Alien Registration- Stoddard, Ray F. (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/21275/thumbnail.jp

Introduction to Special Topic: Rural Education Finance and Policy

This special topic takes stock of the current state of rural education finance and policy research. Taken together the articles in this special topic highlight a major point. Rural districts and schools not only differ from those in urban areas but also differ from one another. This is perhaps not surprising given the heterogeneity of school size, community size, demographics, and the degree of rurality of schools across the United States. The articles pose a challenge for policymakers. Policies that serve one state or one rural community may not be relevant or helpful to another. Policy solutions must recognize the diversity of education challenges across and within states

Sweet Little Stranger

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/4064/thumbnail.jp

Design and Development of aWeb Application for Matching Drug Addiction Treatment Services with Substance Users

One of the current and biggest problems in the system of emergency care for the drug overdose epidemic is the failure of information delivery on nearby treatment facilities. Even though some initiatives have tried to solve this issue, they either failed in delivering the information or in providing good usability. This paper presents the design and development of a web application that we refer to as DrugHelp.Care. This application delivers highly accurate, easy-to-understand, and targeted information in a timely manner for substance users and their well-wishers. It also provides an ecosystem for the treatment facilities with an easy-to-use interface to constantly update their complex information along with automatic email reminders and data completion progress indicators. Based on the requirements we have collected from substance users and treatment facilities, the application is designed and developed using the LAMP stack. A search engine for the substance users and their well-wishers preserves complete anonymity, which is very important to ensure the confidentiality of substance users

Left atrial appendage thrombus is not uncommon in patients with acute atrial fibrillation and a recent embolic event: A transesophageal echocardiographics tudy

AbstractObjectives. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of left atrial thrombus in patients with acute atrial fibrillation.Background. It is commonly assumed but unproved that left atrial thrombus in patients with atrial fibrillation begins to form after the onset of atrial fibrillation and that it requires ≥3 days to form. Thus, patients with acute atrial fibrillation (i.e., <3 days) frequently undergo cardioversion without anticoagulation prophylaxis.Methods. Three hundred seventeen patients (250 men, 67 women; mean [±SD] age 64 ± 12 years) with acute (n = 143) or chronic (n = 174) atrial fibrillation were studied by two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography.Results. Left atrial appendage thrombus was present in 20 patients (14%) with acute and 47 patients (27%, p < 0.01) with chronic atrial fibrillation. In patients with a recent embolic event, the frequency of left atrial appendage thrombus did not differ between those with acute (5 [21%] of 24) and those with chronic (12 [23%] of 52, p = NS) atrial fibrillation. Patients with acute versus chronic atrial fibrillation, respectively, did not differ (p = NS) in mean age (64 ± 13 vs. 65 ± 11 years), frequency of concentric left ventricular hypertrophy (32% vs. 26%), hypertension (32% vs. 41%), coronary artery disease (35% vs. 39%), congestive heart failure (43% vs. 48%), mitral stenosis (4% vs. 7%) or mitral valve replacement (1.4% vs. 6%). The minimally detectable difference in proportions between patients with acute and chronic atrial fibrillation based on a power of 0.80 and base proportion of 0.20 was 14%.Conclusions. Left atrial thrombus does occur in patients with acute atrial fibrillation <3 days in duration. The frequency of left atrial thrombus in patients with recent emboli is comparable between those with acute and chronic atrial fibrillation. These data suggest that patients with acute atrial fibrillation for <3 days require anticoagulation prophylaxis or evaluation by transesophageal echocardiography before cardioversion and should not be assumed to be free of left atrial thrombus

October 1963

Turf and Lawn Grass Association Better turf through research and Educatio

Continuum percolation of simple fluids: Energetic connectivity criteria

During the last few years, a number of works in computer simulation have focused on the clustering and percolation properties of simple fluids based in an energetic connectivity criterion proposed long ago by T.L. Hill [J. Chem. Phys. 23, 617 (1955)]. This connectivity criterion appears to be the most appropriate in the study of gas-liquid phase transition. So far, integral equation theories have relayed on a velocity-averaged version of this criterion. We show, by using molecular dynamics simulations, that this average strongly overestimates percolation densities in the Lennard-Jones fluid making unreliable any prediction based on it. Additionally, we use a recently developed integral equation theory [Phys. Rev. E 61, R6067 (2000)] to show how this velocity-average can be overcome.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure

Prolongation of isovolumetric relaxation time as assessed by Doppler echocardiography predicts doxorubicin-induced systolic dysfunction in humans

AbstractA reasonably sensitive and specific noninvasive test for doxorubicin cardiotoxicity is needed. In addition, few data exist on the short- and long-term effects of doxorubicin on diastolic filling. To determine if pulsed Doppler indexes of diastolic filling could predict doxorubicin-induced systolic dysfunction, 26 patients (mean age 48 ± 12 years) were prospectively studied before receiving chemotherapy (control) and 3 weeks after obtaining cumulative doses of doxorubicin.In nine patients developing doxorubicin-induced systolic dysfunction (that is, a decrease in ejection fraction by ≥ 10 ejection fraction units to <55% the isovolumetric relaxation time was prolonged (from 66 ± 18 to 84 ± 24 ms, p < 0.05) after a cumulative doxorubicin dose of 100 to 120 mg/m2. This prolongation preceded a significant decrease in ejection fraction. Other Doppler indexes of filling were impaired after doxorubicin therapy but occurred simultaneously with the decrease in ejection fraction.A >37% increase in isovolumetric relaxation time was 78% (7 of 9) sensitive and 88% (15 of 17) specific for predicting the ultimate development of doxorubicin-induced systolic dysfunction. In 15 patients studied 1 h after the first treatment, doxorubicin enhanced Doppler indexes of filling and shortened isovolumetric relaxation time. In 22 patients, indexes of filling remained impaired and isovolumetric relaxation time was prolonged 3 months after the last doxorubicin dose.In conclusion, doxorubicin-induced systolic dysfunction is reliably predicted by prolongation of Doppler-derived isovolumetric relaxation time. Early after administration, doxorubicin enhances filling and isovolumetric relaxation time. The adverse effects of doxorubicin on both variables persist at least 3 months after cessation of treatment

Incidence of human brucellosis in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania in the periods 2007-2008 and 2012-2014

Background: Brucellosis causes substantial morbidity among humans and their livestock. There are few robust estimates of the incidence of brucellosis in sub-Saharan Africa. Using cases identified through sentinel hospital surveillance and health care utilization data, we estimated the incidence of brucellosis in Moshi Urban and Moshi Rural Districts, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania, for the periods 2007–2008 and 2012–2014. Methods: Cases were identified among febrile patients at two sentinel hospitals and were defined as having either a 4-fold increase in Brucella microscopic agglutination test titres between acute and convalescent serum or a blood culture positive for Brucella spp. Findings from a health care utilization survey were used to estimate multipliers to account for cases not seen at sentinel hospitals. Results: Of 585 patients enrolled in the period 2007–2008, 13 (2.2%) had brucellosis. Among 1095 patients enrolled in the period 2012–2014, 32 (2.9%) had brucellosis. We estimated an incidence (range based on sensitivity analysis) of brucellosis of 35 (range 32–93) cases per 100 000 persons annually in the period 2007–2008 and 33 (range 30–89) cases per 100 000 persons annually in the period 2012–2014. Conclusions: We found a moderate incidence of brucellosis in northern Tanzania, suggesting that the disease is endemic and an important human health problem in this area