Economic Value of Groundwater Resources and Irrigated Agriculture in the Oklahoma Panhandle

An economic optimization model was developed using available groundwater resources in the Oklahoma Panhandle to estimate value of water for irrigated agriculture in the area. The model will serve as policy tool to analyze alternative water management strategies and conservation programs to assess the economic impact of depleting Ogallala Aquifer.Ogallala Aquifer, Irrigated Agriculture, Groundwater Conservation, Water Management Policy, Oklahoma Panhandle, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Innovating in a crisis : Canadian media actors assess the state of convergence

Our content analysis conducted in 2007 revealed little evidence of convergence practices in television networks and newspapers owned by Canwest Global, CTVglobemedia, and Quebecor. In 2009 and early 2010, we interviewed executives and journalists of the media groups studied, as well as other stakeholders, to assess the current situation and speculate about the future of convergence in Canada. Respondents generally acknowledged that TV/print newsroom integration had not succeeded and that future convergence efforts would focus on delivering content online and developing a viable economic model for news production. Respondents offered diverse perceptions of conventional media’s ability to reinvent and sustain themselves as the principal news sources for Canadians. Emerging models include the development of a corporate news service, specialization in certain topic areas, and crossmedia collaboration.Notre analyse de contenu réalisée en 2007 n’a révélé aucune preuve substantielle de convergence entre les nouvelles télévisées et les journaux appartenant aux groupes Canwest Global, CTVglobemedia et Quebecor. Nous avons réalisé une série d’entretiens auprès de gestionnaires et journalistes des médias étudiés, de même que d’autres acteurs du milieu, en 2009 et 2010, afin de recueillir leur évaluation de la situation actuelle et leur vision de l’avenir de la convergence médiatique. De l’avis général des participants, l’intégration des nouvelles télévisuelles et de la presse écrite ne s’était pas réalisée et les initiatives futures s’orienteront surtout vers l’offre en ligne et la rentabilisation des contenus d’information. Ils ont émis des points de vue variés quant à la capacité des médias conventionnels de se réinventer et se maintenir en tant que sources principales d’information pour les Canadiens. Parmi les modèles émergents identifiés : le développement d’agences de presse corporatives, la spécialisation thématique et la collaboration entre médias

Older people's experiences of their kitchens: 2000 to 2010

Purpose – This paper aims to present the quantitative results based on a comparison and evaluation of older people's experiences, needs and wants from their current kitchens, combining and comparing the results obtained from two studies conducted in 2000 and 2010 to see what progress has been made. Design/methodology/approach – A study in 2010 investigated the life-long and contemporary experiences of kitchens of 48 people aged over 60 years of age. The research included detailed questionnaire interviews asking people about their experiences of living in their current kitchen. A previous study, conducted in 2000, asked many of the same questions of 22 people in the same age group. Findings – By combining and comparing the two sets of data it seems that only limited progress has been made in terms of kitchen design meeting the needs of older people between 2000 and 2010. Research limitations/implications – Owing to the small sizes of the samples it is not possible to compare the figures statistically or present them as fully representative of the British older population but while the two samples are limited both had similar characteristics of age and gender, so differences do show potential trends over time. Practical implications – The research refers to guidance and a computer based design tool and identifies a number of practical implications for design. Social implications – As people age their abilities and needs can change and their kitchen may no longer be as accessible or appropriate to their needs. Originality/value – This paper adds to the relevant guidance for designers, developers and managers of buildings where the continued personal use of a kitchen is important for continuing independence of older people

Management considerations of massive hemoptysis while on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

BACKGROUND: Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO) is a life-saving procedure in patients with both respiratory and cardiac failure. Bleeding complications are common since patients must be maintained on anticoagulation. Massive hemoptysis is a rare complication of ECMO; however, it may result in death if not managed thoughtfully and expeditiously. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of consecutive ECMO patients from 7/2010-8/2014 to identify episodes of massive hemoptysis. The management of and the outcomes in these patients were studied. Massive hemoptysis was defined as an inability to control bleeding (\u3e300 mL/day) from the endotracheal tube with conventional maneuvers, such as bronchoscopy with cold saline lavage, diluted epinephrine lavage and selective lung isolation. All of these episodes necessitated disconnecting the ventilator tubing and clamping the endotracheal tube, causing full airway tamponade. RESULTS: During the period of review, we identified 118 patients on ECMO and 3 (2.5%) patients had the complication of massive hemoptysis. One case was directly related to pulmonary catheter migration and the other two were spontaneous bleeding events that were propagated by antiplatelet agents. All three patients underwent bronchial artery embolization in the interventional radiology suite. Anticoagulation was held during the period of massive hemoptysis without any embolic complications. There was no recurrent bleed after appropriate intervention. All three patients were successfully separated from ECMO. CONCLUSIONS: Bleeding complications remain a major issue in patients on ECMO. Disconnection of the ventilator and clamping the endotracheal tube with full respiratory and cardiac support by V-A ECMO is safe. Early involvement of interventional radiology to embolize any potential sources of the bleed can prevent re-hemoptysis and enable continued cardiac and respiratory recovery

Early Holocene morphological variation in hunter-gatherer hands and feet

Background The Windover mortuary pond dates to the Early Archaic period (6,800–5,200 years ago) and constitutes one of the earliest archaeological sites with intact and well-preserved human remains in North America. Unlike many prehistoric egalitarian hunter-gatherers, the Windover people may not have practiced a sex-based division of labor; rather, they may have shared the load. We explore how mobility and subsistence, as reconstructed from archaeological data, influenced hand and foot bone morphology at Windover. Methods We took length and width measurements on four carpal bones, four tarsal bones, and load-bearing tarsal areas (calcaneus load arm, trochlea of the talus). We analyzed lateralization using side differences in raw length and width measurements. For other hypothesis testing, we used log transformed length-width ratios to mitigate the confounding effects of sexual dimorphism and trait size variation; we tested between-sex differences in weight-bearing (rear foot) and shock-absorbing (mid foot) tarsal bones and between-sex differences in carpal bones. Results We identified no significant between-sex differences in rear and midfoot areas, suggesting similar biomechanical stresses. We identified no significant between-sex differences in carpal bones but the test was under-powered due to small sample sizes. Finally, despite widespread behavioral evidence on contemporary populations for human hand and foot lateralization, we found no evidence of either handedness or footedness. Discussion The lack evidence for footedness was expected due its minimal impact on walking gait but the lack of evidence for handedness was surprising given that ethnographic studies have shown strong handedness in hunter-gatherers during tool and goods manufacture. The reconstructed activity patterns suggested both sexes engaged in heavy load carrying and a shared division of labor. Our results support previous findings—both sexes had stronger weight-bearing bones. Male shock-absorbing bones exhibited a trend towards greater relative width (suggesting greater comparative biomechanical stress) than females which may reflect the typical pattern of male hunter-gatherers engaging in walking greater distances at higher speeds than females. While there were no significant between-sex differences in carpal bones (supporting a shared work load model), females exhibited greater variation in index values, which may reflect a greater variety of and specialization in tasks compared to males. Because carpals and tarsals are so well-preserved at archaeological sites, we had surmised they might be useful proxies for activity in the absence of well-preserved long bones. Tarsals provide a stronger signal of past activity and may be useful in the absence of, or in addition to, preferred bones. Carpals, however, may not be useful as the effect size of biomechanical stress (in this study at least) is low and would require larger samples than may be possible at archaeological sites

The Neural Circuitry of Sweaty Palms: A Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis

Emotion and cognitive processes often cause autonomic nervous system responses. A common example is when the palms of your hands become sweaty before giving a speech or when a police officer is driving behind you. Increased sweat on the palms is a marker of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. The aim of this study was to identify networks of brain activity that make our palms sweat. We compiled a list of neuroimaging studies that report brain activity associated with palm sweat. Our search resulted in sixteen studies, comprised of 251 participants. We used activation likelihood estimation analysis to determine nonrandom clustering of activation and deactivation of brain regions associated with palm sweat. Using a functional connectivity analysis performed on 1,000 human subjects, we identified the neural networks that encompass these brain regions. We found that palm sweating was associated with activation of brain regions (i.e., insula) in the salience network and deactivation of brain regions (i.e., precuneus) in the default mode network. This pattern of findings is consistent with previous research showing that detection of salient stimuli leads to activation of brain networks associated with focused attention and deactivation of brain networks associated with rest and introspection

The dawn phenomenon in type 2 diabetes: How to assess it in clinical practice?

International audienceAIM : The study was aimed at determining whether the dawn phenomenon in type 2 diabetes (T2D) can be predicted and quantified using simple and easily accessible glucose determinations.METHODS : A total of 210 non-insulin-treated persons with T2D underwent continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The dawn phenomenon was quantified as the absolute increment from the nocturnal glucose nadir to the pre-breakfast value (Δdawn, mg/dL). Pre-lunch (preL) and pre-dinner (preD) glucose, and their averaged values (preLD), were compared with the nocturnal nadir. These pre-meal values were subtracted from the pre-breakfast values. The differences obtained (Δpre-mealL, Δpre-meal D and Δpre-meal LD) were correlated with Δdawn values. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to select the optimal Δpre-meal value that best predicted a dawn phenomenon, set at a threshold of 20mg/dL.RESULTS : All pre-meal glucose levels and differences from pre-breakfast values (Δpre-meal) significantly correlated (P<0.0001) with the nocturnal nadir and Δdawn values, respectively. The strongest correlations were observed for the parameters averaged at preL and preD time points: r=0.83 for preLD and r=0.58 for Δpre-meal LD. ROC curve analysis indicated that the dawn phenomenon at a threshold of 20mg/dL can be significantly predicted by a Δpre-meal LD cut off value of 10mg/dL. The relationship between Δdawn (Y, mg/dL) and Δpre-meal LD (X, mg/dL) was Y=0.49 X+15.CONCLUSION : The self-monitoring of preprandial glucose values at the three main mealtimes can predict the presence/absence of the dawn phenomenon, and permits reliable assessment of its magnitude without requiring continuous overnight glucose monitoring