A comparison of bioimpedance analysis vs. dual x-ray absorptiometry for body composition assessment in postpartum women and non-postpartum controls

Postpartum fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) may be informative predictors of future disease risk among women; hence, there is growing use of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to quantify FFM and FM among postpartum women due to the quick, non-invasive, and inexpensive nature of BIA. Despite this, very few studies have examined BIA\u27s performance, and it remains unclear as to whether specific BIA equations are needed for postpartum women. To explore these questions, we measured total body FFM and FM with a multi-frequency, segmental BIA, and dual-X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in (1) women at one and four months postpartum

Growth and texture of Spark Plasma Sintered Al2O3 ceramics: a combined analysis of X-rays and Electron Back Scatter Diffraction

Textured alumina ceramics were obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) of undoped commercial a-Al2O3 powders. Various parameters (density, grain growth, grain size distribution) of the alumina ceramics, sintered at two typical temperatures 1400{\deg}C and 1700{\deg}C, are investigated. Quantitative textural and structural analysis, carried out using a combination of Electron Back Scattering Diffraction (EBSD) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), are represented in the form of mapping, and pole figures. The mechanical properties of these textured alumina ceramics include high elastic modulus and hardness value with high anisotropic nature, opening the door for a large range of applicationsComment: 16 pages, 6 figures, submitted to J. Appl. Phy

The Ursinus Weekly, October 14, 1940

Fighting bears eleven smothered by strong Bucknell squad, 33-7 • Louisiana senator to address Democratic rally next week; Republican senator Davis to follow, October 29 • Singers will appear in recital at Ursinus • Bowen will chairman senior ball on Dec.6 • McClure assails defeatism at local high school dedication • Mediation services arranged by religious organizations • Beardwood society presents film Water power tonight • Perpetuation of democracy is theme of vespers speaker • Regional secretary addresses Y\u27s first Wednesday program • Lesher and co. redecorate Highland • IRC suspends publication of quarterly; expense prohibitive • Johnson hearing orchestras for Old Timers\u27 Day choice • Campus artists display talent in first musical • Bone-breakers of gridiron are jaw-breakers for fans • Viennese frosh finds Paris wonderful, but America profuse with drug stores, vendors • New student writers sought for first issue of Lantern • Lafayette booters defeat bears, 1-0 • Hockeyites tie opening game at West Chester • Eleanor Frost Snell • Kellett eleven will travel to Newark for game with Hens • Women\u27s tournament in tennis opens October 10 • Republicans select college publicity head from Ursinus • Many; varied relationships to present and past Ursinus students found among freshmen • French Club bans English! • Snyder enters MIT as U.S. Army meteorological traineehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1794/thumbnail.jp

Institutional Review Board Barriers and Solutions Encountered in the Collaboration Among Pharmacists and Physicians to Improve Outcomes Now Study: A National Multicenter Practice-Based Implementation Trial

To categorize institutional review board (IRB) challenges and solutions encountered in a multicenter, practice-based research network (PBRN) study and to assess the impact of IRB requirements on individual principal investigators’ (PIs’) willingness to participate in future PBRN studies

Effect of a care transition intervention by pharmacists: an RCT

Abstract Background Pharmacists may improve medication-related outcomes during transitions of care. The aim of the Iowa Continuity of Care Study was to determine if a pharmacist case manager (PCM) providing a faxed discharge medication care plan from a tertiary care institution to primary care could improve medication appropriateness and reduce adverse events, rehospitalization and emergency department visits. Methods Design. Randomized, controlled trial of 945 participants assigned to enhanced, minimal and usual care groups conducted 2007 to 2012. Subjects. Participants with cardiovascular-related conditions and/or asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were recruited from the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics following admission to general medicine, family medicine, cardiology or orthopedics. Intervention. The minimal group received admission history, medication reconciliation, patient education, discharge medication list and medication recommendations to inpatient team. The enhanced group also received a faxed medication care plan to their community physician and pharmacy and telephone call 3–5 days post-discharge. Participants were followed for 90 days post-discharge. Main Outcomes and Measures. Medication appropriateness index (MAI), adverse events, adverse drug events and post-discharge healthcare utilization were compared by study group using linear and logistic regression, as models accommodating random effects due to pharmacists indicated little clustering. Results Study groups were similar at baseline and the intervention fidelity was high. There were no statistically significant differences by study group in medication appropriateness, adverse events or adverse drug events at discharge, 30-day and 90-day post-discharge. The average MAI per medication as 0.53 at discharge and increased to 0.75 at 90 days, and this was true across all study groups. Post-discharge, about 16% of all participants experienced an adverse event, and this did not differ by study group (p > 0.05). Almost one-third of all participants had any type of healthcare utilization within 30 days post-discharge, where 15% of all participants had a 30-day readmission. Healthcare utilization post-discharge was not statistically significant different at 30 or 90 days by study group. Conclusion The pharmacist case manager did not affect medication use outcomes post-discharge perhaps because quality of care measures were high in all study groups. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov registration: NCT00513903 , August 7, 2007.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109686/1/12913_2014_Article_3640.pd

Speech rhythm: a metaphor?

Is speech rhythmic? In the absence of evidence for a traditional view that languages strive to coordinate either syllables or stress-feet with regular time intervals, we consider the alternative that languages exhibit contrastive rhythm subsisting merely in the alternation of stronger and weaker elements. This is initially plausible, particularly for languages with a steep ‘prominence gradient’, i.e. a large disparity between stronger and weaker elements; but we point out that alternation is poorly achieved even by a ‘stress-timed’ language such as English, and, historically, languages have conspicuously failed to adopt simple phonological remedies that would ensure alternation. Languages seem more concerned to allow ‘syntagmatic contrast’ between successive units and to use durational effects to support linguistic functions than to facilitate rhythm. Furthermore, some languages (e.g. Tamil, Korean) lack the lexical prominence which would most straightforwardly underpin prominence alternation. We conclude that speech is not incontestibly rhythmic, and may even be antirhythmic. However, its linguistic structure and patterning allow the metaphorical extension of rhythm in varying degrees and in different ways depending on the language, and that it is this analogical process which allows speech to be matched to external rhythms

Transcriptomic Analysis of Equine Chorioallantois Reveals Immune Networks and Molecular Mechanisms Involved in Nocardioform Placentitis

Nocardioform placentitis (NP) continues to result in episodic outbreaks of abortion and preterm birth in mares and remains a poorly understood disease. The objective of this study was to characterize the transcriptome of the chorioallantois (CA) of mares with NP. The CA were collected from mares with confirmed NP based upon histopathology, microbiological culture and PCR for Amycolatopsis spp. Samples were collected from the margin of the NP lesion (NPL, n = 4) and grossly normal region (NPN, n = 4). Additionally, CA samples were collected from normal postpartum mares (Control; CRL, n = 4). Transcriptome analysis identified 2892 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in NPL vs. CRL and 2450 DEGs in NPL vs. NPN. Functional genomics analysis elucidated that inflammatory signaling, toll-like receptor signaling, inflammasome activation, chemotaxis, and apoptosis pathways are involved in NP. The increased leukocytic infiltration in NPL was associated with the upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP1, MMP3, and MMP8) and apoptosis-related genes, such as caspases (CASP3 and CASP7), which could explain placental separation associated with NP. Also, NP was associated with downregulation of several placenta-regulatory genes (ABCG2, GCM1, EPAS1, and NR3C1), angiogenesis-related genes (VEGFA, FLT1, KDR, and ANGPT2), and glucose transporter coding genes (GLUT1, GLUT10, and GLUT12), as well as upregulation of hypoxia-related genes (HIF1A and EGLN3), which could elucidate placental insufficiency accompanying NP. In conclusion, our findings revealed for the first time, the key regulators and mechanisms underlying placental inflammation, separation, and insufficiency during NP, which might lead to the development of efficacious therapies or diagnostic aids by targeting the key molecular pathways

Biological Case Against Downlisting the Whooping Crane and for Improving Implementation under the Endangered Species Act

The Whooping Crane (Grus americana; WHCR) is a large, long-lived bird endemic to North America. The remnant population migrates between Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, USA, and Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada (AWBP), and has recovered from a nadir of 15-16 birds in 1941 to ~540 birds in 2022. Two ongoing reintroduction efforts in Louisiana and the Eastern Flyway together total ~150 birds. Evidence indicates the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is strongly considering downlisting the species from an endangered to a threatened status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We examined the current status of the WHCR through the lens of ESA threat factors, the USFWS’s Species Status Assessment (SSA) framework, and other avian downlisting actions to determine if the action is biologically warranted. Our research indicates that WHCRs are facing an intensification of most threat drivers across populations and important ranges. The AWBP is still relatively small compared to other crane species and most birds of conservation concern. To date, only one avian species has been downlisted from an endangered status with an estimated population of \u3c3,000 individuals. Representation in terms of WHCRs historic genetic, geographic, and life history variation remains limited. Also, the lack of spatial connectivity among populations, reliance of the reintroduced populations on supplementation, and continued habitat loss suggest that WHCR populations may not be resilient to large stochastic disturbances. Given that reintroduced populations are not self-sustaining, neither supplies true redundancy for the AWBP. Proposed downlisting before recovery plan population criteria have been met is objectively unwarranted 3 and reflects USFWS inconsistency across ESA actions. Only by incorporating basic quantitative criteria and added oversight into ESA listing decisions can we avoid an action as misguided as downlisting the Whooping Crane without consideration of its recovery plan criteria or ostensibly its population ecology

A content analysis in reverse logistics: a review

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review in the various publications on the concept of Reverse Logistics (RL) and the related areas within the period 1998-2012. The content analysis approach has been opted to collect the relevant information from different books, journals, and conferences. A broad review of literature in RL from its emergence until the recent discussions have been analyzed and compared in this research. The findings show that, the theoretical construct in RL has been initiated from the conjunction features in the waste management and logistics activities. This idea had been developed by introducing the new term as RL and its definitions and contents such as the activities; key drivers; barriers to use; material flow, and networks in RL. Furthermore, the findings present the various modelling in different aspects of RL, for instance, the mathematical modelling by applying the existence methods in Multi Attribute Decision-Making Models (MADM). In addition, the environmental concerns and governmental legislatives matters and impacts, which have been highlighted, recently, on RL have been deliberated. Hence, this paper would assist the researchers and practitioners to obtain a broad review of RL in the last decade and, also provide an agenda for the future researches