3,286 research outputs found
A low molecular weight hydrogel with unusual gel aging
We describe a dipeptide hydrogel with unusual aging characteristics. Over time, a transformation from a turbid gel to a transparent gel occurs which is initiated from the air–water interface. Here, we investigate this transition and discuss the implications of this aging on the bulk properties of the gel
Overcoming Challenges to Teamwork in Patient-Centered Medical Homes: A Qualitative Study
There is emerging consensus that enhanced inter-professional teamwork is necessary for the effective and efficient delivery of primary care, but there is less practical information specific to primary care available to guide practices on how to better work as teams. The purpose of this study was to describe how primary care practices have overcome challenges to providing team-based primary care and the implications for care delivery and policy
Electronic Health Records and Support For Primary Care Teamwork
This study examined primary care practices' experiences using electronic health records (EHRs) as they strive to function as teams in patientcentered medical homes (PCMHs). We identify how EHRs facilitate and pose challenges to teamwork and how practices overcame such challenges. We describe solutions and identify opportunities to improve care processes as well as EHR functionalities and policies, to support teamwork
Increased Range of Motion and Function in an Individual with Breast Cancer and Necrotizing Fasciitis—Manual Therapy and Pulsed Short-Wave Diathermy Treatment
Necrotizing fasciitis is a severe soft tissue infection of the
subcutaneous tissue and fascia affecting those predisposed to
immune system compromise. It is a life threatening condition;
mortality can be reduced by rapid diagnosis, adequate early
surgical debridement and antibiotic ointment. In this case report
we present the use of manual therapy (MT) techniques, joint and
soft tissue mobilization, following a regimen of pulsed short wave
diathermy (PSWD) in the treatment of a woman 3 years post
necrotizing fasciitis developed during chemotherapy treatment for
breast cancer. During her course of chemotherapy, she developed
necrotizing fasciitis which was treated with extensive surgical
debridement (8 linear feet of incisions) followed by debridement
to both hips and the pelvis area. When we started working with
her, we put her on a course of PSWD/MT. After six weeks of
following this regimen, she gained 25° of external rotation in
both her left and right hips, 15° of left hip flexion and 17° of
right hip flexion. The patient gained 10° of right hip extension,
yet there was no improvement in left hip extension. The treatments
led to a dramatic reduction in pain and scarring from previous
surgeries. The patient also returned to running
The meteorological airplane ascents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Part I. On the technique of meteorological airplane ascents. Part II. Aircraft instruments in meteorological flying
The aerological flights at Boston are part of the general research program of the
Meteorological Division of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which program since
1929 has been directed especially toward the study of American air masses and fronts.
Recently, some results of these studies were published by Willett, who based his
investigations on a series continuous over three years of mornìng and evening weather
maps, analyzed at the Institute, together with upper air soundings from the United
States Weather Bureau stations at Dallas, Omaha, Chicago, Groesbeck, Atlanta and
from the United States Navy at Seattle, Anacostia, Pensacola and San Diego. These upper
air data facilitated the determination of the properties of the air masses and so proved
of inestimable value for the study. But the use of the data also showed that improvement
both in the number of stations and in the quality of observations was highly desirable.
Ascents in the northeastern part of the United States were lacking. Knowledge of the
vertical structure of air masses reaching this region, however, is of special interest in
forecasting for this densely populated district. For these reasons and since the direct
comparison of actual local weather developments with upper air conditions is also con- sidered to be very valuable, the Institute started its own airplane station at Boston. In
addition to "regular" ascents at the time of the morning surface observations, special
flights were made when particularly interesting weather situations prevailed. On a
number of days series of ascents were carried out to obtain cross sections through fronts
passing over Boston. Other special flights were made to obtain information on atmospheric
turbulence. For this same purpose and also in order to study the diurnal changes of
temperature in the lowest 5,000 feet, several series are planned of a number of comparatively
low altitude flights at short intervals throughout the day
Gee, But It\u27s Good To Get Home
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/1493/thumbnail.jp
Effect of low-intensity long-duration ultrasound on the symptomatic relief of knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind study
Background: Wearable long-duration low-intensity ultrasound is an emerging non-invasive and non-narcotic therapy for the daily treatment of musculoskeletal pain. The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to examine whether long-duration low-intensity ultrasound was effective in treating pain and improving function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Ninety patients with moderate to severe knee pain and radiographically confirmed knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade I/II) were randomized for treatment with active (n = 55) or placebo (n = 35) devices applied daily to the treated knee. Investigators and subjects were blinded to treatment groups. Ultrasound (3 MHz, 0.132 W/cm2, 1.3 W) was applied with a wearable device for 4 h daily for 6 weeks, delivering 18,720 J per treatment. The primary outcome was change in pain intensity (numeric rating scale) assessed prior to intervention (baseline) and after 6 weeks. Secondary outcomes of functional change were measured at baseline and after 6 weeks using the Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis Questionnaire (n = 84), along with range of motion (flexion, extension) and isometric muscle strength (flexion, extension and rotation) tests on the injured knee in a small pilot subset (n =17). Results: The study had a 93% retention rate, and there were no significant differences between the groups regarding demographic variables or baseline outcome measures. Patients treated with active therapy observed a significant mean NRS pain reduction over the 6-week study of 1.96 points for active (p \u3c 0.0001), compared with a 0.85 points reduction for placebo (p = 0.13). The functional score was also significantly improved by 505 points for the active group over the 311-point improvement for placebo group compared to baseline (p = 0.02). In the pilot subset evaluated, rotational strength increased from baseline to 6 weeks (3.2 N, p = 0.03); however, no other measures were significant. Conclusions: Long-duration low-intensity ultrasound significantly reduced pain and improved joint function in patients with moderate to severe osteoarthritis knee pain. The clinical findings suggest that ultrasound may be used as a conservative non-pharmaceutical and non-invasive treatment option for patients with knee osteoarthritis. Additional research is warranted on non-weight bearing joints of the musculoskeletal system as well as extended treatment time frames and follow-up. Trial registration: NCT02083861, registered 11 March 2014, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/results/NCT0208386
The Effects of Fire on the Function of the 200-BP-1 Engineered Surface Barrier
A critical unknown in use of barrier technology for long-term waste isolation is performance after a major disturbance especially when institutional controls are intact, but there are no resources to implement corrective actions. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of wild fire on alterations the function of an engineered barrier. A controlled burn September 26, 2008 was used to remove all the vegetation from the north side of the barrier. Flame heights exceeded 9 m and temperatures ranged from 250 oC at 1.5 cm below the surface to over 700 oC at 1 m above the surface. Post-fire analysis of soil properties show significant decreases in wettability, hydraulic conductivity, air entry pressure, organic matter, and porosity relative to pre-fire conditions whereas dry bulk density increased. Decreases in hydraulic conductivity and wettabilty immediately after the fire are implicated in a surface runoff event that occurred in January 2009, the first in 13 years. There was a significant increase in macro-nutrients, pH, and electrical conductivity. After one year, hydrophobicity has returned to pre-burn levels with only 16% of samples still showing signs of decreased wettability. Over the same period, hydraulic conductivity and air entry pressure returned to pre-burn levels at one third of the locations but remained identical to values recorded immediately after the fire at the other two thirds. Soil nutrients, pH, and electrical conductivity remain elevated after 1 year. Species composition on the burned surface changed markedly from prior years and relative to the unburned surface and two analog sites. An increase in the proportion of annuals and biennials is characteristic of burned surfaces that have become dominated by ruderal species. Greenhouse seedling emergence tests conducted to assess the seed bank of pre- and post-burn soils and of two analog sites at the McGee Ranch show no difference in the number of species emerging from soils collected before and after the fire. However, there were fewer species emerging from the seed bank on the side slopes and more species emerging from two analog sites. Leaf area index measures confirmed the substantial differences in plant communities after fire. Xylem pressure potential were considerably higher on the burned half of the barrier in September 2009 suggesting that not all the water in the soil profile will be removed before the fall rains begin. The results of this study are expected to contribute to a better understanding of barrier performance after major disturbances in a post-institutional control environment. Such an understanding is needed to enhance stakeholder acceptance regarding the long-term efficacy of engineered barriers. This study will also support improvements in the design of evapotranspiration (ET) and hybrid (ET + capacitive) barriers and the performance monitoring systems
Decuplet Baryon Structure from Lattice QCD
The electromagnetic properties of the SU(3)-flavor baryon decuplet are
examined within a lattice simulation of quenched QCD. Electric charge radii,
magnetic moments, and magnetic radii are extracted from the E0 and M1 form
factors. Preliminary results for the E2 and M3 moments are presented giving the
first model independent insight to the shape of the quark distribution in the
baryon ground state. As in our octet baryon analysis, the lattice results give
evidence of spin-dependent forces and mass effects in the electromagnetic
properties. The quark charge distribution radii indicate these effects act in
opposing directions. Some baryon dependence of the effective quark magnetic
moments is seen. However, this dependence in decuplet baryons is more subtle
than that for octet baryons. Of particular interest are the lattice predictions
for the magnetic moments of and for which new recent
experimental measurements are available. The lattice prediction of the
ratio appears larger than the experimental ratio, while the
lattice prediction for the magnetic moment ratio is in good
agreement with the experimental ratio.Comment: RevTeX manuscript, 34 pages plus 21 figures (available upon request
Evaluation of sedimentary bacterial community dynamics and contamination assessment of lower Des Plaines River
Urban rivers often contain elevated concentrations of contaminants such as organic pollutants and heavy metals which can be amplified in lotic ecosystems receiving effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). However, the impact of WWTPs on the microbial parameters of the urban river sediments has not been well documented compared to urban surface water. Collecting sediment samples at five different locations over a 9,000 m transect during four sampling periods, we investigated spatiotemporal variations of microbial parameters in sediments of lower Des Plaines River; the largest effluent-dominated stream in the United States and the effects of sediment physicochemical properties on the variations were explored. We reported reduced microbial biomass, CFUs, and distinct bacterial communities at the WWTP outfall compared to other sites, indicating that WWTP effluents have the potential to moderate bacterial community structure. Seasonal variations in the sedimentary bacterial community structure were evident regardless of the spatial variations imposed by the effluents. Our community-level physiological profiling of the sedimentary bacterial community structure indicated that temperature was more important than water chemistry, whereas total microbial biomass by phospholipid phosphate analysis responded to the influences of both temperature and water chemistry. Metal concentrations showed values that fall within the “fair” to “very poor” range of biological conditions outlined by the Midwest Biodiversity Institute. We posit that the increased sediment metal loads select for metal-tolerant microorganisms that help to maintain microbial biomass. In the spring, sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes revealed significant effects of effluent on bacterial community composition at the WWTP outfall, showing increases in abundances of Caldilinea, Candidatus, Allochromatium, Sulfuritalea, and Nitrospira sequences, linked to anthropogenic inputs from WWTP effluents. Given that human dependence on effluent-dominated ecosystems for water resources will increase with rapidly increasing urbanization, studies focusing on remediation and policy changes are dire to develop effective management of existing urban rivers
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