Management of ASW Systems: A Look at Rotary Wing ASW

With Defense Department resources becoming increasingly scarce1 congressional scrutiny becoming even more intense, and the public becoming increasingly apathetic about defense, military decision makers must devote careful attention to ensuring that our combat capability is optimized for each defense dollar invested. This study looks at one portion of the triple threat environment of today\u27s aircraft carrier and its integrated air wing, the subsurface threat to our surface Navy especially within the naval strike force outer zone area, i.e., 90 nautical miles

Suitability of granular carbon as an anode material for sediment microbial fuel cells

Purpose: Sediment-microbial fuel cells (S-MFC) are bio-electrochemical devices that are able to oxidize organic matter directly into harvestable electrical power. The flux of organic matter into the sediment is rather low, therefore other researchers have introduced plants for a continues supply of organic matter to the anode electrode. Until now only interconnected materials have been considered as anode materials in S-MFC. Here granular carbon materials were investigated for their suitability as anode material in sediment microbial fuel cells. Materials and methods: Laboratory microcosms with 8 different electrode materials (granules, felts and cloths) were examined with controlled organic matter addition under brackish conditions. Current density, organic matter removal and microbial community composition were monitored using 16S-rRNA gene PCR followed by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE). The main parameters investigated were the influence of the amount of electrode material applied to the sediment, the size of the granular material and the electrode configuration. Results and discussion: Felt material had an overall superior performance in terms of current density per amount of applied electrode material i.e. felt and granular anode obtained similar current densities (approx. 50–60 mA/m2) but felt materials required 29% less material to be applied. Yet, when growing plants, granular carbon is more suited because it is considered to restore, upon disturbance, the electrical connectivity within the anode compartment. Small granules (0.25–0.5 mm) gave the highest current density compared to larger granules (1-5 mm) of the same material. Granules with a rough surface had a better performance compared to smooth granules of the same size. The different granular materials lead to a selection of distinct microbial communities for each material, as shown by DGGE. Conclusions: Granular carbon is suited as anode material for sediment microbial fuel cells. This opens the perspective for application of MFC in cultivated areas. In a wider context, the application of granular carbon electrodes can also be an option for in-situ bioremediation of contaminated soils

Increasing the susceptibility of the rat 208F fibroblast cell line to radiation-induced apoptosis does not alter its clonogenic survival dose-response.

Recent studies have suggested a correlation between the rate and incidence of apoptosis and the radiation response of particular cell lines. However, we found that increasing the rate of induction of apoptosis in the fibroblast line 208F, by transfecting it with human c-myc, did not lead to a change in its clonogenic survival dose-response for either gamma-irradiation or 125I-induced DNA damage. It was also found that expression of mutant (T24) Ha-ras in the 208F line appeared to decrease the level of apoptosis per mitosis after irradiation and inhibited the formation of nucleosomal ladders, but did not affect either the onset of the morphological features of apoptosis or the clonogenic survival dose-response of the cells to either gamma-irradiation or 125I-induced DNA damage. Our findings suggest that it may be incorrect to make predictions about the radiosensitivity of cells based only on knowledge of their mode of death

Bridging University Institutional and Accreditation Standards: An Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Program Exemplar

The complexity of the health care environment requires the nursing profession to effectively anticipate current and future health care needs. Similarly, nursing education must ensure preparedness of future nursing professionals as well as meet the rigor of program accreditation standards. South Dakota State University (SDSU) College of Nursing Master’s and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), one of the two national specialized accrediting bodies for nursing. Both graduate programs must align with an American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials document that corresponds to the respective degree and specialty, e.g. family nurse practitioner (FNP). Required curricular framework, components, and competencies are mapped within The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing and The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. Both documents inform curricular content needed to meet core competencies specific to all Advanced Practice Registered Nursing (APRN) roles, such as the family nurse practitioner (AACN, 2006)

The effect of three years of TNF alpha blocking therapy on markers of bone turnover and their predictive value for treatment discontinuation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a prospective longitudinal observational cohort study

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of three years of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) blocking therapy on bone turnover as well as to analyze the predictive value of early changes in bone turnover markers (BTM) for treatment discontinuation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study of 111 consecutive AS outpatients who started TNF-alpha blocking therapy. Clinical assessments and BTM were assessed at baseline, three and six months, as well as at one, two, and three years. Z-scores of BTM were calculated to correct for age and gender. Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed yearly. RESULTS: After three years, 72 patients (65%) were still using their first TNF-alpha blocking agent. In these patients, TNF-alpha blocking therapy resulted in significantly increased bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, a marker of bone formation; decreased serum collagen-telopeptide (sCTX), a marker of bone resorption; and increased lumbar spine and hip BMD compared to baseline. Baseline to three months decrease in sCTX Z-score (HR: 0.394, 95% CI: 0.263 to 0.591), AS disease activity score (ASDAS; HR: 0.488, 95% CI: 0.317 to 0.752), and physician's global disease activity (HR: 0.739, 95% CI: 0.600 to 0.909) were independent inversely related predictors of time to treatment discontinuation because of inefficacy or intolerance. Early decrease in sCTX Z-score correlated significantly with good long-term response regarding disease activity, physical function and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Three years of TNF-alpha blocking therapy results in a bone turnover balance that favors bone formation, especially mineralization, in combination with continuous improvement of lumbar spine BMD. Early change in sCTX can serve as an objective measure in the evaluation of TNF-alpha blocking therapy in AS, in addition to the currently used more subjective measures

The quantity-quality transition in Asia

Societies in which fertility is falling and human capital investment per child increasing are experiencing a “quantity-quality transition.” Such transitions imply, over the long term, both slower rates of labor force growth and higher levels of human capital per worker. They are fundamental to economic development. Yet, these transitions are neither automatic or self-propelling. Their momentum depends on competing forces acting at both the family and the macroeconomic levels; the balance can easily tip against further transition. Family decisions about schooling are largely motivated by its private economic returns. These returns are determined in labor markets, and here the logic of supply and demand applies. When families decide to invest more deeply in their children, they collectively produce right-ward shifts in the supply of educated young labor. If other things are held fixed, the rate of return to schooling should then fall, and this, in turn, should dampen parental enthusiasm for further educational investments. Reductions in the rate of return should also weaken the case for continued reductions in fertility. Unless they are counterbalanced by other forces, such negative feedbacks would tend to bring a quantity-quality transition to a halt. The aim of this paper is to explore both the negative and positive feedbacks that have affected the quantity-quality transition in Asia. We assemble the leading hypotheses and evidence on the macroeconomic forces, both domestic and international, that could influence returns to schooling. We also examine family factors, giving particular attention to the intergenerational links that seem to have maintained the momentum of the Asian transition. Our conclusion is that negative feedbacks associated with increases in the relative supplies of educated labor have been largely offset by beneficial macroeconomic change (resulting from increases in the stock of physical capital, substantial technological change, and trade) and by powerful family-level effects that, over the generations, have continued to propel the transition

Stability of boundaries between response options of response scales: Does 'very happy' remain equally happy over the years?

The differences between response scales in number and wording of response options make it hard to compare data from survey research and to perform research syntheses. A recent method that we have developed to tackle this problem is rooted in the idea that the transition points on a bounded continuum, on which verbal response options from a primary scale transit from one point to another, for instance from ‘happy’ to ‘very happy’, remain unchanged over time. The idea behind this is that although people may change their perception of, for example, their own happiness intensity over time, they are assumed not to change the degree of appreciation they attribute to the terms used to label response options. This is an important assumption for research syntheses that requires that everything remains unchanged, except for the change of interest. It means that if our method is applied to measurements at distinct points in time, differences in estimates of the mean and standard deviation can be attributed solely to changes in the frequency distributions on the primary scale. In this paper we apply the method to happiness and show that it is reasonable to assume that the transition points between the response options are stable over time. Keywords: verbal response scales; comparability; scale transformation; beta distribution; reference distribution; research synthesi

Assessing children\u27s emerging literacy through anecdotal records

Implementing the whole language concept into an instructional program involves a change in the assessment of student growth. With the focus on student involvement in the language processes to nurture language abilities, the traditional formal measures, usually standardized tests, are inappropriate. They report in quantitative terms a child\u27s mastery of language fragments. Little information is acquired about how a child creates meaning within the structure of a whole unit--a story or poe

Long-Term Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer with Panitumumab

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. More than 30% patients present with metastases at diagnoses and will require systemic chemotherapy. In recent years many anti-EGFR targets have been developed. Among them, panitumumab, a fully human IgG2 monoclonal antibody has shown important benefits in the treatment of this disease