Trends in the Use of Office Machines in Selected Areas of Kentucky

A study presented to the Business Education Department at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment or the requirements for the Master in Business Education Degree by La Verne Belcher Adams on March 25, 1974

Cell walls of the dimorphic fungal pathogens Sporothrix schenckii and Sporothrix brasiliensis exhibit bilaminate structures and sloughing of extensive and intact layers

This work was supported by the Fundação Carlos Chagas de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), grants E-26/202.974/2015 and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), grants 229755/2013-5, Brazil. LMLB is a senior research fellow of CNPq and Faperj. NG acknowledged support from the Wellcome Trust (Trust (097377, 101873, 200208) and MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (MR/N006364/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Ultraviolet emissions from the magnetic footprints of Io, Ganymede and Europa on Jupiter

Io leaves a magnetic footprint on Jupiter's upper atmosphere that appears as a spot of ultraviolet emission that remains fixed underneath Io as Jupiter rotates(1-3). The specific physical mechanisms responsible for generating those emissions are not well understood, but in general the spot seems to arise because of an electromagnetic interaction between Jupiter's magnetic field and the plasma surrounding Io, driving currents of around 1 million amperes down through Jupiter's ionosphere(4-6). The other galilean satellites may also leave footprints, and the presence or absence of such footprints should illuminate the underlying physical mechanism by revealing the strengths of the currents linking the satellites to Jupiter. Here we report persistent, faint, far-ultraviolet emission from the jovian footprints of Ganymede and Europa. We also show that Io's magnetic footprint extends well beyond the immediate vicinity of Io's flux-tube interaction with Jupiter, and much farther than predicted theoretically(4-6); the emission persists for several hours downstream. We infer from these data that Ganymede and Europa have persistent interactions with Jupiter's magnetic field despite their thin atmospheres.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62861/1/415997a.pd

Evaluation of fast atmospheric dispersion models in a regular street network

The need to balance computational speed and simulation accuracy is a key challenge in designing atmospheric dispersion models that can be used in scenarios where near real-time hazard predictions are needed. This challenge is aggravated in cities, where models need to have some degree of building-awareness, alongside the ability to capture effects of dominant urban flow processes. We use a combination of high-resolution large-eddy simulation (LES) and wind-tunnel data of flow and dispersion in an idealised, equal-height urban canopy to highlight important dispersion processes and evaluate how these are reproduced by representatives of the most prevalent modelling approaches: (i) a Gaussian plume model, (ii) a Lagrangian stochastic model and (iii) street-network dispersion models. Concentration data from the LES, validated against the wind-tunnel data, were averaged over the volumes of streets in order to provide a high-fidelity reference suitable for evaluating the different models on the same footing. For the particular combination of forcing wind direction and source location studied here, the strongest deviations from the LES reference were associated with mean over-predictions of concentrations by approximately a factor of 2 and with a relative scatter larger than a factor of 4 of the mean, corresponding to cases where the mean plume centreline also deviated significantly from the LES. This was linked to low accuracy of the underlying flow models/parameters that resulted in a misrepresentation of pollutant channelling along streets and of the uneven plume branching observed in intersections. The agreement of model predictions with the LES (which explicitly resolves the turbulent flow and dispersion processes) greatly improved by increasing the accuracy of building-induced modifications of the driving flow field. When provided with a limited set of representative velocity parameters, the comparatively simple street-network models performed equally well or better compared to the Lagrangian model run on full 3D wind fields. The study showed that street-network models capture the dominant building-induced dispersion processes in the canopy layer through parametrisations of horizontal advection and vertical exchange processes at scales of practical interest. At the same time, computational costs and computing times associated with the network approach are ideally suited for emergency-response applications

Parma consensus statement on metabolic disruptors

A multidisciplinary group of experts gathered in Parma Italy for a workshop hosted by the University of Parma, May 16–18, 2014 to address concerns about the potential relationship between environmental metabolic disrupting chemicals, obesity and related metabolic disorders. The objectives of the workshop were to: 1. Review findings related to the role of environmental chemicals, referred to as “metabolic disruptors”, in obesity and metabolic syndrome with special attention to recent discoveries from animal model and epidemiology studies; 2. Identify conclusions that could be drawn with confidence from existing animal and human data; 3. Develop predictions based on current data; and 4. Identify critical knowledge gaps and areas of uncertainty. The consensus statements are intended to aid in expanding understanding of the role of metabolic disruptors in the obesity and metabolic disease epidemics, to move the field forward by assessing the current state of the science and to identify research needs on the role of environmental chemical exposures in these diseases. We propose broadening the definition of obesogens to that of metabolic disruptors, to encompass chemicals that play a role in altered susceptibility to obesity, diabetes and related metabolic disorders including metabolic syndrome

Análise da estrutura fatorial dos Testes de Torrance em estudantes portugueses

In order to verify the factorial structures of the Torrance verbal and figural tests, two activities of each instrument were applied with 193 students from the 10th and 12th years of education in Portugal. We tried to demonstrate that the collinearity of the fluency and flexibility variables could create methodological artifacts that hinder the understanding of the internal structure underlying the test. The principal component analysis without control of collinearity indicated a solution composed of four basic factors that separeted activities. Controlling for collinearity, we found a new solution, which also contained four factors that, unlike the previous result, grouped variables with similar processes but of different activities. The verbal and figural content is also an important element in the factor structure. This new arrangement makes more sense with the theory that underlies the instruments separating the different processes and content which are being measured by the activities.Com a finalidade de verificar a estrutura fatorial dos testes de Torrance, duas atividades verbais e duas figurais foram aplicadas em 193 estudantes do 10º e 12º ano do ensino secundário de Portugal. Tentou-se demonstrar que a colinearidade das variáveis fluência e flexibilidade podem criar artefatos metodológicos que dificultam o entendimento da estrutura interna subjacente ao teste. A análise fatorial dos componentes principais, sem controle da colinearidade, indicou uma solução composta por quatro fatores que separam basicamente as atividades. Controlando-se a colinearidade, encontrou-se uma nova solução, também composta por quatro fatores, que, diferentemente da anterior, organizou variáveis com processos semelhantes, mas de diferentes atividades. O tipo de conteúdo, verbal e figural, mostrou-se ainda um importante elemento na organização dos fatores. Esse novo arranjo fez mais sentido diante da teoria que embasa os instrumentos, ao separar os diferentes processos e conteúdos por eles avaliados

Carbon sequestration potential and physicochemical properties differ between wildfire charcoals and slow-pyrolysis biochars

Pyrogenic carbon (PyC), produced naturally (wildfire charcoal) and anthropogenically (biochar), is extensively studied due to its importance in several disciplines, including global climate dynamics, agronomy and paleosciences. Charcoal and biochar are commonly used as analogues for each other to infer respective carbon sequestration potentials, production conditions, and environmental roles and fates. The direct comparability of corresponding natural and anthropogenic PyC, however, has never been tested. Here we compared key physicochemical properties (elemental composition, δ13C and PAHs signatures, chemical recalcitrance, density and porosity) and carbon sequestration potentials of PyC materials formed from two identical feedstocks (pine forest floor and wood) under wildfire charring- and slow-pyrolysis conditions. Wildfire charcoals were formed under higher maximum temperatures and oxygen availabilities, but much shorter heating durations than slow-pyrolysis biochars, resulting in differing physicochemical properties. These differences are particularly relevant regarding their respective roles as carbon sinks, as even the wildfire charcoals formed at the highest temperatures had lower carbon sequestration potentials than most slow-pyrolysis biochars. Our results challenge the common notion that natural charcoal and biochar are well suited as proxies for each other, and suggest that biochar’s environmental residence time may be underestimated when based on natural charcoal as a proxy, and vice versa

Erythroid-Specific Expression of β-globin from Sleeping Beauty-Transduced Human Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells

Gene therapy for sickle cell disease will require efficient delivery of a tightly regulated and stably expressed gene product to provide an effective therapy. In this study we utilized the non-viral Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system using the SB100X hyperactive transposase to transduce human cord blood CD34+ cells with DsRed and a hybrid IHK–β-globin transgene. IHK transduced cells were successfully differentiated into multiple lineages which all showed transgene integration. The mature erythroid cells had an increased β-globin to γ-globin ratio from 0.66±0.08 to 1.05±0.12 (p = 0.05), indicating expression of β-globin from the integrated SB transgene. IHK–β-globin mRNA was found in non-erythroid cell types, similar to native β-globin mRNA that was also expressed at low levels. Additional studies in the hematopoietic K562 cell line confirmed the ability of cHS4 insulator elements to protect DsRed and IHK–β-globin transgenes from silencing in long-term culture studies. Insulated transgenes had statistically significant improvement in the maintenance of long term expression, while preserving transgene regulation. These results support the use of Sleeping Beauty vectors in carrying an insulated IHK–β-globin transgene for gene therapy of sickle cell disease

Effectiveness of joint mobilisation after cast immobilisation for ankle fracture: a protocol for a randomised controlled trial [ACTRN012605000143628]

BACKGROUND: Passive joint mobilisation is a technique frequently used by physiotherapists to reduce pain, improve joint movement and facilitate a return to activities after injury, but its use after ankle fracture is currently based on limited evidence. The primary aim of this trial is to determine if adding joint mobilisation to a standard exercise programme is effective and cost-effective after cast immobilisation for ankle fracture in adults. METHODS/DESIGN: Ninety participants will be recruited from the physiotherapy departments of three teaching hospitals and randomly allocated to treatment or control groups using a concealed procedure. All participants will perform an exercise programme. Participants in the treatment group will also receive joint mobilisation twice a week for four weeks. Blinded follow-up assessments will be conducted four, 12 and 24 weeks after randomisation. The primary outcome measures will be the Lower Extremity Functional Scale and the Assessment of Quality of Life. Secondary outcomes will include measures of impairments, activity limitation and participation. Data on the use of physiotherapy services and participants' out-of-pocket costs will be collected for the cost-effective and cost-utility analyses. To test the effects of treatment, between-group differences will be examined with analysis of covariance using a regression approach. The primary conclusions will be based on the four-week follow-up data. DISCUSSION: This trial incorporates features known to minimise bias. It uses a pragmatic design to reflect clinical practice and maximise generalisability. Results from this trial will contribute to an evidence-based approach for rehabilitation after ankle fracture