Radon Measures on Banach Spaces with their Weak Topologies

The main concern of this paper is to present some improvements to results on the existence or non-existence of countably additive Borel measures that are not Radon measures on Banach spaces taken with their weak topologies, on the standard axioms (ZFC) of set-theory. However, to put the results in perspective we shall need to say something about consistency results concerning measurable cardinals

Swimming in Granular Media

We study a simple model of periodic contraction and extension of large intruders in a granular bed to understand the mechanism for swimming in an otherwise solid media. Using an event-driven simulation, we find optimal conditions that idealized swimmers must use to critically fluidize a sand bed so that it is rigid enough to support a load when needed, but fluid enough to permit motion with minimal resistance. Swimmers - or other intruders - that agitate the bed too rapidly produce large voids that prevent traction from being achieved, while swimmers that move too slowly cannot travel before the bed re-solidifies around them i.e., the swimmers locally probe the fundamental time-scale in a granular packing

The effect of cultural and environmental factors on potato seed tuber morphology and subsequent sprout and stem development

Seed crops of the variety Estima were grown in each of 2 years using two planting dates, two harvest dates, two plant densities and two irrigation regimes to produce seed tubers which had experienced different cultural and environmental conditions. The effects of these treatments on tuber characteristics, sprout production and stem development in the ware crop were then determined in subsequent experiments using storage regimes of 3 and 10 °C. Time of planting the seed crop affected numbers of eyes, sprouts and above ground stems in the subsequent ware crop because environmental conditions around the time of tuber initiation appeared to alter tuber shape. Cooler, wetter conditions in the 7 days after tuber initiation were associated with tubers which were longer, heavier and had more eyes, sprouts and above ground stems. In contrast, the time of harvesting the seed crop did not affect tuber shape or numbers of above ground stems and there was no interaction with tuber size. The density of the seed crop had no effect on any character measured and irrigation well after tuber initiation did not affect tuber shape, numbers of sprouts or numbers of stems. Seed production treatments, which resulted in earlier dormancy break, were associated with tubers that produced more sprouts and above ground stems, in contrast to the conventional understanding of apical dominance. Storage at 3 °C gave fewer sprouts, a lower proportion of eyes with sprouts and fewer stems than storage at 10 °C. The major effects on stem production appear to result from environmental conditions at the time of tuber initiation of the seed crop and sprouting temperature

Efficacy of Interactive Internet-Based Education in Structural Timber Design

While traditional teaching methods (e.g., real-time, synchronous lectures) have proven effective for training future engineers, the Internet provides an avenue to reinforce the material and augment student learning, comprehension, and retention of material. This paper presents the integration and assessment of a library of interactive instructional modules specifically for a senior-level undergraduate elective course in civil engineering. An ongoing, comprehensive assessment process was implemented in the fall 1999 semester. The results of this quantitative assessment indicate that the use of well designed and pedagogically sound Internet-based supplemental modules provide students with a better understanding of course material. However, when Internet-based content does not promote critical thinking, little increase in the student performance and understanding of the material is realized. Interactive Web-based instruction should not be viewed as a “replacement” to traditional instruction, but rather a tool that provides a broader and more dynamic environment for students with a variety of learning styles

Survival and recovery modeling of acute kidney injury in critically ill adults

Objectives: Acute kidney injury is common among the critically ill. However, the incidence, medication use, and outcomes of acute kidney injury have been variably described. We conducted a single-center, retrospective cohort study to examine the risk factors and correlates associated with acute kidney injury in critically ill adults with a particular focus on medication class usage. Methods: We reviewed the electronic medical records of all adult patients admitted to an intensive care unit between 1 February and 30 August 2020. Acute kidney injury was defined by the 2012 Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes guidelines. Data included were demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, laboratory parameters, interventions, and outcomes. The primary outcome was acute kidney injury incidence. A Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator regression model was used to determine risk factors associated with acute kidney injury. Secondary outcomes including acute kidney injury recovery and intensive care unit mortality were analyzed using a Cox regression model. Results: Among 226 admitted patients, 108 (47.8%) experienced acute kidney injury. 37 (34.3%), 39 (36.1%), and 32 patients (29.6%) were classified as acute kidney injury stages I–III, respectively. Among the recovery and mortality cohorts, analgesics/sedatives, anti-infectives, and intravenous fluids were significant (p-value \u3c 0.05). The medication classes IV-fluid electrolytes nutrition (96.7%), gastrointestinal (90.2%), and anti-infectives (81.5%) were associated with an increased odds of developing acute kidney injury, odd ratios: 1.27, 1.71, and 1.70, respectively. Cox regression analyses revealed a significantly increased time-varying mortality risk for acute kidney injury-stage III, hazard ratio: 4.72 (95% confidence interval: 1–22.33). In the recovery cohort, time to acute kidney injury recovery was significantly faster in stage I, hazard ratio: 9.14 (95% confidence interval: 2.14–39.06) cohort when compared to the stage III cohort. Conclusion: Evaluation of vital signs, laboratory, and medication use data may be useful to determine acute kidney injury risk stratification. The influence of particular medication classes further impacts the risk of developing acute kidney injury, necessitating the importance of examining pharmacotherapeutic regimens for early recognition of renal impairment and prevention