ATLS: Catheter and tube placement

The specific objectives of this experiment are: to evaluate the rack mounted equipment and medical supplies necessary for medical procedures; to evaluate the attachments, mounting points, and inner drawer assemblies for the medical supplies; and to evaluate the procedures for performing medical scenarios. The resources available in the HMF miniracks to accomplish medical scenarios and/or procedures include: medical equipment mounted in the racks; a patch panel with places to attach tubing and catheters; self contained drawers full of critical care medical supplies; and an ALS 'backpack' for deploying supplies. The attachment lines, tubing and associated medical supplies will be deployed and used with the equipment and a patient mannequin. Data collection is provided by direct observations by the inflight experimenters, and analysis of still and video photography

ATLS-stowage and deployment testing of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals

The objective is to evaluate stowage and deployment methods for the Health Maintenance Facility (HMF) during microgravity. The specific objectives of this experiment are: (1) to evaluate the stowage and deployment mechanisms for the medical supplies; and (2) to evaluate the procedures for performing medical scenarios. To accomplish these objectives, the HMF test mini-racks will contain medical equipment mounted in the racks; and self-contained drawers with various mechanisms for stowing and deploying items. The medical supplies and pharmaceuticals will be destowed, handled, and restowed. The in-flight test procedures and other aspects of the KC-135 parabolic flight test to simulate weightlessness are presented

Using synchrotron techniques to understand plant diseases stripe rust and wheat

Non-Peer Reviewe

The Architecture of Clothing: Notions of Public and Private Space

Space, as defined as a three dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction, is conversely bound through clothing, architecture, and other margins that organize humanhood for everyday purpose. Continually, clothing imposes and extends itself into everyday experiences and dictates notions of interaction between both people and objects. In this written body of work, my intention is to explore public and private spatial influences within clothing and the ways in which these influences can be curated to reflect and evoke notions of interaction and identity. Following three related studies on space, form, and curation, a survey of the parallels between fashion and architecture reveals the distinction between public and private space, as well as how the lines of this distinction are blurred at a confrontation with clothing objects, their form, materiality, and display

Evaluation of High-intensity and Low-intensity Preconditioning Systems

Steer calves n = 345 (year 1 n = 183; 253 ± 35 kg, year 2 n = 162; 241 ± 36 kg initial BW) were used to evaluate 56-d preconditioning systems in each of two years. Angus- and Charolais-sired calves out of crossbred dams were assigned to systems within breed and BW strata. The systems consisted of ad libitum access to a self-fed milo-based diet in drylot (DL); ad libitum access to the same self-fed diet while grazing dormant warm season pasture (SF); and hand-fed 20 precent CP pellets (2.1 kg 3 times/wk; equivalent to 0.89 kg/steer per d) while grazing dormant warm season pasture (HF). Steers were weighed after overnight shrink on d 0, 28, and 56. The economic analysis was based on current local prices for cattle and inputs. Morbidity and mortality rates were similar among treatments. In year 1, one steer was removed from SF (mechanical) and one from DL (chronic bloat). In year 2, two steers were treated for respiratory disease (DL and HF) and mortalities occurred in DL (1 steer, digestive), HF (1 steer, unknown) and SF (1 steer, mechanical). Shrink from weaning to d 0 averaged 4.45 percent across years and was similar (P = 0.70) among treatments. Across years, ADG was lower in HF vs. SF or DL-fed steers (P < 0.01), which had similar rates of gain (P = 0.29; 0.13, 0.98, and 0.96 ± 0.03 kg/d yr 1; P = 0.13; 0.14, 0.73, 0.79 ± 0.06 kg/d for HF, SF, and DL, respectively). In year 1, daily feed intake was similar (9.03 vs. 10.0 ± 0.96 kg/steer; P = 0.17) among SF and, DL systems. In year 2, intake was greater for DL than SF (10.1 vs. 8.3 ± 0.25; P < 0.01). Feed efficiency (G:F) was greater for HF steers vs. SF or DL steers in year 1 (P < 0.01). (P=0.91; 0.04, 0.11, 0.09, ± 0.04 for year 1 HF, SF, and DL respectively). In year 2, G:F did not differ among treatments (P= 0.50; 0.16, 0.09, 0.08 HF, SF, DL respectively). Forage utilization was not quantified; these values represent gain per unit of purchased feed delivered, a metric favoring groups fed at lower rates. Preconditioning costs were 73.50, 175.12 and 167.20 $/steer (year 1) and 53.58, 152.72, and 141.68$/steer (year 2; HF, SF, and DL respectively). These systems resulted in losses of -57.89, -67.59, and -58.80 $/steer (SE = 4.99; P= 0.38) in year 1, and -28.35,-80.00, and -64.55$/steer (SE = 17.39; P = 0.18) in year 2 for HF, SF, and DL. Price premiums of 10.61, 10.51, and 9.18 $/45.4 kg (SE = 0.85; P=0.46) in year 1 and 5.79, 14.01, and 11.31$/45.4 kg (SE = 3.25; P=0.27) in year 2 would be required for HF, SF, and DL to be par with sale at weaning. Overall preconditioning was unprofitable for both years and would require substantial price premiums. Although a lower intensity pasture system reduced overall input cost, it did not result in profitability. Providing ad libitum access to a diet while on pasture did not result in any advantages over drylot based systems

A Theoretical Structural Impairment Detection System for Timber Railway Bridges

The objective of this research is to develop a theoretical Structural Impairment Detection System (SIDS) for timber railway bridges. Due to fatigue, the timber stringers in timber railway bridges develop shear cracks. These shear cracks lead to higher bridge deflections, higher stresses in the stringers and rail, and shorter fatigue life of the system. A SIDS is proposed which links wheel path accelerations obtained from traversing freight cars to the condition of the bridge. In order to develop the SIDS, two models of timber railway bridges with various levels of structural impairment were developed. The first model was a quasi-static model developed from classical beam theory and implemented in MATLAB. The second model was a dynamic, finite element model created in LS-DYNA. Traversing axle loads were imposed on the models. The results obtained from the model were the wheel paths the axles take as they traverse the bridge. The paths were expressed as vertical displacements as a function of position on the bridge. Wheel path accelerations were obtained by numerically differentiating the vertical displacements. The accelerations were then used to train neural networks to have an input of an acceleration vector and an output of a bridge condition vector. The neural networks were trained on results from both models under three train speeds: 40 mph, 30 mph, and 20 mph. The networks were able to determine the correct bridge condition 90% of the time when the train speed was 40 mph and 70% of the time when the train speed was 30 mph. The networks were not successful in determining bridge condition when the train speed was 20 mph

Genome-Wide Association Study for Seed Quality Traits in Chickpea

Non-Peer ReviewedChickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.) are an important source of nutrition for the world’s population. Global demand for high quality chickpeas is growing [1]. Canadian chickpea production is expected to increase as a result. Breeding efforts for Canadian varieties are increasingly targeting seed quality. Seed protein and oil content are important, quantitatively inherited traits [2]. To improve nutrition and functional quality of chickpeas an understanding of the genetic basis and underlying traits is crucial. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been employed in breeding populations to aid marker assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection (GS) applications [3]. A panel of diverse chickpea accessions including materials developed at the Canadian breeding program were grown during the summers of 2016-18. The population was grown at two locations each year, with three replicates per location. The panel was phenotyped for total crude protein and oil content. Over 60K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) derived from whole genome sequences were used to analyze genetic diversity and population structure of the accessions. After data quality screening 170 out of 184 accessions remained, consisting of 45 Desis and 125 Kabulis. Roughly 30 600 SNPs remained after filtering for quality and a 10% minor allele frequency (MAF). Population structure analysis revealed several distinct groups primarily divided by market class. Linkage disequilibrium decay was determined to be between 390 and 380 kilobases. There was a moderate negative correlation shared between the traits (r=-0.57) as well as a genotype by environment interaction. It was determined that year was a greater source of phenotypic variation than growing location. QTLs and candidate genes associated with total protein and oil content were identified through GWAS, with potential markers for both traits on the q arm of chromosome 5

Assessment of Endocrine and Gonadal Condition of Male Largemouth Bass from Lake Mead, Nevada

Las Vegas Bay (LVB) of Lake Mead receives combined flows of tertiary treated wastewater effluent, urban runoff, and groundwater from the Las Vegas metropolitan area. This study examined the potential for endocrine disrupting effects of these anthropogenic inputs on male largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Adult male bass were collected at two sites within Lake Mead: Overton Arm (OA, reference site), and Las Vegas Bay (LVB). Post-spawn fish were collected in July 2007 (n = 6-10 per site) and pre-spawn fish in March 2008 (n = 13 per site). Post-spawn fish were characterized by regressed testes whereas pre-spawn bass had full-grown gonads. Mean fish lengths and weights did not vary between sites or sampling times. Pre-spawn LVB males had lower plasma 11-ketotestosterone (KT), higher estradiol-17β (E2), higher E2/KT ratio, higher hepatosomatic index (ratio of liver to body weight), higher hematocrit values, and higher condition factor compared to OA males. However, no significant differences were evident in the gonadosomatic index (ratio of testes to body weight) of either pre-or post-spawn males from the two sites. In post-spawn males, no significant site-associated differences were detected for any of the parameters measured. Overall, these results suggest the existence of site-specific environmental influences on several indices of endocrine condition and health of pre-spawn male largemouth bass in Lake Mead, and are generally consistent with outcomes from previous studies that suggested the occurrence of altered endocrine and reproductive condition in male common carp from LVB

Importance Sampling for Objetive Funtion Estimations in Neural Detector Traing Driven by Genetic Algorithms

To train Neural Networks (NNs) in a supervised way, estimations of an objective function must be carried out. The value of this function decreases as the training progresses and so, the number of test observations necessary for an accurate estimation has to be increased. Consequently, the training computational cost is unaffordable for very low objective function value estimations, and the use of Importance Sampling (IS) techniques becomes convenient. The study of three different objective functions is considered, which implies the proposal of estimators of the objective function using IS techniques: the Mean-Square error, the Cross Entropy error and the Misclassification error criteria. The values of these functions are estimated by IS techniques, and the results are used to train NNs by the application of Genetic Algorithms. Results for a binary detection in Gaussian noise are provided. These results show the evolution of the parameters during the training and the performances of the proposed detectors in terms of error probability and Receiver Operating Characteristics curves. At the end of the study, the obtained results justify the convenience of using IS in the training

Risk of Colorectal Polyps and Malignancies Among Predominantly Rural Hispanics

Background: Soil transmitted helminths (STH) remain a global public health concern in spite of occasional dosing campaigns. Aims: To determine baseline prevalence and intensity of STH infection in east Guatemalan school children, and describe the associated epidemiology of anemia, stunting, and wasting in this population. Setting and design: Ten schools in Izabal province (eastern Guatemala) were identified, and 1,001 school children were selected for this study. Half of the schools were used as clinical testing sites (blood and stool). Materials and Methods: Anthropometric measures were collected from all children. Over 300 children were tested for anemia and 229 for helminth infection. Ova and parasite specimens were examined via Direct, Kato Katz, and McMaster techniques. Hemoglobin was measured from venipuncture following the hemacue system. Statistical analysis: Correlation between infection intensities and growth indicators were examined. Chi Square or t tests were used for bivariate analysis. Multiple logistic regression was performed on significant variables from bivariate techniques. Results: Over two-thirds of school children were positive for infection by any STH. Prevalence of Hookworm was 30%; Ascaris, 52%; and Trichuris, 39%, most as low-intensity infection. Over half of the children were co-infected. In bivariate analysis, anemia was significantly associated with polyparasitism. Conclusions: For a Guatemalan child who experiences a unit decrease in hemoglobin, one expects to see a 24% increase in the odds of being infected with STH, controlling for age, sex, lake proximity, and growth characteristics. Infection with more than one STH, despite low intensity, led to a significant decrease in hemoglobin