Mud Bog: Reconsidering Rural America

Mud Bog is an examination of the social and economic realities that present-day Americans living in rural communities endure, and how circumstances beyond their control have prodded them toward narcissistic displays – which can often be troubling expressions of darkness and intolerance. I hasten to add that my artistic goal is not to wag a finger of disapproval at those depicted, or to punch down at them. I strive to treat this material with sensitivity and empathy. My intent is to shed a light on the conditions that have contributed to the current rancorous state of political and cultural division – as well as the forces that exacerbate and intensify that chasm. The ambition behind Mud Bog is to promote a substantive conversation that will be accessible to the very people I am illustrating. I see nothing to be gained by driving the already-deep wedge between social groups even further, or to preach to the converted. I feel uniquely qualified to take on this subject matter, since I grew up in exactly the kind of rural setting that I examine with this work. As something of an anomaly, I have always felt alien to rural America – even as I was immersed in it. Writer Joseph O’Neill has identified status as an insider/outsider to be a favorable position for an artist; I certainly am that when it comes to the realm I am portraying. In this project, familiar figures and forms are presented in ways that are realistic, yet also markedly askew from what we are accustomed to. With often unexpected, semantic use of color, Mud Bog is composed to make the audience think twice – and keep thinking, long after viewing the paintings

Searching for Organics Preserved in 4.5 Billion Year Old Salt

Our understanding of early solar system fluids took a dramatic turn a decade ago with the discovery of fluid inclusion-bearing halite (NaCl) crystals in the matrix of two freshly fallen brecciated H chondrite falls, Monahans and Zag. Both meteorites are regolith breccias, and contain xenolithic halite (and minor admixed sylvite -- KCl, crystals in their regolith lithologies. The halites are purple to dark blue, due to the presence of color centers (electrons in anion vacancies) which slowly accumulated as 40K (in sylvite) decayed over billions of years. The halites were dated by K-Ar, Rb-Sr and I-Xe systematics to be 4.5 billion years old. The "blue" halites were a fantastic discovery for the following reasons: (1) Halite+sylvite can be dated (K is in sylvite and will substitute for Na in halite, Rb substitutes in halite for Na, and I substitutes for Cl). (2) The blue color is lost if the halite dissolves on Earth and reprecipitates (because the newly-formed halite has no color centers), so the color serves as a "freshness" or pristinity indicator. (3) Halite frequently contains aqueous fluid inclusions. (4) Halite contains no structural oxygen, carbon or hydrogen, making them ideal materials to measure these isotopic systems in any fluid inclusions. (5) It is possible to directly measure fluid inclusion formation temperatures, and thus directly measure the temperature of the mineralizing aqueous fluid. In addition to these two ordinary chondrites halite grains have been reliably reported in several ureilites, an additional ordinary chondrite (Jilin), and in the carbonaceous chondrite (Murchison), although these reports were unfortunately not taken seriously. We have lately found additional fluid inclusions in carbonates in several additional carbonaceous chondrites. Meteoritic aqueous fluid inclusions are apparently relatively widespread in meteorites, though very small and thus difficult to analyze

Access to Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Care in Montana

Introduction: Management of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) requires significant family effort and specialty support. We aimed to understand how living in a rural state impacts families’ experiences during and after diagnosis.https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/lambrew-retreat-2023/1013/thumbnail.jp

May 6 2012 Events on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow: Expert Evaluation

This is the report of an NGO-led inquiry into the policing of protests on the eve of Putin’s inauguration (6 May 2012) in Bolotnaya Square in Moscow. The establishment of the inquiry was supported by Amnesty International, Article19, the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the International Civil Initiative for OSCE (ICI OSCE), Civic Solidarity, the International Protection Centre and Human Rights Watch

Utilizing community-based participatory research strategies to determine intervention strategies for childhood obesity prevention in a community on a Native American Reservation

Childhood obesity is a complex public health issue that impacts physical and psychological health, academic success and future health outcomes. As of 2012, nearly 17% of children and adolescents in the United States were classified as obese, and the rate is approximately 10% higher for children of color than it is for white children.[1] The intricacies associated with childhood obesity suggest a community-based approach may be necessary to achieve measurable and sustainable reductions in childhood obesity. To determine initial intervention strategies for addressing childhood obesity in one community (population ~25% Native American) on a Native American Reservation in the Northwestern United States, this study utilized the Community Readiness key informant interview approach[2] from Colorado State University. Six key informants were selected at random and interviewed by members of a community-university partnership. These informants were selected from five randomly selected community sectors in addition to a preselected community member sector. The six interviews were then conducted using a standardized questionnaire, one via telephone and five in person. Each interview was audio recorded and members of the research team summarized responses into text, which was used for scoring. Three coders followed the anchored scoring protocol in the Colorado State University Community Readiness Manual to score each interview across six dimensions. Each dimension was assigned a numeric score ranging from 1 to 9, with 1 indicating little readiness and 9 indicating very high readiness. The six dimensions coded were: community efforts, community knowledge of efforts, leadership, community climate, knowledge about the issue, and resources for prevention efforts. Once each of the six interviews was independently scored, the three scorers met to determine consensus scores for each of the dimensions. To determine the inter-rater reliability, the codes from each of the raters were compared to each other, and additionally compared to the consensus score by calculating both exact agreement and near agreement (+/- 1 score). Three researchers, one from the Reservation community, a faculty member who has previously worked with the Reservation community, and a graduate student new to the community, scored each of the six interviews. Agreement was defined as the number of agreements divided by the number of agreements plus disagreements between raters. The faculty member and the student, and the community member and the student both shared the highest rate of exact agreement (50%), followed by the faculty member and the community member (47%). The exact agreement with the consensus score was highest with the community member (72%), followed by the student (61%) and the faculty member (56%). Calculating the percent agreement using adjacent categories, with the threshold for agreement being within +/-1, it was found that the highest agreement was between the community and faculty member (92%), followed by the community member and student (89%). The faculty member and student had the lowest level of agreement (78%). Levels of agreement with the consensus score and coders also varied, with the highest level agreement found by the community member (97%) and student (97%), followed by the faculty member (89%). Researchers explored different methods to assess rater agreement in scoring the interviews. Results suggest that the exact agreement method yielded low agreement scores, but agreement was considerably higher when using the adjacent category method. The adjacent category method may be sufficient given the goal of the community readiness process is to identify potential candidate interventions that will ultimately be further discussed by community members. The Community Readiness key informant interview process is one way to assess the community’s readiness to address childhood obesity and assist with the selection of intervention strategies. Based on direction from the project’s Advisory Board, the interview process may be replicated in additional communities to determine how to best implement childhood obesity strategies in each community. While the data have not been released for analysis, the process of key informant interviews suggested changes that may improve future iterations of the assessment of community readiness for childhood obesity interventions. [1] Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2014, February 26). Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012 [Electronic version]. Journal of the American Medical Association, 311(8), 1-9. [2] Plested, B. A., Jumper-Thurman, P., & Edwards, R. W. (2009). Community Readiness Manual. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University. Funding statement: Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R13HD080904. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Wound Bundles in Emergency Midline Laparotomy Identifies That It Is Time for Improvement:Special Issue: Trauma and Emergency: Beyond Damage Control Surgery

Background: Emergency midline laparotomy is the cornerstone of survival in patients with peritonitis. While bundling of care elements has been shown to optimize outcomes, this has focused on elective rather than emergency abdominal surgery. The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of factors affecting the development of surgical site infection (SSI) in patients undergoing midline emergency laparotomy. Methods: An ethically approved, PROSPERO registered (ID: CRD42020193246) meta-analysis and systematic review, searching PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library electronic databases from January 2015 to June 2020 and adhering to PRISMA guidelines was undertaken. Search headings included “emergency surgery”, “laparotomy”, “surgical site infection”, “midline incision” and “wound bundle”. Suitable publications were graded using Methodological Index for Non-Randomised Studies (MINORS); papers scoring ≥16/24 were included for data analysis. The primary outcome in this study was SSI rates following the use of wound bundles. Secondary outcomes consisted of the effect of the individual interventions included in the bundles and the SSI rates for superficial and deep infections. Five studies focusing on closure techniques were grouped to assess their effect on SSI. Results: This study identified 1875 articles. A total of 58 were potentially suitable, and 11 were included after applying MINORS score. The final cohort included 2,856 patients from eight countries. Three papers came from the USA, two papers from Japan and the remainder from Denmark, England, Iran, Netherlands, Spain and Turkey. There was a 32% non-significant SSI reduction after the implementation of wound bundles (RR = 0.68; CI, 0.39–1.17; p = 0.16). In bundles used for technical closure the reduction in SSI of 15% was non-significant (RR = 0.85; CI, 0.57–1.26; p = 0.41). Analysis of an effective wound bundle was limited due to insufficient data. Conclusions: This study identified a significant deficit in the world literature relating to emergency laparotomy and wound outcome optimisation. Given the global burden of emergency general surgery urgent action is needed to assess bundle’s ability to potentially improve outcome after emergency laparotomy

Fluid Inclusions in Astromaterials: Direct Samples of Early Solar System Aqueous Fluids

We have become increasingly aware of the fundamental importance of water, and aqueous alteration, on primitive solar-system bodies. All classes of astromaterials studied show some degree of interaction with aqueous fluids. We have direct observations of cryovolcanism of several small solar system bodies (e.g. Saturnian and Jovian moons), and indirect evidence for this process on the moons Europa, Titan, Ganymede, and Miranda, and the Kuiper Belt object Charon, and so are certain of the continuing and widespread importance of aqueous processes across the solar system. Nevertheless, we are still lacking fundamental information such as the location and timing of the aqueous alteration and the detailed nature of the aqueous fluid itself

Analysis of Direct Samples of Early Solar System Aqueous Fluids

Over the past three decades we have become increasingly aware of the fundamental importance of water, and aqueous alteration, on primitive solar-system bodies. Some carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites have been altered by interactions with liquid water within the first 10 million years after formation of their parent asteroids. Millimeter to centimeter-sized aggregates of purple halite containing aqueous fluid inclusions were found in the matrix of two freshly-fallen brecciated H chondrite falls, Monahans (1998, hereafter simply "Monahans") (H5) and Zag (H3-6) (Zolensky et al., 1999; Whitby et al., 2000; Bogard et al., 2001) In order to understand origin and evolution of the aqueous fluids inside these inclusions we much measure the actual fluid composition, and also learn the O and H isotopic composition of the water. It has taken a decade for laboratory analytical techniques to catch up to these particular nanomole-sized aqueous samples. We have recently been successful in (1) measuring the isotopic composition of H and O in the water in a few fluid inclusions from the Zag and Monahans halite, (2) mineralogical characterization of the solid mineral phases associated with the aqueous fluids within the halite, and (3) the first minor element analyses of the fluid itself. A Cameca ims-1270 equipped with a cryo-sample-stage of Hokkaido University was specially prepared for the O and H isotopic measurements. The cryo-sample-stage (Techno. I. S. Corp.) was cooled down to c.a. -190 C using liquid nitrogen at which the aqueous fluid in inclusions was frozen. We excavated the salt crystal surfaces to expose the frozen fluids using a 15 keV Cs+ beam and measured negative secondary ions. The secondary ions from deep craters of approximately 10 m in depth emitted stably but the intensities changed gradually during measurement cycles because of shifting states of charge compensation, resulting in rather poor reproducibility of multiple measurements of standard fluid inclusions of +/- 90 0/00(2 sigma) for delta D, and +/- 29 0/00 (2 sigma) for delta O-18. On the other hand, the reproducibility of Delta O-17 is plus or minus 8 /00 (2 sigma ) because the observed variations of isotope ratios follow a mass dependent fractionation law. Variations of delta D of the aqueous fluids range over sog,a 330(90; 2 sigma ) to +1200(90) 0/00 for Monahans and delta 300(96) 0/00 to +90(98)0/00 for Zag. Delta O-17 of aqueous fluids range over delta 16(22) 0/00 to +18(10) 0/00 for Monahans and +3(10) 0/00 to +27(11) 0/00 for Zag. These variations are larger than the reproducibility of standard analyses and suggest that isotope equilibria were under way in the fluids before trapping into halite. The mean values of delta D and Delta O-17 are +290 0/00 and +9 0/00, respectively. The mean values and the variations of these fluids are different from the representative values of ordinary chondrites, verifying our working hypothesis that the fluid inclusion-bearing halites were not indigenous to the H chondrite parent-asteroid but rather represent exogenous material delivered onto the asteroid from a separate cryovolcanically-active body. This initial isotopic work has demonstrated the feasibility of the measurements, but also revealed sample processing and analytical shortcomings that are now being addressed. Examination of solid mineral inclusions within Monahans and Zag halite grains by confocal Raman spectroscopy at the Carnegie Geophysical Laboratory has revealed them to be metal, magnetite, forsteritic olivine (Fo.98), macromolecular carbon (MMC), pyroxenes, feldspar with Raman spectral affinity to anorthoclase and, probably, fine-grained lepidocrocite (FeO(OH)). In addition, one inclusion features aliphatic material with Raman spectral features consistent with a mixture of short-chain aliphatic compounds. We have initiated analyses of the bulk composition of the fluids within the inclusions in Zag and Monahans halites at Virginia Tech by LA ICPMS using angilent 7500ce quadrupole ICPMS and a Lambda Physik GeoLas 193 nm excimer laser ablation system. Preliminary results reveal that the inclusion aqueous fluids contain highly charged cations of Ca, Mg and Fe. The minerals and compounds discovered thus far within Monahans/Zag halites are indicative of an originating body at least partly composed of unequilibrated anhydrous materials (high Fo olivine, pyroxenes, feldspars, possibly the metal) which were subjected to aqueous alteration (the halite parent brine) and containing a light organic component (the short-chain aliphatic compounds). This material was ejected from the originating body with little or no disruption, as evidenced with the presence of fluid inclusions. An actively geysering body similar to modern Enceladus (Postberg et al., 2011) may be a reasonable analogue in this respect. Also, the originating body should have been within close proximity to the H chondrite parent in order to generate the number of halite grains seen in Monahans and Zag. Other candidates for Monahans/Zag halite parent bodie(s) may include a young Ceres with its possible liquid ocean, or Main Belt comets