SDI and South Dakota: The Digital Transformation

The State of South Dakota has incorporated GIS in a wide range of agency applications over the years. The current implementation of GIS in the State ranges from geoprocessing by environmental scientist to providing complex data in an easy to understand format for the general public. Currently the demand for GIS functionality has precipitated the State’s SDI (Spatial Data Infrastructure) to rapidly grow in depth and breadth. This expansion, although not complete, has had a huge impact in the improvement of data entry, improved data validation, and a more open and transparent government

Contextualist Responses to Skepticism

External world skeptics argue that we have no knowledge of the external world. Contextualist theories of knowledge attempt to address the skeptical problem by maintaining that arguments for skepticism are effective only in certain contexts in which the standards for knowledge are so high that we cannot reach them. In ordinary contexts, however, the standards for knowledge fall back down to reachable levels and we again are able to have knowledge of the external world. In order to address the objection that contextualists confuse the standards for knowledge with the standards for warranted assertion, Keith DeRose appeals to the knowledge account of warranted assertion to argue that if one is warranted in asserting p, one also knows p. A skeptic, however, can maintain a context-invariant view of the knowledge account of assertion, in which case such an account would not provide my help to contextualism

Identifying Resiliency Factors in Commercially Sexually Exploited and Trafficked Youth: A Qualitative Study

Although exact numbers are unknown, the largest prevalence study to date has estimated that between 1999-2000 alone a minimum of 244,000 children were at risk for being commercially sexually exploited in the United States, a number based on findings that approximately 70% of street youth and 30% of shelter youth engage in survival sex (Estes & Weiner, 2001). The consequences of commercial sexual exploitation can be devastating and range from mental and physical health problems, substance abuse, physical and sexual violence to death (Kramer & Berg, 2003). While some risk factors have been identified, with childhood sexual abuse being the greatest predictor of commercial sexual exploitation, there has been little research on resiliency factors in this population. Using qualitative research methods, this study examined the resources and resiliency factors that help commercially sexually exploited and trafficked adolescent girls leave the sex trade and move on with their lives. Working closely with the staff at Girls\u27 Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), the only program in New York City dedicated to serving this population, 19 women ages 18 -26 who were sexually exploited as adolescents participated in focus group discussions about how they were able to leave “the life.” Transcripts of these discussions were coded using Auerbach and Silverstein’s (2003) grounded theory method to systematically identify the resources and resiliency factors that supported them in making this transition. Social support, future orientation, self-efficacy, flexible thinking, knowledge about commercial sexual exploitation, acceptance, gratitude, patience, resourcefulness in meeting basic needs, self-care, and the view of oneself as a survivor were identified as resiliency factors that facilitated exiting the commercial sex trade

Investigation of A Neuro-Stimulator Retrieved Posthumously

A neurostimulator was investigated in this paper posthumously. Device was presented to our anatomical gift program. Investigation was multi-fold and contained visual inspection, using an optical microscope, and mechanical and electrical testing of leads and its insulator. It was concluded that the device could have been damaged during implantation, in vivo, during removal, and/or during transportation to author’s laboratories. The damage observed on the lead insulation is similar to that which can occur due to anchoring of the lead and hardening due to oxidation. Insulation stiffness was determined to be 1/10 of new insulator. The results reported here on the insulation may or may not have affected the electrical operation of the neurostimulator

Increased retention of functional fusions to toxic genes in new two-hybrid libraries of the E. coli strain MG1655 and B. subtilis strain 168 genomes, prepared without passaging through E. coli

BACKGROUND: Cloning of genes in expression libraries, such as the yeast two-hybrid system (Y2H), is based on the assumption that the loss of target genes is minimal, or at worst, managable. However, the expression of genes or gene fragments that are capable of interacting with E. coli or yeast gene products in these systems has been shown to be growth inhibitory, and therefore these clones are underrepresented (or completely lost) in the amplified library. RESULTS: Analysis of candidate genes as Y2H fusion constructs has shown that, while stable in E. coli and yeast for genetic studies, they are rapidly lost in growth conditions for genomic libraries. This includes the rapid loss of a fragment of the E. coli cell division gene ftsZ which encodes the binding site for ZipA and FtsA. Expression of this clone causes slower growth in E. coli. This clone is also rapidly lost in yeast, when expressed from a GAL1 promoter, relative to a vector control, but is stable when the promoter is repressed. We have demonstrated in this report that the construction of libraries for the E. coli and B. subtilis genomes without passaging through E. coli is practical, but the number of transformants is less than for libraries cloned using E. coli as a host. Analysis of several clones in the libraries that are strongly growth inhibitory in E. coli include genes for many essential cellular processes, such as transcription, translation, cell division, and transport. CONCLUSION: Expression of Y2H clones capable of interacting with E. coli and yeast targets are rapidly lost, causing a loss of complexity. The strategy for preparing Y2H libraries described here allows the retention of genes that are toxic when inappropriately expressed in E. coli, or yeast, including many genes that represent potential antibacterial targets. While these methods are generally applicable to the generation of Y2H libraries from any source, including mammalian and plant genomes, the potential of functional clones interacting with host proteins to inhibit growth would make this approach most relevant for the study of prokaryotic genomes

Pre-operative optimisation of the surgical patient with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes: a practical review

Peri-operative hyperglycaemia, whether the cause is known diabetes, undiagnosed diabetes or stress hyperglycaemia, is a risk factor for harm, increased length of stay and death. There is increasing evidence that peri-operative hyperglycaemia is a modifiable risk factor, and many of the interventions required to improve the outcome of surgery must be instituted before the actual surgical admission. These interventions depend on communication and collaboration within the multidisciplinary team along each stage of the patient journey to ensure that integration of care occurs across the whole of the patient-centred care pathway

A mixed treatment comparison meta-analysis of metaphylaxis treatments for bovine respiratory disease in beef cattle

Citation: Abell, K. M., Theurer, M. E., Larson, R. L., White, B. J., & Apley, M. (2017). A mixed treatment comparison meta-analysis of metaphylaxis treatments for bovine respiratory disease in beef cattle. Journal of Animal Science, 95(2), 626-635. doi:10.2527/jas2016.1062The objective of this project was to evaluate the effects of antimicrobials approved for parenteral metaphylactic use in feeder and stocker calves on morbidity and mortality for bovine respiratory disease with the use of a mixed treatment comparison meta-analysis. An initial literature review was conducted in April 2016 through Pubmed, Agricola, and CAB (Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau) for randomized controlled trials for metaphylaxis antimicrobial administered parentally to incoming feedlot or stocker calves within 48 h of arrival. The final list of publications included 29 studies, with a total of 37 trials. There were 8 different metaphylactic antimicrobials. Final event outcomes were categorized into bovine respiratory disease (BRD) morbidity cumulative incidence d 1 to <= 60 of the feeding period, BRD morbidity cumulative incidence d 1 to closeout of the feeding period, BRD mortality cumulative incidence d 1 to closeout of the feeding period, and BRD retreatment cumulative incidence morbidity d 1 to closeout of the feeding period. Network meta-analysis combined direct and indirect evidence for all the event outcomes to determine mean odds ratio (OR) with 95% credibility intervals (CrIs) for all metaphylactic antimicrobial comparisons. The "upper tier" treatment arms for morbidity d 1 to <= 60 included tulathromycin, gamithromycin, and tilmicosin. For BRD mortality cumulative incidence d 1 to closeout and BRD retreatment morbidity d 1 to closeout, classifying the treatment arms into tiers was not possible due to overlapping 95% CrIs. The results of this project accurately identified differences between metaphylactic antimicrobials, and metaphylactic antimicrobial options appear to offer different outcomes on BRD morbidity and mortality odds in feedlot cattle