315 research outputs found

    Short Report on the Intensive Archeological Survey of the City of Austin’s Burleson Road Pressure Conversion Travis County, Texas

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    Hicks & Company archeologists, working on behalf of K. Friese + Associates and the City of Austin (COA), recently conducted an archeological survey supplemented with shovel testing in undisturbed locations for the COA’s proposed Burleson Road Pressure Conversion project (Figure 1). According to current design plans, pipe will be installed through open-cut trenching with a northern terminus at East Riverside Drive and a southern terminus at Burleson Road within a 10 meter-wide construction corridor. From its northern terminus, the proposed alignment follows Grove Boulevard southward to Montopolis Drive, for an approximate distance of 1,355 meters. After which, the proposed alignment turns west, following the East Oltorf Street corridor, until turning south on Alvin Devane Boulevard, crossing under State Highway (SH) 71 via installation using a jack and bore methodology. Continuing on to Comsouth Drive, the alignment turns east to follow Trade Center Drive for an approximate distance of 655 meters before turning south/southwest for approximately 370 meters before terminating at Burleson Road. Currently, construction easements are planned at three locations: approximately 450 meters south of the intersection of East Riverside Drive and Grove Boulevard; just north of SH 71 near Alvin Devane Boulevard; and along the proposed alignment between Trade Center Drive and Burleson Road. The total acreage for this project is 10.62 acres. The project is being funded by the COA and is therefore subject to the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). Investigations were conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit #7177 in accordance with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) and the Council of Texas Archeologists’ (CTAs) guidelines for intensive archeological survey. During the investigations, 13 shovel tests were excavated, with all shovel tests negative for cultural materials. None of the shovel tests excavated during this survey were positive for cultural materials and no archeological sites, features, or artifacts were observed during the investigations. Based on the results of the current survey, it is recommended that no archeological historic properties (36 CFR 800.16(1)) or State Antiquities Landmarks (13 TAC 26.12) will be affected by this construction of the proposed alignment. No further cultural resource investigations are recommended for the proposed project. Fieldwork for the initial archeological survey occurred on February 19, 2015, requiring ten labor hours to complete. Necessitated by a rerouting of the segment located between Trade Center Drive and Burleson Road, additional fieldwork was conducted on October 19, 2015, requiring six labor hours to complete. Josh Haefner served as Principal Investigator and Gregg Cestaro served as Project Archeologist. Gregg Cestaro, Shannon Smith, and Keith Faz authored the report and conducted the survey with Josh Haefner and Meghan Egan. This report includes an environmental background, a discussion of previous surveys and recorded sites, a description of field methodology, a discussion of the results of the field investigation, and a conclusion containing formal regulatory recommendations. Also included are appendices containing regulatory correspondence (Appendix A), and shovel test results and locations (Appendix B). Project-generated notes, forms, and photographs will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory in Austin, Texas. This report is offered in partial fulfillment of Texas Antiquities Permit #7177

    Revision rates after primary hip and knee replacement in England between 2003 and 2006

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    <b>Background</b>: Hip and knee replacement are some of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in the world. Resurfacing of the hip and unicondylar knee replacement are increasingly being used. There is relatively little evidence on their performance. To study performance of joint replacement in England, we investigated revision rates in the first 3 y after hip or knee replacement according to prosthesis type. <b>Methods and Findings</b>: We linked records of the National Joint Registry for England and Wales and the Hospital Episode Statistics for patients with a primary hip or knee replacement in the National Health Service in England between April 2003 and September 2006. Hospital Episode Statistics records of succeeding admissions were used to identify revisions for any reason. 76,576 patients with a primary hip replacement and 80,697 with a primary knee replacement were included (51% of all primary hip and knee replacements done in the English National Health Service). In hip patients, 3-y revision rates were 0.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.8%–1.1%) with cemented, 2.0% (1.7%–2.3%) with cementless, 1.5% (1.1%–2.0% CI) with “hybrid” prostheses, and 2.6% (2.1%–3.1%) with hip resurfacing (p < 0.0001). Revision rates after hip resurfacing were increased especially in women. In knee patients, 3-y revision rates were 1.4% (1.2%–1.5% CI) with cemented, 1.5% (1.1%–2.1% CI) with cementless, and 2.8% (1.8%–4.5% CI) with unicondylar prostheses (p < 0.0001). Revision rates after knee replacement strongly decreased with age. <b>Interpretation</b>: Overall, about one in 75 patients needed a revision of their prosthesis within 3 y. On the basis of our data, consideration should be given to using hip resurfacing only in male patients and unicondylar knee replacement only in elderly patients

    Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stents in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Pooled Analysis From 5 Randomized Trials

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    ObjectivesWe sought to examine the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).BackgroundCompared with patients without DM, patients with DM undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention are at increased risk for mortality and restenosis. The safety of drug-eluting stents in diabetic patients has recently been called into question by a published meta-analysis of randomized trials.MethodsPatient-level data were pooled from 5 prospective, double-blind, randomized trials of PES versus bare-metal stents (BMS) (n = 3,513). Safety and efficacy outcomes through 4 years of follow-up were assessed among the 827 randomized patients (23.6%) with DM.ResultsPatients treated with PES and BMS has similar baseline characteristics among both the diabetic and nondiabetic cohorts within these trials. At 4-year follow-up, there were no significant differences between PES and BMS among diabetic patients in the rates of death (8.4% vs. 10.3%, respectively, p = 0.61), myocardial infarction (6.9% vs. 8.9%, p = 0.17), or stent thrombosis (1.4% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.92). Treatment of diabetic patients with PES compared with treatment with BMS was associated with a significant and durable reduction in target lesion revascularization over the 4-year follow-up period (12.4% vs. 24.7%, p < 0.0001). The relative safety and efficacy of PES compared with the relative safety and efficacy of BMS in diabetic patients extended to both those requiring and not requiring insulin.ConclusionsIn these 5 randomized trials in which patients with single, primarily noncomplex lesions were enrolled, treatment with PES compared with treatment with BMS was safe and effective, resulting in markedly lower rates of target lesion revascularization at 4 years, with similar rates of death, myocardial infarction, and stent thrombosis

    The Iowa Homemaker vol.23, no.5

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    Moire, Keith Shillington, page 2 Keeping Up With Today, Margaret Ralston, page 3 Christmas Suggestions, Pfc. Schwanz, AS Greenburg, page 4 Navy Menus on Review, Eileen Cooper, page 6 Creating the Holiday Spirit, Joan Miller, page 7 For Christmas I’d Like, Betty Aldrich, page 8 For Use – Peanut Substitutes, Norma Dale, page 10 Wartime Cards Marked by Individuality, Julie Johnston, page 11 What’s New in Home Economics, Lily Houseman, page 12 Iowa Staters Go Caroling, Frances Kerekes, page 16 For the Christmas Stocking¸ Lois Stewart, page 17 European Rationing, Catherine Tidemanson, page 18 Supervise Army Hospital Diets, Virginia Brainard, page 19 Originality Expressed in Festive Wrappings, Doris Gregg, page 20 Across Alumnae Desks, Virginia Carter, page 22 Alums in the News, Rachel Ann Lusher, page 2

    At Sea Test 2 deployment cruise : cruise 475 on board R/V Oceanus September 22 – 26, 2011 Woods Hole –Woods Hole, MA

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    The R/V Oceanus, on Cruise 475, carried out the deployment of three moorings for the Coastal and Global Scale Nodes (CGSN) Implementing Organization of the NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative. These three moorings are prototypes of the moorings to be used by CGSN at the Pioneer, Endurance, and Global Arrays. Oceanus departed from Woods Hole, Massachusetts on September 22, 2011 and steamed south to the location of the mooring deployments on the shelf break. Over three days, September 23-25, Oceanus surveyed the bottom at the planned mooring sites, deployed the moorings, and carried out on site verification of the functioning of the moorings and moored hardware. Oceanus returned to Woods Hole on September 26, 2011.Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation through the Consortium for Ocean Leadershi

    Skill metrics for confronting global upper ocean ecosystem-biogeochemistry models against field and remote sensing data

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    Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Marine Systems 76 (2009): 95-112, doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2008.05.015.We present a generalized framework for assessing the skill of global upper ocean ecosystem-biogeochemical models against in-situ field data and satellite observations. We illustrate the approach utilizing a multi-decade (1979-2004) hindcast experiment conducted with the Community Climate System Model (CCSM-3) ocean carbon model. The CCSM-3 ocean carbon model incorporates a multi-nutrient, multi-phytoplankton functional group ecosystem module coupled with a carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, and iron biogeochemistry module embedded in a global, threedimensional ocean general circulation model. The model is forced with physical climate forcing from atmospheric reanalysis and satellite data products and time-varying atmospheric dust deposition. Data-based skill metrics are used to evaluate the simulated time-mean spatial patterns, seasonal cycle amplitude and phase, and subannual to interannual variability. Evaluation data include: sea surface temperature and mixed layer depth; satellite derived surface ocean chlorophyll, primary productivity, phytoplankton growth rate and carbon biomass; large-scale climatologies of surface nutrients, pCO2, and air-sea CO2 and O2 flux; and time-series data from the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS). Where the data is sufficient, we construct quantitative skill metrics using: model-data residuals, time-space correlation, root mean square error, and Taylor diagrams.This work was supported in part by grants from the NSF/ONR National Ocean Partnership Program (N000140210370), the NASA Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program (NNX07AL80G), and the NSF Center for Microbial Oceanography Research and Education (C-MORE)

    Assessing the uncertainties of model estimates of primary productivity in the tropical Pacific Ocean

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    Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Marine Systems 76 (2009): 113-133, doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2008.05.010.Depth-integrated primary productivity (PP) estimates obtained from satellite ocean color based models (SatPPMs) and those generated from biogeochemical ocean general circulation models (BOGCMs) represent a key resource for biogeochemical and ecological studies at global as well as regional scales. Calibration and validation of these PP models are not straightforward, however, and comparative studies show large differences between model estimates. The goal of this paper is to compare PP estimates obtained from 30 different models (21 SatPPMs and 9 BOGCMs) to a tropical Pacific PP database consisting of ~1000 14C measurements spanning more than a decade (1983- 1996). Primary findings include: skill varied significantly between models, but performance was not a function of model complexity or type (i.e. SatPPM vs. BOGCM); nearly all models underestimated the observed variance of PP, specifically yielding too few low PP (< 0.2 gC m-2d-2) values; more than half of the total root-mean-squared model-data differences associated with the satellite-based PP models might be accounted for by uncertainties in the input variables and/or the PP data; and the tropical Pacific database captures a broad scale shift from low biomass-normalized productivity in the 1980s to higher biomass-normalized productivity in the 1990s, which was not successfully captured by any of the models. This latter result suggests that interdecadal and global changes will be a significant challenge for both SatPPMs and BOGCMs. Finally, average root-mean-squared differences between in situ PP data on the equator at 140°W and PP estimates from the satellite-based productivity models were 58% lower than analogous values computed in a previous PP model comparison six years ago. The success of these types of comparison exercises is illustrated by the continual modification and improvement of the participating models and the resulting increase in model skill.This research was supported by a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Agency Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry program (NNG06GA03G), as well as by numerous other grants to the various participating investigator

    Effect of natalizumab on disease progression in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (ASCEND). a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with an open-label extension

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    Background: Although several disease-modifying treatments are available for relapsing multiple sclerosis, treatment effects have been more modest in progressive multiple sclerosis and have been observed particularly in actively relapsing subgroups or those with lesion activity on imaging. We sought to assess whether natalizumab slows disease progression in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, independent of relapses. Methods: ASCEND was a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (part 1) with an optional 2 year open-label extension (part 2). Enrolled patients aged 18–58 years were natalizumab-naive and had secondary progressive multiple sclerosis for 2 years or more, disability progression unrelated to relapses in the previous year, and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores of 3·0–6·5. In part 1, patients from 163 sites in 17 countries were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 300 mg intravenous natalizumab or placebo every 4 weeks for 2 years. Patients were stratified by site and by EDSS score (3·0–5·5 vs 6·0–6·5). Patients completing part 1 could enrol in part 2, in which all patients received natalizumab every 4 weeks until the end of the study. Throughout both parts, patients and staff were masked to the treatment received in part 1. The primary outcome in part 1 was the proportion of patients with sustained disability progression, assessed by one or more of three measures: the EDSS, Timed 25-Foot Walk (T25FW), and 9-Hole Peg Test (9HPT). The primary outcome in part 2 was the incidence of adverse events and serious adverse events. Efficacy and safety analyses were done in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01416181. Findings: Between Sept 13, 2011, and July 16, 2015, 889 patients were randomly assigned (n=440 to the natalizumab group, n=449 to the placebo group). In part 1, 195 (44%) of 439 natalizumab-treated patients and 214 (48%) of 448 placebo-treated patients had confirmed disability progression (odds ratio [OR] 0·86; 95% CI 0·66–1·13; p=0·287). No treatment effect was observed on the EDSS (OR 1·06, 95% CI 0·74–1·53; nominal p=0·753) or the T25FW (0·98, 0·74–1·30; nominal p=0·914) components of the primary outcome. However, natalizumab treatment reduced 9HPT progression (OR 0·56, 95% CI 0·40–0·80; nominal p=0·001). In part 1, 100 (22%) placebo-treated and 90 (20%) natalizumab-treated patients had serious adverse events. In part 2, 291 natalizumab-continuing patients and 274 natalizumab-naive patients received natalizumab (median follow-up 160 weeks [range 108–221]). Serious adverse events occurred in 39 (13%) patients continuing natalizumab and in 24 (9%) patients initiating natalizumab. Two deaths occurred in part 1, neither of which was considered related to study treatment. No progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy occurred. Interpretation: Natalizumab treatment for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis did not reduce progression on the primary multicomponent disability endpoint in part 1, but it did reduce progression on its upper-limb component. Longer-term trials are needed to assess whether treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis might produce benefits on additional disability components. Funding: Biogen

    Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray Opacity of the Universe

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    The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet wavelengths as great as predicted by the "baseline" model of Stecker et al. (2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.Comment: 42 pages, 12 figures, accepted version (24 Aug.2010) for publication in ApJ; Contact authors: A. Bouvier, A. Chen, S. Raino, S. Razzaque, A. Reimer, L.C. Reye
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