Oral History Interview: Mrs. J. C. Bradbury

This interview is one of a series conducted concerning West Virginia town histories. This interview focuses on Huntington, West Virginia. Mrs. Bradbury recalls her youth in this interview, beginning with her Christmas in 1887. She talks about living in West Virginia, Ohio, California and Oregon. Huntington is mentioned, specifically in reference to plankboard sidewalks, streetcars, hotels and movies. The Depression and its influence on Mrs. Bradbury, her husband\u27s work, working on a river barge, and Marshall College are the topics which conclude the discussion.https://mds.marshall.edu/oral_history/1168/thumbnail.jp

Sources of total, non-milk extrinsic, and intrinsic and milk sugars in the diets of older adults living in sheltered accommodation

The WHO recommends limiting non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) consumption to ≤ 10 % energy to reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain and dental caries, and to restrict frequency of intake to ≤ 4 times/d to reduce risk of dental caries. Older adults, especially those from low-income backgrounds, are at increased risk of dental caries, yet there is little information on sugars intake (frequency of intake and food sources) in this age group. The aim of this report is to present baseline data from a community-based dietary intervention study of older adults from socially deprived areas of North East England, on the quantity and sources of total sugars, NMES, and intrinsic and milk sugars, and on frequency of NMES intake. Dietary intake was assessed using two 3-d estimated food diaries, completed by 201 participants (170 female, thirty-one male) aged 65–85 years (mean 76·7 (sd 5·5) years) recruited from sheltered housing schemes. Total sugars represented 19·6 %, NMES 9·3 %, and intrinsic and milk sugars 10·3 % of daily energy intake. Eighty-one (40·3 %) exceeded the NMES intake recommendation. Mean frequency of NMES intake was 3·4 times/d. The fifty-three participants (26·4 %) who exceeded the frequency recommendation ( ≤ 4 times/d) obtained a significantly greater percentage of energy from NMES compared with those participants who met the recommendation. The food groups ‘biscuits and cakes’ (18·9 %), ‘soft drinks’ (13·1 %) and ‘table sugar’ (11·1 %) made the greatest contributions to intakes of NMES. Interventions to reduce NMES intake should focus on limiting quantity and frequency of intake of these food groups

A Land-Use and Water-Quality History of White Rock Lake Reservoir, Dallas, Texas, Based on Paleolimnological Analyses

White Rock Lake reservoir in Dallas, Texas contains a 150-cm sediment record of silty clay that documents land-use changes since its construction in 1912. Pollen analysis corroborates historical evidence that between 1912 and 1950 the watershed was primarily agricultural. Land disturbance by plowing coupled with strong and variable spring precipitation caused large amounts of sediment to enter the lake during this period. Diatoms were not preserved at this time probably because of low productivity compared to diatom dissolution by warm, alkaline water prior to burial in the sediments. After 1956, the watershed became progressively urbanized. Erosion decreased, land stabilized, and pollen of riparian trees increased as the lake water became somewhat less turbid. By 1986 the sediment record indicates that diatom productivity had increased beyond rates of diatom destruction. Neither increased nutrients nor reduced pesticides can account for increased diatom productivity, but grain size studies imply that before 1986 diatoms were light limited by high levels of turbidity. This study documents how reservoirs may relate to land-use practices and how watershed management could extend reservoir life and improve water quality

A four year prospective study of age-related cognitive change in adults with Down's syndrome

Background. While neuropathological studies indicate a high risk for Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down's syndrome, neuropsychological studies suggest a lower prevalence of dementia. In this study, cognitive deterioration in adults with Down's syndrome was examined prospectively over 4 years to establish rates and profiles of cognitive deterioration.Methods. Fifty-seven people with Down's syndrome aged 30 years or older were assessed using a battery of neuropsychological tests on five occasions across 50 months. Assessments of domains of cognitive function known to change with the onset of Alzheimer related dementia were employed. These included tests of learning, memory, orientation, agnosia, apraxia and aphasia. The individual growth trajectory methodology was used to analyse change over time.Results. Severe cognitive deterioration, such as acquired, apraxia and agnosia, was evident in 28·3% of those aged over 30 and a higher prevalence of these impairments was associated with older age. The rate of cognitive deterioration also increased with age and degree of pre-existing cognitive impairment. Additionally, deterioration in memory, learning and orientation preceded the acquisition of aphasia, agnosia and apraxia.Conclusions. The prevalence of cognitive impairments consistent with the presence of Alzheimer's disease is lower than that suggested by neuropathological studies. The pattern of the acquisition of cognitive impairments in adults with Down's syndrome is similar to that seen in individuals with Alzheimer's disease who do not have Down's syndrome.</jats:p

On the distribution of career longevity and the evolution of home run prowess in professional baseball

Statistical analysis is a major aspect of baseball, from player averages to historical benchmarks and records. Much of baseball fanfare is based around players exceeding the norm, some in a single game and others over a long career. Career statistics serve as a metric for classifying players and establishing their historical legacy. However, the concept of records and benchmarks assumes that the level of competition in baseball is stationary in time. Here we show that power-law probability density functions, a hallmark of many complex systems that are driven by competition, govern career longevity in baseball. We also find similar power laws in the density functions of all major performance metrics for pitchers and batters. The use of performance-enhancing drugs has a dark history, emerging as a problem for both amateur and professional sports. We find statistical evidence consistent with performance-enhancing drugs in the analysis of home runs hit by players in the last 25 years. This is corroborated by the findings of the Mitchell Report [1], a two-year investigation into the use of illegal steroids in major league baseball, which recently revealed that over 5 percent of major league baseball players tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in an anonymous 2003 survey.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 2-column revtex4 format. Revision has change of title, a figure added, and minor changes in response to referee comment

How, why, for whom and in what context, do sexual health clinics provide an environment for safe and supported disclosure of sexual violence: protocol for a realist review

Introduction Supporting people subjected to sexual violence includes provision of sexual and reproductive healthcare. There is a need to ensure an environment for safe and supported disclosure of sexual violence in these clinical settings. The purpose of this research is to gain a deeper understanding of how, why, for whom and in what circumstances safe and supported disclosure occurs in sexual health services. Methods and analysis To understand how safe and supported disclosure of sexual violence works within sexual health services a realist review will be undertaken with the following steps: (1) Focussing of the review including a scoping literature search and guidance from an advisory group. (2) Developing the initial programme theories and a search strategy using context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations. (3) Selection, data extraction and appraisal based on relevance and rigour. (4) Data analysis and synthesis to further develop and refine programme theory, CMO configurations with consideration of middle-range and substantive theories. Data analysis A realist logic of analysis will be used to align data from each phase of the review, with CMO configurations being developed. Programme theories will be sought from the review that can be further tested in the field. Ethics and dissemination This study has been approved by the ethics committee at University of Birmingham, and has Health Research Authority approval. Findings will be disseminated through knowledge exchange with stakeholders, publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and formal and informal reports. In addition, as part of a doctoral study, the findings will be tested in multisite case studies. PROSPERO registration details CRD4201912998. Dates of the planned realist review, from protocol design to completion, January 2019 to July 2020

High precision quantum control of single donor spins in silicon

The Stark shift of the hyperfine coupling constant is investigated for a P donor in Si far below the ionization regime in the presence of interfaces using Tight-binding and Band Minima Basis approaches and compared to the recent precision measurements. The TB electronic structure calculations included over 3 million atoms. In contrast to previous effective mass based results, the quadratic Stark coefficient obtained from both theories agrees closely with the experiments. This work represents the most sensitive and precise comparison between theory and experiment for single donor spin control. It is also shown that there is a significant linear Stark effect for an impurity near the interface, whereas, far from the interface, the quadratic Stark effect dominates. Such precise control of single donor spin states is required particularly in quantum computing applications of single donor electronics, which forms the driving motivation of this work.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure