STATIC TESTS ON COLLAPSING GUARDRAIL DESIGNS

A modified turned-down guardrail terminal which uses retrofit clips to hold up the guardrail has been in use on Nebraska Highways for several years. During this time, the Nebraska Department of Roads has become aware of a problem with this design. After being exposed to temperature fluctuations and vibrations from passing traffic the retrofit clips expand and the guardrail drops to the ground. Twelve different designs were tested on an actual guardrail field installation and a design consisting of strategically placed shear bolts was recommended

A Contribution to the Study of Exit Flow Angle in Radial Turbines

ABSTRACT The emergence and evolution of relative whirling motions in the exducer region of an Inward Flow Radial Turbine is discussed. Existing models of relative motion are reviewed and expanded by consideration of the effect of centrifugal forces differences arising from velocity gradients. It is shown that the often observed phenomenon of outlet overturn/underturn is inherent to the use of straight-helix exducers. Explicit mathematical relationships between exit velocities and radius are not available. If, however, such relationships could be considered linear, it is shown that two new reference radii may be identified such that the net outlet properties can be measured or computed at these locations as lump parameters. These radii are different from the often used hydraulic radius. The new models and reference radii are verified using published experimental data

Revitalizing Distressed Older Suburbs

Reviews literature on strategies for revitalizing distressed older suburbs. Based on case studies of the most distressed minority suburbs, examines the effectiveness of and best practices for revitalization programs and investments. Makes recommendations

Stakeholder Theory and Marketing: Moving from a Firm-Centric to a Societal Perspective

This essay is inspired by the ideas and research examined in the special section on “Stakeholder Marketing” of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing in 2010. The authors argue that stakeholder marketing is slowly coalescing with the broader thinking that has occurred in the stakeholder management and ethics literature streams during the past quarter century. However, the predominant view of stakeholders that many marketers advocate is still primarily pragmatic and company centric. The position advanced herein is that stronger forms of stakeholder marketing that reflect more normative, macro/societal, and network-focused orientations are necessary. The authors briefly explain and justify these characteristics in the context of the growing “prosociety” and “proenvironment” perspectives—orientations that are also in keeping with the public policy focus of this journal. Under the “hard form” of stakeholder theory, which the authors endorse, marketing managers must realize that serving stakeholders sometimes requires sacrificing maximum profits to mitigate outcomes that would inflict major damage on other stakeholders, especially society

Inventing and implementing future-ready archival education

The Archival / Preservation Education SIG panel engages with community-responsive master's-level archival education. Seven ten-minute individual presentations and audience discussion traverse the decision points in managing curricular change; presenters bring perspectives from multiple states. "Audio Preservation as Metacognitive Archival Education" by Sarah Buchanan discusses how audiovisual archiving experiences support the continual development of students' metacognitive skills during their graduate program. Based on community collaboration, the activity progressions provide students with digital experiences, faculty with curricular guidance, and online audiences with more representative primary sources. "LIS Students Contributing to Building a Sustainable Digital Community Archive" by Krystyna Matusiak describes a community-based two-year project aimed at preserving and promoting the Park County Local History Archive in rural Colorado, now available at https://pclha.cvlcollections.org/. The presentation illustrates students' many contributions: organizing materials and assessing their copyright status, digitizing photographs, converting oral histories, creating metadata records, building exhibits, and showcasing community resilience. "Changing Horses Midstream: Revising Curriculum and Student Engagement to Ensure a Resilient Future" by Edward Benoit, III and Amanda Lima discusses the revision process for transitioning two programs to LSU Online, compares assessments from the traditional and LSU Online programs, and reflects on completing the first year. Additionally, the presenters will highlight the use of student-run Slack channels and virtual coffee hours as online student community building tools for the new LSU Online students, and discuss the school's future in the platform. "Producing Practical Professionals with Curriculum for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion" by Aisha Johnson acknowledges that cultural heritage programs should address the need for cultural preservation and reflection, for archivists of Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) heritage. The presentation will review a reestablished Archives and Records Management concentration, with core archival and complementary knowledge curriculum, as a case study for exploring new approaches to pedagogy on the purpose, value, and importance of archives in society. "Learning from Experience: Lessons from a Virtual Service-Learning Experiment" by Colin Post discusses a service-learning project documenting an artist's performance as well as their artwork archives. While such projects place even greater pressure on the instructor as a project manager, they enhance connections between theory and practice in online courses. "Lessons Learned from the Digital Preservation Outreach and Education Network" by Anthony Cocciolo and Erin Barsan discusses the types of needs they have uncovered, the communities served, and the lessons learned over the course of a year running DPOE-N. The Network's response to the COVID-19 pandemic comprises microfunding for professional development and emergency hardware support for cultural heritage professionals. "National Forum Grant Project: Exploring New Frontiers in 21st Century Archival Education" by Alex Poole and Jane Zhang discusses the environmental scan, National Forum event, and final outputs of their year-long project. The presentation addresses motivation and need, historical and current context, research components, and intended results and impact. The moderator will facilitate Q&A within and across the presentations

Organizational factors and depression management in community-based primary care settings

Abstract Background Evidence-based quality improvement models for depression have not been fully implemented in routine primary care settings. To date, few studies have examined the organizational factors associated with depression management in real-world primary care practice. To successfully implement quality improvement models for depression, there must be a better understanding of the relevant organizational structure and processes of the primary care setting. The objective of this study is to describe these organizational features of routine primary care practice, and the organization of depression care, using survey questions derived from an evidence-based framework. Methods We used this framework to implement a survey of 27 practices comprised of 49 unique offices within a large primary care practice network in western Pennsylvania. Survey questions addressed practice structure (e.g., human resources, leadership, information technology (IT) infrastructure, and external incentives) and process features (e.g., staff performance, degree of integrated depression care, and IT performance). Results The results of our survey demonstrated substantial variation across the practice network of organizational factors pertinent to implementation of evidence-based depression management. Notably, quality improvement capability and IT infrastructure were widespread, but specific application to depression care differed between practices, as did coordination and communication tasks surrounding depression treatment. Conclusions The primary care practices in the network that we surveyed are at differing stages in their organization and implementation of evidence-based depression management. Practical surveys such as this may serve to better direct implementation of these quality improvement strategies for depression by improving understanding of the organizational barriers and facilitators that exist within both practices and practice networks. In addition, survey information can inform efforts of individual primary care practices in customizing intervention strategies to improve depression management.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78269/1/1748-5908-4-84.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78269/2/1748-5908-4-84-S1.PDFhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78269/3/1748-5908-4-84.pdfPeer Reviewe

Disease-associated genotypes of the commensal skin bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis

Some of the most common infectious diseases are caused by bacteria that naturally colonise humans asymptomatically. Combating these opportunistic pathogens requires an understanding of the traits that differentiate infecting strains from harmless relatives. Staphylococcus epidermidis is carried asymptomatically on the skin and mucous membranes of virtually all humans but is a major cause of nosocomial infection associated with invasive procedures. Here we address the underlying evolutionary mechanisms of opportunistic pathogenicity by combining pangenome-wide association studies and laboratory microbiology to compare S. epidermidis from bloodstream and wound infections and asymptomatic carriage. We identify 61 genes containing infection-associated genetic elements (k-mers) that correlate with in vitro variation in known pathogenicity traits (biofilm formation, cell toxicity, interleukin-8 production, methicillin resistance). Horizontal gene transfer spreads these elements, allowing divergent clones to cause infection. Finally, Random Forest model prediction of disease status (carriage vs. infection) identifies pathogenicity elements in 415 S. epidermidis isolates with 80% accuracy, demonstrating the potential for identifying risk genotypes pre-operatively.Peer reviewe

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies from the CHARGE consortium identifies common variants associated with carotid intima media thickness and plaque

Carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) and plaque determined by ultrasonography are established measures of subclinical atherosclerosis that each predicts future cardiovascular disease events. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data in 31,211 participants of European ancestry from nine large studies in the setting of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. We then sought additional evidence to support our findings among 11,273 individuals using data from seven additional studies. In the combined meta-analysis, we identified three genomic regions associated with common carotid intima media thickness and two different regions associated with the presence of carotid plaque (P < 5 × 10 -8). The associated SNPs mapped in or near genes related to cellular signaling, lipid metabolism and blood pressure homeostasis, and two of the regions were associated with coronary artery disease (P < 0.006) in the Coronary Artery Disease Genome-Wide Replication and Meta-Analysis (CARDIoGRAM) consortium. Our findings may provide new insight into pathways leading to subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular events

Greater temperature sensitivity of plant phenology at colder sites: implications for convergence across northern latitudes

Warmer temperatures are accelerating the phenology of organisms around the world. Temperature sensitivity of phenology might be greater in colder, higher latitude sites than in warmer regions, in part because small changes in temperature constitute greater relative changes in thermal balance at colder sites. To test this hypothesis, we examined up to 20 years of phenology data for 47 tundra plant species at 18 high-latitude sites along a climatic gradient. Across all species, the timing of leaf emergence and flowering was more sensitive to a given increase in summer temperature at colder than warmer high-latitude locations. A similar pattern was seen over time for the flowering phenology of a widespread species, Cassiope tetragona. These are among the first results highlighting differential phenological responses of plants across a climatic gradient and suggest the possibility of convergence in flowering times and therefore an increase in gene flow across latitudes as the climate warms