The evolution of business continuity management in large Irish enterprises between 2004 and 2009

The research surveys large Irish enterprises in 2004 and again in 2009 with a view to determining how Business Continuity Management (BCM) has evolved during this five year period. Of the fifty two original organizations, forty four were still trading and twenty eight (63%) agreed to participate in the follow up study. In order to explore the findings from the survey interviews were conducted to allow for a more in-depth discussion of the key findings and possible explanations for the various trends identified. The results of the study show that: responsibility for BCM is firmly placed in the realm of senior and middle management with a low level of directorial involvement; computer viruses/bugs are now viewed as the greatest threat to Business Continuity; loss of telecommunications is the most often experienced disruption; external rather than internal pressures drive most BCM activity; 89% of organizations have a regularly exercised BCP; and BS 25999 has not as yet had a wide impact in Irish organizations. On the basis of these findings recommendations were made for national policy formulation and regulation and, at an organizational level, for building organizational resilience

Assessment of the Barramundi Fishery in Queensland - 2002

The barramundi, Lates calcarifer, is an important target species of commercial, recreational and indigenous fishers across northern Australia. In Queensland stocks from the Gulf of Carpentaria and the east coast are managed separately. An assessment of both the Gulf and East Coast stocks are reported here

Adjunctive intravitreal dexamethasone in the treatment of acute endophthalmitis following cataract surgery

Edward F Hall1, Garrett R Scott1, David C Musch1,2, David N Zacks11Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Medical School; 2Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USAPurpose: Controversy exists regarding the use of intravitreal dexamethasone (IVD) as an anti-inflammatory adjunct to intravitreal antibiotics in patients with acute endophthalmitis following cataract surgery. The purpose of this project was to evaluate our experience regarding the effect of adjunctive IVD use on visual outcomes in such patients.Design: Retrospective, comparative case series.Methods: Study population: Patients treated for acute endophthalmitis following cataract surgery from 1995–2004. Intervention: In addition to standard intravitreal antibiotic treatment, some patients also received a single adjunctive injection of IVD. Primary outcome measures: Median visual acuity at last follow-up and percentage of patients achieving a ≥3-line improvement in visual acuity. Secondary outcome measures: Inflammatory index scoring, including amount of cell and flare, height of hypopyon, and presence of fibrin as a function of time after treatment.Results: Twenty-six eyes were treated with and 38 eyes without adjunctive IVD. Median presenting visual acuity was Hand Motion in both groups. Median visual acuity at last followup measured 20/40 in the IVD group and 20/50 in the No-IVD group (p = 0.75). Seventy-three percent of patients in the IVD group and 82% of patients in the No-IVD group achieved a ≥3-line improvement in visual acuity (p = 0.42). No significant difference was detected between the IVD and No-IVD groups for any of the three measures of inflammation.Conclusion: The use of IVD did not significantly improve the final median visual acuity, the chance of achieving a ≥3-line improvement in visual acuity, or the amount of intraocular inflammation. Based on these findings, and the possible detrimental effect of IVD on visual outcomes previously reported in the literature, the use of IVD does not appear to be warranted as a routine adjunctive treatment in postoperative endophthalmitis.Keywords: endophthalmitis, dexamethasone, intravitreal injectio

Anomalous Variability in Antarctic Sea Ice Extents During the 1960s With the Use of Nimbus Data

The Nimbus I, II, and III satellites provide a new opportunity for climate studies in the 1960s. The rescue of the visible and infrared imager data resulted in the utilization of the early Nimbus data to determine sea ice extent. A qualitative analysis of the early NASA Nimbus missions has revealed Antarctic sea ice extents that are significant larger and smaller than the historic 1979-2012 passive microwave record. The September 1964 ice mean area is 19.7x10(exp 6) sq. km +/- 0.3x10(exp 6) sq. km. This is more the 250,000 sq. km greater than the 19.44x10(exp 6) sq. km seen in the new 2012 historic maximum. However, in August 1966 the maximum sea ice extent fell to 15.9x10(exp 6) sq. km +/- 0.3x10(exp 6) sq. km. This is more than 1.5x10(exp 6) sq. km below the passive microwave record of 17.5x10(exp 6) sq. km set in September of 1986. This variation between 1964 and 1966 represents a change of maximum sea ice of over 3x10(exp 6) sq. km in just two years. These inter-annual variations while large, are small when compared to the Antarctic seasonal cycle

Anomalous Variability in Antarctic Sea Ice Extents During the 1960s With the Use of Nimbus Data

The Nimbus I, II, and III satellites provide a new opportunity for climate studies in the 1960s. The rescue of the visible and infrared imager data resulted in the utilization of the early Nimbus data to determine sea ice extent. A qualitative analysis of the early NASA Nimbus missions has revealed Antarctic sea ice extents that are signicant larger and smaller than the historic 1979-2012 passive microwave record. The September 1964 ice mean area is 19.7x10 km +/- 0.3x10 km. This is more the 250,000 km greater than the 19.44x10 km seen in the new 2012 historic maximum. However, in August 1966 the maximum sea ice extent fell to 15.9x10 km +/- 0.3x10 km. This is more than 1.5x10 km below the passive microwave record of 17.5x10 km set in September of 1986. This variation between 1964 and 1966 represents a change of maximum sea ice of over 3x10 km in just two years. These inter-annual variations while large, are small when compared to the Antarctic seasonal cycle

Texture Coding in the Rat Whisker System: Slip-Stick Versus Differential Resonance

Rats discriminate surface textures using their whiskers (vibrissae), but how whiskers extract texture information, and how this information is encoded by the brain, are not known. In the resonance model, whisker motion across different textures excites mechanical resonance in distinct subsets of whiskers, due to variation across whiskers in resonance frequency, which varies with whisker length. Texture information is therefore encoded by the spatial pattern of activated whiskers. In the competing kinetic signature model, different textures excite resonance equally across whiskers, and instead, texture is encoded by characteristic, nonuniform temporal patterns of whisker motion. We tested these models by measuring whisker motion in awake, behaving rats whisking in air and onto sandpaper surfaces. Resonant motion was prominent during whisking in air, with fundamental frequencies ranging from approximately 35 Hz for the long Delta whisker to approximately 110 Hz for the shorter D3 whisker. Resonant vibrations also occurred while whisking against textures, but the amplitude of resonance within single whiskers was independent of texture, contradicting the resonance model. Rather, whiskers resonated transiently during discrete, high-velocity, and high-acceleration slip-stick events, which occurred prominently during whisking on surfaces. The rate and magnitude of slip-stick events varied systematically with texture. These results suggest that texture is encoded not by differential resonant motion across whiskers, but by the magnitude and temporal pattern of slip-stick motion. These findings predict a temporal code for texture in neural spike trains

Acute low back pain is marked by variability: An internet-based pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pain variability in acute LBP has received limited study. The objectives of this pilot study were to characterize fluctuations in pain during acute LBP, to determine whether self-reported 'flares' of pain represent discrete periods of increased pain intensity, and to examine whether the frequency of flares was associated with back-related disability outcomes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a cohort study of acute LBP patients utilizing frequent serial assessments and Internet-based data collection. Adults with acute LBP (lasting ≤3 months) completed questionnaires at the time of seeking care, and at both 3-day and 1-week intervals, for 6 weeks. Back pain was measured using a numerical pain rating scale (NPRS), and disability was measured using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). A pain flare was defined as 'a period of increased pain lasting at least 2 hours, when your pain intensity is distinctly worse than it has been recently'. We used mixed-effects linear regression to model longitudinal changes in pain intensity, and multivariate linear regression to model associations between flare frequency and disability outcomes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>42 of 47 participants (89%) reported pain flares, and the average number of discrete flare periods per patient was 3.5 over 6 weeks of follow-up. More than half of flares were less than 4 hours in duration, and about 75% of flares were less than one day in duration. A model with a quadratic trend for time best characterized improvements in pain. Pain decreased rapidly during the first 14 days after seeking care, and leveled off after about 28 days. Patients who reported a pain flare experienced an almost 3-point greater current NPRS than those not reporting a flare (mean difference [SD] 2.70 [0.11]; p < 0.0001). Higher flare frequency was independently associated with a higher final ODI score (<it>ß </it>[SE} 0.28 (0.08); p = 0.002).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Acute LBP is characterized by variability. Patients with acute LBP report multiple distinct flares of pain, which correspond to discrete increases in pain intensity. A higher flare frequency is associated with worse disability outcomes.</p