NOURISH, Nutritional OUtcomes from a Randomised Investigation of Intradialytic oral nutritional Supplements in patients receiving Haemodialysis: a pilot randomised controlled trial

Background The study was done to assess the feasibility of conducting a trial evaluating the use of an intradialytic oral nutritional supplement (ONS) on nutritional status. Methods The study design is a single centre, parallel group, external pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT). The setting was at a haemodialysis unit in Sheffield, UK. The aim was to recruit 30 trial participants to allow at least 12 evaluable patients per arm, but the actual study sample consisted of 10 adults with a body mass index (BMI) ≤22 kg/m2, receiving thrice weekly haemodialysis. All participants received nutritional advice from a renal dietitian as per usual practice. The intervention included the provision of an intradialytic ONS. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment to time and retention of participants along with palatability of ONS. Secondary outcomes were clinical parameters to obtain variance and estimates of effect size to inform the sample size calculation for a definitive trial. Results Recruitment was undertaken for a fixed period of 6 weeks. Rates were lower than expected mainly due to ineligibility with only 7% of screened patients (19/265) being eligible and 4% (10/265) of these being recruited. Due to the small proportion of patients eligible for the trial, all haemodialysis patients at the specified unit were assessed for eligibility. Data completion rates were low for session questionnaires (23%). Sample sizes derived from variance in secondary outcome measure of handgrip strength and adjusted for a dropout rate of 20% indicate that 189 patients would be required for a definitive RCT, requiring 19 UK haemodialysis units to participate. Conclusions A definitive RCT is feasible with some adaptation to exclusion criteria and methodology. The exclusion criteria could be adapted to include an increase in upper limit for BMI. The use of questionnaires at each dialysis session may not be feasible but the inclusion of appetite and supplement consumption data collection at the main assessments would provide similar outcome data. Quality of life assessment using SF-12 would be acceptable

After-hours facility maintenance procedures

The project goal is to research, develop, and implement, by Fall Semester 2001, a formal and effective system of after-hours maintenance coverage and procedures that will improve overall responsiveness and enhance customer satisfaction within the University Housing at the University of South Carolina

Nonlocality vs. complementarity: a conservative approach to the information problem

A proposal for resolution of the information paradox is that "nice slice" states, which have been viewed as providing a sharp argument for information loss, do not in fact do so as they do not give a fully accurate description of the quantum state of a black hole. This however leaves an information *problem*, which is to provide a consistent description of how information escapes when a black hole evaporates. While a rather extreme form of nonlocality has been advocated in the form of complementarity, this paper argues that is not necessary, and more modest nonlocality could solve the information problem. One possible distinguishing characteristic of scenarios is the information retention time. The question of whether such nonlocality implies acausality, and particularly inconsistency, is briefly addressed. The need for such nonlocality, and its apparent tension with our empirical observations of local quantum field theory, may be a critical missing piece in understanding the principles of quantum gravity.Comment: 11 pages of text and figures, + references. v2 minor text. v3 small revisions to match final journal versio

Altered White-Matter Microstructure in Conduct Disorder Is Specifically Associated with Elevated Callous-Unemotional Traits

Adolescents with conduct disorder (CD) and elevated callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been reported to present with a more severe and persistent pattern of antisocial behaviour than those with low levels of CU traits. However, relatively few studies have investigated whether there are differences in brain structure between these subgroups.We acquired diffusion tensor imaging data and used tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to compare adolescents with CD and high levels of CU traits (CD/CU+; n = 18, CD and low levels of CU traits (CD/CU-; n = 17) and healthy controls (HC; n = 32) on measures of fractional anisotropy (FA), axial (AD), radial (RD) and mean (MD) diffusivity. Compared to CD/CU- adolescents, those with CD/CU+ presented increased FA and reduced RD and MD (lower diffusivity) in several tracts including: body and splenium of the corpus callosum, right inferior longitudinal fasciculus, ILF; right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, IFOF; left superior longitudinal fasciculus, SLF; left cerebral peduncle, bilateral internal capsule, left superior and posterior corona radiata, bilateral thalamic radiation and left external capsule. In addition, relative to CD/CU- individuals, adolescents with CD/CU+ showed lower diffusivity (indexed by reduced RD and MD) in left uncinate fasciculus and bilateral fornix. Finally, relative to healthy controls, CD/CU+ individuals showed lower diffusivity (reduced RD) in the genu and body of the corpus callosum and left anterior corona radiata. These results suggest that CD/CU+ individuals present with white-matter microstructural abnormalities compared to both CD/CU- individuals and age-matched healthy controls. This finding is consistent with emerging evidence suggesting that CD/CU+ represents a distinct subtype of CD, and illustrates the importance of accounting for heterogeneity within CD populations

Wilson Loop Renormalization Group Flows

The locally BPS Wilson loop and the pure gauge Wilson loop map under AdS/CFT duality to string world-sheet boundaries with standard and alternate quantizations of the world-sheet fields. This implies an RG flow between the two operators, which we verify at weak coupling. Many additional loop operators exist at strong coupling, with a rich pattern of RG flows.Comment: 10 p, 2 figures. v3: Title change, expanded treatment of RG flow

Big Data and Changes in Audit Technology: Contemplating a Research Agenda

This study explores the most recent episode in the evolution of audit technology, namely the incorporation of Big Data and Data Analytics (BDA) into audit firm approaches. Drawing on 22 interviews with individuals with significant experience in developing, implementing or assessing the impact of BDA in auditing, together with publicly available documents on BDA published within the audit field, the paper provides a holistic overview of BDA-related changes in audit practice. In particular, the paper focuses on three key aspects, namely the impact of BDA on the nature of the relationship between auditors and their clients; the consequences of the technology for the conduct of audit engagements and the common challenges associated with embedding BDA in the audit context. The study’s empirical findings are then used to establish an agenda of areas suitable for further research on the topic. The study is one of the first empirical accounts providing a perspective on the rise of BDA in auditing

Flujo en medio poroso no saturado con conductividad hidráulica discontinua (planteamiento del problema)

When studying the flow in an unsaturated porous medium from a point recharge, two phenomena are identified: In the first the residual soil retention conditions are negligible, the mass of water available to flow is constant in time, for So the dimensional analysis considering first order self similarity is sufficient to solve the known diffusion equation. Conversely, if residual soil retention is taken into account, the mass of water available to flow is variable over time because the capillary forces retain some of the water in the pores, so that the mass does not comply with a law Of conservation and the assumption of previous self similarity is not valid. Then another type of self-similar assumption is called the second order, in which the so-called anomalous exponents appear. Under these conditions the equation to be solved is nonlinear with discontinuous coefficient and is called the Baremblatt Equation. The dimensional analysis is not enough to obtain the complete solution one goes to other different techniques, in this case to solve a problem of self value. In the second part will present the numerical solution and the application of this problemCuando se estudia elflujo en un medio poroso no saturado a partir de una recarga puntual, seidentifican dos fenómenos: En el primero las condiciones de retención residual del suelo sondespreciables, la masa de agua disponible para fluir es constante en el tiempo, por lo tanto elanálisis dimensional considerando autosimilaridad de primer orden es suficientepara solucionarla conocida Ecuación de difusión. Por el contrario, si se tiene en cuenta la retención residualdel suelo, la masa de agua disponible para fluir es variable con el tiempo debido a que lasfuerzas de capilaridad retienen parte del agua en los poros, por lo tanto la masa no cumple unaley de conservación y la suposición de autosimilaridad anterior no es válida. Se consideraentonces otro tipo de suposición autosimilar llamada de segundo orden, en la cual aparecen losllamados exponentes anómalos. Bajo estas condiciones la ecuación a solucionar es no linealcon coeficiente discontinuo y recibe el nombre deEcuación de Baremblatt. El análisis dimensionalno es suficientepara obtener la solución completa y se acude a otras técnicas diferentes, en estecaso a resolver un problema de autovalor. En la segunda parte sepresentara la solución numericay la aplicación de este problema

Flujo en medio poroso no saturado con conductividad hidráulica discontinua (planteamiento del problema)

When studying the flow in an unsaturated porous medium from a point recharge, two phenomena are identified: In the first the residual soil retention conditions are negligible, the mass of water available to flow is constant in time, for So the dimensional analysis considering first order self similarity is sufficient to solve the known diffusion equation. Conversely, if residual soil retention is taken into account, the mass of water available to flow is variable over time because the capillary forces retain some of the water in the pores, so that the mass does not comply with a law Of conservation and the assumption of previous self similarity is not valid. Then another type of self-similar assumption is called the second order, in which the so-called anomalous exponents appear. Under these conditions the equation to be solved is nonlinear with discontinuous coefficient and is called the Baremblatt Equation. The dimensional analysis is not enough to obtain the complete solution one goes to other different techniques, in this case to solve a problem of self value. In the second part will present the numerical solution and the application of this problemCuando se estudia elflujo en un medio poroso no saturado a partir de una recarga puntual, seidentifican dos fenómenos: En el primero las condiciones de retención residual del suelo sondespreciables, la masa de agua disponible para fluir es constante en el tiempo, por lo tanto elanálisis dimensional considerando autosimilaridad de primer orden es suficientepara solucionarla conocida Ecuación de difusión. Por el contrario, si se tiene en cuenta la retención residualdel suelo, la masa de agua disponible para fluir es variable con el tiempo debido a que lasfuerzas de capilaridad retienen parte del agua en los poros, por lo tanto la masa no cumple unaley de conservación y la suposición de autosimilaridad anterior no es válida. Se consideraentonces otro tipo de suposición autosimilar llamada de segundo orden, en la cual aparecen losllamados exponentes anómalos. Bajo estas condiciones la ecuación a solucionar es no linealcon coeficiente discontinuo y recibe el nombre deEcuación de Baremblatt. El análisis dimensionalno es suficientepara obtener la solución completa y se acude a otras técnicas diferentes, en estecaso a resolver un problema de autovalor. En la segunda parte sepresentara la solución numericay la aplicación de este problema

Non-saturated porous flow with discontinuous hydraulic conductivity 11 numerical solution of the self-problem problem

En el problema planteado por Barenblatt y expuesto en la primera parte de este trabajo, seestudia la propagación de una masa de fluido a partir de una inyección. Se muestra la diferenciaque existe en la solución al problema cuando se ignora la retención residual del fluido en elsuelo, en cuyo caso corresponde a la tradicional solución de la ecuación de difusión. Sin embargo,el problema debe plantearse considerando retención residual, lo cual da lugar a un problema deconductividad hidráulica discontinua y debe plantearse una nueva una ley de similaridad queincluye en su forma funcional un exponente anómalo. A partir de las ecuaciones de flujo ycondiciones de frontera se genera un problema de autovalor que en este trabajo es resuelto enforma numérica utilizando un algoritmo combinado de Runge-Kutta y Euler modificado, el cualpermite hallar el exponente en función de los valores de conductividad hidráulica y obtener lasolución completa del problema. Se puede observar la evolución del volumen de fluido, el tiempoy la distancia de propagación de algunos fluidos, considerando o no retención residual en elsuelo.  In the problem posed by Barenblatt and exposed in the first part of this work, the propagation of a mass of fluid from an injection is studied. The difference that exists in the solution to the problem is shown when the residual fluid retention in the soil is ignored, in which case it corresponds to the traditional solution of the diffusion equation. However, the problem must be considered considering residual retention, which gives rise to a problem of discontinuous hydraulic conductivity and a new law of similarity that includes in its functional form an anomalous exponent. From the flow equations and boundary conditions a self-value problem is generated which in this work is solved in numerical form using a combined algorithm of Runge-Kutta and modified Euler, which allows finding the exponent as a function of the values Of hydraulic conductivity and obtain the complete solution of the problem. It is possible to observe the evolution of the volume of fluid, the time and the propagation distance of some fluids, considering or not residual retention in the soil

Contenido de oligoelementos y factores antinutricionales de hojas comestibles nativas de Mesoamérica

Los oligoelementos son importantes constituyentes nutricionales de las hierbas comestibles. Se colectaron 11 especies, nueve nativas (Amaranthus hybridus, Cnidoscolus chayamansa, Crotalaria longirostrata, Dysphania ambrosioides, Lycianthes synanthera, Sechium edule, Solanum americanum, S. nigrescens, S. wendlandii) y dos extranjeras (Moringa oleifera, Spinacea oleracea) en dos regiones de Guatemala. Se prepararon muestras de la hierba seca, cocida y de caldo de hierba fresca. Se cuantificaron por espectrofotometría de absorción atómica los macro (N, P, K) y oligoelementos (Ca, Mg, Na, Cu, Zn, Mn), taninos por espectrofotometría y oxalatos por permanganimetría. El contenido de oligoelementos es diverso, para Zn, la hierba control S. oleracea contienen buena cantidad (90-140 ppm); de las nativas D. ambrosioides (130-160 ppm) y A. hybridus (70-80 ppm) tienen la mayor cantidad. Respecto a Fe las hierbas control tienen buena composición (S. oleracea, 220-280 ppm y M. oleifera, 105-135 ppm); de las nativas A. hybridus (90-240 ppm), C. aconitifolius (75-185 ppm) y L. synanthera (75-140 ppm) tienen las mayores concentraciones. Se encontraron niveles elevados de oxalatos en S. oleracea (67.30 (5.51) mg/g), L. synanthera (56.30 (9.67) mg/g) y S. nigrescens (33.6 (5.48) mg/g); en las demás hierbas se encontraron niveles menores. Los niveles de taninos fueron bajos (0.1-0.8 mg/g) para todas las especies. Se demuestra que cuatro especies nativas tienen un buen contenido de oligoelementos y presentan valores menores de antinutricionales que los controle