The Costs of Facility Development: A Comparative Analysis of Public and Private Sector Facility Development Processes and Costs

Due to the concerns of public officials over the cost and quality of facilities, interest in understanding why public university buildings appear to cost more than private sector buildings is high. This monograph responds to these concerns by comparing cost, quality and time factors of selected public and private sector facilities in the State of Wisconsin to determine if private sector project development is less expensive than public sector project development, and if so, why.https://dc.uwm.edu/caupr_mono/1045/thumbnail.jp

The Wisconsin State Building Program Research Project

Due to the Department of Facility Development\u27s (DFD) concerns over the cost and quality of facilities, the DFD is interested in understanding why public buildings appear to actually cost more than private sector buildings. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) responded to a DFD request proposal to study these concerns of the state building program. Specific examples and case studies are highlighted to illustrate how these Factors of Complexity may impact project duration and costs.https://dc.uwm.edu/caupr_mono/1027/thumbnail.jp

Results from a 13-Year Prospective Cohort Study Show Increased Mortality Associated with Bloodstream Infections Caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Compared to Other Bacteria

ABSTRACT The impact of bacterial species on outcome in bloodstream infections (BSI) is incompletely understood. We evaluated the impact of bacterial species on BSI mortality, with adjustment for patient, bacterial, and treatment factors. From 2002 to 2015, all adult inpatients with monomicrobial BSI caused by Staphylococcus aureus or Gram-negative bacteria at Duke University Medical Center were prospectively enrolled. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable Cox regression with propensity score models were used to examine species-specific bacterial BSI mortality. Of the 2,659 enrolled patients, 999 (38%) were infected with S. aureus , and 1,660 (62%) were infected with Gram-negative bacteria. Among patients with Gram-negative BSI, Enterobacteriaceae (81% [1,343/1,660]) were most commonly isolated, followed by non-lactose-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria (16% [262/1,660]). Of the 999 S. aureus BSI isolates, 507 (51%) were methicillin resistant. Of the 1,660 Gram-negative BSI isolates, 500 (30%) were multidrug resistant. The unadjusted time-to-mortality among patients with Gram-negative BSI was shorter than that of patients with S. aureus BSI ( P = 0.003), due to increased mortality in patients with non-lactose-fermenting Gram-negative BSI generally ( P < 0.0001) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa BSI ( n = 158) in particular ( P < 0.0001). After adjustment for patient demographics, medical comorbidities, bacterial antibiotic resistance, timing of appropriate antibiotic therapy, and source control in patients with line-associated BSI, P. aeruginosa BSI remained significantly associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio = 1.435; 95% confidence interval = 1.043 to 1.933; P = 0.02). P. aeruginosa BSI was associated with increased mortality relative to S. aureus or other Gram-negative BSI. This effect persisted after adjustment for patient, bacterial, and treatment factors

Kidney disease characteristics, prevalence, and risk factors in León, Nicaragua: a population-based study

Background: CKD of unknown etiology (CKDu) disproportionately affects young people in Central America who lack traditional CKD risk factors (diabetes and hypertension) and has instead been variably linked to heat stress, occupational and environmental exposures, nephrotoxic medications, and/or genetic susceptibility. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of CKD and identify risk factors for traditional CKD and CKDu in Nicaragua. // Methods: Surveys and assessment for CKD markers in urine and serum were performed in 15–59 year olds in households of the León municipality of Nicaragua. The survey included questions on demographics, health behaviors, occupation, and medical history. Participants with CKD were subdivided into traditional CKD and suspected CKDu based on history of diabetes, hypertension, or other specified conditions. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with traditional CKD and suspected CKDu, compared to the non-CKD reference group. // Results: In 1795 study participants, CKD prevalence was 8.6%. Prevalence in males was twofold higher than females (12% vs 6%). Of those with CKD, 35% had suspected CKDu. Both traditional CKD and CKDu were associated with male sex and increasing age. Traditional CKD was associated with a family history of CKD, history of urinary tract infections, and lower socioeconomic status, while CKDu was associated with drinking well water and a lower body mass index. // Conclusions: Both traditional CKD and CKDu are significant burdens in this region. Our study supports previous hypotheses of CKDu etiology and emphasizes the importance of CKD screening

Effective descriptions of branes on non-geometric tori

We investigate the low-energy effective description of non-geometric compactifications constructed by T-dualizing two or three of the directions of a T^3 with non-vanishing H-flux. Our approach is to introduce a D3-brane in these geometries and to take an appropriate decoupling limit. In the case of two T-dualities, we find at low energies a non-commutative T^2 fibered non-trivially over an S^1. In the UV this theory is still decoupled from gravity, but is dual to a little string theory with flavor. For the case of three T-dualities, we do not find a sensible decoupling limit, casting doubt on this geometry as a low-energy effective notion in critical string theory. However, by studying a topological toy model in this background, we find a non-associative geometry similar to one found by Bouwknegt, Hannabuss, and Mathai.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, references adde

Elliptic Models, Type IIB Orientifolds and the Ads/CFT Correspondence

We analyze the large N supergravity descriptions of the class of type IIB models T-dual to elliptic type IIA brane configurations containing two orientifold 6-planes and up to two NS 5-branes. The T-dual IIB configurations contain N D3-branes in the background of an orientifold 7-plane and, in some models, a Z_2 orbifold and/or D7-branes, which give rise to four-dimensional N=2 (or N=4) gauge theories with at most two factors. We identify the chiral primary states of the supergravity theories, and match them to gauge invariant operators of the corresponding superconformal theories using Maldacena's duality.Comment: 44 pages (typo corrected

HST-COS Observations of Hydrogen, Helium, Carbon and Nitrogen Emission from the SN 1987A Reverse Shock

We present the most sensitive ultraviolet observations of Supernova 1987A to date. Imaging spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope-Cosmic Origins Spectrograph shows many narrow (dv \sim 300 km/s) emission lines from the circumstellar ring, broad (dv \sim 10 -- 20 x 10^3 km/s) emission lines from the reverse shock, and ultraviolet continuum emission. The high signal-to-noise (> 40 per resolution element) broad LyA emission is excited by soft X-ray and EUV heating of mostly neutral gas in the circumstellar ring and outer supernova debris. The ultraviolet continuum at \lambda > 1350A can be explained by HI 2-photon emission from the same region. We confirm our earlier, tentative detection of NV \lambda 1240 emission from the reverse shock and we present the first detections of broad HeII \lambda1640, CIV \lambda1550, and NIV] \lambda1486 emission lines from the reverse shock. The helium abundance in the high-velocity material is He/H = 0.14 +/- 0.06. The NV/H-alpha line ratio requires partial ion-electron equilibration (T_{e}/T_{p} \approx 0.14 - 0.35). We find that the N/C abundance ratio in the gas crossing the reverse shock is significantly higher than that in the circumstellar ring, a result that may be attributed to chemical stratification in the outer envelope of the supernova progenitor. The N/C abundance ratio may have been stratified prior to the ring expulsion, or this result may indicate continued CNO processing in the progenitor subsequent to the expulsion of the circumstellar ring.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. ApJ - accepte

‘Ethnic group’, the state and the politics of representation

The assertion, even if only by implication, that ‘ethnic group’ categories represent ‘real’ tangible entities, indeed identities, is commonplace not only in the realms of political and policy discourse but also amongst contemporary social scientists. This paper, following Brubaker (2002), questions this position in a number of key respects: of these three issues will dominate the discussion that follows. First, there is an interrogation of the proposition that those to whom the categories/labels refer constitute sociologically meaningful ‘groups’ as distinct from (mere) human collectivities. Secondly, there is the question of how these categories emerge, i.e. exactly what series of events, negotiations and contestations lie behind their construction and social acceptance. Thirdly, and as a corollary to the latter point, we explore the process of reification that leads to these categories being seen to represent ‘real things in the world’ (ibid.)