MBA and Tax Professional: A Ticket to responsibility

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Defining Forage Quality

6 pp., 1 figure, 5 tables, with cover photosThis publication covers the definition of forage quality, the main factors affecting forage quality, and the components and importance of forage analyses. It focuses on the need for producers to understand forage quality and the factors that affect its constituents. This will help them improve livestock production by making decisions that optimize forage nutritive value and intak

Randomized Clinical Trial of Antibiotic Therapy for Antenatal Pyelonephritis

Objective: The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the efficacy of a therapeutic course of intravenous antibiotics followed by oral antibiotics vs. intravenous antibiotics alone to prevent recurrent urinary tract infection

A revised Cepheid distance to NGC 4258 and a test of the distance scale

In a previous paper (Maoz et al. 1999), we reported a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cepheid distance to the galaxy NGC 4258 obtained using the calibrations and methods then standard for the Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale. Here, we reevaluate the Cepheid distance using the revised Key Project procedures described in Freedman et al. (2001). These revisions alter the zero points and slopes of the Cepheid Period-Luminosity (P-L) relations derived at the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the calibration of the HST WFPC2 camera, and the treatment of metallicity differences. We also provide herein full information on the Cepheids described in Maoz et al. 1999. Using the refined Key Project techniques and calibrations, we determine the distance modulus of NGC 4258 to be 29.47 +/- 0.09 mag (unique to this determination) +/- 0.15 mag (systematic uncertainties in Key Project distances), corresponding to a metric distance of 7.8 +/- 0.3 +/- 0.5 Mpc and 1.2 sigma from the maser distance of 7.2 +/- 0.5 Mpc. We also test the alternative Cepheid P-L relations of Feast (1999), which yield more discrepant results. Additionally, we place weak limits upon the distance to the LMC and upon the effect of metallicity in Cepheid distance determinations.Comment: 26 pages in emulateapj5 format, including 6 figures and 5 tables. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Dementia and Imagination: a mixed-methods protocol for arts and science research

Introduction Dementia and Imagination is a multi-disciplinary research collaboration bringing together arts and science to address current evidence limitations around the benefits of art activities in dementia care. It is a large programme of work with a novel combination of methods from health and social sciences together with the arts and humanities to address a key societal challenge – supporting the quality of life of the growing number of people living with dementia. This is examined through the following questions; can art improve quality of life and well-being? If it does make a difference, how does it do this - and why? Does it have wider social and community benefits? Methods and analysis Participants are recruited from residential care homes, NHS wards and communities in three locations in England and Wales. A visual arts intervention is developed and delivered as 1 x 2 hour weekly group session for 3 months to N=100 people living with dementia. Quantitative and qualitative data are collected at three time-points to examine the impact on the quality of life of people living with dementia together with the cost-benefit, and the perceptions of those who care for them (N=100 family and professional carers). Repeated-measures systematic observation of wellbeing is applied during the intervention delivery (intervention versus control condition). Qualitative data is collected from a sub-sample at three time-points (N=35 carers/staff and N=35 people living with dementia) to explore changes in social connectedness. Self-reported outcomes during the intervention delivery are obtained (N=100). Focus groups with intervention participants (N=40) explore perceptions of impact. Social network analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from arts and healthcare professionals (N=100) examine changes in perceptions and practice. Ethics and dissemination The study is approved by North Wales research ethics committee – West. The research findings will be shared through a range of activities. International and national academic conferences and events will be attended to present papers and lead symposia. The project has developed an extensive public engagement and communication strategy. Public engagement projects will target a broad range of stakeholders. There is a regularly maintained project website, which is a resource bank for stakeholders and a continuing legacy from the project. A quarterly newsletter is produced. Policy and practice summaries will be developed from the findings. The visual arts intervention protocol will be developed as a practitioners guide and freely available.Strengths and limitations of this study•Dementia and Imagination is the largest arts and dementia research study in the UK.•The development and delivery of the research involves partnerships between universities, community arts organisations, galleries, the NHS and charities.•It combines methods from health and social sciences together with the arts and humanities to address a key societal challenge – supporting the quality of life of the growing number of people living with dementia.•A limitation is that the study design cannot focus on a more robust test of effectiveness, as this was beyond the remit of the funder

Prevalence and Characteristics of Anergia (Lack of Energy) in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome

Anergia, a commonly occurring syndrome in older adults and patients with cardiovascular diseases, is associated with functional and clinical limitations. To date, the prevalence and clinical–demographic characteristics of anergia in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have not been elucidated. We examined the prevalence and clinical–demographic characteristics of anergia in a multiethnic sample of patients with ACS. Hospitalized patients with ACS (n = 472), enrolled in the Prescription Usage, Lifestyle, and Stress Evaluation (PULSE) prospective cohort study, completed assessments of demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics within 7 days of hospitalization for an ACS event. Current depressive disorder was ascertained using a structured psychiatric interview 3 to 7 days after discharge. Anergia was assessed at baseline and defined using patients' binary responses (yes/no) to 7 items related to energy level. At least 1 complaint of anergia was reported by 79.9% of patients (n = 377) and 32% of patients (n = 153) met criteria for anergia. In a multivariable logistic regression model, anergia was independently associated with being a woman, being white (compared to black), having bodily pain, participating in exercise, having current depressive disorder, and having higher values on the Charlson Co-morbidity Index. In conclusion, anergia is a highly prevalent syndrome in patients with ACS. It is distinct from depression and is associated with modifiable clinical factors such as participation in exercise and bodily pain that may be appropriate targets for intervention

A Cepheid Distance to NGC 4603 in Centaurus

In an attempt to use Cepheid variables to determine the distance to the Centaurus cluster, we have obtained images of NGC 4603 with the Hubble Space Telescope on 9 epochs using WFPC2 and the F555W and F814W filters. This galaxy has been suggested to lie within the ``Cen30'' portion of the cluster and is the most distant object for which this method has been attempted. Previous distance estimates for Cen30 have varied significantly and some have presented disagreements with the peculiar velocity predicted from redshift surveys, motivating this investigation. Using our observations, we have found 61 candidate Cepheid variable stars; however, a significant fraction of these candidates are likely to be nonvariable stars whose magnitude measurement errors happen to fit a Cepheid light curve of significant amplitude for some choice of period and phase. Through a maximum likelihood technique, we determine that we have observed 43 +/- 7 real Cepheids and that NGC 4603 has a distance modulus of 32.61 +0.11/-0.10 (random, 1 sigma) +0.24/-0.25 (systematic, adding in quadrature), corresponding to a distance of 33.3 Mpc. This is consistent with a number of recent estimates of the distance to NGC 4603 or Cen30 and implies a small peculiar velocity consistent with predictions from the IRAS 1.2 Jy redshift survey if the galaxy lies in the foreground of the cluster.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 17 pages with 17 embedded figures and 3 tables using emulateapj.sty. Additional figures and images may be obtained from http://astro.berkeley.edu/~marc/n4603

Acetophenone Monomers from Acronychia trifoliolata

Seven new [acronyculatins I-O (1-7)] and four known acetophenone monomers were isolated from a CH 3 OH/CH 2 Cl 2 (1:1) extract (N089419) of Acronychia trifoliolata provided by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI, Frederick, MD, USA). Their structures were characterized by using various NMR and HRMS techniques. Among the known compounds, the structure of acronyculatin B (8) was revised. Some of the isolated compounds were evaluated for antiproliferative activity against human cancer cell lines. While most of the tested compounds were not cytotoxic, acronyculatins I (1) and J (2) showed moderate antiproliferative activity