Osteoblastoma-like Osteosarcoma of the Cuboid: A Case Report

Osteosarcoma most commonly arises in the long bones of the skeleton, and rarely develops in the bones of the foot. We describe a patient who presented with left foot pain, whose radiographic evaluation revealed a lytic destructive mass in the cuboid bone. A biopsy showed an osteoblastoma-like variant of osteosarcoma and the patient was treated with preoperative chemotherapy and amputation. Osteosarcoma of the foot is uncommon and the literature reveals that it is often associated with a delay in diagnosis

Effects of a Large Fishing Closure on Benthic Communitites in the Western Gulf of Maine: Recovery from the Effects of Gillnets and Otter Trawls

The recovery of benthic communities inside the western Gulf of Maine fishing closure area was evaluated by comparing invertebrate assemblages at sites inside and outside of the closure four to six years after the closure was established. The major restriction imposed by the closure was a year-round prohibition of bottom gillnets and otter trawls. A total of 163 seafloor sites (~half inside and half outside the closure) within a 515-km2 study area were sampled with some combination of Shipek grab, Wildco box corer, or underwater video. Bottom types ranged from mud (silt and clay) to boulders, and the effects of the closure on univariate measures (total density, biomass, taxonomic richness) of benthos varied widely among sediment types. For sites with predominantly mud sediments, there were mixed effects on inside and outside infauna and no effect on epifauna. For sites with mainly sand sediments, there were higher density, biomass, and taxonomic richness for infauna inside the closure, but no significant effects on epifauna. For sites dominated by gravel (which included boulders in some areas), there were no effects on infauna but strong effects on epifaunal density and taxonomic richness. For fishing gear, the data indicated that infauna recovered in sand from the impacts of otter trawls operated inside the closure but that they did not recover in mud, and that epifauna recovered on gravel bottoms from the impact of gillnets used inside the closure. The magnitudes of impact and recovery, however, cannot be inferred directly from our data because of a confounding factor of different fishing intensities outside the closure for a direct comparison of preclosure and postclosure data. The overall negative impact of trawls is likely underestimated by our data, whereas the negative impact of gillnets is likely overestimated

News Telescope

Description of design outcome of a news telescope as part of Leverhulme Research into Spaces of the Media, plus conference paper and stills from web publication at http://www.newstelescope.co.uk

i-Soapbox

The i-Soapbox is a working prototype that spatialises - places - political speech

Discovery of a Gas-Rich Companion to the Extremely Metal-Poor Galaxy DDO 68

We present HI spectral-line imaging of the extremely metal-poor galaxy DDO 68. This system has a nebular oxygen abundance of only 3% Z$_{\odot}$, making it one of the most metal-deficient galaxies known in the local volume. Surprisingly, DDO 68 is a relatively massive and luminous galaxy for its metal content, making it a significant outlier in the mass-metallicity and luminosity-metallicity relationships. The origin of such a low oxygen abundance in DDO 68 presents a challenge for models of the chemical evolution of galaxies. One possible solution to this problem is the infall of pristine neutral gas, potentially initiated during a gravitational interaction. Using archival HI spectral-line imaging obtained with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, we have discovered a previously unknown companion of DDO 68. This low-mass (M$_{\rm HI}$ $=$ 2.8$\times$10$^{7}$ M$_{\odot}$), recently star-forming (SFR$_{\rm FUV}$ $=$ 1.4$\times$10$^{-3}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, SFR$_{\rm H\alpha}$ $<$ 7$\times$10$^{-5}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$) companion has the same systemic velocity as DDO 68 (V$_{\rm sys}$ $=$ 506 km s$^{-1}$; D $=$ 12.74$\pm$0.27 Mpc) and is located at a projected distance of 42 kpc. New HI maps obtained with the 100m Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope provide evidence that DDO 68 and this companion are gravitationally interacting at the present time. Low surface brightness HI gas forms a bridge between these objects.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letter

In-hospital versus out-of-hospital presentation of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias predicts survival Results from the AVID registry

AbstractOBJECTIVESThis study describes the outcomes of patients from the Antiarrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators (AVID) Study Registry to determine how the location of ventricular arrhythmia presentation influences survival.BACKGROUNDMost studies of cardiac arrest report outcome following out-of-hospital resuscitation. In contrast, there are minimal data on long-term outcome following in-hospital cardiac arrest.METHODSThe AVID Study was a multicenter, randomized comparison of drug and defibrillator strategies to treat life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. A Registry was maintained of all patients with sustained ventricular arrhythmias at each study site. The present study includes patients who had AVID-eligible arrhythmias, both randomized and not randomized. Patients with in-hospital and out-of-hospital presentations are compared. Data on long-term mortality were obtained through the National Death Index.RESULTSThe unadjusted mortality rates at one- and two-year follow-ups were 23% and 31.1% for patients with in-hospital presentations, and 10.5% and 16.8% for those with out-of-hospital presentations (p < 0.001), respectively. The adjusted mortality rates at one- and two-year follow-ups were 14.8% and 20.9% for patients with in-hospital presentations, and 8.4% and 14.1% for those with out-of-hospital presentations (p < 0.001), respectively. The adjusted long-term relative risk for in-hospital versus out-of-hospital presentation was 1.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3–1.9).CONCLUSIONSCompared with patients with out-of-hospital presentations of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias not due to a reversible cause, patients with in-hospital presentations have a worse long-term prognosis. Because location of ventricular arrhythmia presentation is an independent predictor of long-term outcome, it should be considered as an element of risk stratification and when planning clinical trials

Urban Agriculture and Small Farm Water Use: Case Studies and Trends from Cache Valley, Utah

The landscape of water in Utah is changing due to population growth, conversion of agricultural land to urban development, and increasing awareness of water scarcity. At the same time, Utah is experiencing a growing number of urban and small farms, but knowledge of water use in this sector is limited. Better understanding of what occurs at the field level on urban and small farms can aid state water use estimates and conservation efforts, and assist farmers in moving towards wiser water management. For the 2015 growing season, we performed irrigation evaluations for 24 urban and small farms in Cache Valley, Utah and we explore the results through case studies and identify trends among gross irrigation depth and field variables including field size, irrigation method, application uniformity, and scheduling practices. Results show a great degree of heterogeneity in irrigation methods, equipment used, and management practices. The beneficial consumed fraction of irrigation water ranged from 0.06 to 1.0. Small fields had lower application uniformities and greater irrigation depths than large fields. Surface irrigated fields had higher irrigation depths than sprinkle and drip irrigated fields. Additionally, fields using a fixed irrigation schedule had higher depths than fields that were irrigated inconsistently due to other factors. The results show that urban and small farm irrigators need improved knowledge of proper irrigation management. Irrigators, university extension services, and state water authorities working in this sector need to recognize the link between proper management and total water use, and focus more efforts on improving management, specifically how to use 1) low-cost methods to measure flow rates, 2) simple irrigation scheduling tools, and 3) improve application uniformity

The contrasting role of technology as both supportive and hindering in the everyday lives of people with mild cognitive deficits: a focus group study

Background: It is well known that people with mild cognitive deficits face challenges when performing complex everyday activities, and that the use of technology has become increasingly interwoven with everyday activities. However, less is known of how technology might be involved, either as a support or hindrance, in different areas of everyday life and of the environments where challenges appear. The aim of this study was to investigate the areas of concern where persons with cognitive deficits meet challenges in everyday life, in what environments these challenges appear and how technology might be involved as part of the challenge and/or the solution to the challenge. Methods: Data were gathered through four focus group interviews with participants that live with cognitive deficits or cohabit with a person with cognitive deficits, plus health professionals and researchers in the field. Data were transcribed, coded and categorized, and finally synthesized to trace out the involvement of technology. Results: Five areas of concern in everyday life were identified as offering challenges to persons with cognitive deficits: A) Managing personal finances, B) Getting around, C) Meeting family and friends, D) Engaging with culture and media and, E) Doing everyday chores. Findings showed that the involvement of technology in everyday activities was often contrastive. It could be hindering and evoke stress, or it could bring about feelings of control; that is, being a part of the solution. The involvement of technology was especially obvious in challenges linked to Managing personal finances, which is a crucial necessity in many everyday activities. In contrast, technology was least obviously involved in the area Socializing with family and friends. Conclusions: The findings imply that technology used for orientation and managing finances, often used outside home, would benefit from being further developed in order to be more supportive; i.e. accessible and usable. To make a positive change for many people, the ideas of inclusive design fit well for this purpose and would contribute to an age-friendly society

Developing autonomous learning in first year university students using perspectives from positive psychology

Autonomous learning is a commonly occurring learning outcome from university study, and it is argued that students require confidence in their own abilities to achieve this. Using approaches from positive psychology, this study aimed to develop confidence in first‐year university students to facilitate autonomous learning. Psychological character strengths were assessed in 214 students on day one at university. Two weeks later their top three strengths were given to them in study skills modules as part of a psycho‐educational intervention designed to increase their self‐efficacy and self‐esteem. The impact of the intervention was assessed against a control group of 40 students who had not received the intervention. The results suggested that students were more confident after the intervention, and that levels of autonomous learning increased significantly compared to the controls. Character strengths were found to be associated with self‐efficacy, self‐esteem and autonomous learning in ways that were theoretically meaningful