Circadian variation in gastric vagal afferent mechanosensitivity

Food intake is coordinated to cellular metabolism by clock gene expression with a master clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus synchronized by light exposure. Gastric vagal afferents play a role in regulating food intake, but it is unknown whether they exhibit circadian variation in their mechanosensitivity. We aimed to determine whether gastric vagal afferents express clock genes and whether their response to mechanical stimuli oscillates throughout the light/dark cycle. Nodose ganglia were collected from 8-week-old female C57BL/6 mice every 3 h starting at lights off (1800 h) to quantify Bmal1, Per1, Per2, and Nr1d1 mRNA by qRT-PCR. Additionally in vitro single-fiber recordings of gastric vagal mechanoreceptors were taken at all time points. Per1, Per2, Bmal1, and Nr1d1 mRNA is expressed in the nodose ganglia and levels oscillated over a 24 h period. In mice fed ad libitum, gastric content was 3 times higher at 0000 h and 0300 h than 1200 h. The response of tension receptors to 3 g stretch was reduced by up to 70% at 2100 h, 0000 h, and 0300 h compared with 1200 h. Gastric mucosal receptor response to stroking with a 50 mg von Frey hair was 3 times greater at 1200 h and 1500 h than the response at 0000 h. Similar findings were obtained in mice fasted for 6 h or maintained in darkness for 3 d before study. Therefore, these changes do not result from food intake or the light/dark cycle. Thus, gastric vagal mechanoreceptors display circadian rhythm, which may act to control food intake differentially at different times of the day.Stephen J. Kentish, Claudine L. Frisby, David J. Kennaway, Gary A. Wittert, and Amanda J. Pag

The Kansas University rewrite engine: a Haskell-embedded strategic programming language with custom closed universes

When writing transformation systems, a significant amount of engineering effort goes into setting up the infrastructure needed to direct individual transformations to specific targets in the data being transformed. Strategic programming languages provide general-purpose infrastructure for this task, which the author of a transformation system can use for any algebraic data structure. The Kansas University Rewrite Engine (KURE) is a typed strategic programming language, implemented as a Haskell-embedded domain-specific language. KURE is designed to support typed transformations over typed data, and the main challenge is how to make such transformations compatible with generic traversal strategies that should operate over any type. Strategic programming in a typed setting has much in common with datatype-generic programming. Compared to other approaches to datatype-generic programming, the distinguishing feature of KURE’s solution is that the user can configure the behaviour of traversals based on the location of each datum in the tree, beyond their behaviour being determined by the type of each datum. This article describes KURE’s approach to assigning types to generic traversals, and the implementation of that approach. We also compare KURE, its design choices, and their consequences, with other approaches to strategic and datatype-generic programming

Achieving operational excellence for industrial baking ovens

A series of experiments were performed on industrial baking ovens across five confectionery manufacturing sites around the world. The impact of different operating parameters such as air and fuel flowrates, oven temperature, exhaust flowrates and ambient temperature etc., on the product quality and overall oven performance were investigated. The energy flows through the baking oven were modelled using experimentally determined inputs to estimate the reduction in heat losses. A step change in operational efficiency was achieved through the study delivering 8.5% improvement in the oven performance. On average, 92 tonnes/annum of CO2 were saved from each oven. An additional 7% efficiency improvement was observed by integrating the baking oven with a heat recovery technology saving circa £16k in fuel cost annually from a single oven. The observations and learnings from the work are not limited to baking ovens only, but can also be applied to other food manufacturing processes such as frying, broiling, roasting or grilling

Siting prisons, sighting communities: geographies of objection in a planning process

This paper reviews the planning process for a Scottish prison located near a former mining village. Analysing the letters of objection submitted by residents offers an opportunity to explore local views about prison and community and to relate these to the unique social and spatial history of the area. The planning process itself structured how residents were able to express themselves and defined what counted as a relevant objection. After deconstructing this process, the paper then restores and uses as a framework for analysis three geographies of objection stripped from local responses to the development proposal: the emotional, temporal, and spatial. Emotional expressions of objection added intensity and gave meaning to claims about the historical decline of the region and also conveyed a deep sense of the proposed building site as a lived space. Particular grounds of opposition—over fear of strangers, the fragility of a local orchid, and the pollution from mining—provide an opportunity to explore the complex nature of place meaning and community identity, ultimately leading to a conclusion that the meaning of place is always in flux. The paper argues that Simmel’s classic concept of the stranger, as the outsider who comes to stay, offers a useful analytic in understanding how the quality of proximal remoteness that prisons and other unwanted developments constitute participates in a constantly evolving sense of the local

Hay handling system comparison : baled hay vs. chopped hay

Digitized 2007 AES MoU.Includes bibliographical references (page 19)

The Relationship of Special Education Placement and Student Academic Outcomes

This study investigates the academic outcomes of a special education student cohort in the state of Indiana placed in high and low inclusion settings. Student scores in these two settings from the Indiana State Test of Educational Progress (ISTEP+ English/Language Arts and math) were compared from fourth grade in 2014 through the eighth grade in 2018. Results of this study show that students with disabilities who spent 80% or more of their time in a general education inclusive classroom did significantly better in both reading and math assessment than their peers who spent more time in separate special education classrooms

Opioid agonist treatment and risk of death or rehospitalization following injection drug use–associated bacterial and fungal infections: A cohort study in New South Wales, Australia

Background AU Injecting-related: Pleaseconfirmthatallheadinglevelsarerepresentedcorrectly bacterial and fungal infections are associated : with significant morbidity and mortality among people who inject drugs (PWID), and they are increasing in incidence. Following hospitalization with an injecting-related infection, use of opioid agonist treatment (OAT; methadone or buprenorphine) may be associated with reduced risk of death or rehospitalization with an injecting-related infection. Methods and findings Data came from the Opioid Agonist Treatment Safety (OATS) study, an administrative linkage cohort including all people in New South Wales, Australia, who accessed OAT between July 1, 2001 and June 28, 2018. Included participants survived a hospitalization with injecting-related infections (i.e., skin and soft-tissue infection, sepsis/bacteremia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, or epidural/brain abscess). Outcomes were all-cause death and rehospitalization for injecting-related infections. OAT exposure was classified as time varying by days on or off treatment, following hospital discharge. We used separate Cox proportional hazards models to assess associations between each outcome and OAT exposure. The study included 8,943 participants (mean age 39 years, standard deviation [SD] 11 years; 34% women). The most common infections during participants’ index hospitalizations were skin and soft tissue (7,021; 79%), sepsis/bacteremia (1,207; 14%), and endocarditis (431; 5%). During median 6.56 years follow-up, 1,481 (17%) participants died; use of OAT was associated with lower hazard of death (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.57 to 0.70). During median 3.41 years follow-up, 3,653 (41%) were rehospitalized for injecting-related infections; use of OAT was associated with lower hazard of these rehospitalizations (aHR 0.89, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.96). Study limitations include the use of routinely collected administrative data, which lacks information on other risk factors for injecting-related infections including injecting practices, injection stimulant use, housing status, and access to harm reduction services (e.g., needle exchange and supervised injecting sites); we also lacked information on OAT medication dosages. Conclusions Following hospitalizations with injection drug use–associated bacterial and fungal infections, use of OAT is associated with lower risks of death and recurrent injecting-related infections among people with opioid use disorder

Effect of incarceration and opioid agonist treatment transitions on risk of hospitalisation with injection drug use-associated bacterial infections: A self-controlled case series in New South Wales, Australia

Background: Transitional times in opioid use, such as release from prison and discontinuation of opioid agonist treatment (OAT), are associated with health harms due to changing drug consumption practices and limited access to health and social supports. Using a self-controlled (within-person) study design, we aimed to understand if these transitions increase risks of injection drug use-associated bacterial infections. Methods: We performed a self-controlled case series among a cohort of people with opioid use disorder (who had all previously accessed OAT) in New South Wales, Australia, 2001-2018. The outcome was hospitalisation with injecting-related bacterial infections. We divided participants’ observed days into time windows related to incarceration and OAT receipt. We compared hospitalization rates during focal (exposure) windows and referent (control) windows (i.e., 5-52 weeks continuously not incarcerated or continuously receiving OAT). We estimated adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRR) using conditional logistic regression, adjusted for time-varying confounders. Results: There were 7590 participants who experienced hospitalisation with injecting-related bacterial infections (35% female; median age 38 years; 78% hospitalised with skin and soft-tissue infections). Risk for injecting-related bacterial infections was elevated for two weeks following release from prison (aIRR 1.45; 95%CI 1.22–1.72). Risk was increased during two weeks before (aIRR 1.89; 95%CI 1.59–2.25) and after (aIRR 1.91; 95%CI 1.54–2.36) discontinuation of OAT, and during two weeks before (aIRR 3.63; 95%CI 3.13–4.22) and after (aIRR 2.52; 95%CI 2.09–3.04) OAT initiation. Conclusion: Risk of injecting-related bacterial infections varies greatly within-individuals over time. Risk is raised immediately after prison release, and around initiation and discontinuation of OAT. Social contextual factors likely contribute to excess risks at transitions in incarceration and OAT exposure

Navigating distance learning technologies using team teaching

In 2004, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) adopted the position to move the current level of preparation necessary for advanced practice nurse (APN) roles from the master\u27s degree to the doctoral level. AACN also called for educating APNs and other nurses seeking top leadership and clinical roles in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Programs. In September 2007, the Jefferson School of Nursing welcomed its first cohort of 18 DNP students. Students represented a wide variety of practice specialties including acute care, primary care, healthcare administration, population health, education and industry. Twenty students comprise the second cohort entering in September 2008. Nationwide, Jefferson is one of 79 schools of nursing offering a DNP degree