Extended Prophylactic Antibiotics for Mastectomy with Immediate Breast Reconstruction: A Meta-analysis

Background: The risk of surgical site infection (SSI) for breast surgery in patients without additional risk factors is low, below 5%. Evidence shows the risk of SSI is significantly elevated in patients undergoing immediate breast reconstruction (IBR). However, there is no consensus regarding the use of extended antibiotic prophylaxis. We aim to determine the effect of extended antibiotic prophylaxis on the incidence of SSI after IBR. Methods: PubMed and Scopus were searched by 2 independent reviewers. Data abstracted included types of study, basic characteristics, detailed antibiotic prophylaxis information, SSI event, and other secondary outcomes. We calculated the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each study and used a random-effects model to estimate the results. Study quality, bias, and heterogeneity were also analyzed. Results: A total of 11 studies (15,966 mastectomy procedures) were included. We found an overall 5.99% SSI rate in our population. Three studies comparing topical antibiotics with no topical antibiotics demonstrated statistical significance (RR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.12–0.60, P = 0.001), whereas 8 studies comparing extended systemic antibiotics with standard of care found no statistical significance (RR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.60–1.08, P = 0.13). Conclusions: In the setting of IBR following mastectomy, there is insufficient evidence for the use of extended prophylactic antibiotics to reduce SSI rates. Welldesigned randomized controlled trials in patients undergoing IBR should be conducted to determine the appropriate regimen and/or duration of prophylactic antibiotics on SSI outcomes

By Shattering the Vulture’s Nose

This project explores an unusual ornithological debate between 19th-century naturalists John James Audubon and Charles Waterton on the olfaction of vultures. Both naturalists involved were also artists—certainly more than they were scientists—and prone to artifice and performative amplification. This article examines the rhetorical dynamics of this niche but sensational debate on avian olfaction, and its problematic influence on scientific progress

Dihedral Quintic Fields with a Power Basis

It is shown that there exist infinitely many dihedral quintic fields with a power basis.</p

Biocatalytic Intramolecular C−H aminations via Engineered Heme Proteins: Full Reaction Pathways and Axial Ligand Effects

Engineered heme protein biocatalysts provide an efficient and sustainable approach to develop amine-containing compounds through C−H amination. A quantum chemical study to reveal the complete heme catalyzed intramolecular C−H amination pathway and protein axial ligand effect was reported, using reactions of an experimentally used arylsulfonylazide with hemes containing L=none, SH−, MeO−, and MeOH to simulate no axial ligand, negatively charged Cys and Ser ligands, and a neutral ligand for comparison. Nitrene formation was found as the overall rate-determining step (RDS) and the catalyst with Ser ligand has the best reactivity, consistent with experimental reports. Both RDS and non-RDS (nitrene transfer) transition states follow the barrier trend of MeO

Gestures for Self Help Learning by Creating Models

People spontaneously gesture when studying spatial descriptions. Doing so improves comprehension and learning. Theirgestures create spatial models of the described environments. Here, we address two questions in two experiments: willpeople gesture to study descriptions that are not inherently spatial, and will people gesture when information is presentedvisually rather than text. The answers to both questions are yes. Together, the results suggest that gestures facilitatecomprehension and learning by creating spatial-motor representations that directly reflect meaning

Optimal Proposal Particle Filters for Detecting Anomalies and Manoeuvres from Two Line Element Data

Detecting anomalous behaviour of satellites is an important goal within the broader task of space situational awareness. The Two Line Element (TLE) data published by NORAD is the only widely-available, comprehensive source of data for satellite orbits. We present here a filtering approach for detecting anomalies in satellite orbits from TLE data. Optimal proposal particle filters are deployed to track the state of the satellites' orbits. New TLEs that are unlikely given our belief of the current orbital state are designated as anomalies. The change in the orbits over time is modelled using the SGP4 model with some adaptations. A model uncertainty is derived to handle the errors in SGP4 around singularities in the orbital elements. The proposed techniques are evaluated on a set of 15 satellites for which ground truth is available and the particle filters are shown to be superior at detecting the subtle in-track and cross-track manoeuvres in the simulated dataset, as well as providing a measure of uncertainty of detections

Avian Rhetoric, Murmurations

This dissertation explores the omnipresent role birds play in the English language and in Western cultural history. Reading and weaving across academic discourse, multi-genre literature, and obsolete and everyday figures, I examine the multiplicity of ways in which birds manifest and are embedded in modes and materialities of human composing and communicating. To apply Anne Lamott’s popular advice of writing “bird by bird” literally/liberally, each chapter shares stories of a species, family, or flock of birds. Believing in the enduring rhetorical power of narrative assemblages over explicit thetic arguments, I’ve modeled this project on the movements of flocked birds. I initially proposed and now offer a prosed assembly of avian figures following each other in flight, swerving fluidly across broad and varied landscapes while maintaining elastic, organic connections. My project opens on starling murmurations, and the second chapter follows skeins of geese to goose-quill pens. Chapter three homes in on pigeon deliveries, via pigeonholes and dovetails. I close with corvids, with so-called murders of crows and the legacy of a literary raven. Throughout this work, I emphasize the powerful poetics birds have inspired, juxtaposed with reminders of our frequent marginalization and elimination of these species as pests. I hope such exhibits of human reliance on and exploitation of birds as materials of writing and rhetorics will help cultivate more mindful care and ethical treatment of the avian world, and the larger natural world

Are All Perspective Taking Tasks Created Equal? The Relationship Between Performance on Perspective Taking Tasks in Children

Spatial abilities assist in manipulating, constructing, and navigating the physical world (Newcombe & Shipley, 1992; Montello, 2001). In this study, a variety of tasks were utilized to measure various constructs of spatial abilities. One of the constructs measured was perspective taking which consists of the ability to understand and recognize situations at different points of view. This allows individuals to relate to others, understand spatial relations, and view objects in different spaces (Newcombe & Huttenlocker, 1992). Two tasks were employed to measure perspective taking: Piaget’s Three Mountains task and a task modeled after a study by Newcombe and Huttenlocher (1992). The aim of the current analysis was to examine how these two commonly used perspective taking tasks are related using a sample of typically developing children (Mage = 6; Range = 4-9). We hypothesized that these tasks would be highly correlated, even when controlling for age, as they are both meant to measure the same construct of perspective taking. Results indicated that performance on the two tasks was moderately and significantly correlated (r = .46), however when conducting a partial correlation analysis controlling for age, the correlation was no longer statistically significant (r = .06). This implies that although these two tasks are common perspective taking tasks used in research, they may not be uniformly measuring the same type of perspective taking. These findings lay the foundation for future research to examine if there may be differences between the two tasks such as difficulty level or different facets of perspective taking