A preliminary Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) study of magnetite surface microtextures from the Wahianoa moraines, Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand.

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) of quartz micro‐textures has routinely been used to identify the depositional environment of sediments in areas of former ice‐sheet glaciation. On volcanic mountains, where the geomorphic origin of ridge deposits is often poorly understood, quartz is much less abundant, so SEM analysis has not been used as a depositional discriminator. Preliminary research on surface micro‐textures of abundant magnetite grains from the Wahianoa moraines, south‐eastern Mt Ruapehu, suggests that SEM of magnetite may be useful in determining the process‐origin of deposits. We describe micro‐textures and surface characteristics of samples of magnetite, and our study shows that many of the micro‐textures visible on quartz, thought to be diagnostic of glacial transport, are present on magnetite too. However, evaluating whether SEM analysis of magnetite is an applicable technique will require a better understanding of the microtextures occurring on known glacial, fluvioglacial and aeolian deposits on volcanic mountains

A relict pronival (protalus) rampart in the Tararua Range, North Island, New Zealand

Debris ridges in New Zealand are routinely assumed to be moraines' and used as key Southern Hemisphere paleoclimatic sites without detailed evaluation of ridge origin. Here we assess the origin of a debris ridge adjacent to Dundas Ridge in the Tararua Range, North Island, New Zealand, through measurements of ridge morphology and sedimentary properties. The ridge has a steep c. 35 degrees distal slope (height 18 m), compared with the c. 19 degrees proximal slope (height 6 m), and on all transects the distal slopes contain the coarsest material (median b-axis clast widths of 0.18-0.25 m), compared to distal samples (0.34-0.37 m). Clast shape (C40 range 40-60%) and angularity (RA>65%) indicate typically angular and slabby' clasts, and along with the lack of fines, and the ca. 40-m-distance between the ridge crest and the foot of the backwall, lead us to reject a glacial (moraine) origin for the ridge. The single ridge morphology precludes a protalus rock glacier origin, while the lack of a broad hillslope scar and debris apron beyond the ridge excludes a landslide origin. Instead, we interpret the ridge as a pronival (protalus) rampart formed by supranival debris supplyfrom the ca. 200 m-high southeastern slopes of Dundas Ridgeacross a snowbed. Re-distribution of snow by prevailing westerlies from Mt Dundas Ridge into the basin would have nourished the snowbed, which is likely to have formed during the interval 24-18 ka BP, when a minor alpine-style glaciation affected sectors of the Tararua Range. This is the first pronival rampart detailed in New Zealand, raising the possibility that debris ridges of pronival origin may also be present elsewhere in New Zealand's mountains. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Validity of Wrist-worn Physical Activity Monitors to Measure Heart Rate

Numerous physical activity monitors exist and are used to track and improve fitness levels. Due to the increasing popularity of these devices, newer products have been developed that measure heart rate (HR) at the wrist. Little is known about how accurate these devices are at measuring HR at the wrist and how they compare to each other. PURPOSE: To determine how accurately HR was measured by three different wrist-worn physical activity monitors. METHODS: Recreationally active men (n=9) and women (n=3) participated in this study. The average age and weight of participants was 22 ± 3 years and 73.9 ± 12 kg. TomTom Cardio (TT), Fitbit Surge (FB) and Microsoft Band (MB) physical activity monitors were used. The TT, FB, and MB were randomly assigned to the right or left wrist for each participant. The testing procedure included speeds of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 mph with each speed lasting three minutes. HR was measured by electrocardiography (ECG) using standard limb lead II and by the three different physical activity monitors. HR was recorded from each device every minute throughout the duration of the procedure. Pearson product moment correlations and bias between electrocardiography (ECG) and physical activity monitors with 95% limits of agreement (Bland-Altman analysis) were calculated. Repeated measures ANOVA [Speed x Device] were also calculated. Statistical significance was set at pRESULTS: At 2 mph and 3 mph, only TT HR was significantly correlated with ECG heart rate (r=0.693, p=0.012 and r=0.592, p=0.043). At 4 mph and 6 mph TT was significantly correlated with ECG (r=0.911, pCONCLUSION: With increasing speeds, physical activity monitors more accurately measure HR but individuals should be aware that these devices may overestimate HR during slower walking speeds

Effects of a Commercial Insurance Policy Restriction on Lumbar Fusion in North Carolina and the Implications for National Adoption

Analysis of the State Inpatient Database of North Carolina, 2005–2012, and the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, including all inpatient lumbar fusion admissions from non-federal hospitals

Validity of wrist-worn consumer products to measure heart rate and energy expenditure

Introduction: The ability to monitor physical activity throughout the day and during various activities continues to improve with the development of wrist-worn monitors. However, the accuracy of wrist-worn monitors to measure both heart rate and energy expenditure during physical activity is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of several popular wrist-worn monitors at measuring heart rate and energy expenditure. Methods: Participants wore the TomTom Cardio, Microsoft Band and Fitbit Surge on randomly assigned locations on each wrist. The maximum number of monitors per wrist was two. The criteria used for heart rate and energy expenditure were a three-lead electrocardiogram and indirect calorimetry using a metabolic cart. Participants exercised on a treadmill at 3.2, 4.8, 6.4, 8 and 9.7 km/h for 3 minutes at each speed, with no rest between speeds. Heart rate and energy expenditure were manually recorded every minute throughout the protocol. Results: Mean absolute percentage error for heart rate varied from 2.17 to 8.06% for the Fitbit Surge, from 1.01 to 7.49% for the TomTom Cardio and from 1.31 to 7.37% for the Microsoft Band. The mean absolute percentage error for energy expenditure varied from 25.4 to 61.8% for the Fitbit Surge, from 0.4 to 26.6% for the TomTom Cardio and from 1.8 to 9.4% for the Microsoft Band. Conclusion: Data from these devices may be useful in obtaining an estimate of heart rate for everyday activities and general exercise, but energy expenditure from these devices may be significantly over- or underestimated

Successes and challenges of supporting product design education for deaf and hard of hearing learners during a pandemic: a case study

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Higher Education has been considerable, none more so for practical/vocational subjects such as Product Design. However, consider being deaf/hard-of-hearing (D/HOH) whilst being forced to study predominantly online, with reduced practical in-person teaching opportunities, being socially distanced, and having to contend with face coverings limiting your ability to hear and lip read. The everyday challenges for D/HOH students in higher education is constantly demanding, but the global pandemic exacerbated this, presenting significant educational challenges. This paper presents a case study focused on the 2020/21 academic year whereby we examine the challenges and successes of supporting a product design student with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD) and permanent bilateral severe-profound hearing loss. The scope of this paper presents the learner arrangements for their product design education and highlights methods of managing the blended learning/teaching environment in combination with the use of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters, electronic/handwritten notetakers and accompanying technologies. Numerous challenges were presented ranging from, managing rapidly developing online learning tools, adapting personal protective equipment to facilitate lip reading, managing multiple recording technologies to facilitate captioning/transcription, amongst others. The perspectives of the learner are presented, with reflections on how different session types, timetabling, delivery methods, etc., affected their day-to-day learning. Recommendations are made for improved collaboration with student support staff (i.e., BSL interpreters and electronic/handwritten note takers) and the need to implement digital technologies to facilitate the optimal blended learning and socially distanced teaching environment

Heated Disc Stars in the Stellar Halo

Minor accretion events with mass ratio M_sat : M_host ~ 1:10 are common in the context of LCDM cosmology. We use high-resolution simulations of Galaxy-analogue systems to show that these mergers can dynamically eject disk stars into a diffuse light component that resembles a stellar halo both spatially and kinematically. For a variety of orbital configurations, we find that ~3-5e8 M_sun of primary stellar disk material is ejected to a distance larger than 5 kpc above the galactic plane. This ejected contribution is similar to the mass contributed by the tidal disruption of the satellite galaxy itself, though it is less extended. If we restrict our analysis to the approximate solar neighborhood in the disk plane, we find that ~1% of the initial disk stars in that region would be classified kinematically as halo stars. Our results suggest that the inner parts of galactic stellar halos contain ancient disk stars and that these stars may have been liberated in the very same events that delivered material to the outer stellar halo.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures; MNRAS accepte

β-Lactam Effects on Mixed Cultures of Common Respiratory Isolates as an Approach to Treatment Effects on Nasopharyngeal Bacterial Population Dynamics

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes and Haemophilus influenzae are bacteria present in the nasopharynx as part of normal flora. The ecological equilibrium in the nasopharynx can be disrupted by the presence of antibiotics. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A computerized two-compartment pharmacodynamic model was used to explore beta-lactam effects on the evolution over time of a bacterial load containing common pharyngeal isolates by simulating free serum concentrations obtained with amoxicillin (AMX) 875 mg tid, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (AMC) 875/125 mg tid and cefditoren (CDN) 400 mg bid regimens over 24 h. Strains and MICs (microg/ml) of AMX, AMC and CDN were: S. pyogenes (0.03, 0.03 and 0.015), S. pneumoniae (2, 2 and 0.25), a beta-lactamase positive H. influenzae (BL(+); >16, 2 and 0.06) and a beta-lactamase positive AMC-resistant H. influenzae (BLPACR, >16, 8 and 0.06). Mixture of identical 1:1:1:1 volumes of each bacterial suspension were prepared yielding an inocula of approximately 4 x 10(6) cfu/ml. Antibiotic concentrations were measured both in bacterial and in bacteria-free antibiotic simulations. beta-lactamase production decreased AMX concentrations and fT(>MIC) against S. pneumoniae (from 43.2% to 17.7%) or S. pyogenes (from 99.9% to 24.9%), and eradication was precluded. The presence of clavulanic acid countered this effect of co-pathogenicity, and S. pyogenes (but not BL(+) and S. pneumoniae) was eradicated. Resistance of CDN to TEM beta-lactamase avoided this co-pathogenicity effect, and CDN eradicated S. pyogenes and H. influenzae strains (fT(>MIC) >58%), and reduced in 94% S. pneumoniae counts (fT(>MIC) approximately 25%). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Co-pathogenicity seems to be gradual since clavulanic acid countered this effect for strains very susceptible to AMX as S. pyogenes but not for strains with AMX MIC values in the limit of susceptibility as S. pneumoniae. There is a potential therapeutic advantage for beta-lactamase resistant cephalosporins with high activity against streptococci