The first record of Merycomyia whitneyi (Johnson), tribe Bouvieromyiini (Diptera: Tabanidae), from Texas and from west of the Mississippi River

The first collections of Merycomyia whitneyi (Johnson), (Diptera: Tabanidae: Chrysopsinae: Bouvieromyiini) from Texas and from west of the Mississippi River are reported, and the Nearctic species of the Tribe Bouvieromyiini are discussed

Input-output characterization of fiber reinforced composites by P waves

Input-output characterization of fiber composites is studied theoretically by tracing P waves in the media. A new path motion to aid in the tracing of P and the reflection generated SV wave paths in the continuum plate is developed. A theoretical output voltage from the receiving transducer is calculated for a tone burst. The study enhances the quantitative and qualitative understanding of the nondestructive evaluation of fiber composites which can be modeled as transversely isotropic media

Input-output characterization of fiber composites by SH waves

Input-output characterization of fiber composites is studied theoretically by tracing SH waves in the media. A fiberglass epoxy composite is modeled as a homogeneous transversely isotropic continuum plate. The reflection of an SH wave at a stress-free plane boundary in a semi-infinite transversely isotropic medium is considered first. It is found that an incident SH wave reflects only a similar SH wave back into the medium. It is also established that the angle of reflection of the reflected wave is equal to the angle of incidence of the incident wave. The phase velocity of the SH waves and the delay time of the SH waves in reaching the receiving transducer are computed as functions of a reflection index, defined as the number of reflections of the SH waves from the bottom face of the continuum plate. The directivity function corresponding to the shear stress associated with the SH waves in the continuum plate is also derived as a function of the reflection index. A theoretical output voltage from the receiving transducer is calculated for a tone burst (a periodic input voltage of finite duration). The output voltage is shown for tone bursts of duration 60 microseconds and center frequencies of 0.75, 1.00, and 1.25 MHz. The study enhances the quantitative and qualitative understanding of the nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of fiber composites which can be modeled as transversely isotropic media

Investigation of taste tainting in salmon flesh in the Ribble catchment

This report presents the findings of the first phase of an investigation into the cause(s) of taints in salmonid fish in the River Ribble, commissioned by the North West Region of the Environment Agency. There have been reports of tainting in fish taken from both the estuary and the freshwater river for many years, but the contaminants involved and their source and transport pathway are unknown. Tainting by phenols has been of specific concern in the past. The work programme comprised: examination of tainting reports; collection of salmonids; their submission for taste testing; literature review; analysis of fish flesh using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and analysis of river bed sediments. From enquiries, three common descriptors of the 'taint' were identified: disinfectanty; diesely; and muddy. The incidence of taints appears transient/irregular and may therefore relate to the incidence of discharges and specific threshold concentrations of pollutants. The literature review showed that a wide range of organic compounds including many industrial chemicals, and others which are naturally occurring, can taint fish flesh. Taste testing confirmed the presence of tainted salmon and trout in the Ribbie Catchment. It identified a low incidence of 'untainted' fish but demonstrated the 'taint' to be not specific to one tainting substance. Differences were found both between the species and fish from different parts of the catchment. Overall, most fish exhibited an unpleasant flavour, though this may have been influenced to some extent by the fact that most were sexually mature. The worst tainting was found in trout from the river Calder: a soapy/chemical aftertaste. An unpleasant earthy/musty flavour distinguished the salmon from the trout. Phenol was shown to have been a minor issue during the present study, whilst no hydrocarbon taints were identified. Examination of tissue from the eight salmon exhibiting the worst taints revealed the presence of aromatic hydrocarbons, but no phenolic compounds. Other notable substances present in the fish were siioxanes and benzophenone. Data from sediment analysis is presented which shows the main compounds present to be aromatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, that concentrations at two locations R. Darwen and R. Calder were significantly higher than at other sites, and that some phenolic compounds were detected at low levels. A paucity of fish flesh taste descriptors linked to specific compounds prevented an obvious correlation to be made between the tastes observed and the organic compounds detected. Descriptors frequently used by the taste testing panel (e.g. earthy, musty, astringency, chemical) cannot be linked to any of the compounds identified in the tissue analyses. No taste information was available from the literature on siioxanes. Aromatic hydrocarbons though present in tissue and sediments were not identified as tainting

Terlipressin or norepinephrine in septic shock: do we have the answer?

Comment on Terlipressin versus norepinephrine as infusion in patients with septic shock: a multicentre, randomised, double-blinded trial. [Intensive Care Med. 2018

Pilot-testing a Cancer 101 Education Curriculum with the Fairbanks Native Association’s Women & Children’s Center for Inner Healing

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Alaska Native people Nevertheless, due to improved detection awareness about cancer prevention, early screening and advances in treatment survival rates are rising

Cost-effectiveness analysis in R using a multi-state modelling survival analysis framework: a tutorial

This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide to performing cost-effectiveness analysis using a multi-state modelling approach. Alongside the tutorial we provide easy-to-use functions in the statistics package R. We argue this multi-state modelling approach using a package such as R has advantages over approaches where models are built in a spreadsheet package. In particular, using a syntax-based approach means there is a written record of what was done and the calculations are transparent. Reproducing the analysis is straightforward as the syntax just needs to be run again. The approach can be thought of as an alternative way to build a Markov decision analytic model, which also has the option to use a state-arrival extended approach if the Markov property does not hold. In the state-arrival extended multi-state model a covariate that represents patients’ history is included allowing the Markov property to be tested. We illustrate the building of multi-state survival models, making predictions from the models and assessing fits. We then proceed to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis including deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Finally, we show how to create two common methods of visualising the results, namely cost-effectiveness planes and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. The analysis is implemented entirely within R. It is based on adaptions to functions in the existing R package mstate, to accommodate parametric multi-state modelling which facilitates extrapolation of survival curves