Simplified Prescriptive Options in the Texas Residential Building Energy Code Make Compliance Easy

Texas recently adopted the 2000 International Residential Code (“IRC”) energy chapter and the 2000 International Energy Conservation Code (“IECC”) as its residential building energy code for new construction and existing homes. The range of code compliance options in the new Texas code spans from simplified prescriptive methods on one end to more complex performance (whole building) methods on the other. This paper addresses how energy code compliance is much simpler through the use of simplified, easy-to-follow prescriptive compliance options, particularly in a state like Texas, which historically has had no uniform building codes. This paper also provides samples of simplified prescriptive energy code compliance aids that could make it easier for energy code compliance in Texas

Host susceptibility hypothesis for shell disease in American lobsters

Author Posting. © American Fisheries Society, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Fisheries Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Aquatic Animal Health 19 (2007): 215-225, doi:10.1577/H06-014.1.Epizootic shell disease (ESD) in American lobsters Homarus americanus is the bacterial degradation of the carapace resulting in extensive irregular, deep erosions. The disease is having a major impact on the health and mortality of some American lobster populations, and its effects are being transferred to the economics of the fishery. While the onset and progression of ESD in American lobsters is undoubtedly multifactorial, there is little understanding of the direct causality of this disease. The host susceptibility hypothesis developed here states that although numerous environmental and pathological factors may vary around a lobster, it is eventually the lobster's internal state that is permissive to or shields it from the final onset of the diseased state. To support the host susceptibility hypothesis, we conceptualized a model of shell disease onset and severity to allow further research on shell disease to progress from a structured model. The model states that shell disease onset will occur when the net cuticle degradation (bacterial degradation, decrease of host immune response to bacteria, natural wear, and resorption) is greater than the net deposition (growth, maintenance, and inflammatory response) of the shell. Furthermore, lesion severity depends on the extent to which cuticle degradation exceeds deposition. This model is consistent with natural observations of shell disease in American lobster

A Cross-Sectional Study of All Clinicians’ Conflict of Interest Disclosures to NHS Hospital Employers in England 2015-2016

Objective We set out to document how NHS trusts in the UK record and share disclosures of conflict of interest by their employees. Design Cross-sectional study of responses to a Freedom of Information Act request for Gifts and Hospitality Registers. Setting NHS Trusts (secondary/tertiary care organisations) in England. Participants 236 Trusts were contacted, of which 217 responded. Main outcome measures We assessed all disclosures for completeness and openness, scoring them for achieving each of five measures of transparency. Results 185 Trusts (78%) provided a register. 71 Trusts did not respond within the 28 day time limit required by the FoIA. Most COI registers were incomplete by design, and did not contain the information necessary to assess conflicts of interest. 126/185 (68%) did not record the names of recipients. 47/185 (25%) did not record the cash value of the gift or hospitality. Only 31/185 registers (16%) contained the names of recipients, the names of donors, and the cash amounts received. 18/185 (10%) contained none of: recipient name, donor name, and cash amount. Only 15 Trusts had their disclosure register publicly available online (6%). We generated a transparency index assessing whether each Trust met the following criteria: responded on time; provided a register; had a register with fields identifying donor, recipient, and cash amount; provided a register in a format that allowed further analysis; and had their register publicly available online. Mean attainment was 1.9/5; no NHS trust met all five criteria. Conclusion Overall, recording of employees’ conflicts of interest by NHS trusts is poor. None of the NHS Trusts in England met all transparency criteria. 19 did not respond to our FoIA requests, 51 did not provide a Gifts and Hospitality Register and only 31 of the registers provided contained enough information to assess employees’ conflicts of interest. Despite obligations on healthcare professionals to disclose conflicts of interest, and on organisations to record these, the current system for logging and tracking such disclosures is not functioning adequately. We propose a simple national template for reporting conflicts of interest, modelled on the US ‘Sunshine Act’

Comparison of the Use of a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model and a Classical Pharmacokinetic Model for Dioxin Exposure Assessments

In epidemiologic studies, exposure assessments of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) assume a fixed elimination rate. Recent data suggest a dose-dependent elimination rate for TCDD. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model, which uses a body-burden–dependent elimination rate, was developed previously in rodents to describe the pharmacokinetics of TCDD and has been extrapolated to human exposure for this study. Optimizations were performed using data from a random selection of veterans from the Ranch Hand cohort and data from a human volunteer who was exposed to TCDD. Assessment of this PBPK model used additional data from the Ranch Hand cohort and a clinical report of two women exposed to TCDD. This PBPK model suggests that previous exposure assessments may have significantly underestimated peak blood concentrations, resulting in potential exposure misclassifications. Application of a PBPK model that incorporates an inducible elimination of TCDD may improve the exposure assessments in epidemiologic studies of TCDD

A complete characterization of phase space measurements

We characterize all the phase space measurements for a non-relativistic particle.Comment: 11 pages, latex, no figures, iopart styl

Eye Tracking Reveals Impaired Attentional Disengagement Associated with Sensory Response Patterns in Children with Autism

This study used a gap-overlap paradigm to examine the impact of distractor salience and temporal overlap on the ability to disengage and orient attention in 50 children (4–13 years) with ASD, DD and TD, and associations between attention and sensory response patterns. Results revealed impaired disengagement and orienting accuracy in ASD. Disengagement was impaired across all groups during temporal overlap for dynamic stimuli compared to static, but only ASD showed slower disengagement from multimodal relative to unimodal dynamic stimuli. Attentional disengagement had differential associations with distinct sensory response patterns in ASD and DD. Atypical sensory processing and temporal binding appear to be intertwined with development of disengagement in ASD, but longitudinal studies are needed to unravel causal pathways

A Blended Basic Course Examination of Communication Apprehension and Self-Efficacy: A Comparative Analysis

Students desire rich subject-matter and relevant pedagogy despite rising tuition costs, greater demands for flexibility, and unique learning preferences (Allen & Seaman, 2014; Donnelly, Rizvi, & Summers, 2013; Reed & Sork, 2009; Moore, 2007). As higher education modalities have evolved a careful examination of these newer approaches is necessary. This study is a comparative assessment of communication apprehension and self-efficacy of students in traditional (face-to-face) and blended (face-to-face and online instructional components) basic course modalities. Parallel sections of a basic communication course are assessed and results indicated no significant differences between the two groups with minor exceptions