En contra de la aumentación

This article originated from a conversation between John Richards and Tim Shaw. The conversation is a response to the journal’s theme, Augmented Instruments. Instead of focusing on just one instrument, the authors decided to talk more generally about their overall aesthetic and process of making performance-installations. The conversation touches on augmentation, DIY instruments, unpredictability, and offers the reader examples of their own self-made musical devices. The discussion concludes with three emergent themes: Reductionism, Raw Materials, and Fields of Influence. They hope this transcribed conversation provides a useful starting point for readers interested in Richards’ and Shaw’s experimental approach to electronic music and idiosyncratic instrument design.Este artículo nace desde una conversación entre Jon Richards y Tim Shaw como respuesta al tema de la revista: Instrumentos Aumentados. En vez de enfocarse sobre un solo instrumento, los autores decidieron hablar más en general sobre sus estéticas y formas de crear instalaciones-performance. La conversación toca los temas de la aumentación, los instrumentos DIY, la imprevisibilidad, y ofrece al lector ejemplos de aparatos musicales hechos por los autores mismos. La discusión concluye con tres temas emergentes: el Reduccionismo, las Materias Primas y los Campos de Influencia. Los autores esperan que la transcripción de su conversación proporcione un punto de partida útil para los lectores interesados en el acercamiento experimental de Richards y Shaw a la música electrónica y al diseño idiosincrático de los instrumentos

THE INFLUENCE OF SIZE ON PERFORMANCE IN WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS

Thirty-seven female gymnasts, aged initially between 10 and 12 years, completed a mixed longitudinal study over 3.3 years to investigate the effect of size on gymnastic performance. Subjects were tested at four-monthly intervals on a battery of measures including structural growth, strength and gymnastic performance. The size of these gymnasts at 150 months had a varying effect on perfmmance. Performances of front and back rotations, as well as the twisting jump were significantly, 'but inversely related to the height and mass of the gymnast. The twisting jump was positively influenced by a high ratio of strength to body mass. Gymnasts with large bodies also took Ilonger to perform the v-sit action, thus indicating poorer performance. A theoretical model was developed to demonstrate the effect of size on the ability to perform generic gymnastic skills

STEM II Initiative-Updates from Participating Institutions (Part 1)

STEM II Initiative – Updates from Participating Institutions (Part 1) is made up of a series of “sampler sessions” so that interested individuals can get an overview but not comprehensive coverage. Dr. Nathan Moon will introduce this session by telling a few important lessons gleaned from the STEM I evaluations. Second, Dr. Tim Howard will talk about the STEM II Initiative at Columbus State. Third, Dr. Judy Awong-Taylor will provide information concerning the STEM II Initiative at Georgia Gwinnett College. Fourth, Dr. Rosalie Richards will discuss what is happening with the STEM II Initiative at Georgia College & State University

A model of inflammatory arthritis highlights a role for oncostatin M in pro-inflammatory cytokine-induced bone destruction via RANK/RANKL

Oncostatin M is a pro-inflammatory cytokine previously shown to promote marked cartilage destruction both in vitro and in vivo when in combination with IL-1 or tumour necrosis factor alpha. However, the in vivo effects of these potent cytokine combinations on bone catabolism are unknown. Using adenoviral gene transfer, we have overexpressed oncostatin M in combination with either IL-1 or tumour necrosis factor alpha intra-articularly in the knees of C57BL/6 mice. Both of these combinations induced marked bone damage and markedly increased tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive multinucleate cell staining in the synovium and at the front of bone erosions. Furthermore, there was increased expression of RANK and its ligand RANKL in the inflammatory cells, in inflamed synovium and in articular cartilage of knee joints treated with the cytokine combinations compared with expression in joints treated with the cytokines alone or the control. This model of inflammatory arthritis demonstrates that, in vivo, oncostatin M in combination with either IL-1 or tumour necrosis factor alpha represents cytokine combinations that promote bone destruction. The model also provides further evidence that increased osteoclast-like, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive staining multinucleate cells and upregulation of RANK/RANKL in joint tissues are key factors in pathological bone destruction

Intensive care in severe malaria: report from the task force on tropical diseases by the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine

Severe malaria is common in tropical countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania and South and Central America. It may also occur in travelers returning from endemic areas. Plasmodium falciparum accounts for most cases, although P vivax is increasingly found to cause severe malaria in Asia. Cerebral malaria is common in children in Africa, manifests as coma and seizures, and has a high morbidity and mortality. In other regions, adults may also develop cerebral malaria but neurological sequelae in survivors are rare. Acute kidney injury, liver dysfunction, thrombocytopenia, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are also common in severe malaria. Metabolic abnormalities include hypoglycemia, hyponatremia and lactic acidosis. Bacterial infection may coexist in patients presenting with shock or ARDS and this along with a high parasite load has a high mortality. Intravenous artesunate has replaced quinine as the antimalarial agent of choice. Critical care management as per severe sepsis is also applicable to severe malaria. Aggressive fluid boluses may not be appropriate in children. Blood transfusions may be required and treatment of seizures and raised intracranial pressure is important in cerebral malaria in children. Mortality in severe disease ranges from 8 to 30% despite treatment

A Flexible Spatio-Temporal Model for Air Pollution: Allowing for Spatio-Temporal Covariates

Given the increasing interest in the association between exposure to air pollution and adverse health outcomes, the development of models that provide accurate spatio-temporal predictions of air pollution concentrations at small spatial scales is of great importance when assessing potential health effects of air pollution. The methodology presented here has been developed as part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air), a prospective cohort study funded by the US EPA to investigate the relationship between chronic exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular disease. We present a spatio-temporal framework that models and predicts ambient air pollution by combining data from several different monitoring networks with the output from deterministic air pollution model(s). The model can accommodate arbitrarily missing observations and allows for a complex spatio-temporal correlation structure. We apply the model to predict long-term average concentrations of gaseous oxides of nitrogen (NOx) ─ one of the primary pollutants of interest in the MESA Air study ─ during a ten year period in the Los Angeles area, based on measurements from the EPA Air Quality System and MESA Air monitoring. The measurements are augmented by a spatio-temporal covariate based on the output from a source dispersion model for traffic related air pollution (Caline3QHC) and the model is evaluated using cross-validation. The predictive ability of the model is good with cross-validated R2 of approximately 0.7 at subject sites. The incorporation of a dispersion model output into the overall prediction model was feasible, but the particular implementation of Caline3QHC used here did not improve predictions in a model that also includes road information. However, excluding the road information the inclusion of model output improves predictions and we find some evidence that the source dispersion model can replace road covariates. The model presented in this paper has been implemented in an R package, SpatioTemporal, which will be available on CRAN shortly

Interventions for preventing or treating malnutrition in problem drinkers who are homeless or vulnerably housed:protocol for a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Problem alcohol drinking in homeless and vulnerably housed people can lead to malnutrition, which is associated with complications such as alcohol-related brain damage. Homeless alcohol drinkers are likely to have worse health outcomes and different nutritional needs compared with housed alcohol-drinking persons. It is not clear whether interventions to improve nutritional status in this population have been effective. The purpose of this review is to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions for preventing or correcting micronutrient deficiencies and other forms of malnutrition and related comorbidities in this population. METHODS/DESIGN: A systematic search for studies of a nutrition-based intervention applied in the homeless or vulnerably housed population with problem drinking will be conducted. The following electronic databases will be systematically searched for relevant studies: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CAB abstracts, CINAHL, Cochrane Public Health Group Register and Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group Register. Screening of identified abstracts for relevance and assessment of papers for inclusion will be done in duplicate. One reviewer will extract data from the studies and assess quality, and this will be checked by another reviewer. Discrepancies will be resolved by consensus. The primary outcomes are (mal)nutrition status or micronutrient deficiencies or change in (mal)nutrition status or micronutrient deficiencies, measures of liver damage and cognitive function. Secondary outcomes include comorbidities, quality of life and functional scales, resources used to deliver treatment, uptake/acceptability of the intervention and engagement with treatment services. Results will be analysed descriptively, and, if appropriate, meta-analyses will be performed. DISCUSSION: The results of this review should help to inform the development of effective interventions that can be implemented in the community to improve the health of homeless people who are problem drinkers. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42015024247 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-015-0114-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

PREVENTT: preoperative intravenous iron to treat anaemia in major surgery: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Anaemia is common in patients undergoing major surgery. The current standard of care for patients with low haemoglobin in the peri-operative period is blood transfusion. The presence of preoperative anaemia is associated with an increased likelihood of the patient receiving peri-operative transfusion and worsened outcomes following surgery, more post-operative complications, delayed recovery and greater length of hospital stay. Intravenous iron, if applied in the preoperative setting, may correct anaemia by the time of surgery and reduce the need for blood transfusion and improve outcomes. METHODS/DESIGN: PREVENTT is a phase III double-blind randomised controlled trial that will compare the use of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose (dose 1000 mg) with placebo 10-42 days before major open abdominal surgery in 500 patients with anaemia (haemoglobin < 120 g/L). The primary outcome measure will be the need for blood transfusion and secondary endpoints will include post-operative recovery, length of hospital stay, health care utilisation and cost analysis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN67322816--registered 9 October 2012. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01692418

Sepsis in tropical regions: Report from the task force on tropical diseases by the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine

Sepsis and septic shock in the tropics are caused by a wide array of organisms. These infections are encountered mainly in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) where a lack of infrastructure and medical facilities contribute to the high morbidity and mortality. Published sepsis guidelines are based on studies primarily performed in high income countries and as such recommendations may or may not be relevant to practice in the tropics. Failure to adhere to guidelines, particularly among non-intensive care specialists even in high-income countries, is an area of concern for sepsis management. Additionally, inappropriate use of antimicrobials has led to significant antimicrobial resistance. Access to rapid, low-cost, and accurate diagnostic tests is critical in countries where tropical diseases are prevalent to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. Implementation of performance improvement programs may improve outcomes for patients with sepsis and the addition of resuscitation and treatment bundles may further reduce mortality. Associated co-morbidities such as malnutrition and HIV influence outcomes and must be considered