Chemical Reactions Controlling Copper Transportation in the Upper Clark Fork of the Columbia River

Water samples were collected from the Clark Fork of the Columbia River in Montana and analyzed for major components as well as copper. A model was developed to interpret the copper toxicity and the transport of copper through the study area. Major complexing of the copper(II) was by carbonate and sulfate. Water hardness reduces the copper (II) toxicity by at least a factor of 10

The Importance Of Culture Change And Change Management In Successful Implementation Of Sap Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has enabled organizations to connect vendors, the organization, and customers in an almost seamless manner with real-time accurate communication and information. In an increasingly competitive environment, businesses are looking for ways to become more competitive within their marketplace. Many are turning to ERP solutions to facilitate multiple competitive priorities to stand above competing businesses or to create a new competitive advantage. Critical success factors and change management are the primary vehicles for the achievement of success in the adoption of these systems. This research studies how change management becomes a significant link to successful ERP implementation

The Viceroyalty of Miami: Colonial Nostalgia and the Making of an Imperial City

This dissertation argues that the history of Miami is best understood as an imperial history. In a series of thematic chapters, it demonstrates how the city came into existence as a result of expansionism and how it continued to maintain imperial distinctions and hierarchies as it incorporated new people, beginning as a colonial frontier prior to the nineteenth century and becoming an imperial center of the Americas in the twentieth century. In developing an imperial analysis of the city, “The Viceroyalty of Miami” pays particular attention to sources that elite imperialists generated. Their papers, publications, and speeches archive the leading and often loudest voices directing the city’s capitalist development and its future. This focus on the elite shows both their local power over the city and their global vision for it, putting local history into dialogue with newer scholarly approaches to global urban cities. Though imperialists worked to portray the area as untamed during the Spanish colonial period, taming nature became paramount in subsequent eras, especially during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century with the environmental transformation of south Florida. City founders intentionally introduced plants from the Americas and around the world that created an elite tropical culture in Miami, a consequence of overseas imperial acquisitions in 1898 in tropical parts of the world. Spanish revival architecture worked as the means of establishing U.S. sovereignty over a formerly contested frontier, but self-contained suburban development inaugurated persistent problems of metropolitan management. Finally, once imperialists laid claim to the soil and the building that sat upon it, they turned to the air, making Miami a projected site of U.S. power through aviation. In light of the four substantive chapters, the Epilogue recasts our understanding of ideological migration before and after 1959 as the final stage of Miami’s transformation from a colonial frontier to an imperial city

Cross-Reactivity of Antibodies against Leptospiral Recurrent Uveitis-Associated Proteins A and B (LruA and LruB) with Eye Proteins

Infection by Leptospira interrogans has been causally associated with human and equine uveitis. Studies in our laboratories have demonstrated that leptospiral lipoprotein LruA and LruB are expressed in the eyes of uveitic horses, and that antibodies directed against LruA and LruB react with equine lenticular and retinal extracts, respectively. These reactivities were investigated further by performing immunofluorescent assays on lenticular and retinal tissue sections. Incubation of lens tissue sections with LruA-antiserum and retinal sections with LruB-antiserum resulted in positive fluorescence. By employing two-dimensional gel analyses followed by immunoblotting and mass spectrometry, lens proteins cross-reacting with LruA antiserum were identified to be α-crystallin B and vimentin. Similarly, mass spectrometric analyses identified β-crystallin B2 as the retinal protein cross-reacting with LruB-antiserum. Purified recombinant human α-crystallin B and vimentin were recognized by LruA-directed antiserum, but not by control pre-immune serum. Recombinant β-crystallin B2 was likewise recognized by LruB-directed antiserum, but not by pre-immune serum. Moreover, uveitic eye fluids contained significantly higher levels of antiibodies that recognized α-crystallin B, β-crystallin B2 and vimentin than did normal eye fluids. Our results indicate that LruA and LruB share immuno-relevant epitopes with eye proteins, suggesting that cross-reactive antibody interactions with eye antigens may contribute to immunopathogenesis of Leptospira-associated recurrent uveitis

Fractional flow reserve–guided coronary artery bypass grafting: Can intraoperative physiologic imaging guide decision making?

ObjectivesFractional flow reserve–guided coronary artery bypass grafting is emerging in cardiac surgery, in which the nature (anatomic and functional characteristics) of the target vessel epicardial coronary artery stenosis is important in graft site selection. The nature of the stenosis might determine a different physiologic response to bypass grafting. We report our recent experience using near infrared fluorescence complex angiography and perfusion analysis to identify the nature of stenoses in the target vessel by imaging the physiologic response to grafting.MethodsIn 167 patients who underwent consecutive multivessel coronary artery bypass grafting cases (63% off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting) with traditional anatomy-based revascularization, we imaged and analyzed 359 grafts (53% arterial). This platform provides angiographic data of both the target vessel epicardial coronary artery and graft simultaneously (to assess the imaged competitive flow); and because a change in fluorescence intensity is proportional to the change in blood flow and perfusion, the quantified change (if any) in regional myocardial perfusion surrounding the grafted target vessel epicardial coronary artery.ResultsThe patient outcomes in our series were excellent. All 359 grafts were widely patent by angiography, and 24% of the arterial and 22% of the saphenous vein grafts showed no regional myocardial perfusion change in response to bypass grafting. In 165 in situ internal mammary artery grafts to the left anterior descending artery (>70% stenosis), 40 had no change in regional myocardial perfusion, and 32 of the 40 had competitive flow imaged.ConclusionsAn important number of angiographically patent bypass grafts demonstrated no change in regional myocardial perfusion, suggesting anatomic, but nonfunctional, stenoses in those target vessel epicardial coronary arteries. In in situ arterial grafts, imaged competitive flow is associated with nonfunctional stenoses in the target vessel epicardial coronary artery. Imaging these physiologic responses to target vessel revascularization might be useful in the emerging fractional flow reserve–guided era

"For me, the anorexia is just a symptom, and the cause is the autism” – Investigating restrictive eating disorders in autistic women

Autistic women are overrepresented among people in treatment for Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The current study aimed to: (1) better understand how AN develops and persists in autistic individuals from the perspective of autistic women, parents and healthcare professionals; (2) derive a theoretical model of restrictive eating difficulties in autism. We conducted 44 semi-structured interviews and used Thematic Analysis to identify patterns of meaning across the data. Themes related to sensory sensitivities, social interaction and relationships, sense of self and identity, difficulties with emotions, thinking styles, and a need for control and predictability. We developed a model of potential autism-specific mechanisms underlying restrictive eating difficulties. This study generated novel insights, which have the potential to inform treatment adaptations following empirical testing

The Alaska Shellfish Industry

The State of Alask

Investigating service users’ perspectives of eating disorder services: A meta-synthesis

Objective: Despite a number of qualitative studies published from the perspective of eating disorder (ED) service users, there has been no attempt to exclusively synthesise their views to gain a fuller understanding of their ED service experiences. It is important to understand this perspective, since previous research highlights the difficulties ED healthcare professionals report when working with this client group. Method: A systematic search of the literature was conducted to identify qualitative studies focusing on experiences of ED services from the perspective of service users. Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria and underwent a quality appraisal check using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool for qualitative research. These were then synthesised using a meta-synthesis approach. Results: Four overarching themes were generated: ‘Treatment: Focus on physical vs. psychological symptoms’; ‘Service Environment: The role of control within services’; ‘Staff: Experiences with staff and the value of rapport’; and ‘Peer Influence: Camaraderie vs. comparison’. Service users expressed a desire for more psychological input to tackle underlying difficulties relating to their ED. A complex relationship with feelings of control was described, with some feeling over-controlled by service providers, while others retrospectively recognised the need for control to be taken away. Staff values, knowledge and trust played a significant role in treatment and recovery. Peers with an ED were described to be a valuable source of understanding and empathy, but some found peer influence to perpetuate comparison and competitiveness. Discussion: The results portray some of the conflicts and complexities that service users encounter in ED services. A running thread throughout is the perceived importance of adopting an individualised approach within these services

A comparison of the eating disorder service experiences of autistic and non-autistic women in the UK

Objective Qualitative studies report that autistic women have poor experiences when being treated for an eating disorder (ED) and express that ED services are not appropriately tailored to meet their needs. It is unclear whether their experience differs to other women accessing ED services. The aim of the current study was to compare autistic and non-autistic women's ED illness history and experiences in ED services. Method An online survey about ED illness history and their experience with ED treatment was completed by 46 autistic women with a restrictive ED and 110 non-autistic women with a restrictive ED. Results Despite some similarities, there were three key differences in the experiences reported by autistic and non-autistic women. First, autistic women reported a longer duration of ED and being diagnosed with an ED at a younger age than non-autistic women. Second, autistic women reported accessing a broader range of healthcare settings and ED treatments than non-autistic women when being treated for an ED. Finally, autistic women rated their experiences of inpatient care, dietetic input, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as significantly less beneficial than non-autistic women when being treated for an ED. Conclusion These findings increase understanding of autistic women's ED experience and can help to shape ED services and treatments to better accommodate the needs of their autistic clients

Towards identifying a method of screening for autism amongst women with restrictive eating disorders

Abstract: Objective: Up to 37% of patients with anorexia nervosa score above cut‐off on autism screening measures. These individuals typically have poorer outcomes from standard eating disorder interventions and could therefore benefit from adaptations. Accurately identifying these individuals is important for improving autism referral processes and clinical pathway decisions. This study's aim was to identify subscales of questionnaires measuring constructs associated with either autism or eating disorders that, when combined with traditional autism screening measures, would improve the ability to identify women with restrictive eating disorders who might benefit from a full autism assessment. Method: One hundred and sixty women with restrictive eating disorders, with (n = 42) or without (n = 118) an autism diagnosis completed a battery of questionnaires. Using conditional stepwise binary logistic regression, we attempted to improve the autism spectrum quotient 10 item's (AQ‐10) ability to discriminate between autistic and non‐autistic women in a restrictive eating disorder sample. Results: In a binary logistic regression model, the AQ‐10 reliably discriminated between autistic and non‐autistic women with an accuracy rate of 85% but had relatively low (69%) sensitivity, reflecting a high rate of false negatives. Adding three subscales to the model (Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire Auditory, Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire Compensation and Toronto Alexithymia Scale Externally Orientated Thinking) significantly improved its differentiating ability (accuracy = 88%, sensitivity = 76%, specificity = 92%). Conclusions: We have identified three subscales that, when used in combination with the AQ‐10, may help clinicians understand the pattern of autistic traits in their patients with a restrictive eating disorder. This can inform clinical decisions about whether to refer for a full autism assessment and whether to adapt standard eating disorder treatments to accommodate autistic traits. Future studies are needed to test the model in samples where participants have undergone a full autism assessment