A New Bot Fly Species (Diptera: Oestridae) From Central Texas

The bot fly Cephenemyia albina (Diptera: Oestridae) is described from a relict pine forest in east-central Texas. This species presumably lives as a parasitic larva in the throat of white-tailed deer as do its two close relatives previously reported from both Texas and the Great Lakes region (C. phobifera (Clark) and C. jellisoni Townsend). Only the adult male is currently known

Planet geometric center tracker, volume 1 Final report, Oct. 1964 - Jul. 1967

Tracker for locating geometric centers of Mars, Venus, or Jupite

"To Be Nice or Not to Be Nice?” That’s Not the Question: A Case from Clinical Pastoral Education Supervision

A cluster of CPE educators in the former Eastern Region of APCE, present a case study of supervision, using the familiar format of reflections from educational, personality theory and theology

Redshifts and Velocity Dispersions of Galaxy Clusters in the Horologium-Reticulum Supercluster

We present 118 new optical redshifts for galaxies in 12 clusters in the Horologium-Reticulum supercluster (HRS) of galaxies. For 76 galaxies, the data were obtained with the Dual Beam Spectrograph on the 2.3m telescope of the Australian National University at Siding Spring Observatory. After combining 42 previously unpublished redshifts with our new sample, we determine mean redshifts and velocity dispersions for 13 clusters, in which previous observational data were sparse. In six of the 13 clusters, the newly determined mean redshifts differ by more than 750 km/s from the published values. In the case of three clusters, A3047, A3109, and A3120, the redshift data indicate the presence of multiple components along the line of sight. The new cluster redshifts, when combined with other reliable mean redshifts for clusters in the HRS, are found to be distinctly bi-modal. Furthermore, the two redshift components are consistent with the bi-modal redshift distribution found for the inter-cluster galaxies in the HRS by Fleenor et al. (2005).Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, Accepted to A

The Association between the Change in Directly Measured Cardiorespiratory Fitness across Time and Mortality Risk

Background The relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and mortality risk has typically been assessed using a single measurement, though some evidence suggests the change in CRF over time influences risk. This evidence is predominantly based on studies using estimated CRF (CRFe). The strength of this relationship using change in directly measured CRF over time in apparently healthy men and women is not well understood. Purpose To examine the association of change in CRF over time, measured using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX), with all-cause and disease-specific mortality and to compare baseline and subsequent CRF measurements as predictors of all-cause mortality. Methods Participants included 833 apparently healthy men and women (42.9 ± 10.8 years) who underwent two maximal CPXs, the second CPX being ≥1 year following the baseline assessment (mean 8.6 years, range 1.0 to 40.3 years). Participants were followed for up to 17.7 (SD 11.8) years for all-cause-, cardiovascular disease- (CVD), and cancer mortality. Cox-proportional hazard models were performed to determine the association between the change in CRF, computed as visit 1 (CPX1) peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak [mL·kg−1·min−1]) – visit 2 (CPX2) VO2peak, and mortality outcomes. A Wald-Chi square test of equality was used to compare the strength of CPX1 to CPX2 VO2peak in predicting mortality. Results During follow-up, 172 participants died. Overall, the change in CPX-CRF was inversely related to all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality (p < 0.05). Each 1 mL·kg−1·min−1 increase was associated with a ~11, 15, and 16% (all p < 0.001) reduction in all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality, respectively. The inverse relationship between CRF and all-cause mortality was significant (p < 0.05) when men and women were examined independently, after adjusting for years since first CPX, baseline VO2peak, and age. Further, the Wald Chi-square test of equality found CPX2 VO2peak to be a significantly stronger predictor of all-cause mortality than CPX1 VO2peak (p < 0.05). Conclusion The change in CRF over time was inversely related to mortality outcomes, and mortality was better predicted by CRF measured at subsequent test than CPX1 CRF. These findings emphasize the importance of adopting lifestyle behaviors that promote CRF, as well as support the need for routine assessment of CRF in clinical practice to better assess risk

The Influence of Change in Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Short-Term Exercise Training on Mortality Risk From The Ball State Adult Fitness Longitudinal Lifestyle Study

Objective To assess the influence of changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) after exercise training on mortality risk in a cohort of self-referred, apparently healthy adults. Patients and Methods A total of 683 participants (404 men, 279 women; mean age: 42.7±11.0 y) underwent two maximal cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPX) between March 20, 1970, and December 11, 2012, to assess CRF at baseline (CPX1) and post-exercise training (CPX2). Participants were followed for an average of 29.8±10.7 years after their CPX2. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to determine the relationship of CRF change with mortality, with change in CRF as a continuous variable, as well as a categorical variable. A Wald chi-square test was used to compare the coefficients estimating the relationship of peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) at CPX1 with VO2peak measured at CPX2 with time until death for all-cause mortality. Results During the follow-up period there were 180 deaths. When assessed independently, there were 20% (95% CI, 10–49%) and 38% (95% CI, 7–66%) lower mortality risks per 1 metabolic equivalent improvement in CRF (P\u3c.01) in men and women, respectively, after multivariable adjustment. Those that remained unfit had ∼2-fold higher risk for all-cause mortality compared with those that remained fit and CRF at CPX2 was a stronger predictor of all-cause mortality than at CPX1 (P=.02). Conclusion Improving CRF through exercise training lowers mortality risk. Clinicians should encourage individuals to participate in exercise training to improve CRF to lower risk of mortality

An Innovative Approach for Integrating Mandatory, Longitudinal Spirituality Training into the Medical School Curriculum

Problem: Most Americans indicate they are religious and/or spiritual and wish to have their beliefs taken into account when engaging with health care providers, yet gaps in medical education and health care practice remain. To underscore the importance of spirituality as a significant social determinant of health, a team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York developed mandatory spirituality and health training for students integrated into all 4 years of the undergraduate medical education curriculum. Approach: From 2014 to 2020, a small group of faculty took an innovative approach, launching the initiative and expanding the team by engaging interprofessional faculty and staff from across the institution. The team used an iterative process to integrate 4 distinct modules into 4 existing courses, spanning the four years of medical school. Outcomes: The majority of students found that the spirituality and health curriculum was valuable to training and professional development. They appreciated the importance of patients’ spiritual needs; valued learning about the role chaplains play in patient care and how initiate a consult; and indicated they intended to integrate spiritual history-taking in their patient care. With respect to process, 3 key factors—establishing an interprofessional team, working through an iterative process, and integrating the curriculum into existing courses—were critical to designing and implementing the modules. Next steps: The team aims to expand and improve the curriculum by linking learning to specific standardized competencies as well as developing more specific performance assessments to demonstrate achievement of competencies. Professional development efforts will be enhanced so faculty can better model and reinforce the integration of spirituality into health care practices, and expand the curriculum on spirituality and health into graduate medical education

Large-Scale Velocity Structures in the Horologium-Reticulum Supercluster

We present 547 optical redshifts obtained for galaxies in the region of the Horologium-Reticulum Supercluster (HRS) using the 6dF multi-fiber spectrograph on the UK Schmidt Telescope at the Anglo Australian Observatory. The HRS covers an area of more than 12deg x 12deg on the sky centered at approximately RA = 03h19m, DEC = -50deg 02amin. Our 6dF observations concentrate upon the inter-cluster regions of the HRS, from which we describe four primary results. First, the HRS spans at least the redshift range from 17,000 to 22,500 km s^-1. Second, the overdensity of galaxies in the inter-cluster regions of the HRS in this redshift range is estimated to be 2.4, or del rho/ rho ~ 1.4. Third, we find a systematic trend of increasing redshift along a Southeast-Northwest (SE-NW) spatial axis in the HRS, in that the mean redshift of HRS members increases by more than 1500 km s^-1 from SE to NW over a 12 deg region. Fourth, the HRS is bi-modal in redshift with a separation of ~ 2500 km s^-1 (35 Mpc) between the higher and lower redshift peaks. This fact is particularly evident if the above spatial-redshift trend is fitted and removed. In short, the HRS appears to consist of two components in redshift space, each one exhibiting a similar systematic spatial-redshift trend along a SE-NW axis. Lastly, we compare these results from the HRS with the Shapley supercluster and find similar properties and large-scale features.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, accepted to A

WASP-1b and WASP-2b: two new transiting exoplanets detected with SuperWASP and SOPHIE

We have detected low-amplitude radial-velocity variations in two stars, USNO-B1.0 1219-0005465 (GSC 02265-00107 = WASP-1) and USNO-B1.0 0964-0543604 (GSC 00522-01199 = WASP-2). Both stars were identified as being likely host stars of transiting exoplanets in the 2004 SuperWASP wide-field transit survey. Using the newly commissioned radial-velocity spectrograph SOPHIE at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence, we found that both objects exhibit reflex orbital radial-velocity variations with amplitudes characteristic of planetary-mass companions and in-phase with the photometric orbits. Line-bisector studies rule out faint blended binaries as the cause of either the radial-velocity variations or the transits. We perform preliminary spectral analyses of the host stars, which together with their radial-velocity variations and fits to the transit light curves yield estimates of the planetary masses and radii. WASP-1b and WASP-2b have orbital periods of 2.52 and 2.15 d, respectively. Given mass estimates for their F7V and K1V primaries, we derive planet masses 0.80-0.98 and 0.81-0.95 times that of Jupiter, respectively. WASP-1b appears to have an inflated radius of at least 1.33 RJup, whereas WASP-2b has a radius in the range 0.65-1.26 RJu