Satellite Series provides a rapid platform for testing technologies for future NASA Earth and planetary missions, as well as providing students with an early exposure to flight hardware development and management.

Expression of fibronectin ED-A+ and ED-B+ isoforms by human and experimental colorectal cancer. Contribution of cancer cells and tumor-associated myofibroblasts.

PubMed Central

Pujuguet, P.; Hammann, A.; Moutet, M.; Samuel, J. L.; Martin, F.; Martin, M.

1996-01-01

Alternative splicing of primary fibronectin (FN) mRNA results in the synthesis of different isoforms. ED-A+ and ED-B+ FN isoforms are absent from plasma FN and are representative of cellular FN. Their expression was studied in human and rat normal colon, in human colorectal carcinomas, and in transplanted tumors derived from a chemically-induced rat colon cancer. In normal colon, only the ED-A+ FN isoform was expressed as a thin deposit between crypt colonocytes and pericryptal myofibroblasts. Conversely, heavy ED-A+ FN deposits and lighter ED-B+ FN expression were found in the stroma of colorectal tumors in association with myofibroblasts surrounding tumor glands. Some colonic cancer cells also contained intracellular FN isoform granules and expressed FN mRNA. Tumor-associated myofibroblasts and some cancer cell lines were able to synthesize and deposit extracellular ED-A+ and ED-B+ FN in vitro. FN isoform deposition by tumor-associated myofibroblasts was not modulated by colon cancer cell-conditioned medium, but was strongly enhanced when myofibroblasts were cultured on colon cancer cell extracellular matrix or on laminin. These results show that the ED-A+ and ED-B+ FN isoforms were overexpressed in colorectal cancer. Cancer cells can deposit these FN isoforms directly and also stimulate their deposition by tumor-associated myofibroblasts. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 7 PMID:8579120

Eye Shape Using Partial Coherence Interferometry, Autorefraction and SD OCT

PubMed Central

Clark, Christopher A.; Elsner, Ann E.; Konynenbelt, Benjamin J.

2015-01-01

Purpose Peripheral refraction and retinal shape may influence refractive development. Peripheral refraction has been shown to have a high degree of variability and can take considerable time to perform. SD OCT and peripheral axial length measures may be more reliable, assuming that the retinal position is more important than the peripheral optics of the lens/cornea. Methods 79 subjects right eyes were imaged for this study (age range: 22 to 34 yr, refractive error: −10 to +5.00.) Thirty deg SD OCT (Spectralis, Heidleberg) images were collected in a radial pattern along with peripheral refraction with an autorefractor (Shin-Nippon Auto-refractor) and peripheral axial length measurements with partial coherence interferometry (PCI) (IOLmaster, Zeiss). Statistics were performed using repeat measures ANOVA in SPSS (IBM), Bland-Altman analyses, and regression. All measures were converted to diopters to allow direct comparison. Results SD OCT showed a retinal shape with an increased curvature for myopes compared to emmetropes/hyperopes. This retinal shape change became significant around 5 deg. The SD OCT analysis for retinal shape provides a resolution of 0.026 dipopters, which is about ten times more accurate than using autorefraction or clinical refractive techniques. Bland-Altman analyses suggest that retinal shape measured by SD OCT and the PCI method were more consistent with one another than either was with AR. Conclusions With more accurate measures of retinal shape using SD OCT, consistent differences between emmetrope/hyperopes and myopes were found nearer to the fovea than previously reported. Retinal shape may be influenced by central refractive error, and not merely peripheral optics. Partial coherence interferometry and SD OCT appear to be more accurate than autorefraction, which may be influenced other factors such as fixation and accommodation. Autorefraction does measure the optics directly, which may be a strength of that method. PMID:25437906

Feasibility of Non-Mydriatic Ocular Fundus Photography in the Emergency Department: Phase I of the FOTO-ED Study

PubMed Central

Bruce, Beau B.; Lamirel, Cédric; Biousse, Valérie; Ward, Antionette; Heilpern, Katherine L.; Newman, Nancy J.; Wright, David W.

2011-01-01

Objectives Examination of the ocular fundus is imperative in many acute medical and neurologic conditions, but direct ophthalmoscopy by non-ophthalmologists is underutilized, poorly performed, and difficult without pharmacologic pupillary dilation. The objective was to examine the feasibility of non-mydriatic fundus photography as a clinical alternative to direct ophthalmoscopy by emergency physicians (EPs). Methods Adult patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with headache, acute focal neurologic deficit, diastolic blood pressure ≥ 120 mmHg, or acute visual change had ocular fundus photographs taken by nurse practitioners using a non-mydriatic fundus camera. Photographs were reviewed by a neuro-ophthalmologist within 24 hours for findings relevant to acute ED patient care. Nurse practitioners and patients rated ease, comfort, and speed of non-mydriatic fundus photography on a 10-point Likert scale (10 best). Timing of visit and photography were recorded by automated electronic systems. Results Three hundred fifty patients were enrolled. There were 1,734 photographs taken during 230 nurse practitioner shifts. Eighty-three percent of the 350 patients had at least one eye with a high quality photograph, while only 3% of patients had no photographs of diagnostic value. Mean ratings were ≥ 8.7 (standard deviation [SD] ≤ 1.9) for all measures. The median photography session lasted 1.9 minutes (interquartile range [IQR] 1.3 to 2.9 minutes), typically accounting for less that 0.5% of the patient’s total ED visit. Conclusions Non-mydriatic fundus photography taken by nurse practitioners is a feasible alternative to direct ophthalmoscopy in the ED. It is performed well by non-physician staff, is well-received by staff and patients, and requires a trivial amount of time to perform. PMID:21906202

ED breast cases and other breast emergencies.

PubMed

Khadem, Nasim; Reddy, Sravanthi; Lee, Sandy; Larsen, Linda; Walker, Daphne

2016-02-01

Patients with pathologic processes of the breast commonly present in the Emergency Department (ED). Familiarity with the imaging and management of the most common entities is essential for the radiologist. Additionally, it is important to understand the limitations of ED imaging and management in the acute setting and to recognize when referrals to a specialty breast center are necessary. The goal of this article is to review the clinical presentations, pathophysiology, imaging, and management of emergency breast cases and common breast pathology seen in the ED.

Completing EdTPA: TSOL Candidate Performance and Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Micek, Timothy A.

2017-01-01

edTPA is a pre-service assessment process designed to determine if a new teacher is ready for the job. edTPA is part of a national movement towards the use of performance assessments in teacher education. As of 2014, 41 states (a) require a state-approved performance assessment like edTPA for program completion or for state licensure and/or state…

Fermilab Ed Office - High School Tour Request Form

Science.gov Websites

DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC -Kenilworth SD 38-Kenilworth Cook-Kirby SD 140-Tinley Park Cook-Komarek SD 94-North Riverside Cook-La Grange SD 102-La Grange Park Cook-La Grange SD 105 South-La Grange Cook-LaGrange Highlands SD 106-La Grange

The ED use and non-urgent visits of elderly patients.

PubMed

Gulacti, Umut; Lok, Ugur; Celik, Murat; Aktas, Nurettin; Polat, Haci

2016-12-01

To evaluate the use of the emergency department (ED) by elderly patients, their non-urgent visits and the prevalence of main disease for ED visits. This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients aged 65 years and over who visited the ED of a tertiary care university hospital in Turkey between January 2015 and January 2016 retrospectively. A total of 36,369 elderly patients who visited the ED were included in the study. The rate of ED visits by elderly patients was higher than their representation within the general population (p < 0.001). While the rate of elderly patients visiting polyclinics was 15.8%, the rate of elderly patients visiting the ED was 24.3% (p < 0.001). For both genders, the rates of ED visits for patients between 65 and 74 years old was higher than for other elderly age groups (p < 0.001). The prevalence of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) was the highest within the elderly population (17.5%, CI: 17.1-17.9). The proportion of ED visits for non-urgent conditions was 23.4%. Most of the ED visits were during the non-business hours (51.1%), and they were highest in the winter season (25.9%) and in January (10.2%). The hospitalization rate was 9.4%, and 37.9% of hospitalized patients were admitted to intensive care units. The proportion of ED visits by elderly patients was higher than their representation within the general population. Elderly patients often visited the ED instead of a polyclinic. The rate of inappropriate ED use by elderly patients in this hospital was higher than in other countries.

Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

MedlinePlus

... Talking to Your Kids About VirginityTalking to Your Kids About Sex Home Diseases and Conditions Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Condition ... Well-Being Mental Health Sex and Birth Control Sex and Sexuality Birth Control ... and Toddlers Kids and Teens Pregnancy and Childbirth Women Men Seniors ...

Low-mass Stellar and Substellar Companions to sdB Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geier, S.; Classen, L.; Brünner, P.; Nagel, K.; Schaffenroth, V.; Heuser, C.; Heber, U.; Drechsel, H.; Edelmann, H.; Koen, C.; O'Toole, S. J.; Morales-Rueda, L.

2012-03-01

It has been suggested that besides stellar companions, substellar objects in close orbits may be able to trigger mass loss in a common envelope phase and form hot subdwarfs. In an ongoing project we search for close substellar companions combining time resolved high resolution spectroscopy with photometry. We determine the fraction of as yet undetected radial velocity variable systems from a sample of 27 apparently single sdB stars to be ˜eq16%. We discovered low-mass stellar companions to the He-sdB CPD-20circ 1123 and the pulsator KPD 0629-0016. The brown dwarf reported to orbit the eclipsing binary SDSS J0820+0008 could be confirmed by an analysis of high resolution spectra taken with UVES. Reflection effects have been detected in the light curves of the known sdB binaries CPD -64circ 481 and BPS CS 22169-0001. The inclinations of these systems must be much higher than expected and the most likely companion masses are in the substellar regime. Finally, we determined the orbit of the sdB binary PHL 457, which has a very small radial velocity amplitude and may host the lowest mass substellar companion known. The implications of these new results for the open question of sdB formation are discussed.

Structure of catalase determined by MicroED

PubMed Central

Nannenga, Brent L; Shi, Dan; Hattne, Johan; Reyes, Francis E; Gonen, Tamir

2014-01-01

MicroED is a recently developed method that uses electron diffraction for structure determination from very small three-dimensional crystals of biological material. Previously we used a series of still diffraction patterns to determine the structure of lysozyme at 2.9 Å resolution with MicroED (Shi et al., 2013). Here we present the structure of bovine liver catalase determined from a single crystal at 3.2 Å resolution by MicroED. The data were collected by continuous rotation of the sample under constant exposure and were processed and refined using standard programs for X-ray crystallography. The ability of MicroED to determine the structure of bovine liver catalase, a protein that has long resisted atomic analysis by traditional electron crystallography, demonstrates the potential of this method for structure determination. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03600.001 PMID:25303172

Association of ED with chronic periodontal disease.

PubMed

Matsumoto, S; Matsuda, M; Takekawa, M; Okada, M; Hashizume, K; Wada, N; Hori, J; Tamaki, G; Kita, M; Iwata, T; Kakizaki, H

2014-01-01

To examine the relationship between chronic periodontal disease (CPD) and ED, the interview sheet including the CPD self-checklist (CPD score) and the five-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) was distributed to 300 adult men who received a comprehensive dental examination. Statistical analyses were performed by the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and other methods. Statistical significance was accepted at the level of P<0.05. The interview sheets were collected from 88 men (response rate 29.3%, 50.9±16.6 years old). There was a statistically significant correlation between the CPD score and the presence of ED (P=0.0415). The results in the present study suggest that ED is related to the damage caused by endothelial dysfunction and the systematic inflammatory changes associated with CPD. The present study also suggests that dental health is important as a preventive medicine for ED.

76 FR 67596 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Spearfish, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-02

... Spearfish, SD, to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Black... additional controlled airspace at Black Hills Airport--Clyde Ice Field (76 FR 43610) Docket No. FAA-2011-0431... procedures at Black Hills Airport--Clyde Ice Field, Spearfish, SD. This action is necessary for the safety...

ED"Facts" Workbook: SY 2013-14. Version 10.1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Department of Education, 2014

2014-01-01

ED"Facts" is a U.S. Department of Education (ED) initiative to govern, acquire, validate, and use high-quality, kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) performance data for education planning, policymaking, and management and budget decision making to improve outcomes for students. ED"Facts" centralizes data provided by state…

Application of the Chinese steamed bun starter dough (CSB-SD) in breadmaking.

PubMed

Keeratipibul, Suwimon; Luangsakul, Naphatrapi; Otsuka, Shinya; Sakai, Shigeru; Hatano, Yasushi; Tanasupawat, Somboon

2010-01-01

The application of Chinese steamed bun starter dough (CSB-SD) in breadmaking was investigated. The activation of CSB-SD to activate the growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and to increase the number of yeast, prior to making bread, was conducted by mixing CSB-SD with wheat flour and water and then incubating for 24 h. Wheat flour was then substituted by this activated CSB-SD (aCSB-SD) at 10%, 30%, and 50% (w/w) to make bread. Dough and bread properties were studied comparing to the control (without aCSB-SD). From the farinograph results, a high aCSB-SD substitution level resulted in a less stability in dough with a higher degree of softening. Extensigraph results suggested that after aging, all the substituted dough yielded a greater resistance to extension with lower extensibility values than the control. Substitutions with 30% and 50% (w/w) aCSB-SD significantly increased the total CO(2) gas generation. Scanning electron microscopy SEM images of the 30% and 50% (w/w) substituted dough showed a well-developed gluten matrix. The 50% (w/w) substituted breads obtained a greater risen volume, finer crumb grain, and retained more softness after 5-d storage than the control. In addition, both the 30% and 50% (w/w) substituted breads showed a slightly increased mold stability, as compared to the 0% and 10% (w/w) substituted breads. © 2010 Institute of Food Technologists®

The Impact of "ED" on Educational Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florio, David H.

1980-01-01

The purposes, structure, and component parts of the newly formed Department of Education (ED) organizations from which educational research programs will be administered are discussed. As the climate surrounding ED changes, opportunities to take advantage of the elevated status of research will be presented. (Author/RL)

Evaluation of SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test against double ELISA with SD H. pylori Ag ELISA and EZ-STEP H. pylori Ag ELISA tests.

PubMed

Negash, Markos; Kassu, Afework; Amare, Bemnet; Yismaw, Gizachew; Moges, Beyene

2018-01-01

Helicobacter pylori antibody titters fall very slowly even after successful treatment. Therefore, tests detecting H. pylori antibody lack specificity and sensitivity. On the other hand, H. pylori stool antigen tests are reported as an alternative assay because of their reliability and simplicity. However, the comparative performance of H. pylori stool antigen tests for detecting the presence of the bacterium in clinical specimens in the study area is not assessed. Therefore, in this study we evaluated the performance of SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test with reference to the commercially available EZ- STEP ELISA and SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag ELISA tests. Stool samples were collected to analyse the diagnostic performance of SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test kit using SD H. pylori Ag ELISA kit and EZ- STEP ELISA tests as a gold standard. Serum samples were also collected from each patient to test for the presence of H. pylori antibodies using dBest H. pylori Test Disk. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and kappa value are assessed. P values < 0.05 were taken statistically significant. Stool and serum samples were collected from 201 dyspeptic patients and analysed. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test were: 95.6% (95% CI, 88.8-98.8), 92.5% (95%CI, 89-94.1%), 86.7% (95% CI, 80.5-89.6), and 97.6% (95% CI, 993.9-99.3) respectively. The performance of SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test was better than the currently available antibody test in study area. Therefore, the SD BIOLINE Ag rapid stool test could replace and be used to diagnose active H. pylori infection before the commencement of therapy among dyspeptic patients.

Performance of Paracheck™-Pf, SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf and SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf/pan for diagnosis of falciparum malaria in the Central African Republic

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are the current complement to microscopy for ensuring prompt malaria treatment. We determined the performance of three candidate RDTs (Paracheck™-Pf, SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf and SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf/pan) for rapid diagnosis of malaria in the Central African Republic. Methods Blood samples from consecutive febrile patients who attended for laboratory analysis of malaria at the three main health centres of Bangui were screened by microscopy and the RDTs. Two reference standards were used to assess the performance of the RDTs: microscopy and, a combination of microscopy plus nested PCR for slides reported as negative, on the assumption that negative results by microscopy were due to sub-patent parasitaemia. Results We analysed 436 samples. Using the combined reference standard of microscopy + PCR, the sensitivity of Paracheck™-Pf was 85.7% (95% CI, 80.8–89.8%), that of SD Bioline Ag-Pf was 85.4% (95% CI, 80.5–90.7%), and that of SD Bioline Ag-Pf/pan was 88.2% (95% CI, 83.2–92.0%). The tests performed less well in cases of low parasitaemia; however, the sensitivity was > 95% at > 500 parasites/μl. Conclusions Overall, SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf and SD Bioline malaria Ag-Pf/pan performed slightly better than Paracheck™-Pf. Use of RDTs with reinforced microscopy practice and laboratory quality assurance should improve malaria treatment in the Central African Republic. PMID:24568311

76 FR 1985 - Airworthiness Directives; Short Brothers PLC Model SD3 Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-12

... Airworthiness Directives; Short Brothers PLC Model SD3 Airplanes AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA..., June 16, 2006) and adding the following new AD: 2010-24-06 Short Brothers PLC: Amendment 39-16525..., Amendment 39-14644. Applicability (c) This AD applies to all Short Brothers PLC Model SD3-60 SHERPA, SD3...

SD46 Facilities and Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramachandran, N.; Curreri, Peter A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The displays for the Materials Conference presents some of the facilities and capabilities in SD46 that can be useful to a prospective researcher from University, Academia or other government labs. Several of these already have associated personnel as principal and co-investigators on NASA peer reviewed science investigations. 1. SCN purification facility 2. ESL facility 3. Static and Dynamic magnetic field facility 4. Microanalysis facility 5. MSG Investigation - PFMI 6. Thermo physical Properties Measurement Capabilities.

ReflectED: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Motteram, Gary; Choudry, Sophina; Kalambouka, Afroditi; Hutcheson, Graeme; Barton, Hutcheson

2016-01-01

The ReflectED programme was developed by Rosendale Primary School to improve pupils' metacognition--their ability to think about and manage their own learning. This includes the skills of setting and monitoring goals, assessing progress, and identifying personal strengths and challenges. ReflectED consists of 28, weekly, half-hour lessons, which…

EndoSd: an IgG glycan hydrolyzing enzyme in Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies dysgalactiae.

PubMed

Shadnezhad, Azadeh; Naegeli, Andreas; Sjögren, Jonathan; Adamczyk, Barbara; Leo, Fredrik; Allhorn, Maria; Karlsson, Niclas G; Jensen, Anders; Collin, Mattias

2016-06-01

The aim of this study was to identify and characterize EndoS-like enzymes in Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies dysgalactiae (SDSD). PCR, DNA sequencing, recombinant protein expression, lectin blot, ultra high performance liquid chromatography analysis and a chitinase assay were used to identify ndoS-like genes and characterize EndoSd. EndoSd were found in four SDSD strains. EndoSd hydrolyzes the chitobiose core of the glycan on IgG. The amino acid sequence of EndoSd is 70% identical to EndoS in S. pyogenes, but it has a unique C-terminal sequence. EndoSd secretion is influenced by the carbohydrate composition of the growth medium. Our findings indicate that IgG glycan hydrolyzing activity is present in SDSD, and that the activity can be attributed to the here identified enzyme EndoSd.

Eye shape using partial coherence interferometry, autorefraction, and SD-OCT.

PubMed

Clark, Christopher A; Elsner, Ann E; Konynenbelt, Benjamin J

2015-01-01

Peripheral refraction and retinal shape may influence refractive development. Peripheral refraction has been shown to have a high degree of variability and can take considerable time to perform. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and peripheral axial length measures may be more reliable, assuming that the retinal position is more important than the peripheral optics of the lens/cornea. Seventy-nine subjects' right eyes were imaged for this study (age range, 22 to 34 years; refractive error, -10 to +5.00). Thirty-degree SD-OCT (Spectralis, Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) images were collected in a radial pattern along with peripheral refraction with an autorefractor (Shin-Nippon Autorefractor) and peripheral axial length measurements with partial coherence interferometry (IOLMaster, Zeiss). Statistics were performed using repeated-measures analysis of variance in SPSS (IBM, Armonk, NY), Bland-Altman analyses, and regression. All measures were converted to diopters to allow direct comparison. Spectral domain OCT showed a retinal shape with an increased curvature for myopes compared with emmetropes/hyperopes. This retinal shape change became significant around 5 degrees. The SD-OCT analysis for retinal shape provides a resolution of 0.026 diopters, which is about 10 times more accurate than using autorefraction (AR) or clinical refractive techniques. Bland-Altman analyses suggest that retinal shape measured by SD-OCT and the partial coherence interferometry method were more consistent with one another than either was with AR. With more accurate measures of retinal shape using SD-OCT, consistent differences between emmetropes/hyperopes and myopes were found nearer to the fovea than previously reported. Retinal shape may be influenced by central refractive error, and not merely peripheral optics. Partial coherence interferometry and SD-OCT appear to be more accurate than AR, which may be influenced by other factors such as fixation and

RadNet Air Data From Pierre, SD

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page presents radiation air monitoring and air filter analysis data for Pierre, SD from EPA's RadNet system. RadNet is a nationwide network of monitoring stations that measure radiation in air, drinking water and precipitation.

MedEdPORTAL: Educational Scholarship for Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Robby J.; Candler, Christopher S.

2008-01-01

MedEdPORTAL is an online publication service provided at no charge by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The intent is to promote collaboration and educational scholarship by helping educators publish and share educational resources. With MedEdPORTAL, users can quickly locate high-quality, peer-reviewed teaching materials in both…

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a shared sexual concern of couples II: association of female partner characteristics with male partner ED treatment seeking and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor utilization.

PubMed

Fisher, William A; Eardley, Ian; McCabe, Marita; Sand, Michael

2009-11-01

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a prevalent condition that impacts on both patients and their female partners. ED may therefore be regarded as a shared sexual concern for couples. The current analysis of the Female Experience of Men's Attitudes to Life Events and Sexuality (FEMALES) study data addresses women's perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes concerning their partner's ED, and whether these are associated with the likelihood of the male partner seeking medical advice and utilizing phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. The current research sought to explore the association of female partners' perceptions of male partners' ED and male partners' medical consultation and treatment seeking for ED. Questionnaires were sent to partners of men who participated in the Men's Attitudes to Life Events and Sexuality (MALES) 2004 study, and who consented to their partner's involvement. A modified version of the questionnaire used in the MALES study was developed for the FEMALES study, reflecting the female partner's perspective. A 65-item questionnaire assessing women's perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes regarding various aspects of ED. Women's perceptions of the nature and causes of their partner's ED were significantly associated with men's treatment seeking and utilization. Significant associations were observed between women's level of satisfaction with the relationship before ED onset; perceptions of the impact of ED on quality of life; desire to deal with ED; attitudes to ED treatment; and the treatment-seeking behavior of the male partner. Multivariate regression analyses identified a mixture of female and male partner perceptions and attitudes that uniquely accounted for >30% of the variance in men's ED treatment-seeking behavior and treatment utilization. This study illustrates the importance of the female partner's attitudes to ED in men's ED treatment-seeking behavior. These findings strongly support the potential benefits of partner integration into ED consultation

Single-shot dimension measurements of the mouse eye using SD-OCT.

PubMed

Jiang, Minshan; Wu, Pei-Chang; Fini, M Elizabeth; Tsai, Chia-Ling; Itakura, Tatsuo; Zhang, Xiangyang; Jiao, Shuliang

2012-01-01

The authors demonstrate the feasibility and advantage of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) for single-shot ocular biometric measurement during the development of the mouse eye. A high-resolution SD-OCT system was built for single-shot imaging of the whole mouse eye in vivo. The axial resolution and imaging depth of the system are 4.5 μm (in tissue) and 5.2 mm, respectively. The system is capable of acquiring a cross-sectional OCT image consisting of 2,048 depth scans in 85 ms. The imaging capability of the SD-OCT system was validated by imaging the normal ocular growth and experimental myopia model using C57BL/6J mice. The biometric dimensions of the mouse eye can be calculated directly from one snapshot of the SD-OCT image. The biometric parameters of the mouse eye including axial length, corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, vitreous chamber depth, and retinal thickness were successfully measured by the SD-OCT. In the normal ocular growth group, the axial length increased significantly from 28 to 82 days of age (P < .001). The lens thickness increased and the vitreous chamber depth decreased significantly during this period (P < .001 and P = .001, respectively). In the experimental myopia group, there were significant increases in vitreous chamber depth and axial length in comparison to the control eyes (P = .040 and P < .001, respectively). SD-OCT is capable of providing single-shot direct, fast, and high-resolution measurements of the dimensions of young and adult mouse eyes. As a result, SD-OCT is a potentially powerful tool that can be easily applied to research in eye development and myopia using small animal models. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

Prevalence and correlates of erectile dysfunction (ED) and treatment seeking for ED in Asian Men: the Asian Men's Attitudes to Life Events and Sexuality (MALES) study.

PubMed

Tan, Hui-Meng; Low, Wah Yun; Ng, Chirk Jenn; Chen, Kuang-Kuo; Sugita, Minoru; Ishii, Nobuhisa; Marumo, Ken; Lee, Sung Won; Fisher, William; Sand, Michael

2007-11-01

There have been limited multiregional studies in Asia examining the parameters of men's general and sexual health and quality of life in the general population vs. those in clinical cohorts of patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). The aims of the Asian Men's Attitudes to Life Events and Sexuality (Asian MALES) study were to investigate the prevalence of ED, associated health conditions, and ED treatment-seeking patterns in the general male population in five regions of Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan). Standardized questionnaire previously used in a similar multiregional study and modified to ensure culturally appropriate content for Asia. Phase I of the study involved 10,934 adult men, aged 20-75 years, who were interviewed using the standardized questionnaire. Phase II of the study involved men with self-reported ED recruited from Phase I and via physician referral, invitations in general practitioner offices, and street interception (total Phase II sample, N = 1,209). The overall prevalence of self-reported ED in the Phase I study population was 6.4%. ED prevalence varied by region and significantly increased with age (P < 0.01). Men with ED reported significantly greater rates of comorbid illness (P < 0.0001) and a reduced quality of life (P = 0.0001), compared with men without ED. Phase II of the study revealed that fewer than half of men with self-reported ED had sought treatment for their problem. Men were more likely to seek help for erection difficulties from Western doctors than from traditional medicine practitioners (P = 0.0001). A man's partner/spouse was the most common influencer of treatment seeking in all regions except Malaysia. The findings confirm those of existing research on ED in both Asian and non-Asian males: ED is a prevalent condition; the prevalence of ED increases with age and is strongly associated with comorbid conditions; and the majority of men have never sought treatment for their condition. This study highlights

Electrostatic-Dipole (ED) Fusion Confinement Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miley, George H.; Shrestha, Prajakti J.; Yang, Yang; Thomas, Robert

2004-11-01

The Electrostatic-Dipole (ED) concept significantly differs from a "pure" dipole confinement device [1] in that the charged particles are preferentially confined to the high-pressure region interior of the dipole coil by the assistance of a surrounding spherical electrostatic grid. In present ED experiments, a current carrying coil is embedded inside the grid of an IEC such as to produce a magnetic dipole field. Charged particles are injected axisymmetrically from an ion gun (or duo-plasmatron) into the center of the ED confinement grid/dipole ring where they oscillate along the magnetic field lines and pass the peak field region at the center of the dipole region. As particles begin accelerating away from the center region towards the outer electrostatic grid region, they encounter a strong electrostatic potential (order of 10's of kilovolts) retarding force. The particles then decelerate, reverse direction and re-enter the dipole field region where again magnetic confinement dominates. This process continues, emulating a complex harmonic oscillator motion. The resulting pressure profile averaged over the field curvature offers good plasma stability in the ED configuration. The basic concept and results from preliminary experiments will be described. [1] M.E. Mauel, et al. "Dipole Equilibrium and Stability," 18th IAEA Conference of Plasma Phys. and Control. Nuclear Fusion, Varenna, Italy 2000, IAEA-F1-CN-70/TH

32. DETAIL OF WALL SHOWN IN SD231. BEHIND WALL FRAMING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

32. DETAIL OF WALL SHOWN IN SD-2-31. BEHIND WALL FRAMING IS SAMPLING ROOM WITH WOOD SAMPLING ELEVATOR. CRUSHED OXIDIZED ORE BIN ON LEFT (SOUTH). - Bald Mountain Gold Mill, Nevada Gulch at head of False Bottom Creek, Lead, Lawrence County, SD

Understanding ED performance after the implementation of activity-based funding.

PubMed

Toloo, Ghasem-Sam; Burke, John; Crilly, Julia; Williams, Ged; McCann, Bridie; FitzGerald, Gerry; Bell, Anthony

2017-11-29

The aim of this study was to describe emergency department (ED) activities and staffing after the introduction of activity-based funding (ABF) to highlight the challenges of new funding arrangements and their implementation. A retrospective study of public hospital EDs in Queensland, Australia, was undertaken for 2013-2014. The ED and hospital characteristics are described to evaluate the alignment between activity and resourcing levels and their impact on performance. Twenty EDs participated (74% response rate). Weighted activity units (WAUs) and nursing staff varied based on hospital type and size. Larger hospital EDs had on average 9076 WAUs and 13 full time equivalent (FTE) nursing staff per 1000 WAUs; smaller EDs had on average 4587 WAUs and 10.3 FTE nursing staff per 1000 WAUs. Medical staff was relatively consistent (8.1-8.7 FTE per 1000 WAUs). The proportion of patients admitted, discharged, or transferred within 4 hours ranged from 73% to 79%. The ED medical and nursing staffing numbers did not correlate with the 4-hour performance. Substantial variation exists across Queensland EDs when resourcing service delivery in an activity-based funding environment. Historical inequity persists in the staffing profiles for regional and outer metropolitan departments. The lack of association between resourcing and performance metrics provides opportunity for further investigation of efficient models of care. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

TaEDS1 genes positively regulate resistance to powdery mildew in wheat.

PubMed

Chen, Guiping; Wei, Bo; Li, Guoliang; Gong, Caiyan; Fan, Renchun; Zhang, Xiangqi

2018-04-01

Three EDS1 genes were cloned from common wheat and were demonstrated to positively regulate resistance to powdery mildew in wheat. The EDS1 proteins play important roles in plant basal resistance and TIR-NB-LRR protein-triggered resistance in dicots. Until now, there have been very few studies on EDS1 in monocots, and none in wheat. Here, we report on three common wheat orthologous genes of EDS1 family (TaEDS1-5A, 5B and 5D) and their function in powdery mildew resistance. Comparisons of these genes with their orthologs in diploid ancestors revealed that EDS1 is a conserved gene family in Triticeae. The cDNA sequence similarity among the three TaEDS1 genes was greater than 96.5%, and they shared sequence similarities of more than 99.6% with the respective orthologs from diploid ancestors. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the EDS1 family originated prior to the differentiation of monocots and dicots, and EDS1 members have since undergone clear structural differentiation. The transcriptional levels of TaEDS1 genes in the leaves were obviously higher than those of the other organs, and they were induced by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) infection and salicylic acid (SA) treatment. The BSMV-VIGS experiments indicated that knock-down the transcriptional levels of the TaEDS1 genes in a powdery mildew-resistant variety of common wheat compromised resistance. Contrarily, transient overexpression of TaEDS1 genes in a susceptible common wheat variety significantly reduced the haustorium index and attenuated the growth of Bgt. Furthermore, the expression of TaEDS1 genes in the Arabidopsis mutant eds1-1 complemented its susceptible phenotype to powdery mildew. The above evidences strongly suggest that TaEDS1 acts as a positive regulator and confers resistance against powdery mildew in common wheat.

Semi-automatic geographic atrophy segmentation for SD-OCT images.

PubMed

Chen, Qiang; de Sisternes, Luis; Leng, Theodore; Zheng, Luoluo; Kutzscher, Lauren; Rubin, Daniel L

2013-01-01

Geographic atrophy (GA) is a condition that is associated with retinal thinning and loss of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer. It appears in advanced stages of non-exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and can lead to vision loss. We present a semi-automated GA segmentation algorithm for spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images. The method first identifies and segments a surface between the RPE and the choroid to generate retinal projection images in which the projection region is restricted to a sub-volume of the retina where the presence of GA can be identified. Subsequently, a geometric active contour model is employed to automatically detect and segment the extent of GA in the projection images. Two image data sets, consisting on 55 SD-OCT scans from twelve eyes in eight patients with GA and 56 SD-OCT scans from 56 eyes in 56 patients with GA, respectively, were utilized to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the proposed GA segmentation method. Experimental results suggest that the proposed algorithm can achieve high segmentation accuracy. The mean GA overlap ratios between our proposed method and outlines drawn in the SD-OCT scans, our method and outlines drawn in the fundus auto-fluorescence (FAF) images, and the commercial software (Carl Zeiss Meditec proprietary software, Cirrus version 6.0) and outlines drawn in FAF images were 72.60%, 65.88% and 59.83%, respectively.

Treatment of Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy: Factors Associated with ED Revisits

PubMed Central

Sharp, Brian R.; Sharp, Kristen M.; Patterson, Brian; Dooley-Hash, Suzanne

2016-01-01

Introduction Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) is a condition that commonly affects women in the first trimester of pregnancy. Despite frequently leading to emergency department (ED) visits, little evidence exists to characterize the nature of ED visits or to guide its treatment in the ED. Our objectives were to evaluate the treatment of NVP in the ED and to identify factors that predict return visits to the ED for NVP. Methods We conducted a retrospective database analysis using the electronic medical record from a single, large academic hospital. Demographic and treatment variables were collected using a chart review of 113 ED patient visits with a billing diagnosis of “nausea and vomiting in pregnancy” or “hyperemesis gravidarum.” Logistic regression analysis was used with a primary outcome of return visit to the ED for the same diagnoses. Results There was wide treatment variability of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy patients in the ED. Of the 113 patient visits, 38 (33.6%) had a return ED visit for NVP. High gravidity (OR 1.31, 95% CI [1.06–1.61]), high parity (OR 1.50 95% CI [1.12–2.00]), and early gestational age (OR 0.74 95% CI [0.60–0.90]) were associated with an increase in return ED visits in univariate logistic regression models, while only early gestational age (OR 0.74 95% CI [0.59–0.91]) was associated with increased return ED visits in a multiple regression model. Admission to the hospital was found to decrease the likelihood of return ED visits (p=0.002). Conclusion NVP can be difficult to manage and has a high ED return visit rate. Optimizing care with aggressive, standardized treatment in the ED and upon discharge, particularly if factors predictive of return ED visits are present, may improve quality of care and reduce ED utilization for this condition. PMID:27625723

Impact of a low intensity and broadly inclusive ED care coordination intervention on linkage to primary care and ED utilization.

PubMed

Foster, Sean D; Hart, Kim; Lindsell, Christopher J; Miller, Christopher N; Lyons, Michael S

2018-04-05

We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of a broadly inclusive, comparatively low intensity intervention linking ED patients to a primary care home. This retrospective cohort study evaluated ED patients referred for primary care linkage in a large, urban, academic ED. A care coordination specialist performed a brief interview to gauge access barriers and provide a clinic referral with optional scheduling assistance. Data were abstracted from program records and the electronic medical record. The primary outcome was the proportion of referred individuals who attended at least one primary care appointment. Secondary outcomes included return ED encounters within one year, and factors associated with linkage outcomes. There were 2142 referrals made for 2064 patients; 1688/2142 accepted assistance. Linkage was successful for 1059/1688 (63%, CI95 60% to 65%). Among patients accepting assistance, those without successful linkage were younger (41 vs 45years, difference 3years, CI95 2 to 3), more often male (62% vs 55%,difference 7%, CI95 2% to 12%), and less likely to have a chronic medical condition (37% vs 45%, difference 8%; CI95 3% to 12%) or to have had an appointment scheduled within two weeks (26% vs 33%, difference 7%, CI95 2% to 12%). Insurance status and self-reported barriers to care were not associated with linkage success. Patterns of subsequent ED use were similar, regardless of referral status or linkage outcome. Low intensity, broadly inclusive, ED care coordination linked nearly 50% of patients referred for intervention, and two-thirds of willing participants, with a primary care home. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Black Hills Region, SD, USA

NASA Image and Video Library

1973-06-22

SL2-81-157 (22 June 1973) --- This view of the Black Hills Region, SD (44.0N, 104.0W) shows the scenic Black Hills where Mt. Rushmore and other monuments are located. Cities and towns in this view include: Rapid City, Deadwood, and Belle Fourche with the nearby Belle Fourche Reservoir. Notable in this scene are the recovering burn scars (seen as irregular shaped light toned patches) from a 1959 forest fire in the Black Hills National Forest near the edge of the photo. Photo credit: NASA

78 FR 14911 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Hot Springs, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-08

...-0655; Airspace Docket No. 12-AGL-6] Amendment of Class E Airspace; Hot Springs, SD AGENCY: Federal... Springs, SD. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Hot Springs Municipal Airport. The FAA is taking this action to...

Moments of disaster response in the emergency department (ED).

PubMed

Hammad, Karen S; Arbon, Paul; Gebbie, Kristine; Hutton, Alison

2017-11-01

We experience our lives as a series of memorable moments, some good and some bad. Undoubtedly, the experience of participating in disaster response, is likely to stand out as a memorable moment in a nurses' career. This presentation will describe five distinct moments of nursing in the emergency department (ED) during a disaster response. A Hermeneutic Phenomenological approach informed by van Manen underpins the research process. Thirteen nurses from different countries around the world participated in interviews about their experience of working in the ED during a disaster. Thematic analysis resulted in five moments of disaster response which are common to the collective participant experience. The 5 themes emerge as Notification (as a nurse finds out that the ED will be receiving casualties), Waiting (waiting for the patients to arrive to the ED), Patient Arrival (the arrival of the first patients to the ED), Caring for patients (caring for people affected by the disaster) and Reflection (the moment the disaster response comes to an end). This paper provides an in-depth insight into the experience of nursing in the ED during a disaster response which can help generate awareness and inform future disaster preparedness of emergency nurses. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microscopic Shell Model Calculations for sd-Shell Nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrett, Bruce R.; Dikmen, Erdal; Maris, Pieter; Shirokov, Andrey M.; Smirnova, Nadya A.; Vary, James P.

Several techniques now exist for performing detailed and accurate calculations of the structure of light nuclei, i.e., A ≤ 16. Going to heavier nuclei requires new techniques or extensions of old ones. One of these is the so-called No Core Shell Model (NCSM) with a Core approach, which involves an Okubo-Lee-Suzuki (OLS) transformation of a converged NCSM result into a single major shell, such as the sd-shell. The obtained effective two-body matrix elements can be separated into core and single-particle (s.p.) energies plus residual two-body interactions, which can be used for performing standard shell-model (SSM) calculations. As an example, an application of this procedure will be given for nuclei at the beginning ofthe sd-shell.

About Regional Energy Deployment System Model-ReEDS | Regional Energy

Science.gov Websites

Deployment System Model | Energy Analysis | NREL About Regional Energy Deployment System Model -ReEDS About Regional Energy Deployment System Model-ReEDS The Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS ) is a long-term, capacity-expansion model for the deployment of electric power generation technologies

An analysis of ED utilization by adults with intellectual disability.

PubMed

Venkat, Arvind; Pastin, Rene B; Hegde, Gajanan G; Shea, John M; Cook, Jeffrey T; Culig, Carl

2011-05-01

We sought to identify factors increasing the odds of ED utilization among intellectually disabled (ID) adults and differentiate their discharge diagnoses from the general adult ED population. This was a retrospective, observational open cohort study of all ID adults residing at an intermediate care facility and their ED visits to a tertiary center (January 1, 2007-July 30, 2008). We abstracted from the intermediate care facility database subjects' demographic, ID, health and adaptive status variables, and their requirement of ED care/hospitalization. We obtained from the hospital database the primary International Classification of Diseases 9 ED/hospital discharge diagnoses for the study and general adult population. Using multivariate logistic regression, we computed odds ratios (OR) for ED utilization/hospitalization in the cohort. Using the conditional large-sample binomial test, we differentiated the study and general populations' discharge diagnoses. A total of 433 subjects met the inclusion criteria. Gastrostomy/jejunostomy increased the odds of ED utilization (OR, 4.16; confidence interval [CI], 1.64-10.58). Partial help to feed (OR, 2.59; CI, 1.14-5.88), gastrostomy/jejunostomy (OR, 3.26; CI, 1.30-8.18), and increasing number of prescribed medications (OR, 1.08; CI, 1.03-1.14) increased the odds of hospitalization. Auditory impairment (OR, 0.45; CI, 0.23-0.88) decreased the odds of hospitalization. For ED discharge diagnoses, ID adults were more likely (P < .05) than the general population to have diagnoses among digestive disorders and ill-defined symptoms/signs. For hospital discharge diagnoses, ID adults were more likely (P < .05) to have diagnoses among infectious/parasitic, nervous system, and respiratory disorders. Among ID adults, feeding status increased the odds of ED utilization, feeding status, and increasing number of prescribed medications of that hospitalization. Intellectually disabled adults' discharge diagnoses differed significantly from

Population-Based Burden of COPD-Related Visits in the ED

PubMed Central

Lippmann, Steven J.; Waller, Anna E.; Hassmiller Lich, Kristen; Travers, Debbie; Weinberger, Morris; Donohue, James F.

2013-01-01

Background: Little is known about the population-based burden of ED care for COPD. Methods: We analyzed statewide ED surveillance system data to quantify the frequency of COPD-related ED visits, hospital admissions, and comorbidities. Results: In 2008 to 2009 in North Carolina, 97,511 COPD-related ED visits were made by adults ≥ 45 years of age, at an annual rate of 13.8 ED visits/1,000 person-years. Among patients with COPD (n = 33,799), 7% and 28% had a COPD-related return ED visit within a 30- and 365-day period of their index visit, respectively. Compared with patients on private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and noninsured patients were more likely to have a COPD-related return visit within 30 and 365 days and have three or more COPD-related visits within 365 days. There were no differences in return visits by sex. Fifty-one percent of patients with COPD were admitted to the hospital from the index ED visit. Subsequent hospital admission risk in the cohort increased with age, peaking at 65 to 69 years (risk ratio [RR], 1.41; 95% CI, 1.26-1.57); there was no difference by sex. Patients with congestive heart failure (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.22-1.37), substance-related disorders (RR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.13-1.60), or respiratory failure/supplemental oxygen (RR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.19-1.31) were more likely to have a subsequent hospital admission compared with patients without these comorbidities. Conclusions: The population-based burden of COPD-related care in the ED is significant. Further research is needed to understand variations in COPD-related ED visits and hospital admissions. PMID:23579283

Molecular Characterization of a Novel Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Isolate SD-15

PubMed Central

Zhu, Lisai; Lu, Haibing; Cao, Yufeng; Gai, Xiaochun; Guo, Changming; Liu, Yajing; Liu, Jiaxu; Wang, Xinping

2016-01-01

As one of the major pathogens, bovine viral diarrhea virus caused a significant economic loss to the livestock industry worldwide. Although BVDV infections have increasingly been reported in China in recent years, the molecular aspects of those BVDV strains were barely characterized. In this study, we reported the identification and characterization of a novel BVDV isolate designated as SD-15 from cattle, which is associated with an outbreak characterized by severe hemorrhagic and mucous diarrhea with high morbidity and mortality in Shandong, China. SD-15 was revealed to be a noncytopathic BVDV, and has a complete genomic sequence of 12,285 nucleotides that contains a large open reading frame encoding 3900 amino acids. Alignment analysis showed that SD-15 has 93.8% nucleotide sequence identity with BVDV ZM-95 isolate, a previous BVDV strain isolated from pigs manifesting clinical signs and lesions resembling to classical swine fever. Phylogenetic analysis clustered SD-15 to a BVDV-1m subgenotype. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of glycoproteins revealed that E2 has several highly conserved and variable regions within BVDV-1 genotypes. An additional N-glycosylation site (240NTT) was revealed exclusively in SD-15-encoded E2 in addition to four potential glycosylation sites (Asn-X-Ser/Thr) shared by all BVDV-1 genotypes. Furthermore, unique amino acid and linear epitope mutations were revealed in SD-15-encoded Erns glycoprotein compared with known BVDV-1 genotype. In conclusion, we have isolated a noncytopathic BVDV-1m strain that is associated with a disease characterized by high morbidity and mortality, revealed the complete genome sequence of the first BVDV-1m virus originated from cattle, and found a unique glycosylation site in E2 and a linear epitope mutation in Erns encoded by SD-15 strain. Those results will broaden the current understanding of BVDV infection and lay a basis for future investigation on SD-15-related pathogenesis. PMID:27764206

Faculty Members' Responses to Implementing Re-Envisioned EdD Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buss, Ray R.; Zambo, Ron; Zambo, Debby; Perry, Jill A.; Williams, Tiffany R.

2017-01-01

Limitations of the education doctorate (EdD) and the emergence of professional practice doctorates have influenced those offering the EdD to re-envision, re-define, and reclaim the EdD as the degree of choice for the next generation of educational leaders. Colleges of education faculty members have used the Carnegie Project on the Education…

Delay-controlled primary and stochastic resonances of the SD oscillator with stiffness nonlinearities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Tao; Cao, Qingjie

2018-03-01

This work presents analytical studies of the stiffness nonlinearities SD (smooth and discontinuous) oscillator under displacement and velocity feedback control with a time delay. The SD oscillator can capture the qualitative characteristics of quasi-zero-stiffness and negative-stiffness. We focus mainly on the primary resonance of the quasi-zero-stiffness SD oscillator and the stochastic resonance (SR) of the negative-stiffness SD oscillator. Using the averaging method, we have been analyzed the amplitude response of the quasi-zero-stiffness SD oscillator. In this regard, the optimum time delay for changing the control intensity according to the optimization standard proposed can be obtained. For the optimum time delay, increasing the displacement feedback intensity is advantageous to suppress the vibrations in resonant regime where vibration isolation is needed, however, increasing the velocity feedback intensity is advantageous to strengthen the vibrations. Moreover, the effects of time-delayed feedback on the SR of the negative-stiffness SD oscillator are investigated under harmonic forcing and Gaussian white noise, based on the Langevin and Fokker-Planck approaches. The time-delayed feedback can enhance the SR phenomenon where vibrational energy harvesting is needed. This paper established the relationship between the parameters and vibration properties of a stiffness nonlinearities SD which provides the guidance for optimizing time-delayed control for vibration isolation and vibrational energy harvesting of the nonlinear systems.

Are sdAs helium core stars?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelisoli, Ingrid; Kepler, S. O.; Koester, Detlev

2017-12-01

Evolved stars with a helium core can be formed by non-conservative mass exchange interaction with a companion or by strong mass loss. Their masses are smaller than 0.5 M⊙. In the database of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), there are several thousand stars which were classified by the pipeline as dwarf O, B and A stars. Considering the lifetimes of these classes on the main sequence, and their distance modulus at the SDSS bright saturation, if these were common main sequence stars, there would be a considerable population of young stars very far from the galactic disk. Their spectra are dominated by Balmer lines which suggest effective temperatures around 8 000-10 000 K. Several thousand have significant proper motions, indicative of distances smaller than 1 kpc. Many show surface gravity in intermediate values between main sequence and white dwarf, 4.75 < log g < 6.5, hence they have been called sdA stars. Their physical nature and evolutionary history remains a puzzle. We propose they are not H-core main sequence stars, but helium core stars and the outcomes of binary evolution. We report the discovery of two new extremely-low mass white dwarfs among the sdAs to support this statement.

Purification and characterization of bacteriocin produced by oral Lactobacillus paracasei SD1.

PubMed

Wannun, P; Piwat, S; Teanpaisan, R

2014-06-01

The present study aimed to purify and characterize the antimicrobial protein from Lactobacillus paracasei SD1, which is a strain from the human oral cavity. Antimicrobial activity was obtained from purifying the culture supernatant of L. paracasei SD1. Purification of the active compound was achieved with ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by chloroform and gel filtration chromatography. As revealed by SDS-PAGE, the active fraction was homogeneous, showing a protein with an approximate molecular weight of 25,000 Da. It was confirmed as having a molecular mass of 24,028.2 Da by mass spectrometry. The antimicrobial compound, named "paracasin SD1", exhibited a broad spectrum against oral pathogens. Paracasin SD1 was stable in a pH range between 3.0 and 8.0 at 100 °C for 5 min, and showed resistance to α-amylase, catalase, lysozyme and whole saliva. However, its activity was lost after proteinase K and trypsin treatment. The results obtained suggest the possibility of using paracasin SD1 for application in prevention/treatment of oral diseases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ExpandED Options: Learning beyond High School Walls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ExpandED Schools, 2014

2014-01-01

Through ExpandED Options by TASC, New York City high school students get academic credit for learning career-related skills that lead to paid summer jobs. Too many high school students--including those most likely to drop out--are bored or see classroom learning as irrelevant. ExpandED Options students live the connection between mastering new…

RadNet Air Data From Rapid City, SD

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page presents radiation air monitoring and air filter analysis data for Rapid City, SD from EPA's RadNet system. RadNet is a nationwide network of monitoring stations that measure radiation in air, drinking water and precipitation.

Experimental demonstration of building and operating QoS-aware survivable vSD-EONs with transparent resiliency.

PubMed

Yin, Jie; Guo, Jiannan; Kong, Bingxin; Yin, Heqing; Zhu, Zuqing

2017-06-26

Software-defined elastic optical networks (SD-EONs) provide operators more flexibility to customize their optical infrastructures dynamically. By leveraging infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), virtual SD-EONs (vSD-EONs) can be realized to further enhance the adaptivity of SD-EONs and shorten the time-to-market of new services. In this paper, we design and demonstrate the building and operating of quality-of-service (QoS) aware survivable vSD-EONs that are equipped with transparent data plane (DP) resiliency. Specifically, when slicing a vSD-EON, our network hypervisor (NHV) chooses to use "1:1" virtual link (VL) protection or on-demand VL remapping as the DP restoration scheme, according to the service-level agreement (SLA) between the vSD-EON's operator and the infrastructure provider (InP). Then, during an actual substrate link (SL) failure, the NHV realizes automatic DP restoration that is transparent to the controllers of vSD-EONs. We build a network testbed to demonstrate the creation of QoS-aware survivable vSD-EONs, the activation of lightpaths in the vSD-EONs to support upper-layer applications, and the automatic and simultaneous QoS-aware DP restorations during an SL failure. The experimental results indicate that our vSD-EON slicing system can build QoS-aware survivable vSD-EONs on-demand, operate them to set up lightpaths for carrying real application traffic, and facilitate differentiated DP restorations during SL failures to recover the vSD-EONs' services according to their SLAs.

Improving ED efficiency to capture additional revenue.

PubMed

Mandavia, Sujal; Samaniego, Loretta

2016-06-01

An increase in the number of patients visiting emergency departments (EDs) presents an opportunity for additional revenue if hospitals take four steps to optimize resources: Streamline the patient pathway and reduce the amount of time each patient occupies a bed in the ED. Schedule staff according to the busy and light times for patient arrivals. Perform registration and triage bedside, reducing initial wait times. Create an area for patients to wait for test results so beds can be freed up for new arrivals.

Automated Segmentability Index for Layer Segmentation of Macular SD-OCT Images.

PubMed

Lee, Kyungmoo; Buitendijk, Gabriëlle H S; Bogunovic, Hrvoje; Springelkamp, Henriët; Hofman, Albert; Wahle, Andreas; Sonka, Milan; Vingerling, Johannes R; Klaver, Caroline C W; Abràmoff, Michael D

2016-03-01

To automatically identify which spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) scans will provide reliable automated layer segmentations for more accurate layer thickness analyses in population studies. Six hundred ninety macular SD-OCT image volumes (6.0 × 6.0 × 2.3 mm 3 ) were obtained from one eyes of 690 subjects (74.6 ± 9.7 [mean ± SD] years, 37.8% of males) randomly selected from the population-based Rotterdam Study. The dataset consisted of 420 OCT volumes with successful automated retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) segmentations obtained from our previously reported graph-based segmentation method and 270 volumes with failed segmentations. To evaluate the reliability of the layer segmentations, we have developed a new metric, segmentability index SI, which is obtained from a random forest regressor based on 12 features using OCT voxel intensities, edge-based costs, and on-surface costs. The SI was compared with well-known quality indices, quality index (QI), and maximum tissue contrast index (mTCI), using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The 95% confidence interval (CI) and the area under the curve (AUC) for the QI are 0.621 to 0.805 with AUC 0.713, for the mTCI 0.673 to 0.838 with AUC 0.756, and for the SI 0.784 to 0.920 with AUC 0.852. The SI AUC is significantly larger than either the QI or mTCI AUC ( P < 0.01). The segmentability index SI is well suited to identify SD-OCT scans for which successful automated intraretinal layer segmentations can be expected. Interpreting the quantification of SD-OCT images requires the underlying segmentation to be reliable, but standard SD-OCT quality metrics do not predict which segmentations are reliable and which are not. The segmentability index SI presented in this study does allow reliable segmentations to be identified, which is important for more accurate layer thickness analyses in research and population studies.

Molecular cloning and characterization of enhanced disease susceptibility 1 (EDS1) from Gossypium barbadense.

PubMed

Su, Xiaofeng; Qi, Xiliang; Cheng, Hongmei

2014-06-01

Arabidopsis enhanced disease susceptibility 1 (EDS1) plays an important role in plant defense against biotrophic and necrotrophic pathogens. The necrotrophic pathogen Verticillium dahliae infection of Gossypium barbadense could lead to Verticillium wilt which seriously reduces the cotton production. Here, we cloned and characterized a G. barbadense homolog of EDS1, designated as GbEDS1. The full-length cDNA of the GbEDS1 gene was obtained by the technique of rapid-amplification of cDNA ends. The open reading frame of the GbEDS1 gene was 1,647 bp long and encoded a protein of 548 amino acids residues. Comparison of the cDNA and genomic DNA sequence of GbEDS1 indicated that this gene contained a single intron and two exons. Like other EDS1s, GbEDS1 contained a conserved N-terminal lipase domain and an EDS1-specific KNEDT motif. Subcellular localization assay revealed that GbEDS1-green fluorescence protein fusion protein was localized in both cytosol and nucleus. Interestingly, the transcript levels of GbEDS1 were dramatically increased in response to pathogen V. dahliae infection. To investigate the role of GbEDS1 in plant resistance against V. dahliae, a conserved fragment derived from GbEDS1 was used to knockdown the endogenous EDS1 in Nicotiana benthamiana by heterologous virus-induced gene silencing. Our data showed that silencing of NbEDS1 resulted in increased susceptibility to V. dahliae infection in N. benthamiana, suggesting a possible involvement of the novelly isolated GbEDS1 in the regulation of plant defense against V. dahliae.

Redefining the EdD: Seeking a Separate Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyce, Barbara Ann

2012-01-01

The purpose of this manuscript was to discuss the recommendations and guidelines of the Carnegie Group's 2007 effort to "Reclaim the EdD" as well as to outline the work completed at the University of Virginia related to their re-design of the Doctor of Education (EdD) degree. In order to address the re-envision and re-formulation of the…

75 FR 69732 - South Dakota Disaster #SD-00035

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-15

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12375 and 12376] South Dakota Disaster SD-00035 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of South Dakota (FEMA...

75 FR 28312 - South Dakota Disaster # SD-00030

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-20

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12179 and 12180] South Dakota Disaster SD-00030 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of South Dakota (FEMA...

75 FR 28311 - South Dakota Disaster # SD-00031

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-20

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12181 and 12182] South Dakota Disaster SD-00031 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of South Dakota (FEMA...

76 FR 30226 - South Dakota Disaster # SD-00041

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-24

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12590 and 12591] South Dakota Disaster SD-00041 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of South Dakota (FEMA...

75 FR 47035 - South Dakota Disaster #SD-00033

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-04

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12256 and 12257] South Dakota Disaster SD-00033 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of South Dakota (FEMA...

75 FR 61229 - South Dakota Disaster #SD-00034

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-04

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12333 and 12334] South Dakota Disaster SD-00034 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of South Dakota (FEMA...

Trends in diabetes-related visits to US EDs from 1997 to 2007.

PubMed

Menchine, Michael D; Wiechmann, Warren; Peters, Anne L; Arora, Sanjay

2012-06-01

The aims of the study were to describe temporal trends in the number, proportion, and per capita use of diabetes-related emergency department (ED) visits and to examine any racial/ethnic disparity in ED use for diabetes-related reasons. We analyzed the ED portion of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 1997 through 2007. Diabetes-related ED visits were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes. Descriptive statistics were developed. Weighted linear and logistic regression models were used to determine significance of temporal trends, and multivariate logistic regression was used to examine racial/ethnic disparities. A total of 20.2 million (1.69%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59%-1.78%) ED visits were diabetes-related during the study period. We observed significant increases in the number and proportion of diabetes-related ED visits. Overall, there was a 5.6% relative annual increase in the proportion of ED visits that were diabetes-related during the study period. However, the per capita ED use among the population with diabetes did not change over time (P>.05 for trend). On multivariate analysis, black race (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.7-2.0), Hispanic ethnicity (odds ratio, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.4-1.8), and advancing age were associated with significantly higher odds of having a diabetes-related visit. Despite a marked increase in number and proportion of diabetes-related ED visits during the study period, the per capita use of ED services for diabetes-related visits among the diabetic population remained stable. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Composite hot subdwarf binaries - I. The spectroscopically confirmed sdB sample

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vos, Joris; Németh, Péter; Vučković, Maja; Østensen, Roy; Parsons, Steven

2018-01-01

Hot subdwarf-B (sdB) stars in long-period binaries are found to be on eccentric orbits, even though current binary-evolution theory predicts that these objects are circularized before the onset of Roche lobe overflow (RLOF). To increase our understanding of binary interaction processes during the RLOF phase, we started a long-term observing campaign to study wide sdB binaries. In this paper, we present a sample of composite binary sdBs, and the results of the spectral analysis of nine such systems. The grid search in stellar parameters (GSSP) code is used to derive atmospheric parameters for the cool companions. To cross-check our results and also to characterize the hot subdwarfs, we used the independent XTGRID code, which employs TLUSTY non-local thermodynamic equilibrium models to derive atmospheric parameters for the sdB component and PHOENIX synthetic spectra for the cool companions. The independent GSSP and XTGRID codes are found to show good agreement for three test systems that have atmospheric parameters available in the literature. Based on the rotational velocity of the companions, we make an estimate for the mass accreted during the RLOF phase and the minimum duration of that phase. We find that the mass transfer to the companion is minimal during the subdwarf formation.

Toward reliable and repeatable automated STEM-EDS metrology with high throughput

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Zhenxin; Donald, Jason; Dutrow, Gavin; Roller, Justin; Ugurlu, Ozan; Verheijen, Martin; Bidiuk, Oleksii

2018-03-01

New materials and designs in complex 3D architectures in logic and memory devices have raised complexity in S/TEM metrology. In this paper, we report about a newly developed, automated, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) based, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) metrology method that addresses these challenges. Different methodologies toward repeatable and efficient, automated STEM-EDS metrology with high throughput are presented: we introduce the best known auto-EDS acquisition and quantification methods for robust and reliable metrology and present how electron exposure dose impacts the EDS metrology reproducibility, either due to poor signalto-noise ratio (SNR) at low dose or due to sample modifications at high dose conditions. Finally, we discuss the limitations of the STEM-EDS metrology technique and propose strategies to optimize the process both in terms of throughput and metrology reliability.

Prevalence of Clostridium difficile infection presenting to US EDs.

PubMed

Smith, Aaron M; Wuerth, Brandon A; Wiemken, Timothy L; Arnold, Forest W

2015-02-01

The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) presenting to emergency departments (EDs) in the United States. Secondary objectives included defining the burden of CDI. This is a retrospective, observational cohort study of 2006-2010 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample database of 980 US hospital EDs in 29 states. Prevalence, mortality rate, length of stay, hospital charges, and endemicity were measured. A total of 474513 patients with CDI-related ED visits were identified. From 2006 to 2010, the prevalence of CDI increased from 26.2 to 33.1 per 100,000 population (P<.001). The number of CDI-related ED cases increased 26.1% (P<.001) over the study period: 18.6% from 2006 to 2007 (P<.001), 4.3% from 2007 to 2008 (P=.46), 1.8% from 2008 to 2009 (P=.73), and 0.13% from 2009 to 2010 (P=.95). Emergency department visits occurred more frequently with individuals 85 years or older (relative risk [RR], 13.74; P<.001), females (RR, 1.77; P<.001) and in the northeast United States (RR, 1.42; P<.001). From 2009 to 2010, the mortality rate decreased 17.9% (P=.01). The prevalence of CDI presenting to EDs increased each year from 2006 to 2010; however, the rate of increase slowed from each year to the next. The mortality rate increased from 2006 to 2009 and decreased significantly from 2009 to 2010. C difficile infection visits presenting to EDs occurred more frequently with older individuals, females, and in the northeast. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FUSE Observations of He-rich sdB Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swiegart, A. V.; Lanz, T.; Brown, T. M.; Hubeny, I.; Landsman, W. B.

2003-01-01

Most subdwarf B stars are extremely deficient in helium and selected light elements, but a minority are helium-rich. New evolutionary calculations suggest that these helium-rich sdB stars are the result of a delayed helium-core flash on the white dwarf cooling curve, which leads to extensive mixing between the hydrogen envelope and helium core. Such mixed stars should show greatly enhanced helium and carbon with respect to the other heavy elements. We have recently obtained FUSE spectra of two helium-rich sdB stars, PG1544+488 and JL87, revealing huge C Ill lines at 977 and 1176 A. Our analysis shows that PG1544+488 has a surface composition of 97% He, 2% C, and 1% N, in agreement with the new evolutionary scenario. While JL87 also reveals a large enrichment in carbon and nitrogen (1.4% and 0.4%, respectively), there is still a significant amount of hydrogen in its atmosphere.

Threats to Validity in the edTPA Video Component

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choppin, Jeffrey; Meuwissen, Kevin

2017-01-01

The edTPA, a performance assessment designed to generate reliable and valid measures of teaching practice, increasingly is used as a gatekeeping mechanism for beginning teacher licensure in various states, including New York, Washington State, Wisconsin, and Georgia. One of the edTPA's key components is the demonstration of instructional practice…

Verification of S&D Solutions for Network Communications and Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudolph, Carsten; Compagna, Luca; Carbone, Roberto; Muñoz, Antonio; Repp, Jürgen

This chapter describes the tool-supported verification of S&D Solutions on the level of network communications and devices. First, the general goals and challenges of verification in the context of AmI systems are highlighted and the role of verification and validation within the SERENITY processes is explained.Then, SERENITY extensions to the SH VErification tool are explained using small examples. Finally, the applicability of existing verification tools is discussed in the context of the AVISPA toolset. The two different tools show that for the security analysis of network and devices S&D Patterns relevant complementary approachesexist and can be used.

Health-related characteristics and preferred methods of receiving health education according to dominant language among Latinos aged 25 to 64 in a large Northern California health plan.

PubMed

Gordon, Nancy P; Iribarren, Carlos

2008-09-09

Latinos are a fast growing segment of the U.S. health care population. Acculturation factors, including English fluency, result in an ethnic group heterogeneous with regard to SES, health practices, and health education needs. This study examined how demographic and health-related characteristics of Spanish-dominant (SD), Bilingual (BIL), and English-dominant (ED) Latino men and women aged 25-64 differed among members of a large Northern California health plan. This observational study was based on data from cohorts of 171 SD (requiring an interpreter), 181 BIL, and 734 ED Latinos aged 25-64 who responded to random sample health plan member surveys conducted 2005-2006. Language groups were compared separately by gender on education, income, behavioral health risks (smoking, obesity, exercise frequency, dietary practices, health beliefs), health status (overall health and emotional health, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heartburn/acid reflux, back pain, depression), computer and Internet access, and health education modality preferences. Compared with ED Latinos, higher percentages of the SD and BIL groups had very low educational attainment and low income. While groups were similar in prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, SD were less likely than ED Latinos to rate overall health and emotional well-being as good, very good, or excellent and more likely to report heartburn and back pain (women only). The groups were similar with regard to smoking and obesity, but among women, SD were more likely to be physically inactive than ED, and BIL were less likely than SD and ED groups to eat <3 servings of fruit/vegetables per day. SD and BIL of both genders were significantly less likely than ED Latinos to believe that health practices had a large impact on health. Compared to ED men and women, SD and BIL Latinos had significantly lower Internet and computer access. As a result, SD Latinos had a greater preference for lower technology health

8 Different approaches needed to manage ED demand among different age-groups.

PubMed

Rimmer, Melanie; Ablard, Suzanne; O'Keeffe, Colin; Mason, Suzanne

2017-12-01

A variety of interventions have been proposed to manage rising demand for Emergency and Urgent Care, described by an NHS England review as unsustainable in the long term. However it is unlikely that any suggested approach will be equally suitable for the diverse population of ED users.We aimed to understand the patterns of demand amongst different types of patients attending ED. We also sought to understand the intended and unintended effects of demand management initiatives. Our study combined insights from routine data, a survey of ED patients, and qualitative interviews with ED staff. This paper describes the results of our analysis of the interviews. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 ED and Urgent Care Centre staff across 7 hospital sites in Yorkshire and Humber between 25 April and 11 July 2016. The interview topic guide asked about 4 broad areas; job role, description of patients and their impact on demand, description of inappropriate attendance, and current/future initiatives to deal with rising demand. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using framework analysis. We analysed the results to identify groups of patients with different patterns of use of ED services. We also explored ED staff experiences of demand management initiatives, and their suggestions for future initiatives. Although we did not ask specifically about patients' age, our analysis revealed that ED staff categorised attenders as children and young people, working age people, and older people. These groups had different reasons for attendance, different routes to the ED, different rate of non-urgent attendance, and different issues driving demand. Staff also described variation in the time taken to treat patients of different ages, with the oldest and youngest patients described as requiring the most time.There was no consensus amongst staff about the effectiveness of initiatives for managing demand. A strikingly wide variety of initiatives were mentioned

Automated choroid segmentation of three-dimensional SD-OCT images by incorporating EDI-OCT images.

PubMed

Chen, Qiang; Niu, Sijie; Fang, Wangyi; Shuai, Yuanlu; Fan, Wen; Yuan, Songtao; Liu, Qinghuai

2018-05-01

The measurement of choroidal volume is more related with eye diseases than choroidal thickness, because the choroidal volume can reflect the diseases comprehensively. The purpose is to automatically segment choroid for three-dimensional (3D) spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images. We present a novel choroid segmentation strategy for SD-OCT images by incorporating the enhanced depth imaging OCT (EDI-OCT) images. The down boundary of the choroid, namely choroid-sclera junction (CSJ), is almost invisible in SD-OCT images, while visible in EDI-OCT images. During the SD-OCT imaging, the EDI-OCT images can be generated for the same eye. Thus, we present an EDI-OCT-driven choroid segmentation method for SD-OCT images, where the choroid segmentation results of the EDI-OCT images are used to estimate the average choroidal thickness and to improve the construction of the CSJ feature space of the SD-OCT images. We also present a whole registration method between EDI-OCT and SD-OCT images based on retinal thickness and Bruch's Membrane (BM) position. The CSJ surface is obtained with a 3D graph search in the CSJ feature space. Experimental results with 768 images (6 cubes, 128 B-scan images for each cube) from 2 healthy persons, 2 age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and 2 diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients, and 210 B-scan images from other 8 healthy persons and 21 patients demonstrate that our method can achieve high segmentation accuracy. The mean choroid volume difference and overlap ratio for 6 cubes between our proposed method and outlines drawn by experts were -1.96µm3 and 88.56%, respectively. Our method is effective for the 3D choroid segmentation of SD-OCT images because the segmentation accuracy and stability are compared with the manual segmentation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A 5-year comparison of ED visits by homeless and nonhomeless patients.

PubMed

Tadros, Allison; Layman, Shelley M; Brewer, Marissa Pantaleone; Davis, Stephen M

2016-05-01

A 2005 study examined emergency department (ED) utilization by homeless patients in the United States. Within the following 5 years, unemployment increased by 5%. The objective was to analyze changes in ED utilization between 2005 and 2010 by homeless patients and compare with nonhomeless visits. Data from the 2010 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey were evaluated. Approximately 679854 visits were made by homeless patients, the majority of which were made by men (72.3%) and patients between the ages of 45 and 64 (50.5%). Homeless patients were twice as likely to be uninsured. ED visits by homeless patients had increased by 44% during the 5-year period. Arrival to the ED by ambulance increased by 14% between the study years, and homeless patients were less likely to be admitted. The number of visits by homeless patients in the ED increased proportionally to an overall increase in ED visits between 2005 and 2010. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Agricultural Education Teacher Candidates' Perceptions of the edTPA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lunsford, Amanda; Warner, Wendy J.; Park, Travis D.; Morgan, Joy E.

2016-01-01

The edTPA has recently emerged within the past few years as an innovative Teacher Performance Assessment and is currently adopted to some extent in 34 states. Researchers conducted four focus groups with 16 teacher candidates during and immediately after completion of the edTPA at North Carolina State University. When asked to articulate about…

Splenic artery aneurysms encountered in the ED: 10 years' experience.

PubMed

Liu, Chu-Feng; Kung, Chia-Te; Liu, Ber-Ming; Ng, Shu-Hang; Huang, Chung-Cheng; Ko, Sheung-Fat

2007-05-01

Our objective was to report 7 cases of splenic artery aneurysm (SAA) encountered in the emergency department (ED). A retrospective survey of our ED database revealed 7 cases of SAA (6 men, 1 woman; mean age, 56 years) of 651,347 ED visits over the last decade. Their clinical and imaging features, management, and outcomes were evaluated. Splenic artery aneurysm in the ED was rare (prevalence, 0.011%). Common presentations included acute abdomen (n = 5) and shock (n = 2). Five cases had liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Abdominal radiographs (n = 7) revealed 2 atherosclerotic patients with SAA. Abdominal computed tomography (n = 7) depicted all SAAs (size, 1.5-8 cm; mean, 3.8 cm). Four ruptured SAAs were successfully managed with coils embolization. Among them, 1 patient with ruptured mycotic SAA also received surgery, but the patient died of Klebsiella sepsis 3 months later. In the ED, ruptured SAA should be included as a rare differential consideration of acute abdomen, especially in middle-aged men with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Although SAA may be an unexpected computed tomographic finding, once diagnosed, endovascular treatment is recommended.

Teaching Elementary School Social Studies Methods under edTPA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

An, Sohyun

2016-01-01

This article reports a self-study that analyzes my experience as a teacher educator navigating a turbulent educational landscape with the advent of edTPA. The data consist of my journal entries, the syllabi, handouts, work submitted by my students, and course evaluations. Data were analyzed by using an inductive process to describe how the edTPA…

The sdA problem - II. Photometric and spectroscopic follow-up

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelisoli, Ingrid; Kepler, S. O.; Koester, D.; Castanheira, B. G.; Romero, A. D.; Fraga, L.

2018-07-01

The spectral classification `subdwarf A' (sdA) is given to stars showing H-rich spectra and sub-main-sequence surface gravities, but effective temperature lower than the zero-age horizontal branch. Their evolutionary origin is an enigma. In this work, we discuss the results of follow-up observations of selected sdAs. We obtained time-resolved spectroscopy for 24 objects and time-series photometry for another 19 objects. For two targets, we report both spectroscopy and photometry observations. We confirm seven objects to be new extremely low-mass white dwarfs (ELMs), one of which is a known eclipsing star. We also find the eighth member of the pulsating ELM class.

Feasibility of an ED-to-Home Intervention to Engage Patients: A Mixed-Methods Investigation.

PubMed

Schumacher, Jessica R; Lutz, Barbara J; Hall, Allyson G; Pines, Jesse M; Jones, Andrea L; Hendry, Phyllis; Kalynych, Colleen; Carden, Donna L

2017-06-01

Older, chronically ill patients with limited health literacy are often under-engaged in managing their health and turn to the emergency department (ED) for healthcare needs. We tested the impact of an ED-initiated coaching intervention on patient engagement and follow-up doctor visits in this high-risk population. We also explored patients' care-seeking decisions. We conducted a mixed-methods study including a randomized controlled trial and in-depth interviews in two EDs in northern Florida. Participants were chronically ill older ED patients with limited health literacy and Medicare as a payer source. Patients were assigned to an evidence-based coaching intervention (n= 35) or usual post-ED care (n= 34). Qualitative interviews (n=9) explored patients' reasons for ED use. We assessed average between-group differences in patient engagement over time with the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) tool, using logistic regression and a difference-in-difference approach. Between-group differences in follow-up doctor visits were determined. We analyzed qualitative data using open coding and thematic analysis. PAM scores fell in both groups after the ED visit but fell significantly more in "usual care" (average decline -4.64) than "intervention" participants (average decline -2.77) (β=1.87, p=0.043). There were no between-group differences in doctor visits. Patients described well-informed reasons for ED visits including onset and severity of symptoms, lack of timely provider access, and immediate and comprehensive ED care. The coaching intervention significantly reduced declines in patient engagement observed after usual post-ED care. Patients reported well-informed reasons for ED use and will likely continue to make ED visits unless strategies, such as ED-initiated coaching, are implemented to help vulnerable patients better manage their health and healthcare.

Feasibility of an ED-to-Home Intervention to Engage Patients: A Mixed-Methods Investigation

PubMed Central

Schumacher, Jessica R.; Lutz, Barbara J.; Hall, Allyson G.; Pines, Jesse M.; Jones, Andrea L.; Hendry, Phyllis; Kalynych, Colleen; Carden, Donna L.

2017-01-01

Introduction Older, chronically ill patients with limited health literacy are often under-engaged in managing their health and turn to the emergency department (ED) for healthcare needs. We tested the impact of an ED-initiated coaching intervention on patient engagement and follow-up doctor visits in this high-risk population. We also explored patients’ care-seeking decisions. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study including a randomized controlled trial and in-depth interviews in two EDs in northern Florida. Participants were chronically ill older ED patients with limited health literacy and Medicare as a payer source. Patients were assigned to an evidence-based coaching intervention (n= 35) or usual post-ED care (n= 34). Qualitative interviews (n=9) explored patients’ reasons for ED use. We assessed average between-group differences in patient engagement over time with the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) tool, using logistic regression and a difference-in-difference approach. Between-group differences in follow-up doctor visits were determined. We analyzed qualitative data using open coding and thematic analysis. Results PAM scores fell in both groups after the ED visit but fell significantly more in “usual care” (average decline −4.64) than “intervention” participants (average decline −2.77) (β=1.87, p=0.043). There were no between-group differences in doctor visits. Patients described well-informed reasons for ED visits including onset and severity of symptoms, lack of timely provider access, and immediate and comprehensive ED care. Conclusion The coaching intervention significantly reduced declines in patient engagement observed after usual post-ED care. Patients reported well-informed reasons for ED use and will likely continue to make ED visits unless strategies, such as ED-initiated coaching, are implemented to help vulnerable patients better manage their health and healthcare. PMID:28611897

ED antibiotic use for acute respiratory illnesses since pneumonia performance measure inception.

PubMed

Fee, Christopher; Metlay, Joshua P; Camargo, Carlos A; Maselli, Judith H; Gonzales, Ralph

2010-01-01

The study aimed to determine if emergency department (ED)-administered antibiotics for patients discharged home with nonpneumonia acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) have increased since national pneumonia performance measure implementation, including antibiotic administration within 4 hours of arrival. Time series analysis. Six university and 7 Veterans Administration EDs participating in the Improving Antibiotic Use for Acute Care Treatment (IMPAACT) trial (randomized educational intervention to reduce antibiotics for bronchitis). Randomly selected adult (age >18 years) ED visits for acute cough, diagnosed with nonpneumonia ARIs, discharged home during winters (November-February) of 2003 to 2007. Time trend in ED-administered antibiotics, adjusted for patient demographics, comorbidities, vital signs, ED length of stay, IMPAACT intervention status, geographic region, Veterans Administration/university setting, and site and provider level clustering. Six thousand four hundred seventy-six met study criteria. Three hundred ninety-four (6.1%) received ED-administered antibiotics. Emergency department-administered antibiotics did not increase across the study period among all IMPAACT sites (odds ratio [OR], 0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76-1.01) after adjusting for age, congestive heart failure history, temperature higher than 100 degrees F, heart rate more than 100, blood cultures obtained, diagnoses, and ED length of stay. The ED-administered antibiotic rate decreased at IMPAACT intervention (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.69-0.93) but not nonintervention sites (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.91-1.19). Adjusted proportions receiving ED-administered antibiotics were 6.1% (95% CI, 2.7%-13.2%) for 2003 to 2004; 4.8% (95% CI, 2.2%-10.0%) for 2004 to 2005; 4.6% (95% CI, 2.7%-7.8%) for 2005 to 2006; and 4.2% (95% CI, 2.2%-8.0%) for 2006 to 2007. Emergency department-administered antibiotics did not increase for patients with acute cough discharged home with nonpneumonia ARIs since

Differential susceptibility of SD and CD rats to a novel rat theilovirus.

PubMed

Drake, Michael T; Riley, Lela K; Livingston, Robert S

2008-10-01

Antibodies to rat theilovirus (RTV) have been detected in rats for many years because of their serologic crossreactivity with strains of Theiler murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) of mice. Little information exists regarding this pathogen, yet it is among the most common viruses detected in serologic surveys of rats used in research. In the study reported here, a novel isolate of RTV, designated RTV1, was cultured from the feces of infected rats. The RTV1 genome contained 8094 nucleotides and had approximately 95% identity with another rat theilovirus, NSG910, and 73% identity with TMEV strains. In addition, the genome size of RTV1 was similar to those of TMEV strains but larger than that reported for NSG910. Oral inoculation of Sprague-Dawley (SD) and CD male rats (n = 10 each group) with RTV1 revealed that SD rats were more susceptible than CD rats to RTV1 infection. At 14 d postinoculation, 100% of SD rats shed virus in the feces, and 70% were positive for RTV serum antibodies. By 56 d postinoculation 30% of SD rats continued to have detectable virus in the feces, and 90% had seroconverted. In contrast, in inoculated CD rats RTV was detected only in the feces at 14 d postinoculation, at which time 40% of CD rats were fecal positive. By 56 d postinoculation only 20% of CD rats had detectable RTV serum antibodies. Our data provide additional sequence information regarding a rat-specific Cardiovirus and indicate that SD rats are more susceptible than CD rats to RTV1 infection.

An Atlantic streamer in stratospheric ozone observations and SD-WACCM simulation data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hocke, Klemens; Schranz, Franziska; Maillard Barras, Eliane; Moreira, Lorena; Kämpfer, Niklaus

2017-03-01

Observation and simulation of individual ozone streamers are important for the description and understanding of non-linear transport processes in the middle atmosphere. A sudden increase in mid-stratospheric ozone occurred above central Europe on 4 December 2015. The GROund-based Millimeter-wave Ozone Spectrometer (GROMOS) and the Stratospheric Ozone MOnitoring RAdiometer (SOMORA) in Switzerland measured an ozone enhancement of about 30 % at 34 km altitude (8.3 hPa) from 1 to 4 December. A similar ozone increase is simulated by the Specified Dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate (SD-WACCM) model. Further, the global ozone fields at 34 km altitude (8.3 hPa) from SD-WACCM and the satellite experiment Aura/MLS show a remarkable agreement for the location and timing of an ozone streamer (large-scale tongue-like structure) extending from the subtropics in northern America over the Atlantic to central Europe. This agreement indicates that SD-WACCM can inform us about the wind inside the Atlantic ozone streamer. SD-WACCM shows an eastward wind of about 100 m s-1 inside the Atlantic streamer in the mid-stratosphere. SD-WACCM shows that the Atlantic streamer flows along the edge of the polar vortex. The Atlantic streamer turns southward at an erosion region of the polar vortex located above the Caspian Sea. The spatial distribution of stratospheric water vapour indicates a filament outgoing from this erosion region. The Atlantic streamer, the polar vortex erosion region and the water vapour filament belong to the process of planetary wave breaking in the so-called surf zone of the northern midlatitude winter stratosphere.

Plant Growth/Plant Phototropism - Skylab Student Experiment ED-61/62

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

This chart describes the Skylab student experiment ED-61, Plant Growth, and experiment ED-62, Plant Phototropism. Two similar proposals were submitted by Joel G. Wordekemper of West Point, Nebraska, and Donald W. Schlack of Downey, California. Wordekemper's experiment (ED-61) was to see how the lack of gravity would affect the growth of roots and stems of plants. Schlack's experiment (ED-62) was to study the effect of light on a seed developing in zero gravity. The growth container of the rice seeds for their experiment consisted of eight compartments arranged in two parallel rows of four. Each had two windowed surfaces to allow periodic photography of the developing seedlings. In March 1972, NASA and the National Science Teachers Association selected 25 experiment proposals for flight on Skylab. Science advisors from the Marshall Space Flight Center aided and assisted the students in developing the proposals for flight on Skylab.

Sex differences in the stress response in SD rats.

PubMed

Lu, Jing; Wu, Xue-Yan; Zhu, Qiong-Bin; Li, Jia; Shi, Li-Gen; Wu, Juan-Li; Zhang, Qi-Jun; Huang, Man-Li; Bao, Ai-Min

2015-05-01

Sex differences play an important role in depression, the basis of which is an excessive stress response. We aimed at revealing the neurobiological sex differences in the same study in acute- and chronically-stressed rats. Female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), acute foot shock (FS) and controls, animals in all 3 groups were sacrificed in proestrus or diestrus. Male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: CUMS, FS and controls. Comparisons were made of behavioral changes in CUMS and control rats, plasma levels of corticosterone (CORT), testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2), and of the hypothalamic mRNA-expression of stress-related molecules, i.e. estrogen receptor α and β, androgen receptor, aromatase, mineralocorticoid receptor, glucocorticoid receptor, corticotropin-releasing hormone, arginine vasopressin and oxytocin. CUMS resulted in disordered estrus cycles, more behavioral and hypothalamic stress-related molecules changes and a stronger CORT response in female rats compared with male rats. Female rats also showed decreased E2 and T levels after FS and CUMS, while male FS rats showed increased E2 and male CUMS rats showed decreased T levels. Stress affects the behavioral, endocrine and the molecular response of the stress systems in the hypothalamus of SD rats in a clear sexual dimorphic way, which has parallels in human data on stress and depression. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Suicide Prevention in an Emergency Department Population: The ED-SAFE Study.

PubMed

Miller, Ivan W; Camargo, Carlos A; Arias, Sarah A; Sullivan, Ashley F; Allen, Michael H; Goldstein, Amy B; Manton, Anne P; Espinola, Janice A; Jones, Richard; Hasegawa, Kohei; Boudreaux, Edwin D

2017-06-01

Suicide is a leading cause of deaths in the United States. Although the emergency department (ED) is an opportune setting for initiating suicide prevention efforts, ED-initiated suicide prevention interventions remain underdeveloped. To determine whether an ED-initiated intervention reduces subsequent suicidal behavior. This multicenter study of 8 EDs in the United States enrolled adults with a recent suicide attempt or ideation and was composed of 3 sequential phases: (1) a treatment as usual (TAU) phase from August 2010 to December 2011, (2) a universal screening (screening) phase from September 2011 to December 2012, and (3) a universal screening plus intervention (intervention) phase from July 2012 to November 2013. Screening consisted of universal suicide risk screening. The intervention phase consisted of universal screening plus an intervention, which included secondary suicide risk screening by the ED physician, discharge resources, and post-ED telephone calls focused on reducing suicide risk. The primary outcome was suicide attempts (nonfatal and fatal) over the 52-week follow-up period. The proportion and total number of attempts were analyzed. A total of 1376 participants were recruited, including 769 females (55.9%) with a median (interquartile range) age of 37 (26-47) years. A total of 288 participants (20.9%) made at least 1 suicide attempt, and there were 548 total suicide attempts among participants. There were no significant differences in risk reduction between the TAU and screening phases (23% vs 22%, respectively). However, compared with the TAU phase, patients in the intervention phase showed a 5% absolute reduction in suicide attempt risk (23% vs 18%), with a relative risk reduction of 20%. Participants in the intervention phase had 30% fewer total suicide attempts than participants in the TAU phase. Negative binomial regression analysis indicated that the participants in the intervention phase had significantly fewer total suicide attempts

Developing an Identity as an EdD Leader: A Reflexive Narrative Account

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tupling, Claire L.; Outhwaite, Deborah

2017-01-01

This article considers the challenges encountered by a recently appointed assistant programme leader in establishing an identity as a leader of an EdD programme. In discussing literature on the development of the EdD, the article recognizes an existing concern with student identity but highlights a need to consider the development of the EdD…

Initial mechanical ventilator settings and lung protective ventilation in the ED.

PubMed

Wilcox, Susan R; Richards, Jeremy B; Fisher, Daniel F; Sankoff, Jeffrey; Seigel, Todd A

2016-08-01

Mechanical ventilation with low tidal volumes has been shown to improve outcomes for patients both with and without acute respiratory distress syndrome. This study aims to characterize mechanically ventilated patients in the emergency department (ED), describe the initial ED ventilator settings, and assess for associations between lung protective ventilation strategies in the ED and outcomes. This was a multicenter, prospective, observational study of mechanical ventilation at 3 academic EDs. We defined lung protective ventilation as a tidal volume of less than or equal to 8 mL/kg of predicted body weight and compared outcomes for patients ventilated with lung protective vs non-lung protective ventilation, including inhospital mortality, ventilator days, intensive care unit length of stay, and hospital length of stay. Data from 433 patients were analyzed. Altered mental status without respiratory pathology was the most common reason for intubation, followed by trauma and respiratory failure. Two hundred sixty-one patients (60.3%) received lung protective ventilation, but most patients were ventilated with a low positive end-expiratory pressure, high fraction of inspired oxygen strategy. Patients were ventilated in the ED for a mean of 5 hours and 7 minutes but had few ventilator adjustments. Outcomes were not significantly different between patients receiving lung protective vs non-lung protective ventilation. Nearly 40% of ED patients were ventilated with non-lung protective ventilation as well as with low positive end-expiratory pressure and high fraction of inspired oxygen. Despite a mean ED ventilation time of more than 5 hours, few patients had adjustments made to their ventilators. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SED-ED, a workflow editor for computational biology experiments written in SED-ML.

PubMed

Adams, Richard R

2012-04-15

The simulation experiment description markup language (SED-ML) is a new community data standard to encode computational biology experiments in a computer-readable XML format. Its widespread adoption will require the development of software support to work with SED-ML files. Here, we describe a software tool, SED-ED, to view, edit, validate and annotate SED-ML documents while shielding end-users from the underlying XML representation. SED-ED supports modellers who wish to create, understand and further develop a simulation description provided in SED-ML format. SED-ED is available as a standalone Java application, as an Eclipse plug-in and as an SBSI (www.sbsi.ed.ac.uk) plug-in, all under an MIT open-source license. Source code is at https://sed-ed-sedmleditor.googlecode.com/svn. The application itself is available from https://sourceforge.net/projects/jlibsedml/files/SED-ED/.

34 CFR 110.17 - Age distinctions contained in ED's regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Age distinctions contained in ED's regulations. 110.17..., DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF AGE IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Standards for Determining Age Discrimination § 110.17 Age distinctions contained in ED...

34 CFR 110.17 - Age distinctions contained in ED's regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Age distinctions contained in ED's regulations. 110.17..., DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF AGE IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Standards for Determining Age Discrimination § 110.17 Age distinctions contained in ED...

34 CFR 110.17 - Age distinctions contained in ED's regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Age distinctions contained in ED's regulations. 110.17..., DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF AGE IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Standards for Determining Age Discrimination § 110.17 Age distinctions contained in ED...

The Consequences of edTPA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenblatt, Deborah

2016-01-01

States and teacher preparation programs across the country are increasingly using a teacher candidate assessment called edTPA. The purpose? To make sure that teacher candidates are ready and able to teach before they begin their careers. The teacher performance assessment requires candidates to compile a portfolio that consists of lesson plans,…

ED pharmacist monitoring of provider antibiotic selection aids appropriate treatment for outpatient UTI.

PubMed

Lingenfelter, Erin; Drapkin, Zachary; Fritz, Kelly; Youngquist, Scott; Madsen, Troy; Fix, Megan

2016-08-01

We sought to determine whether an emergency department (ED) pharmacist could aid in the monitoring and correction of inappropriate empiric antibiotic selection for urinary tract infections in an outpatient ED population. Urine cultures with greater than 100 000 CFU/mL bacteria from the University of Utah Emergency Department over 1 year (October 2011-Sept 2012) were identified using our electronic medical record system. Per ED protocol, an ED pharmacist reviews all cultures and performs a chart review of patient symptoms, diagnosis, and discharge antibiotics to determine whether the treatment was appropriate. A retrospective review of this process was performed to identify how often inappropriate treatment was recognized and intervened on by an ED pharmacist. Of the 180 cultures included, a total of 42 (23%) of empiric discharge treatments were considered inappropriate and required intervention. In 35 (83%) of 42 patients, the ED pharmacist was able to contact the patient and make appropriate changes; the remaining 7 patients were unable to be contacted, and no change could be made in their treatment. A chart review of all urine cultures with greater than 100 000 CFU/mL performed by an ED pharmacist helped identify inappropriate treatment in 23% of patients discharged to home with the diagnosis of urinary tract infection. Of these patients who had received inappropriate treatment, an ED pharmacist was able to intervene in 83% of cases. These data highlight the role of ED pharmacists in improving patient care after discharge. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Operational and financial impact of physician screening in the ED.

PubMed

Soremekun, Olanrewaju A; Biddinger, Paul D; White, Benjamin A; Sinclair, Julia R; Chang, Yuchiao; Carignan, Sarah B; Brown, David F M

2012-05-01

Physician screening is one of many front-end interventions being implemented to improve emergency department (ED) efficiency. We aimed to quantify the operational and financial impact of this intervention at an urban tertiary academic center. We conducted a 2-year before-after analysis of a physician screening system at an urban tertiary academic center with 90 000 annual visits. Financial impact consisted of the ED and inpatient revenue generated from the incremental capacity and the reduction in left without being seen (LWBS) rates. The ED and inpatient margin contribution as well as capital expenditure were based on available published data. We summarized the financial impact using net present value of future cash flows performing sensitivity analysis on the assumptions. Operational outcome measures were ED length of stay and percentage of LWBS. During the first year, we estimate the contribution margin of the screening system to be $2.71 million and the incremental operational cost to be $1.86 million. Estimated capital expenditure for the system was $1 200 000. The NPV of this investment was $2.82 million, and time to break even from the initial investment was 13 months. Operationally, despite a 16.7% increase in patient volume and no decrease in boarding hours, there was a 7.4% decrease in ED length of stay and a reduction in LWBS from 3.3% to 1.8%. In addition to improving operational measures, the implementation of a physician screening program in the ED allowed for an incremental increase in patient care capacity leading to an overall positive financial impact. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

76 FR 35935 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-20

... U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12590 and 12591] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 2. SUMMARY: This is an... applications to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road...

76 FR 46349 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-02

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12590 and 12591] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 5. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for [[Page 46350...

75 FR 19435 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00027

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-14

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12077 and 12078] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00027 AGENCY: Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 1. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of South...

The NOURISHED randomised controlled trial comparing mentalisation-based treatment for eating disorders (MBT-ED) with specialist supportive clinical management (SSCM-ED) for patients with eating disorders and symptoms of borderline personality disorder.

PubMed

Robinson, Paul; Hellier, Jennifer; Barrett, Barbara; Barzdaitiene, Daiva; Bateman, Anthony; Bogaardt, Alexandra; Clare, Ajay; Somers, Nadia; O'Callaghan, Aine; Goldsmith, Kimberley; Kern, Nikola; Schmidt, Ulrike; Morando, Sara; Ouellet-Courtois, Catherine; Roberts, Alice; Skårderud, Finn; Fonagy, Peter

2016-11-17

In this multi-centre randomized controlled trial (RCT) we compared modified mentalisation-based treatment (MBT-ED) to specialist supportive clinical management (SSCM-ED) in patients with eating disorders (EDs) and borderline personality disorder symptoms (BPD). This group of patients presents complex challenges to clinical services, and a treatment which addresses their multiple problems has the potential to improve outcome. MBT has been shown to be effective in improving outcome in patients with BPD, but its use has not been reported in ED. Sixty-eight eligible participants were randomised to MBT-ED or SSCM-ED. The primary outcome measure was the global score on the Eating Disorder Examination. Secondary outcomes included measures of BPD symptoms (the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder), general psychiatric state, quality of life and service utilisation. Participants were assessed at baseline and at 6, 12 and 18 months after randomisation. Analysis was performed using linear mixed models. Only 15 participants (22 %) completed the 18 month follow-up. Early drop-out occurred significantly more in the SSCM-ED group. Drop-out did not vary with treatment model later in therapy and was sometimes attributed to participants moving away. There was higher drop--out amongst smokers and those with higher neuroticism scores. 47.1 % of participants in the MBT-ED arm and 37.1 % in the SSCM-ED arm attended at least 50 % of therapy sessions offered. Amongst those remaining in the trial, at 12 and 18 months MBT-ED was associated with a greater reduction in Shape Concern and Weight Concern in the Eating Disorder Examination compared to SSCM-ED. At 6, 12 and 18 months there was a decline of ED and BPD symptoms in both groups combined. Ten participants were reported as having had adverse events during the trial, mostly self-harm, and there was one death, attributed as 'unexplained' by the coroner. The high drop-out rate made interpretation of the results

Induced parasexual processes in Claviceps sp. strain SD58.

PubMed Central

Brauer, K L; Robbers, J E

1987-01-01

A homokaryotic, clavine alkaloid-producing strain of ergot, Claviceps sp. strain SD 58, was used in an attempt to demonstrate parasexuality. Genetically marked auxotrophic strains were produced by mutation with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Protoplast fusion of pairs of unlike doubly auxotrophic strains and isolation of stable prototrophic fusion products were carried out. By growth of the fusion products on complete medium, selective pressure for prototrophy was removed and auxotrophic segregants were allowed to form. Analysis of these and recovery of segregants with nonleaky, non-parent-type combinations of auxotrophic characteristics has provided strong evidence that a parasexual cycle can function in Claviceps sp. strain SD 58. Preliminary work suggests that the genetics of ergot might be studied by mitotic analysis and that protoplast fusion and selection procedures might be useful for the enhancement of favorable characteristics in Claviceps strains. PMID:3827250

Alcohol Interventions Among Underage Drinkers in the ED: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Cunningham, Rebecca M; Chermack, Stephen T; Ehrlich, Peter F; Carter, Patrick M; Booth, Brenda M; Blow, Frederic C; Barry, Kristen L; Walton, Maureen A

2015-10-01

This study examined the efficacy of emergency department (ED)-based brief interventions (BIs), delivered by a computer or therapist, with and without a post-ED session, on alcohol consumption and consequences over 12 months. Patients (ages 14-20 years) screening positive for risky drinking were randomized to: BI (n = 277), therapist BI (n = 278), or control (n = 281). After the 3-month follow-up, participants were randomized to receive a post-ED BI session or control. Incorporating motivational interviewing, the BIs addressed alcohol consumption and consequences, including driving under the influence (DUI), and alcohol-related injury, as well as other concomitant drug use. The computer BI was an offline, Facebook-styled program. Among 4389 patients screened, 1054 patients reported risky drinking and 836 were enrolled in the randomized controlled trial. Regression models examined the main effects of the intervention conditions (versus control) and the interaction effects (ED condition × post-ED condition) on primary outcomes. The therapist and computer BIs significantly reduced consumption at 3 months, consequences at 3 and 12 months, and prescription drug use at 12 months; the computer BI reduced the frequency of DUI at 12 months; and the therapist BI reduced the frequency of alcohol-related injury at 12 months. The post-ED session reduced alcohol consequences at 6 months, benefiting those who had not received a BI in the ED. A single-session BI, delivered by a computer or therapist in the ED, shows promise for underage drinkers. Findings for the fully automated stand-alone computer BI are particularly appealing given the ease of future implementation. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Health-related characteristics and preferred methods of receiving health education according to dominant language among Latinos Aged 25 to 64 in a large Northern California health plan

PubMed Central

Gordon, Nancy P; Iribarren, Carlos

2008-01-01

Background Latinos are a fast growing segment of the U.S. health care population. Acculturation factors, including English fluency, result in an ethnic group heterogeneous with regard to SES, health practices, and health education needs. This study examined how demographic and health-related characteristics of Spanish-dominant (SD), Bilingual (BIL), and English-dominant (ED) Latino men and women aged 25–64 differed among members of a large Northern California health plan. Methods This observational study was based on data from cohorts of 171 SD (requiring an interpreter), 181 BIL, and 734 ED Latinos aged 25–64 who responded to random sample health plan member surveys conducted 2005–2006. Language groups were compared separately by gender on education, income, behavioral health risks (smoking, obesity, exercise frequency, dietary practices, health beliefs), health status (overall health and emotional health, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heartburn/acid reflux, back pain, depression), computer and Internet access, and health education modality preferences. Results Compared with ED Latinos, higher percentages of the SD and BIL groups had very low educational attainment and low income. While groups were similar in prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, SD were less likely than ED Latinos to rate overall health and emotional well-being as good, very good, or excellent and more likely to report heartburn and back pain (women only). The groups were similar with regard to smoking and obesity, but among women, SD were more likely to be physically inactive than ED, and BIL were less likely than SD and ED groups to eat <3 servings of fruit/vegetables per day. SD and BIL of both genders were significantly less likely than ED Latinos to believe that health practices had a large impact on health. Compared to ED men and women, SD and BIL Latinos had significantly lower Internet and computer access. As a result, SD Latinos had a greater

Fulfilling Our Educative Mission: A Response to edTPA Critique

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittaker, Andrea; Pecheone, Raymond; Stansbury, Kendyll

2018-01-01

Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) provides a commentary on the manuscripts in this special issue, responding to criticisms of edTPA as an assessment that narrows the curriculum, heavily relies on students' academic writing skills, and creates additional burdens for teacher candidates. The commentary highlights how edTPA…

The role of charity care and primary care physician assignment on ED use in homeless patients.

PubMed

Wang, Hao; Nejtek, Vicki A; Zieger, Dawn; Robinson, Richard D; Schrader, Chet D; Phariss, Chase; Ku, Jocelyn; Zenarosa, Nestor R

2015-08-01

Homeless patients are a vulnerable population with a higher incidence of using the emergency department (ED) for noncrisis care. Multiple charity programs target their outreach toward improving the health of homeless patients, but few data are available on the effectiveness of reducing ED recidivism. The aim of this study is to determine whether inappropriate ED use for nonemergency care may be reduced by providing charity insurance and assigning homeless patients to a primary care physician (PCP) in an outpatient clinic setting. A retrospective medical records review of homeless patients presenting to the ED and receiving treatment between July 2013 and June 2014 was completed. Appropriate vs inappropriate use of the ED was determined using the New York University ED Algorithm. The association between patients with charity care coverage, PCP assignment status, and appropriate vs inappropriate ED use was analyzed and compared. Following New York University ED Algorithm standards, 76% of all ED visits were deemed inappropriate with approximately 77% of homeless patients receiving charity care and 74% of patients with no insurance seeking noncrisis health care in the ED (P=.112). About 50% of inappropriate ED visits and 43.84% of appropriate ED visits occurred in patients with a PCP assignment (P=.019). Both charity care homeless patients and those without insurance coverage tend to use the ED for noncrisis care resulting in high rates of inappropriate ED use. Simply providing charity care and/or PCP assignment does not seem to sufficiently reduce inappropriate ED use in homeless patients. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Telemedicine to Address Crowding in the ED.

PubMed

Guss, Benjamin; Mishkin, David; Sharma, Rahul

2016-11-01

Some health systems are piloting telemedicine solutions in the ED to address crowding and decrease patient wait times. One new program, implemented at the Lisa Perry Emergency Center at New York Presbyterian (NYP) Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, involves offering low-acuity patients the option of visiting an off-site physician via telemedicine hookup. Administrators note that the approach can get patients in and out of the ED within 30 minutes, and patients have thus far been highly satisfied with the approach. However, an earlier telemedicine program piloted at the University of San Diego Health System’s (UCSD) Hillcrest Hospital in 2013 got bogged down due to administrative and insurance reimbursement hurdles, although the approach showed enough promise that there is interest in restarting the program. In the NYP program, patients are identified as appropriate candidates for the program at triage. They can opt to be seen remotely or through traditional means in the ED’s fast-track section. Administrators note that patients with complex problems requiring extensive workups are not suitable for the telemedicine approach. The most challenging aspect of implementing a successful telemedicine program in the ED is getting the workflows right, according to administrators. An earlier ED-based telemedicine program piloted at UCSD ran into difficulties because the model required the involvement of two physicians, and some insurers did not want to pay for the telemedicine visits. However, patients were receptive.

Rapid Assessment of the ED Institutional Eligibility and Compliance Monitoring Systems. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Steven M.

Two U.S. Department of Education (ED) systems for establishing the initial eligibility and monitoring the performance of postsecondary institutions that participate in ED financial assistance programs were assessed. The evaluation was designed to describe and evaluate the eligibility and certification functions of ED's Eligibility and Agency…

I Failed the edTPA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuranishi, Adam; Oyler, Celia

2017-01-01

In this article, co-written by a teacher and a professor, the authors examine possible explanations for why Adam (first author), a New York City public school special educator, failed the edTPA, a teacher performance assessment required by all candidates for state certification. Adam completed a yearlong teaching residency where he was the special…

Mitigating Higher Ed Cyber Attacks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Gary; Ashford, Tina

2015-01-01

In this presentation we will discuss the many and varied cyber attacks that have recently occurred in the higher ed community. We will discuss the perpetrators, the victims, the impact and how these institutions have evolved to meet this threat. Mitigation techniques and defense strategies will be covered as will a discussion of effective security…

Arabidopsis EDS1 connects pathogen effector recognition to cell compartment-specific immune responses.

PubMed

Heidrich, Katharina; Wirthmueller, Lennart; Tasset, Céline; Pouzet, Cécile; Deslandes, Laurent; Parker, Jane E

2011-12-09

Pathogen effectors are intercepted by plant intracellular nucleotide binding-leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) receptors. However, processes linking receptor activation to downstream defenses remain obscure. Nucleo-cytoplasmic basal resistance regulator EDS1 (ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1) is indispensible for immunity mediated by TIR (Toll-interleukin-1 receptor)-NB-LRR receptors. We show that Arabidopsis EDS1 molecularly connects TIR-NB-LRR disease resistance protein RPS4 recognition of bacterial effector AvrRps4 to defense pathways. RPS4-EDS1 and AvrRps4-EDS1 complexes are detected inside nuclei of living tobacco cells after transient coexpression and in Arabidopsis soluble leaf extracts after resistance activation. Forced AvrRps4 localization to the host cytoplasm or nucleus reveals cell compartment-specific RPS4-EDS1 defense branches. Although nuclear processes restrict bacterial growth, programmed cell death and transcriptional resistance reinforcement require nucleo-cytoplasmic coordination. Thus, EDS1 behaves as an effector target and activated TIR-NB-LRR signal transducer for defenses across cell compartments.

76 FR 35936 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-20

... U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12590 and 12591] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 3. SUMMARY: This is an... (EIDL) Loan Application Deadline Date: 02/13/2012. ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan applications to: U.S...

78 FR 55771 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00061

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-11

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 13703 and 13704] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00061 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 1. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of...

75 FR 39994 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00031

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-13

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12181 and 12182] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00031 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 3. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of...

76 FR 40767 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-11

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12590 and 12591] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 4. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of...

76 FR 56862 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00042

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-14

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12756 and 12757] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00042 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 1. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of South Dakota (FEMA-1984-DR...

76 FR 34286 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-13

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12590 and 12591] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00041 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 1. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of...

75 FR 30873 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00031

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-02

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12181 and 12182] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00031 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 1. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of...

75 FR 38154 - South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00031

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-01

... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 12181 and 12182] South Dakota Disaster Number SD-00031 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Amendment 2. SUMMARY: This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of...

Are we there yet? A Practitioner's View of DO-178C/ED-12C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniels, Dewi

RTCA DO-178B/EUROCAE ED-12B is the industry-accepted guidance for determining that the software aspects of airborne systems and equipment comply with airworthiness requirements. DO-178B/ED-12B, published in 1992, is being updated to DO-178C/ED-12C. Nearly six years in the making, DO- 178C/ED-12C is expected to be completed in December 2010. It will be accompanied by a new set of supplements providing additional and much-needed guidance on tool qualification, model based development and verification, objectoriented technologies, and formal methods. Written by a member of the DO-178C/ED-12C editorial team who is also a practising software developer and verifier, this paper provides a practitioner's view of the new standard and its supplements. It explains how they will affect your organisation, focusing on the practical implications of the many changes between DO-178B/ED-12B and DO-178C/ED-12C.

EDs find physical therapists are an underused asset for musculoskeletal injuries, patient education.

PubMed

2011-04-01

Some EDs are finding that the unique skill sets offered by physical therapists (PT) can be an asset to emergency care while also improving the patient experience. Experts say PTs are particularly valuable in the management of musculoskeletal pain and injuries, but they are also being used for wound care, gait training, and balance assessment. ED administrators say consistent, daily coverage is essential to making a PT program successful; otherwise, ED clinicians will neglect to use their services. PTs need to be comfortable with proactively marketing their skills to other ED clinicians who may not be used to having access to this resource. Experts say PT services in the ED can be reimbursed at a level that is consistent with reimbursement in other inpatient and outpatient settings.

Modelling the growth of Populus species using Ecosystem Demography (ED) model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, D.; Lebauer, D. S.; Feng, X.; Dietze, M. C.

2010-12-01

Hybrid poplar plantations are an important source being evaluated for biomass production. Effective management of such plantations requires adequate growth and yield models. The Ecosystem Demography model (ED) makes predictions about the large scales of interest in above- and belowground ecosystem structure and the fluxes of carbon and water from a description of the fine-scale physiological processes. In this study, we used a workflow management tool, the Predictive Ecophysiological Carbon flux Analyzer (PECAn), to integrate literature data, field measurement and the ED model to provide predictions of ecosystem functioning. Parameters for the ED ensemble runs were sampled from the posterior distribution of ecophysiological traits of Populus species compiled from the literature using a Bayesian meta-analysis approach. Sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the parameters which contribute the most to the uncertainties of the ED model output. Model emulation techniques were used to update parameter posterior distributions using field-observed data in northern Wisconsin hybrid poplar plantations. Model results were evaluated with 5-year field-observed data in a hybrid poplar plantation at New Franklin, MO. ED was then used to predict the spatial variability of poplar yield in the coterminous United States (United States minus Alaska and Hawaii). Sensitivity analysis showed that root respiration, dark respiration, growth respiration, stomatal slope and specific leaf area contribute the most to the uncertainty, which suggests that our field measurements and data collection should focus on these parameters. The ED model successfully captured the inter-annual and spatial variability of the yield of poplar. Analyses in progress with the ED model focus on evaluating the ecosystem services of short-rotation woody plantations, such as impacts on soil carbon storage, water use, and nutrient retention.

A preliminary examination of Loss of Control Eating Disorder (LOC-ED) in middle childhood.

PubMed

Matherne, Camden E; Tanofsky-Kraff, Marian; Altschul, Anne M; Shank, Lisa M; Schvey, Natasha A; Brady, Sheila M; Galescu, Ovidiu; Demidowich, Andrew P; Yanovski, Susan Z; Yanovski, Jack A

2015-08-01

Loss of Control Eating Disorder (LOC-ED) has been proposed as a diagnostic category for children 6-12years with binge-type eating. However, characteristics of youth with LOC-ED have not been examined. We tested the hypothesis that the proposed criteria for LOC-ED would identify children with greater adiposity, more disordered eating attitudes, and greater mood disturbance than those without LOC-ED. Participants were 251 youth (10.29years±1.54, 53.8% female, 57.8% White, 35.5% Black, 2.0% Asian, 4.8% Hispanic, 53.0% overweight). Youth were interviewed regarding eating attitudes and behaviors, completed questionnaires to assess general psychopathology, and underwent measurements of body fat mass. Using previously proposed criteria for LOC-ED, children were classified as LOC-ED (n=19), LOC in the absence of the full disorder (subLOC, n=33), and youth not reporting LOC (noLOC, n=199). LOC-ED youth had higher BMIz (p=0.001) and adiposity (p=0.003) and reported greater disordered eating concerns (p<0.001) compared to noLOC youth. Compared to subLOC youth, LOC-ED youth had non-significantly higher BMIz (p=0.11), and significantly higher adiposity (p=0.04) and disordered eating attitudes (p=0.02). SubLOC youth had greater disordered eating concerns (p<0.001) and BMIz (p=0.03) but did not differ in adiposity (p=0.33) compared to noLOC youth. These preliminary data suggest that LOC-ED youth are elevated on disordered eating cognitions and anthropometric measures compared to youth without LOC-ED. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine if those with LOC-ED are at particularly increased risk for progression of disordered eating and excess weight gain. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Preliminary Examination of Loss of Control Eating Disorder (LOC-ED) in Middle Childhood

PubMed Central

Matherne, Camden E.; Tanofsky-Kraff, Marian; Altschul, Anne M.; Shank, Lisa M.; Schvey, Natasha A.; Brady, Sheila M.; Galescu, Ovidiu; Demidowich, Andrew P.; Yanovski, Susan Z.; Yanovski, Jack A.

2015-01-01

Loss of Control Eating Disorder (LOC-ED) has been proposed as a diagnostic category for children 6–12y with binge-type eating. However, characteristics of youth with LOC-ED have not been examined. We tested the hypothesis that the proposed criteria for LOC-ED would identify children with greater adiposity, more disordered eating attitudes, and greater mood disturbance than those without LOC-ED. Participants were 251 youth (10.29y ± 1.54, 53.8% female, 57.8 % White, 35.5% Black, 2.0% Asian, 4.8% Hispanic, 53.0% overweight). Youth were interviewed regarding eating attitudes and behaviors, completed questionnaires to assess general psychopathology, and underwent measurements of body fat mass. Using previously proposed criteria for LOC-ED, children were classified as LOC-ED (n = 19), LOC in the absence of the full disorder (subLOC, n = 33), and youth not reporting LOC (noLOC, n = 199). LOC-ED youth had higher BMIz (p = 0.001) and adiposity (p = 0.003) and reported greater disordered eating concerns (p < 0.001) compared to noLOC youth. Compared to subLOC youth, LOC-ED youth had non-significantly higher BMIz (p = 0.11), and significantly higher adiposity (p = 0.04) and disordered eating attitudes (p = 0.02). SubLOC youth had greater disordered eating concerns (p < 0.001) and BMIz (p = 0.03) but did not differ in adiposity (p = 0.33) compared to noLOC youth. These preliminary data suggest that LOC-ED youth are elevated on disordered eating cognitions and anthropometric measures compared to youth without LOC-ED. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine if those with LOC-ED are at particularly increased risk for progression of disordered eating and excess weight gain. PMID:25913008

A Chinese translation of the EdFED-Q and assessment of equivalence.

PubMed

Lin, Li-Chan; Chang, Chia-Chi

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to translate the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia Questionnaire (EdFED-Q) from the original English into a Chinese language version and to assess the equivalence of the English and Chinese EdFED-Q versions. To use a directly translated instrument without minimal explanation of the procedures for determining the equivalence between the original and secondary language instrument is questionable. Ensuring equivalence of a translated Chinese version of the EdFED-Q for patients with dementia is an essential prerequisite for identifying culturally specific expressions of feeding difficulty under investigation. Phase 1 consisted of experts doing the initial translation into Chinese and then English back-translations of the questionnaire. Six experts determined the equality of the Chinese and English versions, and five monolingual nurses provided information for the C-EdFED-Q. In phase 2, two bilingual gerontological nurses rated 33 residents with dementia to determine equivalence across time. In phase 3, three groups of bilingual nurses used the Chinese, English, and finally both versions simultaneously to judge a model case's feeding behavior on the videotape. In phase 1, the rating on the equality of the items on the Chinese and English versions was 0.969. In phase 2, kappa coefficients for all items on the C-EdFED-Q and E-EdFED-Q ranged from 0.44 to 1.00. In determining the consistency of the scores for the C-EdFED-Q and E-EdFED-Q between the two raters across time, the intraclass correlation coefficient for the absolute agreement was found to range from 0.85 to 0.90. In phase 3, except for items 6 and 9, all items showed no significant difference among the three groups. Further studies to assess the relationship between constructs and to compare it with known and predicted relationships are recommended.

Point-of-Care Ultrasonography for Evaluation of Acute Dyspnea in the ED.

PubMed

Zanobetti, Maurizio; Scorpiniti, Margherita; Gigli, Chiara; Nazerian, Peiman; Vanni, Simone; Innocenti, Francesca; Stefanone, Valerio T; Savinelli, Caterina; Coppa, Alessandro; Bigiarini, Sofia; Caldi, Francesca; Tassinari, Irene; Conti, Alberto; Grifoni, Stefano; Pini, Riccardo

2017-06-01

Acute dyspnea is a common symptom in the ED. The standard approach to dyspnea often relies on radiologic and laboratory results, causing excessive delay before adequate therapy is started. Use of an integrated point-of-care ultrasonography (PoCUS) approach can shorten the time needed to formulate a diagnosis, while maintaining an acceptable safety profile. Consecutive adult patients presenting with dyspnea and admitted after ED evaluation were prospectively enrolled. The gold standard was the final diagnosis assessed by two expert reviewers. Two physicians independently evaluated the patient; a sonographer performed an ultrasound evaluation of the lung, heart, and inferior vena cava, while the treating physician requested traditional tests as needed. Time needed to formulate the ultrasound and the ED diagnoses was recorded and compared. Accuracy and concordance of the ultrasound and the ED diagnoses were calculated. A total of 2,683 patients were enrolled. The average time needed to formulate the ultrasound diagnosis was significantly lower than that required for ED diagnosis (24 ± 10 min vs 186 ± 72 min; P = .025). The ultrasound and the ED diagnoses showed good overall concordance (κ = 0.71). There were no statistically significant differences in the accuracy of PoCUS and the standard ED evaluation for the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, pneumonia, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, pneumothorax, and dyspnea from other causes. PoCUS was significantly more sensitive for the diagnosis of heart failure, whereas a standard ED evaluation performed better in the diagnosis of COPD/asthma and pulmonary embolism. PoCUS represents a feasible and reliable diagnostic approach to the patient with dyspnea, allowing a reduction in time to diagnosis. This protocol could help to stratify patients who should undergo a more detailed evaluation. Copyright © 2017 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Internet-Based Economic Education: The Case of EconEdLink

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanFossen, Phillip J.; Herman-Ellison, Lisa C.

2006-01-01

The National Council on Economic Education's (NCEE) EconEdLink site provides lessons and classroom learning activities based on economics topics in the news, as well as access to real-time economic data. EconEdLink's content is designed to help integrate economic concepts across the curriculum as outlined in the Voluntary National Content…

Project LOGgED ON: Advanced Science Online for Gifted Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reed, Christine; Urquhart, Jill

2007-01-01

Gifted students are often underserved because they do not have access to highly challenging curriculum. In October, 2002, Project LOGgED ON (www.scrolldown.com/loggedon/) at University of Virginia received federal funding from the Jacob Javits Act to tackle this issue. Those who were part of the LOGgED ON project developed advanced science…

Acute cognitive impairment in elderly ED patients: etiologies and outcomes.

PubMed

Wofford, J L; Loehr, L R; Schwartz, E

1996-11-01

Despite the common occurrence of acute cognitive impairment in elderly emergency department (ED) patients, there is much uncertainty regarding the evaluation and management of this syndrome. We performed a retrospective cohort study of all patients 60 years of age and older transported by emergency medical services (EMS) to hospital EDs in Forsyth County, North Carolina, during 1990 specifically for evaluation of acute cognitive impairment. Five percent (227 of 4,688) of EMS transports during this time period were for the purpose of evaluation of acute cognitive impairment. Compared with community-dwelling patients (n = 105), nursing home patients (n = 47) had a higher prevalence of final ED diagnoses indicative of infection (42.5% v 13.3%) and a lower prevalence of diagnoses indicative of cerebrovascular disease (10.6% v 22.9%) as the etiology of cognitive impairment. The rates of hospitalization and mortality were 74.3% and 28.9%, respectively. The projected aging of the US population and the high prevalence of this syndrome among elderly patients make better understanding of this syndrome essential for ED providers.

Ultra-Widefield Steering-Based SD-OCT Imaging of the Retinal Periphery

PubMed Central

Choudhry, Netan; Golding, John; Manry, Matthew W.; Rao, Rajesh C.

2016-01-01

Objective To describe the spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) features of peripheral retinal findings using an ultra-widefield (UWF) steering technique to image the retinal periphery. Design Observational study. Participants 68 patients (68 eyes) with 19 peripheral retinal features. Main Outcome Measures SD-OCT-based structural features. Methods Nineteen peripheral retinal features including: vortex vein, congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (CHRPE), pars plana, ora serrata pearl, typical cystoid degeneration (TCD), cystic retinal tuft, meridional fold, lattice and cobblestone degeneration, retinal hole, retinal tear, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), typical degenerative senile retinoschisis, peripheral laser coagulation scars, ora tooth, cryopexy scars (retinal tear and treated retinoblastoma scar), bone spicules, white without pressure, and peripheral drusen were identified by peripheral clinical examination. Near infrared (NIR) scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) images and SD-OCT of these entities were registered to UWF color photographs. Results SD-OCT resolved structural features of all peripheral findings. Dilated hyporeflective tubular structures within the choroid were observed in the vortex vein. Loss of retinal lamination, neural retinal attenuation, RPE loss or hypertrophy were seen in several entities including CHRPE, ora serrata pearl, TCD, cystic retinal tuft, meridional fold, lattice and cobblestone degenerations. Hyporeflective intraretinal spaces, indicating cystoid or schitic fluid, were seen in ora serrata pearl, ora tooth, TCD, cystic retinal tuft, meridional fold, retinal hole, and typical degenerative senile retinoschisis. The vitreoretinal interface, which often consisted of lamellae-like structures of the condensed cortical vitreous near or adherent to the neural retina, appeared clearly in most peripheral findings, confirming its association with many low-risk and vision-threatening pathologies

EdU induces DNA damage response and cell death in mESC in culture.

PubMed

Kohlmeier, Fanni; Maya-Mendoza, Apolinar; Jackson, Dean A

2013-03-01

Recently, a novel DNA replication precursor analogue called 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) has been widely used to monitor DNA synthesis as an alternative to bromodeoxyuridine. Use of EdU benefits from simplicity and reproducibility and the simple chemical detection systems allows excellent preservation of nuclear structure. However, the alkyne moiety is highly reactive, raising the possibility that incorporation might compromise genome stability. To assess the extent of possible DNA damage, we have analysed the effect of EdU incorporation into DNA during short- and long-term cell culture using a variety of cell lines. We show that EdU incorporation has no measurable impact on the rate of elongation of replication forks during synthesis. However, using different cell lines we find that during long-term cell culture variable responses to EdU incorporation are seen, which range from delayed cell cycle progression to complete cell cycle arrest. The most profound phenotypes were seen in mouse embryonic stem cells, which following incorporation of EdU accumulated in the G2/M-phase of the cell cycle before undergoing apoptosis. In long-term cell culture, EdU incorporation also triggered a DNA damage response in all cell types analysed. Our study shows that while EdU is extremely useful to tag sites of on-going replication, for long-term studies (i.e. beyond the cell cycle in which labelling is performed), a careful analysis of cell cycle perturbations must be performed in order to ensure that any conclusions made after EdU treatment are not a direct consequence of EdU-dependent activation of cell stress responses.

Occupational stress in the ED: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Basu, Subhashis; Qayyum, Hasan; Mason, Suzanne

2017-07-01

Occupational stress is a major modern health and safety challenges. While the ED is known to be a high-pressure environment, the specific organisational stressors which affect ED staff have not been established. We conducted a systematic review of literature examining the sources of organisational stress in the ED, their link to adverse health outcomes and interventions designed to address them. A narrative review of contextual factors that may contribute to occupational stress was also performed. All articles written in English, French or Spanish were eligible for conclusion. Study quality was graded using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Twenty-five full-text articles were eligible for inclusion in our systematic review. Most were of moderate quality, with two low-quality and two high-quality studies, respectively. While high demand and low job control were commonly featured, other studies demonstrated the role of insufficient support at work, effort-reward imbalance and organisational injustice in the development of adverse health and occupational outcomes. We found only one intervention in a peer-reviewed journal evaluating a stress reduction programme in ED staff. Our review provides a guide to developing interventions that target the origins of stress in the ED. It suggests that those which reduce demand and increase workers' control over their job, improve managerial support, establish better working relationships and make workers' feel more valued for their efforts could be beneficial. We have detailed examples of successful interventions from other fields which may be applicable to this setting. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Causes and costs for ED visits after pediatric adenotonsillectomy.

PubMed

Curtis, Jonathan L; Harvey, D Brandon; Willie, Scott; Narasimhan, Evan; Andrews, Seth; Henrichsen, Jake; Van Buren, Nicholas C; Srivastava, Rajendu; Meier, Jeremy D

2015-04-01

(1) Review the reasons, timing, and costs for children presenting to the emergency department (ED) after adenotonsillectomy (T&A). Case series with chart review. Tertiary care children's hospital. A standardized activity-based hospital accounting system was used to identify 437 children from an academic pediatric otolaryngology practice presenting to the ED after T&A from 2009 to 2012. The reason for presentation, timing after surgery, and facility costs were recorded. The study cohort represented 13.3% of the 3198 patients who underwent T&A during that time period. Overall, 133 (4.2%) presented for dehydration, 106 (3.3%) presented for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage, 65 (2.0%) for poorly controlled pain, 42 (1.3%) for fever, 29 (1.0%) for vomiting/nausea/GI discomfort, 22 (0.7%) for respiratory complications, and 12 (0.4%) for miscellaneous reasons related to the operation; 28 (0.8%) were unrelated to the T&A and excluded. Mean postoperative day at the time of ED presentation was 4.4 (95% CI, 4.1-4.7). The mean cost per patient presenting to the ED was $1420 (95% CI, $1104-$1737), the most costly subgroups being those presenting with respiratory complications ($2855; 95% CI, $1434-$4277), hemorrhage ($1502; 95% CI, $1216-$1787), and dehydration ($1372; 95% CI, $995-$1750). The least costly subgroup was acute postoperative pain ($781; 95% CI, $282-$1200). A significant portion of children present to the ED after T&A for poorly controlled pain, dehydration, or fever. The costs from these visits are significant. Accounting for these costs in the global care for pediatric T&A could assist in calculating appropriate reimbursement for bundled payments in this climate of health care reform. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

Ectodermal dysplasia (ED) syndrome.

PubMed

Chee, Siew-Yin; Wanga, Chung-Hsing; Lina, Wei-De; Tsaia, Fuu-Jen

2014-01-01

Ectodermal dysplasia (ED) syndrome comprises a large, heterogeneous group of inherited disorders that are defined by primary defects in the development of 2 or more tissues derived from the embryonic ectoderm. The tissues primarily involved are the skin and its appendages (including hair follicles, eccrine glands, sebaceous glands, nails) and teeth. The clinical features include sparse hair, abnormal or missing teeth, and an inability to sweat due to lack of sweat glands. One such case report of ectodermal dysplasia is presented here.

Ph.D. and Ed.D. Program Adaptations for College Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dressel, Paul L.; Guiste, Evelyn B.

The extent to which the Ph.D. and/or Ed.D. programs have been adapted to assist in preparing students for college teaching was surveyed. Of 309 universities, 122 responded, and of these, 72 had no adaptations. However, 50 universities indicated the availability, in at least one discipline or field, of modifications in the Ph.D. and/or Ed.D.…

Teaching and Assessing ED Handoffs: A Qualitative Study Exploring Resident, Attending, and Nurse Perceptions.

PubMed

Flanigan, Moira; Heilman, James A; Johnson, Tom; Yarris, Lalena M

2015-11-01

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires that residency programs ensure resident competency in performing safe, effective handoffs. Understanding resident, attending, and nurse perceptions of the key elements of a safe and effective emergency department (ED) handoff is a crucial step to developing feasible, acceptable educational interventions to teach and assess this fundamental competency. The aim of our study was to identify the essential themes of ED-based handoffs and to explore the key cultural and interprofessional themes that may be barriers to developing and implementing successful ED-based educational handoff interventions. Using a grounded theory approach and constructivist/interpretivist research paradigm, we analyzed data from three primary and one confirmatory focus groups (FGs) at an urban, academic ED. FG protocols were developed using open-ended questions that sought to understand what participants felt were the crucial elements of ED handoffs. ED residents, attendings, a physician assistant, and nurses participated in the FGs. FGs were observed, hand-transcribed, audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed. We analyzed data using an iterative process of theme and subtheme identification. Saturation was reached during the third FG, and the fourth confirmatory group reinforced the identified themes. Two team members analyzed the transcripts separately and identified the same major themes. ED providers identified that crucial elements of ED handoff include the following: 1) Culture (provider buy-in, openness to change, shared expectations of sign-out goals); 2) Time (brevity, interruptions, waiting); 3) Environment (physical location, ED factors); 4) Process (standardization, information order, tools). Key participants in the ED handoff process perceive that the crucial elements of intershift handoffs involve the themes of culture, time, environment, and process. Attention to these themes may improve the feasibility and

Crystal structures of the components of the Staphylococcus aureus leukotoxin ED

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nocadello, S.; Minasov, G.; Shuvalova, L.

Staphylococcal leukotoxins are a family of β-barrel, bicomponent, pore-forming toxins with membrane-damaging functions. These bacterial exotoxins share sequence and structural homology and target several host-cell types. Leukotoxin ED (LukED) is one of these bicomponent pore-forming toxins thatStaphylococcus aureusproduces in order to suppress the ability of the host to contain the infection. The recent delineation of the important role that LukED plays inS. aureuspathogenesis and the identification of its protein receptors, combined with its presence inS. aureusmethicillin-resistant epidemic strains, establish this leukocidin as a possible target for the development of novel therapeutics. Here, the crystal structures of the water-soluble LukE andmore » LukD components of LukED have been determined. Lastly, the two structures illustrate the tertiary-structural variability with respect to the other leukotoxins while retaining the conservation of the residues involved in the interaction of the protomers in the bipartite leukotoxin in the pore complex.« less

Crystal structures of the components of the Staphylococcus aureus leukotoxin ED

DOE PAGES

Nocadello, S.; Minasov, G.; Shuvalova, L.; ...

2016-01-01

Staphylococcal leukotoxins are a family of β-barrel, bicomponent, pore-forming toxins with membrane-damaging functions. These bacterial exotoxins share sequence and structural homology and target several host-cell types. Leukotoxin ED (LukED) is one of these bicomponent pore-forming toxins thatStaphylococcus aureusproduces in order to suppress the ability of the host to contain the infection. The recent delineation of the important role that LukED plays inS. aureuspathogenesis and the identification of its protein receptors, combined with its presence inS. aureusmethicillin-resistant epidemic strains, establish this leukocidin as a possible target for the development of novel therapeutics. Here, the crystal structures of the water-soluble LukE andmore » LukD components of LukED have been determined. Lastly, the two structures illustrate the tertiary-structural variability with respect to the other leukotoxins while retaining the conservation of the residues involved in the interaction of the protomers in the bipartite leukotoxin in the pore complex.« less

Validity of Automated Choroidal Segmentation in SS-OCT and SD-OCT.

PubMed

Zhang, Li; Buitendijk, Gabriëlle H S; Lee, Kyungmoo; Sonka, Milan; Springelkamp, Henriët; Hofman, Albert; Vingerling, Johannes R; Mullins, Robert F; Klaver, Caroline C W; Abràmoff, Michael D

2015-05-01

To evaluate the validity of a novel fully automated three-dimensional (3D) method capable of segmenting the choroid from two different optical coherence tomography scanners: swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) and spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT). One hundred eight subjects were imaged using SS-OCT and SD-OCT. A 3D method was used to segment the choroid and quantify the choroidal thickness along each A-scan. The segmented choroidal posterior boundary was evaluated by comparing to manual segmentation. Differences were assessed to test the agreement between segmentation results of the same subject. Choroidal thickness was defined as the Euclidian distance between Bruch's membrane and the choroidal posterior boundary, and reproducibility was analyzed using automatically and manually determined choroidal thicknesses. For SS-OCT, the average choroidal thickness of the entire 6- by 6-mm2 macular region was 219.5 μm (95% confidence interval [CI], 204.9-234.2 μm), and for SD-OCT it was 209.5 μm (95% CI, 197.9-221.0 μm). The agreement between automated and manual segmentations was high: Average relative difference was less than 5 μm, and average absolute difference was less than 15 μm. Reproducibility of choroidal thickness between repeated SS-OCT scans was high (coefficient of variation [CV] of 3.3%, intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] of 0.98), and differences between SS-OCT and SD-OCT results were small (CV of 11.0%, ICC of 0.73). We have developed a fully automated 3D method for segmenting the choroid and quantifying choroidal thickness along each A-scan. The method yielded high validity. Our method can be used reliably to study local choroidal changes and may improve the diagnosis and management of patients with ocular diseases in which the choroid is affected.

Active Intervention Can Decrease Burnout In Ed Nurses.

PubMed

Wei, Rong; Ji, Hong; Li, Jianxin; Zhang, Liyao

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether active intervention can decrease job burnout and improve performance among ED nurses. This study was carried out in the emergency departments of 3 hospitals randomly selected from 8 comprehensive high-level hospitals in Jinan, China. A total of 102 nurses were enrolled and randomly divided into control and intervention groups. For 6 months, nurses in intervention groups were treated with ordinary treatment plus comprehensive management, whereas nurses in the control group were treated with ordinary management, respectively. Questionnaires were sent and collected at baseline and at the end of the study. The Student t test was used to evaluate the effect of comprehensive management in decreasing burnout. All ED nurses showed symptoms of job burnout at different levels. Our data indicated that comprehensive management significantly decreased emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (P < .01). The findings suggest that active intervention with comprehensive management may effectively reduce job burnout in ED nurses and contribute to relieving work-related stress and may further protect against potential mental health problems. Copyright © 2016 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

78 FR 55684 - ConnectED Workshop

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-11

... schools for digital learning. The ConnectED Workshop will discuss the growing bandwidth needs of K-12 schools as more schools use mobile devices to enrich the learning experience; as teachers increasingly... Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program; and the U.S. Department of Education. The meeting will be open...

Automated SEM-EDS GSR Analysis for Turkish Ammunitions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cakir, Ismail; Uner, H. Bulent

2007-04-23

In this work, Automated Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (SEM-EDS) was used to characterize 7.65 and 9mm cartridges Turkish ammunition. All samples were analyzed in a SEM Jeol JSM-5600LV equipped BSE detector and a Link ISIS 300 (EDS). A working distance of 20mm, an accelerating voltage of 20 keV and gunshot residue software was used in all analysis. Automated search resulted in a high number of particles analyzed containing gunshot residues (GSR) unique elements (PbBaSb). The obtained data about the definition of characteristic GSR particles was concordant with other studies on this topic.

Multiple Intelligence and Digital Learning Awareness of Prospective B.Ed Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gracious, F. L. Antony; Shyla, F. L. Jasmine Anne

2012-01-01

The present study Multiple Intelligence and Digital Learning Awareness of prospective B.Ed teachers was probed to find the relationship between Multiple Intelligence and Digital Learning Awareness of Prospective B.Ed Teachers. Data for the study were collected using self made Multiple Intelligence Inventory and Digital Learning Awareness Scale.…

75 FR 4417 - Wind Cave National Park, Custer County, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-27

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Wind Cave National Park, Custer County, SD AGENCY: National Park... Final Environmental Impact Statement, Wind Cave National Park, Custer County, South Dakota. SUMMARY... Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement (Plan), Wind Cave National Park, Custer County...

Mechanical Ventilation and ARDS in the ED: A Multicenter, Observational, Prospective, Cross-sectional Study.

PubMed

Fuller, Brian M; Mohr, Nicholas M; Miller, Christopher N; Deitchman, Andrew R; Levine, Brian J; Castagno, Nicole; Hassebroek, Elizabeth C; Dhedhi, Adam; Scott-Wittenborn, Nicholas; Grace, Edward; Lehew, Courtney; Kollef, Marin H

2015-08-01

There are few data regarding mechanical ventilation and ARDS in the ED. This could be a vital arena for prevention and treatment. This study was a multicenter, observational, prospective, cohort study aimed at analyzing ventilation practices in the ED. The primary outcome was the incidence of ARDS after admission. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of ARDS. We analyzed 219 patients receiving mechanical ventilation to assess ED ventilation practices. Median tidal volume was 7.6 mL/kg predicted body weight (PBW) (interquartile range, 6.9-8.9), with a range of 4.3 to 12.2 mL/kg PBW. Lung-protective ventilation was used in 122 patients (55.7%). The incidence of ARDS after admission from the ED was 14.7%, with a mean onset of 2.3 days. Progression to ARDS was associated with higher illness severity and intubation in the prehospital environment or transferring facility. Of the 15 patients with ARDS in the ED (6.8%), lung-protective ventilation was used in seven (46.7%). Patients who progressed to ARDS experienced greater duration in organ failure and ICU length of stay and higher mortality. Lung-protective ventilation is infrequent in patients receiving mechanical ventilation in the ED, regardless of ARDS status. Progression to ARDS is common after admission, occurs early, and worsens outcome. Patient- and treatment-related factors present in the ED are associated with ARDS. Given the limited treatment options for ARDS, and the early onset after admission from the ED, measures to prevent onset and to mitigate severity should be instituted in the ED. ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT01628523; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov.

[Update of PDE5 inhibitors as treatment of ED].

PubMed

Lu, Yong-ning; Chen, Bin

2005-07-01

Erectile dysfunction is a common ailment in middle-aged and old men. The management of ED has entered a new stage since sildenafil was used to treat ED in 1998. Sildenafil became the first-line treatment for its efficacy and safety. In recent years, new PDE5 inhibitors--vardenafil and tadalafil came into market in succession, providing more options available for oral therapy. This review is about the development of preclinical and clinical medicine research on the three PDE5 inhibitors, and provide information for clinical choices.

Multivariate statistical analysis of low-voltage EDS spectrum images

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, I.M.

1998-03-01

Whereas energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) has been used for compositional analysis in the scanning electron microscope for 30 years, the benefits of using low operating voltages for such analyses have been explored only during the last few years. This paper couples low-voltage EDS with two other emerging areas of characterization: spectrum imaging and multivariate statistical analysis. The specimen analyzed for this study was a finished Intel Pentium processor, with the polyimide protective coating stripped off to expose the final active layers.

Applying Lean: Implementation of a Rapid Triage and Treatment System

PubMed Central

Murrell, Karen L.; Offerman, Steven R.; Kauffman, Mark B.

2011-01-01

Objective: Emergency department (ED) crowding creates issues with patient satisfaction, long wait times and leaving the ED without being seen by a doctor (LWBS). Our objective was to evaluate how applying Lean principles to develop a Rapid Triage and Treatment (RTT) system affected ED metrics in our community hospital. Methods: Using Lean principles, we made ED process improvements that led to the RTT system. Using this system, patients undergo a rapid triage with low-acuity patients seen and treated by a physician in the triage area. No changes in staffing, physical space or hospital resources occurred during the study period. We then performed a retrospective, observational study comparing hospital electronic medical record data six months before and six months after implementation of the RTT system. Results: ED census was 30,981 in the six months prior to RTT and 33,926 after. Ambulance arrivals, ED patient acuity and hospital admission rates were unchanged throughout the study periods. Mean ED length of stay was longer in the period before RTT (4.2 hours, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.2–4.3; standard deviation [SD] = 3.9) than after (3.6 hours, 95% CI = 3.6–3.7; SD = 3.7). Mean ED arrival to physician start time was 62.2 minutes (95% CI = 61.5–63.0; SD = 58.9) prior to RTT and 41.9 minutes (95% CI = 41.5–42.4; SD = 30.9) after. The LWBS rate for the six months prior to RTT was 4.5% (95% CI = 3.1–5.5) and 1.5% (95% CI = 0.6–1.8) after RTT initiation. Conclusion: Our experience shows that changes in ED processes using Lean thinking and available resources can improve efficiency. In this community hospital ED, use of an RTT system decreased patient wait times and LWBS rates. PMID:21691524

Balanced nuclear and cytoplasmic activities of EDS1 are required for a complete plant innate immune response.

PubMed

García, Ana V; Blanvillain-Baufumé, Servane; Huibers, Robin P; Wiermer, Marcel; Li, Guangyong; Gobbato, Enrico; Rietz, Steffen; Parker, Jane E

2010-07-01

An important layer of plant innate immunity to host-adapted pathogens is conferred by intracellular nucleotide-binding/oligomerization domain-leucine rich repeat (NB-LRR) receptors recognizing specific microbial effectors. Signaling from activated receptors of the TIR (Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor)-NB-LRR class converges on the nucleo-cytoplasmic immune regulator EDS1 (Enhanced Disease Susceptibility1). In this report we show that a receptor-stimulated increase in accumulation of nuclear EDS1 precedes or coincides with the EDS1-dependent induction and repression of defense-related genes. EDS1 is capable of nuclear transport receptor-mediated shuttling between the cytoplasm and nucleus. By enhancing EDS1 export from inside nuclei (through attachment of an additional nuclear export sequence (NES)) or conditionally releasing EDS1 to the nucleus (by fusion to a glucocorticoid receptor (GR)) in transgenic Arabidopsis we establish that the EDS1 nuclear pool is essential for resistance to biotrophic and hemi-biotrophic pathogens and for transcriptional reprogramming. Evidence points to post-transcriptional processes regulating receptor-triggered accumulation of EDS1 in nuclei. Changes in nuclear EDS1 levels become equilibrated with the cytoplasmic EDS1 pool and cytoplasmic EDS1 is needed for complete resistance and restriction of host cell death at infection sites. We propose that coordinated nuclear and cytoplasmic activities of EDS1 enable the plant to mount an appropriately balanced immune response to pathogen attack.

Evaluating Prospective Teachers: Testing the Predictive Validity of the EdTPA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldhaber, Dan; Cowan, James; Theobald, Roddy

2017-01-01

We use longitudinal data from Washington State to provide estimates of the extent to which performance on the edTPA, a performance-based, subject-specific assessment of teacher candidates, is predictive of the likelihood of employment in the teacher workforce and value-added measures of teacher effectiveness. While edTPA scores are highly…

Characteristics of Reading Disability Types in Middle School Students Classified ED

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattison, Richard E.

2008-01-01

Types of reading disabilities (RD) have not yet been investigated in students classified with emotional disturbance (ED). The prevalence of RD and differentiating characteristics were examined in 118 middle school students attending a self-contained school for ED students by defining RDs with reading standard scores less than 85 on the two…

Dedifferentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma spontaneously occurring in an aged SD rat.

PubMed

Naito, Tomoharu; Saito, Tsuyoshi; Higuchi, Tamami; Inomata, Akira; Hayashi, Takuo; Shimada, Yasuhiro; Yamauchi-Ohguchi, Atsuko; Kenmochi, Sayaka; Kakinuma, Chihaya; Yao, Takashi

2018-04-01

Liposarcoma is a rare neoplasm in rats and is characterized by the presence of lipoblasts containing multiple cytoplasmic vacuoles. We encountered a rare type of liposarcoma in a male SD (Crj:CD(SD)IGS) rat during a long-term study to gather background data. At necropsy at 105 weeks of age, there was a large amount of fatty tissue covering the mesentery, pancreas, and retroperitoneum; a white nodule in the right kidney; and paleness of the liver. Microscopically, the tumor had a well-differentiated component and dedifferentiated high-grade component. Immunohistochemical and electron microscopic examinations revealed that the pleomorphic tumor cells retained the characteristics of lipoblasts. Distant or disseminated metastasis was also confirmed in various organs. A liposarcoma with these histological features is extremely rare in rats, and this is the first report of a highly metastatic dedifferentiated type of liposarcoma originating from the abdominal fat tissue in a rat.

How do clinicians with different training backgrounds manage walk-in patients in the ED setting?

PubMed

Harris, Tim; McDonald, Keith

2014-12-01

To compare the initial assessment and management of walk-in emergency department (ED) patients between different types of healthcare providers. A large teaching hospital with an annual ED census of 140 000 adult patients. A random sample of 384 patients who self-presented to the ED was obtained. A detailed analysis of each patient record was performed by two clinicians. Data were obtained on the presenting condition, and disposition of each patient, either into the ED for further assessment, or discharge. GPs were significantly more likely to discharge patients home as compared to emergency nurses. ED senior nurses were more likely than GPs to stream patients into the ED for further assessment. Of the patients referred into the ED for further assessment by senior ED nurses, the majority were discharged home. There were insufficient numbers of emergency physician assessments for meaningful statistical analysis. The clinician groups studied here demonstrated different patterns of discharge and referral, reflecting their training and experience. When planning operational procedures, the training and background of the staff allocated to each area should be considered. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Using demand analysis and system status management for predicting ED attendances and rostering.

PubMed

Ong, Marcus Eng Hock; Ho, Khoy Kheng; Tan, Tiong Peng; Koh, Seoh Kwee; Almuthar, Zain; Overton, Jerry; Lim, Swee Han

2009-01-01

It has been observed that emergency department (ED) attendances are not random events but rather have definite time patterns and trends that can be observed historically. To describe the time demand patterns at the ED and apply systems status management to tailor ED manpower demand. Observational study of all patients presenting to the ED at the Singapore General Hospital during a 3-year period was conducted. We also conducted a time series analysis to determine time norms regarding physician activity for various severities of patients. The yearly ED attendances increased from 113387 (2004) to 120764 (2005) and to 125773 (2006). There was a progressive increase in severity of cases, with priority 1 (most severe) increasing from 6.7% (2004) to 9.1% (2006) and priority 2 from 33.7% (2004) to 35.1% (2006). We noticed a definite time demand pattern, with seasonal peaks in June, weekly peaks on Mondays, and daily peaks at 11 to 12 am. These patterns were consistent during the period of the study. We designed a demand-based rostering tool that matched doctor-unit-hours to patient arrivals and severity. We also noted seasonal peaks corresponding to public holidays. We found definite and consistent patterns of patient demand and designed a rostering tool to match ED manpower demand.

Development and Validation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Measures of Potentially Preventable Emergency Department (ED) Visits: The ED Prevention Quality Indicators for General Health Conditions.

PubMed

Davies, Sheryl; Schultz, Ellen; Raven, Maria; Wang, Nancy Ewen; Stocks, Carol L; Delgado, Mucio Kit; McDonald, Kathryn M

2017-10-01

To develop and validate rates of potentially preventable emergency department (ED) visits as indicators of community health. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project 2008-2010 State Inpatient Databases and State Emergency Department Databases. Empirical analyses and structured panel reviews. Panels of 14-17 clinicians and end users evaluated a set of ED Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs) using a Modified Delphi process. Empirical analyses included assessing variation in ED PQI rates across counties and sensitivity of those rates to county-level poverty, uninsurance, and density of primary care physicians (PCPs). ED PQI rates varied widely across U.S. communities. Indicator rates were significantly associated with county-level poverty, median income, Medicaid insurance, and levels of uninsurance. A few indicators were significantly associated with PCP density, with higher rates in areas with greater density. A clinical and an end-user panel separately rated the indicators as having strong face validity for most uses evaluated. The ED PQIs have undergone initial validation as indicators of community health with potential for use in public reporting, population health improvement, and research. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Uncovering the Identities of Students and Graduates in a CPED-Influenced EdD Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zambo, Debby; Buss, Ray R.; Zambo, Ron

2015-01-01

The educational doctorate (EdD) is being re-envisioned as a distinct professional degree. Today's EdD graduates are envisioned as scholarly practitioners. Given this it may be reasoned these individuals have unique identities comprised of several layers. In this study, we examined how 18 entering students and 17 graduating students from an EdD…

Chemical Quantification of Atomic-Scale EDS Maps under Thin Specimen Conditions

DOE PAGES

Lu, Ping; Romero, Eric; Lee, Shinbuhm; ...

2014-10-13

We report our effort to quantify atomic-scale chemical maps obtained by collecting energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS) using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) (STEM-EDS). Under a thin specimen condition and when the EDS scattering potential is localized, the X-ray counts from atomic columns can be properly counted by fitting Gaussian peaks at the atomic columns, and can then be used for site-by-site chemical quantification. The effects of specimen thickness and X-ray energy on the Gaussian peak-width are investigated by using SrTiO 3 (STO) as a model specimen. The relationship between the peak-width and spatial-resolution of an EDS map is also studied.more » Furthermore, the method developed by this work is applied to study a Sm-doped STO thin film and antiphase boundaries present within the STO film. We find that Sm atoms occupy both Sr and Ti sites but preferably the Sr sites, and Sm atoms are relatively depleted at the antiphase boundaries likely due to the effect of strain.« less

Leveraging master-slave OpenFlow controller arrangement to improve control plane resiliency in SD-EONs.

PubMed

Chen, Xiaoliang; Zhao, Bin; Ma, Shoujiang; Chen, Cen; Hu, Daoyun; Zhou, Wenshuang; Zhu, Zuqing

2015-03-23

In this paper, we study how to improve the control plane resiliency of software-defined elastic optical networks (SD-EONs) and design a master-slave OpenFlow (OF) controller arrangement. Specifically, we introduce two OF controllers (OF-Cs), i.e., the master and slave OF-Cs, and make them work in a collaborative way to protect the SD-EON against controller failures. We develop a controller communication protocol (CCP) to facilitate the cooperation of the two OF-Cs. With the CCP, the master OF-C (M-OF-C) can synchronize network status to the slave OF-C (S-OF-C) in real time, while S-OF-C can quickly detect the failure of M-OF-C and take over the network control and management (NC&M) tasks timely to avoid service disruption. We implement the proposed framework in an SD-EON control plane testbed built with high-performance servers, and perform NC&M experiments with different network failure scenarios to demonstrate its effectiveness. Experimental results indicate that the proposed system can restore services in both the data and control planes of SD-EON jointly while maintaining relatively good scalability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that realizes control plane resiliency in SD-EONs.

40 CFR Table 28 to Subpart G of... - Deck Seam Length Factors a (SD) for Internal Floating Roof Tanks

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Deck Seam Length Factors a (SD) for... (SD) for Internal Floating Roof Tanks Deck construction Typical deck seam length factor Continuous... decks only. Units for SD are feet per square feet. b SD=1/W, where W = sheet width (feet). c If no...

40 CFR Table 28 to Subpart G of... - Deck Seam Length Factors a (SD) for Internal Floating Roof Tanks

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Deck Seam Length Factors a (SD) for... (SD) for Internal Floating Roof Tanks Deck construction Typical deck seam length factor Continuous... decks only. Units for SD are feet per square feet. b SD=1/W, where W = sheet width (feet). c If no...

Analysis of nevirapine (NVP) resistance in Ugandan infants who were HIV infected despite receiving single-Dose (SD) NVP versus SD NVP plus daily NVP up to 6 weeks of age to prevent HIV vertical transmission.

PubMed

Church, Jessica D; Omer, Saad B; Guay, Laura A; Huang, Wei; Lidstrom, Jessica; Musoke, Philippa; Mmiro, Francis; Jackson, J Brooks; Eshleman, Susan H

2008-10-01

Single-dose nevirapine (SD NVP) at birth plus NVP prophylaxis for the infant up to 6 weeks of age is superior to SD NVP alone for prevention of vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through breastfeeding. We analyzed NVP resistance in HIV-infected Ugandan infants who received either SD NVP or extended NVP prophylaxis. We tested plasma HIV by using a genotyping assay (ViroSeq; Celera Diagnostics), a phenotypic resistance assay (PhenoSense; Monogram Biosciences), and sensitive point mutation assay (LigAmp, for K103N, Y181C, and G190A). When infants were 6 weeks old, ViroSeq detected NVP resistance in a higher proportion of infants in the extended NVP arm than in the SD NVP arm (21 of 25 [84%] vs. 12 of 24 [50%]; P = .01). Similar results were obtained with LigAmp and PhenoSense. In both study arms, infants who were HIV infected at birth frequently had NVP resistance detected. In contrast, infants in the extended NVP arm who were HIV infected after birth were more likely to have resistance detected at 6 weeks, compared with infants in the SD NVP arm. The use of extended NVP prophylaxis was also associated with detection of NVP resistance by ViroSeq at 6 months (7 of 7 [100%] infants in the extended NVP arm had resistance detected, compared with 1 of 6 [16.7%] infants in the SD NVP arm; P = .005). The use of extended NVP prophylaxis was associated with increased selection for and persistence of NVP resistance in HIV-infected Ugandan infants.

PGRP-SD, an Extracellular Pattern-Recognition Receptor, Enhances Peptidoglycan-Mediated Activation of the Drosophila Imd Pathway.

PubMed

Iatsenko, Igor; Kondo, Shu; Mengin-Lecreulx, Dominique; Lemaitre, Bruno

2016-11-15

Activation of the innate immune response in Metazoans is initiated through the recognition of microbes by host pattern-recognition receptors. In Drosophila, diaminopimelic acid (DAP)-containing peptidoglycan from Gram-negative bacteria is detected by the transmembrane receptor PGRP-LC and by the intracellular receptor PGRP-LE. Here, we show that PGRP-SD acted upstream of PGRP-LC as an extracellular receptor to enhance peptidoglycan-mediated activation of Imd signaling. Consistent with this, PGRP-SD mutants exhibited impaired activation of the Imd pathway and increased susceptibility to DAP-type bacteria. PGRP-SD enhanced the localization of peptidoglycans to the cell surface and hence promoted signaling. Moreover, PGRP-SD antagonized the action of PGRP-LB, an extracellular negative regulator, to fine-tune the intensity of the immune response. These data reveal that Drosophila PGRP-SD functions as an extracellular receptor similar to mammalian CD14 and demonstrate that, comparable to lipopolysaccharide sensing in mammals, Drosophila relies on both intra- and extracellular receptors for the detection of bacteria. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An introduction to the Emergency Department Adult Clinical Escalation protocol: ED-ACE.

PubMed

Coughlan, Eoin; Geary, Una; Wakai, Abel; O'Sullivan, Ronan; Browne, John; McAuliffe, Eilish; Ward, Marie; McDaid, Fiona; Deasy, Conor

2017-09-01

This study demonstrates how a participatory action research approach was used to address the challenge of the early and effective detection of the deteriorating patient in the ED setting. The approach enabled a systematic approach to patient monitoring and escalation of care to be developed to address the wide-ranging spectrum of undifferentiated presentations and the phases of ED care from triage to patient admission. This paper presents a longitudinal patient monitoring system, which aims to provide monitoring and escalation of care, where necessary, of adult patients from triage to admission to hospital in a manner that is feasible in the unique ED environment. An action research approach was taken to designing a longitudinal patient monitoring system appropriate for the ED. While the first draft protocol for post-triage monitoring and escalation was designed by a core research group, six clinical sites were included in iterative cycles of planning, action, reviewing and further planning. Reasons for refining the system at each site were collated and the protocol was adjusted accordingly before commencing the process at the next site. The ED Adult Clinical Escalation longitudinal patient monitoring system (ED-ACE) evolved through iterative cycles of design and testing to include: (1) a monitoring chart for adult patients; (2) a standardised approach to the monitoring and reassessment of patients after triage until they are assessed by a clinician; (3) the ISBAR (I=Identify, S=Situation, B=Background, A=Assessment, R=Recommendation) tool for interprofessional communication relating to clinical escalation; (4) a template for prescribing a patient-specific monitoring plan to be used by treating clinicians to guide patient monitoring from the time the patient is assessed until when they leave the ED and (5) a protocol for clinical escalation prompted by single physiological triggers and clinical concern. This tool offers a link in the 'Chain of Prevention' between

Self-Esteem and Emotional Intelligence among B.Ed Trainees of Tsunami Affected Coastal Belt

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Babu M, Sameer

2008-01-01

Through this study the author investigates the relationship between self-esteem and emotional intelligence among B.Ed trainees of Tsunami affected coastal belt of Alappey district of Kerala, India. Stream of study, marital status and age based comparisons were made among the B.Ed trainees. 92 B.Ed trainees were the participants in the study. It…

NetSciEd: Network Science and Education for the Interconnected World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sayama, Hiroki; Cramer, Catherine; Sheetz, Lori; Uzzo, Stephen

2017-01-01

This short article presents a summary of the NetSciEd (Network Science and Education) initiative that aims to address the need for curricula, resources, accessible materials, and tools for introducing K-12 students and the general public to the concept of networks, a crucial framework in understanding complexity. NetSciEd activities include (1)…

ED becomes 'lean' and cuts LBTC, LOS times.

PubMed

2008-04-01

Lean manufacturing techniques, first developed by Toyota, can be successfully adapted to help improve processes in your ED. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, has used Lean to reduce median length of stay, frequency of diversions, and the percentage of patients who left before treatment was complete (LBTC). Here's why "Lean" can help improve the performance of your ED: It enables you and your staff to see things from the patient's point of view. Lean tools enable you to view the status of your department in real-time and to compare that status with your performance goals. Exercises help identify areas where your processes break down and determine the most likely solutions.

Important operational parameters of membrane bioreactor-sludge disintegration (MBR-SD) system for zero excess sludge production.

PubMed

Yoon, Seong-Hoon

2003-04-01

In order to prevent excess sludge production during wastewater treatment, a membrane bioreactor-sludge disintegration (MBR-SD) system has been introduced, where the disintegrated sludge is recycled to the bioreactor as a feed solution. In this study, a mathematical model was developed by incorporating a sludge disintegration term into the conventional activated sludge model and the relationships among the operational parameters were investigated. A new definition of F/M ratio for the MBR-SD system was suggested to evaluate the actual organic loading rate. The actual F/M ratio was expected to be much higher than the apparent F/M ratio in MBR-SD. The kinetic parameters concerning the biodegradability of organics hardly affect the system performance. Instead, sludge solubilization ratio (alpha) in the SD process and particulate hydrolysis rate constant (k(h)) in biological reaction determine the sludge disintegration number (SDN), which is related with the overall economics of the MBR-SD system. Under reasonable alpha and k(h) values, SDN would range between 3 and 5 which means the amount of sludge required to be disintegrated would be 3-5 times higher for preventing a particular amount of sludge production. Finally, normalized sludge disintegration rate (q/V) which is needed to maintain a certain level of MLSS in the MBR-SD system was calculated as a function of F/V ratio.

Resilience Scale-25 Spanish version: validation and assessment in eating disorders.

PubMed

Las Hayas, Carlota; Calvete, Esther; Gómez del Barrio, Andrés; Beato, Luís; Muñoz, Pedro; Padierna, Jesús Ángel

2014-08-01

To validate into Spanish the Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale - 25 (RS-25), assess and compare the scores on the scale among women from the general population, eating disorder (ED) patients and recovered ED patients. This is a cross-sectional study. ED participants were invited to participate by their respective therapists. The sample from the general population was gathered via an open online survey. Participants (N general population=279; N ED patients=124; and N recovered ED patients=45) completed the RS-25, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-BREF and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Mean age of participants ranged from 28.87 to 30.42years old. Statistical analysis included a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis and ANOVA. The two-factor model of the RS-25 produced excellent fit indexes. Measurement invariance across samples was generally supported. The ANOVA found statistically significant differences in the RS-25 mean scores between the ED patients (Mean=103.13, SD=31.32) and the recovered ED participants (Mean=138.42, SD=22.26) and between the ED patients and the general population participants (Mean=136.63, SD=19.56). The Spanish version of the RS-25 is a psychometrically sound measurement tool in samples of ED patients. Resilience is lower in people diagnosed with ED than in recovered individuals and the general population. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantifying retinal microvascular changes in uveitis using spectral domain optical coherence tomography angiography (SD-OCTA)

PubMed Central

Kim, Alice Y.; Rodger, Damien C.; Shahidzadeh, Anoush; Chu, Zhongdi; Koulisis, Nicole; Burkemper, Bruce; Jiang, Xuejuan; Pepple, Kathryn L.; Wang, Ruikang K.; Puliafito, Carmen A.; Rao, Narsing A.; Kashani, Amir H.

2016-01-01

Purpose To quantify retinal capillary density and morphology in uveitis using SD-OCTA. Design Cross-sectional, observational study Methods Healthy and uveitic subjects were recruited from two tertiary care eye centers. Prototype SD-OCTA devices (Cirrus, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA) were used to generate 3×3 mm2 OCTA images centered on the fovea. Subjects were placed into 3 groups based on the type of optical microangiography (OMAG) algorithm used for image processing (intensity-and/or phase) and type of retinal segmentation (automatic or manual). A semi-automated method was used to calculate skeleton density (SD), vessel density (VD), fractal dimension (FD), and vessel diameter index (VDI). Retinal vasculature was assessed in the superficial retinal layer (SRL), deep retinal layer (DRL), and non-segmented retinal layer (NS-RL). A generalized estimating equations model was used to analyze associations between the OCTA measures and disease status within each retinal layer. A P value < 0.05 was accepted as significant. Reproducibility and repeatability were assessed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Results The SD, VD, and FD of the parafoveal capillaries were lower in uveitic eyes compared to healthy eyes in all retinal segments. In addition, SD and VD were significantly lower in the DRL of subjects with uveitic macular edema. There was no correlation in any capillary parameters and anatomic classification of uveitis. Conclusions Quantitative analysis of parafoveal capillary density and morphology in uveitis demonstrates significantly lower capillary density and complexity. SD-OCTA algorithms are robust enough to detect these changes and can provide a novel diagnostic index of disease for uveitis subjects. PMID:27594138

Dedifferentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma spontaneously occurring in an aged SD rat

PubMed Central

Naito, Tomoharu; Saito, Tsuyoshi; Higuchi, Tamami; Inomata, Akira; Hayashi, Takuo; Shimada, Yasuhiro; Yamauchi-Ohguchi, Atsuko; Kenmochi, Sayaka; Kakinuma, Chihaya; Yao, Takashi

2018-01-01

Liposarcoma is a rare neoplasm in rats and is characterized by the presence of lipoblasts containing multiple cytoplasmic vacuoles. We encountered a rare type of liposarcoma in a male SD (Crj:CD(SD)IGS) rat during a long-term study to gather background data. At necropsy at 105 weeks of age, there was a large amount of fatty tissue covering the mesentery, pancreas, and retroperitoneum; a white nodule in the right kidney; and paleness of the liver. Microscopically, the tumor had a well-differentiated component and dedifferentiated high-grade component. Immunohistochemical and electron microscopic examinations revealed that the pleomorphic tumor cells retained the characteristics of lipoblasts. Distant or disseminated metastasis was also confirmed in various organs. A liposarcoma with these histological features is extremely rare in rats, and this is the first report of a highly metastatic dedifferentiated type of liposarcoma originating from the abdominal fat tissue in a rat. PMID:29750003

Why Do Cancer Patients Die in the Emergency Department? An Analysis of 283 Deaths in NC EDs

PubMed Central

Leak, Ashley; Mayer, Deborah K.; Wyss, Annah; Travers, Debbie; Waller, Anna

2013-01-01

Emergency department (ED) visits are made by cancer patients for symptom management, treatment effects, oncologic emergencies, or end of life care. While most patients prefer to die at home, many die in health care institutions. The purpose of this study is to describe visit characteristics of cancer patients who died in the ED and their most common chief complaints using 2008 ED visit data from the North Carolina Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool (NC DETECT). Of the 37,760 cancer-related ED visits, 283 resulted in death. For lung cancer patients, 104 died in the ED with 70.9% dying on their first ED visit. Research on factors precipitating ED visits by cancer patients is needed to address end of life care needs. PMID:22556288

ED utilization trends in sports-related traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Hanson, Holly R; Pomerantz, Wendy J; Gittelman, Mike

2013-10-01

Emergency department (ED) visits for sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have risen. This study evaluated how the number and severity of admissions have changed as ED visits for sports-related TBIs have increased. A retrospective study of children aged 0 to 19 years at a level 1 trauma center was performed. Patients from 2002 to 2011 with a primary or secondary diagnosis of TBI were identified from the hospital's inpatient and outpatient trauma registries. Frequencies were used to characterize the population, χ(2) analysis was performed to determine differences between groups, and regression analysis looked at relationship between year and injury severity score or length of stay. Sport was responsible for injury in 3878 (15.4%) cases during the study period; 3506 (90.4%) were discharged from the hospital, and 372 (9.6%) were admitted. Seventy-three percent were male patients and 78% Caucasian; mean age was 13 ± 3.5 years. ED visits for sports-related TBIs increased 92% over the study period, yet there was no significant change (χ(2) = 9.8, df = 9, P = .37) in the percentage of children admitted. Mean injury severity score for those admitted decreased from 7.8 to 4.8 (β = -0.46; P = .006); length of stay trended downward (β = -0.05; P = .05). The percentage of children being admitted from the ED with sports-related TBI has not changed over the past 10 years. The severity of admitted sports-related TBI is decreasing. Additional research is needed to correlate these trends with other TBI mechanisms.

Mental Health and Academic Achievement among M.Ed. Students in Kerala

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moradi Sheykhjan, Tohid; K., Rajeswari; Jabari, Kamran

2017-01-01

The present research endeavor was aimed to assess relationship between Mental Health and Academic Achievement among M.Ed. students in Kerala. The sample of the study consisted of 314 M.Ed. students in Kerala. The method used for the present study was survey method. Mental Health Status Scale (M.H.S. Scale) was used and the study used the total…

The EdD Cohort Experience: Students' Reflection on the Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atabay, Kyle; Cravalho, Erika K.; Demirbag, Jocelyn Romero; Ka'ai, Elsa Pua; Kaneshiro, Alyson; Nakasato, Steve

2017-01-01

Presented as a collection of short essays, the authors of this article reflect on their experience in the University of Hawaii at Manoa EdD program and the questions, "What have you been able to take away from the experience?" and "What are you doing now that the EdD made possible?" The authors entered the program with a wealth…

Rapid Evolution of a Coadapted Gene Complex: Evidence from the Segregation Distorter (Sd) System of Meiotic Drive in Drosophila Melanogaster

PubMed Central

Palopoli, M. F.; Wu, C. I.

1996-01-01

Segregation Distorter (SD) is a system of meiotic drive found in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Males heterozygous for an SD second chromosome and a normal homologue (SD(+)) produce predominantly SD-bearing sperm. The coadapted gene complex responsible for this transmission advantage spans the second chromosome centromere, consisting of three major and several minor interacting loci. To investigate the evolutionary history of this system, we surveyed levels of polymorphism and divergence at six genes that together encompass this pericentromeric region and span seven map units. Interestingly, there was no discernible divergence between SD and SD(+) chromosomes for any of these molecular markers. Furthermore, SD chromosomes harbored much less polymorphism than did SD(+) chromosomes. The results suggest that the SD system evolved recently, swept to appreciable frequencies worldwide, and carried with it the entire second chromosome centromeric region (roughly 10% of the genome). Despite its well-documented genetic complexity, this coadapted system appears to have evolved on a time scale that is much shorter than can be gauged using nucleotide substitution data. Finally, the large genomic region hitchhiking with SD indicates that a multilocus, epistatically selected system could affect the levels of DNA polymorphism observed in regions of reduced recombination. PMID:8844155

Treatment motivation of men with ED: what motivates men with ED to seek professional help and how can women support their partners?

PubMed

Gerster, S; Günzler, C; Roesler, C; Leiber, C; Berner, M M

2013-01-01

Although ED can impair sexual satisfaction as well as the quality of partnership and life, men affected often avoid seeking treatment. There is growing evidence that women have an influence on their partner's help-seeking behavior. This qualitative study examined men with ED and their female partners in order to detect motivational factors for men to seek treatment and motivational actions of the women to support their partners. Twelve couples took part in a semi-structured telephone interview, which was performed separately in men and women. Analysis was on the basis of the Grounded Theory. The identified motivational factors could be divided into extrinsic (for example, media, female partner) and intrinsic (for example, desire to clarify the cause of the ED, hope for improvement) factors. Women can support their partners in treatment-seeking through various motivational actions such as talking with each other, showing interest and dealing actively with the problem, appealing to the male self-esteem, supporting the doctor's visit, forcing the treatment, active cooperation and participation in the treatment or initiating sexual intercourse. On the basis of these findings, recommendations for women were developed to support their partners and increase the probability of help-seeking behavior.

Patient-Centered Care Transition for Patients Admitted through the ED: Improving Patient and Employee Experience

PubMed Central

Algauer, Andrea; Rivera, Stephanie; Faurote, Robert

2015-01-01

With increasing wait times in emergency departments (ED) across America, there is a need to streamline the inpatient admission process in order to decrease wait times and more important, to increase patient and employee satisfaction. One inpatient unit at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center initiated a program to help expedite the inpatient admission process from the ED. The goal of the ED Bridge program is to ease the patient's transition from the ED to an inpatient unit by visiting the patient in the ED and introducing and setting expectations for the inpatient environment (i.e. telemetry alarms, roommates, hourly comfort rounds). Along with improving the patient experience, this program intends to improve the collaboration between ED nurses and inpatient nurses. With the continued support of our nurse management, hospital administrators and most important, our staff, this concept is aimed to increase patient satisfaction scores and subsequently employee satisfaction. PMID:28725813

Differential cDNA cloning by enzymatic degrading subtraction (EDS).

PubMed Central

Zeng, J; Gorski, R A; Hamer, D

1994-01-01

We describe a new method, called enzymatic degrading subtraction (EDS), for the construction of subtractive libraries from PCR amplified cDNA. The novel features of this method are that i) the tester DNA is blocked by thionucleotide incorporation; ii) the rate of hybridization is accelerated by phenol-emulsion reassociation; and iii) the driver cDNA and hybrid molecules are enzymatically removed by digestion with exonucleases III and VII rather than by physical partitioning. We demonstrate the utility of EDS by constructing a subtractive library enriched for cDNAs expressed in adult but not in embryonic rat brains. Images PMID:7971268

Risk Factors for Increased ED Utilization in a Multinational Cohort of Children with Sickle Cell Disease

PubMed Central

Glassberg, Jeffrey A.; Wang, Jason; Cohen, Robyn; Richardson, Lynne D.; DeBaun, Michael R.

2012-01-01

Objectives To identify clinical, social, and environmental risk factors for increased emergency department (ED) use in children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Methods This study was a secondary analysis of ED utilization data from the international multicenter Silent Cerebral Infarct Transfusion (SIT) trial. Between December 2004 and June 2010, baseline demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected from children with SCD participating in the trial. The primary outcome was the frequency of ED visits for pain. A secondary outcome was the frequency of ED visits for acute chest syndrome. Results The sample included 985 children from the US, Canada, England, and France, for a total of 2,955 patient-years of data. There were 0.74 ED visits for pain per patient-year. A past medical history of asthma was associated with an increased risk of ED utilization for both pain (RR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.58) and acute chest syndrome (RR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.03 to 2.49). Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the home was associated with 73% more ED visits for acute chest syndrome (RR 1.73, 95% CI = 1.09 to 2.74). Each $10,000 increase in household income was associated with 5% fewer ED visits for pain (RR 0.95, 95% CI = 0.91 to 1.00, p = 0.05). The association between low income and ED utilization was not significantly different in the USA vs. countries with universal health care (p = 0.51). Conclusions Asthma and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke are potentially modifiable risk factors for greater ED use in children with SCD. Low income is associated with greater ED use for SCD pain in countries with and without universal health care. PMID:22687181

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Citywide Emergency Department Care Coordination Program to Reduce Prescription Opioid Related ED Visits

PubMed Central

Paulozzi, Leonard J.; Howell, Donelle; McPherson, Sterling; Murphy, Sean M.; Grohs, Becky; Marsh, Linda; Lederhos, Crystal; Roll, Jon

2017-01-01

Background Increasing prescription overdose deaths have demonstrated the need for safer ED prescribing practices for patients who are frequent ED users. Objectives We hypothesized that the care of frequent ED users would improve using a citywide care coordination program combined with an ED care coordination information system, as measured by fewer ED visits by and decreased controlled substance prescribing to these patients. Methods We conducted a multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) across all EDs in a metropolitan area. 165 patients with the most ED visits for complaints of pain were randomized. For the treatment arm, drivers of ED use were identified by medical record review. Patients and their primary care providers were contacted by phone. Each patient was discussed at a community multidisciplinary meeting where recommendations for ED care were formed. The ED care recommendations were stored in an ED information exchange system that faxed them to the treating ED provider when the patient presented to the ED. The control arm was subjected to treatment as usual. Results The intervention arm experienced a 34% decrease (IRR = 0.66, p < 0.001; 95% CI: 0.57 – 0.78) in ED visits and an 80% decrease (OR = 0.21, p = 0.001) in the odds of receiving an opioid prescription from the ED relative to the control group. Declines of 43.7%, 53.1%, 52.9%, and 53.1% were observed in the treatment group for morphine milligram equivalents, controlled substance pills, prescriptions, and prescribers. Conclusion This RCT showed the effectiveness of a citywide ED care coordination program in reducing ED visits and controlled substance prescribing. PMID:27624507

Cytoplasmic Streaming - Skylab Student Experiment ED-63

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

This chart describes the Skylab student experiment (ED-63), Cytoplasmic Streaming, proposed by Cheryl A. Peitz of Arapahoe High School, Littleton, Colorado. Experiment ED-63 was to observe the effect of zero-gravity on cytoplasmic streaming in the aquatic plant named Elodea, commonly called water weed or water thyme. The phenomenon of cytoplasmic streaming is not well understood, but it is recognized as the circulation mechanism of the internal materials or cytoplasm of a cell. Cytoplasm is a gelatinous substance that has the ability to change its viscosity and flow, carrying various cell materials with it. The activity can be stimulated by sunlight or heat. In March 1972, NASA and the National Science Teachers Association selected 25 experiment proposals for flight on Skylab. Science advisors from the Marshall Space Flight Center aided and assisted the students in developing the proposals for flight on Skylab.

Using Google Flu Trends data in forecasting influenza-like-illness related ED visits in Omaha, Nebraska.

PubMed

Araz, Ozgur M; Bentley, Dan; Muelleman, Robert L

2014-09-01

Emergency department (ED) visits increase during the influenza seasons. It is essential to identify statistically significant correlates in order to develop an accurate forecasting model for ED visits. Forecasting influenza-like-illness (ILI)-related ED visits can significantly help in developing robust resource management strategies at the EDs. We first performed correlation analyses to understand temporal correlations between several predictors of ILI-related ED visits. We used the data available for Douglas County, the biggest county in Nebraska, for Omaha, the biggest city in the state, and for a major hospital in Omaha. The data set included total and positive influenza test results from the hospital (ie, Antigen rapid (Ag) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV) tests); an Internet-based influenza surveillance system data, that is, Google Flu Trends, for both Nebraska and Omaha; total ED visits in Douglas County attributable to ILI; and ILI surveillance network data for Douglas County and Nebraska as the predictors and data for the hospital's ILI-related ED visits as the dependent variable. We used Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average and Holt Winters methods with3 linear regression models to forecast ILI-related ED visits at the hospital and evaluated model performances by comparing the root means square errors (RMSEs). Because of strong positive correlations with ILI-related ED visits between 2008 and 2012, we validated the use of Google Flu Trends data as a predictor in an ED influenza surveillance tool. Of the 5 forecasting models we have tested, linear regression models performed significantly better when Google Flu Trends data were included as a predictor. Regression models including Google Flu Trends data as a predictor variable have lower RMSE, and the lowest is achieved when all other variables are also included in the model in our forecasting experiments for the first 5 weeks of 2013 (with RMSE = 57.61). Google Flu Trends data

A non-toxic microbial surfactant from Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus SdK644 for crude oil solubilization enhancement.

PubMed

Zenati, Billal; Chebbi, Alif; Badis, Abdelmalek; Eddouaouda, Kamel; Boutoumi, Hocine; El Hattab, Mohamed; Hentati, Dorra; Chelbi, Manel; Sayadi, Sami; Chamkha, Mohamed; Franzetti, Andrea

2018-06-15

This study aims to investigate the ability of a biosurfactant produced by Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus strain SdK644 isolated from hydrocarbon contaminated sediment to enhance the solubilization rate of crude oil contaminated seawater. Phylogenetic analysis shows that strain SdK644 was very closely related to M. hydrocarbonoclasticus with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 97.44%. Using waste frying oil as inducer carbon source, the producing biosurfactant by strain SdK644 was applied to improve crude oil solubilization in seawater. The preliminary characterization of the produced biosurfactant by FT-IR analysis indicates its possible classification in a glycolipids group. Results from crude oil solubilization assay showed that SdK644 strain biosurfactant was 2-fold greater than Tween 80 surfactant in crude oil solubilization and 12-fold higher than seawater control, as shown by GC-MS analysis of aliphatic compounds. Furthermore, this bioactive compound was shown to be nontoxic against Artemia larvae in short-term acute toxicity bioassay. Generally, the results showed the possible use of M. hydrocarbonoclasticus strain SdK644 biosurfactant in bioremediation processes of the marine environments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Are triage questions sufficient to assign fall risk precautions in the ED?

PubMed

Southerland, Lauren T; Slattery, Lauren; Rosenthal, Joseph A; Kegelmeyer, Deborah; Kloos, Anne

2017-02-01

The American College of Emergency Physicians Geriatric Emergency Department (ED) Guidelines and the Center for Disease Control recommend that older adults be assessed for risk of falls. The standard ED assessment is a verbal query of fall risk factors, which may be inadequate. We hypothesized that the addition of a functional balance test endorsed by the Center for Disease Control Stop Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries Falls Prevention Guidelines, the 4-Stage Balance Test (4SBT), would improve the detection of patients at risk for falls. Prospective pilot study of a convenience sample of ambulatory adults 65 years and older in the ED. All participants received the standard nursing triage fall risk assessment. After patients were stabilized in their ED room, the 4SBT was administered. The 58 participants had an average age of 74.1 years (range, 65-94), 40.0% were women, and 98% were community dwelling. Five (8.6%) presented to the ED for a fall-related chief complaint. The nursing triage screen identified 39.7% (n=23) as at risk for falls, whereas the 4SBT identified 43% (n=25). Combining triage questions with the 4SBT identified 60.3% (n=35) as at high risk for falls, as compared with 39.7% (n=23) with triage questions alone (P<.01). Ten (17%) of the patients at high risk by 4SBT and missed by triage questions were inpatients unaware that they were at risk for falls (new diagnoses). Incorporating a quick functional test of balance into the ED assessment for fall risk is feasible and significantly increases the detection of older adults at risk for falls. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Incorporating Alternative Care Site Characteristics Into Estimates of Substitutable ED Visits.

PubMed

Trueger, Nathan Seth; Chua, Kao-Ping; Hussain, Aamir; Liferidge, Aisha T; Pitts, Stephen R; Pines, Jesse M

2017-07-01

Several recent efforts to improve health care value have focused on reducing emergency department (ED) visits that potentially could be treated in alternative care sites (ie, primary care offices, retail clinics, and urgent care centers). Estimates of the number of these visits may depend on assumptions regarding the operating hours and functional capabilities of alternative care sites. However, methods to account for the variability in these characteristics have not been developed. To develop methods to incorporate the variability in alternative care site characteristics into estimates of ED visit "substitutability." Our approach uses the range of hours and capabilities among alternative care sites to estimate lower and upper bounds of ED visit substitutability. We constructed "basic" and "extended" criteria that captured the plausible degree of variation in each site's hours and capabilities. To illustrate our approach, we analyzed data from 22,697 ED visits by adults in the 2011 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, defining a visit as substitutable if it was treat-and-release and met both the operating hours and functional capabilities criteria. Use of the combined basic hours/basic capabilities criteria and extended hours/extended capabilities generated lower and upper bounds of estimates. Our criteria classified 5.5%-27.1%, 7.6%-20.4%, and 10.6%-46.0% of visits as substitutable in primary care offices, retail clinics, and urgent care centers, respectively. Alternative care sites vary widely in operating hours and functional capabilities. Methods such as ours may help incorporate this variability into estimates of ED visit substitutability.

New Zealand's emergency department target - did it reduce ED length of stay, and if so, how and when?

PubMed

Tenbensel, Tim; Chalmers, Linda; Jones, Peter; Appleton-Dyer, Sarah; Walton, Lisa; Ameratunga, Shanthi

2017-09-26

In 2009, the New Zealand government introduced a hospital emergency department (ED) target - 95% of patients seen, treated or discharged within 6 h - in order to alleviate crowding in public hospital EDs. While these targets were largely met by 2012, research suggests that such targets can be met without corresponding overall reductions in ED length-of-stay (LOS). Our research explores whether the NZ ED time target actually reduced ED LOS, and if so, how and when. We adopted a mixed-methods approach with integration of data sources. After selecting four hospitals as case study sites, we collected all ED utilisation data for the period 2006 to 2012. ED LOS data was derived in two forms-reported ED LOS, and total ED LOS - which included time spent in short-stay units. This data was used to identify changes in the length of ED stay, and describe the timing of these changes to these indicators. Sixty-eight semi-structured interviews and two surveys of hospital clinicians and managers were conducted between 2011 and 2013. This data was then explored to identify factors that could account for ED LOS changes and their timing. Reported ED LOS reduced in all sites after the introduction of the target, and continued to reduce in 2011 and 2012. However, total ED LOS only decreased from 2008 to 2010, and did not reduce further in any hospital. Increased use of short-stay units largely accounted for these differences. Interview and survey data showed changes to improve patient flow were introduced in the early implementation period, whereas increased ED resources, better information systems to monitor target performance, and leadership and social marketing strategies mainly took throughout 2011 and 2012 when total ED LOS was not reducing. While the ED target clearly stimulated improvements in patient flow, our analysis also questions the value of ED targets as a long term approach. Increased use of short-stay units suggests that the target became less effective in 'standing

Efficient Round-Trip Time Optimization for Replica-Exchange Enveloping Distribution Sampling (RE-EDS).

PubMed

Sidler, Dominik; Cristòfol-Clough, Michael; Riniker, Sereina

2017-06-13

Replica-exchange enveloping distribution sampling (RE-EDS) allows the efficient estimation of free-energy differences between multiple end-states from a single molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. In EDS, a reference state is sampled, which can be tuned by two types of parameters, i.e., smoothness parameters(s) and energy offsets, such that all end-states are sufficiently sampled. However, the choice of these parameters is not trivial. Replica exchange (RE) or parallel tempering is a widely applied technique to enhance sampling. By combining EDS with the RE technique, the parameter choice problem could be simplified and the challenge shifted toward an optimal distribution of the replicas in the smoothness-parameter space. The choice of a certain replica distribution can alter the sampling efficiency significantly. In this work, global round-trip time optimization (GRTO) algorithms are tested for the use in RE-EDS simulations. In addition, a local round-trip time optimization (LRTO) algorithm is proposed for systems with slowly adapting environments, where a reliable estimate for the round-trip time is challenging to obtain. The optimization algorithms were applied to RE-EDS simulations of a system of nine small-molecule inhibitors of phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT). The energy offsets were determined using our recently proposed parallel energy-offset (PEOE) estimation scheme. While the multistate GRTO algorithm yielded the best replica distribution for the ligands in water, the multistate LRTO algorithm was found to be the method of choice for the ligands in complex with PNMT. With this, the 36 alchemical free-energy differences between the nine ligands were calculated successfully from a single RE-EDS simulation 10 ns in length. Thus, RE-EDS presents an efficient method for the estimation of relative binding free energies.

Automated segmentation of serous pigment epithelium detachment in SD-OCT images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhuli; Shi, Fei; Xiang, Dehui; Chen, Haoyu; Chen, Xinjian

2015-03-01

Pigment epithelium detachment (PED) is an important clinical manifestation of multiple chorio-retinal disease processes, which can cause the loss of central vision. A 3-D method is proposed to automatically segment serous PED in SD-OCT images. The proposed method consists of five steps: first, a curvature anisotropic diffusion filter is applied to remove speckle noise. Second, the graph search method is applied for abnormal retinal layer segmentation associated with retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) deformation. During this process, Bruch's membrane, which doesn't show in the SD-OCT images, is estimated with the convex hull algorithm. Third, the foreground and background seeds are automatically obtained from retinal layer segmentation result. Fourth, the serous PED is segmented based on the graph cut method. Finally, a post-processing step is applied to remove false positive regions based on mathematical morphology. The proposed method was tested on 20 SD-OCT volumes from 20 patients diagnosed with serous PED. The average true positive volume fraction (TPVF), false positive volume fraction (FPVF), dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and positive predictive value (PPV) are 97.19%, 0.03%, 96.34% and 95.59%, respectively. Linear regression analysis shows a strong correlation (r = 0.975) comparing the segmented PED volumes with the ground truth labeled by an ophthalmology expert. The proposed method can provide clinicians with accurate quantitative information, including shape, size and position of the PED regions, which can assist diagnose and treatment.

Multicolor Photometry and Time-resolved Spectroscopy of Two sdBV Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, M. D.; O'Toole, S. J.; Telting, J. H.; Østensen, R. H.; Heber, U.; Barlow, B. N.; Reichart, D. E.; Nysewander, M. C.; LaCluyze, A. P.; Ivarsen, K. M.; Haislip, J. B.; Bean, J.

2012-03-01

Observational mode constraints have mostly been lacking for short period pulsating sdB stars, yet such identifications are vital to constrain models. Time-resolved spectroscopy and multicolor photometry have been employed with mixed results for short-period pulsating sdB stars. Time-resolved spectroscopy has successfully measured radial velocity, temperature, and gravity variations in six pulsators, yet interpreting results is far from straightforward. Multicolor photometry requires extremely high precision to discern between low-degree modes, yet has been used effectively to eliminate high-degree modes. Combining radial velocity (RV) and multicolor measurements has also been shown as an effective means of constraining mode identifications. We present preliminary results for Feige 48 and EC 01541-1409 using both time-resolved spectroscopy and multicolor photometry and an initial examination of their pulsation modes using the atmospheric codes BRUCE and KYLIE.

Intoxication-Related AmED (Alcohol Mixed with Energy Drink) Expectancies Scale: Initial Development and Validation

PubMed Central

Miller, Kathleen E.; Dermen, Kurt H.; Lucke, Joseph F.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND Young adult use of alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmEDs) has been linked with elevated risks for a constellation of problem behaviors. These risks may be conditioned by expectancies regarding the effects of caffeine in conjunction with alcohol consumption. The aim of this study was to describe the construction and psychometric evaluation of the Intoxication-Related AmED Expectancies Scale (AmED_EXPI), 15 self-report items measuring beliefs about how the experience of AmED intoxication differs from the experience of noncaffeinated alcohol (NCA) intoxication. METHODS Scale development and testing were conducted using data from a U.S. national sample of 3,105 adolescents and emerging adults aged 13–25. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate the factor structure and establish factor invariance across gender, age, and prior experience with AmED use. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses examining correlates of AmED use were used to assess construct and predictive validity. RESULTS In confirmatory factor analyses, fit indices for the hypothesized four-factor structure (i.e., Intoxication Management [IM], Alertness [AL], Sociability [SO], and Jitters [JT]) revealed a moderately good fit to the data. Together, these factors accounted for 75.3% of total variance. The factor structure was stable across male/female, teen/young adult, and AmED experience/no experience subgroups. The resultant unit-weighted subscales showed strong internal consistency and satisfactory convergent validity. Baseline scores on the IM, SO, and JT subscales predicted changes in AmED use over a subsequent three-month period. CONCLUSIONS The AmED_EXPI appears to be a reliable and valid tool for measuring expectancies about the effects of caffeine during alcohol intoxication. PMID:28421613

Adopting the edTPA as a High-Stakes Assessment: Resistance, Advocacy, and Reflection in Illinois

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Jennifer D.; Rao, Arthi B.

2017-01-01

The edTPA, a national performance assessment for teacher candidates, has seen rapid adoption across the country since its development in 2009. Against the national backdrop of high stakes testing and accountability, the edTPA was developed to be an indicator of teachers' readiness to teach. The varying perspectives and responses to edTPA in…

Debunking the Myths. Research Offers Ammunition to Fight Misperceptions of Voc Ed.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Jim

1993-01-01

Debunks seven myths: vocational students are low achievers, they do not pursue higher education, voc ed does not help academic competence, it does not make a difference in the labor market, vocational students are economically rich and psychologically poor, student employment engenders poor work attitudes, and voc ed is a poor investment. (SK)

Formation and tidal synchronization of sdB stars in binaries an asteroseismic investigation using Kepler Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pablo, Herbert William

Subdwarf B (sdB) stars are low mass (0.5 M sun) helium burning stars with thin hydrogen envelopes and Teff 22000-40000 K. Many of these stars are found in binary systems. One common proposed formation mechanism is common envelope (CE) ejection, where the companion spirals deep into the star's envelope ejecting the outer layers and forming a close binary system. In this dissertation, we use short cadence (tint=58.86 s) Kepler photometric time-series data to study three close sdB binaries with P ≈ 10 hours and g-mode pulsations. Asteroseismic analysis finds that each system has a constant period spacing of ΔP ≈ 250 s consistent with single sdB stars. This analysis also shows the presence of rotational multiplets which we used to find the rotation period. In all three cases the binary system is far from tidal synchronization with a rotation period an order of magnitude longer than the orbital period. These observations agree with predictions using the Zahn formulation of tidal evolution which predicts a synchronization time longer than the sdB lifetime (108 yr). We use this synchronization time to backtrack the sdB's rotation history and find its initial rotation period as it is first exiting the CE. This is one of the only observationally based constraints that has been placed on CE evolution. Preliminary investigations of single sdB stars show similar rotation periods, indicating that the rotation period may be independent of the formation channel.

SD-MSAEs: Promoter recognition in human genome based on deep feature extraction.

PubMed

Xu, Wenxuan; Zhang, Li; Lu, Yaping

2016-06-01

The prediction and recognition of promoter in human genome play an important role in DNA sequence analysis. Entropy, in Shannon sense, of information theory is a multiple utility in bioinformatic details analysis. The relative entropy estimator methods based on statistical divergence (SD) are used to extract meaningful features to distinguish different regions of DNA sequences. In this paper, we choose context feature and use a set of methods of SD to select the most effective n-mers distinguishing promoter regions from other DNA regions in human genome. Extracted from the total possible combinations of n-mers, we can get four sparse distributions based on promoter and non-promoters training samples. The informative n-mers are selected by optimizing the differentiating extents of these distributions. Specially, we combine the advantage of statistical divergence and multiple sparse auto-encoders (MSAEs) in deep learning to extract deep feature for promoter recognition. And then we apply multiple SVMs and a decision model to construct a human promoter recognition method called SD-MSAEs. Framework is flexible that it can integrate new feature extraction or new classification models freely. Experimental results show that our method has high sensitivity and specificity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A weak magnetic field inhibits hippocampal neurogenesis in SD rats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, B.; Tian, L.; Cai, Y.; Pan, Y.

2017-12-01

Geomagnetic field is an important barrier that protects life forms on Earth from solar wind and radiation. Paleomagnetic data have well demonstrated that the strength of ancient geomagnetic field was dramatically weakened during a polarity transition. Accumulating evidence has shown that weak magnetic field exposures has serious adverse effects on the metabolism and behaviors in organisms. Hippocampal neurogenesis occurs throughout life in mammals' brains which plays a key role in brain function, and can be influenced by animals' age as well as environmental factors, but few studies have examined the response of hippocampal neurogenesis to it. In the present study, we have investigated the weak magnetic field effects on hippocampal neurogenesis of adult Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Two types of magnetic fields were used, a weak magnetic field (≤1.3 μT) and the geomagnetic fields (51 μT).The latter is treated as a control condition. SD rats were exposure to the weak magnetic field up to 6 weeks. We measured the changes of newborn nerve cells' proliferation and survival, immature neurons, neurons and apoptosis in the dentate gyrus (DG) of hippocampus in SD rats. Results showed that, the weak magnetic field (≤1.3 μT) inhibited their neural stem cells proliferation and significantly reduced the survival of newborn nerve cells, immature neurons and neurons after 2 or 4 weeks continuous treatment (i.e. exposure to weak magnetic field). Moreover, apoptosis tests indicated the weak magnetic field can promote apoptosis of nerve cells in the hippocampus after 4 weeks treatment. Together, our new data indicate that weak magnetic field decrease adult hippocampal neurogenesis through inhibiting neural stem cells proliferation and promoting apoptosis, which provides useful experimental constraints on better understanding the mechanism of linkage between life and geomagnetic field.

Passive damping in EDS maglev systems.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rote, D. M.

2002-05-03

There continues to be strong interest in the subjects of damping and drag forces associated with electrodynamic suspension (EDS) systems. While electromagnetic drag forces resist the forward motion of a vehicle and therefore consume energy, damping forces control, at least in part, the response of the vehicle to disturbances. Ideally, one would like to reduce the drag forces as much as possible while retaining adequate damping forces to insure dynamic stability and satisfactory ride quality. These two goals turn out to be difficult to achieve in practice. It is well known that maglev systems tend to be intrinsically under damped.more » Consequently it is often necessary in a practical system design to enhance the damping passively or actively. For reasons of cost and simplicity, it is desirable to rely as much as possible on passive damping mechanisms. In this paper, rough estimates are made of the passive damping and drag forces caused by various mechanisms in EDS systems. No attention will be given to active control systems or secondary suspension systems which are obvious ways to augment passive damping mechanisms if the latter prove to be inadequate.« less

The University Supervisor, edTPA, and the New Making of the Teacher

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donovan, Martha K.; Cannon, Susan O.

2018-01-01

As university supervisors at a large, urban university in the southern US, we examined the ways that the Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) shaped the pedagogic relationships and decision-making processes of our students and ourselves during the spring of 2016. We situated this study of edTPA within the framework of critical policy…

New guidelines for geriatric EDs: guidance focused on boosting environment, care processes.

PubMed

2014-05-01

A cadre of prominent medical groups, including the ACEP, ENA, AGS, and SAEM, has unveiled a comprehensive set of Geriatric Emergency Department Guidelines to aid hospitals that are either in the process of opening senior-focused EDs or revamping their policies and procedures to better meet the needs of an aging population. The guidelines offer recommendations related to staffing, infrastructure, education, and transition-of-care strategies. In addition, they outline a host of screenings that studies have shown are beneficial for older adults. Experts note that hospital systems around the country have already opened 50 geriatric EDs, with many more facilities in development. Guideline authors state that the guidelines take an evidence-based approach to managing senior patients. While more cost and outcomes data are needed, experts say that senior-focused improvements to emergency care can reduce admissions and return visits to the ED while also boosting patient satisfaction. Future efforts will focus on prioritizing the guideline recommendations so that ED administrators concerned with improving senior care will tackle the most important changes first.

The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute Archives: KOA and NStED

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berriman, G. B.; Ciardi, D.; Abajian, M.; Barlow, T.; Bryden, G.; von Braun, K.; Good, J.; Kane, S.; Kong, M.; Laity, A.; Lynn, M.; Elroy, D. M.; Plavchan, P.; Ramirez, S.; Schmitz, M.; Stauffer, J.; Wyatt, P.; Zhang, A.; Goodrich, R.; Mader, J.; Tran, H.; Tsubota, M.; Beekley, A.; Berukoff, S.; Chan, B.; Lau, C.; Regelson, M.; Saucedo, M.; Swain, M.

2010-12-01

The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI) maintains a series of archival services in support of NASA’s planet finding and characterization goals. Two of the larger archival services at NExScI are the Keck Observatory Archive (KOA) and the NASA Star and Exoplanet Database (NStED). KOA, a collaboration between the W. M. Keck Observatory and NExScI, serves raw data from the High Resolution Echelle Spectrograph (HIRES) and extracted spectral browse products. As of June 2009, KOA hosts over 28 million files (4.7 TB) from over 2,000 nights. In Spring 2010, it will begin to serve data from the Near-Infrared Echelle Spectrograph (NIRSPEC). NStED is a general purpose archive with the aim of providing support for NASA’s planet finding and characterization goals, and stellar astrophysics. There are two principal components of NStED: a database of (currently) all known exoplanets, and images; and an archive dedicated to high precision photometric surveys for transiting exoplanets. NStED is the US portal to the CNES mission CoRoT, the first space mission dedicated to the discovery and characterization of exoplanets. These archives share a common software and hardware architecture with the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). The software architecture consists of standalone utilities that perform generic query and retrieval functions. They are called through program interfaces and plugged together to form applications through a simple executive library.

EdTrAc Teacher Education Program: First-Year Implementation Evaluation (2005-2006)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pittman, Brian; Shelton, Ellen

2006-01-01

The Educational Training Academy (EdTrAc) is an NSF-funded project of Normandale Community College to increase the number, diversity, and skills of students preparing to be elementary and middle school teachers with a specialty in math and science. Overall, this evaluation indicates that the EdTrAc implementation is on track after its first year…

Staphylococcus aureus leukocidin ED contributes to systemic infection by targeting neutrophils and promoting bacterial growth in vivo

PubMed Central

Alonzo, Francis; Benson, Meredith A.; Chen, John; Novick, Richard P.; Shopsin, Bo; Torres, Victor J.

2011-01-01

SUMMARY Bloodstream infection with Staphylococcus aureus is common and can be fatal. However, virulence factors that contribute to lethality in S. aureus bloodstream infection are poorly defined. We discovered that LukED, a commonly overlooked leukotoxin, is critical for S. aureus bloodstream infection in mice. We also determined that LukED promotes S. aureus replication in vivo by directly killing phagocytes recruited to sites of hematogenously-seeded tissue. Furthermore, we established that murine neutrophils are the primary target of LukED, as the greater virulence of wild type S. aureus compared to a lukED mutant was abrogated by depleting neutrophils. The in vivo toxicity of LukED toward murine phagocytes is unique among S. aureus leukotoxins, implying its crucial role in pathogenesis. Moreover, the tropism of LukED for murine phagocytes highlights the utility of murine models to study LukED pathobiology, including development and testing of strategies to inhibit toxin activity and control bacterial infection. PMID:22142035

AmeriFlux US-SdH Nebraska SandHills Dry Valley

DOE Data Explorer

Arkebauer, Tim J. [University of Nebraska; Billesbach, Dave [University of Nebraska

2016-01-01

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-SdH Nebraska SandHills Dry Valley. Site Description - The Nebraska SandHills Dry Valley tower is located on public land owned by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The site is on a research cattle ranch where grazing primarily takes place.

Process modeling of emergency department patient flow: effect of patient length of stay on ED diversion.

PubMed

Kolker, Alexander

2008-10-01

A discreet event simulation methodology has been used to establish a quantitative relationship between Emergency Department (ED) performance characteristics, such as percent of time on ambulance diversion and the number of patients in queue in the waiting room, and the upper limits of patient length of stay (LOS). A simulation process model of ED patient flow has been developed that took into account a significant difference between LOS distributions of patients discharged home and patients admitted into the hospital. Using simulation model it has been identified that ED diversion could be negligible (less than approximately 0.5%) if patients discharged home stay in ED not more than 5 h, and patients admitted into the hospital stay in ED not more than 6 h Using full factorial design of experiments with two factors and the model's predicted percent diversion as a response function, other combinations of LOS upper limits have been determined that would result in low ED percent diversion as well. It has also been determined that if the number of patients exceeds 11 in queue in ED waiting room then the diversion percent is rapidly increasing.

MedEdPORTAL: a report on oral health resources for health professions educators.

PubMed

Chickmagalur, Nithya S; Allareddy, Veerasathpurush; Sandmeyer, Sue; Valachovic, Richard W; Candler, Christopher S; Saleh, Michael; Cahill, Emily; Karimbux, Nadeem Y

2013-09-01

MedEdPORTAL is a unique web-based peer-reviewed publication venue for clinical health educators sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The open exchange of educational resources promotes professional collaboration across health professions. In 2008, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) collaborated with AAMC to allow dental educators to use the platform to publish dental curriculum resources. Oral health is integral to general health; hence, collaboration among health care professionals brings enormous value to patient-centered care. The aim of this study was to conduct a current survey of metrics and submission statistics of MedEdPORTAL resources. The data were collected using the MedEdPORTAL search engine and ADEA and AAMC staff. The data collected were categorized and reported in tables and charts. Results showed that at the time of this study there were over 2,000 medical and dental resources available to anyone worldwide. Oral health resources constituted approximately 30 percent of the total resources, which included cross-indexing with information relevant to both medical and dental audiences. There were several types of dental resources available; the most common were the ones focusing on critical thinking. The usage of MedEdPORTAL has been growing, with participation from over 190 countries and 10,000 educational institutions around the world. The findings of this report suggest that MedEdPORTAL is succeeding in its aim to foster global collaborative education, professional education, and educational scholarship. As such, MedEdPORTAL is providing a new forum for collaboration and opens venues for promising future work in professional education.

Nuclear Medicine Physics: The Basics. 7th ed.

PubMed

Mihailidis, Dimitris

2012-10-01

Nuclear Medicine Physics: The Basics. 7th ed. Ramesh Chandra, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, a Wolters Kluwer Business. Philadelphia, 2012. Softbound, 224 pp. Price: $69.99. ISBN: 9781451109412. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Impact of prospective verification of intravenous antibiotics in an ED.

PubMed

Hunt, Allyson; Nakajima, Steven; Hall Zimmerman, Lisa; Patel, Manav

2016-12-01

Delay in appropriate antibiotic therapy is associated with an increase in mortality and prolonged length of stay. Automatic dispensing machines decrease the delivery time of intravenous (IV) antibiotics to patients in the emergency department (ED). However, when IV antibiotics are not reviewed by pharmacists before being administered, patients are at risk for receiving inappropriate antibiotic therapy. The objective of this study was to determine if a difference exists in the time to administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy before and after implementation of prospective verification of antibiotics in the ED. This retrospective, institutional review board-approved preimplementation vs postimplementation study evaluated patients 18years or older who were started on IV antibiotics in the ED. Patients were excluded if pregnant, if the patient is a prisoner, if no cultures were drawn, or if the patient was transferred from an outside facility. Appropriate antibiotic therapy was based on empiric source-specific evidence-based guidelines, appropriate pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, and microbiologic data. The primary end point was the time from ED arrival to administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy. Of the 1628 evaluated, 128 patients met the inclusion criteria (64 pre vs 64 post). Patients were aged 65.2±17.0years, with most of infections being pneumonia (44%) and urinary tract infections (18%) and most patients being noncritically ill. Time to appropriate antibiotic therapy was reduced in the postgroup vs pregroup (8.1±8.6 vs 15.2±22.8hours, respectively, P=.03). In addition, appropriate empiric antibiotics were initiated more frequently after the implementation (92% post vs 66% pre; P=.0001). There was no difference in mortality or length of stay between the 2 groups. Prompt administration of the appropriate antibiotics is imperative in patients with infections presenting to the ED. The impact of prospective verification of

Joining the in vitro immunization of alpaca lymphocytes and phage display: rapid and cost effective pipeline for sdAb synthesis.

PubMed

Comor, Lubos; Dolinska, Saskia; Bhide, Katarina; Pulzova, Lucia; Jiménez-Munguía, Irene; Bencurova, Elena; Flachbartova, Zuzana; Potocnakova, Lenka; Kanova, Evelina; Bhide, Mangesh

2017-01-23

Camelids possess unique functional heavy chain antibodies, which can be produced and modified in vitro as a single domain antibody (sdAb or nanobody) with full antigen binding ability. Production of sdAb in conventional manner requires active immunization of Camelidae animal, which is laborious, time consuming, costly and in many cases not feasible (e.g. in case of highly toxic or infectious antigens). In this study, we describe an alternative pipeline that includes in vitro stimulation of naïve alpaca B-lymphocytes by antigen of interest (in this case endothelial cell binding domain of OspA of Borrelia) in the presence of recombinant alpaca interleukins 2 and 4, construction of sdAb phage library, selection of antigen specific sdAb expressed on phages (biopanning) and confirmation of binding ability of sdAb to the antigen. By joining the in vitro immunization and the phage display ten unique phage clones carrying sdAb were selected. Out of ten, seven sdAb showed strong antigen binding ability in phage ELISA. Furthermore, two soluble forms of sdAb were produced and their differential antigen binding affinity was measured with bio-layer interferometry. A proposed pipeline has potential to reduce the cost substantially required for maintenance of camelid herd for active immunization. Furthermore, in vitro immunization can be achieved within a week to enrich mRNA copies encoding antigen-specific sdAbs in B cell. This rapid and cost effective pipeline can help researchers to develop efficiently sdAb for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Spectral analysis of the He-enriched sdO-star HD 127493

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorsch, Matti; Latour, Marilyn; Heber, Ulrich

2018-02-01

The bright sdO star HD127493 is known to be of mixed H/He composition and excellent archival spectra covering both optical and ultraviolet ranges are available. UV spectra play a key role as they give access to many chemical species that do not show spectral lines in the optical, such as iron and nickel. This encouraged the quantitative spectral analysis of this prototypical mixed H/He composition sdO star. We determined atmospheric parameters for HD127493 in addition to the abundance of C, N, O, Si, S, Fe, and Ni in the atmosphere using non-LTE model atmospheres calculated with TLUSTY/SYNSPEC. A comparison between the parallax distance measured by Hipparcos and the derived spectroscopic distance indicate that the derived atmospheric parameters are realistic. From our metal abundance analysis, we find a strong CNO signature and enrichment in iron and nickel.

77 FR 54890 - Foreign-Trade Zone 220-Sioux Falls, SD; Authorization of Production Activity; Rosenbauer America...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-06

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [B-33-2012] Foreign-Trade Zone 220--Sioux Falls, SD; Authorization of Production Activity; Rosenbauer America, LLC/Rosenbauer South Dakota, LLC, (Emergency Vehicles/Firefighting Equipment), Lyons, SD On April 30, 2012, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, grantee of FTZ 220, submitted a...

Eating disorders and major depression: role of anger and personality.

PubMed

Giovanni, Abbate-Daga; Carla, Gramaglia; Enrica, Marzola; Federico, Amianto; Maria, Zuccolin; Secondo, Fassino

2011-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate comorbidity for MD in a large ED sample and both personality and anger as clinical characteristics of patients with ED and MD. We assessed 838 ED patients with psychiatric evaluations and psychometric questionnaires: Temperament and Character Inventory, Eating Disorder Inventory-2, Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. 19.5% of ED patients were found to suffer from comorbid MD and 48.7% reported clinically significant depressive symptomatology: patients with Anorexia Binge-Purging and Bulimia Nervosa were more likely to be diagnosed with MD. Irritable mood was found in the 73% of patients with MD. High Harm Avoidance (HA) and low Self-Directedness (SD) predicted MD independently of severity of the ED symptomatology, several clinical variables, and ED diagnosis. Assessing both personality and depressive symptoms could be useful to provide effective treatments. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the pathogenetic role of HA and SD for ED and MD.

Eating Disorders and Major Depression: Role of Anger and Personality

PubMed Central

Giovanni, Abbate-Daga; Carla, Gramaglia; Enrica, Marzola; Federico, Amianto; Maria, Zuccolin; Secondo, Fassino

2011-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate comorbidity for MD in a large ED sample and both personality and anger as clinical characteristics of patients with ED and MD. We assessed 838 ED patients with psychiatric evaluations and psychometric questionnaires: Temperament and Character Inventory, Eating Disorder Inventory-2, Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. 19.5% of ED patients were found to suffer from comorbid MD and 48.7% reported clinically significant depressive symptomatology: patients with Anorexia Binge-Purging and Bulimia Nervosa were more likely to be diagnosed with MD. Irritable mood was found in the 73% of patients with MD. High Harm Avoidance (HA) and low Self-Directedness (SD) predicted MD independently of severity of the ED symptomatology, several clinical variables, and ED diagnosis. Assessing both personality and depressive symptoms could be useful to provide effective treatments. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the pathogenetic role of HA and SD for ED and MD. PMID:21977317

oneED: Embedding a mindfulness-based wellness programme into an emergency department.

PubMed

Braganza, Shahina; Young, Jessica; Sweeny, Amy; Brazil, Victoria

2018-03-30

ED staff are subject to many stressors, but there are few descriptions of collective approaches to enhancing wellness in this setting. We aim to describe a programme developed to address these issues at department level, to report the feasibility and sustainability of the programme, and its impact on staff. The oneED programme was developed and delivered in a tertiary ED. The programme included a 1 day mindfulness workshop, followed by ongoing mindfulness activities embedded in clinical areas over the subsequent 12 months. A mixed-methods evaluation of the programme was conducted, which included quantitative validated psychological tools to measure anxiety, depression and emotional exhaustion, and pragmatic evaluation using surveys of participants and iterative appreciative inquiry. Eighty staff members attended the mindfulness workshop; 66 from ED. Following the workshop, understanding and frequency of mindfulness practice increased significantly in 47% of participants. Free-text survey results demonstrated that staff found the programme to be acceptable (80% survey participants) and of perceived value to themselves (50%) and the ED (60%). Appreciative inquiry led to modification of the programme: the 4 min pause is now conducted weekly rather than daily, the pause consists of a variety of activities, and group activities are made more overtly optional. A departmental wellness programme embedding mindfulness practice is feasible and sustainable. Potential for success is enhanced by an approach that is open to modification according to each institution's culture. © 2018 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

The Mysterious sdO X-ray Binary BD+37°442

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heber, U.; Geier, S.; Irrgang, A.; Schneider, D.; Barbu-Barna, I.; Mereghetti, S.; La Palombara, N.

2014-04-01

Pulsed X-ray emission in the luminous, helium-rich sdO BD +37°442 has recently been discovered (La Palombara et al. 2012). It was suggested that the sdO star has a neutron star or white dwarf companion with a spin period of 19.2 s. After HD 49798, which has a massive white dwarf companion spinning at 13.2 s in an 1.55 day orbit, this is only the second O-type subdwarf from which X-ray emission has been detected. We report preliminary results of our ongoing campaign to obtain time-resolved high-resolution spectroscopy using the CAFE instrument at Calar Alto observatory and SARG at the Telescopio Nationale Galileo. Atmospheric parameters were derived via a quantitative NLTE spectral analysis. The line fits hint at an unusually large projected rotation velocity. Therefore it seemed likely that BD +37°442 is a binary similar to HD 49798 and that the orbital period is also similar. The level of X-ray emission from BD +37°442 could be explained by accretion from the sdO wind by a neutron star orbiting at a period of less than ten days. Hence, we embarked on radial velocity monitoring in order to derive the binary parameters of the BD+37°442 system and obtained 41 spectra spread out over several month in 2012. Unlike for HD 49798, no radial velocity variations were found and, hence, there is no dynamical evidence for the existence of a compact companion yet. The origin of the pulsed X-ray emission remains as a mystery.

The relative contribution of provider and ED-level factors to variation among the top 15 reasons for ED admission.

PubMed

Khojah, Imad; Li, Suhui; Luo, Qian; Davis, Griffin; Galarraga, Jessica E; Granovsky, Michael; Litvak, Ori; Davis, Samuel; Shesser, Robert; Pines, Jesse M

2017-09-01

We examine adult emergency department (ED) admission rates for the top 15 most frequently admitted conditions, and assess the relative contribution in admission rate variation attributable to the provider and hospital. This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study of ED encounters (≥18years) from 19 EDs and 603 providers (January 2012-December 2013), linked to the Area Health Resources File for county-level information on healthcare resources. "Hospital admission" was the outcome, a composite of inpatient, observation, or intra-hospital transfer. We studied the 15 most commonly admitted conditions, and calculated condition-specific risk-standardized hospital admission rates (RSARs) using multi-level hierarchical generalized linear models. We then decomposed the relative contribution of provider-level and hospital-level variation for each condition. The top 15 conditions made up 34% of encounters and 49% of admissions. After adjustment, the eight conditions with the highest hospital-level variation were: 1) injuries, 2) extremity fracture (except hip fracture), 3) skin infection, 4) lower respiratory disease, 5) asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (A&C), 6) abdominal pain, 7) fluid/electrolyte disorders, and 8) chest pain. Hospital-level intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) ranged from 0.042 for A&C to 0.167 for extremity fractures. Provider-level ICCs ranged from 0.026 for abdominal pain to 0.104 for chest pain. Several patient, hospital, and community factors were associated with admission rates, but these varied across conditions. For different conditions, there were different contributions to variation at the hospital- and provider-level. These findings deserve consideration when designing interventions to optimize admission decisions and in value-based payment programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Test Review: Epstein, M. H., & Cullinan, D. (2010). "Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance" (2nd Ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamb, Gordon D.

2011-01-01

The author reviews "Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance-Second Edition" (SAED-2; Epstein & Cullinan, 2010), an assessment system primarily designed to assist in determining eligibility for special education services under the category of emotional disturbance (ED), as defined by the "Individuals with Disabilities…

Pathogen effectors target Arabidopsis EDS1 and alter its interactions with immune regulators.

PubMed

Bhattacharjee, Saikat; Halane, Morgan K; Kim, Sang Hee; Gassmann, Walter

2011-12-09

Plant resistance proteins detect the presence of specific pathogen effectors and initiate effector-triggered immunity. Few immune regulators downstream of resistance proteins have been identified, none of which are known virulence targets of effectors. We show that Arabidopsis ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1 (EDS1), a positive regulator of basal resistance and of effector-triggered immunity specifically mediated by Toll-interleukin-1 receptor-nucleotide binding-leucine-rich repeat (TIR-NB-LRR) resistance proteins, forms protein complexes with the TIR-NB-LRR disease resistance proteins RPS4 and RPS6 and with the negative immune regulator SRFR1 at a cytoplasmic membrane. Further, the cognate bacterial effectors AvrRps4 and HopA1 disrupt these EDS1 complexes. Tight association of EDS1 with TIR-NB-LRR-mediated immunity may therefore derive mainly from being guarded by TIR-NB-LRR proteins, and activation of this branch of effector-triggered immunity may directly connect to the basal resistance signaling pathway via EDS1.

Pediatric prescription pick-up rates after ED visits.

PubMed

Kajioka, Eric H; Itoman, Erick M; Li, M Lily; Taira, Deborah A; Li, Gaylyn G; Yamamoto, Loren G

2005-07-01

To determine the compliance rate in filling outpatient medication prescriptions written upon discharge from the emergency department (ED). Emergency department records of children during a 3-month period were examined along with pharmacy claim data obtained in cooperation with the largest insurance carrier in the community (private and Medicaid). Pharmacy claim data were used to validate the prescription pick-up date. Overall, 65% of high-urgency prescriptions were filled. The prescription pick-up rate in the 0-to 3-year age group (75%) was significantly higher than in the rest of the cohort (55%) ( P < .001). Children with private insurance were more likely to fill their prescriptions (68%) compared to children with Medicaid insurance (57%) ( P = .03). This study demonstrates that filling a prescription after discharge from an ED represents a substantial barrier to medication compliance.

Cooperating Teachers: Stakeholders in the edTPA?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seymour, Clancy A.; Burns, Barbara A.; Henry, Julie J.

2018-01-01

The educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is a performance-based assessment designed for beginning teachers to demonstrate their readiness to teach (SCALE, 2014). As more states come to adopt this assessment, many facets of its implementation need to be reviewed. One component is the role of the cooperating teacher in the implementation…

Stripped Red Giants - Helium Core White Dwarf Progenitors and their sdB Siblings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heber, U.

2017-03-01

Some gaps in the mosaic of binary star evolution have recently been filled by the discoveries of helium-core white dwarf progenitors (often called extremely low mass (ELM) white dwarfs) as stripped cores of first-giant branch objects. Two varieties can be distinguished. One class is made up by SB1 binaries, companions being white dwarfs as well. Another class, the so-called EL CVn stars, are composite spectrum binaries, with A-Type companions. Pulsating stars are found among both classes. A riddle is posed by the apparently single objects. There is a one-to-one correspondence of the phenomena found for these new classes of star to those observed for sdB stars. In fact, standard evolutionary scenarios explain the origin of sdB stars as red giants that have been stripped close to the tip of first red giant branch. A subgroup of subluminous B stars can also be identified as stripped helium-cores of red giants. They form an extension of the ELM sequence to higher temperatures. Hence low mass white dwarfs of helium cores and sdB stars in binaries are close relatives in terms of stellar evolution.

HS 0705+6700: a New Eclipsing sdB Binary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drechsel, H.; Heber, U.; Napiwotzki, R.; Ostensen, R.; Solheim, J.-E.; Deetjen, J.; Schuh, S.

HS 0705+6700 is a newly discovered eclipsing sdB binary system consisting of an sdB primary and a cool secondary main sequence star. CCD photometry obtained in October and November 2000 with the 2.5m Nordic (NOT) telescope (La Palma, Tenerife) in the B passband and with the 2.2m Calar Alto telescope (CAFOS, R filter) yielded eclipse light curves with complete orbital phase coverage at high time resolution. A periodogram analysis of 12 primary minimum times distributed over the time span from October 2000 to March 2001 allowed to derive the following exact period and linear ephemeris: prim. min. = HJD 2451822.759782(22) + 0.09564665(39) ṡ E A total of 15 spectra taken with the 3.5m Calar Alto telescope (TWIN spectrograph) on March 11-12, 2001, were used to establish the radial velocity curve of the primary star (K1 = 85.8 km/s) , and to determine its basic atmospheric parameters (Teff = 29300 K, log g = 5.47). The B and R light curves were solved using our Wilson-Devinney based light curve analysis code MORO (Drechsel et al. 1995, A&A 294, 723). The best fit solution yielded exact system parameters consistent with the spectroscopic results. Detailed results will be published elsewhere (Drechsel et al. 2001, A&A, in preparation).

Digital LAMP in a sample self-digitization (SD) chip

PubMed Central

Herrick, Alison M.; Dimov, Ivan K.; Lee, Luke P.; Chiu, Daniel T.

2012-01-01

This paper describes the realization of digital loop-mediated DNA amplification (dLAMP) in a sample self-digitization (SD) chip. Digital DNA amplification has become an attractive technique to quantify absolute concentrations of DNA in a sample. While digital polymerase chain reaction is still the most widespread implementation, its use in resource—limited settings is impeded by the need for thermal cycling and robust temperature control. In such situations, isothermal protocols that can amplify DNA or RNA without thermal cycling are of great interest. Here, we showed the successful amplification of single DNA molecules in a stationary droplet array using isothermal digital loop-mediated DNA amplification. Unlike most (if not all) existing methods for sample discretization, our design allows for automated, loss-less digitization of sample volumes on-chip. We demonstrated accurate quantification of relative and absolute DNA concentrations with sample volumes of less than 2 μl. We assessed the homogeneity of droplet size during sample self-digitization in our device, and verified that the size variation was small enough such that straightforward counting of LAMP-active droplets sufficed for data analysis. We anticipate that the simplicity and robustness of our SD chip make it attractive as an inexpensive and easy-to-operate device for DNA amplification, for example in point-of-care settings. PMID:22399016

The administration sequence of propofol and remifentanil does not affect the ED50 and ED95 of rocuronium in rapid sequence induction of anesthesia: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Ozcelik, M; Guclu, C; Bermede, O; Baytas, V; Altay, N; Karahan, M A; Erdogan, B; Can, O

2016-04-01

The topic of drug administration sequence in rapid sequence induction (RSI) is still an object of interest in terms of rocuronium effectiveness. The aim of this prospective, randomized trial was to evaluate the effect of administration sequence of propofol and remifentanil on ED50 and ED95 of rocuronium in a RSI model. Eighty-four patients were randomized into Group Remifentanil (Group R, n = 43), where induction of general anesthesia started with remifentanil (2 µg/kg) and followed by propofol (2 mg/kg) and rocuronium administrations; and Group Propofol (Group P, n = 41), where induction of general anesthesia started with propofol and followed by remifentanil and rocuronium. First patients in each group were paralyzed by 0.8 mg/kg rocuronium. In case of acceptable intubation as evaluated according to the criteria described by Viby-Mogensen et al, rocuronium dose was decreased by 0.1 mg/kg for the next patient; otherwise, rocuronium dose was increased by 0.1 mg/kg. After three crossover points, increments or decrements in rocuronium dosage were set to 0.05 mg/kg. The process was repeated until a total of ten crossover points were obtained. The ED50 and ED95 doses of rocuronium were similar in Group R (0.182 mg/kg, and 0.244 mg/kg, respectively) and Group P (0.121 mg/kg, and 0.243 mg/kg, respectively) according to 95% CI of the estimates. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of clinically acceptable intubation conditions between the two groups (56.1% in Group R vs. 59% in Group P, p = 0.795). The choice of administration sequence of propofol and remifentanil does not have an impact on estimated ED50 and ED95 of rocuronium in providing acceptable intubation conditions in the RSI technique.

78 FR 39310 - Niobrara Confluence and Ponca Bluffs Conservation Areas, NE and SD; Draft Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-01

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service National Park Service [FWS-R6-R-2013-N132; FXRS1265066CCP0--134-FF06R06000] Niobrara Confluence and Ponca Bluffs Conservation Areas, NE and SD; Draft... Recreational River Headquarters, 508 East 2nd Street, Yankton, SD 57078. Mail: Nick Kaczor, USFWS, Division of...

Is scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM/EDS) quantitative?

PubMed

Newbury, Dale E; Ritchie, Nicholas W M

2013-01-01

Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM/EDS) is a widely applied elemental microanalysis method capable of identifying and quantifying all elements in the periodic table except H, He, and Li. By following the "k-ratio" (unknown/standard) measurement protocol development for electron-excited wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS), SEM/EDS can achieve accuracy and precision equivalent to WDS and at substantially lower electron dose, even when severe X-ray peak overlaps occur, provided sufficient counts are recorded. Achieving this level of performance is now much more practical with the advent of the high-throughput silicon drift detector energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SDD-EDS). However, three measurement issues continue to diminish the impact of SEM/EDS: (1) In the qualitative analysis (i.e., element identification) that must precede quantitative analysis, at least some current and many legacy software systems are vulnerable to occasional misidentification of major constituent peaks, with the frequency of misidentifications rising significantly for minor and trace constituents. (2) The use of standardless analysis, which is subject to much broader systematic errors, leads to quantitative results that, while useful, do not have sufficient accuracy to solve critical problems, e.g. determining the formula of a compound. (3) EDS spectrometers have such a large volume of acceptance that apparently credible spectra can be obtained from specimens with complex topography that introduce uncontrolled geometric factors that modify X-ray generation and propagation, resulting in very large systematic errors, often a factor of ten or more. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Connecting Teachers and Ed-Tech Developers: Lessons from NYC's "Gap App" Program. Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villavicencio, Adriana; Siman, Nina; Lafayette, Camille; Kang, David

2016-01-01

In 2011, with support from a federal Investing in Innovation grant, the NYC Department of Education launched Innovate NYC Schools. The initiative was designed to address two, related challenges to effectively integrating education technology (ed-tech) into classrooms: First, procurement of ed-tech tools is often hampered by a disconnect between…

Improving ED specimen TAT using Lean Six Sigma.

PubMed

Sanders, Janet H; Karr, Tedd

2015-01-01

Lean and Six Sigma are continuous improvement methodologies that have garnered international fame for improving manufacturing and service processes. Increasingly these methodologies are demonstrating their power to also improve healthcare processes. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a case study for the application of Lean and Six Sigma tools in the reduction of turnaround time (TAT) for Emergency Department (ED) specimens. This application of the scientific methodologies uncovered opportunities to improve the entire ED to lab system for the specimens. This case study provides details on the completion of a Lean Six Sigma project in a 1,000 bed tertiary care teaching hospital. Six Sigma's Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control methodology is very similar to good medical practice: first, relevant information is obtained and assembled; second, a careful and thorough diagnosis is completed; third, a treatment is proposed and implemented; and fourth, checks are made to determine if the treatment was effective. Lean's primary goal is to do more with less work and waste. The Lean methodology was used to identify and eliminate waste through rapid implementation of change. The initial focus of this project was the reduction of turn-around-times for ED specimens. However, the results led to better processes for both the internal and external customers of this and other processes. The project results included: a 50 percent decrease in vials used for testing, a 50 percent decrease in unused or extra specimens, a 90 percent decrease in ED specimens without orders, a 30 percent decrease in complete blood count analysis (CBCA) Median TAT, a 50 percent decrease in CBCA TAT Variation, a 10 percent decrease in Troponin TAT Variation, a 18.2 percent decrease in URPN TAT Variation, and a 2-5 minute decrease in ED registered nurses rainbow draw time. This case study demonstrated how the quantitative power of Six Sigma and the speed of Lean worked in harmony to improve

Effect of a redesigned fracture management pathway and 'virtual' fracture clinic on ED performance.

PubMed

Vardy, J; Jenkins, P J; Clark, K; Chekroud, M; Begbie, K; Anthony, I; Rymaszewski, L A; Ireland, A J

2014-06-13

Collaboration between the orthopaedic and emergency medicine (ED) services has resulted in standardised treatment pathways, leaflet supported discharge and a virtual fracture clinic review. Patients with minor, stable fractures are discharged with no further follow-up arranged. We aimed to examine the time taken to assess and treat these patients in the ED along with the rate of unplanned reattendance. A retrospective study was undertaken that covered 1 year before the change and 1 year after. Prospectively collected administrative data from the electronic patient record system were analysed and compared before and after the change. An ED and orthopaedic unit, serving a population of 300 000, in a publicly funded health system. 2840 patients treated with referral to a traditional fracture clinic and 3374 patients managed according to the newly redesigned protocol. Time for assessment and treatment of patients with orthopaedic injuries not requiring immediate operative management, and 7-day unplanned reattendance. Where plaster backslabs were replaced with removable splints, the consultation time was reduced. There was no change in treatment time for other injuries treated by the new discharge protocol. There was no increase in unplanned ED attendance, related to the injury, within 7 days (p=0.149). There was a decrease in patients reattending the ED due to a missed fracture clinic appointment. This process did not require any new time resources from the ED staff. This process brought significant benefits to the ED as treatment pathways were agreed. The pathway reduced unnecessary reattendance of patients at face-to-face fracture clinics for a review of stable, self-limiting injuries. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Open sd-shell nuclei from first principles

DOE PAGES

Jansen, Gustav R.; Signoracci, Angelo J.; Hagen, Gaute; ...

2016-07-05

We extend the ab initio coupled-cluster effective interaction (CCEI) method to open-shell nuclei with protons and neutrons in the valence space, and compute binding energies and excited states of isotopes of neon and magnesium. We employ a nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interaction from chiral effective field theory evolved to a lower cutoff via a similarity renormalization group transformation. We find good agreement with experiment for binding energies and spectra, while charge radii of neon isotopes are underestimated. For the deformed nuclei 20Ne and 24Mg we reproduce rotational bands and electric quadrupole transitions within uncertainties estimated from an effective field theory formore » deformed nuclei, thereby demonstrating that collective phenomena in sd-shell nuclei emerge from complex ab initio calculations.« less

Open sd-shell nuclei from first principles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jansen, Gustav R.; Signoracci, Angelo J.; Hagen, Gaute

We extend the ab initio coupled-cluster effective interaction (CCEI) method to open-shell nuclei with protons and neutrons in the valence space, and compute binding energies and excited states of isotopes of neon and magnesium. We employ a nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interaction from chiral effective field theory evolved to a lower cutoff via a similarity renormalization group transformation. We find good agreement with experiment for binding energies and spectra, while charge radii of neon isotopes are underestimated. For the deformed nuclei 20Ne and 24Mg we reproduce rotational bands and electric quadrupole transitions within uncertainties estimated from an effective field theory formore » deformed nuclei, thereby demonstrating that collective phenomena in sd-shell nuclei emerge from complex ab initio calculations.« less

Statistical analysis of low-voltage EDS spectrum images

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, I.M.

1998-03-01

The benefits of using low ({le}5 kV) operating voltages for energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) of bulk specimens have been explored only during the last few years. This paper couples low-voltage EDS with two other emerging areas of characterization: spectrum imaging of a computer chip manufactured by a major semiconductor company. Data acquisition was performed with a Philips XL30-FEG SEM operated at 4 kV and equipped with an Oxford super-ATW detector and XP3 pulse processor. The specimen was normal to the electron beam and the take-off angle for acquisition was 35{degree}. The microscope was operated with a 150 {micro}m diameter finalmore » aperture at spot size 3, which yielded an X-ray count rate of {approximately}2,000 s{sup {minus}1}. EDS spectrum images were acquired as Adobe Photoshop files with the 4pi plug-in module. (The spectrum images could also be stored as NIH Image files, but the raw data are automatically rescaled as maximum-contrast (0--255) 8-bit TIFF images -- even at 16-bit resolution -- which poses an inconvenience for quantitative analysis.) The 4pi plug-in module is designed for EDS X-ray mapping and allows simultaneous acquisition of maps from 48 elements plus an SEM image. The spectrum image was acquired by re-defining the energy intervals of 48 elements to form a series of contiguous 20 eV windows from 1.25 kV to 2.19 kV. A spectrum image of 450 x 344 pixels was acquired from the specimen with a sampling density of 50 nm/pixel and a dwell time of 0.25 live seconds per pixel, for a total acquisition time of {approximately}14 h. The binary data files were imported into Mathematica for analysis with software developed by the author at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A 400 x 300 pixel section of the original image was analyzed. MSA required {approximately}185 Mbytes of memory and {approximately}18 h of CPU time on a 300 MHz Power Macintosh 9600.« less

Machine learning techniques for diabetic macular edema (DME) classification on SD-OCT images.

PubMed

Alsaih, Khaled; Lemaitre, Guillaume; Rastgoo, Mojdeh; Massich, Joan; Sidibé, Désiré; Meriaudeau, Fabrice

2017-06-07

Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) (SD-OCT) is most widely imaging equipment used in ophthalmology to detect diabetic macular edema (DME). Indeed, it offers an accurate visualization of the morphology of the retina as well as the retina layers. The dataset used in this study has been acquired by the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), using CIRRUS TM (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA, USA) SD-OCT device. The dataset consists of 32 OCT volumes (16 DME and 16 normal cases). Each volume contains 128 B-scans with resolution of 1024 px × 512 px, resulting in more than 3800 images being processed. All SD-OCT volumes are read and assessed by trained graders and identified as normal or DME cases based on evaluation of retinal thickening, hard exudates, intraretinal cystoid space formation, and subretinal fluid. Within the DME sub-set, a large number of lesions has been selected to create a rather complete and diverse DME dataset. This paper presents an automatic classification framework for SD-OCT volumes in order to identify DME versus normal volumes. In this regard, a generic pipeline including pre-processing, feature detection, feature representation, and classification was investigated. More precisely, extraction of histogram of oriented gradients and local binary pattern (LBP) features within a multiresolution approach is used as well as principal component analysis (PCA) and bag of words (BoW) representations. Besides comparing individual and combined features, different representation approaches and different classifiers are evaluated. The best results are obtained for LBP[Formula: see text] vectors while represented and classified using PCA and a linear-support vector machine (SVM), leading to a sensitivity(SE) and specificity (SP) of 87.5 and 87.5%, respectively.

Variation in resources needed to implement psychosocial support interventions for rural breast cancer survivors.

PubMed

Pisu, Maria; Meneses, Karen; Azuero, Andres; Benz, Rachel; Su, Xiaogang; McNees, Patrick

2016-04-01

Understanding how resources are used provides guidance to disseminating effective interventions. Here, we report data on implementation resources needed for the Rural Breast Cancer Survivors (RBCS) study that tested a telephone-delivered psychoeducational education and support intervention to survivors in rural Florida. Intervention resources included interventionists' time on one intake assessment (IA) call, three education calls (ED), one follow-up education call (FUE), six support (SUP) calls, and documentation time per survivor. Interventionists logged start and end times of each type of call. Average interventionist time in minutes was calculated by call type. Associations between interventionists' time and participants' characteristics including age, race/ethnicity, time since treatment, cancer treatment, depressive symptoms, education, income, employment, and support, was assessed using linear mixed models with repeated measures. Among 328 survivors, IA calls lasted 66.9 min (SD 21.7); ED lasted 50.6 (SD 16.7), 48.1 (SD 15.9), and 39.6 (SD 14.8); FUE lasted 24.7 (SD 14.8); and SUP 42.8 (SD 29.6) min. Documentation time was 18.4 min for IA, 23-27 for ED, 12.3 for FUE, and 23.0 for SUP. Interventionists spent significantly more time with participants with depressive symptoms, who already used other support, and who received SUP calls before the ED vs. after. There were no significant differences by time since or type of cancer treatment, or other personal characteristics. Resources vary by survivor characteristics. Careful consideration of mental health status or support available is warranted for planning implementation and dissemination of effective survivorship interventions on a broad scale.

Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing the HEADS-ED: A Rapid Screening Tool for Pediatric Patients in Emergency Departments.

PubMed

MacWilliams, Kate; Curran, Janet; Racek, Jakub; Cloutier, Paula; Cappelli, Mario

2017-12-01

This study sought to identify barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the HEADS-ED, a screening tool appropriate for use in the emergency department (ED) that facilitates standardized assessments, discharge planning, charting, and linking pediatric mental health patients to appropriate community resources. A qualitative theory-based design was used to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing the HEADS-ED tool. Focus groups were conducted with participants recruited from 6 different ED settings across 2 provinces (Ontario and Nova Scotia). The Theoretical Domains Framework was used as a conceptual framework to guide data collection and to identify themes from focus group discussions. The following themes spanning 12 domains were identified as reflective of participants' beliefs about the barriers and facilitators to implementing the HEADS-ED tool: knowledge, skills, beliefs about capabilities, social professional role and identity, optimism, beliefs about consequences, reinforcement, environmental context and resources, social influences, emotion, behavioral regulation and memory, and attention and decision process. The HEADS-ED has the potential to address the need for better discharge planning, complete charting, and standardized assessments for the increasing population of pediatric mental health patients who present to EDs. This study has identified potential barriers and facilitators, which should be considered when developing an implementation plan for adopting the HEADS-ED tool into practice within EDs.

PopED lite: An optimal design software for preclinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies.

PubMed

Aoki, Yasunori; Sundqvist, Monika; Hooker, Andrew C; Gennemark, Peter

2016-04-01

Optimal experimental design approaches are seldom used in preclinical drug discovery. The objective is to develop an optimal design software tool specifically designed for preclinical applications in order to increase the efficiency of drug discovery in vivo studies. Several realistic experimental design case studies were collected and many preclinical experimental teams were consulted to determine the design goal of the software tool. The tool obtains an optimized experimental design by solving a constrained optimization problem, where each experimental design is evaluated using some function of the Fisher Information Matrix. The software was implemented in C++ using the Qt framework to assure a responsive user-software interaction through a rich graphical user interface, and at the same time, achieving the desired computational speed. In addition, a discrete global optimization algorithm was developed and implemented. The software design goals were simplicity, speed and intuition. Based on these design goals, we have developed the publicly available software PopED lite (http://www.bluetree.me/PopED_lite). Optimization computation was on average, over 14 test problems, 30 times faster in PopED lite compared to an already existing optimal design software tool. PopED lite is now used in real drug discovery projects and a few of these case studies are presented in this paper. PopED lite is designed to be simple, fast and intuitive. Simple, to give many users access to basic optimal design calculations. Fast, to fit a short design-execution cycle and allow interactive experimental design (test one design, discuss proposed design, test another design, etc). Intuitive, so that the input to and output from the software tool can easily be understood by users without knowledge of the theory of optimal design. In this way, PopED lite is highly useful in practice and complements existing tools. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stroke Risk After Non-Stroke ED Dizziness Presentations: A Population-Based Cohort Study

PubMed Central

Kerber, Kevin A.; Zahuranec, Darin B.; Brown, Devin L.; Meurer, William J.; Burke, James F.; Smith, Melinda A.; Lisabeth, Lynda D.; Fendrick, A. Mark; McLaughlin, Thomas; Morgenstern, Lewis B.

2014-01-01

Objective Acute stroke is a serious concern in Emergency Department (ED) dizziness presentations. Prior studies, however, suggest that stroke is actually an unlikely cause of these presentations. Lacking are data on short- and long-term follow-up from population-based studies to establish stroke risk after presumed non-stroke ED dizziness presentations. Methods From 5/8/2011 to 5/7/2012, patients ≥ 45 years of age presenting to EDs in Nueces County, Texas, with dizziness, vertigo, or imbalance were identified, excluding those with stroke as the initial diagnosis. Stroke events after the ED presentation up to 10/2/2012 were determined using the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) study, which uses rigorous surveillance and neurologist validation. Cumulative stroke risk was calculated using Kaplan-Meier estimates. Results 1,245 patients were followed for a median of 347 days (IQR 230- 436 days). Median age was 61.9 years (IQR, 53.8-74.0 years). After the ED visit, fifteen patients (1.2%) had a stroke. Stroke risk was 0.48% (95% CI, 0.22%-1.07%) at 2 days; 0.48% (95% CI, 0.22%-1.07%) at 7 days; 0.56% (95% CI, 0.27%-1.18%) at 30 days; 0.56% (95% CI, 0.27%-1.18%) at 90 days; and 1.42% (95% CI, 0.85%-2.36%) at 12 months. Interpretation Using rigorous case ascertainment and outcome assessment in a population-based design, we found that the risk of stroke after presumed non-stroke ED dizziness presentations is very low, supporting a non-stroke etiology to the overwhelming majority of original events. High-risk subgroups likely exist, however, because most of the 90-day stroke risk occurred within 2-days. Vascular risk stratification was insufficient to identify these cases. PMID:24788511

G. ED. Paper-Book 1974-1984. The Process of Growth of an Innovation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Verduin-Muller, Henriette, Ed.

Fifteen papers presented at conferences throughout Europe and in the USSR, Nigeria, Japan, Jamaica, and Tunesia provide an introduction to the research work being done by the graduate level Department of Geography for Education (G.ED.) at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. An introductory chapter describes the three G.ED. modules, which…

Improvement in Student Science Proficiency Through InSciEd Out

PubMed Central

Sonju, James D.; Leicester, Jean E.; Hoody, Maggie; LaBounty, Thomas J.; Frimannsdottir, Katrin R.; Ekker, Stephen C.

2012-01-01

Abstract Integrated Science Education Outreach (InSciEd Out) is a collaboration formed between Mayo Clinic, Winona State University, and Rochester Public Schools (MN) with the shared vision of achieving excellence in science education. InSciEd Out employs an equitable partnership model between scientists, teachers, education researchers, and the community. Teams of teachers from all disciplines within a single school experience cutting-edge science using the zebrafish model system, as well as current pedagogical methods, during a summer internship at the Mayo Clinic. Within the internship, the teachers produce new curriculum that directly addresses opportunities for science education improvement at their own school. Zebrafish are introduced within the new curriculum to support a living model of the practice of science. Following partnership with the InSciEd Out program and 2 years of implementation in the classroom, teacher-interns from a K–8 public school reported access to local scientific technology and expertise they had not previously recognized. Teachers also reported improved integration of other disciplines into the scientific curriculum and a flow of concepts vertically from K through 8. Students more than doubled selection of an Honors science track in high school to nearly 90%. 98% of students who took the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in their 5th and 8th grade year (a span that includes 2 years of InSciEd Out) showed medium or high growth in science proficiency. These metrics indicate that cooperation between educators and scientists can result in positive change in student science proficiency and demonstrate that a higher expectation in science education can be achieved in US public schools. PMID:23244687

Arc-Ed Curriculum: Applicability for Severely Handicapped Pupils.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaffin, Jerry D.

1982-01-01

The Arc Ed Curriculum uses video game formats to teach math and language arts content. Four motivational features (feedback, improvement, high response rates, and unlimited ceiling on performance along with adapted content could make the system applicable for use with severely handicapped learners. (CL)

Assessment of the cost-effectiveness and clinical outcomes of a fourth-generation synchronous telehealth program for the management of chronic cardiovascular disease.

PubMed

Ho, Yi-Lwun; Yu, Jiun-Yu; Lin, Yen-Hung; Chen, Ying-Hsien; Huang, Ching-Chang; Hsu, Tse-Pin; Chuang, Pao-Yu; Hung, Chi-Sheng; Chen, Ming-Fong

2014-06-10

Telehealth programs are a growing field in the care of patients. The evolution of information technology has resulted in telehealth becoming a fourth-generation synchronous program. However, long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness analysis of fourth-generation telehealth programs have not been reported in patients with chronic cardiovascular diseases. We conducted this study to assess the clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of a fourth-generation synchronous telehealth program for patients with chronic cardiovascular diseases. We retrospectively analyzed 575 patients who had joined a telehealth program and compared them with 1178 patients matched for sex, age, and Charlson comorbidity index. The program included: (1) instant transmission of biometric data, (2) daily telephone interview, and (3) continuous decision-making support. Data on hospitalization, emergency department (ED) visits, and medical costs were collected from the hospital's database and were adjusted to the follow-up months. The mean age was 64.5 years (SD 16.0). The mean number of monthly ED visits (mean 0.06 SD 0.13 vs mean 0.09 SD 0.23, P<.001), hospitalizations (mean 0.05 SD 0.12 vs mean 0.11 SD 0.21, P<.001), length of hospitalization (mean 0.77 days SD 2.78 vs mean 1.4 SD 3.6, P<.001), and intensive care unit admissions (mean 0.01 SD 0.07 vs mean 0.036 SD 0.14, P<.001) were lower in the telehealth group. The monthly mean costs of ED visits (mean US$20.90 SD 66.60 vs mean US$37.30 SD 126.20, P<.001), hospitalizations (mean US$386.30 SD 1424.30 vs mean US$878.20 SD 2697.20, P<.001), and all medical costs (mean US$587.60 SD 1497.80 vs mean US$1163.60 SD 3036.60, P<.001) were lower in the telehealth group. The intervention costs per patient were US$224.80 per month. Multivariate analyses revealed that age, telehealth care, and Charlson index were the independent factors for ED visits, hospitalizations, and length of hospitalization. A bootstrap method revealed the dominant cost

Effect of fermented milk containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus SD11 on oral microbiota of healthy volunteers: A randomized clinical trial.

PubMed

Rungsri, P; Akkarachaneeyakorn, N; Wongsuwanlert, M; Piwat, S; Nantarakchaikul, P; Teanpaisan, R

2017-10-01

The aims of this study were to evaluate whether short-term consumption of fermented milk containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus SD11 affected levels of oral microbiota in vivo and whether L. rhamnosus SD11 could colonize in the human mouth. We also monitored for potential side effects of the probiotic. The applicability of using L. rhamnosus SD11 compared with Lactobacillus bulgaricus as a starter culture for fermented milk was evaluated. After informed consent, 43 healthy young adults were recruited and randomly assigned to either the probiotic or control group and received fermented milk containing L. rhamnosus SD11 or L. bulgaricus, respectively, once daily for 4 wk. The numbers of mutans streptococci, lactobacilli, and total bacteria in saliva were counted at baseline and then after 4 and 8 wk. An oral examination was performed at baseline and after 8 wk. The persistence of L. rhamnosus SD11 was investigated by DNA fingerprinting using arbitrary primer-PCR. Results demonstrated that statistically significant reductions in mutans streptococci and total bacteria were observed in the probiotic group compared with the control group, and the number of lactobacilli was significantly increased in both groups after receiving fermented milks. Lactobacillus rhamnosus SD11 could be detected (in >80% of subjects) up to 4 wk following cessation of dosing among subjects in the probiotic group. No side effects were reported. Thus, L. rhamnosus SD11 could be used as a starter culture for fermented milk. Daily consumption of L. rhamnosus SD11-containing fermented milk for 4 wk may have beneficial effects on oral health by reducing salivary levels of mutans streptococci. The probiotic was apparently able to colonize the oral cavity for a longer time than previously reported. However, the potential benefits of probiotic L. rhamnosus SD11 on oral health require further evaluation with a larger group of volunteers in a longer-term study. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science

The Customers' Perspective: The EdNET 98 Survey of Buyers and Managers of Educational Technology. Constructive Input for the Educational Technology Industry from the EdNET 98 Education Executives Advisory Board.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craighead, Donna; Bigham, Vicki Smith; Heller, Nelson B.

The EdNET 98 Education Executives Advisory Board, also known as Partners in Education Program (PEP), is a featured activity of the EdNET 98 Conference. Its focus is to bring educators and vendors together to share their perspectives about technology in education and discussion technology-related concerns and issues. This report presents results…

Two-Step Process for ED UTI Screening in Febrile Young Children: Reducing Catheterization Rates.

PubMed

Lavelle, Jane M; Blackstone, Mercedes M; Funari, Mary Kate; Roper, Christine; Lopez, Patricia; Schast, Aileen; Taylor, April M; Voorhis, Catherine B; Henien, Mira; Shaw, Kathy N

2016-07-01

Urinary tract infection (UTI) screening in febrile young children can be painful and time consuming. We implemented a screening protocol for UTI in a high-volume pediatric emergency department (ED) to reduce urethral catheterization, limiting catheterization to children with positive screens from urine bag specimens. This quality-improvement initiative was implemented using 3 Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, beginning with a small test of the proposed change in 1 ED area. To ensure appropriate patients received timely screening, care teams discussed patient risk factors and created patient-specific, appropriate procedures. The intervention was extended to the entire ED after providing education. Finally, visual cues were added into the electronic health record, and nursing scripts were developed to enlist family participation. A time-series design was used to study the impact of the 6-month intervention by using a p-chart to determine special cause variation. The primary outcome measure for the study was defined as the catheterization rate in febrile children ages 6 to 24 months. The ED reduced catheterization rates among febrile young children from 63% to <30% over a 6-month period with sustained results. More than 350 patients were spared catheterization without prolonging ED length of stay. Additionally, there was no change in the revisit rate or missed UTIs among those followed within the hospital's network. A 2-step less-invasive process for screening febrile young children for UTI can be instituted in a high-volume ED without increasing length of stay or missing cases of UTI. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Air pollution and ED visits for asthma in Australian children: a case-crossover analysis.

PubMed

Jalaludin, Bin; Khalaj, Behnoosh; Sheppeard, Vicky; Morgan, Geoff

2008-08-01

We aimed to determine the effects of ambient air pollutants on emergency department (ED) visits for asthma in children. We obtained routinely collected ED visit data for asthma (ICD9 493) and air pollution (PM(10), PM(2.5), O(3), NO(2), CO and SO(2)) and meteorological data for metropolitan Sydney for 1997-2001. We used the time stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression to model the association between air pollutants and ED visits for four age-groups (1-4, 5-9, 10-14 and 1-14 years). Estimated relative risks for asthma ED visits were calculated for an exposure corresponding to the inter-quartile range in pollutant level. We included same day average temperature, same day relative humidity, daily temperature range, school holidays and public holidays in all models. Associations between ambient air pollutants and ED visits for asthma in children were most consistent for all six air pollutants in the 1-4 years age-group, for particulates and CO in the 5-9 years age-group and for CO in the 10-14 years age-group. The greatest effects were most consistently observed for lag 0 and effects were greater in the warm months for particulates, O(3) and NO(2). In two pollutant models, effect sizes were generally smaller compared to those derived from single pollutant models. We observed the effects of ambient air pollutants on ED attendances for asthma in a city where the ambient concentrations of air pollutants are relatively low.

A comparison of ED and direct admission care of cancer patients with febrile neutropenia.

PubMed

Owolabi, Diwura K; Rowland, Richard; King, Lauren; Miller, Rick; Hegde, Gajanan G; Shang, Jennifer; Lister, John; Venkat, Arvind

2015-07-01

We compared the quality of care in admitted febrile neutropenic cancer patients presenting through the emergency department (ED) vs those directly admitted (DA) from the clinic or infusion center. We hypothesized that the quality of care would be comparable between these 2 pathways. We conducted a retrospective, observational cohort study of all adult cancer patients hospitalized with subjective or objective fever (≥100.4°F) and documented neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count ≤1000/mm(3)) from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2013, at 2 hospitals. Two investigators retrieved data including patient age, sex, race, tumor type, blood culture growth, temperature (actual or reported), pathway to admission (ED or DA), time to antibiotic administration, length of stay, and the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) risk score. The primary outcome measures were time to antibiotic administration, appropriateness of antibiotic(s) administered based on published guidelines, length of stay, and MASCC score-based risk assessment. We used the t test for the difference between 2 means with unequal population variances to compare these outcome measures between ED and DA patients. One hundred twenty-seven visits met inclusion criteria (42 [33%] ED visits, 85 [67%] DA visits). Mean time to antibiotic administration, mean length of stay, appropriateness of antibiotics, and MASCC score-based risk assessment were comparable between ED and DA visits (P>.05 for all comparisons). The quality of care for febrile neutropenia in patients presenting through the ED was comparable to those directly admitted to the hospital in this 2-center study. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Barriers and facilitators to ED physician use of the test and treatment for BPPV

PubMed Central

Forman, Jane; Damschroder, Laura; Telian, Steven A.; Fagerlin, Angela; Johnson, Patricia; Brown, Devin L.; An, Lawrence C.; Morgenstern, Lewis B.; Meurer, William J.

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: The test and treatment for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) are evidence-based practices supported by clinical guideline statements. Yet these practices are underutilized in the emergency department (ED) and interventions to promote their use are needed. To inform the development of an intervention, we interviewed ED physicians to explore barriers and facilitators to the current use of the Dix-Hallpike test (DHT) and the canalith repositioning maneuver (CRM). Methods: We conducted semi-structured in-person interviews with ED physicians who were recruited at annual ED society meetings in the United States. We analyzed data thematically using qualitative content analysis methods. Results: Based on 50 interviews with ED physicians, barriers that contributed to infrequent use of DHT/CRM that emerged were (1) prior negative experiences or forgetting how to perform them and (2) reliance on the history of present illness to identify BPPV, or using the DHT but misattributing patterns of nystagmus. Based on participants' responses, the principal facilitator of DHT/CRM use was prior positive experiences using these, even if infrequent. When asked which clinical supports would facilitate more frequent use of DHT/CRM, participants agreed supports needed to be brief, readily accessible, and easy to use, and to include well-annotated video examples. Conclusions: Interventions to promote the use of the DHT/CRM in the ED need to overcome prior negative experiences with the DHT/CRM, overreliance on the history of present illness, and the underuse and misattribution of patterns of nystagmus. Future resources need to be sensitive to provider preferences for succinct information and video examples. PMID:28680765

Impact of ED management on hospital quality measures: the negative case of atrial fibrillation.

PubMed

Piela, Nicole E; Sacchetti, Alfred; Sholevar, Darius; Blaber, Reginald; Levi, Steven

2013-05-01

Emergency department (ED) cardioversion and discharge of atrial fibrillation (AF) is an evolving treatment. Emergency department cardioversion patients have few comorbidities, and their discharge directly from the ED leads to a sicker in-patient population of AF patients. This study examines whether the quality care markers, hospital charges (HC) and length of stay (LOS), negatively reflect the practice of ED cardioversion. Median HC and LOS were determined for 2 different quality assessment reporting models. In a standard model (SM), patients discharged from the ED were not included in any hospital statistics and only admitted, or observation patients were used to calculate the HC and LOS of AF patients. In an inclusive model (IM), patients discharged from the ED were also included in the hospital statistics but given the same LOS as observation patients. Differences across medians were analyzed using Wilcoxon rank sum tests. A total of 312 patients were evaluated for AF over an 18-month period. Of these, 197 (62%) were admitted, 21 (7%) were placed in observation status, and 95 (31%) were discharged from the ED. Median values for LOS were 3 days (interquartile range [IQR], 1-5) for the SM and 1 day (IQR, 0-4) for the IM. Median values for HC were $33062 (IQR, $19267-$60614) for the SM and $20059 (IQR, $4249-$47195) for the IM. Emergency department cardioversion selects out a less sick cohort of patients whose removal from a hospital's admission numbers negatively skews quality performance profiles. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multidisciplinary intervention decreases the use of opioid medication discharge packs from 2 urban EDs.

PubMed

Gugelmann, Hallam; Shofer, Frances S; Meisel, Zachary F; Perrone, Jeanmarie

2013-09-01

Prescription opioid overdoses and deaths constitute a public health epidemic, and recent studies show that emergency department (ED) prescribers may contribute to this crisis. We hypothesized that a multidisciplinary educational intervention would decrease ED opioid packs dispensed at discharge. This prospective study implemented a "bundle" of interdisciplinary educational modalities: lectures, journal clubs, case discussions, and an electronic medical record decision support tool. Implementation occurred in 2 urban EDs in the same health system at different times ("affiliate," September 2011; "primary," January 2012) to better distinguish its effects. The primary outcome was preintervention/postintervention change in opioid discharge packs dispensed to all patients treated and discharged through August 2012 and was assessed by 2-way analysis of variance. The secondary outcome was bivariate analysis (using Fisher exact test) of change in opioid dispensing among patients with known risk factors for prescription opioid dependence: age less than 65 years, history of substance abuse, chronic pain, or psychiatric disorders. A total of 71,512 and 45,746 patients were evaluated and discharged from primary and affiliate EDs, respectively. Orders for opioid discharge packs decreased from 13.9% to 8.4% and 4.7% to 1.9% at the primary and affiliate hospitals (P < .0001). Dispensing among individuals at risk for opioid dependence at the primary ED decreased from 21.8% to 13.9%. A staged, multidisciplinary intervention targeting nurses, residents, nurse practitioners, and attending physicians was associated with decreased orders for opioid discharge packs in 2 urban EDs. Opioid discharge pack orders decreased slightly more among patients with risk factors for prescription opioid dependence. © 2013.

The attitudes and awareness of emergency department (ED) physicians towards the management of common dentofacial emergencies.

PubMed

Trivedy, Chetan; Kodate, Naonori; Ross, Alastair; Al-Rawi, Harrith; Jaiganesh, Thiagarajan; Harris, Tim; Anderson, Janet E

2012-04-01

Dentofacial emergencies are a common presentation to the emergency department (ED) but there is little recent data on physicians' knowledge, confidence and attitudes in handling these cases. A questionnaire was administered to 103 ED physicians. The sample was primarily drawn from London hospitals as well a smaller contribution from around the UK and included physicians with a range of experience and at different grades. The majority of the 102 participants (76.5%) did not receive any formal training in managing dentofacial emergencies. The percentage of participants who were happy to manage common dentofacial emergencies is as follows: dental trauma (20.4%); major facial trauma (39.8%); interpreting facial X-rays (68.0%); and facial suturing (85.4%). When questioned 12.1% of the participants felt that ED physicians should be responsible for managing dental emergencies compared to 22.4% who felt that ED physicians should manage maxillofacial emergencies. Only 3.9% of the participants would opt to be treated by an ED doctor in the event of them presenting to the ED with a dental injury. The remaining 72.5% would prefer to be seen by a maxillofacial surgeon, 23.5% by a dentist and none of the participants opted to be seen by the emergency nurse practitioner. ED physicians do not feel confident in managing some dentofacial emergencies. This may be attributed to a lack of training in this area as well as exposure to these types of emergencies. There is a need for greater awareness, validated guidelines and training resources for ED physicians to treat dentofacial emergencies as well more research in this field of emergency medicine. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Bacteremia in nonneutropenic pediatric oncology patients with central venous catheters in the ED.

PubMed

Moskalewicz, Risha L; Isenalumhe, Leidy L; Luu, Cindy; Wee, Choo Phei; Nager, Alan L

2017-01-01

To examine clinical characteristics associated with bacteremia in febrile nonneutropenic pediatric oncology patients with central venous catheters (CVCs) in the emergency department (ED). Fever is the primary reason pediatric oncology patients present to the ED. The literature states that 0.9% to 39% of febrile nonneutropenic oncology patients are bacteremic, yet few studies have investigated infectious risk factors in this population. This was a retrospective cohort study in a pediatric ED, reviewing medical records from 2002 to 2014. Inclusion criteria were patients with cancer, temperature at least 38°C, presence of a CVC, absolute neutrophil count greater than 500 cells/μL, and age less than 22 years. Exclusion criteria were repeat ED visits within 72 hours, bloodwork results not reported by the laboratory, and patients without oncologic history documented at the study hospital. The primary outcome measure is a positive blood culture (+BC). Other variables include age, sex, CVC type, cancer diagnosis, absolute neutrophil count, vital signs, upper respiratory infection (URI) symptoms, and amount of intravenous (IV) normal saline (NS) administered in the ED. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a multiple logistic regression model. A total of 1322 ED visits were sampled, with 534 enrolled, and 39 visits had +BC (7.3%). Variables associated with an increased risk of +BC included the following: absence of URI symptoms (odds ratio [OR], 2.30; 95% CI, 1.13-4.69), neuroblastoma (OR, 3.65; 95% CI, 1.47-9.09), "other" cancer diagnosis (OR, 4.56; 95% CI, 1.93-10.76), tunneled externalized CVC (OR, 5.04; 95% CI, 2.25-11.28), and receiving at least 20 mL/kg IV NS (OR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.2-4.55). The results of a multiple logistic regression model also showed these variables to be associated with +BC. The absence of URI symptoms, presence of an externalized CVC, neuroblastoma or other cancer diagnosis, and receiving at least 20 mL/kg IV NS in the ED are

ReEDS-Mexico: A Capacity Expansion Model of the Mexican Power System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ho, Jonathan L; Cole, Wesley J; Spyrou, Evangelia

This report documents the ReEDS-Mexico capacity expansion model, which is an extension of the ReEDS model to the Mexican power system. In recent years Mexico’s power sector has undergone considerable reform that has significant potential to impact the future electricity mix (Alpizar–Castro and Rodríguez–Monroy 2016). Day-ahead and real-time trading in Mexico’s power markets opened in early 2016. In addition to this reform, Mexico is striving to ensure that 35% of its electricity is generated from clean energy sources by 2024, 40% by 2035, and 50% by 2050 (Presidencia de la República 2016). These rapid changes in both the market andmore » the generation mix create a need for robust tools that can help electricity sector stakeholders make informed decisions. The purpose of this report is to document the extension of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model (Eurek et al. 2016) to cover the Mexico power system. This extension, which we will refer to throughout this paper as ReEDS-Mexico, provides a model of the Mexico power sector using a system-wide, least-cost optimization framework.« less

Developing a multidisciplinary approach within the ED towards domestic violence presentations.

PubMed

Basu, Subhashis; Ratcliffe, Giles

2014-03-01

To improve the detection and quality of care of patients who attend the emergency department (ED) with confirmed or suspected domestic abuse (DA). A quality improvement report on the design, implementation and evaluation of a specialised service and structured training programme to detect and manage DA presentations within an emergency medicine department. The study was set in the ED at the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, UK. Key measures for improvement included introducing a service within the ED to help staff manage DA and coordinate responses; improve staff confidence in detecting DA; develop a structured and consistent process by which to manage DA presentations. An Independent Domestic Violence Advocate service was introduced into the department in July 2011 through a multiagency agreement. A structured training and education programme was delivered to ED staff. A 'communications form' was developed for DA risk assessment and case management. The process was reviewed quarterly. One hundred and seventy-two referrals were made to the service (121 distinct clients) over a 12-month period. Staff reported greater confidence in detecting DA, and community partners highlighted the role the service had in improving DA detection and care quality within the city. Strong leadership and prioritising the issue within the department has facilitated the development of the process and contributed substantially to its success. Support from community partners has been invaluable in tailoring the service and education programme to the needs of staff and patients within the department.

Solving the worldwide emergency department crowding problem - what can we learn from an Israeli ED?

PubMed

Pines, Jesse M; Bernstein, Steven L

2015-01-01

ED crowding is a prevalent and important issue facing hospitals in Israel and around the world, including North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. ED crowding is associated with poorer quality of care and poorer health outcomes, along with extended waits for care. Crowding is caused by a periodic mismatch between the supply of ED and hospital resources and the demand for patient care. In a recent article in the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, Bashkin et al. present an Ishikawa diagram describing several factors related to longer length of stay (LOS), and higher levels of ED crowding, including management, process, environmental, human factors, and resource issues. Several solutions exist to reduce ED crowding, which involve addressing several of the issues identified by Bashkin et al. This includes reducing the demand for and variation in care, and better matching the supply of resources to demands in care in real time. However, what is needed to reduce crowding is an institutional imperative from senior leadership, implemented by engaged ED and hospital leadership with multi-disciplinary cross-unit collaboration, sufficient resources to implement effective interventions, access to data, and a sustained commitment over time. This may move the culture of a hospital to facilitate improved flow within and across units and ultimately improve quality and safety over the long-term.

The Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-up Evaluation (ED-SAFE): method and design considerations.

PubMed

Boudreaux, Edwin D; Miller, Ivan; Goldstein, Amy B; Sullivan, Ashley F; Allen, Michael H; Manton, Anne P; Arias, Sarah A; Camargo, Carlos A

2013-09-01

Due to the concentration of individuals at-risk for suicide, an emergency department visit represents an opportune time for suicide risk screening and intervention. The Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-up Evaluation (ED-SAFE) uses a quasi-experimental, interrupted time series design to evaluate whether (1) a practical approach to universally screening ED patients for suicide risk leads to improved detection of suicide risk and (2) a multi-component intervention delivered during and after the ED visit improves suicide-related outcomes. This paper summarizes the ED-SAFE's study design and methods within the context of considerations relevant to effectiveness research in suicide prevention and pertinent human participants concerns. 1440 suicidal individuals, from 8 general ED's nationally will be enrolled during three sequential phases of data collection (480 individuals/phase): (1) Treatment as Usual; (2) Universal Screening; and (3) Intervention. Data from the three phases will inform two separate evaluations: Screening Outcome (Phases 1 and 2) and Intervention (Phases 2 and 3). Individuals will be followed for 12 months. The primary study outcome is a composite reflecting completed suicide, attempted suicide, aborted or interrupted attempts, and implementation of rescue procedures during an outcome assessment. While 'classic' randomized control trials (RCT) are typically selected over quasi-experimental designs, ethical and methodological issues may make an RCT a poor fit for complex interventions in an applied setting, such as the ED. ED-SAFE represents an innovative approach to examining the complex public health issue of suicide prevention through a multi-phase, quasi-experimental design embedded in 'real world' clinical settings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Creating a Minnesota Statewide SNAP-Ed Program Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gold, Abby; Barno, Trina Adler; Sherman, Shelley; Lovett, Kathleen; Hurtado, G. Ali

2013-01-01

Systematic evaluation is an essential tool for understanding program effectiveness. This article describes the pilot test of a statewide evaluation tool for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed). A computer algorithm helped Community Nutrition Educators (CNEs) build surveys specific to their varied educational settings…

Safe Handling of Snakes in an ED Setting.

PubMed

Cockrell, Melanie; Swanson, Kristofer; Sanders, April; Prater, Samuel; von Wenckstern, Toni; Mick, JoAnn

2017-01-01

Efforts to improve consistency in management of snakes and venomous snake bites in the emergency department (ED) can improve patient and staff safety and outcomes, as well as improve surveillance data accuracy. The emergency department at a large academic medical center identified an opportunity to implement a standardized process for snake disposal and identification to reduce staff risk exposure to snake venom from snakes patients brought with them to the ED. A local snake consultation vendor and zoo Herpetologist assisted with development of a process for snake identification and disposal. All snakes have been identified and securely disposed of using the newly implemented process and no safety incidents have been reported. Other emergency department settings may consider developing a standardized process for snake disposal using listed specialized consultants combined with local resources and suppliers to promote employee and patient safety. Copyright © 2017 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

75 FR 11937 - EDS, HP Company, Fairfield Township, OH; Notice of Termination of Investigation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-12

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-72,710] EDS, HP Company, Fairfield Township, OH; Notice of Termination of Investigation Pursuant to Section 223 of the Trade Act of... the State on behalf of workers of EDS, HP Company, Fairfield Township, Ohio. The petitioners have...

Economic Development Network (ED>Net): 1995-96 Report to the Governor and the Legislature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California Community Colleges, Sacramento. Office of the Chancellor.

The Economic Development Network (ED>Net) of the California Community Colleges was designed to advance the state's economic growth and competitiveness by coordinating and facilitating workforce improvement, technology deployment, and business development initiatives. This report reviews outcomes for ED>Net for 1995-96 based on reports…

[Effect of static magnetic field on deep wound healing of SD rats].

PubMed

Shen, Jian-Guo; Chen, Wei-Shan; Wang, Chang-Xing; Jiang, Tao; Dong, Li-Qiang

2009-05-01

To investigate the effect of static magnetic field on deep wound healing of SD rats and VEGF during the wound healing and different strength static magnetic field on deep wound healing of SD rats. Divided forty-eight SD rats into three groups: 0.16 T magnetic disk treatment (0.16 T group), 0.32 T magnetic disk treatment (0.32 T group), control group. General wounds healing situation was observated on the 3, 6, 9, 12 day. The area of every wound was calculated. The tissue of granulation was dyeing by immune tissue chemical decoration method, in which VEGF protein content with its range in tissue was measured. The healing index of 0.16 T magnetic group wounds were larger than that of control group on 6th and 9th day, there were statistical difference. The healing index of 0.32 T magnetic group wounds were larger than that of control group on 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th day, there were statistical difference. The healing index of 0.32 T group wounds contrasted to that of 0.16 T group wounds had no statistical significance. Observation of VEGF at the course of wound healing:the expressing of VEGF in magnetic group wounds on 3rd and 6th was stronger than in control group wounds, there were statistical difference. While there were no obvious difference between them on 9th and 12th day (P>0.05). But the contrast between that in 0.32 T group and in 0.16 T group had no statistical difference. The expressing strength of VEGF in magnetic group reached the peak amplitude on the 6th day, and that in control group reached peak amplitude on 9th day. And the peak amplitude of magnetic group was stronger than that of control group. Static magnetic disc of 0.16T and 0.32 T can promote deep wound of SD rats heal. The mechanism of static magnetic field promoting wound heal may be relative to the expressing highly of VEGF during early and middle time.

Institutionalizing Environmental Scanning in the ED QUEST Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, James L.

An environmental scanning system is structured to identify and evaluate trends, events, and emerging issues. QUEST represents the quick environmental scanning technique, and an ED QUEST process enables an educational organization to clarify its future and define its options. This paper describes how an educational organization can establish an…

Power and Professionalism: Reconstruction of Medical Educators' Practice by Way of a MA(Ed).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elmer, Roger

England's King Alfred's College offers a MA(Ed) professional enquiry for teachers. In 1997, four medical doctors expressed interest in developing educational perspectives. Critical examination of the MA(Ed) indicated close parallels with the work of medical educators. The congruity was in an educational philosophy: people's internal values and…

34 CFR 84.400 - What are my responsibilities as a(n) ED awarding official?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are my responsibilities as a(n) ED awarding official? 84.400 Section 84.400 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Responsibilities of ED Awarding Officials § 84.400...

The System Dynamics Model User Sustainability Explorer (SD-MUSE): a user-friendly tool for interpreting system dynamic models

EPA Science Inventory

System Dynamics (SD) models are useful for holistic integration of data to evaluate indirect and cumulative effects and inform decisions. Complex SD models can provide key insights into how decisions affect the three interconnected pillars of sustainability. However, the complexi...

75 FR 31464 - Certification of the Attorney General; Shannon County, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-03

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Certification of the Attorney General; Shannon County, SD In accordance with Section 8 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1973f, I hereby certify that in my judgment the appointment... Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1973b(b), and published in the Federal Register on...

A Successful ED Fall Risk Program Using the KINDER 1 Fall RiskAssessment Tool.

PubMed

Townsend, Ann B; Valle-Ortiz, Marisol; Sansweet, Tracy

2016-11-01

Emergency nurses did not perform falls risk assessments routinely on our ED patients; the instrument used was aimed at inpatients. We identified a need to revise fall assessment practices specific to our emergency department. The purpose of the performance improvement project was to reduce ED falls and evaluate the use of an ED-specific fall risk tool, the KINDER 1 Fall Risk Assessment. The plan was to establish fall risk assessment practices at point of ED entry and to decrease total falls. We retrospectively reviewed ED fall data for each quarter of 2013, which included risk assessments scores, the total number of falls, and the circumstances of each fall. Using Kotter's framework to guide a successful change process, we implemented the KINDER 1 to assess fall risk. During the first 4 weeks of the project, 937 patients (27%) were identified as high risk for falls using the KINDER 1. During the subsequent 3 quarters, the total number of falls decreased; reported falls without injuries dropped from 0.21 to 0.07 per 1000 patients, and falls with injuries were reduced from 0.21 to 0.0 per 1000 patients. The results of this project represented a valuable step toward achieving our goal to keep ED patients safe from injuries as a result of falls. The findings add to the body of nursing knowledge on the application of clinical-based performance improvement projects to improve patient outcomes and to provide data on the use of the KINDER 1 tool, which has not been extensively tested. Copyright © 2016 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mid-term NEAT review: analysing the improvements in hospital ED performance.

PubMed

Khanna, Sankalp; Boyle, Justin; Good, Norm; Lind, James

2014-01-01

Introduced with a promise to reduce overcrowding in the Emergency Department (ED) and the associated morbidity and mortality linked to bed access difficulties, the National Emergency Access Target (NEAT) is now over halfway through transitionary arrangements towards a target of 90% of patients that visit a hospital ED being admitted or discharged within 4 hours. Facilitation and reward funding has ensured hospitals around the country are remodelling workflows to ensure compliance. Recent reports however show that the majority of hospitals are still far from being able to meet this target. We investigate the NEAT journey of 30 Queensland hospitals over the past two years and compare this performance to a previous study that investigated the 4 hour ED discharge performance of these hospitals at various times of day and under varying occupancy conditions. Our findings reveal that, while most hospitals have made significant improvements to their 4 hour discharge performance in 2013, the underlying flow patterns and periods of poor NEAT compliance remain largely unchanged. The work identifies areas for targeted improvement to inform system redesign and workflow planning.

Test Review: Gilliam, J. E. (2015), "Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Test" (2nd Ed) [Assessment Instrument]. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perdue, Elizabeth A.

2016-01-01

The "Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Test-Second Edition" (ADHDT-2) is published through Pro-Ed in Austin, Texas. It was formally published in 2014, following critical revisions of the ADHDT, the reportedly popular initial version of this test that was published in 1995. The ADHDT-2 purports to act as a screener for individuals…

Exploring Older Adult ED Fall Patients' Understanding of Their Fall: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Shankar, Kalpana N; Taylor, Devon; Rizzo, Caroline T; Liu, Shan W

2017-12-01

We sought to understand older patients' perspectives about their fall, fall risk factors, and attitude toward emergency department (ED) fall-prevention interventions. We conducted semistructured interviews between July 2015 and January 2016 of community-dwelling, nondemented patients in the ED, who presented with a fall to an urban, teaching hospital. Interviews were halted once we achieve thematic saturation with the data coded and categorized into themes. Of the 63 patients interviewed, patients blamed falls on the environment, accidents, a medical condition, or themselves. Three major themes were generated: (1) patients blamed falls on a multitude of things but never acknowledged a possible multifactorial rationale, (2) patients have variable level of concerns regarding their current fall and future fall risk, and (3) patients demonstrated a range of receptiveness to ED interventions aimed at preventing falls but provided little input as to what those interventions should be. Many older patients who fall do not understand their fall risk. However, based on the responses provided, older adults tend to be more receptive to intervention and more concerned about their future fall risk, making the ED an appropriate setting for intervention.

Exploring the limits of EDS microanalysis: rare earth element analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ritchie, N. W. M.; Newbury, D. E.; Lowers, H.; Mengason, M.

2018-01-01

It is a great time to be a microanalyst. After a few decades of incremental progress in energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), the last decade has seen the accuracy and precision surge forward. Today, the question is not whether EDS is generally useful but to identify the types of problems for which wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometry remains the better choice. The full extent of EDS’s capabilities has surprised many. Low Z, low energy, and trace element detection have been demonstrated even in the presence of extreme peak interferences. In this paper, we will summarise the state-of-the-art and investigate a challenging problem domain, the analysis of minerals bearing multiple rare-earth elements.

System Level Health Disparities in California Emergency Departments: Minorities and Medicaid Patients are at Higher Risk of Losing Their EDs

PubMed Central

Hsia, Renee Y.; Srebotnjak, Tanja; Kanzaria, Hemal K.; McCulloch, Charles; Auerbach, Andrew D.

2015-01-01

Study Objective Emergency Department (ED) closures threaten community access to emergency services, but few data exist to describe factors associated with closure. We evaluated factors associated with ED closure in California and sought to determine if hospitals serving more vulnerable populations have a higher rate of ED closure. Methods Retrospective cohort study of California hospital EDs between 1998 and 2008, using hospital and patient level data from the California Office of Statewide Planning and Development (OSHPD), as well as OSHPD Patient Discharge Data. We examined the effects of hospital and patient factors on the hospital's likelihood of ED closure using Cox proportional hazards models. Results In 4,411 hospital-years of observation, 29 of 401 (7.2%) EDs closed. In a model adjusted for total ED visits, hospital discharges, trauma center and teaching status, ownership, operating margin, and urbanicity, hospitals with more black patients (OR 1.41 per increase in proportion of blacks by 0.1, 95% CI 1.16-1.72) and Medi-Cal recipients (OR 1.17 per increase in proportion insured by Medi-Cal by 0.1, 95% CI 1.02-1.34) had higher odds for ED closure, as did for-profit institutions (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.13-2.41). Conclusion The population served by EDs and hospitals’ profit model are associated with ED closure. Whether our findings are a manifestation of poorer reimbursement in at-risk EDs is unclear. PMID:22093435

Standalone engine simulator (SAES), Engine Dynamics simulator (EDS) Xerox Sigma 5 interface hardware manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirshten, P. M.; Black, S.; Pearson, R.

1979-01-01

The ESS-EDS and EDS-Sigma interfaces within the standalone engine simulator are described. The operation of these interfaces, including the definition and use of special function signals and data flow paths within them during data transfers, is presented along with detailed schematics and circuit layouts of the described equipment.

Connecting Teachers and Ed-Tech Developers: Lessons from NYC's "Gap App" Program. Technical Appendices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villavicencio, Adriana; Siman, Nina; Lafayette, Camille; Kang, David

2016-01-01

In 2011, with support from a federal Investing in Innovation grant, the NYC Department of Education launched Innovate NYC Schools. The initiative was designed to address two, related challenges to effectively integrating education technology (ed-tech) into classrooms: First, procurement of ed-tech tools is often hampered by a disconnect between…

Atypical presentations of dengue disease in the elderly visiting the ED.

PubMed

Lee, Ching-Chi; Hsu, Hsiang-Chin; Chang, Chia-Ming; Hong, Ming-Yuan; Ko, Wen-Chien

2013-05-01

The objective was to compare the clinical characteristics of elderly and young adult patients with dengue in the emergency department (ED). Demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, disease severity, laboratory characteristics, and outcomes were analyzed prospectively as a case-control study. Of the 193 adults with serologically confirmed dengue disease in 2007, 31 (16.1%) were elderly patients (aged ≥65) and 162 were young adults (aged <65). More dengue hemorrhagic fever (12.9% vs 2.5%, P = .02), a longer ED stay (13.3 vs 8.6 hours, P = .004), a longer hospital stay (7.4 vs 3.4 days, P < .001), a higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II in the ED (29.7 vs 17.4, P < .001), and a higher rate of at least 1 comorbidity (61.8 vs 22.8%, P < .001) were found in the elderly. However, the length of the intensive care unit stay (elderly 0.7 vs young adults 0.3 day, P = .47) and the 14-day mortality rate (0% vs 0.6%, P = 1.00) were similar. Of note, in terms of clinical presentations of dengue in the ED, there were more elderly patients with isolated fever (41.9% vs 17.9%, P = .003) and fewer with typical presentation (41.9% vs 75.9%, P = <.001) than there were young adults. The present study found a higher number of atypical presentations, a longer hospitalization, and a higher degree of clinical illness in elderly patients with dengue. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Self-Instructional Workbook for the ED Form 799.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Postsecondary Education, Washington DC. Student Financial Assistance Programs.

To assist in making funds available for student higher education loans and to keep their interest rates as low as possible, the Department of Education compensates participating lending institutions using a combination of interest subsidies and special allowance payments. Lenders use ED Form 799, Lender's Interest and Special Allowance Request and…

Inpatient admissions from the ED for adults with injuries: the role of clinical and nonclinical factors.

PubMed

Spector, William D; Limcangco, Rhona; Mutter, Ryan L; Pines, Jesse M; Owens, Pamela

2015-06-01

Inpatient hospital costs represent nearly a third of heath care spending. The proportion of inpatients visits that originate in the emergency department (ED) has been growing, approaching half of all inpatient admissions. Injury is the most common reason for adult ED visits, representing nearly one-quarter of all ED visits. The objective was to explore the association of clinical and nonclinical factors with the decision to admit ED patients with injury. This is a retrospective cohort study of injury-related ED encounters by adults in select states in 2009. We limited the study to ED visits of persons with moderately severe injuries. We used logistic regression to calculate the marginal effects, estimating 4 equations to account for different risk patterns for older and younger adults, and types of injuries. Regression models controlled for comorbidities, injury characteristics, demographic characteristics, and state fixed effects. Injury location, type, and mechanism and comorbidities had large effects on hospitalization rates as expected. We found higher inpatient admission rates by level of trauma center designation and hospital size, but findings differed by age and type of injury. For younger adults, patients with private insurance and patients who traveled more than 30 miles were more likely to be admitted. There is great variation in inpatient admission decisions for moderately injured patients in the ED. Decisions appear to be dominated by clinical factors such as injury characteristics and comorbidities; however, nonclinical factors, such as type of insurance, hospital size, and trauma center designation, also play an important role. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Evaluating Prospective Teachers: Testing the Predictive Validity of the edTPA. Working Paper 157

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldhaber, Dan; Cowan, James; Theobald, Roddy

2016-01-01

We use longitudinal data from Washington State to provide estimates of the extent to which performance on the edTPA, a performance-based, subject-specific assessment of teacher candidates, is predictive of the likelihood of employment in the teacher workforce and value-added measures of teacher effectiveness. While edTPA scores are highly…

A search for remnant planetary nebulae around hot sdO stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwitter, Karen B.; Massey, Philip; Congdon, Charles W.; Pasachoff, Jay M.

1989-05-01

Spectroscopic and imaging searches for nebular emission associated with a sample of hot subdwarf O (sdO) stars have been carried out. Of 45 stars searched, no evidence of such nebulosity is found in 44. The single exception is RWT 152, around which a planetary nebula had been discovered previously. These negative results place constraints on the evolutionary history of these stars.

Neutrino Spectra from Nuclear Weak Interactions in sd-Shell Nuclei under Astrophysical Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misch, G. Wendell; Sun, Yang; Fuller, George M.

2018-01-01

We present shell model calculations of nuclear neutrino energy spectra for 70 sd-shell nuclei over the mass number range A = 21–35. Our calculations include nuclear excited states as appropriate for the hot and dense conditions characteristic of pre-collapse massive stars. We consider neutrinos produced by charged lepton captures and decays, and for the first time in tabular form, neutral current nuclear deexcitation, providing neutrino energy spectra on the Fuller–Fowler–Newman temperature–density grid for these interaction channels for each nucleus. We use the full sd-shell model space to compute initial nuclear states up to 20 MeV excitation with transitions to final states up to 35–40 MeV, employing a modification of the Brink-Axel hypothesis to handle high-temperature population factors and the nuclear partition functions.

ISCCP-D2like-GEO Ed3A

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2018-05-16

ISCCP-D2like-GEO Ed3A Project Title:  CERES Discipline:  ... Order Data Guide Documents:  GEO Description/Abstract Detailed CERES ISCCP-D2like Product ... Data Products Catalog:  DPC_ISCCP-D2like-GEO_R5V3  (PDF) Readme Files:  Readme GEO R5-987 ...

Preparing Ed.D. Students to Conduct Group Dissertations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Browne-Ferrigno, Tricia; Jensen, Jane McEldowney

2012-01-01

In this article we present an overview of a recently launched cohort-based Ed.D. program that prepares participants to conduct group dissertations. The program, a hybrid model of online learning activities and monthly face-to-face class sessions, is delivered through a partnership between a university's college of education and the administrative…

Effect of advanced age and vital signs on admission from an ED observation unit.

PubMed

Caterino, Jeffrey M; Hoover, Emily M; Moseley, Mark G

2013-01-01

The primary objective was to determine the relationship between advanced age and need for admission from an emergency department (ED) observation unit. The secondary objective was to determine the relationship between initial ED vital signs and admission. We conducted a prospective, observational cohort study of ED patients placed in an ED-based observation unit. Multivariable penalized maximum likelihood logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of need for hospital admission. Age was examined continuously and at a cutoff of 65 years or more. Vital signs were examined continuously and at commonly accepted cutoffs.We additionally controlled for demographics, comorbid conditions, laboratory values, and observation protocol. Three hundred patients were enrolled, 12% (n = 35) were 65 years or older, and 11% (n = 33) required admission. Admission rates were 2.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.07%-14.9%) in older adults and 12.1% (95% CI, 8.4%-16.6%) in younger adults. In multivariable analysis, age was not associated with admission (odds ratio [OR], 0.30; 95% CI, 0.05-1.67). Predictors of admission included systolic pressure 180 mm Hg or greater (OR, 4.19; 95% CI, 1.08-16.30), log Charlson comorbidity score (OR, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.57-5.46), and white blood cell count 14,000/mm(3) or greater (OR, 11.35; 95% CI, 3.42-37.72). Among patients placed in an ED observation unit, age 65 years or more is not associated with need for admission. Older adults can successfully be discharged from these units. Systolic pressure 180 mm Hg or greater was the only predictive vital sign. In determining appropriateness of patients selected for an ED observation unit, advanced age should not be an automatic disqualifying criterion. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Review of "Older, Wiser, Sexually Smarter: 30 Sex Ed Lessons for Adults Only"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garrity, Joan Mogul

2010-01-01

While virtually all sex ed curricula are designed to be used with children, teens and young adults, "Older, Wiser, Sexually Smarter: 30 Sex Ed Lessons for Adults Only" ([C] 2009, Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey) offers lessons to help participants fully embrace the possibility of sexual pleasure and intimacy from mid-life through…

Assessment of bone in Ehlers Danlos syndrome by ultrasound and densitometry.

PubMed

Dolan, A L; Arden, N K; Grahame, R; Spector, T D

1998-10-01

Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS) is an inherited disorder of connective tissue characterised by hyperextensible skin, joint laxity, and easy bruising. There are phenotypic similarities with osteogenesis imperfecta, but in EDS a tendency to fracture or altered bone mass has not previously been considered to be a cardinal feature. This case-control design study investigates whether 23 patients with EDS had differences in fracture rates, bone mass, and calcaneal ultrasound parameters compared with age and sex matched controls. 23 cases of EDS (mean (SD) age 38.5 (15.5)) were compared with 23 controls (mean age 37.8 (14.5)). A significant reduction in bone density measured by dual energy x ray absorptiometry was found at the neck of femur by 0.9 SD, p = 0.05, and lumbar spine by 0.74 SD, p = 0.02. At the calcaneum, broad band ultrasound attenuation and speed of sound were significantly reduced compared with controls by 0.95 SD (p = 0.004) and 0.49 SD (p = 0.004) for broad band ultrasound attenuation and speed of sound respectively. Broad band ultrasound attenuation and speed of sound remained significantly reduced after adjusting for bone mineral density (BMD). After adjusting for functional status (HAQ), age and sex, hypermobility was inversely correlated with broad band ultrasound attenuation and SOS, but not BMD at hip or spine. Previous fracture was 10 times more common in EDS (p < 0.001), with 86.9% of patients reporting a total of 47 low impact fractures, compared with 8.7% of controls. This study has identified a tendency of EDS patients to fracture, have low bone mass and abnormal bone structure. The aetiology is likely to be multifactorial, with an inherited structural element, accentuated by immobility or reduced exercise. This is one of the first clinical studies to suggest ultrasound can detect structural differences in bone, independent of dual energy x ray absorptiometry.

Borrowing yet another technique from manufacturing, investigators find that 'operational flexibility' can offer dividends to ED operations.

PubMed

2015-03-01

Through the use of a sophisticated modeling technique, investigators at the University of Cincinnati have found that the creation of a so-called "flex track" that includes beds that can be assigned to either high-acuity or Iow-acuity- patients has the potential to lower mean wait times for patients when it is i added to the traditional fast-track and high-acuity areas of a 50-bed ED that sees 85,000 patients per year. Investigators used discrete-event simulation to model the patient flow and characteristics of the ED at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, and to test out various operational scenarios without disrupting real-world operations. The investigators concluded that patient wait times were lowest when three flex beds were appropriated from the 10-bed fast track area of the EDs. In light of the results, three flex rooms are being incorporated into a newly remodeled ED scheduled for completion laterthis spring. Investigators suggest the modeling technique could be useful to other EDs interested in optimizing their operational plans. Further, they suggest that ED administrators consider ways to introduce flexibility into departments that are now more rigidly divided between high- and low-acuity areas.

Communication and Influencing for ED Professionals: A training programme developed in the emergency department for the emergency department.

PubMed

Rixon, Andrew; Rixon, Sascha; Addae-Bosomprah, Hansel; Ding, Mingshuang; Bell, Anthony

2016-08-01

The objective of the present study is to develop and pilot a communication and influencing skills training programme that meets ED health professionals' needs at an urban district hospital. Qualitative methods within a participatory action research framework were utilised. An interdisciplinary team guided the programme's design and development. A training needs analysis saw team meetings, interviews, focus groups and observations conducted across the ED. Thematic analysis of the data identified health professionals' communication and influencing challenges. The training needs analysis informed the training programme curriculum's development. The pilot programme involved an interdisciplinary group of seven health professionals across 5 × 2 h sessions over 3 months, followed by a post-training survey. Five themes of communication and influencing challenges were identified: participating in effective handovers, involving patients in bedside handovers, effectively communicating with interdepartmental colleagues, asking ED colleagues to do tasks and understanding ED colleagues' roles, expectations and assumptions. Based on these challenges, the formulated RESPECT model (which stands for Relationships, Expectations, Styles, Partnerships, Enquiry, Coaching and Teamwork) informed the training curriculum. The peer coaching model used in the training programme was highly regarded by participants. Communication and Influencing for ED Professionals™ (Babel Fish Group Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) addresses a gap for communication programmes developed in the ED for the ED. Future research will evaluate the programme's impact in this ED. © 2016 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

Disruption of the Arabidopsis Defense Regulator Genes SAG101, EDS1, and PAD4 Confers Enhanced Freezing Tolerance

PubMed Central

Chen, Qin-Fang; Xu, Le; Tan, Wei-Juan; Chen, Liang; Qi, Hua; Xie, Li-Juan; Chen, Mo-Xian; Liu, Bin-Yi; Yu, Lu-Jun; Yao, Nan; Zhang, Jian-Hua; Shu, Wensheng; Xiao, Shi

2017-01-01

In Arabidopsis, three lipase-like regulators, SAG101, EDS1, and PAD4, act downstream of resistance protein-associated defense signaling. Although the roles of SAG101, EDS1, and PAD4 in biotic stress have been extensively studied, little is known about their functions in plant responses to abiotic stresses. Here, we show that SAG101, EDS1, and PAD4 are involved in the regulation of freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis. With or without cold acclimation, the sag101, eds1, and pad4 single mutants, as well as their double mutants exhibited similarly enhanced tolerance to freezing temperatures. Upon cold exposure, the sag101, eds1, and pad4 mutants showed increased transcript levels of C-REPEAT/DRE BINDING FACTORs and their regulons, compared with wild type. Moreover, freezing-induced cell death and accumulation of hydrogen peroxide were ameliorated in sag101, eds1, and pad4 mutants. The sag101, eds1, and pad4 mutants had much lower salicylic acid (SA) and diacylglycerol (DAG) contents than wild type and exogenous application of SA and DAG compromised the freezing tolerance of the mutants. Furthermore, SA suppressed the cold-induced expression of DGATs and DGKs in wild-type leaves. These findings indicate that SAG101, EDS1, and PAD4 are involved in freezing response in Arabidopsis, at least in part, by modulating the homeostasis of SA and DAG. PMID:26149542

Care plan program reduces the number of visits for challenging psychiatric patients in the ED.

PubMed

Abello, Arthur; Brieger, Ben; Dear, Kim; King, Ben; Ziebell, Chris; Ahmed, Atheer; Milling, Truman J

2012-09-01

A small number of patients representing a significant demand on emergency department (ED) services present regularly for a variety of reasons, including psychiatric or behavioral complaints and lack of access to other services. A care plan program was created as a database of ED high users and patients of concern, as identified by ED staff and approved by program administrators to improve care and mitigate ED strain. A list of medical record numbers was assembled by searching the care plan program database for adult patients initially enrolled between the dates of November 1, 2006, and October 21, 2007. Inclusion criteria were the occurrence of a psychiatric International Classification Diseases, Ninth Revision, code in their medical record and a care plan level implying a serious psychiatric disorder causing harmful behavior. Additional data about these patients were acquired using an indigent care tracking database and electronic medical records. Variables collected from these sources were analyzed for changes before and after program enrollment. Of 501 patients in the database in the period studied, 48 patients fulfilled the criteria for the cohort. There was a significant reduction in the number of visits to the ED from the year before program enrollment to the year after enrollment (8.9, before; 5.9, after; P < .05). There was also an increase in psychiatric hospital visits (2%, before; 25%, after; P < .05). An alert program that identifies challenging ED patients with psychiatric conditions and creates a care plan appears to reduce visits and lead to more appropriate use of other resources. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Paid sick leave is associated with fewer ED visits among US private sector working adults.

PubMed

Bhuyan, Soumitra S; Wang, Yang; Bhatt, Jay; Dismuke, S Edward; Carlton, Erik L; Gentry, Dan; LaGrange, Chad; Chang, Cyril F

2016-05-01

The United States (US) is the only developed country that does not guarantee short-term or longer-term paid sick leave. This study used a multiyear nationally representative database to examine the association between availability of paid sick leave and frequency of emergency department (ED) use among US private sector employees. We used the National Health Interview Survey data (2012-2014). The final study sample consists of 42,460 US adults between 18 and 64years of age and working in nongovernmental private sector. Our results suggest that availability of paid sick leave is significantly associated with lower likelihood of ED use, for both moderate (1-3 times/year) and repeated users (4 or more times/year). After controlling for confounding factors, respondents with paid sick leave are 14% less likely to be moderate ED users (adjusted odds ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.79-0.93) and 32% less likely to be repeated ED users (adjusted odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.50-0.91). Although expansion of health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act has not been shown to reduce utilization of high cost health care services such as the ED, our study suggests other factors such as the availability of paid sick leave may do so, by allowing patients to seek care through other more cost-effective mechanisms (eg, primary care providers). To reduce ED utilization, health policymakers should consider alternative reforms including paid sick leave. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Involvement of Fenton chemistry in rice straw degradation by the lignocellulolytic bacterium Pantoea ananatis Sd-1.

PubMed

Ma, Jiangshan; Zhang, Keke; Huang, Mei; Hector, Stanton B; Liu, Bin; Tong, Chunyi; Liu, Qian; Zeng, Jiarui; Gao, Yan; Xu, Ting; Liu, Ying; Liu, Xuanming; Zhu, Yonghua

2016-01-01

Lignocellulolytic bacteria have revealed to be a promising source for biofuel production, yet the underlying mechanisms are still worth exploring. Our previous study inferred that the highly efficient lignocellulose degradation by bacterium Pantoea ananatis Sd-1 might involve Fenton chemistry (Fe 2+  + H 2 O 2  + H +  → Fe 3+  + OH· + H 2 O), similar to that of white-rot and brown-rot fungi. The aim of this work is to investigate the existence of this Fenton-based oxidation mechanism in the rice straw degradation process of P. ananatis Sd-1. After 3 days incubation of unpretreated rice straw with P. ananatis Sd-1, the percentage in weight reduction of rice straw as well as its cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin components reached 46.7, 43.1, 42.9, and 37.9 %, respectively. The addition of different hydroxyl radical scavengers resulted in a significant decline ( P  < 0.001) in rice straw degradation. Pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed the consistency of chemical changes of rice straw components that exists between P. ananatis Sd-1 and Fenton reagent treatment. In addition to the increased total iron ion concentration throughout the rice straw decomposition process, the Fe 3+ -reducing capacity of P. ananatis Sd-1 was induced by rice straw and predominantly contributed by aromatic compounds metabolites. The transcript levels of the glucose-methanol-choline oxidoreductase gene related to hydrogen peroxide production were significantly up-regulated (at least P  < 0.01) in rice straw cultures. Higher activities of GMC oxidoreductase and less hydrogen peroxide concentration in rice straw cultures relative to glucose cultures may be responsible for increasing rice straw degradation, which includes Fenton-like reactions. Our results confirmed the Fenton chemistry-assisted degradation model in P. ananatis Sd-1. We are among the first to show that a Fenton-based oxidation mechanism

HAZ-ED Classroom Activities for Understanding Hazardous Waste.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

The Federal Superfund Program investigates and cleans up hazardous waste sites throughout the United States. Part of this program is devoted to informing the public and involving people in the process of cleaning up hazardous waste sites from beginning to end. The Haz-Ed program was developed to assist the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)…

Impact of a bronchiolitis guideline on ED resource use and cost: a segmented time-series analysis.

PubMed

Akenroye, Ayobami T; Baskin, Marc N; Samnaliev, Mihail; Stack, Anne M

2014-01-01

Bronchiolitis is a major cause of infant morbidity and contributes to millions of dollars in health care costs. Care guidelines may cut costs by reducing unnecessary resource utilization. Through the implementation of a guideline, we sought to reduce unnecessary resource utilization and improve the value of care provided to infants with bronchiolitis in a pediatric emergency department (ED). We conducted an interrupted time series that examined ED visits of 2929 patients with bronchiolitis, aged 1 to 12 months old, seen between November 2007 and April 2013. Outcomes were proportion having a chest radiograph (CXR), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) testing, albuterol or antibiotic administration, and the total cost of care. Balancing measures included admission rate, returns to the ED resulting in admission within 72 hours of discharge, and ED length of stay (LOS). There were no significant preexisting trends in the outcomes. After guideline implementation, there was an absolute reduction of 23% in CXR (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11% to 34%), 11% in RSV testing (95% CI: 6% to 17%), 7% in albuterol use (95% CI: 0.2% to 13%), and 41 minutes in ED LOS (95% CI: 16 to 65 minutes). Mean cost per patient was reduced by $197 (95% CI: $136 to $259). Total cost savings was $196,409 (95% CI: $135,592 to $258,223) over the 2 bronchiolitis seasons after guideline implementation. There were no significant differences in antibiotic use, admission rates, or returns resulting in admission within 72 hours of discharge. A bronchiolitis guideline was associated with reductions in CXR, RSV testing, albuterol use, ED LOS, and total costs in a pediatric ED.

A Disability Studies in Education Analysis of the edTPA through Teacher Candidate Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bacon, Jessica; Blachman, Sheila

2017-01-01

This analysis of the Special Education edTPA is written by two professors who co-taught a student teaching seminar at one institution and supported the first groups of teacher candidates required to submit the edTPA for certification in New York State. Data were gathered over three semesters and included open-ended student surveys, student…

Updated Dosing Instructions for Immune Globulin (Human) GamaSTAN S/D for Hepatitis A Virus Prophylaxis.

PubMed

Nelson, Noele P

2017-09-15

GamaSTAN S/D (Grifols Therapeutics, Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) is a sterile, preservative-free solution of immune globulin (IG) for intramuscular administration and is used for prophylaxis against disease caused by infection with hepatitis A, measles, varicella, and rubella viruses (1). GamaSTAN S/D is the only IG product approved by the Food and Drug Administration for hepatitis A virus (HAV) prophylaxis. In July 2017, GamaSTAN S/D prescribing information was updated with changes to the dosing instructions for hepatitis A preexposure and postexposure prophylaxis indications. These changes were made because of concerns about decreased HAV immunoglobulin G antibody (anti-HAV IgG) potency, likely resulting from decreasing prevalence of previous HAV infection among plasma donors, leading to declining anti-HAV antibody levels in donor plasma (2). No changes in dosing instructions were made for measles, varicella, or rubella preexposure or postexposure prophylaxis.

SEM/EDS Characterization of Ambient PM during Agricultural Burns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, J.; Wall, S.

2010-12-01

Ambient particulate matter (PM) samples were collected with UNC passive samplers during agricultural burns in Imperial Valley, California. Four Bermuda grass field burn events were sampled at 3-8 locations surrounding each burn. Sampling began at the start of each burn (30-60 min) and continued for 24-120 hours. During 3 of the 4 burn events, winds were calm and plumes were observed to travel straight up to the inversion layer. In one event, winds created a ground-level plume that enveloped two UNC samplers mounted on telephone poles very close to the field (0.2-0.3 miles away). Computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy / energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (CCSEM/EDS) was used to measure particle sizes and elemental composition, from which mass concentrations and size distributions were calculated. The median PM2.5 and PM10 levels measured in this study were 3.4 and 20 ug/m3, respectively. To determine quantitative accuracy, UNC sampler PM2.5 results (PM< 2.5 um) were compared to PM2.5 results from four co-located, continuous-reading beta-attenuation monitors (EBAMs). The median agreement (EBAM - UNC) was 3.8 ug/m3. Manual SEM/EDS detected various distinctive species in these samples, including sea salt, spores, plant fragments, and large soot agglomerates. During the ‘plume event’, 24-hour PM2.5 exposures downwind were up to 17 times higher than that measured upwind. Numerous submicron combustion particles with carbon and oxygen only were directly observed by manual SEM/EDS in the two plume-impacted samples, along with larger ash particles enriched in potassium, sulfur, chlorine, calcium, sodium, and phosphorus. CCSEM/EDS data from this event was grouped into 5 particle classes to generate size-fraction-specific pie charts. Burn-related particle types contributed 95% of the PM2.5 in the location directly impacted by the ground-level plume, compared to only 12% in the upwind location. A sample of Imperial County Bermuda grass analyzed in bulk and

Phylogenomics and sequence-structure-function relationships in the GmrSD family of Type IV restriction enzymes.

PubMed

Machnicka, Magdalena A; Kaminska, Katarzyna H; Dunin-Horkawicz, Stanislaw; Bujnicki, Janusz M

2015-10-23

GmrSD is a modification-dependent restriction endonuclease that specifically targets and cleaves glucosylated hydroxymethylcytosine (glc-HMC) modified DNA. It is encoded either as two separate single-domain GmrS and GmrD proteins or as a single protein carrying both domains. Previous studies suggested that GmrS acts as endonuclease and NTPase whereas GmrD binds DNA. In this work we applied homology detection, sequence conservation analysis, fold recognition and homology modeling methods to study sequence-structure-function relationships in the GmrSD restriction endonucleases family. We also analyzed the phylogeny and genomic context of the family members. Results of our comparative genomics study show that GmrS exhibits similarity to proteins from the ParB/Srx fold which can have both NTPase and nuclease activity. In contrast to the previous studies though, we attribute the nuclease activity also to GmrD as we found it to contain the HNH endonuclease motif. We revealed residues potentially important for structure and function in both domains. Moreover, we found that GmrSD systems exist predominantly as a fused, double-domain form rather than as a heterodimer and that their homologs are often encoded in regions enriched in defense and gene mobility-related elements. Finally, phylogenetic reconstructions of GmrS and GmrD domains revealed that they coevolved and only few GmrSD systems appear to be assembled from distantly related GmrS and GmrD components. Our study provides insight into sequence-structure-function relationships in the yet poorly characterized family of Type IV restriction enzymes. Comparative genomics allowed to propose possible role of GmrD domain in the function of the GmrSD enzyme and possible active sites of both GmrS and GmrD domains. Presented results can guide further experimental characterization of these enzymes.

Adaptation of Lorke's method to determine and compare ED50 values: the cases of two anticonvulsants drugs.

PubMed

Garrido-Acosta, Osvaldo; Meza-Toledo, Sergio Enrique; Anguiano-Robledo, Liliana; Valencia-Hernández, Ignacio; Chamorro-Cevallos, Germán

2014-01-01

We determined the median effective dose (ED50) values for the anticonvulsants phenobarbital and sodium valproate using a modification of Lorke's method. This modification allowed appropriate statistical analysis and the use of a smaller number of mice per compound tested. The anticonvulsant activities of phenobarbital and sodium valproate were evaluated in male CD1 mice by maximal electroshock (MES) and intraperitoneal administration of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). The anticonvulsant ED50 values were obtained through modifications of Lorke's method that involved changes in the selection of the three first doses in the initial test and the fourth dose in the second test. Furthermore, a test was added to evaluate the ED50 calculated by the modified Lorke's method, allowing statistical analysis of the data and determination of the confidence limits for ED50. The ED50 for phenobarbital against MES- and PTZ-induced seizures was 16.3mg/kg and 12.7mg/kg, respectively. The sodium valproate values were 261.2mg/kg and 159.7mg/kg, respectively. These results are similar to those found using the traditional methods of finding ED50, suggesting that the modifications made to Lorke's method generate equal results using fewer mice while increasing confidence in the statistical analysis. This adaptation of Lorke's method can be used to determine median letal dose (LD50) or ED50 for compounds with other pharmacological activities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[SD-OCT As screening test for hydroxychloroquine retinopathy: The «flying saucer» sign].

PubMed

Asensio-Sánchez, V M

2015-07-01

Two asymptomatic women treated with hydroxychloroquine 200mg every day for 8 and 16 years developed retinal toxicity. Patient 1 was found to have a normal fundus and autofluorescence examination. Patient 2 was found to have a completely normal fundus examination. Fluorescein angiography shows parafoveal hyperfluorescence, and autofluorescence shows a minimal decrease in signal in the same region. In both patients the SD-OCT shows disruption of the ellipsoid zone in parafoveal region («flying saucer» sign). SD-OCT findings in the retina can identify hydroxychloroquine retinopathy in asymptomatic patients. Copyright © 2013 Sociedad Española de Oftalmología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Micro Slot Generation by μ-ED Milling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dave, H. K.; Mayanak, M. K.; Rajpurohit, S. R.; Mathai, V. J.

2016-08-01

Micro electro discharge machining is one of the most widely used advanced micro machining technique owing to its capability to fabricate micro features on any electrically conductive materials irrespective of its material properties. Despite its wide acceptability, the process is always adversely affected by issues like wear that occurred on the tool electrode, which results into generation of inaccurate features. Micro ED milling, a process variant in which the tool electrode simultaneously rotated and scanned during machining, is reported to have high process efficiency for generation of 3D complicated shapes and features with relatively less electrode wear intensity. In the present study an attempt has been made to study the effect of two process parameters viz. capacitance and scanning speed of tool electrode on end wear that occurs on the tool electrode and overcut of micro slots generated by micro ED milling. The experiment has been conducted on Al 1100 alloy with tungsten electrode having diameter of 300 μm. Results suggest that wear on the tool electrode and overcut of the micro features generated are highly influenced by the level of the capacitance employed during machining. For the parameter usage employed for present study however, no significant effect of variation of scanning speed has been observed on both responses.

A search for remnant planetary nebulae around hot sdO stars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kwitter, K.B.; Congdon, C.W.; Pasachoff, J.M.

1989-05-01

Spectroscopic and imaging searches for nebular emission associated with a sample of hot subdwarf O (sdO) stars have been carried out. Of 45 stars searched, no evidence of such nebulosity is found in 44. The single exception is RWT 152, around which a planetary nebula had been discovered previously. These negative results place constraints on the evolutionary history of these stars. 21 refs.

Multimodal segmentation of optic disc and cup from stereo fundus and SD-OCT images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miri, Mohammad Saleh; Lee, Kyungmoo; Niemeijer, Meindert; Abràmoff, Michael D.; Kwon, Young H.; Garvin, Mona K.

2013-03-01

Glaucoma is one of the major causes of blindness worldwide. One important structural parameter for the diagnosis and management of glaucoma is the cup-to-disc ratio (CDR), which tends to become larger as glaucoma progresses. While approaches exist for segmenting the optic disc and cup within fundus photographs, and more recently, within spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) volumes, no approaches have been reported for the simultaneous segmentation of these structures within both modalities combined. In this work, a multimodal pixel-classification approach for the segmentation of the optic disc and cup within fundus photographs and SD-OCT volumes is presented. In particular, after segmentation of other important structures (such as the retinal layers and retinal blood vessels) and fundus-to-SD-OCT image registration, features are extracted from both modalities and a k-nearest-neighbor classification approach is used to classify each pixel as cup, rim, or background. The approach is evaluated on 70 multimodal image pairs from 35 subjects in a leave-10%-out fashion (by subject). A significant improvement in classification accuracy is obtained using the multimodal approach over that obtained from the corresponding unimodal approach (97.8% versus 95.2%; p < 0:05; paired t-test).

IV crystalloid fluid for acute alcoholic intoxication prolongs ED length of stay.

PubMed

Homma, Yosuke; Shiga, Takashi; Hoshina, Yuiko; Numata, Kenji; Mizobe, Michiko; Nakashima, Yoshiyuki; Takahashi, Jin; Inoue, Tetsuya; Takahashi, Osamu; Funakoshi, Hiraku

2018-04-01

Acute alcohol intoxication is often treated in emergency departments by intravenous crystalloid fluid (IVF), but it is not clear that this shortens the time to achieving sobriety. The study aim was to investigate the association of IVF infusion and length of stay in the ED. This single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted in Japan and included patients aged ≥20years of age and treated for acute alcohol intoxication without or with IVF. The primary outcome was the length of the ED stay and the treatments were compared by time-to-event analysis. A total of 106 patients, 42 treated without IVF and 64 with IVF. The baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. Kaplan-Meier analysis and the generalized Wilcoxon test found no significant difference between the two treatments in the time to ED discharge. The median time was 189 (IQR 160-230) minutes without IVF and 254.5 (203-267 minutes with IVF; p=0.052). A Cox proportional hazards regression model adjusted for potential confounding variables found that patients treated with IVF were less likely to be discharged earlier than those treated without IVF (HR 0.54, 95% CI: 0.35-0.84, p=0.006). IVF for treatment of acute alcoholic intoxication prolonged ED length of stay even after adjustment for potential confounders. Patients given IVF for acute alcohol intoxication should be selected with care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New 'patent accelerated care environment' aims to facilitate work flow, free up ED for acute care needs.

PubMed

2012-02-01

Faced with rising acuity levels and surging demand, Virginia Mason Medical Center modified the Clinical Decision Unit concept used in many EDs, and developed a new Patient Accelerated Care Environment (PACE) to care for observation patients, process patients for discharge, and to prepare patients for admission.The approach is designed to utilize ED beds for initial processing of patients, allowing resuscitative care if needed, and treating and releasing the patients with quick care needs. Using the Virginia Mason Production System, a methodology that is modeled after Toyota production techniques, developers designed an optimal work flow pattern and then built infrastructure to facilitate that process. All patients who present to the ED for care are seen by the ED team through a "team greet" approach. Approximately 35% to 40% of patients who come to the ED for care are transferred to the PACE unit. Patients assigned to the PACE unit typically remain there for 4 to 48 hours, depending on their care needs.

5 Ways That edX Could Change Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parry, Marc

2012-01-01

Since MIT and Harvard started edX, their joint experiment with free online courses, the venture has attracted enormous attention for opening the ivory tower to the world. But in the process, the world will become part of an expensive and ambitious experiment testing some of the most interesting--and difficult--questions in digital education. Can…

Initial results from the Solar Dynamic (SD) Ground Test Demonstration (GTD) project at NASA Lewis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaltens, Richard K.; Boyle, Robert V.

1995-01-01

A government/industry team designed, built, and tested a 2 kWe solar dynamic space power system in a large thermal/vacuum facility with a simulated sun at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The Lewis facility provides an accurate simulation of temperatures, high vacuum, and solar flux as encountered in low earth orbit. This paper reviews the goals and status of the Solar Dynamic (SD) Ground Test Demonstration (GTD) program and describes the initial testing, including both operational and performance data. This SD technology has the potential as a future power source for the International Space Station Alpha.

Improved Early Detection of Sepsis in the ED With a Novel Monocyte Distribution Width Biomarker.

PubMed

Crouser, Elliott D; Parrillo, Joseph E; Seymour, Christopher; Angus, Derek C; Bicking, Keri; Tejidor, Liliana; Magari, Robert; Careaga, Diana; Williams, JoAnna; Closser, Douglas R; Samoszuk, Michael; Herren, Luke; Robart, Emily; Chaves, Fernando

2017-09-01

Sepsis most often presents to the ED, and delayed detection is harmful. WBC count is often used to detect sepsis, but changes in WBC count size also correspond to sepsis. We sought to determine if volume increases of circulating immune cells add value to the WBC count for early sepsis detection in the ED. A blinded, prospective cohort study was conducted in two different ED populations within a large academic hospital. Neutrophil and monocyte volume parameters were measured in conjunction with routine CBC testing on a UniCel DxH 800 analyzer at the time of ED admission and were evaluated for the detection of sepsis. There were 1,320 subjects in the ED consecutively enrolled and categorized as control subjects (n = 879) and those with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) (n = 203), infection (n = 140), or sepsis (n = 98). Compared with other parameters, monocyte distribution width (MDW) best discriminated sepsis from all other conditions (area under the curve [AUC], 0.79; 95% CI, 0.73-0.84; sensitivity, 0.77; specificity, 0.73; MDW threshold, 20.50), sepsis from SIRS (AUC, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.67-0.84), and severe sepsis from noninfected patients in the ED (AUC, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.75-0.99; negative predictive value, 99%). The added value of MDW to WBC count was statistically significant (AUC, 0.89 for MDW + WBC vs 0.81 for WBC alone; P < .01); a decision curve analysis also showed improved performance compared with WBC count alone. The incorporation of MDW with WBC count is shown in this prospective cohort study to improve detection of sepsis compared with WBC count alone at the time of admission in the ED. ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT02232750; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov. Copyright © 2017 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Detection of glass particles on bone lesions using SEM-EDS.

PubMed

Montoriol, Romain; Guilbeau-Frugier, Céline; Chantalat, Elodie; Roumiguié, Mathieu; Delisle, Marie-Bernadette; Payré, Bruno; Telmon, Norbert; Savall, Frédéric

2017-09-01

The problem of identifying the wounding agent in forensic cases is recurrent. Moreover, when several tools are involved, distinguishing the origin of lesions can be difficult. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) equipment is increasingly available to the scientific and medical community, and some studies have reported its use in forensic anthropology. However, at our knowledge, no study has reported the use of SEM-EDS in forensic cases involving glass tools, whether in case reports or experiments. We performed an experimental study on human rib fragments, on which we manually created wounds using fragments of window and mirror glass. SEM-EDS was executed on samples without any further preparation on low vacuum mode, then on the same samples after defleshing them completely by boiling them. Window and mirror glass particles were detected on experimental wounds. Both had silica in their spectra, and the opaque side of the mirror contained titanium, allowing for their identification. Boiling and defleshing the bone samples involved a loss of information in terms of the number of wounds detected as positive for glass particles and in the number of glass particles detected, for both window and mirror glass. We suggest the analysis of wounds with suspected glass particles using low vacuum mode and with no defleshment by boiling.

Crigler-Najjar syndrome

MedlinePlus

... Najjar); Arias syndrome (type II Crigler-Najjar) Images Liver anatomy References Lidofsky SD. Jaundice. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease . 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2016: ...

Terrorism drill shows ED response plan flaws.

PubMed

2005-07-01

Valuable lessons can be learned by paying attention to your processes and communication equipment during a disaster drill. Did your radios and pagers work adequately? If not, it may be time for a new vendor. Going through the drill helps remind the entire ED staff to funnel all communications and key decisions through the disaster response leader. Make sure to update your disaster response handbook to reflect important lessons learned during the drill.

Cost-Sharing for Emergency Care and Unfavorable Clinical Events: Findings from the Safety and Financial Ramifications of ED Copayments Study

PubMed Central

Hsu, John; Price, Mary; Brand, Richard; Ray, G Thomas; Fireman, Bruce; Newhouse, Joseph P; Selby, Joseph V

2006-01-01

Objective To evaluate the effect of emergency department (ED) copayment levels on ED use and unfavorable clinical events. Data Source/Study Setting Kaiser Permanente–Northern California (KPNC), a prepaid integrated delivery system. Study Design In a quasi-experimental longitudinal study with concurrent controls, we estimated rates of ED visits, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths associated with higher ED copayments relative to no copayment, using Poisson random effects and proportional hazard models, controlling for patient characteristics. The study period began in January 1999; more than half of the population experienced an employer-chosen increase in their ED copayment in January 2000. Data Collection/Extraction Methods Using KPNC automated databases, the 2000 U.S. Census, and California state death certificates, we collected data on ED visits and unfavorable clinical events over a 36-month period (January 1999 through December 2001) among 2,257,445 commercially insured and 261,091 Medicare insured health system members. Principal Findings Among commercially insured subjects, ED visits decreased 12 percent with the $20–35 copayment (95 percent confidence interval [CI]: 11–13 percent), and 23 percent with the $50–100 copayment (95 percent CI: 23–24 percent) compared with no copayment. Hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths did not increase with copayments. Hospitalizations decreased 4 percent (95 percent CI: 2–6 percent) and 10 percent (95 percent CI: 7–13 percent) with ED copayments of $20–35 and $50–100, respectively, compared with no copayment. Among Medicare subjects, ED visits decreased by 4 percent (95 percent CI: 3–6 percent) with the $20–50 copayments compared with no copayment; unfavorable clinical events did not increase with copayments, e.g., hospitalizations were unchanged (95 percent CI: −3 percent to +2 percent) with $20–50 ED copayments compared with no copayment. Conclusions Relatively modest levels of

Radar Image of Christmas Eve Asteroid 2003 SD2020

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-12-23

This image of an asteroid that is at least 3,600 feet (1,100 meters) long was taken on Dec. 17, 2015, by scientists using NASA's 230-foot (70-meter) DSS-14 antenna at Goldstone, California. This asteroid, named 2003 SD2020, will safely fly past Earth on Thursday, Dec. 24, at a distance of 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers). At the time this image was taken, the asteroid was about 7.3 million miles (12 million kilometers) from Earth. In 2018, this asteroid will fly past Earth at a distance of 1.8 million miles (2.8 million kilometers). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20279

Development of metabolic and inflammatory mediator biomarker phenotyping for early diagnosis and triage of pediatric sepsis.

PubMed

Mickiewicz, Beata; Thompson, Graham C; Blackwood, Jaime; Jenne, Craig N; Winston, Brent W; Vogel, Hans J; Joffe, Ari R

2015-09-09

The first steps in goal-directed therapy for sepsis are early diagnosis followed by appropriate triage. These steps are usually left to the physician's judgment, as there is no accepted biomarker available. We aimed to determine biomarker phenotypes that differentiate children with sepsis who require intensive care from those who do not. We conducted a prospective, observational nested cohort study at two pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) and one pediatric emergency department (ED). Children ages 2-17 years presenting to the PICU or ED with sepsis or presenting for procedural sedation to the ED were enrolled. We used the judgment of regional pediatric ED and PICU attending physicians as the standard to determine triage location (PICU or ED). We performed metabolic and inflammatory protein mediator profiling with serum and plasma samples, respectively, collected upon presentation, followed by multivariate statistical analysis. Ninety-four PICU sepsis, 81 ED sepsis, and 63 ED control patients were included. Metabolomic profiling revealed clear separation of groups, differentiating PICU sepsis from ED sepsis with accuracy of 0.89, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.96 (standard deviation [SD] 0.01), and predictive ability (Q(2)) of 0.60. Protein mediator profiling also showed clear separation of the groups, differentiating PICU sepsis from ED sepsis with accuracy of 0.78 and AUROC of 0.88 (SD 0.03). Combining metabolomic and protein mediator profiling improved the model (Q(2) =0.62), differentiating PICU sepsis from ED sepsis with accuracy of 0.87 and AUROC of 0.95 (SD 0.01). Separation of PICU sepsis or ED sepsis from ED controls was even more accurate. Prespecified age subgroups (2-5 years old and 6-17 years old) improved model accuracy minimally. Seventeen metabolites or protein mediators accounted for separation of PICU sepsis and ED sepsis with 95% confidence. In children ages 2-17 years, combining metabolomic and

Karolinska Psychodynamic Profile for Sexual Disorders: KAPP-SD. A proposal for a psychodynamic rating scale for sexual disorders.

PubMed

Soldati, Lorenzo; Köhl, John; Abraham, Georges; Bianchi Demicheli, Francesco; Wilczek, Alexander

2015-01-01

Our first objective in this paper was to review the literature on psychodynamic rating scales of sexual disorders. Our second objective, based on the findings from our review, was to develop a psychodynamic rating scale for people with sexual disorders: the KAPP-SD. We developed the KAPP-SD by modifying an existing psychodynamic rating scale, which assesses stable modes of mental functioning and character traits, the Karolinska Psychodynamic Profile (KAPP). We removed items 13 and 14 of the KAPP and replaced them with three other items-sexual fantasies, conceptions and role of gender identity, and conceptions and role of sexual orientation. These items are part of the assessment of an individual's sexuality and are used to evaluate a person with a sexual disorder psychodynamically. The KAPP-SD, a modified version of the KAPP, can be found in the Appendix. We developed the KAPP-SD in order to help sex therapists make a rigorous psychodynamic evaluation of persons with sexual disorders, which would give information on the prognosis and on the type of treatment to offer.

Race to the Top District Competition: The Data Quality Campaign's Comments on ED's Proposed Criteria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Data Quality Campaign, 2012

2012-01-01

The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) submits these comments in response to the US Department of Education's (ED) draft requirements, priorities, selection criteria, and definitions for the Race to the Top District (RTT-D) competition. DQC applauds ED for including the following components of the proposal: (1) Data is acknowledged throughout the…

Lifeworld and Textualism: Reassembling the Researcher/ed and "Others"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payne, Phillip G.

2005-01-01

This response to McKenzie's "post-post" concerns about environmental education research draws upon empirical, conceptual, anecdotal, metaphorical, imaged and poetic means to help the researcher "reassemble" the researcher/ed by attending to her/his relational body and embodiment of various, often hegemonic, socially constructed environmental…

Hardiness Mediates Stress and Impact Level in ED Nurses Who Experienced a Violent Event.

PubMed

Park, Jin Hee; Lee, Eun Nam; Kong, Kyung Ran; Jang, Moon Jung

2017-11-01

This secondary analysis examined the mediating effect of hardiness between stress and impact level in ED nurses who experienced a violent event. This correlational study was conducted from June to August 2014. We used the visual analog scale to measure stress level, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised to measure impact level after the violent event, and the Dispositional Resilience Scale to measure hardiness. We then analyzed mediating effects with the Sobel test. Data were collected in 31 emergency medical centers located in B city in Korea. Data from 321 ED nurses who experienced a violent event were analyzed. Most nurses (91.9%) were women, with a mean age of 28.73 years. The main outcome measure was the mediating effect of hardiness between stress and impact level after ED nurses experienced violence. We found that both violence-related stress (B = 0.22, P < .001) and hardiness (B = -0.33, P = .037) were significant predictors of impact level from a violent event. Based on results of a Sobel test, hardiness partially mediated the relationship between violence-related stress and impact level from a violent event (Z = 2.03, P = .044). Hardiness had an effect on reducing the impact level of ED nurses who had experienced a violent event and had a mediating role in mitigating their stress. Therefore, we recommend the development of an intervention program that emphasizes the improvement of hardiness in ED nurses. Copyright © 2017 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Embracing the Common Cause Advocating for Ed Tech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roland, Jennifer

2006-01-01

This is a common response from educators confronted with the notion of advocating for educational technology funding. But, in a time when U.S. funding for Ed Tech is in danger of being cut from the budget, ISTE believes that all of its members, and in fact, all U.S. educators, must become advocates for our common cause. "Effective advocacy from…

Dyslipidemia in subclinical hypothyroidism requires assessment of small dense low density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C).

PubMed

Saric, Maida Seferovic; Jurasic, Miljenka-Jelena; Sovic, Slavica; Kranjcec, Bojana; Glivetic, Tatjana; Demarin, Vida

2017-09-26

Usually both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are related to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease development. The relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism has been widely investigated but the findings remain controversial. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the lipid profile in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SHypo) in comparison to controls and to determine the association of SHypo and dyslipidemia in attempt to find importance of small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) in atherosclerosis. In this study we included 100 women, aged 30 to 70 years that were divided into subgroups according to their age. According to the values of levels of thyroid hormones they were divided into euthyroid (control) group (n = 64) and (newly discovered) subclinical hypothyroidism (SHypo) group (n = 36). A high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipid profile, including small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) were determined. Body weight and height were measured and BMI calculated. History of the current illness, medication, alcohol consumption and cigarettes smoking were noted. Changed lipid profile as well as elevated triglycerides and sdLDL-C were observed in the group with subclinical hypothyroidism compared to the control group. It is important to determine serum lipid levels, especially serum sdLDL-C levels at an early stage of subclinical hypothyroidism, since they represent atherogenic LDL particles and are better indicators for dyslipidaemia in subclinical hypothyroidism and the development of atherosclerosis with potential complications such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

EDS1 contributes to nonhost resistance of Arabidopsis thaliana against Erwinia amylovora.

PubMed

Moreau, Manon; Degrave, Alexandre; Vedel, Régine; Bitton, Frédérique; Patrit, Oriane; Renou, Jean-Pierre; Barny, Marie-Anne; Fagard, Mathilde

2012-03-01

Erwinia amylovora causes fire blight in rosaceous plants. In nonhost Arabidopsis thaliana, E. amylovora triggers necrotic symptoms associated with transient bacterial multiplication, suggesting either that A. thaliana lacks a susceptibility factor or that it actively restricts E. amylovora growth. Inhibiting plant protein synthesis at the time of infection led to an increase in necrosis and bacterial multiplication and reduced callose deposition, indicating that A. thaliana requires active protein synthesis to restrict E. amylovora growth. Analysis of the callose synthase-deficient pmr4-1 mutant indicated that lack of callose deposition alone did not lead to increased sensitivity to E. amylovora. Transcriptome analysis revealed that approximately 20% of the genes induced following E. amylovora infection are related to defense and signaling. Analysis of mutants affected in NDR1 and EDS1, two main components of the defense-gene activation observed, revealed that E. amylovora multiplied ten times more in the eds1-2 mutant than in the wild type but not in the ndr1-1 mutant. Analysis of mutants affected in three WRKY transcription factors showing EDS1-dependent activation identified WRKY46 and WRKY54 as positive regulators and WRKY70 as a negative regulator of defense against E. amylovora. Altogether, we show that EDS1 is a positive regulator of nonhost resistance against E. amylovora in A. thaliana and hypothesize that it controls the production of several effective defenses against E. amylovora through the action of WRKY46 and WRKY54, while WRKY70 acts as a negative regulator.

Medical Mondays: ED Utilization for Medicaid Recipients Depends on the Day of the Week, Season, and Holidays.

PubMed

Castner, Jessica; Yin, Yong; Loomis, Dianne; Hewner, Sharon

2016-07-01

The purpose of this study is to describe and explain the temporal and seasonal trends in ED utilization for a low-income population. A retrospective analysis of 66,487 ED Medicaid-insured health care claims in 2009 was conducted for 2 Western New York Counties using time-series analysis with autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models. The final ARMA (2,0) model indicated an autoregressive structure with up to a 2-day lag. ED volume is lower on weekends than on weekdays, and the highest volumes are on Mondays. Summer and fall seasons demonstrated higher volumes, whereas lower volume outliers were associated with holidays. Day of the week was an influential predictor of ED utilization in low-income persons. Season and holidays are also predictors of ED utilization. These calendar-based patterns support the need for ongoing and future emergency leaders' collaborations in community-based care system redesign to meet the health care access needs of low-income persons. Copyright © 2016 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Candidate Success and edTPA: Looking at the Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Lesley A.; Kelly, Mary K.; Baldwin, Joni L.; Arnold, Jackie M.

2016-01-01

This descriptive study looks at the correlations between Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) data and numerous program data points, including GPA, major GPA, and benchmark assignment scores, gathered in an Early Childhood Education (ECE) program. Previous studies have looked to correlate grade point average (GPA) with pre-service teacher…

Influenza-Related Hospitalization and ED Visits in Children Less Than 5 Years: 2000–2011

PubMed Central

Jules, Astride; Grijalva, Carlos G.; Zhu, Yuwei; Talbot, H. Keipp; Williams, John V.; Poehling, Katherine A.; Chaves, Sandra S.; Edwards, Kathryn M.; Schaffner, William; Shay, David K.

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In the United States, recommendations for annual influenza vaccination gradually expanded from 2004 to 2008, to include all children aged ≥6 months. The effects of these policies on vaccine uptake and influenza-associated health care encounters are unclear. The objectives of the study were to examine the annual incidence of influenza-related health care encounters and vaccine uptake among children age 6 to 59 months from 2000–2001 through 2010–2011 in Davidson County, TN. METHODS: We estimated the proportion of laboratory-confirmed influenza-related hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits by enrolling and testing children with acute respiratory illness or fever. We estimated influenza-related health care encounters by multiplying these proportions by the number of acute respiratory illness/fever hospitalizations and ED visits for county residents. We assessed temporal trends in vaccination coverage, and influenza-associated hospitalizations and ED visit rates. RESULTS: The proportion of fully vaccinated children increased from 6% in 2000–2001 to 38% in 2010–2011 (P < .05). Influenza-related hospitalizations ranged from 1.9 to 16.0 per 10 000 children (median 4.5) per year. Influenza-related ED visits ranged from 89 to 620 per 10 000 children (median 143) per year. Significant decreases in hospitalizations (P < .05) and increases in ED visits (P < .05) over time were not clearly related to vaccination trends. Influenza-related encounters were greater when influenza A(H3N2) circulated than during other years with median rates of 8.2 vs 3.2 hospitalizations and 307 vs 143 ED visits per 10 000 children, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza vaccination increased over time; however, the proportion of fully vaccinated children remained <50%. Influenza was associated with a substantial illness burden particularly when influenza A(H3N2) predominated. PMID:25489015

EDS V26 Containment Vessel Explosive Qualification Test Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crocker, Robert W.; Haroldsen, Brent L.; Stofleth, Jerome H.

2013-11-01

The objective of the test was to qualify the vessel for its intended use by subjecting it to a 1.25 times overtest. The criteria for success are that the measured strains do not exceed the calculated strains from the vessel analysis, there is no significant additional plastic strain on subsequent tests at the rated design load (shakedown), and there is no significant damage to the vessel and attached hardware that affect form, fit, or function. Testing of the V25 Vessel in 2011 established a precedent for testing V26 [2]. As with V25, two tests were performed to satisfy this objective.more » The first test used 9 pounds of Composition C-4 (11.25 lbs. TNT-equivalent), which is 125 percent of the design basis load. The second test used 7.2 pounds of Composition C-4 (9 lbs. TNT-equivalent) which is 100 percent of the design basis load. The first test provided the required overtest while the second test served to demonstrate shakedown and the absence of additional plastic deformation. Unlike the V25 vessel, which was mounted in a shipping cradle during testing, the V26 vessel was mounted on the EDS P2U3 trailer prior to testing. Visual inspections of the EDS vessel, surroundings, and diagnostics were completed before and after each test event. This visual inspection included analyzing the seals, fittings, and interior surfaces of the EDS vessel and documenting any abnormalities or damages. Photographs were used to visually document vessel conditions and findings before and after each test event.« less

Unstandardized Responses to a "Standardized" Test: The edTPA as Gatekeeper and Curriculum Change Agent

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ledwell, Katherine; Oyler, Celia

2016-01-01

We examine edTPA (a teacher performance assessment) implementation at one private university during the first year that our state required this exam for initial teaching certification. Using data from semi-structured interviews with 19 teacher educators from 12 programs as well as public information on edTPA pass rates, we explore whether the…

Is your ED a medical department or a business? Survey says...both.

PubMed

2009-07-01

Taking a solid business-like approach to the management of your ED involves--but is certainly not limited to--getting a handle on revenues and expenses. Here are a few strategies some ED managers say help them run a tighter, and better, ship: Have a clinical audit specialist review charts, and have a clerical person "check the checker." Use a "cultural fit" interview with prospective staff members to ensure you're on the same page when it comes to service. Develop a charge structure with numerical values for clinical activities and services, to help ensure optimal reimbursement.

IT in the ED: a new section of Pediatric Emergency Care.

PubMed

Zorc, Joseph J; Hoffman, Jeffrey M; Harper, Marvin B

2012-12-01

Information technology (IT) has profoundly changed the delivery of health care during the past decade. The pediatric emergency department (ED) represents a specific challenge for applying IT systems to the patient bedside. The rapid pace and unscheduled nature of the ED, the breadth of care delivered, and the range of medical, ethical, cultural, and process issues presented by pediatric patients make this a setting in particular need of thoughtfully designed and usable IT systems. However, reviews of the current state of health IT have documented mixed outcomes, including safety risks introduced by IT systems, significant deficits in usability for clinicians, and unrealized potential. Although some publications have presented methods and outcomes of IT systems in the pediatric ED, the current medical literature is sparse. Professional organizations have not developed successful methods to share best practices across institutions and IT vendors. The authors propose a new section of this journal focused on the application of IT systems to Pediatric Emergency Care. The section will include original research articles and reviews focusing on the application of IT to improve care of acutely ill and injured children. Innovative approaches and articles by physicians in training are particularly encouraged to develop new expertise in informatics within this and related specialties.

Integrated Canada-U.S. Power Sector Modeling with the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinez, A.; Eurek, K.; Mai, T.

2013-02-01

The electric power system in North America is linked between the United States and Canada. Canada has historically been a net exporter of electricity to the United States. The extent to which this remains true will depend on the future evolution of power markets, technology deployment, and policies. To evaluate these and related questions, we modify the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model to include an explicit representation of the grid-connected power system in Canada to the continental United States. ReEDS is unique among long-term capacity expansion models for its high spatial resolution and statistical treatment of the impact ofmore » variable renewable generation on capacity planning and dispatch. These unique traits are extended to new Canadian regions. We present example scenario results using the fully integrated Canada-U.S. version of ReEDS to demonstrate model capabilities. The newly developed, integrated Canada-U.S. ReEDS model can be used to analyze the dynamics of electricity transfers and other grid services between the two countries under different scenarios.« less

Chemical analysis and biological testing of materials from the EDS coal liquefaction process: a status report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Later, D.W.; Pelroy, R.A.; Wilson, B.W.

1984-05-01

Representative process materials were obtained from the EDS pilot plant for chemical and biological analyses. These materials were characterized for biological activity and chemical composition using a microbial mutagenicity assay and chromatographic and mass spectrometric analytical techniques. The two highest boiling distillation cuts, as well as process solvent (PS) obtained from the bottoms recycle mode operation, were tested for initiation of mouse skin tumorigenicity. All three materials were active; the crude 800/sup 0 +/F cut was substantially more potent than the crude bottoms recycle PS or 750 to 800/sup 0/F distillate cut. Results from chemical analyses showed the EDS materials,more » in general, to be more highly alkylated and have higher hydroaromatic content than analogous SRC II process materials (no in-line process hydrogenation) used for comparison. In the microbial mutagenicity assays the N-PAC fractions showed greater activity than did the aliphatic hydrocarbon, hydroxy-PAH, or PAH fractions, although mutagenicity was detected in certain PAH fractions by a modified version of the standard microbial mutagenicity assay. Mutagenic activities for the EDS materials were lower, overall, than those for the corresponding materials from the SRC II process. The EDS materials produced under different operational modes had distinguishable differences in both their chemical constituency and biological activity. The primary differences between the EDS materials studied here and their SRC II counterparts used for comparison are most likely attributable to the incorporation of catalytic hydrogenation in the EDS process. 27 references, 28 figures, 27 tables.« less

Progress and opportunities in EELS and EDS tomography.

PubMed

Collins, Sean M; Midgley, Paul A

2017-09-01

Electron tomography using energy loss and X-ray spectroscopy in the electron microscope continues to develop in rapidly evolving and diverse directions, enabling new insight into the three-dimensional chemistry and physics of nanoscale volumes. Progress has been made recently in improving reconstructions from EELS and EDS signals in electron tomography by applying compressed sensing methods, characterizing new detector technologies in detail, deriving improved models of signal generation, and exploring machine learning approaches to signal processing. These disparate threads can be brought together in a cohesive framework in terms of a model-based approach to analytical electron tomography. Models incorporate information on signal generation and detection as well as prior knowledge of structures in the spectrum image data. Many recent examples illustrate the flexibility of this approach and its feasibility for addressing challenges in non-linear or limited signals in EELS and EDS tomography. Further work in combining multiple imaging and spectroscopy modalities, developing synergistic data acquisition, processing, and reconstruction approaches, and improving the precision of quantitative spectroscopic tomography will expand the frontiers of spatial resolution, dose limits, and maximal information recovery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Poor Dietary Guidelines Compliance among Low-Income Women Eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed).

PubMed

Jun, Shinyoung; Thuppal, Sowmyanarayanan V; Maulding, Melissa K; Eicher-Miller, Heather A; Savaiano, Dennis A; Bailey, Regan L

2018-03-08

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) program aims to improve nutritional intakes of low-income individuals (<185% poverty threshold). The objective of this study was to describe the compliance with Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendations for fruits, vegetables, and whole grains among SNAP-Ed eligible ( n = 3142) and ineligible ( n = 3168) adult women (19-70 years) nationwide and SNAP-Ed participating women in Indiana ( n = 2623), using the NHANES 2007-2012 and Indiana SNAP-Ed survey data, respectively. Sensitivity analysis further stratified women by race/ethnicity and by current SNAP participation (<130% poverty threshold). Nationally, lower-income women were less likely to meet the fruit (21% vs. 25%) and vegetable (11% vs. 19%) guidelines than higher-income women, but did not differ on whole grains, which were ~5% regardless of income. The income differences in fruit and vegetable intakes were driven by non-Hispanic whites. Fewer SNAP-Ed-eligible U.S. women met fruit (21% vs. 55%) and whole grain (4% vs. 18%) but did not differ for vegetable recommendations (11% vs. 9%) when compared to Indiana SNAP-Ed women. This same trend was observed among current SNAP participants. Different racial/ethnic group relationships with DGA compliance were found in Indiana compared to the nation. Nevertheless, most low-income women in the U.S. are at risk of not meeting DGA recommendations for fruits (79%), vegetables (89%), and whole grains (96%); SNAP-Ed participants in Indiana had higher compliance with DGA recommendations. Increased consumption of these three critical food groups would improve nutrient density, likely reduce calorie consumption by replacing high calorie choices, and improve fiber intakes.

Should we fear "flu fear" itself? Effects of H1N1 influenza fear on ED use.

PubMed

McDonnell, William M; Nelson, Douglas S; Schunk, Jeff E

2012-02-01

Surges in patient volumes compromise emergency departments' (EDs') ability to deliver care, as shown by the recent H1N1 influenza (flu) epidemic. Media reports are important in informing the public about health threats, but the effects of media-induced anxiety on ED volumes are unclear. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of widespread public concern about flu on ED use. We reviewed ED data from an integrated health system operating 18 hospital EDs. We compared ED visits during three 1-week periods: (a) a period of heightened public concern regarding flu before the disease was present ("Fear Week"), (b) a subsequent period of active disease ("Flu Week"), and (c) a week before widespread concern ("Control Week"). Fear Week was identified from an analysis of statewide Google electronic searches for "swine flu" and from media announcements about flu. Flu Week was identified from statewide epidemiological data. Data were reviewed from 22 608 visits during the study periods. Fear Week (n = 7712) and Flu Week (n = 7687) were compared to Control Week (n = 7209). Fear Week showed a 7.0% increase in visits (95% confidence interval, 6-8). Pediatric visits increased by 19.7%, whereas adult visits increased by 1%. Flu Week showed an increase over Control Week of 6.6% (95% confidence interval, 6-7). Pediatric visits increased by 10.6%, whereas adult visits increased by 4.8%. At a time of heightened public concern regarding flu but little disease prevalence, EDs experienced substantial increases in patient volumes. These increases were significant and comparable to the increases experienced during the subsequent epidemic of actual disease. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of a midstream clean catch mobile application did not lower urine contamination rates in an ED.

PubMed

Jacob, Mary S; Kulie, Paige; Benedict, Cameron; Ordoobadi, Alexander J; Sikka, Neal; Steinmetz, Erika; McCarthy, Melissa L

2018-01-01

Urine microscopy is a common test performed in emergency departments (EDs). Urine specimens can easily become contaminated by different factors, including the collection method. The midstream clean-catch (MSCC) collection technique is commonly used to reduce urine contamination. The urine culture contamination rate from specimens collected in our ED is 30%. We developed an instructional application (app) to show ED patients how to provide a MSCC urine sample. We hypothesized that ED patients who viewed our instructional app would have significantly lower urine contamination rates compared to patients who did not. We prospectively enrolled 257 subjects with a urinalysis and/or urine culture test ordered in the ED and asked them to watch our MSCC instructional app. After prospective enrollment was complete, we retrospectively matched each enrolled subject to an ED patient who did not watch the instructional app. Controls were matched to cases based on gender, type of urine specimen provided, ED visit date and shift. Urinalysis and urine culture contamination results were compared between the matched pairs using McNemar's test. The overall urine culture contamination rate of the 514 subjects was 38%. The majority of the matched pairs had a urinalysis (63%) or urinalysis plus urine culture (35%) test done. There were no significant differences in our urine contamination rates between the matched pairs overall or when stratified by gender, by prior knowledge of the clean catch process or by type of urine specimen. We did not see a lower contamination rate for patients who viewed our instructional app compared to patients who did not. It is possible that MSCC is not effective for decreasing urine specimen contamination. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new e-learning platform for radiology education (RadEd).

PubMed

Xiberta, Pau; Boada, Imma

2016-04-01

One of the key elements of e-learning platforms is the content provided to the students. Content creation is a time demanding task that requires teachers to prepare material taking into account that it will be accessed on-line. Moreover, the teacher is restricted by the functionalities provided by the e-learning platforms. In contexts such as radiology where images have a key role, the required functionalities are still more specific and difficult to be provided by these platforms. Our purpose is to create a framework to make teacher's tasks easier, specially when he has to deal with contents where images have a main role. In this paper, we present RadEd, a new web-based teaching framework that integrates a smart editor to create case-based exercises that support image interaction such as changing the window width and the grey scale used to render the image, taking measurements on the image, attaching labels to images and selecting parts of the images, amongst others. It also provides functionalities to prepare courses with different topics, exercises and theory material, and also functionalities to control students' work. Different experts have used RadEd and all of them have considered it a very useful and valuable tool to prepare courses where radiological images are the main component. RadEd provides teachers functionalities to prepare more realistic cases and students the ability to make a more specific diagnosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of Standards-Based Quantitative SEM-EDS Analysis to Oxide Minerals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mengason, M. J.; Ritchie, N. W.; Newbury, D. E.

2016-12-01

SEM and EPMA analysis are powerful tools for documenting and evaluating the relationships between minerals in thin sections and for determining chemical compositions in-situ. The time and costs associated with determining major, minor, and some trace element concentrations in geologic materials can be reduced due to advances in EDS spectrometer performance and the availability of software tools such as NIST DTSA II to perform multiple linear least squares (MLLS) fitting of energy spectra from standards to the spectra from samples recorded under the same analytical conditions. MLLS fitting is able to overcome spectral peak overlaps among the transition-metal elements that commonly occur in oxide minerals, which had previously been seen as too difficult for EDS analysis, allowing for rapid and accurate determination of concentrations. The quantitative use of EDS is demonstrated in the chemical analysis of magnetite (NMNH 114887) and ilmenite (NMNH 96189) from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum Microbeam Standards Collection. Average concentrations from nine total spots over three grains are given in mass % listed as (recommended; measured concentration ± one standard deviation). Spectra were collected for sixty seconds live time at 15 kV and 10 nA over a 12 micrometer wide scan area. Analysis of magnetite yielded Magnesium (0.03; 0.04 ± 0.01), Aluminum (none given; 0.040 ± 0.006), Titanium (0.10; 0.11 ± 0.02), Vanadium (none given; 0.16 ± 0.01), Chromium (0.17; 0.14 ± 0.02), and Iron (70.71, 71.4 ± 0.2). Analysis of ilmenite yielded Magnesium (0.19; 0.183 ± 0.008), Aluminum (none given; 0.04 ± 0.02), Titanium (27.4, 28.1 ± 0.1), Chromium (none given; 0.04 ± 0.01), Manganese (3.69; 3.73 ± 0.03), Iron (36.18; 35.8 ± 0.1), and Niobium (0.64; 0.68 ± 0.03). The analysis of geologic materials by standards-based quantitative EDS can be further illustrated with chemical analyses of oxides from ocean island basalts representing several locations globally to

All-Natural Tips to Improve Your Sex Life: Exercise, Diet Changes May Help Reverse ED (Erectile Dysfunction)

MedlinePlus

... your inbox ! All-natural tips to improve your sex life Exercise, diet changes may help reverse ED ... problem , may reverse your ED and improve your sex life. They are easy to adopt and enrich ...

Why a disaster is not just normal business ramped up: Disaster response among ED nurses.

PubMed

Hammad, Karen S; Arbon, Paul; Gebbie, Kristine; Hutton, Alison

2017-11-15

The emergency department (ED) is a familiar place for the emergency nurse who spends their working days inside it. A disaster threatens that familiarity and creates changes that make working in the ED during a disaster response different from the everyday experience of working in the ED. This research reports on an aspect of the findings from a larger study about the experience of working as a nurse in the ED during a disaster response. Thirteen nurses from 8 different countries were interviewed about their experience. The findings from this research demonstrate that a disaster event leads to a chain reaction of changes in process, space and practice. Nurses' respond to the news of a disaster event with shock and disbelief. The ED may change as a result of the event requiring nurses to work in an altered environment or a completely different setting. These changes provoke nurses to alter their behaviour and practice and reflect on the experience after the response. Emergency nurses have a high likelihood of participating in disaster response and as such should be adequately prepared. This highlights how disaster response is different and leads to recommendations to enhance training for emergency nurses which will better prepare them Disasterresponse is not normal business ramped up. There are a number of challenges and changes that should be considered when preparing emergency nurses for the realities of disaster response. Copyright © 2017 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. All rights reserved.

Structural basis for signaling by exclusive EDS1 heteromeric complexes with SAG101 or PAD4 in plant innate immunity.

PubMed

Wagner, Stephan; Stuttmann, Johannes; Rietz, Steffen; Guerois, Raphael; Brunstein, Elena; Bautor, Jaqueline; Niefind, Karsten; Parker, Jane E

2013-12-11

Biotrophic plant pathogens encounter a postinfection basal resistance layer controlled by the lipase-like protein enhanced disease susceptibility 1 (EDS1) and its sequence-related interaction partners, senescence-associated gene 101 (SAG101) and phytoalexin deficient 4 (PAD4). Maintainance of separate EDS1 family member clades through angiosperm evolution suggests distinct functional attributes. We report the Arabidopsis EDS1-SAG101 heterodimer crystal structure with juxtaposed N-terminal α/β hydrolase and C-terminal α-helical EP domains aligned via a large conserved interface. Mutational analysis of the EDS1-SAG101 heterodimer and a derived EDS1-PAD4 structural model shows that EDS1 signals within mutually exclusive heterocomplexes. Although there is evolutionary conservation of α/β hydrolase topology in all three proteins, a noncatalytic resistance mechanism is indicated. Instead, the respective N-terminal domains appear to facilitate binding of the essential EP domains to create novel interaction surfaces on the heterodimer. Transitions between distinct functional EDS1 heterodimers might explain the central importance and versatility of this regulatory node in plant immunity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

EdMOO: One Approach to a Multimedia Collaborative Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holkner, Bernard

The nature of the multiuser object oriented (MOO) environment lends itself to flexible and rich interactive collaboration space providing interactive discussion, mail, mailing list, and news features to its virtual denizens. EdMOO (HREF1) was created in mid-1995 as an environment for teachers to experience the text based virtual reality…

Development of the New DAQ System for the SD Array of TA×4 and TALE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Yuichi; Sahara, Ryosuke; Konishi, Shogo; Goto, Takashi; Ogio, Shoichi

The data acquisition (DAQ) system for the surface detector (SD) arrays of TA×4 and TALE will be presented. Each SD records digital signals with 50 MHz FADCs and sends the data to a central communication center (of the "communication tower") via a wireless network system. The technique employed here is based on the currently-running DAQ system of the Telescope Array, and there are some improvements including i) replacement of a wireless LAN module with a custom protocol to another with TCP/IP, and ii) replacement of the "tower electronics" to a generic Linux board PC of Raspberry Pi Type II B. The details and performance of the new DAQ system are described below.

75 FR 426 - Notice of Application for Disclaimer of Interest, Brookings County, SD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-05

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLMT924000-L54200000-FR0000-LVDIE09E0470; SDM 99176] Notice of Application for Disclaimer of Interest, Brookings County, SD AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: An application has been filed with the Bureau of...

Exercise training improves erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients with metabolic syndrome on phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors.

PubMed

Maresca, Luigi; D'Agostino, Mariantonietta; Castaldo, Luigi; Vitelli, Alessandra; Mancini, Maria; Torella, Giorgio; Lucci, Rosa; Albano, Giovanna; Del Forno, Domenico; Ferro, Matteo; Altieri, Vincenzo; Giallauria, Francesco; Vigorito, Carlo

2013-12-01

Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects about 50% of males aged 40-70 years old. ED shares with atherosclerotic disease several common risk factors; therefore, it may be considered a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis. Since phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors are well known pharmacologic agents capable of significant improvement in ED, we designed this study to evaluate whether exercise training is of added value in patients with ED who are already on PDE-5 inhibitors. We recruited 20 male patients affected by ED with metabolic syndrome. At baseline, all patients underwent Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) test. After the initial evaluation, patients were subdivided into two groups: tadalafil group (group T, n = 10), who were maintained only on tadalafil therapy, and a tadalafil/exercise training group (T/E group, n = 10) who continued tadalafil but in addition underwent a2-month structured exercise training program. Basal anthropometric characteristics of study population showed no significant differences. Although both-groups showed at 2 months an improvement of the IIEF score, this was more evident in the T/E group (T group: 11.2 vs 14.2, P = 0.02; T/E group: 10.8 vs 20.1, P < 0.001). There was an improvement of oxygen consumption at peak exercise (VO(2peak)) only in the T/E group patients (T group: 13.63 +/- 2.03 vs 14.24 +/- 2.98 mL/kg/min; P = 0.521; T/E group: 13.41 +/- 2.97 vs 16.58 +/- 3.17 mL/kg/min; P = 0.006). A significant correlation was found between the changes in VO(2peak) and the modifications in IIEF score (r = 0.575; P = 0.001). Exercise training in ED patients treated with PDE-5 inhibitors is of added value since further improves ED, as evaluated by IIEF score, and increases functional capacity.

European convergence towards higher standards in dental education: the DentEd Thematic Network Project.

PubMed

Shanley, Diarmuid B; Dowling, Paul A; Claffey, Noel; Nattestad, Anders

2002-02-01

This paper describes a Thematic Network Project (TNP) funded by the European Union's Directorate for Education and Culture. It focused on convergence towards higher standards in dental education in the European Union and included those 'Associate Countries' seeking membership of an expanding EU. The DentEd Project sought to use peer influence in promoting convergence towards higher standards in European dental education and training. There is evidence of serious differences in standards despite the European Union's Dental Directives and the series of guidelines and recommendations of their Advisory Committee on the Training of Dental Practitioners. The DentEd TNP sought to improve communication, better understanding of different systems and to pool intellectual resources. A central objective of the network was to promote outcome analysis and the implementation of evidence-based treatments. DentEd sought to identify and disseminate innovations and best practices in European dental schools and stomatological institutions. This was achieved by instigating 30 self-assessments of dental schools throughout Europe. Self-assessment was followed by a visit from a team of international peers. Each assessment comprised 19 sections and was placed on the DentEd web site (www.dented.org) after it was jointly approved by the visitors and host school. The 30 self-assessment reports together with the visitors comments and recommendations were then divided into their component sections and analysed. Responsibility for each section was allocated to one of 19 different international working groups of between 8 and 12 people. Preliminary analyses from these working groups were presented and debated on the DentEd interactive web site. They finalised their findings in the DentEd Report at a Plenary meeting in the Nobel Forum in the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. The meeting was organised in such a way that each working group finalised their report. This was followed by the rotation

Overall ED efficiency is associated with decreased time to percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

PubMed

Jones, Christopher W; Sonnad, Seema S; Augustine, James J; Reese, Charles L

2014-10-01

Performance of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within 90 minutes of hospital arrival for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients is a commonly cited clinical quality measure. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services use this measure to adjust hospital reimbursement via the Value-Based Purchasing Program. This study investigated the relationship between hospital performance on this quality measure and emergency department (ED) operational efficiency. Hospital-level data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on PCI quality measure performance was linked to information on operational performance from 272 US EDs obtained from the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance annual operations survey. Standard metrics of ED size, acuity, and efficiency were compared across hospitals grouped by performance on the door-to-balloon time quality measure. Mean hospital performance on the 90-minute arrival to PCI measure was 94.0% (range, 42-100). Among hospitals failing to achieve the door-to-balloon time performance standard, median ED length of stay was 209 minutes, compared with 173 minutes among those hospitals meeting the benchmark standard (P < .001). Similarly, median time from ED patient arrival to physician evaluation was 39 minutes for hospitals below the performance standard and 23 minutes for hospitals at the benchmark standard (P < .001). Markers of ED size and acuity, including annual patient volume, admission rate, and the percentage of patients arriving via ambulance did not vary with door-to-balloon time. Better performance on measures associated with ED efficiency is associated with more timely PCI performance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Is There a Future for Teacher Ed Curriculum? An Answer from History and Moral Philosophy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Null, J. Wesley

2008-01-01

Is there a future for teacher ed "curriculum"? The author contends that he is not sure if there is a future for teacher ed curriculum, but if such a future is to exist, the answer will come only from history and moral philosophy. In this article, the author opines that individuals cannot make good decisions about the future of teacher ed…

Patient comes back to ED in scrubs and works an entire shift as a temp.

PubMed

2007-05-01

A former patient in a Tampa, FL, ED, returned to the department in scrubs, claimed to be a temp, and was allowed to work despite not having any ID. To avoid similar problems, your ED should have a well-defined set of rules for people who report for work without an ID and/or do not demonstrate the requisite skills to treat patients. No badge, no work" is a good rule, unless the person is well known to you. All ED staff, including physicians and ancillary workers, should be prepared to produce photo ID immediately upon request. If staff cannot reach you, they should be encouraged to report interlopers to security or local police, as they are guilty of trespassing.

Teaching Russian Via Distance Learning, the EdNet Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zsiray, Stephen W., Jr.; And Others

In Utah, the statewide distance education network (EdNet) enables students from five rural and suburban high schools to learn Russian and earn college credits. Courses in Russian are offered through a partnership involving the Cache County School District, Utah State University, and the Utah State Office of Education. Classes are taught on one…

TechEdSat 5 PhoneSat 5 Team Photo

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-07-28

TechEdSat 5 PhoneSat 5 Team photo on July 26, 2016. Taken in fron of the 1/3 scale Shuttle Orbiter Model, in front of the Parade Ground on Clark Road at NASA Research Park. Mark Murbach Sarosh Hussain Ali Guarneros Luna David Handy Jonathan Hanson Jakqueline Granillo Sarah Chu Alejandro Sales

Isolation of a rice endophytic bacterium, Pantoea sp. Sd-1, with ligninolytic activity and characterization of its rice straw degradation ability.

PubMed

Xiong, X Q; Liao, H D; Ma, J S; Liu, X M; Zhang, L Y; Shi, X W; Yang, X L; Lu, X N; Zhu, Y H

2014-02-01

This study focused on an endophytic bacterial strain, Pantoea sp. Sd-1, which can be used to degrade lignin and rice straw. This strain was isolated from rice seeds by an optimized surface sterilization method. Pantoea sp. Sd-1 showed exceptional ability to degrade rice straw and lignin. In rice straw or kraft lignin-containing medium supplemented with 1% glucose and 0.5% peptone, Pantoea sp. Sd-1 effectively reduced the rice straw mass weight by 54.5% after 6 days of treatment. The strain was also capable of reducing the lignin colour (52.4%) and content (69.1%) after 4 days of incubation. The findings suggested that the rice endophytic bacterium Pantoea sp. Sd-1 could be applied for the degradation of lignocellulose biomass, such as rice straw. Rice straw, an abundant agricultural by-product in China, is very difficult to degrade because of its high lignin content. Due to the immense environmental adaptability and biochemical versatility of bacteria, endophytic bacteria are useful resources for biodegradation. In this study, we screened for endophytic bacteria capable of biodegrading rice straw and lignin and obtained one strain, Pantoea sp. Sd-1, with suitable characteristics. Sd-1 could be used for degradation of rice straw and lignin, and may play an important role in biodegradation of this agricultural by-product. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

EC03089-6421: a new, very rapidly pulsating sdO star

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kilkenny, D.; Worters, H. L.; Østensen, R. H.

2017-06-01

EC 03089-6421, classified sdO in the Edinburgh-Cape (EC) blue object survey, is shown to have unusually rapid pulsations with a dominant frequency near 32 mHz (amplitude ˜0.02 mag; period 31.1 s) - which appears to be strongly variable in amplitude on time-scales of hours and days - and a generally weaker frequency near 29 mHz (amplitude ˜0.004 mag; period 34.2 s), which is also variable in amplitude. This star varies at twice the frequency of any known hot subdwarf pulsator. Although the low-resolution EC spectrogram appears very similar to those of DAO stars, our analysis derives Teff = 40 200 ± 1600 K; log g = 6.25 ± 0.23 and log N(He)/N(H) = -1.63 ± 0.55; more recent spectrograms give Teff = 37 400 ± 1000 K; log g = 5.70 ± 0.13 and log N(He)/N(H) = -2.02 ± 0.17, both of which indicate that the gravity is too low for a white dwarf star, although the low temperature derived from the Balmer lines is at odds with the absence of neutral Helium and the strength of He II 4686. It is possible that EC 03089-6421 is a field analogue of the ω Cen sdO variables.

Evidence of salicylic acid pathway with EDS1 and PAD4 proteins by molecular dynamics simulation for grape improvement.

PubMed

Tandon, Gitanjali; Jaiswal, Sarika; Iquebal, M A; Kumar, Sunil; Kaur, Sukhdeep; Rai, Anil; Kumar, Dinesh

2015-01-01

Biotic stress is a major cause of heavy loss in grape productivity. In order to develop biotic stress-resistant grape varieties, the key defense genes along with its pathway have to be deciphered. In angiosperm plants, lipase-like protein phytoalexin deficient 4 (PAD4) is well known to be essential for systemic resistance against biotic stress. PAD4 functions together with its interacting partner protein enhanced disease susceptibility 1 (EDS1) to promote salicylic acid (SA)-dependent and SA-independent defense pathway. Existence and structure of key protein of systemic resistance EDS1 and PAD4 are not known in grapes. Before SA pathway studies are taken in grape, molecular evidence of EDS1: PAD4 complex is to be established. To establish this, EDS1 protein sequence was retrieved from NCBI and homologous PAD4 protein was generated using Arabidopsis thaliana as template and conserved domains were confirmed. In this study, computational methods were used to model EDS1 and PAD4 and simulated the interactions of EDS1 and PAD4. Since no structural details of the proteins were available, homology modeling was employed to construct three-dimensional structures. Further, molecular dynamic simulations were performed to study the dynamic behavior of the EDS1 and PAD4. The modeled proteins were validated and subjected to molecular docking analysis. Molecular evidence of stable complex of EDS1:PAD4 in grape supporting SA defense pathway in response to biotic stress is reported in this study. If SA defense pathway genes are explored, then markers of genes involved can play pivotal role in grape variety development especially against biotic stress leading to higher productivity.

Dexmedetomidine use in the ED for control of methamphetamine-induced agitation.

PubMed

Lam, Rex Pui Kin; Yip, Wai Lam; Wan, Chi Keung; Tsui, Matthew Sik Hon

2017-04-01

Chemical restraint is often required to control agitation induced by methamphetamine. Dexmedetomidine is an α-2 adrenergic receptor agonist with sedative, analgesic, and sympatholytic properties. Its use in the emergency department (ED) to control methamphetamine-induced agitation has not been reported. To report two cases of methamphetamine-induced agitation successfully sedated with dexmedetomidine in the ED. The first case was a 42-year-old man with unstable emotion and violent behaviours after smoking methamphetamine. His agitation did not respond to a large cumulative dose of benzodiazepines (10mg of diazepam and 332mg of midazolam) administered over 48h and sedation was achieved with dexmedetomidine. The second case was a 38-year-old methamphetamine user with unstable emotion and recurrent episodes of agitation despite repeated doses of benzodiazepines, whose agitation was controlled with dexmedetomidine infusion. In both cases, dexmedetomidine apparently reduced the dose of benzodiazepines needed to achieve adequate sedation. Transient falls in blood pressure and slowing of the heart rate were noted, which resolved either spontaneously or after reducing the infusion rate without requiring drug treatment. Dexmedetomidine can be considered as an adjunct for chemical restraint when standard treatment fails to control the agitation induced by methamphetamine, but patient's hemodynamic state should be monitored closely during administration. Its efficacy and safety in the ED warrant further evaluation with prospective controlled trials. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patient passports aim to speed appropriate care for medically complex children presenting to ED.

PubMed

2015-05-01

Mattel Children's Hospital at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, has developed a "patient passport" to improve the timely and appropriate care of medically complex children who present to the ED. The one-page form, which parents can keep in their wallets, highlights any special indications or sensitivities that the child has as well as contact information for the patient's primary care provider. The form also includes special instructions for the triage nurse. Creation of the tool was prompted by the parents who complained that their medically complex children were receiving different care in the ED than on the pediatric floor of the hospital. The tool was developed by a group comprised of parents, pediatric providers, and ED representatives. Physicians must create and sign the passports, either in the hospital or in their outpatient clinics, although parents may request a passport for their children.

Is the case-mix of patients who self-present to ED similar to general practice and other acute-care facilities?

PubMed

Harris, Tim; McDonald, Keith

2014-12-01

To benchmark walk-in presentations to emergency departments (ED) with those presenting to other local acute healthcare facilities. A large teaching hospital with an annual ED census of 140, 000 adult patients and surrounding associated acute healthcare providers. A random sample of 384 patients who self-presented to the ED was obtained. Benchmarking data were drawn from two general practices; the Tower Hamlets Community Services walk-in centre (co-located on-site with the ED) and the GP-run out-of-hours service. The case-mix presenting to the ED was characterised by a higher proportion of injuries and chest pain, but fewer simple infections and non-traumatic musculoskeletal conditions as compared to other acute care facilities in our region. Patients with injuries and possible cardiac chest pain were more likely to attend the ED, and those with infection or musculoskeletal problems less likely, as compared with other acute healthcare facilities. The population presenting to the ED is distinct from that presenting to general practice, out-of-hours clinics, or walk-in centres. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Five-class height-weight mean and SD system applying Estonian reference values of height-weight mean and SD for systematization of seventeen-year-old conscripts' anthropometric data.

PubMed

Lintsi, Mart; Kaarma, Helje; Aunapuu, Marina; Arend, Andres

2007-03-01

A study of 739 conscripts aged 17 years from the town of Tartu and from the Tartu county was performed. Height, weight, 33 anthropometric measurements and 12 skinfolds were measured. The data were classified into five height-weight mean and SD-classes applying the Estonian reference values for this age and sex (Grünberg et al. 1998). There were 3 classes with conformity between height and weight class: 1--small (small height and small weight), 2--medium (medium height and medium weight), 3--large (large height and large weight), 4--weight class dominating (pyknomorphic) and 5--height class dominating (leptomorphic). It was found, that in classes 1, 2 and 3 the height and weight increase was in accordance with the increase in all heights, breadths and depths, circumferences, skinfolds, body fat, muscle and bone mass. In class 4 circumferences, skinfolds, body fat and muscle mass were bigger. In class 5 all heights and the relative bone mass were bigger. The present investigation confirms the assumption that the five height-weight mean and SD five-class system applying the Estonian reference values for classifying the anthropometric variables is suitable for seventeen-year-old conscripts. As well the border values of 5%, 50% and 95% for every anthropometrical variable in the five-classes were calculated, which may be helpful for practical classifying.

75 FR 70234 - City of Spearfish, SD; Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-17

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 12775-001] City of Spearfish, SD; Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment November 8, 2010. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's...

Three Ways edTPA Prepared Me for the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, Matthew

2015-01-01

edTPA, a capstone assessment designed to assess whether new teachers are ready for the job by evaluating their teaching and their analysis of their teaching, helped prepare the author for the classroom in three ways. First, he became accountable to his students. Second, he learned to analyze his teaching. Third, he discovered how to relate…

Being Written: Thinking the Normative in the EdD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chua, S. M. J.

2018-01-01

In this paper, I give various reasons why the doctorate in education (EdD) programme helpfully heightens our normative senses. The writing of a thesis in time, and hence the realization that the same time--that window of opportunity--to do other things and enjoy other experiences is traded off, comports the student in a manner that heightens his…

Novel circulating lipid measurements for current dyslipidemias in non-treated patients undergoing coronary angiography: PCSK9, apoC3 and sdLDL-C.

PubMed

Li, Sha; Zhao, Xi; Zhang, Yan; Zhu, Cheng-Gang; Guo, Yuan-Lin; Wu, Na-Qiong; Xu, Rui-Xia; Qing, Ping; Gao, Ying; Sun, Jing; Liu, Geng; Dong, Qian; Li, Jian-Jun

2017-02-14

Plasma levels of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), apolipoprotein C-III (apoC3) and small dense low density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C), have been recently recognized as circulating atherosclerosis-related lipid measurements. We aimed to elucidate their associations with current dyslipidemias, and identify their levels at increased risk to dyslipidemia. A total of 1,605 consecutive, non-treated patients undergoing diagnostic/interventional coronary angiography were examined. Plasma PCSK9 and apoC3 levels were determined using a validated ELISA assay, and sdLDL-C was measured by the Lipoprint LDL System. Plasma levels of PCSK9, apoC3, and sdLDL-C were associated with the current dyslipidemias classification (all p<0.001). PCSK9 significantly conferred prediction of both hypercholesterolemia and combined hyperlipidemia at a level of 235 ng/ml; apoC3 levels for hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and combined hyperlipidemia were 80.0, 71.5, and 86.4 μg/ml, respectively; and sdLDL-C for hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, combined hyperlipidemia and hypo high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterolemia 3.5, 2.5, 4.5, and 2.5 mg/dl, respectively (all p<0.001 for area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve). In a polytomous logistic model comparing increasing LDL-C categories, the interactions with high PCSK9, apoC3, and sdLDL-C elevated gradually. Similarly, apoC3 and sdLDL-C showed elevated interaction with increased triglyceride categories, and only sdLDL-C showed interaction with decreased HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) categories. Furthermore, discordances of PCSK9, apoC3, and sdLDL-C with current dyslipidemias were observed. PCSK9, apoC3, and sdLDL-C showed significant interactions with current dyslipidemias, and were predictive in the screening. The substantial discordances with current dyslipidemias might provide novel view in lipid management and further cardiovascular benefit.

Novel circulating lipid measurements for current dyslipidemias in non-treated patients undergoing coronary angiography: PCSK9, apoC3 and sdLDL-C

PubMed Central

Li, Sha; Zhao, Xi; Zhang, Yan; Zhu, Cheng-Gang; Guo, Yuan-Lin; Wu, Na-Qiong; Xu, Rui-Xia; Qing, Ping; Gao, Ying; Sun, Jing; Liu, Geng; Dong, Qian; Li, Jian-Jun

2017-01-01

Plasma levels of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), apolipoprotein C-III (apoC3) and small dense low density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C), have been recently recognized as circulating atherosclerosis-related lipid measurements. We aimed to elucidate their associations with current dyslipidemias, and identify their levels at increased risk to dyslipidemia. A total of 1,605 consecutive, non-treated patients undergoing diagnostic/interventional coronary angiography were examined. Plasma PCSK9 and apoC3 levels were determined using a validated ELISA assay, and sdLDL-C was measured by the Lipoprint LDL System. Plasma levels of PCSK9, apoC3, and sdLDL-C were associated with the current dyslipidemias classification (all p<0.001). PCSK9 significantly conferred prediction of both hypercholesterolemia and combined hyperlipidemia at a level of 235 ng/ml; apoC3 levels for hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia and combined hyperlipidemia were 80.0, 71.5, and 86.4 g/ml, respectively; and sdLDL-C for hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, combined hyperlipidemia and hypo high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterolemia 3.5, 2.5, 4.5, and 2.5 mg/dl, respectively (all p<0.001 for area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve). In a polytomous logistic model comparing increasing LDL-C categories, the interactions with high PCSK9, apoC3, and sdLDL-C elevated gradually. Similarly, apoC3 and sdLDL-C showed elevated interaction with increased triglyceride categories, and only sdLDL-C showed interaction with decreased HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) categories. Furthermore, discordances of PCSK9, apoC3, and sdLDL-C with current dyslipidemias were observed. PCSK9, apoC3, and sdLDL-C showed significant interactions with current dyslipidemias, and were predictive in the screening. The substantial discordances with current dyslipidemias might provide novel view in lipid management and further cardiovascular benefit. PMID:27713142

Order-Order Transition of C → sdG → sL → S in ABC Triblock Copolymer Thin Film Induced by Solvent Vapor.

PubMed

Luo, Chunxia; Huang, Weihuan; Han, Yanchun

2009-04-01

The morphology transition of polystyrene-block-poly(butadiene)-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (SBV) triblock thin film induced in benzene vapor showing weak selectivity for PS is investigated. The order-order transitions (OOT) in the sequence of core-shell cylinders (C), sphere in 'diblock gyroid' (sdG), sphere in lamella (sL) and sphere (S) are observed. The projection along (111) direction in Gyroid phase (sdG(111)) is found to epitaxially grow from C(001) in the film. Instead of sdG(111), sdG(110)(0.1875) develops to the phase of sL. Consequently, the film experiences the transition sequence of sdG(111) → sdG(211) → sdG(110)(0.25)  → sdG(110)(0.1875) between C and sL. The mechanism is analyzed from the total surface area of the blocks. Copyright © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Tackling causes and costs of ED presentation for American football injuries: a population-level study.

PubMed

Smart, Blair J; Haring, R Sterling; Asemota, Anthony O; Scott, John W; Canner, Joseph K; Nejim, Besma J; George, Benjamin P; Alsulaim, Hatim; Kirsch, Thomas D; Schneider, Eric B

2016-07-01

American tackle football is the most popular high-energy impact sport in the United States, with approximately 9 million participants competing annually. Previous epidemiologic studies of football-related injuries have generally focused on specific geographic areas or pediatric age groups. Our study sought to examine patient characteristics and outcomes, including hospital charges, among athletes presenting for emergency department (ED) treatment of football-related injury across all age groups in a large nationally representative data set. Patients presenting for ED treatment of injuries sustained playing American tackle football (identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code E007.0) from 2010 to 2011 were studied in the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. Patient-specific injuries were identified using the primary International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis code and categorized by type and anatomical region. Standard descriptive methods examined patient demographics, diagnosis categories, and ED and inpatient outcomes and charges. During the study period 397363 football players presented for ED treatment, 95.8% of whom were male. Sprains/strains (25.6%), limb fractures (20.7%), and head injuries (including traumatic brain injury; 17.5%) represented the most presenting injuries. Overall, 97.9% of patients underwent routine ED discharge with 1.1% admitted directly and fewer than 11 patients in the 2-year study period dying prior to discharge. The proportion of admitted patients who required surgical interventions was 15.7%, of which 89.9% were orthopedic, 4.7% neurologic, and 2.6% abdominal. Among individuals admitted to inpatient care, mean hospital length of stay was 2.4days (95% confidence interval, 2.2-2.6) and 95.6% underwent routine discharge home. The mean total charge for all patients was $1941 (95% confidence interval, $1890-$1992) with substantial

Evaluating the HATCH score for predicting progression to sustained atrial fibrillation in ED patients with new atrial fibrillation.

PubMed

Barrett, Tyler W; Self, Wesley H; Wasserman, Brian S; McNaughton, Candace D; Darbar, Dawood

2013-05-01

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is often first detected in the emergency department (ED). Not all AF patients progress to sustained AF (ie, episodes lasting >7 days), which is associated with increased morbidity. The HATCH score stratifies patients with paroxysmal AF according to their risk for progression to sustained AF within 1 year. The HATCH score has previously never been tested in ED patients. We evaluated the accuracy of the HATCH score to predict progression to sustained AF within 1 year of initial AF diagnosis in the ED. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 253 ED patients with new onset AF and known rhythm status for 1 year following the initial AF detection. The exposure variable was the HATCH score at initial ED evaluation. The primary outcome was rhythm status at 1 year following initial AF diagnosis. We constructed a receiver operating characteristic curve and calculated the area under the curve to estimate the HATCH score's accuracy of predicting progression to sustained AF. Overall, 61 (24%) of 253 of patients progressed to sustained AF within 1 year of initial detection, and the HATCH score receiver operating characteristic area under the curve was 0.62 (95% confidence interval, 0.54-0.70). Among ED patients with new onset AF, the HATCH score was a modest predictor of progression to sustained AF. Because only 2 patients had a HATCH greater than 5, this previously recommended cut-point was not useful in identifying high-risk patients in this cohort. Refinement of this decision aid is needed to improve its prognostic accuracy in the ED population. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The a´ velocity in the tissue Doppler predicts S/D ratio <1 in patients with a normal ejection fraction.

PubMed

Johansson, Benny; Lundin, Fredrik; Tegeback, Rolf; Bojö, Leif

2018-04-13

To compare the ability of the a´ velocity and the e´ velocity in predicting a dominant diastolic pulmonary vein flow (S/D ratio <1) in patients with normal ejection fraction. We retrospectively evaluated the diastolic function according to the ASE/EACVI guidelines, the S/D ratio and the septal, lateral and average a´ velocity in 293 unselected in-hospital patients, aged 39-86 years, in sinus rhythm and with no or mild valve disease, having a normal systolic function (EF >50%). There was a good linear correlation between the S/D ratio and the a´ velocity, but a tendency towards a negative correlation between the S/D ratio and the e´ velocity. S/D ratio <1 was seen in 43 patients. These patients had a significantly lower a´ velocity compared to those with S/D-ratio ≥1, septal (6,1 ± 2,4 v 8,8 ± 2,1 cm/s; p < .001) and lateral (6,0 ± 2,6 v 9,3 ± 2,5 cm/s; p < .001) No significant difference was seen in the septal e´ velocity (6,8 ± 2,4 v 6,8 ± 2,1 cm/s), lateral e´ velocity (9,4 ± 2,6 v 9,1 ± 2,8 cm/s) or in the ejection fraction (58,6 ± 4,4% v 58,7 ± 4,0%). A diastolic dysfunction was present in 62 patients, normal diastolic function in 231 patients. The a´ velocity was significantly lower in patients with S/D ratio <1 in both groups (p < .01). The a´ velocity is superior to the e´ velocity in predicting S/D ratio <1 in patients with normal ejection fraction regardless the ASE/EACVI diastolic classification. A failing left atrium seems to be the explanation.

The utility of the AusEd driving simulator in the clinical assessment of driver fatigue.

PubMed

Desai, Anup V; Wilsmore, Brad; Bartlett, Delwyn J; Unger, Gunnar; Constable, Ben; Joffe, David; Grunstein, Ronald R

2007-08-01

Several driving simulators have been developed which range in complexity from PC based driving tasks to advanced "real world" simulators. The AusEd driving simulator is a PC based task, which was designed to be conducive to and test for driver fatigue. This paper describes the AusEd driving simulator in detail, including the technical requirements, hardware, screen and file outputs, and analysis software. Some aspects of the test are standardized, while others can be modified to suit the experimental situation. The AusEd driving simulator is sensitive to performance decrement from driver fatigue in the laboratory setting, potentially making it useful as a laboratory or office based test for driver fatigue risk management. However, more research is still needed to correlate laboratory based simulator performance with real world driving performance and outcomes.

ED adds business center to wait area.

PubMed

2007-10-01

Providing your patients with Internet access in the waiting area can do wonders for their attitudes and make them much more understanding of long wait times. What's more, it doesn't take a fortune to create a business center. The ED at Florida Hospital Celebration (FL) Health made a world of difference with just a couple of computers and a printer. Have your information technology staff set the computers up to preserve the privacy of your internal computer system, and block out offensive sites. Access to medical sites can help reinforce your patient education efforts.

Shifting Interests: Changes in the Lexical Semantics of ED-MEDIA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wild, Fridolin; Valentine, Chris; Scott, Peter

2010-01-01

Large research networks naturally form complex communities with overlapping but not identical expertise. To map the distribution of professional competence in field of "technology-enhanced learning", the lexical semantics expressed in research articles published in a representative, large-scale conference (ED-MEDIA) can be investigated and changes…

Competencies for Effective School Leadership: To What Extent Are They Included in Ed.D. Leadership Programs?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunlap, Jody; Li, Jinyi; Kladifko, Robert

2015-01-01

Purpose: With the increasing need for well-­-prepared and leading practitioners in the field of education as well as the renewed efforts to further distinguish the EdD from the PhD in higher education in recent years, the curriculum of EdD programs nationwide has been questioned and criticized for its disconnection from the needs of leading…

Exploring personality clusters among parents of ED subjects. Relationship with parents' psychopathology, attachment, and family dynamics.

PubMed

Amianto, Federico; Daga, Giovanni Abbate; Bertorello, Antonella; Fassino, Secondo

2013-10-01

Eating disorders are some of the most difficult mental disorders to treat and manage. Family interacts with genetic dispositions and other pathogenic factors, and may influence the outburst, development and outcome of EDs. The present study explores with a cluster analysis the personality traits of parents of ED subjects. One-hundred-eight mothers and 104 fathers were tested with Temperament Character Inventory (TCI), Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAX), Family Assessment Device (FAD), Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), Symptom Questionnaire (SQ), Psychological Well-Being scales (PWB). The cluster distribution of parents based on personality traits was explored. Parents' clusters TCI scores were compared as regards personality, psychopathology, attachment and family features. Cross distribution of temperament and character clusters in mothers and fathers, among couples and ED diagnoses of the daughters was explored. Two clusters of mothers and fathers were identified with temperament clustering. Character traits led to two mothers and three fathers clusters. Mothers temperament cluster 1 (MTC1) correspond to a explosive/adventurous profile, MTC2 to a cautious/passive-dependent profile. Fathers temperament cluster 1 (FTC1) was explosive/methodic, FTC2 was independent/methodic. Character clustering distinguished very immature mothers (MCC1) and majority (65%) of character mature mothers with low self-transcendence (MCC2). A third of fathers was severely immature (FCC1), a third impaired as regards relationships (poor cooperativeness and self-transcendence; FCC2), and one third character mature fathers with low self-transcendence (FCC3). Each cluster evidences specific psychopathology and attachment characteristics. FTC1 was more frequently associated with character immaturity. No significant clusters' cross correlation was found in parental couples. Parents' clusters analyze in depth the univocal picture of

Symmetry of Isoscalar Matrix Elements and Systematics in the sd and beginning of fp shells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orce, J. N.; Petkov, P.; Velázquez, V.; McKay, C. J.; Lesher, S. R.; Choudry, S.; Mynk, M.; Linnemann, A.; Jolie, J.; von Brentano, P.; Werner, V.; Yates, S. W.; McEllistrem, M. T.

2006-03-01

A careful determination of the lifetime and measurement of the branching ratio for decay of the first 2T=1+ state in 42Sc has allowed an accurate experimental test of charge independence in the A = 42 isobaric triplet. A lifetime of 69(17) fs was measured at the University of Kentucky, while relative intensities for the 975 keV and 1586 keV transitions depopulating the first 2T=1+ state have been determined at the University of Cologne as 100(1) and 8(1), respectively. Both measurements give an isoscalar matrix element, M0, of 6.4(9) (W.u.)1/2. This result confirms charge independence for the A=42 isobaric triplet. Shell model calculations have been carried out for understanding the global trend of M0 values for A = 4n + 2 isobaric triplets ranging from A = 18 to A = 42. The 21 (T=1)+ → 01 (T=1)+ transition energies, reduced transition probabilities and M0 values are reproduced to a high degree of accuracy. The trend of M0 strength along the sd shell is interpreted in terms of the shell structure. Certain discrepancies arise at the extremes of the sd shell, for the A = 18 and A = 38 isobaric triplets, which might be explained in terms of the low valence space at the extremes of the sd shell.

Long-term Helicobacter pylori infection does not induce tauopathy and memory impairment in SD rats.

PubMed

Zhou, Huan; Guo, Ying; Li, Xing; Liuyang, Zheng-Yu; Shentu, Yang-Ping; Jing, Xiao-Peng; Liang, Jia-Wei; Zhou, Xin-Wen; Wang, Xiao-Chuan; Wang, Jian-Zhi; Zeng, Ji; Liu, Rong

2017-12-01

Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection is a recognized risk factor of dementia, while its role and mechanism in Alzheimer disease (AD) remained unclarified. Our previous study has identified that injection of soluble H.pylori filtrate could induce AD-like pathologic changes and cognitive impairment in SD rats. In the present study, we further explored the effect of long-term stomach colonization of H.pylori bacteria on the brains of SD rats. The results showed that H.pylori bacteria gavage induced an efficient colonization of H.pylori in the stomach after four weeks. However, there was no significant change of tau phosphorylation at Thr205 (pT205), Thr231 (pT231), Ser396 (pS396) and Ser404 (pS404) sites in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. The H.pylori-infected rats also showed no cognitive impairment. These observations may result from inefficient release of bacterial pathogenic factors or the overall lack of host inflammatory responses. We conclude that SD rat with long-term H.pylori colonization in the stomach is not a suitable animal model for exploring the effects of H.pylori infection on brain function in human beings; administration of bacterial filtrates may better reveal the systemic pathologic changes induced by bacterial infection in animals which show a negative host response to bacterial colonization.

A method to test the performance of an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS).

PubMed

Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan; Procop, Mathias

2014-10-01

A test material for routine performance evaluation of energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometers (EDS) is presented. It consists of a synthetic, thick coating of C, Al, Mn, Cu, and Zr, in an elemental composition that provides interference-free characteristic X-ray lines of similar intensities at 10 kV scanning electron microscope voltage. The EDS energy resolution at the C-K, Mn-Lα, Cu-Lα, Al-K, Zr-Lα, and Mn-Kα lines, the calibration state of the energy scale, and the Mn-Lα/Mn-Kα intensity ratio as a measure for the low-energy detection efficiency are calculated by a dedicated software package from the 10 kV spectrum. Measurements at various input count rates and processor shaping times enable an estimation of the operation conditions for which the X-ray spectrum is not yet corrupted by pile-up events. Representative examples of EDS systems characterized with the test material and the related software are presented and discussed.

Dependence and physical exercise: Spanish validation of the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R).

PubMed

Sicilia, Alvaro; González-Cutre, David

2011-05-01

The purpose of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R). To achieve this goal, a sample of 531 sport center users was used and the psychometric properties of the EDS-R were examined through different analyses. The results supported both the first-order seven-factor model and the higher-order model (seven first-order factors and one second-order factor). The structure of both models was invariant across age. Correlations among the subscales indicated a related factor model, supporting construct validity of the scale. Alpha values over .70 (except for Reduction in Other Activities) and suitable levels of temporal stability were obtained. Users practicing more than three days per week had higher scores in all subscales than the group practicing with a frequency of three days or fewer. The findings of this study provided reliability and validity for the EDS-R in a Spanish context.

A complex noise reduction method for improving visualization of SD-OCT skin biomedical images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myakinin, Oleg O.; Zakharov, Valery P.; Bratchenko, Ivan A.; Kornilin, Dmitry V.; Khramov, Alexander G.

2014-05-01

In this paper we consider the original method of solving noise reduction problem for visualization's quality improvement of SD-OCT skin and tumors biomedical images. The principal advantages of OCT are high resolution and possibility of in vivo analysis. We propose a two-stage algorithm: 1) process of raw one-dimensional A-scans of SD-OCT and 2) remove a noise from the resulting B(C)-scans. The general mathematical methods of SD-OCT are unstable: if the noise of the CCD is 1.6% of the dynamic range then result distortions are already 25-40% of the dynamic range. We use at the first stage a resampling of A-scans and simple linear filters to reduce the amount of data and remove the noise of the CCD camera. The efficiency, improving productivity and conservation of the axial resolution when using this approach are showed. At the second stage we use an effective algorithms based on Hilbert-Huang Transform for more accurately noise peaks removal. The effectiveness of the proposed approach for visualization of malignant and benign skin tumors (melanoma, BCC etc.) and a significant improvement of SNR level for different methods of noise reduction are showed. Also in this study we consider a modification of this method depending of a specific hardware and software features of used OCT setup. The basic version does not require any hardware modifications of existing equipment. The effectiveness of proposed method for 3D visualization of tissues can simplify medical diagnosis in oncology.

Application of chirally-deuterated (S)-D-(6-2H1)glucose to conformational studies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Deuterated sugars are widely used to elucidate mechanisms of biosynthesis and of chemical reactions, and to confirm assignments of complex NMR or mass spectra. To date, however, there are few reported syntheses for regio and stereospecifically deuterated pyranoses. Chirally-deuterated (S)-D-(6-**2...

Factorial Structure and Preliminary Validation of the Schema Mode Inventory for Eating Disorders (SMI-ED)

PubMed Central

Simpson, Susan G.; Pietrabissa, Giada; Rossi, Alessandro; Seychell, Tahnee; Manzoni, Gian Mauro; Munro, Calum; Nesci, Julian B.; Castelnuovo, Gianluca

2018-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the Schema Mode Inventory for Eating Disorders (SMI-ED) in a disordered eating population. Method: 573 participants with disordered eating patterns as measured by the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) completed the 190-item adapted version of the Schema Mode Inventory (SMI). The new SMI-ED was developed by clinicians/researchers specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, through combining items from the original SMI with a set of additional questions specifically representative of the eating disorder population. Psychometric testing included Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and internal consistency (Cronbach's α). Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVA) was also run to test statistical differences between the EDE-Q subscales on the SMI-ED modes, while controlling for possible confounding variables. Results: Factorial analysis confirmed an acceptable 16-related-factors solution for the SMI-ED, thus providing preliminary evidence for the adequate validity of the new measure based on internal structure. Concurrent validity was also established through moderate to high correlations on the modes most relevant to eating disorders with EDE-Q subscales. This study represents the first step in creating a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring schema modes in eating disorders, and provides greater insight into the relevant schema modes within this population. Conclusion: This research represents an important preliminary step toward understanding and labeling the schema mode model for this clinical group. Findings from the psychometric evaluation of SMI-ED suggest that this is a useful tool which may further assist in the measurement and conceptualization of schema modes in this population. PMID:29740379

Factorial Structure and Preliminary Validation of the Schema Mode Inventory for Eating Disorders (SMI-ED).

PubMed

Simpson, Susan G; Pietrabissa, Giada; Rossi, Alessandro; Seychell, Tahnee; Manzoni, Gian Mauro; Munro, Calum; Nesci, Julian B; Castelnuovo, Gianluca

2018-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and factorial structure of the Schema Mode Inventory for Eating Disorders (SMI-ED) in a disordered eating population. Method: 573 participants with disordered eating patterns as measured by the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) completed the 190-item adapted version of the Schema Mode Inventory (SMI). The new SMI-ED was developed by clinicians/researchers specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, through combining items from the original SMI with a set of additional questions specifically representative of the eating disorder population. Psychometric testing included Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and internal consistency (Cronbach's α). Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVA) was also run to test statistical differences between the EDE-Q subscales on the SMI-ED modes, while controlling for possible confounding variables. Results: Factorial analysis confirmed an acceptable 16-related-factors solution for the SMI-ED, thus providing preliminary evidence for the adequate validity of the new measure based on internal structure. Concurrent validity was also established through moderate to high correlations on the modes most relevant to eating disorders with EDE-Q subscales. This study represents the first step in creating a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring schema modes in eating disorders, and provides greater insight into the relevant schema modes within this population. Conclusion: This research represents an important preliminary step toward understanding and labeling the schema mode model for this clinical group. Findings from the psychometric evaluation of SMI-ED suggest that this is a useful tool which may further assist in the measurement and conceptualization of schema modes in this population.

Managing resource capacity using hybrid simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Norazura; Ghani, Noraida Abdul; Kamil, Anton Abdulbasah; Tahar, Razman Mat

2014-12-01

Due to the diversity of patient flows and interdependency of the emergency department (ED) with other units in hospital, the use of analytical models seems not practical for ED modeling. One effective approach to study the dynamic complexity of ED problems is by developing a computer simulation model that could be used to understand the structure and behavior of the system. Attempts to build a holistic model using DES only will be too complex while if only using SD will lack the detailed characteristics of the system. This paper discusses the combination of DES and SD in order to get a better representation of the actual system than using either modeling paradigm solely. The model is developed using AnyLogic software that will enable us to study patient flows and the complex interactions among hospital resources for ED operations. Results from the model show that patients' length of stay is influenced by laboratories turnaround time, bed occupancy rate and ward admission rate.

Eating disorders and trauma history in women with perinatal depression.

PubMed

Meltzer-Brody, Samantha; Zerwas, Stephanie; Leserman, Jane; Holle, Ann Von; Regis, Taylor; Bulik, Cynthia

2011-06-01

Although the prevalence of perinatal depression (depression occurring during pregnancy and postpartum) is 10%, little is known about psychiatric comorbidity in these women. We examined the prevalence of comorbid eating disorders (ED) and trauma history in women with perinatal depression. A research questionnaire was administered to 158 consecutive patients seen in a perinatal psychiatry clinic during pregnancy (n=99) or postpartum (n=59). Measures included Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID) IV-based questions for lifetime eating psychopathology and assessments of comorbid psychiatric illness including the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and Trauma Inventory. In this cohort, 37.1% reported a putative lifetime ED history; 10.1% reported anorexia nervosa (AN), 10.1% reported bulimia nervosa (BN), 10.1% reported ED not otherwise specified-purging subtype (EDNOS-P), and 7.0% reported binge eating disorder (BED). Women with BN reported more severe depression (EPDS score, 19.1, standard deviation [SD 4.3], p=0.02; PHQ-severity 14.5, SD 7.4, p=0.02) than the referent group of women with perinatal depression and no ED history (EPDS 13.3, SD=6.1; PHQ 9.0, SD=6.2). Women with AN were more likely to report sexual trauma history than the referent group (62.5% vs. 29.3%, p<0.05), and those with BN were more likely report physical (50.0%, p<0.05) and sexual (66.7%, p<0.05) trauma histories. ED histories were present in over one third of admissions to a perinatal psychiatry clinic. Women with BN reported more severe depression and histories of physical and sexual trauma. Screening for histories of eating psychopathology is important in women with perinatal depression.

48 CFR 3452.232-70 - Prohibition against the use of ED funds to influence legislation or appropriations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... use of ED funds to influence legislation or appropriations. 3452.232-70 Section 3452.232-70 Federal... funds to influence legislation or appropriations. The following clause is to be used in accordance with 3432.770: Prohibition Against the Use of ED Funds To Influence Legislation or Appropriations (APR 1987...

The impact of age and gender on resource utilization and profitability in ED patients seen and released.

PubMed

Henneman, Philip L; Nathanson, Brian H; Ribeiro, Kara; Balasubramanian, Hari

2014-10-01

To determine how age and gender impact resource utilization and profitability in patients seen and released from an Emergency Department (ED). Billing data for patients seen and released from an Emergency Department (ED) with >100,000 annual visits between 2003 and 2009 were collected. Resource utilization was measured by length of stay (placement in ED bed to leaving the bed) and direct clinical costs (e.g., ED nursing salary and benefits, pharmacy and supply costs, etc.) estimated using relative value unit cost accounting. The primary outcome of profitability was defined as contribution margin per hour. A patient's contribution margin by insurance type (excluding self-pay) was determined by subtracting direct clinical costs from facility contractual revenue. Results are expressed as medians and US dollars. In 523 882 outpatient ED encounters, as patients' aged, length of stay and direct clinical cost increased while the contribution margin and contribution margin by hour decreased. Women of childbearing age (15-44) had higher median length of stay (2.1 hours), direct clinical cost ($149), and contribution margin per hour ($103/hour) than men of same age (1.7, $131, $85/hour, respectively). Resource utilization and profitability by gender were similar in children and adults over 45. Resource utilization increased and profitability decreased with increasing age in patients seen and released from an ED. The care of women of childbearing age resulted in higher resource utilization and higher profitability than men of the same age. No differences in resource utilization or profitability by gender were observed in children and adults over 45. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SD-OCT stages of progression of type 2 macular telangiectasia in a patient followed for 3 years.

PubMed

Coscas, Gabriel; Coscas, Florence; Zucchiatti, Ilaria; Bandello, Francesco; Soubrane, Gisele; SouÏed, Eric

2013-01-01

To describe the natural course of type 2 idiopathic macular telangiectasia (MT) using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Analysis of the different stages of progression of type 2 MT during a period of 3 years using multimodal imaging, including SD-OCT correlated with angiographic and autofluorescence images. The analysis of the different steps was obtained initially from the first eye, then successively from the fellow eye when progressive changes appeared. The earliest visible alteration at SD-OCT was the interruption of the interface between inner segment and ellipsoid (IS/EL) (stage 1). The second stage was characterized by the complete interruption of both IS/EL interface and external limiting membrane (stage 2). At the next step, a wide disruption of the outer nuclear layer was noted (stage 3). The fourth stage showed a complete disorganization of the inner layers with aspect of fusion of the inner retinal layers associated with progressive atrophy of the outer layers (stage 4). Hyper-reflective deposits were found in both the internal and external retinal layers (stage 5). Small intraretinal cystoid spaces appeared in the different retinal layers (stage 6). This last feature was an earlier manifestation of the typical intraretinal cysts that are the well-known OCT appearance of type 2 MT. We describe the 6 steps of progression from earlier SD-OCT findings that led to a complete disorganization and fusion of the inner layers (probably due to changes in the Müller cells) to the typical intraretinal cysts.

Inside the Sex Ed Studio: An Interview with Peggy Brick

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taverner, William J.

2008-01-01

"Inside the Sex Ed Studio" profiles leaders in the field of sexuality education. Peggy Brick, former director of Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey's Center for Family Life Education (CFLE) and author of numerous sexuality education resources used worldwide, is the subject of this interview. Ms. Brick was interviewed by…

Antibiotic and Diagnostic Discordance Between ED Physicians and Hospitalists for Pediatric Respiratory Illness.

PubMed

Coon, Eric R; Maloney, Christopher G; Shen, Mark W

2015-03-01

Imperfect diagnostic tools make it difficult to know the extent to which a bacterial process is contributing to respiratory illness, complicating the decision to prescribe antibiotics. We sought to quantify diagnostic and antibiotic prescribing disagreements between emergency department (ED) and pediatric hospitalist physicians for children admitted with respiratory illness. Manual chart review was used to identify testing, diagnostic, and antibiotic prescribing decisions for consecutive children admitted for respiratory illness in a winter (starting February 20, 2012) and a summer (starting August 20, 2012) season to a tertiary, freestanding children's hospital. Respiratory illness diagnoses were grouped into 3 categories: bacterial, viral, and asthma. A total of 181 children admitted for respiratory illness were studied. Diagnostic discordance was significant for all 3 types of respiratory illness but greatest for bacterial (P<.001). Antibiotic prescribing discordance was significant (P<.001), with pediatric hospitalists changing therapy for 93% of patients prescribed antibiotics in the ED, including stopping antibiotics altogether for 62% of patients. Significant diagnostic and antibiotic discordance between ED and pediatric hospitalist physicians exists for children admitted to the hospital for respiratory illness. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Elemental analysis using ED-XRF and 14C dating of Cuman wall paintings samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brocchieri, J.; Sabbarese, C.; Marzaioli, F.; Passariello, I.; Terrasi, F.; De Maio, C.; Ferrara, L.

2018-04-01

The aim of the present research was to analyse pigments and mortars of fresco fragments located at Cuma (Naples, Italy). The ED-XRF technique and 14C dating were used to establish the nature of the pigments and the age of mortars, respectively. ED-XRF results allowed to determine the elemental composition of the pigments that identified the colours and, hence, the historical period of completion. The 14C dating, applied to mortars using a particular preparation, provided results that are in accordance with the archaeological information within the 2σ interval range.

Importance of prumycin produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SD-32 in biocontrol against cucumber powdery mildew disease.

PubMed

Tanaka, Keijitsu; Fukuda, Mutsumi; Amaki, Yusuke; Sakaguchi, Takatoshi; Inai, Koji; Ishihara, Atsushi; Nakajima, Hiromitsu

2017-12-01

Powdery mildew disease of cucurbits is caused mainly by Podosphaera fusca, which is one of the most important limiting factors in cucurbit production worldwide. Previously we reported that Bacillus amyloliquefaciens biocontrol strain SD-32 produces C 17 bacillomycin D and [Ile 2002]surfactin, and that these metabolites play important roles in SD-32's biocontrol over cucumber gray mold disease. Our further investigation demonstrated that the culture broth and its supernatant suppressed cucumber powdery mildew disease in greenhouse experiments. However, the active principle(s) remained unknown. The active compound was isolated from the culture supernatant after anti-powdery mildew disease activity-guided purification and identified as prumycin. Prumycin significantly suppressed the disease, whereas bacillomycin D and [Ile 2002]surfactin did not. Prumycin did not induce the expression of plant defense genes (PR1a and VSP1), suggesting that it does not act via plant defense response. Light microscopic observations of prumycin-treated cucumber cotyledon suggested that prumycin inhibits the conidial germination of P. fusca. This study demonstrates that prumycin is a major factor in SD-32's suppression of cucumber powdery mildew disease. Our findings shed light for the first time on prumycin's role in biocontrol by Bacillus against this disease. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Reduction in ED and Hospital Admissions in Medical Home Practices Is Specific to Primary Care-Sensitive Chronic Conditions.

PubMed

Green, Lee A; Chang, Hsiu-Ching; Markovitz, Amanda R; Paustian, Michael L

2018-04-01

To determine whether the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) transformation reduces hospital and ED utilization, and whether the effect is specific to chronic conditions targeted for management by the PCMH in our setting. All patients aged 18 years and older in 2,218 primary care practices participating in a statewide PCMH incentive program sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) in 2009-2012. Quantitative observational study, jointly modeling PCMH-targeted versus other hospital admissions and ED visits on PCMH score, patient, and practice characteristics in a hierarchical multivariate model using the generalized gamma distribution. Claims data and PCMH scores held by BCBSM. Both hospital and ED utilization were reduced proportionately to PCMH score. Hospital utilization was reduced by 13.9 percent for PCMH-targeted conditions versus only 3.8 percent for other conditions (p = .003), and ED utilization by 11.2 percent versus 3.7 percent (p = .010). Hospital PMPM cost was reduced by 17.2 percent for PCMH-targeted conditions versus only 3.1 percent for other conditions (p < .001), and ED PMPM cost by 9.4 percent versus 3.6 percent (p < .001). PCMH transformation reduces hospital and ED use, and the majority of the effect is specific to PCMH-targeted conditions. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Environmental Baseline Survey Report for the Title Transfer of Parcel ED-9 at the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

SAIC

2010-05-01

This environmental baseline survey (EBS) report documents the baseline environmental conditions of the U. S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Parcel ED-9 at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP). Parcel ED-9 consists of about 13 acres that DOE proposes to transfer to Heritage Center, LLC (hereafter referred to as 'Heritage Center'), a subsidiary of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET). The 13 acres include two tracts of land, referred to as ED-9A (7.06 acres) and ED-9B (5.02 acres), and a third tract consisting of about 900 linear feet of paved road and adjacent right-of-way, referred to as ED-9C (0.98more » acres). Transfer of the title to ED-9 will be by deed under a Covenant Deferral Request (CDR) pursuant to Section 120(h)(3)(C) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). This report provides a summary of information to support the transfer of this government-owned property at ETTP to a non-federal entity.« less

Evaluating Prospective Teachers: Testing the Predictive Validity of the edTPA. CEDR Working Paper. WP #2016-7

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldhaber, Dan; Cowan, James; Theobald, Roddy

2016-01-01

We use longitudinal data from Washington State to provide estimates of the extent to which performance on the edTPA, a performance-based, subject-specific assessment of teacher candidates, is predictive of the likelihood of employment in the teacher workforce and value-added measures of teacher effectiveness. While edTPA scores are highly…

Simulating fire-induced ecological succession with the dynamically coupled fire-vegetation model, ED-SPIFTIRE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spessa, A.; Fisher, R.

2009-04-01

The simulation of fire-vegetation feedbacks is crucial for determining fire-induced changes to ecosystem structure and function, and emissions of trace gases and aerosols under future climate change. A new global fire model SPITFIRE (SPread and InTensity of FIRE) has been designed to overcome many of the limitations in existing fire models set within DGVM frameworks (Thonicke et al. 2008). SPITFIRE has been applied in coupled mode globally (Thonicke et al. 2008) and northern Australia (Spessa et al. unpubl.) as part of the LPJ DGVM. It has also been driven with MODIS burnt area data applied to sub-Saharan Africa (Lehsten et al. 2008) as part of the LPJ-GUESS vegetation model (Smith et al. 2001). Recently, Spessa & Fisher (unpubl.) completed the coupling of SPIFTIRE to the Ecosystem Demography (ED) model (Moorecroft et al. 2001), which has been globalised by Dr R. Fisher as part of the development of the new land surface scheme JULES (Joint UK Environment Simulator) within the QUEST Earth System Model (http://www.quest-esm.ac.uk/). In contrast to the LPJ DGVM, ED is a ‘size and age structured' approximation of an individual based gap model. The major innovation of the ED-SPITFIRE model compared with LPJ-SPITFIRE is the categorisation of each climatic grid cell into a series of non-spatially contiguous patches which are defined by a common ‘age since last disturbance'. In theory, the age-class structure of ED facilitates ecologically realistic processes of succession and re-growth to be represented. By contrast, LPJ DGVM adopts an ‘area-based approach' that implicitly averages individual and patch differences across a wider area and across ‘populations' of PFTs. This presentation provides an overview of SPITFIRE, and provides preliminary results from ED-SPITFIRE applied to northern Australian savanna ecosystems which, due to spatio-temporal variation in fire disturbance, comprise a patchwork of grasses and trees at different stages of post-fire succession

The Theater of Confrontation: Ed Bullins, Up Against the Wall

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Don

1974-01-01

Discusses ed Bullins' role in bringing together in the summer of 1968 a representative collection of works from the Black Arts Movement; the controversy surrounding his 1971 Lincoln Center production of his play, "The Duplex"; and his play, "House Party," a collage of voices and images from Blacktown mounted at The American…

Sex Ed for Caring Schools: Creating an Ethics-Based Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamb, Sharon

2013-01-01

While arguments for and against teaching abstinence, the use of contraceptives, and sexual identity are becoming more and more polarized, most people agree that students must learn to navigate an increasingly sexual world. "Sex Ed for Caring Schools" presents a curriculum that goes beyond the typical health education most students receive today.…

Massively Open Online Course for Educators (MOOC-Ed) Network Dataset

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kellogg, Shaun; Edelmann, Achim

2015-01-01

This paper presents the Massively Open Online Course for Educators (MOOC-Ed) network dataset. It entails information on two online communication networks resulting from two consecutive offerings of the MOOC called "The Digital Learning Transition in K-12 Schools" in spring and fall 2013. The courses were offered to educators from the USA…

What Do We Really Know about the EdTPA? Research, PACT, and Packaging a Local Teacher Performance Assessment for National Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hébert, Cristyne

2017-01-01

This article calls attention to the overreliance on research about the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT)--often labeled edTPA's predecessor--as justification for the edTPA. The article argues that the distinctions between the assessments are too vast to rely on PACT data to support the edTPA, given the localized nature of PACT…

Chemical fingerprints of He-sdO stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schindewolf, Markus; Németh, Peter; Heber, Ulrich; Battich, Tiara; Bertolami, Marcelo M. Miller; Latour, Marilyn

2018-02-01

The chemical composition of helium-rich hot subluminous O stars plays an important role to understand and model their formation history. We present a spectroscopic analysis of four He-sdO stars,CD-31° 4800, [CW83] 0904- 02, LSS 1274 and LS IV +10° 9. The analysis is based on archival optical and UV high-resolution spectra. We used Tlusty200/Synspec48 to compute line blanketed non-LTE model atmospheres and their corresponding synthetic spectra and derive the atmospheric parameters as well as the abundances of the most prominent elements. All stars have helium-dominated atmospheres with hardly any hydrogen and temperatures between 42000 K and 47000 K while their surface gravity spans between log g = 5.4 and 5.7. CD-31° 4800 shows an enrichment of nitrogen and the characteristic pattern of hydrogen burning via the CNO-cycle, while the rest of the elements have about the solar abundance. This points to the slow merger of two helium white dwarfs as the most likely origin for this system. The other three stars are enriched in carbon, nitrogen and neon while their intermediate mass element's abundance scatters around the solar value. They were possibly formed in the deep mixing late hot flasher scenario.

Characterization of Asia 1 sdAb from Camels Bactrianus (C. bactrianus) and Conjugation with Quantum Dots for Imaging FMDV in BHK-21 Cells

PubMed Central

Shang, Youjun; Sun, Shiqi; Zhou, Guangqing; Jin, Ye; Tian, Hong; Wu, Jinyan; Liu, Xiangtao

2013-01-01

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), caused by FMD virus (FMDV), is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals. Camelids have a unique immunoglobulin profile, with the smallest functional heavy-chain antibodies (sdAb or VHH) naturally devoid of light chains with antigen-binding capacity. We screened and characterized five sdAbs against FMDV by immunized library from C. bactrianus with Asia 1 virus-like particles (VLPs). Three of five recombinant sdAbs were stably expressed in E.coli, remained highly soluble, and were serotype-specific for VP1 protein of FMDV Asia 1 by ELISA. These failed to completely neutralize the Asia 1 virus. According to the KD value of binding affinity to three sdAbs, which ranged from 0.44 to 0.71 nm by SPR, sdAb-C6 was selected and conjugated with Zn/CdSe quantum dots (QDs) to form a QDs-C6 probe, which was used to trace and image the subcellular location of FMDV in BHK-21 cells. The results show that FMD virions were observed from 3 h.p.i., and most of virions were distributed on one side of the nucleus in the cytoplasm. We demonstrate the utility of sdAbs as functionalized QDs are powerful tools for FMDV research. PMID:23737944

Audit of deaths less than a week after admission through an emergency department: how accurate was the ED diagnosis and were any deaths preventable?

PubMed

Nafsi, Tabassum; Russell, Rob; Reid, Cilla M; Rizvi, Syed M M

2007-10-01

To review the causes of death in patients admitted via the emergency department (ED) who died within 7 days of admission and to identify any ways in which ED care could have been better. The study also aims to compare the diagnosis made in the ED and the mortality diagnosis. A retrospective study; subjects were all patients who attended the ED over 4 months and died within 7 days of admission. The paramedics' notes, ED case cards, inpatient medical notes and details of postmortem findings were examined to identify the time and date of arrival in the ED, presenting complaint, provisional diagnosis made by the ED, treatment plan devised by the ED, diagnosis made in wards, and the cause of death as issued on death certificates or from postmortem findings. Summary sheets of cases where the care provided by the emergency department could have been improved were reviewed, errors were identified and deaths were classified as preventable or unpreventable. Database revealed 3521 admissions via the ED over 4 months, of which 95 cases (2.69%) died within 7 days of admission. 78 patients (82.1% of cases) were appropriately diagnosed and managed whereas 17 (17.87% of cases) were identified with deficiencies in either the diagnosis or the management provided in the ED. We reviewed the quality of care provided in the ED for these cases and rated deaths according to our preventability criteria: 5 (5.26%) deaths were unpreventable despite the deficiency in care provided in the ED; 3 (3.15%) deaths were definitely preventable; 3 (3.15%) were probably preventable; and 6 (6.31%) were possibly preventable deaths. The ED is playing a good role in the management of critically ill patients, with appropriate diagnosis and management in 82% of cases. Training of junior doctors is required to prevent occurrence of errors and thus preventable deaths, but all deaths are not preventable. New guidelines for sepsis management and management of undifferentiated clinical presentations are being

Spectral Analysis of the sdO Standard Star Feige 34

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latour, M.; Chayer, P.; Green, E. M.; Fontaine, G.

2017-03-01

We present our current work on the spectral analysis of the hot sdO star Feige 34. We combine high S/N optical spectra and fully-blanketed non-LTE model atmospheres to derive its fundamental parameters (Teff, log g) and helium abundance. Our best fits indicate Teff = 63 000 K, log g = 6.0 and log N(He)/N(H) = -1.8. We also use available ultraviolet spectra (IUE and FUSE) to measure metal abundances. We find the star to be enriched in iron and nickel by a factor of ten with respect to the solar values, while lighter elements have subsolar abundances. The FUSE spectrum suggests that the spectral lines could be broadened by rotation.

EarthEd Online: Open Source Online Software to Support Large Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prothero, W. A.

2003-12-01

The purpose of the EarthEd Online software project is to support a modern instructional pedagogy in a large, college level, earth science course. It is an ongoing development project that has evolved in a large general education oceanography course over the last decade. Primary goals for the oceanography course are to support learners in acquiring a knowledge of science process, an appreciation for the relevance of science to society, and basic content knowledge. In order to support these goals, EarthEd incorporates: a) integrated access to various kinds of real earth data (and links to web-based data browsers), b) online discussions, live chat, with integrated graphics editing, linking, and upload, c) online writing, reviewing, and grading, d) online homework assignments, e) on demand grade calculation, and f) instructor grade entry and progress reports. The software was created using Macromedia Director. It is distributed to students on a CDROM and updates are downloaded and installed automatically. Data browsers for plate tectonics relevant data ("Our Dynamic Planet"), a virtual exploration of the East Pacific Rise, the World Ocean Atlas-98, and a fishing simulation game are integrated with the EarthEd software. The system is modular which allows new capabilities, such as new data browsers, to be added. Student reactions to the software are positive overall. They are especially appreciative of the on demand grade computation capability. The online writing, commenting and grading is particularly effective in managing the large number of papers that get submitted. The TA's grade the papers, but the instructor can provide feedback to them as they grade the papers, and a record is maintained of all comments and rubric item grades. Commenting is made easy by simply "dragging" a selection of pre-defined comments into the student's text. Scoring is supported by an integrated scoring rubric. All assignments, rubrics, etc. are configured in text files that are downloaded

Nitrogen Source Stabilization of Quorum Sensing in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bioaugmentation Strain SD-1.

PubMed

Wang, Mei-Zhen; Lai, Bai-Min; Dandekar, Ajai A; Yang, Yu-Sheng; Li, Na; Yin, Jun; Shen, Dong-Sheng

2017-08-15

Pseudomonas aeruginosa SD-1 is efficient at degrading aromatic compounds and can therefore contribute to the bioremediation of wastewater. P. aeruginosa uses quorum sensing (QS) to regulate the production of numerous secreted "public goods." In wastewater bioaugmentation applications, there are myriad nitrogen sources, and we queried whether various nitrogen sources impact the stabilities of both QS and the bacterial populations. In a laboratory strain of P. aeruginosa , PAO1, the absence of a nitrogen source has been shown to destabilize these populations through the emergence of QS mutant "cheaters." We tested the ability of SD-1 to grow in casein broth, a condition that requires QS for growth, when the nitrogen source with either NH 4 Cl, NaNO 3 , or NaNO 2 or with no added nitrogen source. There was great variability in susceptibility to invasion by QS mutant cheaters and, by extension, the stability of the SD-1 population. When grown with NH 4 Cl as an extra nitrogen source, no population collapse was observed; by contrast, two-thirds of cultures grown in the presence of NaNO 2 collapsed. In the populations that collapsed, the frequency of social cheaters exceeded 40%. NaNO 3 and NaNO 2 directly favor QS mutants of P. aeruginosa SD-1. Although the mechanism by which these nitrogen sources act is not clear, these data indicate that the metabolism of nitrogen can affect the stability of bacterial populations, an important observation for continuing industrial applications with this species. IMPORTANCE Bioaugmentation as a method to help remediate wastewater pollutant streams holds significant potential to enhance traditional methods of treatment. Addition of microbes that can catabolize organic pollutants can be an effective method to remove several toxic compounds. Such bioaugmented strains of bacteria have been shown to be susceptible to competition from the microbiota that are present in wastewater streams, limiting their potential effectiveness. Here, we

A new scale for assessing wisdom based on common domains and a neurobiological model: The San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE).

PubMed

Thomas, Michael L; Bangen, Katherine J; Palmer, Barton W; Sirkin Martin, Averria; Avanzino, Julie A; Depp, Colin A; Glorioso, Danielle; Daly, Rebecca E; Jeste, Dilip V

2017-09-08

Wisdom is an ancient concept that has gained new interest among clinical researchers as a complex trait relevant to well-being and healthy aging. As the empirical data regarding wisdom have grown, several measures have been used to assess an individual's level of wisdom. However, none of these measures has been based on a construct of wisdom with neurobiological underpinnings. We sought to develop a new scale, the San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE), which builds upon recent gains in the understanding of psychological and neurobiological models of the trait. Data were collected from 524 community-dwelling adults age 25-104 years as part of a structured multi-cohort study of adult lifespan. Participants were administered the SD-WISE along with two existing measures of wisdom that have been shown to have good psychometric properties. Factor analyses confirmed the hypothesized measurement model. SD-WISE total scores were reliable, demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity, and correlated, as hypothesized, negatively with emotional distress, but positively with well-being. However, the magnitudes of these associations were small, suggesting that the SD-WISE is not just a global measure of mental state. The results support the reliability and validity of SD-WISE scores. Study limitations are discussed. The SD-WISE, with good psychometric properties, a brief administration time, and a measurement model that is consistent with commonly cited content domains of wisdom based on a putative neurobiological model, may be useful in clinical practice as well as in bio-psycho-social research, especially investigations into the neurobiology of wisdom and experimental interventions to enhance wisdom. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Activities during the "Bob Hope Special" for the Ed White Memorial Benefit.

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-10-08

Activities during the "Bob Hope Special" for the Ed White Memorial Benefit. Left to right : Mayor of Houston Louie Welch, Bob Hope, Astronaut Jack Swigert , Astronaut Deke Slayton, Sig Sjoberg, Astronaut Fred Haise.

Using asymmetry analysis to reduce normal variability of Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) macular thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alluwimi, Muhammed Saad

Purpose: To investigate the use of asymmetry analysis to reduce normal between-subject variability of macular thickness measurements using SD-OCT. Methods: 63 volunteers free of eye disease were recruited: 33 young subjects (ages 21 to 35 years with mean and SD of 25 +/- 1.7), and 30 older subjects (ages 45 to 85 years with mean and SD of 66.7 +/- 9.0). All participants passed a comprehensive ophthalmic examination within the past two years. Macular images were gathered with the Spectralis OCT (V 5.4, Heidelberg Engineering, GmbH). The overlay 8x8 grid was manually centered on the fovea and aligned with the foveal-disc axis, then divided into five zones per hemifield following the method of Um et al (2012 IOVS 53:1139); asymmetry was computed as the difference between superior and inferior zone thicknesses. We assumed that the lowest variation and the highest density of ganglion cells will be found ~3° to 6° from the foveal center, corresponding to zones 1 and 2. For each zone and age group, between-subject standard deviations (SDs) were compared for retinal thickness (RT) versus asymmetry using an F-test. To account for repeated measures, a probability of p < 0.0125 was required for statistical significance. Axial length (AL) and corneal curvature (CC) were measured with an IOLMaster by the same operator and during the same imaging session. Results: For OD, asymmetry analysis reduced between-subject variability in zones 1 and 2 in both groups (F > 3.2, p < 0.001). SD for zone 1 dropped from 12.0 to 3.0 mum in the young group and from 11.7 to 2.6 mum in the older group. SD for zone 2 dropped from 13.6 to 5.3 mum (young) and from 11.1 to 5.8 mum (older). Combining all subjects, neither RT nor asymmetry showed a strong correlation with AL or CC (R2 < 0.01). Analysis for OS yielded the same pattern of results, as did asymmetry analyses between eyes (F > 3.8, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Asymmetry analysis reduced between-subject variability. These findings demonstrate

Erectile dysfunction in the community: trends over time in incidence, prevalence, GP consultation and medication use--the Krimpen study: trends in ED.

PubMed

Schouten, Boris W V; Bohnen, Arthur M; Groeneveld, Frans P M J; Dohle, Gert R; Thomas, Siep; Bosch, J L H Ruud

2010-07-01

In the general population, erectile dysfunction (ED) is surrounded by a "taboo." Epidemiologists studying this problem have to be aware of the phenomenon of the "tip-of-the-iceberg." Our aim is to describe the iceberg phenomenon for ED and their help-seeking behavior in the general population during a period when public interest in ED heightened and waned after the introduction of the drug sildenafil. The data were obtained as part of a large longitudinal community-based study, i.e., the Krimpen study. With four rounds of data collection with an approximate 2.1 years interval, the local pharmacists provided data on medication use, whereas abstracts from the medical record and history were provided by the local general practitioners (GPs). The data from the questionnaires were entered into the Krimpen study database but were not communicated to the GPs. ED: according to the ICS-questionnaire, GP consultation: search of electronic medical dossier for ED or reports from any specialist, use of ED medication as delivered by the pharmacy. The age-standardized prevalence of ED is stable, i.e., around 40%. During the period 1995 to 2000, the incidence increased from 5% to 6.5%, then it stabilizes around 5% per year. The first-time use of ED medication increases exponentially between 1995 and 2000, then it stabilizes at about 3.5% per year. The number of GP consultations by men with ED increases up to 1999, after which it stabilizes at about 1.8% per year. We suggest that the availability and awareness of a new pharmacological option induced a change of behavior among GPs and their patients.

Seven Years after the Call: Students' and Graduates' Perceptions of the Re-Envisioned Ed.D.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zambo, Ron; Zambo, Debby; Buss, Ray R.; Perry, Jill A.; Williams, Tiffany R.

2014-01-01

Given continued confusion about the Ed.D.degree, universities affiliated with the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) have re-envisioned it using a set of guiding principles and design features. In this study, we investigated why students and graduates chose to pursue the Ed.D., what and how they learned, how they viewed themselves,…

Study of a patient population investigated for excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).

PubMed

Laffont, F; Mallet, A; Mayer, G; Meunier, S; Minz, M; N'Doye, S; Quilfen-Buzare, M A

2002-12-01

This study included all patients referred to the out-patient department of our sleep disorders centre from 1993 to 1999 on account of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). As a first step, patients in whom a diagnosis was established following appropriate polysomnography were excluded: this included sleep apnea syndrome, increased upper airway resistance syndrome, narcolepsy, periodic movements during sleep or other parasomnia, and epilepsy. Patients regularly taking psychotropic substances or with psychiatric disorders were also excluded. Finally, 128 patients remained in whom no clear diagnosis had been established for EDS, 70 women and 58 men, their ages ranging from 16 to 77 years. They underwent a 48-h recording (night 1-MSLT-night 2-continuous day). The aim of the study was to establish, define and characterise different groups of undiagnosed EDS patients using clinical, electrophysiological and immunological data with the help of hierarchical cluster analysis. Eight groups were characterised: group 1: mild hypersomnia type 1 (n = 11); group 2: hypersomnia frequently associated with HLA type DR2-DQw1 (n = 11); group 3: mild hypersomnia type 2 (n = 28); group 4: morning recovery from disrupted sleep (n = 19); group 5: young "long sleepers with difficulty at waking up" (n = 17); group 6: idiopathic hypersomnia (n = 15); group 7: poor or short sleepers since childhood (n = 8); group 8: older poor sleepers with a late onset of symptoms (n = 19). Characteristic features of these different groups provided consistent and objective arguments leading to a more precise diagnosis for these patients, and helped the initiation of appropriate management and treatment.

Unexplained chest pain in the ED: could it be panic?

PubMed

Foldes-Busque, Guillaume; Marchand, André; Chauny, Jean-Marc; Poitras, Julien; Diodati, Jean; Denis, Isabelle; Lessard, Marie-Josée; Pelland, Marie-Ève; Fleet, Richard

2011-09-01

This study aimed at (1) establishing the prevalence of paniclike anxiety in emergency department (ED) patients with unexplained chest pain (UCP); (2) describing and comparing the sociodemographic, medical, and psychiatric characteristics of UCP patients with and without paniclike anxiety; and (3) measuring the rate of identification of panic in this population. A structured interview, the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, was administered to identify paniclike anxiety and evaluate patients' psychiatric status. Anxious and depressive symptoms were evaluated with self-report questionnaires. Medical information was extracted from patients' medical records. The prevalence of paniclike anxiety was 44% (95% CI, 40%-48%) in the sample (n = 771). Psychiatric disorders were more common in panic patients (63.4% vs 20.1%), as were suicidal thoughts (21.3% vs 11.3%). Emergency physician diagnosed only 7.4% of panic cases. Paniclike anxiety is common in ED patients with UCP, and this condition is rarely diagnosed in this population. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Emergency Department (ED) administrative data--what can we learn from this data about pediatric injury? Is there a need for a designated injury surveillance system?].

PubMed

Aharonson-Daniel, Limor; Hemmo-Lotem, Michal; Endy-Findling, Liri; Mike-Doron, Ruthie; Waisman, Yechezkel Hezil

2009-10-01

Data on injury characteristics can help direct prevention activities. To explore the potential use of Emergency Department (ED) data as a source of information regarding child injury in Israel. To examine the need for a designated injury surveillance system in Israel. Data on ED visits by children (0-17 years] between the years 2005-2007, for reasons other than illness were extracted from the administrative data system of a pediatric hospital in Israel. Data was analyzed using SPSS. The study included 36,603 children, 62% males. Mean age was 7 (s.d. 5) years. Hospitalization was the outcome for 2333 children (6.5%). The reason for the visit was "other accident" for half of the patients: 15,652 kids (43%) due to falls and 2111 children (6%) were involved in road crashes. Patient complaints included 636 children (2%) that had swallowed an object, 113 of them (18%) were hospitalized. Bruises were the most frequent complaint. Half of the children complained of bruises, 10,277 were bruised as a result of a fall, 1,473 (7.5% of bruised population) were bruised as a result of a road accident. Cuts were the second most frequent complaint (8,773 children, 24%) with only 2% hospitalized. One half of the patients with cuts were aged 0-4 years. Only 231 kids had suffered poisoning, of them, 193 children (84%) infants and toddlers below the age of 4 years and 16% were hospitalized. Findings suggest that administrative data can be used to observe pediatric injury patterns. Several new data fields in the existing system could fill information gaps on the external cause of injury. Making this data available to injury prevention professionals should be considered a priority.

Characterization of an antigenic site that contains a dominant, type-specific neutralization determinant on the envelope protein domain III (ED3) of dengue 2 virus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gromowski, Gregory D.; Barrett, Alan D.T.

2007-09-30

The surface of the mature dengue virus (DENV) particle consists of 90 envelope (E) protein dimers that mediate both receptor binding and fusion. The E protein ectodomain can be divided into three structural domains designated ED1, ED2, and ED3, of which ED3 contains the critical and dominant virus-specific neutralization sites. In this study the ED3 epitopes recognized by seven, murine, IgG1 DENV-2 type-specific, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were determined using site-directed mutagenesis of a recombinant DENV-2 ED3 (rED3) protein. A total of 41 single amino acid substitutions were introduced into the rED3 at 30 different surface accessible residues. The affinity ofmore » each MAb with the mutant rED3s was assessed by indirect ELISA and the results indicate that all seven MAbs recognize overlapping epitopes with residues K305 and P384 critical for binding. These residues are conserved among DENV-2 strains and cluster together on the upper lateral face of ED3. A linear relationship was observed between relative occupancy of ED3 on the virion by MAb and neutralization of the majority of virus infectivity ({approx} 90%) for all seven MAbs. Depending on the MAb, it is predicted that between 10% and 50% relative occupancy of ED3 on the virion is necessary for virus neutralization and for all seven MAbs occupancy levels approaching saturation were required for 100% neutralization of virus infectivity. Overall, the conserved antigenic site recognized by all seven MAbs is likely to be a dominant DENV-2 type-specific, neutralization determinant.« less

Primordial SdS universe from a 5D vacuum: scalar field fluctuations on Schwarzschild and Hubble horizons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aguilar, José Edgar Madriz; Bellini, Mauricio, E-mail: jemadriz@fisica.ugto.mx, E-mail: mbellini@mdp.edu.ar

2010-11-01

We study scalar field fluctuations of the inflaton field in an early inflationary universe on an effective 4D Schwarzschild-de Sitter (SdS) metric, which is obtained after make a planar coordinate transformation on a 5D Ricci-flat Schwarzschild-de Sitter (SdS) static metric. We obtain the important result that the spectrum of fluctuations at zeroth order is independent of the scalar field mass M on Schwarzschild scales, while on cosmological scales it exhibits a mass dependence. However, in the first-order expansion, the spectrum depends of the inflaton mass and the amplitude is linear with the Black-Hole (BH) mass m.

Assessing human health response in life cycle assessment using ED10s and DALYs: part 1--Cancer effects.

PubMed

Crettaz, Pierre; Pennington, David; Rhomberg, Lorenz; Brand, Kevin; Jolliet, Olivier

2002-10-01

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a framework for comparing products according to their total estimated environmental impact, summed over all chemical emissions and activities associated with a product at all stages in its life cycle (from raw material acquisition, manufacturing, use, to final disposal). For each chemical involved, the exposure associated with the mass released into the environment, integrated over time and space, is multiplied by a toxicological measure to estimate the likelihood of effects and their potential consequences. In this article, we explore the use of quantitative methods drawn from conventional single-chemical regulatory risk assessments to create a procedure for the estimation of the cancer effect measure in the impact phase of LCA. The approach is based on the maximum likelihood estimate of the effect dose inducing a 10% response over background, ED10, and default linear low-dose extrapolation using the slope betaED10 (0.1/ED10). The calculated effects may correspond to residual risks below current regulatory compliance requirements that occur over multiple generations and at multiple locations; but at the very least they represent a "using up" of some portion of the human population's ability to accommodate emissions. Preliminary comparisons are performed with existing measures, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA's) slope factor measure q1*. By analyzing bioassay data for 44 chemicals drawn from the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database, we explore estimating ED10 from more readily available information such as the median tumor dose rate TD50 and the median single lethal dose LD50. Based on the TD50, we then estimate the ED10 for more than 600 chemicals. Differences in potential consequences, or severity, are addressed by combining betaED10 with the measure disability adjusted life years per affected person, DALYp. Most of the variation among chemicals for cancer effects is found to be due

The ED95 of Nalbuphine in Outpatient-Induced Abortion Compared to Equivalent Sufentanil.

PubMed

Chen, Limei; Zhou, Yamei; Cai, Yaoyao; Bao, Nana; Xu, Xuzhong; Shi, Beibei

2018-04-07

This prospective study evaluated the 95% effective dose (ED 95 ) of nalbuphine in inhibiting body movement during outpatient-induced abortion and its clinical efficacy versus the equivalent of sufentanil. The study was divided into two parts. For the first part, voluntary first-trimester patients who needed induced abortions were recruited to measure the ED 95 of nalbuphine in inhibiting body movement during induced abortion using the sequential method (the Dixon up-and-down method). In the second part, this was a double-blind, randomized study. Sixty cases of first-trimester patients were recruited and were randomly divided into two groups (n = 30), including group N (nalbuphine at the ED 95 dose) and group S (sufentanil at an equivalent dose). Propofol was given to both groups as the sedative. The circulation, respiration and body movement of the two groups in surgery were observed. The amount of propofol, the awakening time, the time to leave the hospital and the analgesic effect were recorded. The ED 95 of nalbuphine in inhibiting body movement during painless surgical abortion was 0.128 mg/kg (95% confidence intervals 0.098-0.483 mg/kg). Both nalbuphine and the equivalent dose of sufentanil provided a good intraoperative and post-operative analgesic effect in outpatient-induced abortion. However, the post-operative morbidity of dizziness for nalbuphine was less than for sufentanil (p < 0.05), and the awakening time and the time to leave the hospital were significantly shorter than those of sufentanil (p < 0.05). Nalbuphine at 0.128 mg/kg was used in outpatient-induced abortion as an intraoperative and post-operative analgesic and showed a better effect compared with sufentanil. © 2018 Nordic Association for the Publication of BCPT (former Nordic Pharmacological Society).

Evaluation of the SD BIOLINE Dengue Duo rapid test in the course of acute and convalescent dengue infections in a Mexican endemic region.

PubMed

Sánchez-Vargas, Luis A; Sánchez-Marce, Elvis E; Vivanco-Cid, Héctor

2014-04-01

In this study, we evaluated the performance of a rapid test, the SD BIOLINE Dengue Duo (SD BDD) kit, with a panel of serum samples from 310 Mexican patients with diagnosis of dengue infection previously confirmed by reference enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests. Eighty-seven negative samples from other febrile illnesses were included as controls. The SD BDD showed an overall sensitivity of 90.65% and specificity of 89.66%. No statistically significant differences were found in the sensitivity of the SD BDD kit compared between primary or secondary infections (87.05% versus 93.57%, respectively, P = 0.0761) and dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever cases (90.77% versus 89.74%, respectively, P = 0.7716). However, a higher sensitivity in the acute phase of dengue infection was found compared with the convalescent phase (93.03% versus 81.82%, respectively, P = 0.0089). These results indicate that the SD BDD kit is a useful tool to diagnose dengue infections, both in primary or secondary infections and mainly during the acute phase. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ExpandED Schools National Demonstration: Lessons for Scale and Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Christina A.; Hildreth, Jeanine L.; Stevens, Pamela

2016-01-01

The ExpandED Schools model for expanded learning is designed to transform schools by changing the use of time, both as experienced by students in learning and by teachers in instruction. The model is grounded in the belief that strategically adding time to the school day can enhance skills and knowledge and broaden horizons by engaging students in…

Automated intraretinal segmentation of SD-OCT images in normal and age-related macular degeneration eyes

PubMed Central

de Sisternes, Luis; Jonna, Gowtham; Moss, Jason; Marmor, Michael F.; Leng, Theodore; Rubin, Daniel L.

2017-01-01

This work introduces and evaluates an automated intra-retinal segmentation method for spectral-domain optical coherence (SD-OCT) retinal images. While quantitative assessment of retinal features in SD-OCT data is important, manual segmentation is extremely time-consuming and subjective. We address challenges that have hindered prior automated methods, including poor performance with diseased retinas relative to healthy retinas, and data smoothing that obscures image features such as small retinal drusen. Our novel segmentation approach is based on the iterative adaptation of a weighted median process, wherein a three-dimensional weighting function is defined according to image intensity and gradient properties, and a set of smoothness constraints and pre-defined rules are considered. We compared the segmentation results for 9 segmented outlines associated with intra-retinal boundaries to those drawn by hand by two retinal specialists and to those produced by an independent state-of-the-art automated software tool in a set of 42 clinical images (from 14 patients). These images were obtained with a Zeiss Cirrus SD-OCT system, including healthy, early or intermediate AMD, and advanced AMD eyes. As a qualitative evaluation of accuracy, a highly experienced third independent reader blindly rated the quality of the outlines produced by each method. The accuracy and image detail of our method was superior in healthy and early or intermediate AMD eyes (98.15% and 97.78% of results not needing substantial editing) to the automated method we compared against. While the performance was not as good in advanced AMD (68.89%), it was still better than the manual outlines or the comparison method (which failed in such cases). We also tested our method’s performance on images acquired with a different SD-OCT manufacturer, collected from a large publicly available data set (114 healthy and 255 AMD eyes), and compared the data quantitatively to reference standard markings of the

Mental Health and Drivers of Need in Emergent and Non-Emergent Emergency Department (ED) Use: Do Living Location and Non-Emergent Care Sources Matter?

PubMed

McManus, Moira C; Cramer, Robert J; Boshier, Maureen; Akpinar-Elci, Muge; Van Lunen, Bonnie

2018-01-13

Emergency department (ED) utilization has increased due to factors such as admissions for mental health conditions, including suicide and self-harm. We investigate direct and moderating influences on non-emergent ED utilization through the Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. Through logistic regression, we examined correlates of ED use via 2014 New York State Department of Health Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System outpatient data. Consistent with the primary hypothesis, mental health admissions were associated with emergent use across models, with only a slight decrease in effect size in rural living locations. Concerning moderating effects, Spanish/Hispanic origin was associated with increased likelihood for emergent ED use in the rural living location model, and non-emergent ED use for the no non-emergent source model. 'Other' ethnic origin increased the likelihood of emergent ED use for rural living location and no non-emergent source models. The findings reveal 'need', including mental health admissions, as the largest driver for ED use. This may be due to mental healthcare access, or patients with mental health emergencies being transported via first responders to the ED, as in the case of suicide, self-harm, manic episodes or psychotic episodes. Further educating ED staff on this patient population through gatekeeper training may ensure patients receive the best treatment and aid in driving access to mental healthcare delivery changes.

The Phosphodiesterase 5-Inhibitors (PDE-5i) for ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION (ED): A Therapeutic Challenge For Psychiatrists.

PubMed

Koon, Chong Siew; Sidi, Hatta; Kumar, Jaya; Das, Srijit; Xi, Ong Wan; Hatta, Muhammad Hizri; Alfonso, Cesar

2017-02-15

Erectile function (EF) is a prerequisite for satisfactory sexual intercourse (SI) and central to male sexual functioning. Satisfactory SI eventually leads to orgasm - a biopsychophysiological state of euphoria - leading to a sense of bliss, enjoyment and positive mental well being. For a psychiatrist, treating ED is self-propelled to harmonize these pleasurable experiences alongside with encouragement of physical wellness and sensuality. Hence, the role of PDE-5i is pivotal in the context of treating ED constitutes a therapeutic challenge. PDE-5i work via the dopaminergic-oxytocin-nitric oxide pathway by increasing the availability of endothelial's guanosine monophosphate (GMP), immediately causing relaxation of the penile smooth muscle and an erection. The PDE-5i, like sildenafil, vardenafil and tadalafil, are effective in the treatment of ED with some benefits and disadvantages compared to other treatment modalities. Prescribed PDE-5i exclusively improve EF, fostering male's self-confidence and self-esteem. Treatment failures are associated with factors such as absent (or insufficient) sexual stimulation, psychosexual conflicts and the co-existence of medical disorders. Managing ED requires dealing with underlying medical diseases, addressing other co-morbid sexual dysfunctions like premature ejaculation (PE), and educating the patient on healthy life-styles beside being cautious with the potential side-effects and drug-drug interactions. Furthermore, by dealing with interpersonal dynamics within the couple and embracing adequate lifestyles (managing stress and revising one's sexual scripts), PDE-5i treatment benefits may be enhanced. In this review, we propose a holistic conceptual framework approach for psychiatric management of patients with ED. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Yki/YAP, Sd/TEAD and Hth/MEIS Control Tissue Specification in the Drosophila Eye Disc Epithelium

PubMed Central

Pignoni, Francesca

2011-01-01

During animal development, accurate control of tissue specification and growth are critical to generate organisms of reproducible shape and size. The eye-antennal disc epithelium of Drosophila is a powerful model system to identify the signaling pathway and transcription factors that mediate and coordinate these processes. We show here that the Yorkie (Yki) pathway plays a major role in tissue specification within the developing fly eye disc epithelium at a time when organ primordia and regional identity domains are specified. RNAi-mediated inactivation of Yki, or its partner Scalloped (Sd), or increased activity of the upstream negative regulators of Yki cause a dramatic reorganization of the eye disc fate map leading to specification of the entire disc epithelium into retina. On the contrary, constitutive expression of Yki suppresses eye formation in a Sd-dependent fashion. We also show that knockdown of the transcription factor Homothorax (Hth), known to partner Yki in some developmental contexts, also induces an ectopic retina domain, that Yki and Scalloped regulate Hth expression, and that the gain-of-function activity of Yki is partially dependent on Hth. Our results support a critical role for Yki- and its partners Sd and Hth - in shaping the fate map of the eye epithelium independently of its universal role as a regulator of proliferation and survival. PMID:21811580

Cardiac patients' perceptions of neighboring patients' risk: influence on psychological stress in the ED and subsequent posttraumatic stress.

PubMed

Konrad, Beatrice; Hiti, David; Chang, Bernard P; Retuerto, Jessica; Julian, Jacob; Edmondson, Donald

2017-11-06

As many as 12% of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients screen positive for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms due to their cardiac event, and emergency department (ED) factors such as overcrowding have been associated with risk for PTSD. We tested the association of patients' perceptions of their proximity to a critically ill patient during ED evaluation for ACS with development of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PSS) in the month after hospital discharge. Participants were enrolled in the REactions to Acute Care and Hospitalization (REACH) study during evaluation for ACS in an urban ED. Participants reported whether they perceived a patient near them was close to death. They also reported their current fear, concern they may die, perceived control, and feelings of vulnerability on an Emergency Room Perceptions questionnaire. One month later, participants reported on PTSD symptoms specific to the cardiac event and ED hospitalization. Of 763 participants, 12% reported perceiving a nearby patient was likely to die. In a multivariate linear regression model [F(9757) = 19.69, p < .001, R 2 adjusted = .18] with adjustment for age, sex, GRACE cardiac risk score, discharge ACS diagnosis, Charlson comorbidity index, objective ED crowding, and depression symptoms at baseline, perception of a nearby patients' likely death was associated with a 2.33 point (95% CI, 0.60-4.61) increase in 1 month PTSD score. A post hoc mediation analysis with personal threat perceptions [F(10,756) = 25.28, p < .001, R 2 adjusted = .24] showed increased personal threat perceptions during the ED visit, B = 0.71 points on the PCL per point on the personal threat perception questionnaire, β = 0.27, p = .001, fully mediated association of participants' perceptions of nearby patients' likely death with 1-month PTSD score (after adjustment for ED threat perceptions,) B = 0.89 (95% CI, -1.33 to 3.12), β = 0.03, p = .43, accounting for 62% of the adjusted effect

Ectopic expression of Capsicum-specific cell wall protein Capsicum annuum senescence-delaying 1 (CaSD1) delays senescence and induces trichome formation in Nicotiana benthamiana.

PubMed

Seo, Eunyoung; Yeom, Seon-In; Jo, Sunghwan; Jeong, Heejin; Kang, Byoung-Cheorl; Choi, Doil

2012-04-01

Secreted proteins are known to have multiple roles in plant development, metabolism, and stress response. In a previous study to understand the roles of secreted proteins, Capsicum annuum secreted proteins (CaS) were isolated by yeast secretion trap. Among the secreted proteins, we further characterized Capsicum annuum senescence-delaying 1 (CaSD1), a gene encoding a novel secreted protein that is present only in the genus Capsicum. The deduced CaSD1 contains multiple repeats of the amino acid sequence KPPIHNHKPTDYDRS. Interestingly, the number of repeats varied among cultivars and species in the Capsicum genus. CaSD1 is constitutively expressed in roots, and Agrobacterium-mediated transient overexpression of CaSD1 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves resulted in delayed senescence with a dramatically increased number of trichomes and enlarged epidermal cells. Furthermore, senescence- and cell division-related genes were differentially regulated by CaSD1-overexpressing plants. These observations imply that the pepper-specific cell wall protein CaSD1 plays roles in plant growth and development by regulating cell division and differentiation.

Ectopic Expression of Capsicum-Specific Cell Wall Protein Capsicum annuum Senescence-Delaying 1 (CaSD1) Delays Senescence and Induces Trichome Formation in Nicotiana benthamiana

PubMed Central

Seo, Eunyoung; Yeom, Seon-In; Jo, SungHwan; Jeong, Heejin; Kang, Byoung-Cheorl; Choi, Doil

2012-01-01

Secreted proteins are known to have multiple roles in plant development, metabolism, and stress response. In a previous study to understand the roles of secreted proteins, Capsicum annuum secreted proteins (CaS) were isolated by yeast secretion trap. Among the secreted proteins, we further characterized Capsicum annuum senescence-delaying 1 (CaSD1), a gene encoding a novel secreted protein that is present only in the genus Capsicum. The deduced CaSD1 contains multiple repeats of the amino acid sequence KPPIHNHKPTDYDRS. Interestingly, the number of repeats varied among cultivars and species in the Capsicum genus. CaSD1 is constitutively expressed in roots, and Agrobacterium-mediated transient overexpression of CaSD1 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves resulted in delayed senescence with a dramatically increased number of trichomes and enlarged epidermal cells. Furthermore, senescence- and cell division-related genes were differentially regulated by CaSD1-overexpressing plants. These observations imply that the pepper-specific cell wall protein CaSD1 plays roles in plant growth and development by regulating cell division and differentiation. PMID:22441673

Obsessional and Eating Disorder-related Intrusive Thoughts: Differences and Similarities Within and Between Individuals Vulnerable to OCD or to EDs.

PubMed

Belloch, Amparo; Roncero, María; Perpiñá, Conxa

2016-11-01

Unwanted intrusive cognitions constitute the normal variant of clinically significant intrusive cognitions found in disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and eating disorders (EDs). This study investigates whether individuals who are vulnerable to OCD or EDs experience more intrusions than people with no vulnerability to these disorders, and it examines the consequences of obsessional (OITs) and eating disorder (EDITs) intrusions in the same individuals, taking into account their susceptibility to OCD, EDs or neither of the two. From a sample of 922 participants, three groups were formed: risk of OCD (n = 92), risk of EDs (n = 41) and a no-risk group (n = 100). EDITs were more frequent than OITs in the two risk groups. Within-group comparisons showed that in the OCD-risk group, the OIT had more negative consequences (interference, emotional distress, dysfunctional appraisals and neutralizing strategies) than the EDIT, whereas in the ED-risk group, the OIT and the EDIT instigated similar negative consequences. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

[Isolation,culture and identification of adipose-derived stem cells from SD rat adipose tissues subjected to long-term cryopreservation].

PubMed

Liu, Qin; Wang, Liping; Chen, Fang; Zhang, Yi

2017-02-01

To study the feasibility of isolation and culture of adipose-derived stem cells( ADSCs) from SD rat adipose tissues subjected to long-term cryopreservation. We took inguinal fat pads from healthy SD rats. Adipose tissues were stored with 100 m L / L dimethyl sulfoxide( DMSO) combined with 900 m L / L fetal bovine serum( FBS) in liquid nitrogen. Three months later,the adipose tissues were resuscitated for the isolation and culture of ADSCs. The growth status and morphology were observed. The growth curve and cell surface markers CD29,CD45,CD90 of the 3rd passage cells were analyzed respectively by CCK-8 assay and immunocytochemistry. The 3rd passage cells were induced towards adipogenic lineages and osteogenic lineages by different inducers,and the resulting cells were examined separately by oil red O staining and alizarin red staining. The ADSCs obtained from SD rat adipose tissues subjected to long-term cryopreservation showed a spindle-shape appearance and had a good proliferation ability. The cell growth curve was typical "S " curve.Immunocytochemistry showed that the 3rd passage cells were positive for CD29 and CD90,while negative for CD45. The cells were positive for oil red O staining after adipogenic induction,and also positive for alizarin red staining after osteogenic induction. The ADSCs can be isolated from SD rat adipose tissues subjected to long-term cryopreservation.

Predicting tularemia with clinical, laboratory and demographical findings in the ED.

PubMed

Yapar, Derya; Erenler, Ali Kemal; Terzi, Özlem; Akdoğan, Özlem; Ece, Yasemin; Baykam, Nurcan

2016-02-01

We aimed to determine clinical, laboratory and demographical characteristics of tularemia on admission to Emergency Department (ED). Medical data of 317 patients admitted to ED and subsequently hospitalized with suspected tularemia between January 1, 2011, and May 31, 2015, were collected. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to microagglutination test results, as tularemia (+) and tularemia (-). Of the 317 patients involved, 49 were found to be tularemia (+) and 268 were tularemia (-). Mean age of the tularemia (+) patients was found to be higher than that of tularemia (-) patients. When compared to tularemia (-) patients, a significant portion of patients in tularemia (+) patients were elderly, living in rural areas and had contact with rodents. When clinical and laboratory findings of the 2 groups were compared, any statistical significance could not be determined. Tularemia is a disease of elderly people living in rural areas. Contact with rodents also increases risk of tularemia in suspected patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Visual acuity in anti-VEGF therapy for AMD : Can specific characteristics in the SD-OCT help?

PubMed

Book, B; Ziegler, M; Heimes, B; Gutfleisch, M; Spital, G; Pauleikhoff, D; Lommatzsch, A

2017-01-01

The efficacy of anti-VEGF therapy in exudative AMD has been established in several large clinical trials using a fixed injection regimen as well as a SD-OCT-based PRN regimen. In these studies, after the first three injections, an increase of the mean visual acuity was observed, which could be stabilized with constant treatment for up to 24 months. However, the specific course of the visual acuity is very different between individuals. The aim of the present study was to correlate specific initial SD-OCT parameters with the course of visual acuity in order to characterize factors that may be important for the individual visual prognosis. In a prospective case study, the visual course and SD-OCT changes of 156 patients with minimum follow-up of 12 months (mean 80.1 months) were analysed. Visual acuity (LogMar) was investigated at regular intervals and correlated with specific SD-OCT parameters (foveal thickness, height of sub-retinal fluid or presence of associated PED, presence of intra-retinal cysts, length of IS/OS break, choroidal thickness). The initial increase in visual acuity could be stabilized over time. This effect was associated with a decrease in foveal retinal thickness, which also persisted over time. While sub-retinal fluid, presence of PED, and choroidal thickness showed no prognostic relevance for the change in visual acuity, the presence of more advanced central retinal thickness, of intra-retinal cysts or a longer break in the IS/OS junction were associated with a less favourable development of visual acuity. In the present study, the presence of more advanced central retinal thickness, of intra-retinal cysts or a larger IS/OS break correlated significantly with a worse visual prognosis. These might be clinical signs for more extensive pre-existing intra-retinal changes. Further analysis and new diagnostic tools may prove this and may result in specific additive neuroprotective or regenerative therapeutic approaches in exudative AMD.

Beyond Retinal Layers: A Deep Voting Model for Automated Geographic Atrophy Segmentation in SD-OCT Images

PubMed Central

Ji, Zexuan; Chen, Qiang; Niu, Sijie; Leng, Theodore; Rubin, Daniel L.

2018-01-01

Purpose To automatically and accurately segment geographic atrophy (GA) in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images by constructing a voting system with deep neural networks without the use of retinal layer segmentation. Methods An automatic GA segmentation method for SD-OCT images based on the deep network was constructed. The structure of the deep network was composed of five layers, including one input layer, three hidden layers, and one output layer. During the training phase, the labeled A-scans with 1024 features were directly fed into the network as the input layer to obtain the deep representations. Then a soft-max classifier was trained to determine the label of each individual pixel. Finally, a voting decision strategy was used to refine the segmentation results among 10 trained models. Results Two image data sets with GA were used to evaluate the model. For the first dataset, our algorithm obtained a mean overlap ratio (OR) 86.94% ± 8.75%, absolute area difference (AAD) 11.49% ± 11.50%, and correlation coefficients (CC) 0.9857; for the second dataset, the mean OR, AAD, and CC of the proposed method were 81.66% ± 10.93%, 8.30% ± 9.09%, and 0.9952, respectively. The proposed algorithm was capable of improving over 5% and 10% segmentation accuracy, respectively, when compared with several state-of-the-art algorithms on two data sets. Conclusions Without retinal layer segmentation, the proposed algorithm could produce higher segmentation accuracy and was more stable when compared with state-of-the-art methods that relied on retinal layer segmentation results. Our model may provide reliable GA segmentations from SD-OCT images and be useful in the clinical diagnosis of advanced nonexudative AMD. Translational Relevance Based on the deep neural networks, this study presents an accurate GA segmentation method for SD-OCT images without using any retinal layer segmentation results, and may contribute to improved understanding of advanced

Beyond Retinal Layers: A Deep Voting Model for Automated Geographic Atrophy Segmentation in SD-OCT Images.

PubMed

Ji, Zexuan; Chen, Qiang; Niu, Sijie; Leng, Theodore; Rubin, Daniel L

2018-01-01

To automatically and accurately segment geographic atrophy (GA) in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images by constructing a voting system with deep neural networks without the use of retinal layer segmentation. An automatic GA segmentation method for SD-OCT images based on the deep network was constructed. The structure of the deep network was composed of five layers, including one input layer, three hidden layers, and one output layer. During the training phase, the labeled A-scans with 1024 features were directly fed into the network as the input layer to obtain the deep representations. Then a soft-max classifier was trained to determine the label of each individual pixel. Finally, a voting decision strategy was used to refine the segmentation results among 10 trained models. Two image data sets with GA were used to evaluate the model. For the first dataset, our algorithm obtained a mean overlap ratio (OR) 86.94% ± 8.75%, absolute area difference (AAD) 11.49% ± 11.50%, and correlation coefficients (CC) 0.9857; for the second dataset, the mean OR, AAD, and CC of the proposed method were 81.66% ± 10.93%, 8.30% ± 9.09%, and 0.9952, respectively. The proposed algorithm was capable of improving over 5% and 10% segmentation accuracy, respectively, when compared with several state-of-the-art algorithms on two data sets. Without retinal layer segmentation, the proposed algorithm could produce higher segmentation accuracy and was more stable when compared with state-of-the-art methods that relied on retinal layer segmentation results. Our model may provide reliable GA segmentations from SD-OCT images and be useful in the clinical diagnosis of advanced nonexudative AMD. Based on the deep neural networks, this study presents an accurate GA segmentation method for SD-OCT images without using any retinal layer segmentation results, and may contribute to improved understanding of advanced nonexudative AMD.

Replica exchange enveloping distribution sampling (RE-EDS): A robust method to estimate multiple free-energy differences from a single simulation.

PubMed

Sidler, Dominik; Schwaninger, Arthur; Riniker, Sereina

2016-10-21