Magnificent Constructions: The Role of Environment on the Stellar Mass Growth of Massive Galaxies

To understand how the present day universe came to be, we must understand how the massive structures in which we live formed and evolved over the preceding billions of years. Constraining how galaxies grow are the most massive galaxies, called brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). These luminous and diffuse elliptical galaxies inhabit relaxed positions within their host cluster\u27s gravitational potentials and provide a look at the high mass extreme of galaxy evolution. The relaxed structure, old stellar populations, and central location within the cluster indicate a high redshift formation scenario, however, star-forming BCGs have been observed at much more recent epochs. Addressing this evolutionary complexity, my dissertation consists of four studies to investigate the growth rates of BCGs over several epochs, and how they relate to the growth of the general galaxy population. In my first paper, I present a multiwavelength (far-ultraviolet to far-infrared) study of BCG star formation rates and stellar masses from 0.2 \u3c z \u3c 0.7 (Cooke et al. 2016), selected from the CLASH and SGAS surveys. I find that in-situ star formation in my sample is consistent with overall quiescence, and star-forming BCGs remain very rare. In my second paper (Cooke et al. 2018), my sample\u27s redshift range is expanded to z ~ 1 with the addition of massive BCGs (M_Stellar \u3e 10^11 M_Solar) from galaxy clusters available in the COSMOS X-ray Group Catalog. I find that star formation is roughly constant in our sample of high mass BCGs from 0.3 \u3c z \u3c 1.0, with a possible decrease at lower redshifts. We also find a growth rate of ~1% yr^-1, inconsistent with portions of the literature that find an order of magnitude higher growth from infrared selected samples. My third paper (Cooke et al. 2019) identifies BCG progenitors out to z ~ 3 using cumulative comoving number density tracks from the Illustris Project. We identify three phases of growth, limiting the star-formation dominated epoch to z \u3e 2.25. Finally, my fourth paper (Cooke et al. in preparation) places the preceding results in context by measuring the correlation between star formation rate and stellar mass for all galaxies above the COSMOS mass completeness limit from 0 \u3c z \u3c 3.5

Prediction of Critical Illness During Out-of-Hospital Emergency Care

CONTEXT: Early identification of nontrauma patients in need of critical care services in the emergency setting may improve triage decisions and facilitate regionalization of critical care. OBJECTIVES: To determine the out-of-hospital clinical predictors of critical illness and to characterize the performance of a simple score for out-of-hospital prediction of development of critical illness during hospitalization. DESIGN AND SETTING: Population-based cohort study of an emergency medical services (EMS) system in greater King County, Washington (excluding metropolitan Seattle), that transports to 16 receiving facilities. PATIENTS: Nontrauma, non-cardiac arrest adult patients transported to a hospital by King County EMS from 2002 through 2006. Eligible records with complete data (N = 144,913) were linked to hospital discharge data and randomly split into development (n = 87,266 [60%]) and validation (n = 57,647 [40%]) cohorts. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Development of critical illness, defined as severe sepsis, delivery of mechanical ventilation, or death during hospitalization. RESULTS: Critical illness occurred during hospitalization in 5% of the development (n = 4835) and validation (n = 3121) cohorts. Multivariable predictors of critical illness included older age, lower systolic blood pressure, abnormal respiratory rate, lower Glasgow Coma Scale score, lower pulse oximetry, and nursing home residence during out-of-hospital care (P < .01 for all). When applying a summary critical illness prediction score to the validation cohort (range, 0-8), the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76-0.78), with satisfactory calibration slope (1.0). Using a score threshold of 4 or higher, sensitivity was 0.22 (95% CI, 0.20-0.23), specificity was 0.98 (95% CI, 0.98-0.98), positive likelihood ratio was 9.8 (95% CI, 8.9-10.6), and negative likelihood ratio was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.79- 0.82). A threshold of 1 or greater for critical illness improved sensitivity (0.98; 95% CI, 0.97-0.98) but reduced specificity (0.17; 95% CI, 0.17-0.17). CONCLUSIONS: In a population-based cohort, the score on a prediction rule using out-of-hospital factors was significantly associated with the development of critical illness during hospitalization. This score requires external validation in an independent populationPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/85143/1/Seymour - JAMA-2010-747-54.pdf11

Scoping exercise on fallers’ clinics : report to the National Co-ordinating Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organisation R & D (NCCSDO)

The National Service Framework for Older People has stated the need for fall-prevention programmes. An appraisal of fallers’ clinics launched by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) was suspended because of a lack of information regarding existing services and typology. This project aimed to determine the feasibility of conducting economic modelling to appraise fallers’ clinics. To achieve this a national survey of services and reviews of the evidence of effectiveness of various models of fallers’ clinics and screening tools were undertaken

Laying a Foundation for Nevada's Electricity Future: Generation Facility Uncertainties and the Need for a Flexible Infrastructure

Outlines the need to build an infrastructure that can support distributed and centralized resources, and describes the elements required: interconnection of power companies, efficiency programs, renewable energy projects, and complementary gas generation

Narrative review of primary care point-of-care testing (POCT) and antibacterial use in respiratory tract infection (RTI)

Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem and is being addressed through national strategies to improve diagnostics, develop new antimicrobials and promote antimicrobial stewardship. A narrative review of the literature was undertaken to ascertain the value of C reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin, measurements to guide antibacterial prescribing in adult patients presenting to GP practices with symptoms of respiratory tract infection (RTI). Studies that were included were randomised controlled trials,controlled before and after studies, cohort studies and economic evaluations. Many studies demonstrated that the use of CRP tests in patients presenting with RTI symptoms reduces antibiotic prescribing by 23.3% to36.16%. Procalcitonin is not currently available as a point-of-care testing (POCT), but has shown value for patients with RTI admitted to hospital. GPs and patients report a good acceptability for a CRP POCT and economic evaluations show cost-effectiveness of CRP POCT over existing RTI management in primary care. POCTs increase diagnostic precision for GPs in the better management of patients with RTI. CRP POCT can better target antibacterial prescribing by GPs and contribute to national antimicrobial resistance strategies. Health services need to develop ways to ensure funding is transferred in order for POCT to be implemented

Neural correlates of motor performance in target sports: The model of movement-related alpha gating [Powerpoint]

What determines optimal motor performance? Scientists have addressed this question through various approaches. One such approach involved the measurement of brain activity during performance of aiming motor tasks by using electroencephalography (EEG). This research field has produced compelling evidence that a particular type of brain activity involved with neuronal inhibition – oscillations within the alpha frequency (8-12 Hz) – is associated with successful motor performance (e.g., a holed putt in golf). Our programme of research evaluated the utility of examining EEG alpha activity from multiple brain regions while relatively-inexperienced recreational golfers putted golf balls to a hole or a series of targets. Our findings revealed that motor execution was accompanied by a regional pattern – alpha gating – whereby neuronal activation was diverted away from movement-unrelated regions of the brain exhibiting enhanced alpha activity (temporal and occipital), and gated towards movement-related regions exhibiting diminished alpha activity (central). Greater inhibition of movement-unrelated regions was associated with greater movement accuracy and improved performance after skill practice, provided that an adequate level of neuronal activation was maintained in movement-related regions. In addition, a disturbance to the alpha gating, induced by randomly varying target location, resulted in impaired performance and greater perceived task difficulty. The main theoretical contribution of this research programme lies in the proposal of the movement-related alpha gating model of motor performance in target sports. These findings lay out the foundations for future applied work aimed at teaching athletes to self-regulate their brain activity to recreate the alpha gating pattern for optimal performance at will