Systems study for an Integrated Digital-Electric Aircraft (IDEA)

The results of the Integrated Digital/Electric Aircraft (IDEA) Study are presented. Airplanes with advanced systems were, defined and evaluated, as a means of identifying potential high payoff research tasks. A baseline airplane was defined for comparison, typical of a 1990's airplane with advanced active controls, propulsion, aerodynamics, and structures technology. Trade studies led to definition of an IDEA airplane, with extensive digital systems and electric secondary power distribution. This airplane showed an improvement of 3% in fuel use and 1.8% in DOC relative to the baseline configuration. An alternate configuration, an advanced technology turboprop, was also evaluated, with greater improvement supported by digital electric systems. Recommended research programs were defined for high risk, high payoff areas appropriate for implementation under NASA leadership

Items to be Included in a Food Safety Handbook for Artisan Cheese Makers

Current written resources for artisan cheese makers include topics concerning cheese history, cheese recipes, budget planning, culture selection, processing parameters, and only limited discussion of food safety associated with cheese manufacturing. Most often food safety discussions center on HACCP, which typically are not included in artisan cheese operation planning. Recent changes in the regulatory landscape, including the Food Safety Modernization Act, make this information timely and needed. This research is designed to identify and collect a majority of topical ideas that should be included in a Food Safety Handbook for Artisan Cheese Makers. Where possible, expansion of the ideas has been included. It is felt that this information, once collected could be put in a handbook for artisan cheese makers that would provide a day-to-day reference manual for making safe, high quality Artisan cheese

Evaluation of a postgraduate examination for primary care: perceptions and performance of general practitioner trainers in the multiple choice paper of the Membership Examination of the Royal College of General Practitioners

This study aimed to investigate the performance of a sample of general practitioner (GP) trainers in the multiple choice paper (MCP) of the Membership Examination of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) and to obtain their views of the content of the paper and its relevance to general practice using a written knowledge test and self-administered questionnaire. The participants were volunteer GP trainers in the Northern, Wessex, Kent, Education for Primary Care (2007) 18: 165–72 # 2007 Radcliffe Publishing Limited WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN IN THIS AREA . Feedback from GP registrar candidates sitting the multiple choice paper (MCP) suggests that the paper has good face and content validity, although pressure of time is a problem. . Candidates find the questions in the paper challenging but most believe they assess common or important problems in general practice. WHAT THIS WORK ADDS . Most trainers in this study believed that the paper assessed knowledge of common or important topics relevant to general practice, that the majority of questions were appropriate, clear and unambiguous and that time pressure was not a problem. . Trainers in this study performed significantly better overall compared to registrars and did so without making prior preparation. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH . Repeating the study with non-trainer GPs could provide further information on the validity of the MCP as an applied knowledge test appropriate for established GPs taking the MRCGP as well as those nearing completion of training Keywords: attitudes, examination, general practice trainers, MRCGP, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) and Northwest deaneries of the UK. The trainers completed a shortened version of an MRCGP MCP paper under examination conditions and provided feedback immediately afterwards. Of 191 trainers invited to participate, 86 (45%) sat the paper and of these, 81 completed the questionnaire. Most trainers believed that the paper assessed knowledge of common or important topics relevant to general practice, that the majority of questions were appropriate, clear and unambiguous and that time pressure was not a problem. Trainers performed significantly better compared to registrars overall, and in questions on medicine related to general practice and practice administration but not research methodology or critical appraisal. They did so without making prior preparation. The findings from this group of trainers lend support to the face validity and content validity of the MRCGP MCP examination as an assessment of applied knowledge of general practice

Caribbean Migrant Experiences in Church and Society

One of the greatest ironies of the Caribbean community in New York is, that it is at one and the same time, both power-full and powerless. Its power lies essentially in a relatively untapped and latent potential, whereas its powerlessness rests in its virtual immobilization as an ethnic group. By dint of sheer numbers the Caribbean presence, whether solely anglophone/West Indian, or more broadly representative of the wider Caribbean Basin, is a formidable force to reckon with, since over 30 percent of the immigrant population of New York is Caribbean. In fact, they are among the fastest growing immigrant groups. Just a cursory look at the Labor Day Carnival in Brooklyn provides dazzling proof of a dynamic physical presence that has explosive social, cultural, and economic potential, which has not yet been harnessed for a sustained development agenda capable of transforming the political image and influence of Caribbean immigrants in New York

EFFECT OF PROTEIN LEVEL AND VARYING PROTEIN – LIPID CONCENTRATIONS ON GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS OF JUVENILE SPOTTED GRUNTER POMADASYS COMMERSONNII (HAEMULIDAE)

A 60-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary crude protein level on growth, feed conversion and protein efficiency ratio of juvenile (3–6 g) spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii. In the experiment, six semi-purified diets containing casein and fishmeal as protein sources, and with crude protein levels ranging from 35 to 60&#37, were fed to three replicate groups of fish per treatment in a recirculating system at the optimum temperature for growth. The relationships between dietary crude protein level and growth parameters were analysed by broken-line regression models. Results suggest that 48–50&#37 dietary protein is needed for optimum growth and feed conversion for P. commersonnii. In a second experiment, three protein levels (35, 45 and 55&#37) at three different lipid concentrations (6, 8 and 12&#37) were used to formulate nine semi-purified diets that were fed for 60 days to triplicate groups of fish per treatment. Results suggest that a diet of at least 45&#37 protein with a 12&#37 lipid inclusion level is required for the best specific growth rate (5.96&#37 per day) and feed conversion ratio (1.72) at this specific stage in the growth phase of P. commersonnii.Afr. J. mar. Sci. 25: 283-28

Grey and white matter correlates of recent and remote autobiographical memory retrieval:Insights from the dementias

The capacity to remember self-referential past events relies on the integrity of a distributed neural network. Controversy exists, however, regarding the involvement of specific brain structures for the retrieval of recently experienced versus more distant events. Here, we explored how characteristic patterns of atrophy in neurodegenerative disorders differentially disrupt remote versus recent autobiographical memory. Eleven behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia, 10 semantic dementia, 15 Alzheimer's disease patients and 14 healthy older Controls completed the Autobiographical Interview. All patient groups displayed significant remote memory impairments relative to Controls. Similarly, recent period retrieval was significantly compromised in behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease, yet semantic dementia patients scored in line with Controls. Voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging analyses, for all participants combined, were conducted to investigate grey and white matter correlates of remote and recent autobiographical memory retrieval. Neural correlates common to both recent and remote time periods were identified, including the hippocampus, medial prefrontal, and frontopolar cortices, and the forceps minor and left hippocampal portion of the cingulum bundle. Regions exclusively implicated in each time period were also identified. The integrity of the anterior temporal cortices was related to the retrieval of remote memories, whereas the posterior cingulate cortex emerged as a structure significantly associated with recent autobiographical memory retrieval. This study represents the first investigation of the grey and white matter correlates of remote and recent autobiographical memory retrieval in neurodegenerative disorders. Our findings demonstrate the importance of core brain structures, including the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, irrespective of time period, and point towards the contribution of discrete regions in mediating successful retrieval of distant versus recently experienced events

Identification of decomposition volatile organic compounds from surface deposited and submerged porcine remains

Cadaver dogs are routinely used internationally by police and civilian search organisations to locate human remains on land and in water, yet little is currently known about the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are released by a cadaver underwater; how this compares to those given off by a cadaver deposited on land; and ultimately, how this affects the detection of drowned victims by dogs. The aim of this study was to identify the VOCs released by whole porcine (Sus scrofa domesticus) cadavers deposited on the surface and submerged in water using solid phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME GC–MS) to ascertain if there are notable differences in decomposition odour depending on the deposition location. For the first time in the UK, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the headspace of decomposing porcine cadavers deposited in both terrestrial and water environments have been detected and identified using SPME-GCMS, including thirteen new VOCs not previously detected from porcine cadavers. Distinct differences were found between the VOCs emitted by porcine cadavers in terrestrial and water environments. In total, seventy-four VOCs were identified from a variety of different chemical classes; carboxylic acids, alcohols, aromatics, aldehydes, ketones, hydrocarbons, esters, ethers, nitrogen compounds and sulphur compounds. Only forty-one VOCs were detected in the headspace of the submerged pigs with seventy detected in the headspace of the surface-deposited pigs. These deposition-dependent differences have important implications for the training of cadaver dogs in the UK. If dog training does not account for these depositional differences, there is potential for human remains to be missed. Whilst the specific odours that elicit a trained response from cadaver dogs remain unknown, this research means that recommendations can be made for the training of cadaver dogs to incorporate different depositions, to account for odour differences and mitigate the possibility of missed human remains operationally

Association of race and health insurance in treatment disparities of colon cancer: A retrospective analysis utilizing a national population database in the United States

Background Both health insurance status and race independently impact colon cancer (CC) care delivery and outcomes. The relative importance of these factors in explaining racial and insurance disparities is less clear, however. This study aimed to determine the association and interaction of race and insurance with CC treatment disparities. Study setting Retrospective cohort review of a prospective hospital-based database. Methods and findings In this cross-sectional study, patients diagnosed with stage I to III CC in the United States were identified from the National Cancer Database (NCDB; 2006 to 2016). Multivariable regression with generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were performed to evaluate the association of insurance and race/ethnicity with odds of receipt of surgery (stage I to III) and adjuvant chemotherapy (stage III), with an additional 2-way interaction term to evaluate for effect modification. Confounders included sex, age, median income, rurality, comorbidity, and nodes and margin status for the model for chemotherapy. Of 353,998 patients included, 73.8% (n = 261,349) were non-Hispanic White (NHW) and 11.7% (n = 41,511) were non-Hispanic Black (NHB). NHB patients were less likely to undergo resection [odds ratio (OR) 0.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.61 to 0.72, p < 0.001] or to receive adjuvant chemotherapy [OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.87, p < 0.001] compared to NHW patients. NHB patients with private or Medicare insurance were less likely to undergo resection [OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.91, p = 0.004 (private insurance); OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.66, p < 0.001 (Medicare)] and to receive adjuvant chemotherapy [0.77, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.87, p < 0.001 (private insurance); OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.91, p < 0.001 (Medicare)] compared to similarly insured NHW patients. Although Hispanic patients with private and Medicare insurance were also less likely to undergo surgical resection, this was not the case with adjuvant chemotherapy. This study is mainly limited by the retrospective nature and by the variables provided in the dataset; granular details such as continuity or disruption of insurance coverage or specific chemotherapy agents or dosing cannot be assessed within NCDB. Conclusions This study suggests that racial disparities in receipt of treatment for CC persist even among patients with similar health insurance coverage and that different disparities exist for different racial/ethnic groups. Changes in health policy must therefore recognize that provision of insurance alone may not eliminate cancer treatment racial disparities.ECU ALS PLOS Institutional Account Progra

Recent advances in hepatic transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh.

FK506 undoubtedly improved the survival advantage of hepatic allotransplantation. Hepatic-intestinal and multivisceral transplantation has also become a feasible therapy for patients with combined intestinal and liver failure. With better understanding of the immunologic and metabolic aspects of allo- and xenotransplantation, further clinical attempts to transplant animal organs to humans may be considered with the hope for a better outcome in the very near future