The Ursinus Weekly, November 22, 1937

Curtain Club places second in Philo competition • Cooper describes Eastern Pen to Y\u27s • Howard Gale and big-hearted Herbert take stage on alternate nights • English-U.S. relations next forum topic • Next speaker on Burma • Lewis and Padden are student members of college athletic council • Twenty new reporters added to Weekly staff • New ruling, internal disorder, cancels prison trip • 12-6 victory hands dorm crown to Brodbeck gang • Sophs prevail over yearlings, 6-0, in series revival • Bear booters deadlock Delaware 3-3 • Co-eds drop finale to Beaver, 2-0 • P.M.C. turkey day tilt last for 5 seniorshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1883/thumbnail.jp

The Center for the Study of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Atmospheres (CSTEA)

The Center for the Study of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Atmospheres (CSTEA) was established in 1992. The center began with 14 active Principal Investigators (PI's). The research of the Center's PIs has, for the most part, continued in the same four areas as presented in the original proposal: Remote Sensing, Atmospheric Chemistry, Sensors and Detectors, and Spacecraft Dynamics

Freshman Course Credit and Unexcused Absences: An Arkansas Policy Analysis

This policy analysis examines the implementation of A.C.A. 6-18-222, a statewide policy in Arkansas that addresses unexcused absences and course credit consequences for students. Using anonymized student-level data from the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years (N=65,651), the study explores variations in policy implementation across districts and investigates the relationship between absences and course failures for freshmen. Our results highlight the wide variability in the number of allowed unexcused absences and the language of course credit consequence among districts. Additionally, our multivariate logistic regressions reveal FRL-eligible students more likely to fail a course after reaching their district’s unexcused absence threshold. Lastly, we find once students reach their district’s unexcused absence threshold, they more likely to fail a core course compared to a non-core course. Our findings provide insights into the variations of local policy implementation for student academic outcomes

Freshman Course Credit and Unexcused Absences: An Arkansas Policy Analysis

This policy analysis examines the implementation of A.C.A. 6-18-222, a statewide policy in Arkansas that addresses unexcused absences and course credit consequences for students. Using anonymized student-level data from the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years (N=65,651), the study explores variations in policy implementation across districts and investigates the relationship between absences and course failures for freshmen. Our results highlight the wide variability in the number of allowed unexcused absences and the language of course credit consequence among districts. Additionally, our multivariate logistic regressions reveal FRL-eligible students more likely to fail a course after reaching their district’s unexcused absence threshold. Lastly, we find once students reach their district’s unexcused absence threshold, they more likely to fail a core course compared to a non-core course. Our findings provide insights into the variations of local policy implementation for student academic outcomes

Evidence of Mineral Dust Altering Cloud Microphysics and Precipitation

Multi-platform and multi-sensor observations are employed to investigate the impact of mineral dust on cloud microphysical and precipitation processes in mesoscale convective systems. It is clearly evident that for a given convection strength,small hydrometeors were more prevalent in the stratiform rain regions with dust than in those regions that were dust free. Evidence of abundant cloud ice particles in the dust sector, particularly at altitudes where heterogeneous nucleation process of mineral dust prevails, further supports the observed changes of precipitation. The consequences of the microphysical effects of the dust aerosols were to shift the precipitation size spectrum from heavy precipitation to light precipitation and ultimately suppressing precipitation

Red giant collisions in the galactic centre

We simulate collisions involving red-giant stars in the centre of our galaxy. Such encounters may explain the observed paucity of highly luminous red giants within the central 0.2pc. The masses of the missing stars are likely to be in the range 2 to 8 solar masses. Recent models of the galactic centre cluster's density and velocity distributions are used to calculate two-body collision rates. In particular we use stellar-evolution models to calculate the number of collisions a star will have during different evolutionary phases. We find that the number of two-body collisions per star is \lo 1 in the central 0.1 to 0.2 pc, depending strongly on the galactocentric radius. Using a 3D numerical hydrodynamics code (SPH) we simulate encounters involving cluster stars of various masses with 2 and 8 solar-mass red giants. The instantaneous mass loss in such collisions is rarely enough to destroy either giant. A fraction of the collisions do, however, lead to the formation of common envelope systems where the impactor and giant's core are enshrouded by the envelope of the giant. Such systems may evolve to expel the envelope, leaving a tight binary; the original giant is destroyed. The fraction of collisions that produce common envelope systems is sensitive to the local velocity dispersion and hence galactocentric radius. Using our collision-rate calculations we compute the time-scales for a giant star to suffer such a collision within the galactic centre. These time-scales are >10^{9-10}years and so are longer than the lifetimes of stars more-massive than 2 solar masses. Thus the observed paucity of luminous giants is unlikely to be due to the formation of common envelope systems as a result of two-body encounters involving giant stars.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS (in press

Pulmonary metastasectomy in colorectal cancer: health utility scores by EQ-5D-3L in a randomized controlled trial show no benefit from lung metastasectomy.

AIM: The aim was to assess the health utility of lung metastasectomy in the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) using the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. METHODS: Multidisciplinary CRC teams at 14 sites recruited patients to a two-arm randomized controlled trial-Pulmonary Metastasectomy in Colorectal Cancer (PulMiCC). Remote randomization was used, stratified by site and with minimization for seven known confounders. Participants completed the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire together with other patient reported outcome measures at randomization and then again at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. These were returned by post to the coordinating centre. RESULTS: Between December 2010 and December 2016, 93 participants were randomized, 91 of whom returned questionnaires. Survival and patient reported quality of life have been published previously, revealing no significant differences between the trial arms. Described here are patient reported data from the five dimensions of the EQ-5D-3L and the visual analogue scale (VAS) health state. No significant difference was seen at any time point. The estimated difference between control and metastasectomy patients was -0.23 (95% CI -0.113, 0.066) for the composite 0 to 1 index scale based on the descriptive system and 0.123 (95% CI -7.24, 7.49) for the 0 to 100 VAS scale. CONCLUSIONS: Following lung metastasectomy for CRC, no benefit was demonstrated for health utility, which alongside a lack of a survival or quality of life benefit calls into question the widespread use of the procedure

Five-year Pan-European, longitudinal surveillance of Clostridium difficile ribotype prevalence and antimicrobial resistance: the extended ClosER study

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has been primarily treated with metronidazole or vancomycin. High recurrence rates, the emergence of epidemic PCR ribotypes (RTs) and the introduction of fidaxomicin in Europe in 2011 necessitate surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and CDI epidemiology. The ClosER study monitored antimicrobial susceptibility and geographical distribution of C. difficile RTs pre- and post-fidaxomicin introduction. From 2011 to 2016, 28 European countries submitted isolates or faecal samples for determination of PCR ribotype, toxin status and minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of metronidazole, vancomycin, rifampicin, fidaxomicin, moxifloxacin, clindamycin, imipenem, chloramphenicol and tigecycline. RT diversity scores for each country were calculated and mean MIC results used to generate cumulative resistant scores (CRSs) for each isolate and country. From 40 sites, 3499 isolates were analysed, of which 95% (3338/3499) were toxin positive. The most common of the 264 RTs isolated was RT027 (mean prevalence 11.4%); however, RT prevalence varied greatly between countries and between years. The fidaxomicin geometric mean MIC for years 1–5 was 0.04 mg/L; only one fidaxomicin-resistant isolate (RT344) was submitted (MIC ≥ 4 mg/L). Metronidazole and vancomycin geometric mean MICs were 0.46 mg/L and 0.70 mg/L, respectively. Of prevalent RTs, RT027, RT017 and RT012 demonstrated resistance or reduced susceptibility to multiple antimicrobials. RT diversity was inversely correlated with mean CRS for individual countries (Pearson coefficient r = − 0.57). Overall, C. difficile RT prevalence remained stable in 2011–2016. Fidaxomicin susceptibility, including in RT027, was maintained post-introduction. Reduced ribotype diversity in individual countries was associated with increased antimicrobial resistance

The ClosER study: results from a three-year pan-European longitudinal surveillance of antibiotic resistance among prevalent Clostridium difficile ribotypes, 2011–2014

Objectives: Until the introduction of fidaxomicin, antimicrobial treatment for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) was limited to metronidazole and vancomycin. The changing epidemiology of CDI and the emergence of epidemic C. difficile PCR ribotype 027 necessitate continued surveillance to identify shifts in antibiotic susceptibility. ClosER, currently the largest pan-European epidemiological study of C. difficile ribotype distribution and antibiotic susceptibility, aimed to undertake antimicrobial resistance surveillance pre- and post-introduction of fidaxomicin. Methods: Between July 2011 and July 2014, 39 sites across 22 European countries submitted 2830 C. difficile isolates for ribotyping, toxin testing and susceptibility testing to metronidazole, vancomycin, fidaxomicin, rifampicin, moxifloxacin, clindamycin, imipenem, chloramphenicol and tigecycline. Results: Ribotypes 027, 014, 001, 078, 020, 002, 126, 015 and 005 were most frequently isolated, and emergent ribotypes 198 and 356 were identified in Hungary and Italy, respectively. All isolates were susceptible to fidaxomicin, with scarce resistance to metronidazole (0.2%, 6/2694), vancomycin (0.1%, 2/2694) and tigecycline (0%). Rifampicin, moxifloxacin and clindamycin resistance was evident in multiple ribotypes. Lack of ribotype diversity correlated with greater antimicrobial resistance. Epidemic ribotypes (027/001) were associated with multiple antimicrobial resistance, and ribotypes 017, 018 and 356 with high-level resistance. Additional factors may also influence local ribotype prevalence. Conclusions: Fidaxomicin susceptibility was retained post-introduction, and resistance to metronidazole and vancomycin was rare. Continued surveillance is needed, with more accurate classification and clarification of ribotype subtypes to further understand their role in the spread of resistance. Other factors may also influence changes in prevalence of C. difficile ribotypes with reduced antibiotic susceptibility