Edgar Ross Interview

[Edgar Ross] discusses growing up in Mt. Vernonhttps://digital.kenyon.edu/jews_interviews/1000/thumbnail.jp

Rose of the Rio Grande

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/6316/thumbnail.jp

Treatment of a complex Arizona gold and silver ore

The object of this thesis is to work out a commercially successful treatment of an Arizona Gold and Silver Ore --page 1

A crossover study to evaluate the diversion of malaria vectors in a community with incomplete coverage of spatial repellents in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania

Malaria elimination is unlikely to occur if vector control efforts focus entirely on transmission occurring indoors without addressing vectors that bite outdoors and outside sleeping hours. Additional control tools such as spatial repellents may provide the personal protection required to fill this gap. However, since repellents do not kill mosquitoes it is unclear if vectors will be diverted from households that use spatial repellents to those that do not.; A crossover study was performed over 24 weeks in Kilombero, Tanzania. The density of resting and blood-engorged mosquitoes and human blood index (HBI) of malaria vector species per household was measured among 90 households using or not using 0.03 % transfluthrin coils burned outdoors under three coverage scenarios: (i) no coverage (blank coils); (ii) complete coverage of repellent coils; and (iii) incomplete coverage of repellent and blank coils. Mosquitoes were collected three days a week for 24 weeks from the inside and outside of all participating households using mosquito aspirators. Paired indoor and outdoor human landing collections were performed in three random households for six consecutive nights to confirm repellent efficacy of the coils and local vector biting times.; The main vectors were Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles funestus (sensu stricto), which fed outdoors, outside sleeping hours, on humans as well as animals. Anopheles arabiensis landings were reduced by 80 % by the spatial repellent although household densities were not reduced. The HBI for An. arabiensis was significantly higher among households without repellents in the incomplete coverage scenario compared to houses in the no coverage scenario (Odds ratio 1.71; 95 % CI: 1.04-2.83; P = 0.03). This indicated that An. arabiensis mosquitoes seeking a human blood meal were diverted from repellent users to non-users. The repellent coils did not affect An. funestus densities or HBI.; Substantial malaria vector activity is occurring outside sleeping hours in the Kilombero valley. Repellent coils provided some protection against local An. arabiensis but did not protect against local (and potentially pyrethroid-resistant) An. funestus. Pyrethroid-based spatial repellents may offer a degree of personal protection, however the overall public health benefit is doubtful and potentially iniquitous as their use may divert malaria vectors to those who do not use them

Double-Layer Orthogonal-Offset Platforms in fluid and insolation environments

The DLOOP is a structure of non-overlapping tiles (typically corner connected) occupying two layers. Interest in the DLOOP arises from Photo-Voltaic (PV) tracking applications. The tiles (PV modules) of contemporary tracking systems are within one contiguous layer, i.e. a side-by-side platform (SSP). Trees collect solar energy using branching structures to support leaves which are, similar to PV modules, planar surfaces of solar energy transformation. The tree's form is naturally excellent for lowering structural stress in limbs and thermal stress in leaves. For analogous reasons, related to the creation of flow paths that would otherwise be blocked, this research hypothesised (and has subsequently shown) that: * the fluid (wind) dynamic force on tiles of high inclination SSP may be reduced (up to 30%) adopting DLOOP arrangements; and * the temperature of heated tiles in SSP may be reduced (up to 5K within nominal and hot terrestrial environments), by passive convective cooling, adopting DLOOP arrangements. Fluid (wind) dynamic force is significant in PV applications because it typically exceeds the force of gravity on the tiles of SSP in 13m/s winds and increases with velocity squared. Hence reducing wind force by 30% should allow 40% more tiles to be fitted to contemporary tracking mechanisms. Temperature is significant in PV applications because the performance of PV tiles typically falls 0.4%/K. Hence a 5K reduction in temperature should improve efficiency 2%. A combination of wind-tunnel tests, Particle Image Velocimetry and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations using Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes and Large Eddy Simulation turbulence models was used for the fluid dynamic research. A combined Finite Element/CFD simulation of PV panels in platforms was developed to model temperature outcomes of thermal diffusion in solid materials and thermal diffusion, radiation and convection in the fluid (air). If PV-tracking ranges are limited below those of the solar-vector, shading of the DLOOP lower by the upper layer occurs. This DLOOP self-shading raises unique cost-benefits associated with tracking ranges. Consequently, this research develops a means to quantify the insolation received by platforms accounting for technology and tracking range in diverse (Australian) climates. Additionally, multiple tracking platforms may be placed in close proximity and suffer "Parasitic" energy losses when shaded by self-similar neighbours. Therefore, this research study introduces a natural no-shade scale to describe and optimise field layouts according to local insolation and economic conditions

Individualised lung function trends in AATD: a need for patience in order to provide patient centred management?

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by fixed airflow obstruction and accelerated decline of forced expired volume in 1 second (FEV(1)). Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency is a genetic cause of COPD and associated with more rapid decline in lung function, even in some never smokers (NS) but the potential for individualized assessment to reveal differences when compared to group analyses has rarely been considered. METHODS: We analyzed decline in post-bronchodilator FEV(1) and gas transfer (% predicted) over at least 3 years (mean= 6.11, 95% CI 5.80–6.41) in our unique data set of 482 patients with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (PiZ) to determine individual rates of decline, implications for prognosis, and potential clinical management. FINDINGS: There was a marked variation in individual rates of FEV(1) decline from levels consistent with normal aging (observed in 23.5% of patients with established COPD, 57.5% of those without) to those of rapidly declining COPD. Gas transfer did not decline in 12.8% of NS and 20.7% of ex-smokers with established COPD (33.3% and 25.0%, respectively, for those without COPD). There was no correlation between decline in gas transfer and FEV(1) for those with COPD, although a weak relationship existed for those without (r=0.218; P<0.025). CONCLUSION: These data confirm differing individual rates of lung function decline in alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, indicating the importance of comprehensive physiological assessment and a personalized approach to patient management