Fuel Performance Annual Report for 1979

This annual report, the second in a series, provides a brief description of fuel performance in commercial nuclear power plants. Brief summaries are given of fuel surveillance programs, fuel performance problems, and fuel design changes. References to additional, more detailed, information and related NRC evaluation are provided

Evaluation of an Extended-duration Chemoprophylaxis Regimen for Venous Thromboembolism after Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction

Patients undergoing free flap breast reconstruction are at a high risk for venous thromboembolism based upon Caprini scores. Guidelines for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis recommend high-risk groups receive extended chemoprophylaxis for several weeks after gynecological, orthopedic, and surgical oncology cases. Extended prophylaxis has not been studied in free flap breast reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of free flap breast reconstruction patients who received extended venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis with those who received standard inpatient-only prophylaxis. Methods: Patients undergoing microsurgical breast reconstruction were divided into two groups: standard VTE prophylaxis (Group I) and extended prophylaxis (Group II). Both groups received prophylactic subcutaneous heparin or enoxaparin preoperatively and enoxaparin 40 mg daily postoperatively while inpatient. Group II was discharged with a home regimen of enoxaparin 40 mg daily for an additional 14 days. Results: In total, 103 patients met inclusion criteria (36 patients in Group I, 67 patients in Group II). The incidence of VTE was 1.5% in Group II compared with 2.8% in Group I (P = 0.6). There was no difference in reoperative hematoma between Group I (n = 0) and Group II (n = 1) (P = 0.7). Total flap loss was 2.2%. Conclusions: Although this retrospective pilot study did not show statistical significance in VTE between those receiving extended home chemoprophylaxis (1.5% incidence) compared with inpatient-only chemoprophylaxis (2.8%), the risk of bleeding complications was similar. These results indicate that a larger, higher powered study is justified to assess if an extended home chemoprophylaxis protocol should be standard of care post free flap breast reconstruction

Brain activation during dual-task processing is associated with cardiorespiratory fitness and performance in older adults

Citation: Wong, C. N., Chaddock-Heyman, L., Voss, M. W., Burzynska, A. Z., Basak, C., Erickson, K. I., . . . Kramer, A. F. (2015). Brain activation during dual-task processing is associated with cardiorespiratory fitness and performance in older adults. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 7, 10. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2015.00154Higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with better cognitive performance and enhanced brain activation. Yet, the extent to which cardiorespiratory fitness-related brain activation is associated with better cognitive performance is not well understood. In this cross-sectional study, we examined whether the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and executive function was mediated by greater prefrontal cortex activation in healthy older adults. Brain activation was measured during dual-task performance with functional magnetic resonance imaging in a sample of 128 healthy older adults (59-80 years). Higher cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with greater activation during dual-task processing in several brain areas including the anterior cingulate and supplementary motor cortex (ACC/SMA), thalamus and basal ganglia, right motor/somatosensory cortex and middle frontal gyrus, and left somatosensory cortex, controlling for age, sex, education, and gray matter volume. Of these regions, greater ACC/SMA activation mediated the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and dual-task performance. We provide novel evidence that cardiorespiratory fitness may support cognitive performance by facilitating brain activation in a core region critical for executive function

“We’re just stuck in a daily routine”:Implications of the temporal dimensions, demands and dispositions of mothering for leisure time physical activity

The reduced physical activity of women when they become mothers is a public health priority. Existing studies show that mothers have little time for leisure, or time that is fragmented and requiring negotiation with others. However, the temporal features of mothering are undertheorised and qualitative studies tend to focus on how mothers can skilfully construct physically active identities and balance societal expectations about being a "good mother". In line with other research that focuses on the configuration of everyday practices that condition the "possibilities" for health-related practices like physical activity, we shift our focus away from the resisting capacities of mothers to the temporal features of mothering practices. We interrogate the lived experiences of 15 mothers of preschool children in deprived urban areas and illuminate the inherent temporal dimensions, demands and dispositions of mothering practices that condition the possibility of leisure time physical activity being undertaken. Together, these temporal features mean mothering practices can readily work against leisure time physical activity. The focus on the mothering practices rather than mothers brings a novel perspective for developing public health policy designed to support mothers into regular leisure time physical activity

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

A winter twenty-four hour microclimate study in Carp Creek Gorge.

A 24-hour microclimate study of the NW lobe of Carp Creek Gorge, one mile SW of UMBS, was undertaken on January 16 and 17, 1974. The study's purpose was to record the types and magnitudes of climatic variations occurring along the sharp topographic gradients found within this Gorge ecosystem. Carp Creek Gorge is a large three-lobed depression (elevation 700 ft. at top, 620 ft. at base) formed from erosion by several springs which emerge there and join further south to form Little Carp Creek, which empties into Burt Lake. A similar study was done on July 25 and 26, 1973 by the Plant Ecology and Ecosystem Analysis class at UMBS. Attempt was made to take our winter measurements at those same sites, to allow comparison of data. This paper will concentrate on winter measurements and trends, and will briefly mention summer trends, and how the two compare at its end.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/52834/1/1267.pdfDescription of 1267.pdf : Access restricted to on-site users at the U-M Biological Station

Some aspects of soil water at three aspen forest sites.

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/52731/1/1164.pdfDescription of 1164.pdf : Access restricted to on-site users at the U-M Biological Station

Shared care: a qualitative study of GPs' and hospital doctors' views on prescribing specialist medicines.

BACKGROUND: Shared care schemes have mainly centred on chronic diseases, such as asthma and diabetes. However, with increasing government emphasis on primary and secondary care integration and the effects of budget restraints, general practitioners (GPs) have been asked to take on the prescribing of specialist medicines. AIM: To elicit the views and experiences of GPs and hospital doctors about existing arrangements for shared care applied to the prescribing of specialist medicines. To identify a set of quality indicators for prescribing specialist medicines at the interface between primary and secondary care. DESIGN OF STUDY: A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews. SETTING: Forty-eight GPs and 13 hospital doctors in the former South Thames region. METHOD: The interviews focused on how far experiences with shared care compare with the arrangements currently in place for prescribing specialist medicines and identified the barriers to facilitators of effective shared care. RESULTS: A number of key themes were identified and these formed the basis for eight quality indicators relating to the prescribing of specialist medicines where treatment is shared between primary and secondary care. The themes centred around issues of clinical responsibility, 'cost-shifting', availability of medicines, GP satisfaction, and the nature of the prescribing relationship. CONCLUSION: Overall, GPs appeared dissatisfied with arrangements for prescribing specialist medicines, while hospital doctors were generally satisfied. The quality indicators will form the basis of a more extensive quantitative survey of GPs' perceptions of the arrangements for prescribing specialist medicines