MARKETS FOR NORTHERN PLAINS AQUACULTURE--CASE STUDY OF TILAPIA

The purpose of this study is to identify and investigate alternative fresh and frozen fillet markets for tilapia within the region. The competition for this market is primarily an imported product from Asia and Central America. Total imports plus domestic production has increased from 16.95 million pounds in 1992 to 70.74 million pounds in 1997. Thirty-seven of the 79 respondents handled tilapia in their business. Thirty of these businesses handled and preferred fresh fillets while ten handled frozen tilapia. The tilapia businesses were clear in their preferences: 5 to 7 ounce fillets, quick delivery response time, constant supply, taste and size, and suppliers oriented toward customer service. Twenty-six of the 37 respondents were open to new suppliers. The responding businesses which did not handle tilapia gave their reasons: lack of demand due to customer unfamiliarity, name recognition and taste of tilapia. The need for an established market, i.e., consumer demand, was the major factor. The domestically produced tilapia did not test well in any of the three sensory perception taste tests. The results of these tests indicate both a quality issue and a variation in quality from test to test. These issues need to be solved prior to initiating a marketing effort for fresh and frozen fillets.tilapia, North American Fish Farmers Cooperative, North Central Region, sensory evaluation, production, prices, size, imports, Marketing, Production Economics,

Introducing the Clinically Aligned Pain Assessment

Introduction: The Clinically Aligned Pain Assessment (CAPA) is an innovative way of assessing pain by engaging patients in a brief conversation about their comfort, change in comfort, pain control, functionality, and sleep. Identification of the Problem: According to the Joint Commission (TJC) and the American Society for Pain Management Nursing (ASPMN) the use of the commonly used numeric rating scale (NRS) can lead to opioid overdose and ineffective treatment. Purpose of the Study: To compare post-surgical patients’ perceptions of the effectiveness of two pain assessment tools, CAPA and NRS. Methodology: An IRB approved, prospective observational study was conducted. Patients undergoing elective spinal surgery who stayed at least one night in the hospital (n=40) were included. Nurses trained in the use of CAPA, assessed patients’ pain levels first with CAPA then NRS. Patients completed a survey on discharge comparing their perception of CAPA and NRS. Results: Patient survey results show no significant difference between the numerical scale and the CAPA tool in ease of use by patients (p\u3e.05). In addition, there was no significant difference between patients perception of nurse response between the two tools, (p\u3e.05). However, there was a statistically significant difference in patient comfort level with the two tools. (p=.018) Discussion: CAPA, compared to NRS, was similarly easy for patients to use and similar in RN response.However, patients reported more comfort with use of CAPA. Changing a nurses’ longstanding practice and asking nurses on another department to cooperate with a research study were limitations to this study. Conclusion: CAPA shows promise as an alternative to simply having patients assign a number to a complex situation, like pain. Implications for Perianesthesia Nurses and Future Research: Patients emerging from anesthesia, often find the NRS difficult to use.Pain management standards for safe and effective pain management start with CAPA conversations, giving the nurse a way of documenting it. Future research to evaluate how CAPA effects pain management and patient/nurse satisfaction. To address the limitations of this study, a similar study is being conducted in our ambulatory setting. Preliminary findings will be available for discussio

Introducing offlineness: theorizing (digital) literacy engagements

In this Insights essay, we propose a new concept of offlineness that builds on current language around digital practices, yet addresses an element of young people’s experience that is not adequately represented in current research or educational discourse. This work is informed by a recent cross-national arts-based research project that highlighted the limitations of the discourse ascribed to the nature of young people’s engagement with digital literacies. We propose a (re)theorization, which builds on a critical review of current conceptual research and digital commentaries. Theorizing offlineness as a continuum between online and offline practices is tantamount to a paradigm shift toward more nuanced understandings of young people’s digital practices. It offers researchers and educators a more precise way to speak to young people’s digital experiences, providing a productive tool to (re)construct learning and inquiry spaces in literacy research and education

PSVMC Post Operative Exploratory Study June-July 2015

https://digitalcommons.psjhealth.org/stvincent-bootcamp/1026/thumbnail.jp

Wireless Sensor Network Radio Power Management and Simulation Models

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) create a new frontier in collecting and processing data from remote locations. The IEEE 802.15.4 wireless personal area network-low rate (WPAN-LR) WSNs rely on hardware simplicity to make sensor field deployments both affordable and long-lasting without maintenance support. WSN designers strive to extend network lifetimes while meeting application-specific throughput and latency requirements. Effective power management places sensor nodes (or motes) into one of the available energy-saving modes based upon the sleep period duration and the current state of the radio. The newest generation of WPAN-LR-based sensor platform radios operates at a 250 kbps data rate and does not provide adequate time to completely power off the radio between the 128-byte constrained IEEE 802.15.4 transmissions. A new radio power management (RPM) algorithm presented in this paper exploits additional energy-saving opportunities introduced with the new generation of faster platform transceivers. The RPM algorithm optimizes radio sleep capabilities by transitioning nodes to intermediate power level states. Additionally, this experimental mote research also provides characterizations for the radio power levels, the mote platform state transition times, and the state transition energy costs of an IEEE 802.15.4 compliant sensor platform for improved accuracy in simulating WSN energy consumption

Deciphering petrogenic processes using Pb isotope ratios from time-series samples at Bezymianny and Klyuchevskoy volcanoes, Central Kamchatka Depression

The Klyuchevskoy group of volcanoes in the Kamchatka arc erupts compositionally diverse magmas (high-Mg basalts to dacites) over small spatial scales. New high-precision Pb isotope data from modern juvenile (1956–present) erupted products and hosted enclaves and xenoliths from Bezymianny volcano reveal that Bezymianny and Klyuchevskoy volcanoes, separated by only 9 km, undergo varying degrees of crustal processing through independent crustal columns. Lead isotope compositions of Klyuchevskoy basalts–basaltic andesites are more radiogenic than Bezymianny andesites ([superscript 208]Pb/[superscript 204]Pb = 37.850–37.903, [superscript 207]Pb/[superscript 204]Pb = 15.468–15.480, and [superscript 206]Pb/[superscript 204]Pb = 18.249–18.278 at Bezymianny; [superscript 208]Pb/[superscript 204]Pb = 37.907–37.949, [superscript 207]Pb/[superscript 204]Pb = 15.478–15.487, and [superscript 206]Pb/[superscript 204]Pb = 18.289–18.305 at Klyuchevskoy). A mid-crustal xenolith with a crystallization pressure of 5.2 ± 0.6 kbars inferred from two-pyroxene geobarometry and basaltic andesite enclaves from Bezymianny record less radiogenic Pb isotope compositions than their host magmas. Hence, assimilation of such lithologies in the middle or lower crust can explain the Pb isotope data in Bezymianny andesites, although a component of magma mixing with less radiogenic mafic recharge magmas and possible mantle heterogeneity cannot be excluded. Lead isotope compositions for the Klyuchevskoy Group are less radiogenic than other arc segments (Karymsky—Eastern Volcanic Zone; Shiveluch—Northern Central Kamchatka Depression), which indicate increased lower-crustal assimilation beneath the Klyuchevskoy Group. Decadal timescale Pb isotope variations at Klyuchevskoy demonstrate rapid changes in the magnitude of assimilation at a volcanic center. Lead isotope data coupled with trace element data reflect the influence of crustal processes on magma compositions even in thin mafic volcanic arcs.University of Washington. Department of Earth and Space Science

The Effect of Selection for Desiccation Resistance on Cold Tolerance of Drosophila Melanogaster

Low Temperature and Desiccation Stress Are Thought to Be Mechanistically Similar in Insects, and Several Studies Indicate that There is a Degree of Cross-Tolerance between Them, such that Increased Cold Tolerance Results in Greater Desiccation Tolerance and Vice Versa. This Assertion is Tested at an Evolutionary Scale by Examining Basal Cold Tolerance, Rapid Cold-Hardening (RCH) and Chill Coma Recovery in Replicate Populations of Drosophila Melanogaster Selected for Desiccation Resistance (With Controls for Both Selection and Concomitant Starvation) for over 50 Generations. All of the Populations Display a RCH Response, and There is No Effect of Selection Regime on RCH or Basal Cold Tolerance, Although There Are Differences in Basal Cold Tolerance between Sampling Dates, Apparently Related to Inter-Individual Variation in Development Time. Flies Selected for Desiccation Tolerance Recover from Chill Coma Slightly, But Significantly, Faster Than Control and Starvation-Control Flies. These Findings Provide Little Support for Cross-Tolerance between Survival of Near-Lethal Cold and Desiccation Stress in D. Melanogaster. © 2007 the Authors

Deletion rescue resulting in segmental homozygosity: A mechanism underlying discordant NIPT results

With the increasing capabilities of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), detection of sub-chromosomal deletions and duplications are possible. This case series of deletion rescues resulting in segmental homozygosity helps provide a biological explanation for NIPT discrepancies and adds to the dearth of existing literature surrounding segmental UPD cases and their underlying mechanisms. In the three cases presented here, NIPT reported a sub-chromosomal deletion (in isolation or as part of a complex finding). Diagnostic testing, however, revealed segmental homozygosity or UPD for the region reported deleted on NIPT. Postnatal placental testing was pursued in two cases and confirmed the NIPT findings. This discordance between the screening and diagnostic testing is suggestive of a corrective post-zygotic event, such as telomere capture and/or deletion rescue, ultimately resulting in segmental homozygosity and fetoplacental mosaicism. Imprinted chromosomes and autosomal recessive disease genes make homozygosity an important clinical consideration. Amniocentesis with SNP microarray is particularly useful in determining both copy number and UPD issues alike