REVIEW: Hell’s Broke Loose in Georgia: Survival in a Civil War Regiment

Review of the non-fiction book Hell’s Broke Loose in Georgia: Survival in a Civil War Regiment, by Scott Walker

Kentucky Law Survey: Environmental Law

Under the rubric of environmental law, this Survey addresses three separate topics: air quality control, water conservation and development, and zoning. In the exploration of these three topics, relevant decisions from the Kentucky courts and the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, as well as opinions from the Kentucky Attorney General, are analyzed

Green investment strategies: a positive force in cities

Deterioration of urban neighborhoods is known to induce out migration, but how well do public investments to reverse decline actually work? To evaluate Philadelphia’s greening investment, researchers measured property buyers’ willingness to pay more—and found that greening works.Community development

Lower Extremity Passive Range of Motion in Community-Ambulating Stroke Survivors

Background: Physical therapists may prescribe stretching exercises for individuals with stroke to improve joint integrity and to reduce the risk of secondary musculoskeletal impairment. While deficits in passive range of motion (PROM) exist in stroke survivors with severe hemiparesis and spasticity, the extent to which impaired lower extremity PROM occurs in community-ambulating stroke survivors remains unclear. This study compared lower extremity PROM in able-bodied individuals and independent community-ambulatory stroke survivors with residual stroke-related neuromuscular impairments. Our hypothesis was that the stroke group would show decreased lower extremity PROM in the paretic but not the nonparetic side and that decreased PROM would be associated with increased muscle stiffness and decreased muscle length. Methods: Individuals with chronic poststroke hemiparesis who reported the ability to ambulate independently in the community (n = 17) and age-matched control subjects (n = 15) participated. PROM during slow (5 degrees/sec) hip extension, hip flexion, and ankle dorsiflexion was examined bilaterally using a dynamometer that measured joint position and torque. The maximum angular position of the joint (ANGmax), torque required to achieve ANGmax (Tmax), and mean joint stiffness (K) were measured. Comparisons were made between able-bodied and paretic and able-bodied and nonparetic limbs. Results: Contrary to our expectations, between-group differences in ANGmax were observed only during hip extension in which ANGmax was greater bilaterally in people post-stroke compared to control subjects (P ≤ 0.05; stroke = 13 degrees, able-bodied = −1 degree). Tmax, but not K, was also significantly higher during passive hip extension in paretic and nonparetic limbs compared to control limbs (P ≤ 0.05; stroke = 40 Nm, able-bodied = 29 Nm). Compared to the control group, Tmax was increased during hip flexion in the paretic and nonparetic limbs of post-stroke subjects (P ≤ 0.05, stroke = 25 Nm, able-bodied = 18 Nm). K in the nonparetic leg was also increased during hip flexion (P ≤ 0.05, nonparetic = 0.52 Nm/degree, able-bodied = 0.37 Nm/degree.) Conclusion: This study demonstrates that community-ambulating stroke survivors with residual neuromuscular impairments do not have decreased lower extremity PROM caused by increased muscle stiffness or decreased muscle length. In fact, the population of stroke survivors examined here appears to have more hip extension PROM than age-matched able-bodied individuals. The clinical implications of these data are important and suggest that lower extremity PROM may not interfere with mobility in community-ambulating stroke survivors. Hence, physical therapists may choose to recommend activities other than stretching exercises for stroke survivors who are or will become independent community ambulators

Fish communities near municipal wastewater discharges in the Grand River watershed

Municipal wastewater effluent (MWWE) has the potential for aquatic degradation, as it is the largest, per volume, anthropogenic discharge in Canada and other areas in the world. With an increasing population in many areas, such as Southern Ontario, there is concern that infrastructure of wastewater treatment facilities will not be able to maintain adequate treatment and prevent further degradation of the environment. The Grand River watershed, in Southern Ontario, is predicted to have its population increase to 1.2 million people by 2031 (from 780,000 people in 2001). Although wastewater treatment has improved, concern remains for receiving environments due to inadequate treatment (i.e. Kitchener) and minimal dilution (i.e. Guelph). This research was conducted to understand current impacts of MWWE in the Grand River watershed on fish communities to support future management and protection. Study sites upstream and downstream were chosen for their proximity to the Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo MWWE outfalls, similarity in habitat, and wadeability. Habitat analysis indicated that there were no large physical differences among sites. Fish communities were collected in a standardized method with a backpack electroshocker at each site (six randomly selected 10 m by 10 m sub-sites for 5 min). Greenside Darter (Etheostoma blennioides) and Rainbow Darter (E. caeruleum), the most abundant species, were also analyzed for stable isotope signatures (δ13C and δ15N) at each site. Downstream of the Guelph outfall there were no changes in mean total catch per unit effort (CPUE) or mean total mass. Changes to diversity, resilience, and tolerance in the fish community were attributed to a decreased abundance of Greenside Darter and increased abundance of Rainbow Darter. Downstream of the Kitchener discharge, there was a trend towards decreasing mean total CPUE, especially for darter species, and an increase in mean total mass due to a community shift to larger species including Catostomids and Centrarchids. The changes in abundance of Rainbow Darter, Catostomids, and Centrarchids among reference and Kitchener MWWE exposed sites explained the pattern in resilience, tolerance, and diet classifications. Lower diversity downstream of all three MWWE outfalls can be attributed to the increase in Rainbow Darter abundance. Stable isotope signatures (δ13C and δ15N) of Greenside Darter did not change downstream of the Guelph and Waterloo discharges, but signatures of Rainbow Darter increased immediately below the two outfalls. This shift may be due to the Rainbow Darter being able to take advantage of a change in the environment (i.e. food availability), resulting in its increased abundance and changes in isotopic signature. Directly downstream of the Kitchener outfall both darter species had an increase in δ13C and a large decrease in δ15N, likely due to high nutrient inputs from the outfall. The Kitchener wastewater discharge is also associated with a decrease in abundance of fish and a shift in community structure. MWWEs are currently affecting the aquatic environment, including fish communities in the Grand River watershed. Future investments in infrastructure and watershed management should be made to mitigate degradation of water quality in this watershed

Early affective changes and increased connectivity in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.

IntroductionAffective changes precede cognitive decline in mild Alzheimer's disease and may relate to increased connectivity in a "salience network" attuned to emotionally significant stimuli. The trajectory of affective changes in preclinical Alzheimer's disease, and its relationship to this network, is unknown.MethodsOne hundred one cognitively normal older adults received longitudinal assessments of affective symptoms, then amyloid-PET. We hypothesized amyloid-positive individuals would show enhanced emotional reactivity associated with salience network connectivity. We tested whether increased global connectivity in key regions significantly related to affective changes.ResultsIn participants later found to be amyloid positive, emotional reactivity increased with age, and interpersonal warmth declined in women. These individuals showed higher global connectivity within the right insula and superior temporal sulcus; higher superior temporal sulcus connectivity predicted increasing emotional reactivity and decreasing interpersonal warmth.ConclusionsAffective changes should be considered an early preclinical feature of Alzheimer's disease. These changes may relate to higher functional connectivity in regions critical for social-emotional processing

A systematic review of the validity, reliability, and feasibility of measurement tools used to assess the physical activity and sedentary behaviour of pre-school aged children

Physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) of pre-school aged children are associated with important health and developmental outcomes. Accurate measurement of these behaviours in young children is critical for research and practice in this area. The aim of this review was to examine the validity, reliability, and feasibility of measurement tools used to assess PA and SB of pre-school aged children. Searches of electronic databases, and manual searching, were conducted to identify articles that examined the measurement properties (validity, reliability or feasibility) of measurement tools used to examine PA and/or SB of pre-school aged children (3–7 years old). Following screening, data were extracted and risk of bias assessment completed on all included articles. A total of 69 articles, describing 75 individual studies were included. Studies assessed measurement tools for PA (n = 27), SB (n = 5), and both PA and SB (n = 43). Outcome measures of PA and SB differed between studies (e.g. moderate to vigorous activity, step count, posture allocation). Most studies examined the measurement properties of one measurement tool only (n = 65). Measurement tools examined included: calorimetry, direct observation, combined heart rate and accelerometry, heart rate monitors, accelerometers, pedometers, and proxy report (parent, carer or teacher reported) measures (questionnaires or diaries). Studies most frequently assessed the validity (criterion and convergent) (n = 65), face and content validity (n = 2), test-retest reliability (n = 10) and intra-instrument reliability (n = 1) of the measurement tools. Feasibility data was abstracted from 41 studies. Multiple measurement tools used to measure PA and SB in pre-school aged children showed some degree of validity, reliability and feasibility, but often for different purposes. Accelerometers, including the Actigraph (in particular GT3X versions), Actical, ActivPAL and Fitbit (Flex and Zip), and proxy reported measurement tools used in combination may be useful for a range of outcome measures, to measure intensity alongside contextual information

Unidentified EGRET Sources and the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background

The large majority of EGRET point sources remain to this day without an identified low-energy counterpart. Whatever the nature of the EGRET unidentified sources, faint unresolved objects of the same class must have a contribution to the diffuse gamma-ray background: if most unidentified objects are extragalactic, faint unresolved sources of the same class contribute to the background, as a distinct extragalactic population; on the other hand, if most unidentified sources are Galactic, their counterparts in external galaxies will contribute to the unresolved emission from these systems. Understanding this component of the gamma-ray background, along with other guaranteed contributions from known sources, is essential in any attempt to use gamma-ray observations to constrain exotic high-energy physics. Here, we follow an empirical approach to estimate whether a potential contribution of unidentified sources to the extragalactic gamma-ray background is likely to be important, and we find that it is. Additionally, we comment on how the anticipated GLAST measurement of the diffuse gamma-ray background will change, depending on the nature of the majority of these sources.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in proceedings of "The Multi-Messenger Approach to High Energy Gamma-Ray Sources", Barcelona, 4-7 July 2006; comments welcom