The effect of human activities on moisture content of soils and underlying permafrost from the McMurdo Sound region, Antarctica

Soils and the underlying permafrost from undisturbed sites and sites that had been disturbed by construction activities at Marble Point and Pram Point in the McMurdo Sound region were sampled from excavated pits and drill cores. Gravimetric moisture (ice) contents and particle size distribution were determined. Volumetric moisture contents were calculated from these results. At undisturbed sites soil moisture contents within the active layer (to c. 60 cm depth) were low and ranged from 0.5% by weight at the soil surface to 10% above the permafrost. The permafrost was generally completely saturated with ice, but sometimes contained considerable excess ice, with ice contents rising as high as 80% by volume. At disturbed sites, soil moisture contents within the active layer were similar to those of the undisturbed sites (generally <10% by weight) but within the permafrost, moisture contents were lower and less variable than in the undisturbed sites, rarely exceeding 20% by weight. The release of considerable quantities of water from the permafrost as a result of land disturbance during construction activities caused stream flows, soil shrinkage, land slumping and salinisation, resulting in significant permanent environmental damage. At Marble Point there has been no significant re-establishment of icy permafrost in the disturbed soils in the 30 years since land disturbance occurred

Factors Influencing College Selection by NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Players

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III basketball, coaches are often faced with the challenge of stretching resources to successfully recruit players who will represent the institution without the benefit of athletic scholarships.&nbsp;Having a better grasp of the factors that influence the college selection of NCAA Division III players might assist these coaches in more efficiently maximizing their resources. The purposes of this study were to (a) examine specific factors which influence why DIII basketball players made their choice to attend a particular school, (b) determine if there were differences based upon the type of school attended, and (c) examine whether there were categorical factors that differed on the basis of a players recruitment, year in school, race/ethnicity, playing status, or financial aid status. &nbsp;&nbsp;Using the revised Influential Factors Survey for Student Athletes (IFSSA-R; Pauline, 2010), 503 DIII men’s basketball players were surveyed.&nbsp;Participant responses indicated that ‘career opportunities’ was the most vital item affecting college selection. With regard to the five categorical factors (academic, athletic, coaching staff, financial aid, and social atmosphere) academic factors were also found to be important.&nbsp;&nbsp; Analyses revealed significant (p &lt; .05) differences as determined by type of school for the athletic, academic, and financial aid subscales.&nbsp; Results of the study will provide useful information for DIII men’s basketball coaches and college administrators throughout various points in the recruiting and college selection process.&nbsp; Keywords: coaching, recruiting, basketball, NCAA Division III, college selectio

Screening for QT Prolongation in the Emergency Department: Is There a Better “Rule of Thumb?”

Introduction: Identification of QT prolongation in the emergency department (ED) is critical for appropriate monitoring, disposition, and treatment of patients at risk for torsades de pointes (TdP). Unfortunately, identifying prolonged QT is not straightforward. Computer algorithms are unreliable in identifying prolonged QT. Manual QT-interval assessment methods, including QT correction formulas and the QT nomogram, are time-consuming and are not ideal screening tools in the ED. Many emergency clinicians rely on the “rule of thumb” or “Half the RR” rule (Half-RR) as an initial screening method, but prior studies have shown that the Half-RR rule performs poorly as compared to other QT assessment methods. We sought to characterize the problems associated with the Half-RR rule and find a modified screening tool to more safely assess the QT interval of ED patients for prolonged QT.Methods: We created graphs comparing the prediction of the Half-RR rule to other common QT assessment methods for a spectrum of QT and heart rate pairs. We then proposed various modifications to the Half-RR rule and assessed these modifications to find an improved “rule of thumb.”Results: When compared to other methods of QT correction, the Half-RR rule appears to be more conservative at normal and elevated heart rates, making it a safe initial screening tool. However, in bradycardia, the Half-RR rule is not sufficiently sensitive in identifying prolonged QT. Adding a fixed QT cutoff of 485 milliseconds (ms) increases the sensitivity of the rule in bradycardia, creating a safer initial screening tool.Conclusion: For a rapid and more sensitive screening evaluation of the QT interval on electrocardiograms in the ED, we propose combining use of the Half-RR rule at normal and elevated heart rates with a fixed uncorrected QT cutoff of 485 ms in bradycardia

Fast-food offerings in the United States in 1986, 1991, and 2016 show large increases in food variety, portion size, dietary energy, and selected micronutrients

BACKGROUND US national survey data shows fast food accounted for 11% of daily caloric intake in 2007-2010. OBJECTIVE To provide a detailed assessment of changes over time in fast-food menu offerings over 30 years, including food variety (number of items as a proxy), portion size, energy, energy density, and selected micronutrients (sodium, calcium, and iron as percent daily value [%DV]), and to compare changes over time across menu categories (entrées, sides, and desserts). DESIGN Fast-food entrées, sides, and dessert menu item data for 1986, 1991, and 2016 were compiled from primary and secondary sources for 10 popular fast-food restaurants. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Descriptive statistics were calculated. Linear mixed-effects analysis of variance was performed to examine changes over time by menu category. RESULTS From 1986 to 2016, the number of entrées, sides, and desserts for all restaurants combined increased by 226%. Portion sizes of entrées (13 g/decade) and desserts (24 g/decade), but not sides, increased significantly, and the energy (kilocalories) and sodium of items in all three menu categories increased significantly. Desserts showed the largest increase in energy (62 kcal/decade), and entrées had the largest increase in sodium (4.6% DV/decade). Calcium increased significantly in entrées (1.2%DV/decade) and to a greater extent in desserts (3.9% DV/decade), but not sides, and iron increased significantly only in desserts (1.4% DV/decade). CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate broadly detrimental changes in fast-food restaurant offerings over a 30-year span including increasing variety, portion size, energy, and sodium content. Research is needed to identify effective strategies that may help consumers reduce energy intake from fast-food restaurants as part of measures to improve dietary-related health issues in the United States.Accepted manuscrip

Stress in Parents of Children with Type 1 Diabetes

Pediatric healthcare providers across the country care for many children with complex chronic diseases. Many of these children are not developmentally mature enough to manage their disease process, leaving the parent of the chronically ill child to manage their disease. The parent of the chronically ill child may experience stress related to their child’s illness, termed pediatric parenting stress, and may have difficulty dealing with this stress (Streisand, Kazak, & Tercyak, 2003). The manuscripts in this Practice Inquiry Project further investigate the relationship between pediatric parenting stress and the health of the parent and the chronically ill child. The instruments used to measure pediatric parenting stress are also examined as well as their use in parents of children with different chronic illnesses. Finally, pediatric parenting stress is examined in a small cohort of parents of children with type 1 diabetes, the results of the data are examined, and the practice implications of this data for pediatric healthcare providers are discussed

Executive Dysfunction: A Contributor to Subtypes of Violence or General Criminality?

Purpose: The adverse consequences of violence on society are tremendous. Several factors have been identified as potential contributors to violent crime, including deficits in executive functioning. Executive functioning is a term used to a describe number of higher-order cognitive abilities (e.g., working memory, inhibition) that are thought to be essential for appropriate, socially desirable behavior. The extent to which executive functions influence the occurrence of general criminality versus specific subtypes of crime is largely unknown. Of particular interest is the ability of executive functioning to distinguish between reactive and instrumental subtypes of violence. Whereas reactive violence is committed with the intention of harming the victim after perceived provocation, instrumental violence is committed with the intention of obtaining some kind of goal other than inflicting injury. Hence, the purpose of this study was clarify the relationship between executive functioning and subtypes of criminal offending, as well as to clarify the convergent and divergent validity of different indicators of executive functioning within the context of understanding crime. Method: One hundred and fifty-one adult male inmates from a federal correctional facility participated in this study. Participants completed both performance-based and self-report measures of executive functioning and their complete criminal histories were reviewed. Results: Consistent with hypotheses, executive functions were differentially related to subtypes of offending. Moreover, findings suggested that (a) performance-based tasks and self-report measures of executive functioning are unrelated to one another and are differentially related to subtypes of crime, (b) it is important to examine separate components of executive functioning rather than a composite score, and (c) the relationships between executive functions and crime are not accounted for by general intelligence. Conclusion: Taken together, this dissertation demonstrated that executive functioning is most useful when using a crime-specific approach to understanding criminality. Future research should examine this relationship longitudinally to better understand whether this is a causal link or whether there are other pathways through which executive functioning influences the likelihood of an individual engaging in specific subtypes of violence. An understanding of the variables underlying different types of violence is a necessary precursor for risk assessment and offender rehabilitation

THE ROLE OF EXECUTIVE DYSFUNCTION IN PREDICTING FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF VIOLENCE

The adverse consequences of violence on society are tremendous. The proportion of offenders incarcerated for violent offences is large, and the cost of keeping these offenders incarcerated is startling. Understanding and treating the causal underpinnings of violent crime is of the utmost importance for individuals and society as a whole. Several factors have been identified as potential contributors to violent crime, including cognitive deficits in executive functioning (Hoaken, Allaby, & Earle, 2007). To investigate this further, 77 offenders from Fenbrook Institution, a federal facility, were tested on a battery of executive functioning measures. Offenders were found to have broad and pervasive dysfunction in their executive abilities. In addition, specific scores from the battery were found to predict the frequency and severity of past violent offending. This speaks to the possibility of a new type of correctional rehabilitation program, one that focuses on the rehabilitation of basic executive functions

11. Searching For Neverland

“Searching for Neverland” is an analysis of Peter Pan from J.M. Barrie’s classic children’s tale Peter and Wendy. I examine the character of Peter Pan and how he is an example of a tragic character because he lacks development and chooses to remain an eternal child. I draw connections to Pan and its author, Barrie. Peter Pan mirrors Barrie’s life and his psychological needs and desires. Barrie suffered great loss in his life. His brother died at age 14 after a skating accident. His mother found solace in the fact that her favorite son would remain a little boy forever. Barrie would then take to imitating his deceased brother’s mannerisms and voice. Later in life Barrie met the Llewellyn Davies family to which the five Davies’ boys would be the inspiration of Peter Pan. Barrie’s writing is sentimental and emotional and shows in his Pan story. A tragic character invokes sympathy in the audience and is doomed or flawed in some manner. On the surface Pan symbolizes all that is innocent in a child, daring and adventurous, but he is also cocky and selfish and Neverland is his escape from reality and growing to adulthood and facing adult emotions and situations. I look at what scholars have said in comparison to Barrie’s life and experiences and Pan’s character and have revealed parallels between the two. While Pan reads as a child’s tale it is riddled with adult subtleties and themes. that makes the analysis unique and thought provoking

An Overview of Individualized Management of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Dementia

Background: It is estimated that about 11% of adults 65 and older have dementia in the United States. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in the presentation of dementia. These symptoms often result in increased morbidity and mortality, negative patient outcomes, caregiver burden, institutionalized care, and diminished quality of life. The focus of this paper is to analyze the therapeutic effectiveness of nonpharmacologic interventions in the management of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. Methods: A literature review was conducted to critique current evidence on the use of nonpharmacologic interventions in managing neuropsychiatric symptoms in older adults with dementia. Searches were performed using PubMed, UpToDate, and Google Scholar. Results: Pharmacotherapy should be cautiously considered in treating neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia due to adverse effects and black box warnings. Although further studies are needed, music therapy, tailored bathing routines, bright light therapy, multisensory stimulation, and eliminating the use of elderspeak language are nonpharmacologic interventions that contain some evidence in improving quality of life in dementia. The validation technique is still an ethically controversial approach to communication. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation has worsened in people with dementia. Conclusion: Dementia is a disease that requires multifactorial care in approaching management. Nonpharmacologic interventions are the first-line plan of treatment in managing neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia and present with fewer side effects and are person-centered in implementing. Future research in developing measures for quality of life is needed to study effectiveness of nonpharmacologic therapy