Rotating convection : 1995 Summer Study Program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

The 1995 program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics addressed "Rotating Convection," with particular emphasis on high-Rayleigh-number convection and on convection in the ocean.Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OCE-8901012

The Psychometric Evaluation of Human Life Histories:A Reply to Figueredo, Cabeza de Baca, Black, Garcia, Fernandes, Wolf, and Woodley (2015)

A recent critique of Copping, Campbell, and Muncer raised several issues concerning the validity of psychometric assessment techniques in the study of life history (LH) strategies. In this reply, some of our key concerns about relying on aggregated psy- chometric measures are explained, and we raise questions generally regarding the use of higher order factor structures. Responses to some of the statistical issues raised by Figueredo et al. are also detailed. We stand by our original conclusions and call for more careful consideration of instruments used to evaluate hypotheses derived from LH theory

After-hours respiratory physiotherapy for intubated and mechanically ventilated patients with community-acquired pneumonia: An Australian perspective

Introduction: Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common reason for admission to an intensive care unit for intubation and mechanical ventilation, and results in high morbidity and mortality. The primary aim of the study was to investigate availability and provision of respiratory physiotherapy, outside of normal business hours, for intubated and mechanically ventilated adults with CAP in Australian hospitals. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional, mixed methods online survey was conducted. Participants were senior intensive care unit physiotherapists from 88 public and private hospitals. Main outcome measures included presence and nature of an after-hours physiotherapy service and factors perceived to influence the need for after-hours respiratory physiotherapy intervention, when the service was available, for intubated adult patients with CAP. Data were also collected regarding respiratory intervention provided after-hours by other ICU professionals. Results: Response rate was 72% (n = 75). An after-hours physiotherapy service was provided by n = 31 (46%) hospitals and onsite after-hours physiotherapy presence was limited (22%), with a combination of onsite and on-call service reported by 19%. Treatment response (83%) was the most frequent factor for referring patients with CAP for after-hours physiotherapy intervention by the treating day-time physiotherapist. Nurses performing respiratory intervention (77%) was significantly associated with no available after-hours physiotherapy service (p = 0.04). Discussion: Physiotherapy after-hours service in Australia is limited, therefore it is common for intubated patients with CAP not to receive any respiratory physiotherapy intervention outside of normal business hours. In the absence of an after-hours physiotherapist, nurses were most likely to perform after-hours respiratory intervention to intubated patients with CAP. Conclusion: Further research is required to determine whether the frequency of respiratory physiotherapy intervention, including after-hours provision of treatment, influences outcomes for ICU patients intubated with pneumonia

Climatic changes and social transformations in the Near East and North Africa during the ‘long’ 4th millennium BC: A comparative study of environmental and archaeological evidence

This paper explores the possible links between rapid climate change (RCC) and social change in the Near East and surrounding regions (Anatolia, central Syria, southern Israel, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and eastern and central Sahara) during the ‘long’ 4th millennium (∼4500–3000) BC. Twenty terrestrial and 20 marine climate proxies are used to identify long-term trends in humidity involving transitions from humid to arid conditions and vice versa. The frequency distribution of episodes of relative aridity across these records is calculated for the period 6300–2000 BC, so that the results may be interpreted in the context of the established arid episodes associated with RCC around 6200 and 2200 BC (the 8.2 and 4.2 kyr events). We identify two distinct episodes of heightened aridity in the early-mid 4th, and late 4th millennium BC. These episodes cluster strongly at 3600–3700 and 3100–3300 BC. There is also evidence of localised aridity spikes in the 5th and 6th millennia BC. These results are used as context for the interpretation of regional and local archaeological records with a particular focus on case studies from western Syria, the middle Euphrates, southern Israel and Cyprus. Interpretation of the records involves the construction of plausible narratives of human–climate interaction informed by concepts of adaptation and resilience from the literature on contemporary (i.e. 21st century) climate change and adaptation. The results are presented alongside well-documented examples of climatically-influenced societal change in the central and eastern Sahara, where detailed geomorphological studies of ancient environments have been undertaken in tandem with archaeological research. While the narratives for the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean remain somewhat speculative, the use of resilience and adaptation frameworks allows for a more nuanced treatment of human–climate interactions and recognises the diversity and context-specificity of human responses to climatic and environmental change. Our results demonstrate that there is a need for more local environmental data to be collected ‘at source’ during archaeological excavations

Promoting patient engagement with self-management support information: a qualitative meta-synthesis of processes influencing uptake

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patient information has been viewed as a key component of self-management. However, little attention has been given to methods of dissemination or implementation of effective information strategies. Previous problems identified with the use and implementation of patient information point to the need to explore the way in which patients engage with and use information to support self-management for chronic conditions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Four published qualitative studies from a programme of research about self-management were analysed as a group; these included studies of the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); self-help in anxiety and depression (SHADE); menorrhagia, treatment, information, and preference (MENTIP) study; and self-help for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). For the analysis, we used an adapted meta-ethnographic approach to the synthesis of qualitative data in order to develop an evidence base.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ontological status and experience of the condition in everyday life was the most dominant theme to emerge from this synthesis. This, coupled with access to and experience of traditional health services responses, shaped the engagement with and use of information to support self-management. Five key elements were found which were likely to influence this: the perception and awareness of alternative self-management possibilities; the prior extent and nature of engagement with information; the extent of and ability to self-manage; opportunities for use of the information and the stage of the illness career; and congruence and synergy with the professional role.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>People with chronic conditions need support from providers in both supply and engagement with information, in a way which gives legitimacy to the person's own self-management strategies and possible alternatives. Thus, a link could usefully be made between information offered, as well as patients' past experiences of self-management and engagement with services for their condition. The timeliness of the information should be considered, both in terms of the illness career and the type of condition (<it>i.e</it>., before depression gets too bad or time to reflect on existing knowledge about a condition and how it is to be managed) and in terms of the pre-existing relationship with services (<it>i.e</it>., options explored and tried).</p> <p>More considered use of information (how it is provided, by whom, and at what point it should be introduced) is key to facilitating patients' engagement with and therefore use of information to support self-management.</p

Dietary Supplementation with Soluble Plantain Non-Starch Polysaccharides Inhibits Intestinal Invasion of Salmonella Typhimurium in the Chicken

Soluble fibres (non-starch polysaccharides, NSP) from edible plants but particularly plantain banana (Musa spp.), have been shown in vitro and ex vivo to prevent various enteric pathogens from adhering to, or translocating across, the human intestinal epithelium, a property that we have termed contrabiotic. Here we report that dietary plantain fibre prevents invasion of the chicken intestinal mucosa by Salmonella. In vivo experiments were performed with chicks fed from hatch on a pellet diet containing soluble plantain NSP (0 to 200 mg/d) and orally infected with S.Typhimurium 4/74 at 8 d of age. Birds were sacrificed 3, 6 and 10 d post-infection. Bacteria were enumerated from liver, spleen and caecal contents. In vitro studies were performed using chicken caecal crypts and porcine intestinal epithelial cells infected with Salmonella enterica serovars following pre-treatment separately with soluble plantain NSP and acidic or neutral polysaccharide fractions of plantain NSP, each compared with saline vehicle. Bacterial adherence and invasion were assessed by gentamicin protection assay. In vivo dietary supplementation with plantain NSP 50 mg/d reduced invasion by S.Typhimurium, as reflected by viable bacterial counts from splenic tissue, by 98.9% (95% CI, 98.1–99.7; P<0.0001). In vitro studies confirmed that plantain NSP (5–10 mg/ml) inhibited adhesion of S.Typhimurium 4/74 to a porcine epithelial cell-line (73% mean inhibition (95% CI, 64–81); P<0.001) and to primary chick caecal crypts (82% mean inhibition (95% CI, 75–90); P<0.001). Adherence inhibition was shown to be mediated via an effect on the epithelial cells and Ussing chamber experiments with ex-vivo human ileal mucosa showed that this effect was associated with increased short circuit current but no change in electrical resistance. The inhibitory activity of plantain NSP lay mainly within the acidic/pectic (homogalacturonan-rich) component. Supplementation of chick feed with plantain NSP was well tolerated and shows promise as a simple approach for reducing invasive salmonellosis

Genetic Effects on Children’s Conversational Language Use

The present study examined the extent of genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in children’s conversational language use

Physical Activity, Heart Rate, Metabolic Profile, and Estradiol in Premenopausal Women

Purpose: To study whether physical inactive women with a tendency to develop metabolic syndrome have high levels of 17[beta]-estradiol (E2) of importance for breast cancer risk. Methods: Two hundred and four healthy women of reproductive age were assessed for self-reported leisure-time physical activity (LPA), resting heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), anthropometry, and serum glucose, lipids, and insulin [Norwegian Energy Balance and Breast Cancer Aspect (EBBA) study]. E2 was measured in daily saliva samples throughout an entire menstrual cycle. A clustered metabolic risk score [z metabolic syndrome (zMS); total cholesterol-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio, insulin resistance, total fat tissue, BP, and triglycerides] was defined. Linear regression and linear mixed models were used, and confounding factors were tested. Results: Physically active women had lower fat percentage (Ptrend = 0.003) and HRs (Ptrend = 0.003) than sedentary women. We estimated an increase in E2 of 1.27 pmol[middle dot]L-1 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.06-2.47] for each 11.7 beats[middle dot]min-1 (1 SD) increase in HR, and this corresponds to the 7% change in mean concentration of E2 for the total group. Associations with E2 were also found for fat tissue, total cholesterol-HDL-C ratio, insulin resistance, and triglycerides. A dose-response relationship was observed among the three levels of LPA and HR and zMS (Ptrend = 0.03 for LPA; Ptrend = 0.004 for HR). Women in the highest tertile of the clustered metabolic risk score had average salivary E2profiles that were markedly higher, throughout the cycle, than those of the other groups, with a cycle peak-day difference in E2 of 22-28%. Conclusion: LPA and HR were associated with metabolic risk score, and this score was associated with daily level of E2, pointing to important biologic mechanisms operating between a sedentary lifestyle and an increased breast cancer risk.AnthropologyHuman Evolutionary Biolog

Persistent anthrax as a major driver of wildlife mortality in a tropical rainforest

Anthrax is a globally important animal disease and zoonosis. Despite this, our current knowledge of anthrax ecology is largely limited to arid ecosystems, where outbreaks are most commonly reported. Here we show that the dynamics of an anthrax-causing agent, Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis, in a tropical rainforest have severe consequences for local wildlife communities. Using data and samples collected over three decades, we show that rainforest anthrax is a persistent and widespread cause of death for a broad range of mammalian hosts. We predict that this pathogen will accelerate the decline and possibly result in the extirpation of local chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) populations. We present the epidemiology of a cryptic pathogen and show that its presence has important implications for conservation