Finite Element Modeling and Analysis Applications in Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Understanding the biomechanics of bones in persons with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a key component to further understanding the disease, optimizing treatment and quality of life, as well as injury prevention. However, it is not feasible to study bone biomechanics in vivo. Thus, modeling may play a key role in understanding how OI bones respond to the loading experienced during various activities, especially ambulation. Biomechanical modeling can provide insight into bone fracture risks, such as type and location, from single applied loads or repetitive loading. One method for obtaining this information is via a finite element analysis (FEA). FEA is a general technique for mathematically approximating solutions to boundary-value problems.1 It is a powerful computational tool with numerous applications. These numerical methods are used to obtain an output from a system of differential equations in response to boundary condition inputs in many scenarios. FEA allows for the discretization of a structure into numerous subparts (elements) for analysis. Elements represent regular strait-side geometric 2-D or 3-D shapes that enclose a finite area or volume.2 Field output variables (stress, strain, etc.) are explicitly calculated at each vertex (node) of every element.3 These outputs provide information that corresponds to bone strength and, therefore, location and risk for potential fractures

Extracting Accountability

How engineers in the mining and oil and gas industries attempt to reconcile competing domains of public accountability. The growing movement toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) urges corporations to promote the well-being of people and the planet rather than the sole pursuit of profit. In Extracting Accountability, Jessica Smith investigates how the public accountability of corporations emerges from the everyday practices of the engineers who work for them. Focusing on engineers who view social responsibility as central to their profession, she finds the corporate context of their work prompts them to attempt to reconcile competing domains of accountability—to formal guidelines, standards, and policies; to professional ideals; to the public; and to themselves. Their efforts are complicated by the distributed agency they experience as corporate actors: they are not always authors of their actions and frequently act through others. Drawing on extensive interviews, archival research, and fieldwork, Smith traces the ways that engineers in the mining and oil and gas industries accounted for their actions to multiple publics—from critics of their industry to their own friends and families. She shows how the social license to operate and an underlying pragmatism lead engineers to ask how resource production can be done responsibly rather than whether it should be done at all. She analyzes the liminality of engineering consultants, who experienced greater professional autonomy but often felt hamstrung when positioned as outsiders. Finally, she explores how critical participation in engineering education can nurture new accountabilities and chart more sustainable resource futures

The search for novel analgesics: re-examining spinal cord circuits with new tools

In this perspective, we propose the absence of detailed information regarding spinal cord circuits that process sensory information remains a major barrier to advancing analgesia. We highlight recent advances showing that functionally discrete populations of neurons in the spinal cord dorsal horn play distinct roles in processing sensory information. We then discuss new molecular, electrophysiological, and optogenetic techniques that can be employed to understand how dorsal horn circuits process tactile and nociceptive information. We believe this information can drive the development of entirely new classes of pharmacotherapies that target key elements in spinal circuits to selectively modify sensory function and blunt pain

Food Security Status and Barriers to Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Two Economically Deprived Communities of Oakland, California, 2013-2014.

IntroductionFood security status may moderate how people perceive barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption. This study aimed to 1) describe the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and microbarriers and mezzobarriers to consumption, and 2) test whether these associations differ by food security status.MethodsWe surveyed adults (n = 531) living in 2 economically deprived communities in Oakland, California, in 2013 and 2014. Multivariate linear regression assessed associations between microbarriers (taste, cost, busyness) and mezzobarriers (produce selection, quality, and purchase ease) and fruit and vegetable consumption, derived from a 26-item dietary screener. Interactions were tested by food security status.ResultsRespondents consumed a mean 2.4 (standard deviation, 1.5) servings of fruits and vegetables daily; 39% of the sample was food insecure. Being too busy to prepare healthy foods was associated with reduced fruit and vegetable consumption (β(busyness) = -0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.52 to -0.28) among all respondents. Food security moderated the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and taste, cost, and perceived ease of purchase of healthy foods. Among the food secure, disliking healthy food taste (β(taste) = -0.38; 95% CI, -0.60 to -0.15) and cost (β(cost) = -0.29; 95% CI, -0.44 to -0.15) concerns were associated with lower consumptions of fruits and vegetables. Mezzobarriers were not significantly associated with consumption in either group.ConclusionPerceived time constraints influenced fruit and vegetable consumption. Taste and cost influenced fruit and vegetable consumption among the food secure and may need to be considered when interpreting analyses that describe dietary intake and designing diet-related interventions

Rural Hospital Nursing Skill Mix and Work Environment Associated with Frequency of Adverse Events.

Introduction: Though rural hospitals serve about one fifth of the United States (U.S.), few studies have investigated relationships among nursing resources and rural hospital adverse events. Objectives: The purpose was to determine relationships among nursing skill mix (proportion of Registered Nurses (RNs) to all nursing staff), the work environment and adverse events (medication errors, patient falls with injury, pressure ulcers, and urinary tract infections) in rural hospitals. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, nurse survey data from a large study examining nurse organizational factors, patient safety, and quality from four U.S. states were linked to the 2006 American Hospital Association data. The work environment was measured using the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI). Nurses reported adverse event frequency. Data analyses were descriptive and inferential. Results: On average, 72% of nursing staff were RNs (range = 45% to 100%). Adverse event frequency ranged from 0% to 67%, across 76 hospitals. In regression models, a 10-point increase in the proportion of RNs among all nursing staff and a one standard deviation increase in the PES-NWI score were significantly associated with decreased odds of frequent adverse events. Conclusion: Rural hospitals that increase the nursing skill mix and improve the work environment may achieve reduced adverse event frequency

GNOSIS: Global Network Operations Status Information System

Monitoring the global state of a network is a continuing challenge for network operators and users. It has become still harder with increases in scale and heterogeneity. Monitoring requires status information for each node and to construct the global picture at a monitoring point. GNOSIS, the Global Network Operations Status Information System, achieves a global view by careful extraction and presentation of locally available node data. The GNOSIS model improves on the traditional polling model of monitoring schemes by 1.) collecting accurate data 2.) decreasing the granularity with which network applications can detect change in the network and 3.) displaying status information in near real-time. We define the Network Snapshot as the basic unit of information capture and display in GNOSIS. A Network Snapshot is a visualization of locally available state collected during a common time interval. A sequence of these Network Snapshots over time represent the evolution of network state. In this paper, we motivate the need for a network monitoring system that can detect global problems, in spite of both scale and heterogeneity. We present three design criteria, Accuracy, Continuity and Timeliness for a global monitoring system. Finally, we present the GNOSIS architecture and demonstrate how it better detects network problems which are currently of concern. The goal of GNOSIS is to present a stream of consistent, accurate local data in a timely manner

Accuracy of Automated Blood Pressure Monitors

TACSM Abstract Accuracy of Automated Blood Pressure Monitors Harvey JM and Smith JD Health & Human Performance Laboratory; Department of Health & Kinesiology; Texas A&M University-San Antonio; San Antonio, TX Category: Undergraduate Advisor / Mentor: Smith JD ([email protected]) ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of two automated blood pressure (BP) monitors (Omron Model #BP791IT, brachial and Life Source Model #UB-521, wrist; BR and WR respectively). This study was approved by the TAMU-SA IRB and 41 subjects (Age=26.8±7.3 yrs, Ht=167.9±3.3 cm, Wt=88.0±44.6 kg, BMI=28.2±6.4) reported to the lab after fasting for at least four hours and sat quietly for five minutes, after which blood pressure was measured using a mercury gauge (CRIT) by the investigator, then BR followed by WR. A repeated measures ANOVA test was used to explore for differences in mean arterial pressure (MAP) among the three readings. Two groups were formed by placing those above the CRIT systolic mean (126 mmHg) to represent a lower BP group (115.4±6.2 mmHg) and a higher BP group (137.3±8.33 mmHg), after which a 2 (group) X 3 (method of reading) factorial ANOVA was conducted to explore for differences between groups. Alpha was set at \u3c.05 for all tests. The repeated measures ANOVA indicated the BR (100.5±13.5 mmHg) and WR (101.7±13.7 mmHg) MAP were significantly greater than CRIT (95.5±10.6 mmHg), P\u3c.05. The factorial ANOVA indicated no significant interaction among group and method of reading (P\u3e.05), however, the main effect of method indicated significant differences between both instruments and CRIT in systolic readings (P\u3c.05), and a significant difference in diastolic readings between CRIT and WR only, P\u3c.05 (Table 1). Table 1. Seated Blood Pressure Readings among Manual (CRIT) and Automated (Brachial and Wrist) Methods Total (N=41) Lower Group (n=21) Higher Group (n=20) Systolic (mmHg) CRIT 126.1±12.2 115.4±6.2 137.3±8.3 BR 135.9±19.0 122.6±12.3* 149.2±14.8* WR 131.1±18.7 120.2±11.2* 144.5±17.3* Diastolic (mmHg) CRIT 80.2±10.4 74.6±6.8 86.1±10.3 BR 82.8±12.1 75.8±6.4 89.9±12.5 WR 86.9±12.5 78.3±6.4** 97.6±9.5** *Significantly different from Systolic CRIT, **Significantly different from Diastolic CRIT Although the readings between groups were not significantly different, differences between CRIT and BR (11.9 mmHg) and WR (7.2 mmHg) in the Higher Group tended to be greater than differences in the Lower Group (BR=7.2 mmHg and WR=4.8 mmHg). Although consumers, doctors, and other professionals may rely heavily on the use of automated blood pressure monitors for getting a quick blood pressure reading, the results may not be as accurate as they should be. These implications could be more severe for those with higher BP’s, especially when using BR

Democratic Dialogue as a Process to Inform Public Policy

An exploration of the collaborative reconceptualization of a provincial Supervisory Officer’s Qualification Program (SOQP) through the use of dialogic approaches is the focus of this inquiry. The stories, perspectives, and lived experiences of supervisory officers, principals, teachers, parents, students, and members of the public in Ontario were included as essential voices and information sources within policy development conversations. These narratives of experience revealed the forms of knowledge, skills, dispositions, and ethical commitments necessary for effective supervisory officers today and in the future. They also illustrated the transformative nature of narrative dialogue to enlighten, deepen understanding, and alter perspectives. The policy development processes used in this publicly shared educational initiative serve as a model of democratic dialogue. The inclusive and dialogic methods employed to collectively reconceptualize a supervisory officer formation program illustrate an innovative framework for developing policies governing the public good