Cost finding for warehousemen

The following is a reprint, with amendments, of what has appeared in the Bulletin of the Association during the last year. No apology is necessary for thus bringing together the series of articles on cost finding in the Labor Departments of the industry. It remains to be pointed out that this pamphlet is a companion to the 1920 Report of the Central Bureau Committee of the General Merchandise sub-division (2nd edition, published March 1921). In that Report the Central Bureau Committee has gone into great detail in the matter of storage classification, and when it publishes, as is probable in the near future, a classification of commodities following the methods outlined in that Report, the making of storage rates as such will be merely a matter of proper bookkeeping

Findings of the Joint Workshop on Evaluation of Impacts of Space Station Freedom Ground Configurations

At the workshop, experts from the plasma interactions community evaluated the impacts of environmental interactions on the Space Station Freedom (SSF) under each of the proposed grounding schemes. The grounding scheme chosen for the SSF power system was found to have serious implications for SSF design. Interactions of the SSF power system and structure with the low Earth orbit (LEO) plasma differ significantly between different proposed grounding schemes. Environmental constraints will require modification of current SSF designs under any grounding scheme. Maintaining the present negative-grounding scheme compromises SSF safety, structural integrity, and electromagnetic compatibility. It also will increase contamination rates over alternative grounding schemes. One alternative, positive grounding of the array, requires redesign of the primary power system in work package four. Floating the array reduces the number of circuit changes to work package four but adds new hardware. Maintaining the current design will affect all work packages; however, no impacts were identified on work packages one, two, or three by positively grounding or floating the array, with the possible exception of extra corona protection in multi-wire connectors

Three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction of mesospheric airglow structures using two-station ground-based image measurements

A new methodology is presented to create two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) tomographic reconstructions of mesospheric airglow layer structure using two-station all-sky image measurements. A fanning technique is presented that produces a series of cross-sectional 2D reconstructions, which are combined to create a 3D mapping of the airglow volume. The imaging configuration is discussed and the inherent challenges of using limited-angle data in tomographic reconstructions have been analyzed using artificially generated imaging objects. An iterative reconstruction method, the partially constrained algebraic reconstruction technique (PCART), was used in conjunction with a priori information of the airglow emission profile to constrain the height of the imaged region, thereby reducing the indeterminacy of the inverse problem. Synthetic projection data were acquired from the imaging objects and the forward problem to validate the tomographic method and to demonstrate the ability of this technique to accurately reconstruct information using only two ground-based sites. Reconstructions of the OH airglow layer were created using data recorded by all-sky CCD cameras located at Bear Lake Observatory, Utah, and at Star Valley, Wyoming, with an optimal site separation of ~100 km. The ability to extend powerful 2D and 3D tomographic methods to two-station ground-based measurements offers obvious practical advantages for new measurement programs. The importance and applications of mesospheric tomographic reconstructions in airglow studies, as well as the need for future measurements and continued development of techniques of this type, are discussed. © 2012 Optical Society of America

The continuity of the inversion and the structure of maximal subgroups in countably compact topological semigroups

In this paper we search for conditions on a countably compact (pseudo-compact) topological semigroup under which: (i) each maximal subgroup $H(e)$ in $S$ is a (closed) topological subgroup in $S$; (ii) the Clifford part $H(S)$(i.e. the union of all maximal subgroups) of the semigroup $S$ is a closed subset in $S$; (iii) the inversion $\operatorname{inv}\colon H(S)\to H(S)$ is continuous; and (iv) the projection $\pi\colon H(S)\to E(S)$, $\pi\colon x\longmapsto xx^{-1}$, onto the subset of idempotents $E(S)$ of $S$, is continuous

Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in the Somali region, eastern Ethiopia

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in low-income countries like Ethiopia. However, because of the limited laboratory infrastructure there is a shortage of comprehensive data on the genotypes of clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) complex (MTBC) in peripheral regions of Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to characterize MTBC isolates in the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three health institutions between October 2018 and December 2019 in the capital of Somali region. A total of 323 MTBC isolates (249 from pulmonary TB and 74 from extrapulmonary TB) were analyzed using regions of difference 9 (RD 9)-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and spoligotyping. Results: Of the 323 MTBC isolates, 99.7% (95% CI: 99.1-100%) were M. tuberculosis while the remaining one isolate was M. bovis based on RD 9-based PCR. Spoligotyping identified 71 spoligotype patterns; 61 shared types and 10 orphans. A majority of the isolates were grouped in shared types while the remaining grouped in orphans. The M. tuberculosis lineages identified in this study were lineage 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 with the percentages of 7.4, 2.2, 28.2, 60.4, and 0.6%, respectively. Most (87.9%) of the isolates were classified in clustered spoligotypes while the remaining 12.1% isolates were singletons. The predominant clustered spoligotypes identified were SIT 149, SIT 21, SIT 26, SIT 53, and SIT 52, each consisting of 17.6, 13.3, 8.4, 7.4, and 5%, respectively. Lineage 3 and lineage 4, as well as the age group (15-24), were associated significantly with clustering. Conclusion: The MTBC isolated from TB patients in Somali region were highly diverse, with considerable spoligotype clustering which suggests active TB transmission. In addition, the Beijing spoligotype was isolated in relatively higher frequency than the frequencies of its isolation from the other regions of Ethiopia warranting the attention of the TB Control Program of the Somali region

Drug sensitivity of clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its association with bacterial genotype in the Somali region, Eastern Ethiopia

Background: Drug resistance is becoming a major bottleneck for tuberculosis (TB) control programs in countries with high TB burdens. Although several studies were conducted on the drug sensitivity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) in central Ethiopia, there is a lack of data on the drug sensitivity of M. tuberculosis in the peripheral regions of the country including in the Somali region. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the drug sensitivity of M. tuberculosis and its association with bacterial genotype and evaluate the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) in detecting resistance to rifampicin (RIF). Methods: A total of 302 M. tuberculosis were tested using the BD BACTEC-Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube 960 (MGIT 960) system for their drug sensitivity to the first-line anti-TB drugs. Besides, the drug sensitivity of 10 multidrug-resistant (MDR) M. tuberculosis isolates was evaluated for the second-line anti-TB drugs. Additionally, 177 of the 302 isolates were tested for genotypic drug resistance using Xpert. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used for the evaluation of the association between variables and drug sensitivity. Results: The overall prevalence of resistance to at least one drug was 11.6% (95% CI: 7.9-15.2%), while the prevalence of MDR was 3.3% (95% CI: 1.3-5.3%). Two of the 10 MDR isolates were resistant to capreomycin. The spoligotype Shared International Type (SIT) 149 was significantly associated with either monoresistance or MDR (p < 0.05). Of the 177 isolates tested by Xpert, 6.2% (11/177) were RIF-resistant. Discordant between Xpert and MGIT 960 was observed in one isolate and linked with probe-binding delay (DeltaCT max = 5.8). The sensitivity and specificity of the Xpert assay were 100 and 99.4%, respectively, while its positive and negative predictive values were 90.9 and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: The magnitude of MDR M. tuberculosis in the Somali region of Ethiopia was higher than the national prevalence of MDR-TB warranting the strengthening of the TB control program in the Somali region. Besides, drug resistance was associated with SIT 149 spoligotype (genotype). The Xpert assay was observed to have high sensitivity and specificity in detecting RIF-resistant M. tuberculosis, which is encouraging for its application widely

Investigating Gravity Waves in Polar Mesospheric Clouds Using Tomographic Reconstructions of AIM Satellite Imagery

This research presents the first application of tomographic techniques for investigating gravity wave structures in polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) imaged by the Cloud Imaging and Particle Size instrument on the NASA AIM satellite. Albedo data comprising consecutive PMC scenes were used to tomographically reconstruct a 3‐D layer using the Partially Constrained Algebraic Reconstruction Technique algorithm and a previously developed “fanning” technique. For this pilot study, a large region (760 × 148 km) of the PMC layer (altitude ~83 km) was sampled with a ~2 km horizontal resolution, and an intensity weighted centroid technique was developed to create novel 2‐D surface maps, characterizing the individual gravity waves as well as their altitude variability. Spectral analysis of seven selected wave events observed during the Northern Hemisphere 2007 PMC season exhibited dominant horizontal wavelengths of ~60–90 km, consistent with previous studies. These tomographic analyses have enabled a broad range of new investigations. For example, a clear spatial anticorrelation was observed between the PMC albedo and wave‐induced altitude changes, with higher‐albedo structures aligning well with wave troughs, while low‐intensity regions aligned with wave crests. This result appears to be consistent with current theories of PMC development in the mesopause region. This new tomographic imaging technique also provides valuable wave amplitude information enabling further mesospheric gravity wave investigations, including quantitative analysis of their hemispheric and interannual characteristics and variations

Russellian Monism and Mental Causation

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.According to Russellian monism, consciousness is constituted at least partly by quiddities: intrinsic properties that categorically ground dispositional properties described by fundamental physics. If the theory is true, then consciousness and such dispositional properties are closely connected. But how closely? The contingency thesis says that the connection is contingent. For example, on this thesis the dispositional property associated with negative charge might have been categorically grounded by a quiddity that is distinct from the one that actually grounds it. Some argue that Russellian monism entails the contingency thesis and that this makes its consciousness‐constituting quiddities epiphenomenal—a disastrous outcome for a theory that is motivated partly by its prospects for integrating consciousness into physical causation. We consider two versions of that argument, a generic version and an intriguing version developed by Robert J. Howell, which he bases on Jaegwon Kim's well‐known “exclusion argument.” We argue that neither succeeds.Peer reviewe

Development and Evaluation of SENSE-ational Mealtimes: a Book for Families with Mealtime Difficulties

Many families with young children experience mealtime difficulties whereby the child eats a limited range of foods and/or refuses new food. Clinical interventions typically include behaviour training, enhancement of parenting skills and nutrition education. Clinical experience and a review of the literature across several domains suggested that interventions that optimise reflective functioning and understandings about sensory preferences at mealtimes are needed for both mild and complex mealtime difficulties. This study describes the development of the SENSE-ational Mealtimes book for families with mealtime difficulties and reports the findings of the initial evaluation. A questionnaire was used to assess the change in the frequency of difficult mealtimes, level of concern, understandings, feelings and goals of mothers 2 months after the book was distributed in a community setting. Mothers also provided feedback regarding helpfulness of the book, needs of families and recommendations. There was a statistically significant improvement in all aspects, namely frequency of mealtime difficulties, level of concern, understandings, feelings and goals. The subjective data indicated that the concepts instrumental in enhancing most mothers' understandings were how sensory preferences and past experiences of all members of the family had an impact on mealtime interactions. Initial evaluation suggests that wide-spread access to the SENSE-ational Mealtimes book could be an inexpensive approach to reduce the costs of adverse effects of mealtime difficulties on the emotional well-being of families and dietary intake of children. Mothers unanimously recommended the SENSE-ational Mealtimes book for both targeted prevention of and early intervention with mealtime difficulties in families

Peas, please! Food familiarization though picture books helps parents introduce vegetables into preschoolers' diets

Repeated taste exposure is an established means of increasing children’s liking and intake of fruit and vegetables. However, parents find it difficult to offer children disliked foods repeatedly, often giving up after a few attempts. Studies show that familiarizing children to fruit and vegetables through picture books can increase their interest in tasting targeted foods. This study explored whether looking at picture books before providing foods to taste improved the outcomes of a home-delivered taste exposure regime. Parents of 127 toddlers (aged 21-24 months) identified two ‘target’ foods they wanted their child to eat (1 fruit, 1 vegetable). Families were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Parents and children in two experimental groups looked at books about either the target fruit or vegetable every day for two weeks; the control group did not receive a book. Parents in all three groups were then asked to offer their child both target foods every day during a 2-week taste-exposure phase. Parental ratings of children’s liking and consumption of the foods were collected at baseline, immediately following taste-exposure (post-intervention), and 3 months later (follow-up). In all groups, liking of both foods increased following taste exposure and remained above baseline at follow-up (all ps<.001). In addition, compared to the control group who experienced only taste exposure, looking at vegetable books enhanced children’s liking of their target vegetable post-intervention (p<.001) and at follow-up (p<.05), and increased consumption of the vegetable at follow-up (p<.01). Exposure to vegetable books was also associated with smaller increases in neophobia and food fussiness over the period of the study compared to controls (ps<.01), suggesting that picture books may have positive, long-term impacts on children’s attitudes towards new foods