PEP Property Estimation Program and Chemical Property Database

PEP Overview A property Estimation Program (PEP), utilizing MCI-property, TSA-property and property correlations and UNIFAC-derived activity coefficients, has been developed for the Apple Macintosh microcomputer to provide the user with several approaches to estimate S, Kow, Pv, H, Koc, and BCF depending on the information available. Structural information required for the MCi and UNIFAC calculation routines can be entered using either Simplified Molecular Identification and Line Entry System (SMILES) notation or connection tables generated with commercially available two-dimensional drawing programs. The TSA module accepts 3-D atomic coordinates entered manually or directly reads coordinate files generated by molecular modeling software. The program’s built-in intelligence helps the user choose the most appropriate QSPR or QPPR based on the structure of the chemical of interest. In addiction, the statistical information associated with each QSPR or QPPR in PEP can be displayed to help the user determine the model’s validity. For the regression-based property estimation models, assessments of accuracy based on the 95% confidence interval and estimated precision of the experimental values are also provided along with the estimated property value. PEP also provides a batch mode that provides users with a method for the convenient, unattended calculation of MCIs, TSA and UNIFAC activity coefficients and the subsequent estimation of physical properties for large numbers of compounds. A chemical property database, containing experimental values of S, Kow, H, Pv, Koc, and BCF complied from a variety of literature sources and computerized databases was used for developing the MCI-property, TSA-Property and property-property relationships used in PEP. This database, which currently contains over 800 chemicals, is linked directly to PEP. The property estimation modules in PEP are also linked directly to the Level 1 and 2 Fugacity Models. The combination of the various property estimation methods, chemical property database, and simple environmental fate models provides users with a methodology for predicting the environmental distribution of an organic chemical in a multi-phase system requiring only the structure of the chemical of interest as input. PEP was designed to be intuitive and user friendly. The easiest way to become familiar with the PEP is to try clicking on the buttons and pull down menus found on each card. Any comments or suggestions regarding improving the operation of PEP would be greatly appreciated by the authors

The promise and peril of innovation: a critical analysis of discourse, power and identity at an Internet company

This dissertation examines creativity and innovation as a pervasive management discourse that shapes the production of meaning and identity within contemporary capitalism. While the discourse is often seen as a liberating force in the postindustrial economy, I highlight the ways in which it constructs specific relations of power/knowledge. Through analysis of a wide variety of texts produced by the cultural circuit of capitalism, I describe how the discourse constructs an innovation imperative, which mandates that organizations compete on the battleground of constant creativity and innovation or perish. The discourse circulates at the level of business culture and is taken up by organizations in pursuit of business transformation. In the second part of my analysis, I describe how the discourse shapes the conduct of an Internet company struggling to innovate in a competitive telecommunications industry. I contend that the management discourse of creativity and innovation functions as an art of government for stimulating and regulating the entrepreneurial capacities of individuals and organizations to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive global economy

Cancer Awareness in Alternative Settings: Lessons Learned and Evaluation of the Barbershop Men’s Health Project

Prostate and colorectal cancer are two of the leading causes of cancer deaths among African American men. This study describes lessons learned from the development, implementation and evaluation of a culturally appropriate, barbershop-based intervention to improve prostate and colorectal cancer screening awareness among African American men. Working with an Advisory Panel of shop owners, barbers, and cancer survivors, local barbers were recruited and trained as Community Health Advisors to educate, motivate, and assist their clients in becoming more knowledgeable about prostate and colorectal cancer. Survey results reveal increases in prostate and colorectal cancer knowledge and self-reported screening among participants. Lessons learned include the need for adequate project staffing and the appropriate role of the barber as a Community Health Advisor. Findings from this study suggest that barbershops are a promising setting for reaching African American men and could be used to target additional conditions that disproportionately impact this community

The UK Healthy Universities Self Review Tool: Whole System Impact

Over recent years, there has been growing interest in Healthy Universities, evidenced by an increased number of national networks and the participation of 375 participants from over 30 countries in the 2015 International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges, which also saw the launch of the Okanagan Charter. This paper reports on research exploring the use and impact of the UK Healthy Universities Network’s self review tool, specifically examining whether this has supported universities to understand and embed a whole system approach. The research study comprised two stages, the first using an online questionnaire and the second using focus groups. The findings revealed a wide range of perspectives under five overarching themes: motivations; process; outcomes/benefits; challenges/suggested improvements; and future use. In summary, the self review tool was extremely valuable and, when engaged with fully, offered significant benefits to universities seeking to improve the health and wellbeing of their communities. These benefits were felt by institutions at different stages in the journey and spanned outcome and process dimensions: not only did the tool offer an engaging and user-friendly means of undertaking internal benchmarking, generating an easy-to-understand report summarizing strengths and weaknesses; it also proved useful in building understanding of the whole system Healthy Universities approach and served as a catalyst to effective cross-university and cross-sectoral partnership working. Additionally, areas for potential enhancement were identified, offering opportunities to increase the tool’s utility further whilst engaging actively in the development of a global movement for Healthy Universitie

Assessing Causes of Change in the Freshwater Mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in the Black River, Ohio

Habitat destruction is believed to be the number one cause of the decline in unionid mussels. Around the world, cities, towns and agriculture alter the structure of watersheds, and the Black River in Ohio may be a typical example. We investigated the diversity and abundance of unionid mussels in this watershed and compared results to urbanization locations, to site-specific appearance of the habitat and to a 1997 fish survey, as host species are another factor important to the distribution of unionid mussels. Although shells were found for 21 species, only 11 of these species were found alive. Seven of the species represented only by shells occurred only in the urbanized lower main stem of the river and less than five shells were found for each. Most of these shells were old and worn. Furthermore, the present assemblage in the main stem varied from shells obtained at a nearby archeological site, and from a voucher set of species obtained at the turn of the 20th Century. Mussel communities higher in the river and those in tributaries were less diverse, but abundance of the species present was higher than in the main stem. A lack of fish hosts may limit mussel diversity, as hosts for several species present in the main stem do not reside higher in the watershed. Overall, mussel assemblages in the Black River appear typical for the region with relatively abundant, but low diversity communities upstream of the cities that line Lake Erie\u27s coast and diverse, but small and potentially threatened, populations in the urban regions

QCD Rescattering and High Energy Two-Body Photodisintegration of the Deuteron

Photon absorption by a quark in one nucleon followed by its high momentum transfer interaction with a quark in the other may produce two final-state nucleons with high relative momentum. We sum the relevant quark rescattering diagrams, to show that the scattering amplitude depends on a convolution between the large angle $pn$ scattering amplitude, the hard photon-quark interaction vertex and the low-momentum deuteron wave function. The computed absolute values of the cross section are in reasonable agreement with the data.Comment: 4 pages, revised version to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Oxidation resistance of graphene-coated Cu and Cu/Ni alloy

The ability to protect refined metals from reactive environments is vital to many industrial and academic applications. Current solutions, however, typically introduce several negative effects, including increased thickness and changes in the metal physical properties. In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time the ability of graphene films grown by chemical vapor deposition to protect the surface of the metallic growth substrates of Cu and Cu/Ni alloy from air oxidation. SEM, Raman spectroscopy, and XPS studies show that the metal surface is well protected from oxidation even after heating at 200 \degree C in air for up to 4 hours. Our work further shows that graphene provides effective resistance against hydrogen peroxide. This protection method offers significant advantages and can be used on any metal that catalyzes graphene growth

Outcomes Following Implementation of a Hospital-Wide, Multicomponent Delirium Care Pathway.

BackgroundDelirium is associated with poor clinical outcomes that could be improved with targeted interventions.ObjectiveTo determine whether a multicomponent delirium care pathway implemented across seven specialty nonintensive care units is associated with reduced hospital length of stay (LOS). Secondary objectives were reductions in total direct cost, odds of 30-day hospital readmission, and rates of safety attendant and restraint use.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included 22,708 hospitalized patients (11,018 preintervention) aged ≥50 years encompassing seven nonintensive care units: neurosciences, medicine, cardiology, general and specialty surgery, hematology-oncology, and transplant. The multicomponent delirium care pathway included a nurse-administered delirium risk assessment at admission, nurse-administered delirium screening scale every shift, and a multicomponent delirium intervention. The primary study outcome was LOS for all units combined and the medicine unit separately. Secondary outcomes included total direct cost, odds of 30-day hospital readmission, and rates of safety attendant and restraint use.ResultsAdjusted mean LOS for all units combined decreased by 2% post intervention (proportional change, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99; P = .0087). Medicine unit adjusted LOS decreased by 9% (proportional change, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83-0.99; P = .028). For all units combined, adjusted odds of 30-day readmission decreased by 14% (odds ratio [OR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.80-0.93; P = .0002). Medicine unit adjusted cost decreased by 7% (proportional change, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.96; P = .0002).ConclusionThis multicomponent hospital-wide delirium care pathway intervention is associated with reduced hospital LOS, especially for patients on the medicine unit. Odds of 30-day readmission decreased throughout the entire cohort