Contextual influences on social enterprise management in rural and urban communities

The idea that difference exists between rural and urban enterprise activity is not new, the obvious comparators are measures such as social architecture, resource availability and accessibility. However, when the concept and practice of management in social enterprise is compared in these two contexts then there is opportunity to further our understanding of the contextual challenges encountered by social enterprise. In this paper six cases studies are compared and analysed: three cases are urban social enterprises and three classified as remote rural social enterprises. The urban cases are social enterprises located around Glasgow in the west of Scotland and are compared with three remote rural location studies, one on the Scottish mainland peninsula, the other in northern Scotland and the final case on a Scottish western island. We conclude that the main differences between remote rural and urban management of social enterprise are heavily nuanced by in-migration levels in both rural and urban locations, leadership and community needs and therefore deserving of context relevant policy

Electron density and collision frequency of microwave‐resonant‐cavity‐produced discharges

A review of perturbation diagnostics applied to microwave resonant cavity discharges is presented. The classical microwave perturbation technique examines the shift in the resonant frequency and cavity quality factor of the resonant cavity caused by low‐electron density discharges. However, the modifications presented allow the analysis to be applied to discharges with electron densities beyond the limit predicted by perturbation theory. An ‘‘exact’’ perturbation analysis is presented which models the discharge as a separate dielectric, thereby removing the restrictions on electron density imposed by the classical technique. The ‘‘exact’’ method also uses measurements of the shifts in the resonant conditions of the cavity. Third, an electromagnetic analysis is presented which uses a characteristic equation, based upon Maxwell’s laws, and predicts the discharge conductivity based upon measurements of a complex axial wave number. By allowing the axial wave number of the electromagnetic fields to be complex, the fields are experimentally and theoretically shown to be spatially attenuated. The diagnostics are applied to continuous‐wave microwave (2.45 GHz) discharges produced in an Asmussen resonant cavity. Double Langmuir probes, placed directly in the discharge at the point where the radial electric field is zero, act as a comparison with the analytic diagnostics. Microwave powers ranging from 30 to 100 W produce helium and nitrogen discharges with pressures ranging from 0.5 to 6 Torr. Analysis of the data predicts electron temperatures from 5 to 20 eV, electron densities from 1011 to 3×1012 cm−3, and collision frequencies from 109 to 1011 s−1.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69731/2/JAPIAU-74-6-3724-1.pd

A combined continuous‐wave and pulsed microwave copper chloride discharge

Pulsed and continuous‐wave microwaves at 2.45 GHz combined in an Asmussen resonant cavity are used to vaporize, dissociate, and excite copper chloride discharges. Steady state microwaves from 50 to 150 W sustain a microwave discharge which heats and dissociates the copper chloride to a sufficient vapor pressure. A variable frequency (2.45 to 2.60 GHz) pulsed microwave source with pulse widths ranging from 0.5 to 2 ms, repetition rates of 500 to 5000 Hz and a peak output power of 4,500 W then excites the copper atomic states. The two microwave signals are superimposed using a hybrid junction before input into the resonant cavity. Microwave frequencies of the pulsed portion of the signal around 2.50 GHz provided maximum absorption by the discharge. This device is being examined as a potential pump source for a copper vapor laser.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70269/2/RSINAK-63-2-1792-1.pd

Comparison of body temperature measurements obtained with otic digital thermometer and mercury axillary and rectal thermometers in children under the age of five

Indexación: Web of Science; ScieloIntroducción: En los últimos años han aparecido nuevos métodos para medir la temperatura en niños, como el termómetro digital ótico. Siendo este un método más rápido para medir la temperatura y por lo tanto ideal para el servicio de urgencias, es necesario conocer su confiabilidad. Objetivo: Comparar los valores de temperatura corporal que entrega el termómetro ótico digital con los termómetros de mercurio axilar y rectal. Pacientes y Método: Se efectuó la medición de la temperatura en 50 pacientes menores de 5 años elegidos al azar, que consultaron en el Servicio de Urgencia del Hospital de Niños y Cunas de Viña del Mar. Se les midió la temperatura con un termómetro digital ótico al lado izquierdo y derecho, y las temperaturas axilar derecha y rectal con termómetros de mercurio. EL análisis de los resultados se efectuó en el grupo estudiado, separado en dos grupos, menores y mayores de 6 meses. Resultados: Los resultados entre ambos subgrupos fueron los mismos. La temperatura media rectal obtenida fue 0,414°C más alta que la media ótica derecha (p < 0,001) y 0,438°C más alta que la temperatura media ótica izquierda (p < 0,001). Conclusión: El termómetro ótico digital entrega una temperatura significativamente más baja que la que entregan los termómetros de mercurio axilar y rectal.Background: In recent years, otic thermometers to measure body temperature in children have become increasingly popular as they reflect changes in body temperature sooner than other thermometers. The have become valuable assets in hospital emergency rooms; however, their accuracy and reliability need further studies. Objective: To compare corporal temperature readings between an otic thermometer and mercury axillary and rectal thermometers. Patients and Method: 50 patients under the age of 5, who were treated at the emergency room of our hospital, were randomly chosen to participate in this study. Temperature was measured on their right and left ears using an otic thermometer, and their rectal and right axillary temperature was taken using mercury thermometers. Patients were separated into 2 subgroups for comparison, children under and over 6 months old. Results: The results between the 2 subgroups were very similar. The average temperature obtained by rectal thermometers was 0.414°C higher than the average right-ear temperature (p < 0.001) and 0.438°c higher than the average left-ear temperature (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The otic thermometer's reading is significantly lower than the one obtained using mercury rectal and axillary thermometers.http://ref.scielo.org/72p3g

Copper vapor laser machining of polyimide and polymethylmethacrylate in atmospheric pressure air

A repetitively pulsed copper vapor laser (510 and 578 nm) is used to machine an opaque polymer (polyimide‐Vespel) and a transparent polymer (polymethylmethacrylate‐Lucite). Lucite is machinable by coating the surface with an ink which is semi‐opaque to the green and yellow laser light. The repetition rate of the laser was 10 kHz with approximately 0.35 mJ/pulse and 3.5 W average power at the copper vapor laser wavelengths for a pulse width of 40 ns. The copper vapor laser thermally loads the target, generating thermal waves and sound waves in the gas which are investigated using HeNe laser beam deflection. The gas adjacent to the target is heated to steady state on the order of 100–400 s. Above the etching threshold, at approximately 10 mJ/cm2/pulse, the target is rapidly machined: 2‐mm‐diam, 2‐mm‐deep holes are drilled in 300 s in Vespel. At higher fluences of 100–150 mJ/cm2/pulse in 760 Torr of air it takes 180 s to bore through a 2‐mm‐thick disk of Vespel. The machined surfaces of the two polymers are very different. Machined Vespel samples are charred and cratered, whereas the Lucite samples show evidence of melting with little charring. The machining of polymers by visible‐light copper vapor lasers is being compared to UV photoablation by KrF excimer laser light in order to study thermal versus nonthermal etching mechanisms.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71173/2/JAPIAU-72-7-3080-1.pd

Infection, delirium, and risk of dementia in patients with and without white matter disease on previous brain imaging: a population-based study

Background The increased risk of dementia after delirium and infection might be influenced by cerebral white matter disease (WMD). In patients with transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and minor stroke, we assessed associations between hospital admissions with delirium and 5-year dementia risk and between admissions with infection and dementia risk, stratified by WMD severity (moderate or severe vs absent or mild) on baseline brain imaging. Methods We included patients with TIA and minor stroke (National Institutes of Health Stroke Score <3) from the Oxford Vascular Study (OXVASC), a longitudinal population-based study of the incidence and outcomes of acute vascular events in a population of 94 567 individuals, with no age restrictions, attending eight general practices in Oxfordshire, UK. Hospitalisation data were obtained through linkage to the Oxford Cognitive Comorbidity, Frailty, and Ageing Research Database–Electronic Patient Records (ORCHARD-EPR). Brain imaging was done using CT and MRI, and WMD was prospectively graded according to the age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) scale and categorised into absent, mild, moderate, or severe WMD. Delirium and infection were defined by ICD-10 coding supplemented by hand-searching of hospital records. Dementia was diagnosed using clinical or cognitive assessment, medical records, and death certificates. Associations between hospitalisation with delirium and hospitalisation with infection, and post-event dementia were assessed using time-varying Cox analysis with multivariable adjustment, and all models were stratified by WMD severity. Findings From April 1, 2002, to March 31, 2012, 1369 individuals were prospectively recruited into the study. Of 1369 patients (655 with TIA and 714 with minor stroke, mean age 72 [SD 13] years, 674 female and 695 male, and 364 with moderate or severe WMD), 209 (15%) developed dementia. Hospitalisation during follow-up occurred in 891 (65%) patients of whom 103 (12%) had at least one delirium episode and 236 (26%) had at least one infection episode. Hospitalisation without delirium or infection did not predict subsequent dementia (HR 1·01, 95% CI 0·86–1·20). In contrast, hospitalisation with delirium predicted subsequent dementia independently of infection in patients with and without WMD (2·64, 1·47–4·74; p=0·0013 vs 3·41, 1·91–6·09; p<0·0001) especially in those with unimpaired baseline cognition (cognitive test score above cutoff; 4·01, 2·23–7·19 vs 3·94, 1·95–7·93; both p≤0·0001). However, hospitalisation with infection only predicted dementia in those with moderate or severe WMD (1·75, 1·04–2·94 vs 0·68, 0·39–1·20; pdiff=0·023). Interpretation The increased risk of dementia after delirium is unrelated to the presence of WMD, whereas infection increases risk only in patients with WMD, suggesting differences in underlying mechanisms and in potential preventive strategies. Funding National Institute for Health and Care Research and Wellcome Trust

Analysis of the platypus genome suggests a transposon origin for mammalian imprinting

Comparisons between the platypus and eutherian mammalian genomes provides new insights into how epigenetic imprinting may have evolved in mammalian genomes

Association of multimorbidity with mortality after stroke stratified by age, severity, etiology, and prior disability

Background:: Multimorbidity is common in patients with stroke and is associated with increased medium- to long-term mortality, but its value for clinical decision-making and case-mix adjustment will depend on other factors, such as age, stroke severity, etiological subtype, prior disability, and vascular risk factors. Aims:: In the absence of previous studies, we related multimorbidity to long-term post-stroke mortality with stratification by these factors. Methods:: In patients ascertained in a population-based stroke incidence study (Oxford Vascular Study; 2002–2017), we related pre-stroke multimorbidity (weighted/unweighted Charlson comorbidity index (CCI)) to all-cause/vascular/non-vascular mortality (1/5/10 years) using regression models adjusted/stratified by age, sex, predicted early outcome (THRIVE score), stroke severity (NIH stroke scale (NIHSS)), etiology (Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST)), premorbid disability (modified Rankin Scale (mRS)), and non-CCI risk factors (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, atrial fibrillation, smoking, deprivation, anxiety/depression). Results:: Among 2454 stroke patients (M/SD age: 74.1/13.9 years; 48.9% male; M/SD NIHSS: 5.7/7.0), 1375/56.0% had ⩾ 1 CCI comorbidity and 685/27.9% had ⩾ 2. After age/sex adjustment, multimorbidity (unweighted CCI ⩾ 2 vs 0) predicted (all ps 2: aOR = 2.76, 2.13–3.60) and non-CCI risk factors (hypertension: 1.56, 1.25–1.95; hyperlipidemia: 2.58, 2.03–3.28; atrial fibrillation: 2.31; 1.78–2.98; smoking: 1.37, 1.01–1.86), it predicted death after adjustment for all measured confounders (10-year-aHR = 1.56, 1.37–1.78, p < 0.001), driven mainly by non-vascular death (aHR = 1.89, 1.55–2.29). Predictive value for 10-year all-cause death was greatest in patients with lower expected early mortality: lower THRIVE score (pint < 0.001), age < 75 years (aHR = 2.27, 1.71–3.00), NIHSS < 5 (1.84, 1.53–2.21), and lacunar stroke (3.56, 2.14–5.91). Results were similar using the weighted CCI. Conclusion:: Pre-stroke multimorbidity is highly prevalent and is an independent predictor of death after stroke, supporting its inclusion in case-mix adjustment models and in informing decision-making by patients, families, and carers. Prediction in younger patients and after minor stroke, particularly for non-vascular death, suggests potential clinical utility in targeting interventions that require survival for 5–10 years to achieve a favorable risk/benefit ratio. Data access statement:: Data requests will be considered by the Oxford Vascular Study (OXVASC) Study Director ([email protected])