Excavating the iconic: The rediscovery of the Fairbottom Bobs Colliery pumping engine

Steam engines were one of the first machine-types to attract the attention of antiquarians and later Industrial Archaeologists. From the first Newcomen engine in 1712 to the 20th-century steam turbine, these objects still exert a fascination for archaeologists and historians of the Industrial Era. None more so than the Newcomen or more properly the atmospheric steam engine. Such engines were described by L. T C. Rolt as one of the prehistoric forefathers of the Industrial Revolution period steam engine. Only a handful of examples remain standing today, and amongst the better known are engines from 1791 in the Science Museum in London; from 1787 still in situ at Elsecar in Barnsley; the Coventry Canal Engine from Hawksbury; and Fairbottom Bobs from Ashton-under-Lyne, now in the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan. Of these only the site of one, Fairbottom Bobs, has been the subject of modern excavation and historical study although it is in the nature of archaeological research that at the time of the site's excavation in 1999 the iconic status of this particular steam engine was not fully appreciated

Socioeconomic Disparities Exist in Access to Rotator Cuff Repair Surgery

Background: The relationship of socioeconomic disparity in access to rotator cuff repair (RCR) has not been well studied. Socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic disparities in access to surgical management of rotator cuff tears have previously been described in patients with commercial insurance. This study is a population-level analysis which investigates racial and ethnic disparities in access to surgical rotator cuff repair across multiple health insurance statuses. Purpose: (1) Is non-white race and ethnicity associated with lower rates of RCR? (2) Do these associations change throughout different insurance statuses? Methods: We used the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) database to identify patients who underwent elective RCR in Florida, Maryland, Iowa, and Wisconsin in 2016 and 2017. White and non-white patients who underwent RCR were compared by insurance status. To evaluate whether demographics of patients who underwent RCR reflected the general population, patients within the HCUP sample were compared to US census-level data for the same states and years, including a subgroup analysis by insurance status. Results: There were 81,607 patients in the HCUP sample who underwent rotator cuff repair, of whom 81% were white and 19% were non-white. 55% had commercial insurance, 39% had Medicare insurance, and 5% had Medicaid insurance. Compared to census data, all races/ethnicities other than non-Hispanic white were underrepresented in the sample of patients who underwent rotator cuff repair (p Conclusion: This analysis of disparities is the first large database study to examine the relationship between gender, race, insurance status, and elective RCR. Regardless of insurance status, patients who underwent elective RCR were more likely to be white and male when compared with the general population, suggesting a persistence of disparities

An emerging learning design for student-generated 'iVideos'

This paper describes an emerging learning design for a popular genre of learner-generated video projects: Ideas Videos or iVideos. These advocacy-style videos are short, two-minute, digital videos designed âto evoke powerful experiences about educative ideasâ (Wong, Mishra, Koehler & Siebenthal, 2007, p1). We draw on a recent study in teacher education to present a structured description of a pedagogical approach to iVideo filmmaking. A visual learning design representation (Agostinho, Harper, Oliver, Hedberg & Wills, 2008) and a LAMS-based generic learning design template (Cameron, 2008) form part of this description

The pattern of childhood in the western Cape

An analysis of poisoning cases treated at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital dUring 1987 and of calls received on the poisons line is presented. Treatment of 1116 children was undertaken and 922 telephone calls were logged. Of the patients treated, 60% had ingested a drug and 30% had drunk paraffin. The high prevalence of paraffin poisoning in the western Cape is examined. Constant vigilance must be maintained if childhood poisoning is to be prevented.S Afr Med J 1990; 78: 22-2

HIV Genotyping Cost Analysis with Follow-up as an Indicator

HIV-1 genotype (GHIV), HIV-1 Integrase (HIV1I) and HIV-1 Trophile (HIV1T) assays are sendout tests that incur a significant financial burden on the laboratory when ordered on inpatients who do not receive follow-up clinic visits. For these assays to be utilized in guiding antiretroviral therapy, the patient must receive follow-up. It will reduce the sendout budget by restricting these tests to the outpatient clinic setting

The influence of intrapersonal sensorimotor experiences on the corticospinal responses during action-observation

The coupling of perception and action has been strongly indicated by evidence that the observation of an action primes a response in the observer. It has been proposed that these primed responses may be inhibited when the observer is able to more closely distinguish between self- and other-generated actions – the greater the distinction, then the greater the inhibition of the primed response. This self–other distinction is shown to be enhanced following a period of visual feedback of self-generated action. The present study was designed to examine how sensorimotor experiences pertaining to self-generated action affect primed responses from observed actions. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to investigate corticospinal activity elicited during the observation of index- and little-finger actions before and after training (self-generated action). For sensorimotor training, participants executed finger movements with or without visual feedback of their own movement. Results showed that the increases in muscle-specific corticospinal activity elicited from action–observation persisted after training without visual feedback, but did not emerge following training with visual feedback. This inhibition in corticospinal activity during action–observation following training with vision could have resulted from the refining of internal models of self-generated action, which then led to a greater distinction between “self” and “other” actions

The changing trends of childhood poisoning at a tertiary children’s hospital in South Africa

Context. Information on childhood poisoning in the developingworld, including South Africa, is scarce, despite its contribution tomorbidity and mortality.Objective. We describe the profile of children with exposuresand poisonings presenting to Red Cross War Memorial Children’sHospital (RCWMCH) in Cape Town, South Africa, from 2003 to2008 and compare the trends of causative agents over the past twodecades.Methods. Cases were identified by review of the RCWMCH caserecords.Results. Of the total incidents (N=2 872), paraffin (kerosene)was the commonest agent (n=692, 24%) with 124 poisoningsincluding two deaths. Drugs were the most common toxin group(n=988, 34%), including 139 single-drug poisonings with 5deaths; 4 associated with traditional medicine use. Householdcleaning product incidents (n=302, 10%) resulted in 29 singleproductpoisonings with no deaths. Pesticide incidents (n=311,10%) included 6 deaths; 203 (65%) incidents were due toorganophosphates or carbamates. The suburban distribution ofthe main toxin groups varied. Comparing 1987 and 2008, thenumber of incidents decreased from 1 116 to 447; drug and paraffinincidents decreased respectively (from 673 to 150 and from 332 to87), household cleaning products and cosmetics increased (21 to69) and pesticide incidents increased (7 to 69).Conclusion. Despite a decrease in the overall number of incidentsover two decades at RCWMCH, paraffin and drugs remainthe principal agents responsible for paediatric exposures andpoisonings, with increasing incidents due to household cleaningproducts and pesticides. Identification of these toxin groups comingfrom specific suburbs allows for targeted prevention initiatives

Workflow Modifications and Addition of MALDI-TOF Technology Significantly Improved Turn-Around-Time to Identification of Common Urine Pathogens

Background: In order to improve the identification of common aerobic urine cultures as well as antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) setup at an Academic Medical Center, work-flow modifications and MALDI-TOF technology were incorporated. Previously, the majority of species identification was achieved with conventional identification/antimicrobial susceptibility combo panels. All urine cultures, regardless of laboratory receipt time, were previously read once per day on 1st shift. Methods: The initial workflow modification involved addition of a 2nd shift urine culture reading. Urine specimens received from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM were read on 1st shift, while urine specimens received from 4:00 PM to 8:00 AM were read on 2nd shift. Additionally, urine cultures were sorted into categories: no growth (NG) at 24 hours, no growth at \u3c24 hours, single colonies of growth, multiple colonies of growth, and potential contaminants. No growth cultures were signed out at 24 hours. No growth cultures at \u3c 24 hours were reincubated to be read on subsequent shift. Cultures with growth were set aside as either single colony types or multiple colony types. Cultures of probable contaminants were signed out. Once cultures were sorted, the isolated colonies underwent MALDI-TOF analysis (Bruker) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) as appropriate. Individual technologists setup the MALDITOF target plate map and spotted the associated target plate. AST was setup at the same time. The MALDI-TOF was then operated by a central technologist and results reported by the original technologist reading the culture. Results: Retrospective pre-workflow (September-November 2013) and post-workflow (May, June, October 2014) modification turn-around-times were compared for 16 commonly isolated pathogens. These pathogens consisted of common urine pathogens as noted in Table 1. Staphylococcus aureus was previously identified in our laboratory by a positive coagulase test and not included in this analysis. The average turn-around-times, standard deviations and the p-values for each organism are indicated in Table 1. Conclusion: Converting from conventional identification methods to MALDI-TOF, in conjunction with workflow modifications such as a 2nd culture reading, notably improved urine culture turn-around-time for identification and AST