Enumeration of Hypermaps of a Given Genus

This paper addresses the enumeration of rooted and unrooted hypermaps of a given genus. For rooted hypermaps the enumeration method consists of considering the more general family of multirooted hypermaps, in which darts other than the root dart are distinguished. We give functional equations for the generating series counting multirooted hypermaps of a given genus by number of darts, vertices, edges, faces and the degrees of the vertices containing the distinguished darts. We solve these equations to get parametric expressions of the generating functions of rooted hypermaps of low genus. We also count unrooted hypermaps of given genus by number of darts, vertices, hyperedges and faces.Comment: 42 page

Effects of Mindfulness Based Teacher Training on Developing Teachers

Interest in the effects of mindful interventions in school settings continues to draw increasing interest. Mindfulness techniques for students as well as mindfulness training for teachers are consistently producing encouraging results. This study focused on teachers and support staff at the middle and high school levels. Specifically, teachers and staff who were within 0-5 years of teaching or 0-5 years new to a teaching position. Because other studies have produced positive results of mindfulness interventions on teachers, this study is focused on evaluating the impact of mindfulness training on teachers in the formative years of teaching and in new environments. This study involved nine subjects who held positions as art teachers, teaching assistants, special education teachers, wellness teachers and math teachers. Teachers were asked to complete the Beginning Teacher’s View of Self Questionnaire (BTVoSQ) as a pre and post evaluation tool. A focus group interview session was also scheduled for pre and post intervention. The intervention was a 6-week, online Mindfulness Based Teacher Preparation (MBTP) course. The primary influence on the construction of the MBTP curriculum was Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course. Other influences included Patricia Jennings Mindfulness for Teachers along with Laura Weaver and Mark Wilding’s, The 5 Dimensions of Engaged Teaching. These developing teachers’ view of self produced an increase in total score with a self-reported score on 13 items from the BTVoSQ questionnaire. These teachers also showed a noticeable improvement in self-attunement along with a recognizable improvement in the awareness of students’ emotional and attentional states during a closing interview session

Oxygen kinetics and energy expenditure in fulminant hepatic failure and during liver transplantation

This thesis examines aspects of oxygen transport and uptake in patients with acute and chronic liver disease with specific reference to the management of fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) and the intraoperative management of patients undergoing liver transplantation.A prospective randomised controlled study was carried out in patients with FHF evaluating the effect of the drug N- acetylcysteine on DO2, VO2, and tissue oxygen extraction. A previous study showed that this drug increased all of these oxygen kinetic variables, which was considered of therapeutic benefit. The present study showed that this earlier finding was an artifact related to the method of calculating oxygen consumption (the Fick method). This method produced unreliable results in patients with FHF because it was inaccurate, non -reproducible, the the relation between DO2 and VO2 was subject to mathematical couplig error. No clinically significant improvements in any oxygen kinetic variables were observed after N- acetylcysteine administration, even when followed for a prolonged period. Variable effects on cardiovascular parameters were found, but overall no differences from the control group were demonstrated. No relationship was found between plasma Nacetylcysteine concentrations and clinical response.A prospective study examining energy expenditure and the acute phase response was carried out in patients with FHF. Energy expenditure was increased by approximately 20 -25% in FHF in comparison with spontaneously breathing healthy volunteers and physically anhepatic patients with chronic liver disease studied during liver transplantation. Plasma TNFa, IL -6, and C- reactive protein were measured. These were significantly elevated in comparison with healthy controls in keeping with a significant acute phase response. The study indicated hypermetabolism during severe FHF despite the loss of functioning liver cell mass and the effects of sedation, analgesia, and mechanical ventilation. This was most likely attributable to a systemic inflammatory response.In patients undergoing liver transplantation indirect calorimetry was used to examine changes in metabolic rate and pulmonary physiology following graft reperfusion. Significant changes in metabolic rate, oxygen transport, and acid -base balance were demonstrated the factors which influence these changes were discussed. The use of the piggyback surgical technique was associated with greater metabolic stability than the use of venovenous bypass.A prospective observational study compared the two methods for managing the anhepatic phase of liver transplantation, namely venovenous bypass or the piggyback surgical technique. This study demonstrated higher cardiac output, VO2, and blood temperature during the anhepatic phase with the piggyback surgical technique. This suggested better preservation of tissue oxygenation with this approach, which may translate into improved postoperative function.Two techniques of graft reperfusion, namely via the portal vein or the hepatic artery, were compared in another prospective observational study. This study indicated that the increase in VO2 after reperfusion occurred more slowly when the hepatic artery was used, but was accompanied by a slower release of acid load into the circulation and less requirement for vasopressor support. Reperfusion via the hepatic artery may therefore be preferable in the patient at risk of haemodynamic or cerebral decompensation following reperfusion, although further studies are required to ensure graft outcome is equivalent with both techniques

Red cell transfusion triggers in critically ill patients: time for some new TRICCs?

Current evidence suggests that critically ill patients tolerate anaemia well and that blood transfusions may increase the risk of adverse outcomes. Dr Sakr and colleagues present a contradictory analysis of a surgical ICU cohort, finding an association between blood transfusions and lower hospital mortality after adjustment for a range of potential confounders. Analyses of this kind are interesting and provocative, but are limited by residual confounding and bias by indication. The data emphasise the need for additional high quality trials of transfusion practice in critical care

Polygraph Admission Through Compulsory Process

Polygraph evidence is included within the broad category of expert testimony, yet it is treated quite differently from other forms of expert testimony. If admissible at all for the defense, polygraph evidence almost always requires the stipulation of the prosecution for it to be admitted into court. Such a requirement vests solely, within the hands of a prosecutor, the ability to eliminate that proof which may be necessary for the defendant to effectively prove his innocence. Furthermore, in some jurisdictions a defendant cannot even place his faith in the sympathy of a prosecutor. Instead, a rule bars him from proving his innocence. Such rules and requirements may very well deny the defendant his constitutional right to compulsory process

Quantitative and Qualitative Responses of Lake Eola to Urban Runoff

For temperate lakes which receive a variable nutrient loading with seasonal variance in their hydrology, it is necessary to consider the dynamic response of the lake to these variable nutrient loadings. An approach to evaluate Lake Eola water quality responses to dynamic discharge of nutrients is presented. The major source of nutrients for this lake is stormwater runoff containing nitrogen and phosphorus. A mass balance of nutrient sources and sinks for the period of one year (April 1980 - March 1981) was performed. To accomplish this, a field determination for various parameters of the hydrologic budget was performed on a monthly basis. A monthly water quality analysis of the lake was measured. It was determined that Lake Eola was phosphorus limited and that 87% of the Total Phosphorus entering the lake via stormwater runoff was retained in the bottom sediments. Retention of various nutrients ranged from 77% to 93%. In order to evaluate the dynamic response of this lake, it was necessary to consider the retention of the nutrients as a function of time. The inductive methodology for this analysis and an example for Total Phosphorus is presented

Exercise rehabilitation for recovery from critical illness (Protocol)

Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK. As part of an ongoing research education programme.This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: The objective of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness of exercise rehabilitation programmes, initiated after ICU discharge, on improving functional exercise capacity and quality of life in adult ICU survivors who have been mechanically ventilated for more than 24 hours. We will compare an exercise intervention to any other intervention or a control or 'usual care' programme. Exercise includes any structured or taught programmes. Respiratory or inspiratory muscle training is excluded due to it being initiated within the ICU environment, for example with weaning from a ventilator, and not as post-discharge rehabilitation as required for this review.sch_phyAngus 1997 Angus, DC. Understanding the incidence and long-term outcomes of ARDS. In: Gullo, A editor(s). Anaesthesia, pain, intensive care and emergency medicine: a scientific report. Berlin Heidelberg New York: Springer, 1997:289-98. Angus 2003 Angus DC, Carlet J, Brussels Roundtable 2002 Participants. Surviving intensive care: a report from the 2002 Brussels Roundtable. Intensive Care Medicine 2003;29(3):368-77. [PUBMED: 12536269 ] Baumgartner 1999 Baumgartner WA,Walinsky PL, Salazar JD, Tseng EE, Brock MV, Doty JR, et al.Assessing the impact of cerebral injury after cardiac surgery: will determining the mechanism reduce the injury?. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 1999;67(6):1871-3. [PUBMED: 10391329] Brown 1990 Brown AB, McCartney N, Sale DG. Positive adaptation to weightlifting in the elderly. Journal of Applied Physiology 1990;69(5): 1725-33. [PUBMED: 2272965] Burtin 2009 Burtin C, Clerckx B, Robbeets C, Ferdinande P, Langer D, Troosters T, et al.Early exercise in critically ill patients enhances short-term functional recovery. Critical Care Medicine 2009;37(9): 2499-505. [PUBMED: 19623052] Chaboyer 2003 Chaboyer W, Grace J. Following the path of ICU survivors: a quality improvement activity. Nursing in Critical Care 2003;8(4): 149-55. [PUBMED: 12940690] Eddleston 2000 Eddleston J, White P, Guthrie E. Survival, morbidity, and quality of life after discharge from intensive care. Critical Care Medicine 2000; 28(7):2293-9. [PUBMED: 10921555] Elliott 2006 Elliott D, McKinley S, Alison J, Aitken L, King M. Study protocol: Home-based rehabilitation for survivors of a critical illness. Critical Care 2006;10(3):R90. [PUBMED: 16792792 ] Fiatarone 1994 Fiatarone MA, O'Neill EF, Ryan ND, Clements KM, Solares GR, Nelson ME, et al.Exercise training and nutritional supplementation for physical frailty in very elderly people. New England Journal of Medicine 1994;330(25):1769-75. [PUBMED: 8190152] Fletcher 2003 Fletcher S, Kennedy D, Ghosh I, Misra V, Kiff K, et al.Persistant neuromuscular and neurophysiological abnormalities in long-term survivors of prolonged critical illness. Critical Care Medicine 2003; 31(4):1012-6. [PUBMED: 12682465] Frank 2000 Frank M, Schlapfer H, Otte B, Yasikoff N, Conzelmann M. Results of neurorehabilitation. An outcome study 20 months after stroke. Praxis 2000;89(44):1799-808. [PUBMED: 11109917] Gill 2002 Gill TM, Baker DI, Gottschalk M, Peduzzi PN, Allore H, Byers A. A program to prevent functional decline in physically frail, elderly persons who live at home. New England Journal of Medicine 2002; 347(14):1068-74. [PUBMED: 12362007] Grimby 1986 Grimby G. Physical activity and muscle training in the elderly. Acta Medica Scandinavica. Supplementum. 1986;711:233-7. [PUBMED: 3535411] Guyatt 2008 Guyatt GH, Oxman AD, Kunz R, Vist GE, Falck-Ytter Y, Schunemann HJ, et al.What is quality of evidence- and why is it important to clinicians?. BMJ 2008;336:995-8. [PUBMED: 18456631] Higgins 2008 Higgins JPT, Green S, editors. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 5.0.1 [updated September 2008]. Available from www.cochrane-handbook.org: The Cochrane Collaboration, 2008. Iversen 2003 Iversen MD, Fossel AH, Katz JN. Enhancing function in older adults with chronic low back pain: a pilot study of endurance training. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2003;84 (9):1324-31. [PUBMED: 13680569] Jolliffe 2001 Jolliffe J, Rees K, Taylor RRS, Thompson DR, Oldridge N, Ebrahim S. Exercise-based rehabilitation for coronary heart disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2001, Issue 1. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001800.] King 1998 King J, Crowe J. Mobilisation practices in Canadian critical care units. Physiotherapy Canada 1998;50(3):206-11. [MEDLINE: 0346574] Kouidi 2002 Kouidi E. Exercise training in dialysis patients: why, when, and how?. Artificial Organs 2002;26(12):1009-13. [PUBMED: 12460377] Krishnan 2002 Krishnan KR, Delong M, Kraemer H, Carney R, Spiegel D, Gordon C, et al.Comorbidity of depression with other medical diseases in the elderly. Biological Psychiatry 2002;52(6):559-88. [PUBMED: 12361669] Lavie 2009 Lavie CJ, Thomas RJ, Squires RW, Allison TG, Milani RV. Exercise training and cardiac rehabilitation in primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2009; 84(4):373-83. [PUBMED: 19339657] Lewis 2003 Lewis M. Intensive care unit rehabilitation within the United Kingdom: a review. Physiotherapy 2003;89(9):531-8. [DOI: 10.1016/S0031-9406(05)60179-4] Martin 2005 Martin M, Salim A, Murray J, Demetriades D, Belzberg H, Rhee P. The decreasing incidence and mortality of acute respiratory distress syndrome after injury: a 5-year observational study. Journal of Trauma 2005;50(5):1107-13. [PUBMED: 16385287] Mazzeo 2001 Mazzeo RS, Tanaka H. Exercise prescription for the elderly: current recommendations. Sports Medicine 2001;31(11):809-18. [PUBMED: 11583105] Miller 2002 Miller MD, Crotty M, Giles LC, Bannerman E, Whitehead C, Cobiac L, et al.Corrected arm muscle area: an independent predictor of long-term mortality in community dwelling older adults?. Journal of the America Geriatrics Society 2002;50(7): 1272-7. [PUBMED: 12133024] Paffenbarger 1986 Paffenbarger RS, Hyde RT, Wing AL, Hseih CC. Physical activity, all-cause mortality, and longevity of college alumni. New England Journal of Medicine 1986;314(10):605-13. [PUBMED: 3945246] Puhan 2006 Puhan MA, Busching G, Schunemann HJ, VanOort E, Zaugg C, Frey M. Interval versus continuous high-intensity exercise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine 2006;145(11):816-25. [PUBMED: 17146066] Rantanen 2000 Rantanen T, Harris T, Leveille SG, Visser M, Foley D, et al.Muscle strength and body mass index as long-term predictors of mortality in initially healthy men. Journal of Gerontology. Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2000;55(3):M168-73. [PUBMED: 10795731] RevMan 5.0 The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration. Review Manager (RevMan). 5.0. Copenhagen: The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, 2008. Schweickert 2009 Schweickert WD, Pohlman MC, Pohlman AS, Nigos C, Pawlik AJ, Esbrook CL, et al.Early physical and occupational therapy in mechanically ventilated, critically ill patients: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2009;373(epub):1874-82. [PUBMED: 19446324] Smith 2006 Smith TP, Kennedy SL, Smith M, Orent S, Fleshner M. Physiological improvements and health benefits during an exercisebased comprehensive rehabilitation program in medically complex patients. Exercise Immunology Review 2006;12:86-96. [PUBMED: 17201074] Stiller 2000 Stiller K. Physiotherapy in intensive care: toward an evidence-based practice. Chest 2000;118(6):1801-13. [PUBMED: 11115476] Storch 2008 Storch EK, Kruszynski DM. From rehabilitation to optimal function: role of clinical exercise therapy. Current Opinion in Critcal Care 2008;14(4):451-5. [PUBMED: 18614911] Wiles 2009 Wiles L, Stiller K. Passive limb movements for patients in an intensive care unit: A survey of physiotherapy practice in Australia. Journal of Critical Care 2009;epub:ahead of print. [PUBMED: 19819105] Yoshida 1999 Yoshida T, Kohzuki M, Yoshida K, Hiwatari M, Kamimoto M, Yamamoto C, et al.Physical and psychological improvements after phase II cardiac rehabilitation in patients with myocardial infarction. Nursing & Health Sciences 1999;1(3):163-70. [PUBMED: 10894639] Indicates the major publication for the study8pub1756pubArt.

Molecular Gas Properties of the Giant Molecular Cloud Complexes in the Arms and Inter-arms of the Spiral Galaxy NGC 6946

Combining observations of multiple CO lines with radiative transfer modeling is a very powerful tool to investigate the physical properties of the molecular gas in galaxies. Using new observations as well as literature data, we provide the most complete CO ladders ever generated for eight star-forming regions in the spiral arms and inter-arms of the spiral galaxy NGC 6946, with observations of the CO(1-0), CO(2-1), CO(3-2), CO(4-3), CO(6-5), 13CO(1-0) and 13CO(2-1) transitions. For each region, we use the large velocity gradient assumption to derive beam-averaged molecular gas physical properties, namely the gas kinetic temperature (T_K), H2 number volume density n(H2) and CO number column density N(CO). Two complementary approaches are used to compare the observations with the model predictions: chi-square minimisation and likelihood. The physical conditions derived vary greatly from one region to the next: T_K=10-250 K, n(H2)=10^2.3-10^7.0 cm^-3 and N(CO)=10^15.0-10^19.3 cm^-2. The spectral line energy distribution (SLED) of some of these extranuclear regions indicates a star-formation activity that is more intense than that at the centre of our own Milky Way. The molecular gas in regions with a large SLED turnover transition (J_max>4) is hot but tenuous with a high CO column density, while that in regions with a low SLED turnover transition (J_max<=4) is cold but dense with a low CO column density. We finally discuss and find some correlations between the physical properties of the molecular gas in each region and the presence of young stellar population indicators (supernova remnants, HII regions, HI holes, etc.)Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS, Accepte