Data compilation and evaluation of space shielding problems. Radiation hazards in space, volume III

Radiation hazards of interplanetary space and related shielding problem

Computer programs for shielding problems in manned space vehicles

Computer programs for shielding problems in manned space vehicles - proton penetration code

Development of Replacement Heifers using Combinations of Three Forage Types and Feed Supplements (with or without Broiler Litter)

The proper management of replacement heifers is an essential component of successful cow/calf operations. The level of management and nutrition applied to replacement heifers as calves and yearlings can impact their subsequent reproductive performance and productivity

Statistical quality control applied to a telemetry system acceptance prodedure Technical report no. 13

Statistical quality control applied to telemetry system acceptance procedur

Combination therapy improves survival after acute myocardial infarction in the elderly with chronic kidney disease

Background: Individuals with chronic kidney disease have a high mortality rate after acute myocardial infarction. It is not known how frequently these individuals are prescribed combination cardioprotective therapy and if survival is affected by such therapy after acute myocardial infarction. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 1,342 Medicare recipients with acute myocardial infarction. Data were collected by medical chart abstraction as part of the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project in 60 hospitals in North Carolina during 5/30/1996-12/28/1997. We categorized cardioprotective medication use as aspirin alone, aspirin with beta-blockers, and aspirin with beta-blockers and ace-inhibitors. Chronic kidney disease was defined as a derived glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ranging from 15-89 mL/min/1.73 m2. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to determine the effect of cardioprotective medication use on survival while controlling for potential explanatory variables. Results: The prevalence of cardioprotective medication use differed among levels of chronic kidney disease. Those with severe kidney disease (GFR 15-29 mL/min/1.73 m2) were less frequently prescribed aspirin with beta-blockers, 27.1%, and only 8.6% were prescribed aspirin with beta-blockers and ace-inhibitors. Survival was improved with prescribed cardioprotective medication use. In severe kidney disease (GFR 15-29 mL/min/1.73 m2), the hazards risk for death was 0.21 (0.08, 0.53) for aspirin alone, 0.17 (0.06, 0.51) for aspirin with beta-blockers, and 0.35 (0.09, 1.42) for aspirin with beta-blockers and ace-inhibitors. Conclusions: Individuals with chronic kidney disease benefit from combination cardioprotective therapy, but are less likely to be prescribed them after acute myocardial infarction. Further investigation is warranted to identify possible reasons for these observed treatment disparities

Undecidable word problem in subshift automorphism groups

This article studies the complexity of the word problem in groups of automorphisms of subshifts. We show in particular that for any Turing degree, there exists a subshift whose automorphism group contains a subgroup whose word problem has exactly this degree

Clostridioides difficile binary toxin binding component (cdtb) increases virulence in a hamster model

Background Clostridioides difficile is the leading cause of hospital-acquired gastrointestinal infection, in part due to the existence of binary toxin (CDT)-expressing hypervirulent strains. Although the effects of the CDT holotoxin on disease pathogenesis have been previously studied, we sought to investigate the role of the individual components of CDT during in vivo infection. Methods To determine the contribution of the separate components of CDT during infection, we developed strains of C difficile expressing either CDTa or CDTb individually. We then infected both mice and hamsters with these novel mutant strains and monitored them for development of severe illness. Results Although expression of CDTb without CDTa did not induce significant disease in a mouse model of C difficile infection, we found that complementation of a CDT-deficient C difficile strain with CDTb alone restored virulence in a hamster model of C difficile infection. Conclusions Overall, this study demonstrates that the binding component of C difficile binary toxin, CDTb, contributes to virulence in a hamster model of infection

Position matters: Validation of medicare hospital claims for myocardial infarction against medical record review in the atherosclerosis risk in communities study

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to investigate sensitivity and specificity of myocardial infarction (MI) case definitions using multiple discharge code positions and multiple diagnosis codes when comparing administrative data to hospital surveillance data. Methods: Hospital surveillance data for ARIC Study cohort participants with matching participant ID and service dates to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hospitalization records for hospitalizations occurring between 2001 and 2013 were included in this study. Classification of Definite or Probable MI from ARIC medical record review defined “gold standard” comparison for validation measures. In primary analyses, an MI was defined with ICD9 code 410 from CMS records. Secondary analyses defined MI using code 410 in combination with additional codes. Results: A total of 25 549 hospitalization records met study criteria. In primary analysis, specificity was at least 0.98 for all CMS definitions by discharge code position. Sensitivity ranged from 0.48 for primary position only to 0.63 when definition included any discharge code position. The sensitivity of definitions including codes 410 and 411.1 were higher than sensitivity observed when using code 410 alone. Specificity of these alternate definitions was higher for women (0.98) than for men (0.96). Conclusion: Algorithms that rely exclusively on primary discharge code position will miss approximately 50% of all MI cases due to low sensitivity of this definition. We recommend defining MI by code 410 in any of first 5 discharge code positions overall and by codes 410 and 411.1 in any of first 3 positions for sensitivity analyses of women

The Interstellar Environment of our Galaxy

We review the current knowledge and understanding of the interstellar medium of our galaxy. We first present each of the three basic constituents - ordinary matter, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields - of the interstellar medium, laying emphasis on their physical and chemical properties inferred from a broad range of observations. We then position the different interstellar constituents, both with respect to each other and with respect to stars, within the general galactic ecosystem.Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures (including 3 figures in 2 parts