Correcting calf girth discriminates the incidence of falling but not bone mass by broadband ultrasound attenuation in elderly female subjects.

Calf circumference has been cited as an independent risk factor for hip fracture. Correcting this measured girth for subcutaneous adipose tissue or fluid accumulation provides a more valid estimate of lean tissue, but has not been reported in elderly populations. Two hundred eighty-eight randomly selected female volunteers, aged ≥ 70 years, were assessed by quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and clinical risk factors as part of a larger screening study for hip fracture risk. This involved measuring broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) and administering a structured risk factor questionnaire that included estimated daily skeletal loading (time standing or walking). Body mass index (BMI) was estimated using current body mass and height at age 25 years. Calf girth was measured using a standard anthropometric tape, the medial calf skinfold (a vertical fold at the point of maximum calf girth) was measured, and corrected calf girth (CCG) was calculated by subtracting the skinfold (in centimeters) multiplied by π from calf girth. Subjects were aged 76.9 ± 5.0 years, had BMIs of 24.3 ± 3.9 kg/m2, and spent an average of 5.5 ± 2.0 h on their feet each day. Age, current body mass, BMI calf girth, and CCG all correlated with BUA (p 0.05). Dividing the sample into tertiles by these correlates of BUA and predicting BUA using stepwise regression revealed different predictors for each tertile. Of the total sample, 93 had fallen in the last 12 months, whereas 195 had not. Independent t-tests showed these groups to be similar in age, BMI, and calf girth (p > 0.05), but fallers spent less time on their feet each day, and had smaller CCG (p < 0.05). This suggests that larger calf muscles may be protective against falling—possibly as a result of enhanced stability or greater neuromuscular control

The Commodification of Public Land Records

The United States deed recording system alters the “first in time, first in right” doctrine to enable good faith purchasers to record their deeds to protect themselves against prior unrecorded conveyances and to provide constructive notice of their interests to potential subsequent purchasers. Constructive notice, however, works only when land records are available for public inspection, a practice that had long proved uncontroversial. For centuries, deed archives were almost exclusively patronized by land-transacting parties because the difficulty and cost of title examination deterred nearly everyone else. The modern information economy, however, propelled this staid corner of property law into a computer age in which land records are electronically maintained and instantaneously accessible over the internet. That development transformed public land records into a marketable commodity independent of the deed recording system’s notice-giving function. In response to booming demand for big data, content extracted from public land records (name, home address, marital status, among other personal information) is now actively traded on the internet and routinely purchased by commercial firms for targeted marketing and customer prospecting. Data from public land records are now more accessible than ever before, representing a win for transparency, but, as tragically illustrated by the recent high-profile attack against a federal judge, an erosion of privacy that can dangerously equip wrongdoers with on-demand entrée to personal information. This Article provides the first scholarly account of the deed recording system’s transformation from a notice-giving mechanism of property law to a primary supplier of commodified data for sale in the modern information economy. The Article surveys the traditional functions of deed recording, describes the recent migration of deeds from paper to electronic form as the predicate for commodification, and considers the implications of electronic disclosure for privacy, transparency, and the regulation of anonymous entity ownership. The Article concludes by appraising the efficacy of recent privacy reforms under consideration by Congress and state legislatures, and by outlining voluntary precautions that homeowners can implement under existing law

Geometry of fully augmented links in doubled 3-manifolds

Classical fully augmented links have explicit hyperbolic geometry, and have diagrams on the 2-sphere in the 3-sphere. We generalise to construct fully augmented links projected to the reflection surface of any 3-manifold obtained by doubling a compact 3-manifold. When the resulting manifolds are hyperbolic, we find bounds on their cusp shapes and volumes. Note these links include virtual fully augmented links, and thus our bounds apply to such links when they are hyperbolic.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

Data management of nanometre­ scale CMOS device simulations

In this paper we discuss the problems arising in managing and curating the data generated by simulations of nanometre scale CMOS (Complementary Metal–Oxide Semiconductor) transistors, circuits and systems and describe the software and operational techniques we have adopted to address them. Such simulations pose a number of challenges including, inter alia, multi­TByte data volumes, complex datasets with complex inter-relations between datasets, multi­-institutional collaborations including multiple specialisms and a mixture of academic and industrial partners, and demanding security requirements driven by commercial imperatives. This work was undertaken as part of the NanoCMOS project. However, the problems, solutions and experience seem likely to be of wider relevance, both within the CMOS design community and more generally in other disciplines

GAP ANALYSIS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT COMPETENCY STANDARDS IN PREPARATION FOR THE SHIFT TO PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT IN DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS

The purpose of this study is to perform a gap analysis on the existing Department of Defense (DOD) program management competency standards to determine if changes are required to fully adopt product portfolio management (PPM) strategies in defense acquisitions. We do this by comparing the current DOD standards to the Project Management Institute's Portfolio Management Professional certification standards. We ask where the gaps in the standards exist and where the standards align, and assign a Barrier to Implementation (BTI) score to each gap in the DOD standard. The study found that the DOD is on average 41% aligned with industry standards. In the higher weighted domains of Governance and Strategic Alignment, alignment percentages are significantly lower. The composite BTI score for the DOD is 1.45, indicating low to medium BTIs for most of the gaps. Results do not suggest that the DOD is incapable of conducting PPM, but rather that the current competency standards do not align with industry best practices. Defense acquisitions professionals should review our analysis and formulate Portfolio Management Career Field Functional Competencies to further professional standards, develop the necessary job skills and evaluation criteria, and further the process of achieving congressional mandates for portfolio management implementation.Outstanding ThesisMajor, United States Marine CorpsMajor, United States Marine CorpsMajor, United States Marine CorpsApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Thionaphthen isosteres of biologically active indole derivatives

This Thesis is a report of an investigation into the preparation of thionaphthen isosteres of biologically active indole compounds . The introduction deals with the theoretical implications of the various approaches to the syntheses of biologically active compounds, and in particular those with an indole nucleus present in the molecule. A review on "Biological Activity in Compounds Possessing Thiophen Rings" is included, and justification is provided for the preparation of thionaphthen isosteres of such compounds as 5-hydroxytryptamine. In section 1, the position of electrophilic substitution in 5-substituted thionaphthens was investigated with a view to employing the various protecting groups in a synthesis of the thionaphthen analogue of 5-hydroxy-tryptamine. Other interesting orientation effects are also reported. Section 2 deals with the preparation of various thionaphthen derivatives containing a gramine side-chain as possible antagonists of adrenaline and of 5-hydroxy-tryptamine. In section 3, attempts to prepare 3-(2'-amino ethyl)-5-hydroxythionaphthen, the thionaphthen analogue of 5-hydroxytryptamine, are reported. Various other isosteres of hydroxtrytryptamine-like compounds including 3-(2'-amino ethyl)-6-hydroxy-thionaphthen are reported. Section also deals with the syntheses of thionsphthen analogues of harmine and harmaline

What supports hospital pharmacist prescribing in Scotland? A mixed methods, exploratory sequential study.

While approximately half of all qualified hospital pharmacist independent prescribers (PIPs) in Scotland are active prescribers, there are major differences in prescribing activity across geographical areas. This study aimed to explore, through focus groups, interviews and a questionnaire, hospital PIPs' perceptions of factors associated with prescribing activity and to investigate the infrastructure required to better support active prescribing by PIPs. Findings reinforced the perceived positive impact of supportive pharmacy leadership within the organisation, recognition that prescribing is integral to the clinical pharmacist role and a work environment conducive to prescribing

Program Management versus Portfolio Management in Defense Acquisition

Symposium PresentationApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Program Management Versus Portfolio Management in Defense Acquisition

Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Acquisition Research SymposiumThis research performed a gap analysis on the existing Department of Defense (DoD) program management competency standards to determine if changes are required to fully adopt product portfolio management (PPM) strategies in defense acquisition. Current DoD program management standards are compared to the Project Management Institute’s Portfolio Management Professional certification standards to analyze alignment and gaps between the standards. Barrier to Implementation (BTI) scores are assigned to address the identified gaps in the DoD standard. The study found that the DoD program management competencies are on average 41% aligned with portfolio management industry standards. The DoD program management competencies are least aligned with the portfolio management domains of governance and strategic alignment. The composite BTI score indicates low to medium level of implementation barriers for most of the gaps. Results indicate that the DoD is capable of conducting PPM, and further research is needed to fully align the current competency standards with industry best practices. Defense acquisition senior leaders should consider formulating DoD portfolio management career field functional competencies to address congressional mandates for portfolio management implementation within the DoD.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited