Global Patterns and Controls of Nutrient Immobilization On Decomposing Cellulose In Riverine Ecosystems

Microbes play a critical role in plant litter decomposition and influence the fate of carbon in rivers and riparian zones. When decomposing low-nutrient plant litter, microbes acquire nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the environment (i.e., nutrient immobilization), and this process is potentially sensitive to nutrient loading and changing climate. Nonetheless, environmental controls on immobilization are poorly understood because rates are also influenced by plant litter chemistry, which is coupled to the same environmental factors. Here we used a standardized, low-nutrient organic matter substrate (cotton strips) to quantify nutrient immobilization at 100 paired stream and riparian sites representing 11 biomes worldwide. Immobilization rates varied by three orders of magnitude, were greater in rivers than riparian zones, and were strongly correlated to decomposition rates. In rivers, P immobilization rates were controlled by surface water phosphate concentrations, but N immobilization rates were not related to inorganic N. The N:P of immobilized nutrients was tightly constrained to a molar ratio of 10:1 despite wide variation in surface water N:P. Immobilization rates were temperature-dependent in riparian zones but not related to temperature in rivers. However, in rivers nutrient supply ultimately controlled whether microbes could achieve the maximum expected decomposition rate at a given temperature

Microcapsules with improved shells

Disclosed are microcapsules and methods for preparing and using them, as well as methods for improving various properties of microcapsules like impermeability

HPOG Impact Analysis Plan

The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Impact Study will answer questions about the program’s overall effectiveness and explore how variations in services affect program impacts. This analysis plan provides detailed information on the study’s impact analyses, including data sources that will be used, how variables and measures will be operationalized, how missing data will be treated, the approach to hypothesis testing, and model specifications for each of the study’s research questions. This document supplements information outlined in the HPOG Impact Study Design Report released in November 2014. The amendment provides an update to the study’s approach for estimating the influence of locally adopted program components and implementation features on average impacts. The study team “pre-tested” the originally proposed analytic method and learned that it did not improve upon common practice

Health Profession Opportunity Grants Impact Study

Authorized by the Affordable Care Act, the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program provides education and training to TANF recipients and other low-income individuals for occupations in the health care field that pay well and are expected to either experience labor shortages or be in high demand.The HPOG Impact Study is designed to demonstrate how variations in program services affect program impacts. The literature on promising and innovative career pathways programs, especially in health care, is quite limited. As such, the HPOG Impact Study fills a void in the sectoral training and career pathways literature about both program effectiveness and which types of programs or program components are most effective. Key evaluation questions that will be addressed in the study include: 1. What impacts do HPOG programs have on outcomes of interest? 2. To what extent to these impacts vary by subgroups of interest? 3. To what extent does HPOG program participation (in particular components, with particular dosage) have an impact on outcomes of interest? 4. To what extent do various HPOG program models or components have varying impacts? 5. To what extent do specific program enhancements--facilitated peer support, emergency assistance, and non-cash incentives--have impacts, relative to the “standard” HPOG program? 6. How does parental participation in various HPOG program models and components affect outcomes for children? The study is being conducted by Abt Associates and its subcontractor The Urban Institute and is supported by the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Training TANF Recipients for Careers in Healthcare: The Experience of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program

This report focuses on TANF recipients’ engagement and experiences in the HPOG Program, with the goal of understanding how HPOG programs serve TANF recipients and developing hypotheses for further study. Specifically, this report uses preliminary data to describe observed differences — and possible reasons for the differences — in the participation, outcomes, and experiences of two types of HPOG participants: (1) those receiving TANF benefits when they begin an HPOG program and (2) those not receiving TANF when they begin an HPOG program. The report then addresses why TANF recipient participation levels vary across HPOG programs and identifies strategies programs used to engage the TANF population and work cooperatively with local TANF agencies

Can preoperative liver MRI with gadoxetic acid help reduce open-close laparotomies for curative intent pancreatic cancer surgery?

Abstract Objectives To evaluate gadoxetic acid-enhanced liver MRI (EOB-MRI) versus contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) for preoperative detection of liver metastasis (LM) and reduction of open-close laparotomies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Methods Sixty-six patients with PDAC had undergone preoperative EOB-MRI and CECT. LM detection by EOB-MRI and CECT and their impact on surgical planning, open-close laparotomies were compared by clinical and radiology reports and retrospective analysis of imaging by two blinded independent readers. Histopathology or imaging follow-up was the reference standard. Statistical analysis was performed at patient and lesion levels with two-sided McNemar tests. Results EOB-MRI showed higher sensitivity versus CECT (71.7% [62.1-80.0] vs. 34% [25.0-43.8]; p = 0.009), comparable specificity (98.6%, [96.9-99.5] vs. 100%, [99.1-100], and higher AUROC (85.1%, [80.4-89.9] vs. 66.9%, [60.9-73.1]) for LM detection. An incremental 7.6% of patients were excluded from surgery with a potential reduction of up to 13.6% in futile open-close laparotomies due to LM detected on EOB-MRI only. Conclusions Preoperative EOB-MRI has superior diagnostic performance in detecting LM from PDAC. This better informs surgical eligibility with potential reduction of futile open-close laparotomies from attempted curative intent pancreatic cancer surgery

Cluster of Cryptococcus neoformans Infections in Intensive Care Unit, Arkansas, USA, 2013

We investigated an unusual cluster of 6 patients with Cryptococcus neoformans infection at a community hospital in Arkansas during April–December 2013, to determine source of infection. Four patients had bloodstream infection and 2 had respiratory infection; 3 infections occurred within a 10-day period. Five patients had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with diagnoses other than cryptococcosis; none had HIV infection, and 1 patient had a history of organ transplantation. We then conducted a retrospective cohort study of all patients admitted to the ICU during April–December 2013 to determine risk factors for cryptococcosis. Four patients with C. neoformans infection had received a short course of steroids; this short-term use was associated with increased risk for cryptococcosis (rate ratio 19.1; 95% CI 2.1–170.0; p<0.01). Although long-term use of steroids is a known risk factor for cryptococcosis, the relationship between short-term steroid use and disease warrants further stud