Senior Leonard Hayes Wins National Piano Competition

Lawrence University’s Leonard Hayes, a senior from Dallas, Texas, won the recent Young Artists’ Division of the 2011 Tourgee Debose National Piano Competition conducted at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. This was Hayes’ second first-place showing in the competition having previously won the Tourgee Debose’s sophomore division in 2009. Hayes received a first-place prize of $1,000 for his winning performance of Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata Op. 90,” Cesar Franck’s “Poco Allegro and Fugue” and two movements from George Walker’s “Piano Sonata No. 2.” A third-place finisher in the 2010 National Association of Negro Musicians’ Piano Scholarship competition, Hayes studies in the piano studio of Catherine Kautsky

Activated carbon derived from biomass combustion bottom ash as solid sorbent for CO2 adsorption

Climate change and global warming, caused mainly by the anthropogenic CO2 emissions, has been recognised to be the biggest threat to global ecosystems. Replacing fossil fuels with sustainable biomass for heat and power generation is a key tool in our fight against climate change. Such combustion, however, generates large quantities of ash which, unlike the coal counterparts, are yet to find major applications in industry. This leads to challenging waste management and thus, necessitating urgent measures to valorise this increasing waste stream. However, producing activated carbon from biomass combustion ash allows for not only effective waste valorisation into value-added products, but also to prepare a sorbent for post-combustion carbon capture from an abundant and cheap source that is readily available for in-situ application (hence, minimising overall costs). This work has focused on preparation and activation of industrial-grade biomass ash-derived porous carbon via an economical direct method, followed by an extensive characterisation of its textural properties as well as an evaluation of the CO2 uptake of both the virgin and the activated carbonaceous sorbents. The final sample was selected based on an extensive optimisation campaign aiming towards maximisation of yield and CO2 uptake. The optimum activated sample adsorbed 0.69 mmol/g, thus, nearly doubling the adsorption capacity of the virgin biomass combustion bottom ash-derived carbon.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC): EP/W002841/

Association of CHA2DS2-VASc score with successful recanalization in acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing endovascular thrombectomy

Introduction: The CHA2DS2-VASc (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes mellitus, stroke, vascular disease and sex) score is a simple risk stratification algorithm to estimate stroke/thromboembolic risk in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). Higher pre-stroke CHA2DS2-VASc score is known to be associated with greater stroke severity and poorer outcomes. AF patients generally have higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores than non-AF patients. The Modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (mTICI) score is the most widely used grading system to assess the result of recanalizing therapies in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). mTICI 2c and mTICI 3 are conventionally accepted as successful recanalization. Aim: We investigated whether pre-stroke CHA2DS2-VASc score is associated with mTICI recanalization score in AIS patients with and without AF undergoing percutaneous thrombectomy. Material and methods: One hundred fifty-nine patients with the diagnosis of AIS who were admitted within 6 h from symptom onset were included in the study (mean age: 65.7 ±12.9). All subjects underwent endovascular treatment. CHA2DS2-VASc scores of the participants were calculated. Subjects were grouped according to mTICI scores achieved after endovascular treatment. mTICI 2c and mTICI 3 were accepted as successful recanalization. Results: Successful reperfusion was observed in 130 (81.8%) of all patients who underwent endovascular treatment (mTICI flow ≥ 2c) and first-pass reperfusion was observed in 107 (67.3%) patients. When the patients with successful (mTICI flow ≥ 2c) and unsuccessful (mTICI flow ≤ 2b) reperfusion were divided into groups, no significant difference was observed between the patients in terms of comorbidities such as AF, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular accident history. Patients with unsuccessful reperfusion were older than patients with successful reperfusion (71.4 ±11.2 vs. 64.5 ±13.01, p = 0.006), with a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score (4.1 ±1.5 vs. 3.04 ±1.6, p = 0.002). In addition, the duration of the procedure was longer in the unsuccessful reperfusion group (92.4 ±27.2 min vs. 65.0 ±25.1 min, p < 0.001). CHA2DS2-VASc score significantly correlated with successful recanalization (correlation coefficient; 0.243, p = 0.002). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only CHA2DS2-VASc score (OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.09-1.87, p = 0.006) and procedure time (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.05, p < 0.001) were independent predictors of successful reperfusion. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the cut-off value for the CHA2DS2-VASc score that best predicts successful reperfusion. The optimal threshold was 3.5, with a sensitivity of 58.6% and specificity of 59.2% (area under the curve (AUC): 0.669, p = 0.005). Conclusions: For the first time in the literature, we investigated and demonstrated that pre-stroke CHA2DS2-VASc score was associated with success of recanalization as assessed with mTICI 2c and mTICI 3 in a cohort of AIS patients regardless of AF presence who underwent endovascular treatment. Our findings deserve to be tested with large scale long term studies

The effect of kinesio taping versus stretching techniques on muscle soreness, and flexibility during recovery from nordic hamstring exercise

WOS: 000396418800007PubMed ID: 28167188The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of static stretching, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching, or kinesio taping (KT) on muscle soreness and flexibility during recovery from exercise. Sixty-five females were randomly assigned to four groups: PNF stretching (n = 15), static stretching (n = 16), KT (n = 17), and control (n = 17). All participants performed nordic hamstring exercise (5 sets of 8 repetitions). In all groups, hamstring flexibility at 24 h and 48 h was not changed from baseline (p > .05). The muscle soreness was measured higher at 48 h post-exercise compared with baseline in the control group (p = .04) and at 24 h post-exercise compared with baseline in the PNF group (p .05). The KT application and pre-exercise stretching have no contribute to flexibility at 24 h and 48 h after exercise, but may attenuate muscle soreness. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

High-concentration compact agar gels from hydrothermal synthesis

3 páginas, 2 figuras, 1 tabla.-- et al.A simple hydrothermal method has been used to prepare for the first time high-concentration, microstructurally compact agar hydrogels (3–30 g agar per 100 ml H2O). These gels reach concentrations unachievable by conventional methods and overcome problems normally associated to them. They feature superior homogeneity, modified and controllable porosity, increased densities and higher strength, thus widening possible applications of this widely used biocompatible polysaccharide.Partial funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) (CTQ2008-06779-C02-01).Peer reviewe

Current practice in Australia and New Zealand for defunctioning ileostomy after rectal cancer surgery with anastomosis: Analysis of the Bi-National Colorectal Cancer Audit (BCCA)

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the use of defunctioning stomas after rectal cancer surgery in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), as current practice is unknown. METHODS: From the Bi-National Colorectal Cancer Audit (BCCA) database, rectal cancer patients who underwent a resection between 2007 and 2019 with the formation of an anastomosis were extracted and analysed. Primary outcome was the rate of defunctioning stoma formation. Secondary outcomes were: anastomotic leakage (AL) rates and other postoperative complications, length of hospital stay (LOS), readmissions and 30-day mortality rates between stoma and no stoma groups. Propensity score-matching was performed to correct for differences in baseline characteristics between stoma and no-stoma groups. RESULTS: In total, 2,581 (89%) received a defunctioning stoma and 319 (11%) did not. There were more male patients in the stoma group (65.5 vs. 57.7% for the no-stoma group; p=0.006). The median age was 64 years in both groups. The stoma group underwent more ultra-low anterior resections (79.9 vs. 30.1%; p<0.0001), included more AJCC stage III patients (53.7 vs. 29.2%; p<0.0001) and received more neoadjuvant therapy (66.9 vs. 16.3%; p<0.0001). The AL rate was similar in both groups (5.1 vs. 6.0%; p=0.52). LOS was longer in the stoma group (8 vs. 6 days; p<0.0001) with higher 30-day readmission rates (14.9 vs. 8.3%; p=0.003). After propensity score-matching (n=208 in both groups), AL rates remained similar (2.9% for stoma vs. 5.8% for no stoma group; p=0.15), but stoma patients required less reoperations (0% vs. 8%; p=0.016). The stoma group had higher postoperative ileus rates and an increased LOS. CONCLUSION: In ANZ, most patients who underwent rectal cancer resections with the formation of an anastomosis received a defunctioning stoma. A defunctioning stoma does not prevent anastomotic leakage from occurring but is mostly associated with a lower reoperation rate. Patients with a defunctioning stoma experienced a higher postoperative ileus rate and had an increased length of hospital stay.Vera E. M. Grupa, Hidde M. Kroon, Izel Ozmen, Sergei Bedrikovetski, Nagendra N. Dudi-Venkata, Ronald A. Hunter, Tarik Sammou

Body image, body dissatisfaction and weight status in south asian children: a cross-sectional study

Background Childhood obesity is a continuing problem in the UK and South Asian children represent a group that are particularly vulnerable to its health consequences. The relationship between body dissatisfaction and obesity is well documented in older children and adults, but is less clear in young children, particularly South Asians. A better understanding of this relationship in young South Asian children will inform the design and delivery of obesity intervention programmes. The aim of this study is to describe body image size perception and dissatisfaction, and their relationship to weight status in primary school aged UK South Asian children. Methods Objective measures of height and weight were undertaken on 574 predominantly South Asian children aged 5-7 (296 boys and 278 girls). BMI z-scores, and weight status (underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese) were calculated based on the UK 1990 BMI reference charts. Figure rating scales were used to assess perceived body image size (asking children to identify their perceived body size) and dissatisfaction (difference between perceived current and ideal body size). The relationship between these and weight status were examined using multivariate analyses. Results Perceived body image size was positively associated with weight status (partial regression coefficient for overweight/obese vs. non-overweight/obese was 0.63 (95% CI 0.26-0.99) and for BMI z-score was 0.21 (95% CI 0.10-0.31), adjusted for sex, age and ethnicity). Body dissatisfaction was also associated with weight status, with overweight and obese children more likely to select thinner ideal body size than healthy weight children (adjusted partial regression coefficient for overweight/obese vs. non-overweight/obese was 1.47 (95% CI 0.99-1.96) and for BMI z-score was 0.54 (95% CI 0.40-0.67)). Conclusions Awareness of body image size and increasing body dissatisfaction with higher weight status is established at a young age in this population. This needs to be considered when designing interventions to reduce obesity in young children, in terms of both benefits and harms

Survival analysis modeling with hidden censoring

There are well-established survival analysis methodologies for data sets that are complete, with accurate information on censoring. But what if they are not complete? In this article we consider how to analyze cases where “hidden censoring” occurs, where individuals have effectively left the study but the hospital is unaware of this. We develop a new Markov chain-based methodology for generating survival curves and hazard functions, and demonstrate this using a breast cancer data set from the Kurdistan region of Iraq