A Look at Veterinary Technicians

Veterinary technicians should actually be termed animal technicians, although the paraprofessional vocation is most generally associated with the veterinary profession. Other situations where animal technicians are employed include biological research at various laboratories, drug and feed companies, animal production facilities, and others. It should be emphasized that the animal technician serves primarily as an assistant to senior biological workers, technologists, and other scientists as well as to veterinarians

Chromo-dynamic multi-component lattice Boltzmann equation scheme for axial symmetry

We validate the chromo-dynamic multi-component lattice Boltzmann equation (MCLBE) simulation for immiscible fluids with a density contrast against analytical results for complex flow geometries, with particular emphasis on the fundamentals of the method, i.e. compliance with inter-facial boundary conditions of continuum hydrodynamics. To achieve the necessary regimes for the chosen validations, we develop, from a three-dimensional, axially-symmetric flow formulation, a novel, two-dimensional, pseudo Cartesian, MCLBE scheme. This requires the inclusion in lattice Boltzmann methodology of a continuously distributed source and a velocity-dependent force density (here, the metric force terms of the cylindrical Navier–Stokes equations). Specifically, we apply our model to the problem of flow past a spherical liquid drop in Re = 0, Ca regime and, also, flow past a lightly deformed drop. The resulting simulation data, once corrected for the simulation’s inter-facial micro-current (using a method we also advance herein, based on freezing the phase field) show good agreement with theory over a small range of density contrasts. In particular, our data extend verified compliance with the kinematic condition from flat (Burgin et al 2019 Phys. Rev. E 100 043310) to the case of curved fluid–fluid interfaces. More generally, our results indicate a route to eliminate the influence of the inter-facial micro-current

Tests of the efficiency of steam separators

Citation: Whipple, James Halley and Seaton, Roy A. Tests of the efficiency of steam separators. Senior thesis, Kansas State Agricultural College, 1904.Morse Department of Special CollectionsIntroduction: Unless steam is passed through a superheater after it leaves the boiler,it will carry with it a certain amount of entrained water. The violent ebulition in the boiler throws more or less water up in the steam space as spray,and some of this is carried along with the steam. Besides this,there is a certain amount of water in the steam caused by condensation in the pipes before it reaches the place where it is to be used. This water increases the initial condensation in the cylinder,and if there is a great deal of it present,may cause the cylinder heads to be blown out. To get rid of,so called "Steam Separators" are used. These depend for their action upon the fact that the water is several hundred times as heavy as the steam,and when the direction of flow of the steam is quickly changed,the inertia of the water carries it on out of the path of the steam into a chamber where it can be drawn off. Ribbed plates called baffles are usually used to collect the water and direct its flow

Essay: Literature and Business: Hostility and Dullness

This is a publication of the Michigan State Law Review

The blended approach to real estate allocations: performance implications of combining an exposure to German Spezialfonds with Global Listed Real Estate Securities

This paper seeks to increase the understanding of the performance implications for investors who choose to combine an unlisted real estate portfolio (in this case German Spezialfonds) with a (global) listed real estate element. We call this a “blended” approach to real estate allocations. For the avoidance of doubt, in this paper we are dealing purely with real estate equity (listed and unlisted) allocations, and do not incorporate real estate debt (listed or unlisted) or direct property into the process. A previous paper (Moss and Farrelly 2014) showed the benefits of the blended approach as it applied to UK Defined Contribution Pension Schemes. The catalyst for this paper has been the recent attention focused on German pension fund allocations, which have a relatively low (real estate) equity content, and a high bond content. We have used the MSCI Spezialfonds Index as a proxy for domestic German institutional real estate allocations, and the EPRA Global Developed Index as a proxy for a global listed real estate allocation. We also examine whether a rules based trading strategy, in this case Trend Following, can improve the risk adjusted returns above those of a simple buy and hold strategy for our sample period 2004-2015. Our findings are that by blending a 30% global listed portfolio with a 70% allocation (as opposed to a typical 100% weighting) to Spezialfonds, the real estate allocation returns increase from 2.88% p.a. to 5.42% pa. Volatility increases, but only to 6.53%., but there is a noticeable impact on maximum drawdown which increases to 19.4%. By using a Trend Following strategy raw returns are improved from 2.88% to 6.94% p.a. , The Sharpe Ratio increases from 1.05 to 1.49 and the Maximum Drawdown ratio is now only 1.83% compared to 19.4% using a buy and hold strategy . Finally, adding this (9%) real estate allocation to a mixed asset portfolio allocation typical for German pension funds there is an improvement in both the raw return (from 7.66% to 8.28%) and the Sharpe Ratio (from 0.91 to 0.98)

Can sector specific REIT strategies outperform a diversified benchmark?

Purpose: We investigate the performance of different portfolios of REITs which specialise by property type compared to the performance of a diversified free-float market capitalisation weighted benchmark index to determine whether superior risk-adjusted returns can be achieved.. Design/methodology/approach: Firstly we examine the performance of portfolios constructed using the criteria of Equal Weight, Minimum Variance, Maximum Sharpe and Risk Parity rather than free-float market capitalisation. Secondly we apply an automated trading strategy of Trend Following to see if this filter will improve risk-adjusted returns. Findings: The two step process of forming combinations of REIT sectors with the subsequent addition of a trend following overlay can offer clear benefits relative to a passive benchmark investment. Research limitations/implications: Although three of the four strategies were shown to outperform the benchmark index on a risk-adjusted basis, one issue was that the efficient portfolios tended to have large weightings to relatively few sectors. We also found that maximum drawdowns (losses) of the strategies tended to be rather high, as was the benchmark Practical implications: The methods outlined in this paper can be applied to construct superior risk-adjusted REIT portfolios globally. Originality/value: Although studies have been undertaken separately on REIT specialisation, and Trend Following in equity and commodity markets this paper is the first to combines the two topics, and therefore has particular value for real estate fund managers globally

Population pharmacokinetics of a single daily intramuscular dose of gentamicin in children with severe malnutrition

Article published in Journal of Antimicrobial ChemotherapyObjectives: The World Health Organization recommends that all children admitted with severe malnutrition should routinely receive parenteral ampicillin and gentamicin; despite this, mortality remains high. Since this population group is at risk of altered volume of distribution, we aimed to study the population pharmacokinetics of once daily gentamicin (7.5 mg/kg) in children with severe malnutrition and to evaluate clinical factors affecting pharmacokinetic parameters. Methods: Thirty-four children aged 0.5–10 years were studied. One hundred and thirty-two gentamicin concentrations (median of four per patient), drawn 0.4–24.6 h after administration of the intramuscular dose, were analysed. The data were fitted by a two-compartment model using the population package NONMEMw. Results: Gentamicin was rapidly absorbed and all concentrations measured within the first 2 h after administration were >8 mg/L (indicating that satisfactory peak concentrations were achieved). Ninetyeight percent of samples measured more than 20 h after the dose were <1 mg/L. The best model included weight, and it was found that high base deficit, high creatinine concentration and low temperature (all markers of hypovolaemic shock) reduced clearance (CL/F). Weight influenced volume of the central (V1/F) and peripheral (V2/F) compartments, and high base deficit reduced V2/F and intercompartmental CL (Q/F). Interindividual variability in CL was 26%, in V1/F 33% and in V2/F and Q/F was 52%. Individual estimates of CL/F ranged from 0.02 to 0.16 (median 0.10) L/h/kg and those of Vss/F from 0.26 to 1.31 (median 0.67) L/kg. Initial half-lives had a median of 1.4 h and elimination half-lives and a median of 14.9 h. Excessive concentrations were observed in one patient who had signs of renal impairment and shock. Conclusions: Although a daily dose of 7.5 mg/kg achieves satisfactory gentamicin concentrations in the majority of patients, patients with renal impairment and shock may be at risk of accumulation with 24 hourly dosing. Further studies of gentamicin pharmacokinetics in this group are now needed to inform future international guideline recommendations

How Does the 'Pacific' Fit into the 'Indo-Pacific'? The Changing Geopolitics of the Pacific Islands: Workshop Report

How does the Pacific fit into the Indo-Pacific? Read a summary of the thoughts of Pacific, NZ and Australian speakers on the changing geopolitics of the region during a recent workshop at the ANU.AusAI

Men’s Physical Activity and Sleep Following a Workplace Health Intervention: Findings from the POWERPLAY STEP Up challenge

The workplace provides an important delivery point for health promotion, yet many programs fail to engage men. A gender-sensitive 8-week team challenge-based intervention targeting increased physical activity was delivered at a petrochemical worksite. The purpose of this study was to examine men’s pre–post physical activity and sleep following the intervention, as well as to explore program acceptability and gather men’s recommendations for health promotion. Pre–post surveys assessed physical activity, sleep, program exposure, acceptability, and suggestions for continued support. Overall, 328 men completed baseline surveys and 186 (57%) completed follow-up surveys. Walking increased by 156.5 min/week, 95% confidence interval (61.2, 251.8), p = .001. Men with higher program exposure increased moderate and vigorous activity 49.4 min more than those with low exposure (p = .026). Sleep duration and quality were higher postintervention, though changes were modest. Program acceptability was high as was intention to maintain physical activity. Men’s suggestions to enable physical activity involved workplace practices/resources, reducing workload, and leadership support. These findings suggest that a gender-sensitive physical activity workplace intervention showed promise for improving physical activity and sleep among men. The men’s suggestions reflected workplace health promotion strategies, reinforcing the need for employers to support ongoing health promotion efforts

PH207x: Health in Numbers and PH278x: Human Health and Global Environmental Change: 2012-2013 Course Report

In the 2012-2013 academic year, the first two Harvard School of Public Health courses were offered through HarvardX on the edX platform: PH207x: Health in Numbers and PH278x: Human Health and Global Environmental Change. They were taught by Professors Earl Francis Cook and Marcello Pagano, and Aaron Bernstein and Jack Spengler, respectively. This report describes the structure of these two courses, the demographic characteristics of registrants, and the activity of students. This report was prepared by researchers external to the course teams and is based on examination of the courseware, analyses of the data collected by the edX platform, and interviews and consultations with the course faculty and team members