The Herschel SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer Spectral Feature Finder II. Estimating Radial Velocity of SPIRE Spectral Observation Sources

The Herschel SPIRE FTS Spectral Feature Finder (FF) detects significant spectral features within SPIRE spectra and employs two routines, and external references, to estimate source radial velocity. The first routine is based on the identification of rotational CO emission, the second cross-correlates detected features with a line template containing most of the characteristic lines in typical far infra-red observations. In this paper, we outline and validate these routines, summarise the results as they pertain to the FF, and comment on how external references were incorporated.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figures, 1 table, accepted by MNRAS March 202

Textbook Aliteracy in Teacher Education: Information Everywhere, But How Much Do They Read?

This article explores the problem of textbook aliteracy, i.e. the failure to read assigned texts despite the ability to do so. Constructivism is its theoretical frame. Teacher education students at a medium-sized university in the Southern Appalachian Mountains were surveyed on their textbook reading practices. Ninety percent of the 116 students completing the survey reported studying instructors’ power points in preference to completing assigned readings, at least some of the time. All were readers, though a majority (68%) reported at least some difficulty reading assigned texts. Often, they appeared to be avoiding the challenges posed by demanding text. The authors undertook various strategies to compel and encourage precise reading of informational text, with mixed results

Sustainability Base: The Self-guided "Tour"

This series of 6 information sheets was designed to familiarize readers with the performance capabilities of Sustainability Base. The set described the design intentions and operational characteristics of this LEED Platinum facilit

Diabetes Insipidus as a Complication of Wegener's Granulomatosis and Its Treatment with Biologic Agents

Wegener's granulomatosis of the pituitary gland resulting in diabetes insipidus is a rare complication of the disease. Standard treatment for Wegener's granulomatosis involves a combination of prednisolone and cylophosphamide, however biologic agents are now being used in refractory cases. We report three cases of patients with diabetes insipidus as a complication of Wegener's granulomatosis who were treated with biologic agents. All three cases showed clinical response to treatment with biologic agents including rituximab and alemtuzumab and two cases demonstrated improvement in pituitary gland abnormalities by MRI. Clinicians should be aware that diabetes insipidus can present as a complication of Wegener's granulomatosis and that biologic therapies may be effective in refractory cases

Respiratory virus transmission dynamics determine timing of asthma exacerbation peaks: Evidence from a population-level model.

Asthma exacerbations exhibit a consistent annual pattern, closely mirroring the school calendar. Although respiratory viruses--the "common cold" viruses--are implicated as a principal cause, there is little evidence to link viral prevalence to seasonal differences in risk. We jointly fit a common cold transmission model and a model of biological and environmental exacerbation triggers to estimate effects on hospitalization risk. Asthma hospitalization rate, influenza prevalence, and air quality measures are available, but common cold circulation is not; therefore, we generate estimates of viral prevalence using a transmission model. Our deterministic multivirus transmission model includes transmission rates that vary when school is closed. We jointly fit the two models to 7 y of daily asthma hospitalizations in adults and children (66,000 events) in eight metropolitan areas. For children, we find that daily viral prevalence is the strongest predictor of asthma hospitalizations, with transmission reduced by 45% (95% credible interval =41-49%) during school closures. We detect a transient period of nonspecific immunity between infections lasting 19 (17-21) d. For adults, hospitalizations are more variable, with influenza driving wintertime peaks. Neither particulate matter nor ozone was an important predictor, perhaps because of the large geographic area of the populations. The school calendar clearly and predictably drives seasonal variation in common cold prevalence, which results in the "back-to-school" asthma exacerbation pattern seen in children and indirectly contributes to exacerbation risk in adults. This study provides a framework for anticipating the seasonal dynamics of common colds and the associated risks for asthmatics

Genetic analysis of maximum cigarette-use phenotypes

BACKGROUND: Using the Framingham Heart Study data set provided for Genetic Analysis Workshop 13, we defined the cigarette-use phenotype M for smokers to be the maximum number of cigarettes-per-day (MAXCIG) reported over the longitudinal course of the study. Adjustments were made for the significant covariates of gender and year of birth, and sib-pair based linkage analysis was performed. RESULTS: The primary analyses, in which individuals with MAXCIG = 0 were considered to have missing phenotype, resulted in modest linkage evidence, with LOD scores over 1 on chromosomes 5, 9, 13, 14, and 22. CONCLUSIONS: While the results reported here do not indicate definitive evidence for linkage to specific chromosomal regions, future studies may find it useful to include direct assessments of maximum and quantitative cigarette use. In defining and analyzing quantitative or "maximum use" phenotypes, the choice of how to handle individuals with MAXCIG = 0, or alternatively, individuals who are substance-naive, is a crucial one for genetic studies of nicotine and other substance use. In this study, the linkage results vary greatly depending on whether or not these "unexposed" individuals are included in the analyses