Community-acquired pneumonia in adults: Diagnostic reliability of physical examination techniques and their teaching in academia

Background: Chest physical examination techniques are taught in academia, but their usefulness in the evaluation and diagnosis of patients in the clinical setting is controversial. Objective: To investigate the accuracy of physical examination techniques and their reliability in diagnosing community acquired pneumonia (CAP) and suggest a modified teaching approach to be used in academia. Design: Systematic Literature Review. Methods: Database search of PubMed and Google Scholar using the search terms “prediction of pneumonia in adults” and “prediction rule for pulmonary infiltrates.” Filters were implemented to include articles that only dealt with human subjects and were full text. Articles were excluded if the patient population was not desired, if the article focused on symptoms instead of clinical findings, or if the article was a meta-analysis. Results: Gennis et al. found that decreased breath sounds, rales, and rhonchi are significantly associated with pneumonia. Heckerling et al. found that dullness to percussion, bronchial breath sounds, decreased breath sounds, egophony, rales, and rhonchi were all significantly associated with pneumonia. Diehr et al. found that increased fremitus, dullness to percussion, egophony, pleural friction rub, and rales were significantly associated with pneumonia. Conclusion: The most valuable examination technique in detecting pneumonia was rales. Wheezes were relatively not useful. Overall, performing a meticulous lung and thorax examination contributes to identifying a diagnostic hypothesis; however, the physical examination is not sufficiently accurate to rule in or rule out pneumonia on its own. If diagnostic certainty is required for the management of a patient with suspected pneumonia, chest radiographs should be obtained. In academia, teaching examination techniques with the highest diagnostic yield should be the cornerstone of a teacher’s instruction

PROVE Endurance Car Front Suspension

This document details the collaborative Mechanical Engineering Senior Project with Cal Poly PROVE Lab on PROVE Lab’s Project 2; an electric vehicle designed to travel 1000 miles on a single charge. Logan Simon, Justine Kwan, and Lauren Williams are given the challenge of designing an innovative proof of concept front suspension suspension for this vehicle. After detailed research of new suspension systems, it was determined that the innovative nature could be in the form of unique manufacturing methods, materials use, or mechanical design. At this point in time, this vehicle is a purely conceptual design with no concrete requirements. Therefore engineering specifications were generated based on vehicles of similar size and function, such as PROVE Lab Project 1, Tesla’s Roadster, and the BMW z4. These specification included vehicle weight, speed, vertical travel, system weight, travel speed, and track width. Since this car is aimed to travel 1000 miles on one charge, efficiency is a big concern for the design. From ideation, the three suspension configurations of interest were MacPherson, double wishbone, and multi-link. A decision matrix was created to evaluate these designs based on design requirements, resulting in the selection of the multi-link configuration. However, after further investigation it was decided that a double wishbone configuration would provide nearly equal performance and be much more manageable of a task on the senior project time frame, compared to multi-link. The focus of the project then shifted to innovative manufacturing methods. Carbon fiber was chosen as the material to be used due to its lightweight nature, its accessibility through PROVE lab, and its lack of usage in a suspension system thus far. The upright would provide the most weight savings, so it was designed as a carbon fiber sandwich panel. Computer analysis of the system included SolidWorks FEA, Tsai Wu Failure Analysis, and ANSYS composite analysis to verify Tsai Wu. Four destructive tests were performed to validate the analysis and to determine the number of plies to be used for the final part. With all four tests passing the minimum load requirements with a factor of safety above 1, 16 plies per laminate was chosen and with an additional 8 plies around the edges. The final system proves that a carbon fiber suspension that is structurally sound for maximum loading cases and that cuts weight down to 4.3 pounds is possible. The full non-destructive test will be performed by the PROVE Project 2 team in the future, unassociated with this senior project

12Cao-7Al2o3 Electride Hollow Cathode

The use of the electride form of 12CaO-7Al.sub.2O.sub.3, or C12A7, as a low work function electron emitter in a hollow cathode discharge apparatus is described. No heater is required to initiate operation of the present cathode, as is necessary for traditional hollow cathode devices. Because C12A7 has a fully oxidized lattice structure, exposure to oxygen does not degrade the electride. The electride was surrounded by a graphite liner since it was found that the C12A7 electride converts to it's eutectic (CA+C3A) form when heated (through natural hollow cathode operation) in a metal tube

An early peak in the radio light curve of short-duration Gamma-Ray Burst 200826A

We present the results of radio observations from the eMERLIN telescope combined with X-ray data from Swift for the short-duration Gamma-ray burst (GRB) 200826A, located at a redshift of 0.71. The radio light curve shows evidence of a sharp rise, a peak around 4-5 days post-burst, followed by a relatively steep decline. We provide two possible interpretations based on the time at which the light curve reached its peak. (1) If the light curve peaks earlier, the peak is produced by the synchrotron self-absorption frequency moving through the radio band, resulting from the forward shock propagating into a wind medium and (2) if the light curve peaks later, the turn over in the light curve is caused by a jet break. In the former case, we find a minimum equipartition energy of ~3x10^47 erg and bulk Lorentz factor of ~5, while in the latter case we estimate the jet opening angle of ~9-16 degrees. Due to the lack of data, it is impossible to determine which is the correct interpretation, however, due to its relative simplicity and consistency with other multi-wavelength observations which hint at the possibility that GRB 200826A is in fact a long GRB, we prefer scenario one over scenario two.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted to MNRA

2018-2019 Illinois Waterfowl Hunter Report: Harvest, Youth Hunts, and Zone Option Preferences

A total of 3,123 (36% response rate) Illinois waterfowl hunters returned usable questionnaires to the 2018-19 Illinois Waterfowl Hunter Survey. An estimated 40,047 adult waterfowl hunters spent 1 day or more afield during 2018-19, an increase of 7.6% from the 37,215 hunters in 2017-18. Waterfowl hunters spent 831,043 days afield, an increase of 13.5 % from the 732,166 days devoted during the 2017-18 license year. Total waterfowl harvest decreased 2.1 %, from 421,384 during 2017-18 to 412,402 during 2018-19. Duck harvest estimates for the regular duck season were as follows: 147,733 mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), 29,003 wood ducks (Aix sponsa), and 96,087 other ducks. A total of 23,326 teal (Anas spp.) were harvested during the September teal season. Goose hunters harvested 71,035 Canada geese (Branta canadensis) during the regular Canada goose season, a 9.9% decrease from the 78,850 Canada geese harvested during the 2017-18 regular goose season. Hunters harvested 13,165 Canada geese during the September Canada goose season, an 18.5% decrease from the previous year. During the Youth Waterfowl Hunting Season, 4,822 adults took 5,775 youths waterfowl hunting, a 0.9% increase in adult participation and a 10.6% decrease in youth participation from the 2017-18 Youth Waterfowl Hunting Season. Hunter preferences for season and zones, and satisfaction with the waterfowl seasons are also discussed.Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration W-112-R-28unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

2018-2019 Illinois Hunter Harvest Report

A random sample of 5,000 hunters was selected from adult 2018 Illinois resident Habitat Stamp and hunting license holders. Selected individuals were mailed an 8-page self-administered questionnaire designed to query hunters about their hunting activities and harvest in Illinois. We received 2,631 questionnaires, 2,284 of which were usable, for a 47% response rate. Illinois resident license sales decreased 5% from 2017-18 (263,495) to 250,007 for the 2018-19 seasons. Total days afield for rabbit, quail, non-wild pheasant, dove, crow, gray squirrel, fox squirrel, turkey, deer, red fox, gray fox, coyote, and opossum decreased. Harvest increased for 5 game species (wild quail, wild pheasant, groundhog, deer, and red fox) from 2017-18. Hunters were also asked questions regarding hunting activity and harvest in Illinois, recruitment and retention, perceived effects of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) and Blue Tongue Virus (BTV) on deer hunting, and their attitudes toward wildlife and hunting in Illinois. Estimates of wild quail and pheasant harvested beginning during 2011-12 were calculated differently than previous estimates to include harvest of captive-raised birds distinct from wild birds, so comparisons across years are to be made with caution.Federal Aid Project Number W-112-R-28unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Affective response to physical activity as an intermediate phenotype

Over the past seventy years, biomedical and epidemiological research has shown that regular physical activity (PA) is critical for physical and mental health. Despite this knowledge, physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality, accounting for 9% (5.3 million) of premature deaths annually. We suggest this mismatch between knowing about the risks of PA and engaging in regular PA can be reconciled by focusing less on expected health benefits of PA and more on how people feel during PA. Specifically, in this position paper, we argue that affective response (feeling good versus bad) to PA is an intermediate phenotype that can explain significant variance in PA behavior and is, in turn, a function of genetic variability. In making this argument, we first review empirical evidence showing that affective response to PA predicts future physical activity behavior. Second, we systematically review research on single nucleotide morphisms (SNPs) that are associated with affective response to PA. Investigating affective response to PA as an intermediate phenotype will allow future researchers to move beyond asking “What SNPs are associated with PA?“, and begin asking “How do these SNPs influence PA?“, thus ultimately optimizing the translation of knowledge gained from genomic data to intervention development

Hunter Participation, Harvest, and Hunting Behavior During the 2019 Illinois Conservation Order

Harvest of light geese (Chen caerulescens, Chen rossii) during the 2019 Illinois Light Goose Conservation Order was estimated at 86,683. An estimated 2,694 hunters participated in the 2019 Illinois Light Goose Conservation Order. Hunters spent an estimated 30,206 days afield during 2019, and the majority (64%) of the snow goose harvest occurred during the month of February. Due to changes in sampling of addresses and calculation of estimates, comparisons should not be made to years prior to 2014. Hunters were sampled from Harvest Information Program (HIP) registrants who reported they hunted snow and other light geese (including Ross’ and Blue geese) during the 2018 Light Goose Conservation Order. Electronic calls were used by 83.8% of hunters, 80.2% used unplugged shotguns, and 59.5% reported hunting between sunset and ½ hour after sunset. About forty-four percent of active snow goose hunters indicated an increase in effort over the past five years, and 7.2% of hunters had increased harvest of snow goose over the previous 5 years. Approximately fifty-three percent of active snow goose hunters used a guide or outfitter while hunting snow geese during the 2019 order.Federal Aid Project Number W-112-R-28unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

The Influence of Shoe and Cleat Type on Lower Extremity Muscle Activation in Youth Baseball Pitchers

Background: Baseball pitching is a dynamic movement where the lower extremities generate and sequentially transfer energy to the upper extremities to maximize ball velocity. The need for lower body muscular strength to produce adequate push-off and landing forces has been documented; however, the influence footwear and surface inclination has on muscle activation remains unknown. Objectives: Determine how pitching in molded cleats and turf shoes from a pitching mound and flat ground affects stride-leg muscle activation in youth baseball pitchers while determining percent activation during each pitching phase. Methods: Cross – sectional study analyzing mean muscle activity and percent activation of the vastus medialis, semitendinosus, tibialis anterior, and medial gastrocnemius on the stride-leg of 11 youth baseball pitchers when pitching fastballs. Results: Footwear did not significantly alter vastus medialis or semitendinosus muscle activation (P \u3e 0.05). The turf shoe x pitching mound interaction elicited significantly (P \u3c 0.05) greater mean muscle activity in the medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior from stride foot contact to maximum glenohumeral internal rotation. Molded cleats produced greater activation levels in the tibialis anterior on flat ground from stride foot contact (0.374 ± 0.176 mV) to ball release (0.469 ± 0.150 mV). Conclusion: Findings suggest footwear significantly alters the activity level of the ankle stabilizing musculature. Youth baseball pitchers and coaches should be cognizant of what footwear is worn on a pitching surface. Maximal activation of the tibialis anterior and medial gastrocnemius can ensure the stride leg is adequately stabilized to absorb the momentum generated by trail leg