Geostatistical Analysis of Point Soil Water Retention Parameters for Flint Sand

Geostatistics were employed to characterize sub-core scale heterogeneity and identify spatial structure in previously published water retention data (Kang et al., 2014) obtained using neutron radiography for Flint sand. The water retention data were parameterized using the Brooks and Corey (BC) model. The BC parameters investigated were: saturated water content (Ѳs), residual water content (Ѳr), air entry value (ψa), and pore size distribution index (λ). Spatial dependency in the BC parameters was identified using semivariograms. Of the four BC parameters analyzed, two were found to be spatially correlated, Ѳs and ψa. The spherical model fit to the cross variogram was used to perform co-kriging and map out the spatial dependency of these parameters. Low and high values apparent at the top and bottom of the kriged map for ψa implicated packing and compressive stress as the major causes of sub-core scale heterogeneity for this parameter. A concentrated area of high values in the center of the kriged map for Ѳs suggests that neutron scattering and the normalization procedure employed during image analysis to eliminate the effect of variable neutron path lengths was not completely successful. To alleviate these effects a trend correction process was developed by generating a second dataset using cross-validation, calculating the difference between the observed and leave-one-out cross validation data set, and adding the average of the observed data to the newly created residual variable. This trend correction process was validated using an independent data set collected by Cropper (2014). Mann-Whitney and Kolmogorov-Smirnov two sample tests were employed to determine if the Cropper (2014) parameters were significantly different from the trend corrected parameters in terms of their median values and frequency distributions, respectively. The results from both tests found significant differences between the two data sets indicating the trend correction procedure was unsuccessful, likely due to the unconsolidated sample and cylindrical geometry employed. Since spatial structure can have profound effects on flow and transport predictions, future work using neutron radiography to measure point BC parameters should focus on consolidated samples and rectangular sample geometry. Further exploration of the novel trend correction procedure is warranted

Canada\u27s official development assistance for news media and journalism promotion in the developing world: Uncertain objectives and inconsistent outcomes.

The prevailing assumption among Western governments is that a free and independent news media is a key to political transition in the developing world. Consequently, media assistance interventions are components of all Western states\u27 democratization, good governance and civil society promotion strategies. It is not clear, however, that Western support for the news media has a lasting effect on the political transition of the developing world. There are strong militating factors that hinder the establishment of a free and independent media sector in most developing states. This study examines specific aspects of Canada\u27s media assistance strategy and engages in a comparative analysis of developing world states receiving Canadian media aid. Findings yield recommendations for improved effectiveness of interventions.Dept. of History, Philosophy, and Political Science. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .R63. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, page: 1222. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005

A Systematic Review of Parasites Found Within Selected Teleost Fishes of the South Florida Hermatypic Coral Reef Tract

This report is a synthetic survey of published accounts of 43 reef-associated fish species and their parasites from the east coast of North America, the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and regions adjacent to the south Florida reef tract. To date, no comprehensive host-parasite list is available for this region, although comparable reviews from other regions have played a vital role in the fields of parasitology and fish ecology, providing valuable guidance on sampling locations, available host fishes inhabiting the region, and inventories of parasites likely to be found infecting these host species. This systematic review of teleost host fish species and their parasites represents the first host-parasite database for major fish taxa commonly sampled from the south Florida coral reef tract during field surveys, specifically within Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. It includes data on 43 host species, with records of 341 parasite taxa compiled from 150 published studies, organized into host-parasite and parasite-host lists. The database also revealed major knowledge gaps in the literature. For example, while some host taxa are well-represented by many studies (e.g., Gray Snapper Lutjanus griseus), those of lesser economic or recreational importance have largely been neglected. This effort bias has likely led to an underestimation of the parasite species richness in less-studied host fishes; it also makes it difficult to derive any major conclusions regarding differences in parasite community composition or structure among these fishes. Thus, while univariate and multivariate analyses suggested (for example) that phylogenetically related hosts tended to have compositionally similar parasite communities, these results were likely driven by differences in the extent to which the different host taxa have been studied. A major outcome of this report is the identification of relatively underexamined fish host taxa that require further study and should be targeted by future parasite surveys

Telemedicine and mHealth interventions for children and young people with type one diabetes (T1DM)

Open access journa

Ko Te Tāngata: For the people

The Council of Aotearoa New Zealand university libraries (CONZUL) launched a new strategy in 2022. One of the key strands is He Tāngata Rawe (our people). We are committed to focusing on creating and fostering environments that are culturally safe, inclusive and encourage diversity. We also lead people and culture related projects that enable our staff to develop and thrive. A number of our university libraries are on their own journey but this presentation will focus on the mahi (work) taking place at Te Whare Wānaga o Waikato in Aotearoa, NZ

Measurement of dynamic full-field internal stresses through surface laser Doppler vibrometry

We present a method for evaluating internal dynamic stresses in a solid vibrating body from measurements of surface motion. The method relies on the same mathematics as boundary element method: A boundary reciprocity integral represents interior motion as a surface integral of boundary motion times the Green’s function. The surface motions are measured with a laser vibrometer rather than simulated, giving a direct measurement of internal motions and internal dynamic stresses. Experimental results on a flexing beam demonstrate that stresses measured in this fashion match those calculated from elementary theory

The representation of protein complexes in the Protein Ontology

Representing species-specific proteins and protein complexes in ontologies that are both human and machine-readable facilitates the retrieval, analysis, and interpretation of genome-scale data sets. Although existing protin-centric informatics resources provide the biomedical research community with well-curated compendia of protein sequence and structure, these resources lack formal ontological representations of the relationships among the proteins themselves. The Protein Ontology (PRO) Consortium is filling this informatics resource gap by developing ontological representations and relationships among proteins and their variants and modified forms. Because proteins are often functional only as members of stable protein complexes, the PRO Consortium, in collaboration with existing protein and pathway databases, has launched a new initiative to implement logical and consistent representation of protein complexes. We describe here how the PRO Consortium is meeting the challenge of representing species-specific protein complexes, how protein complex representation in PRO supports annotation of protein complexes and comparative biology, and how PRO is being integrated into existing community bioinformatics resources. The PRO resource is accessible at http://pir.georgetown.edu/pro/

Motive8!: feasibility of a text messaging intervention to promote physical activity in knee osteoarthritis

Aim: To develop and test the feasibility of using a SMS text messaging intervention to promote physical activity in patients with knee OA. Methods: 27 people (6 male, 21 female; aged 25-81 years) with knee osteoarthritis received 4 text messages per week, for 6 weeks. Telephone surveys were conducted at baseline and 6 weeks to measure physical activity levels and beliefs, including self-efficacy for exercise, barriers and benefits of exercise, social support and pain. Participants completed physical activity diaries. Process evaluation included participant perceptions of the intervention and 'real-time' data on intervention fidelity (automated collection of delivery and response data) and participant engagement (text response). Results: 648 messages were sent, 100% were accurately delivered. From baseline to 6 weeks, physical activity, self-efficacy for exercise, perceived benefits of exercise and social support significantly increased; reductions were observed in barriers to exercise and pain. Participants engaged with the intervention; 100% read the messages, 89% responded to texts requesting replies, 64% completed physical activity diaries with low attenuation (1.8% drop) by six weeks. Participants perceived messaging to be enjoyable (96%), personally relevant (85%), of appropriate frequency (100%) and duration (88%). Mobile phones, email and web were perceived to be most acceptable for health promotion compared with other forms of technology. Conclusions: People with knee osteoarthritis can engage meaningfully with an interactive mobile phone messaging intervention over a six-week period. Health communications promoting physical activity demonstrate potential for behaviour change and positive implications for perceptions of exercise and pain; this needs to be tested in a randomised trial. Data collected in 'real-time' can be used for process evaluation to demonstrate participant engagement and intervention fidelity

Propensity score regression analysis of oesophageal cancer treatment with surgery alone or neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Background: Propensity score (PS) regression analysis can be used to minimize differences between cohorts in order to perform comparisons The aim of this study was to use PS analysis to examine the outcomes of oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) treatment with surgery alone or neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by surgery (NACS), to see whether the benefits seen in a randomized trial (MRC OE02) were reproducible in a UK cancer network clinical practice. Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing potentially curative treatment for OAC in a regional cancer network were studied. Multiple regression models, including PS analysis, were developed to account for confounding factors. Primary outcome measures were disease‐free (DFS) and overall (OS) survival. Results: A cohort of 440 patients was included in a regression analysis controlling for confounders (176 surgery alone, 264 NACS). NACS was associated with a higher positive margin status rate compared with surgery alone (42·4 versus 26·7 per cent respectively; P < 0·001), an inferior 5‐year DFS rate (32·1 versus 56·9 per cent; P < 0·001) and a worse 5‐year OS rate (27·5 versus 47·3 per cent; P < 0·001). On regression adjustment based on propensity scores, NACS was not associated with DFS (P = 0·220) or OS (P = 0·431). The Mandard tumour regression grade (TRG) score was significantly associated with DFS (hazard ratio (HR) 0·21, 95 per cent c.i. 0·07 to 0·70) and OS (HR 0·27, 0·13 to 0·59). Five‐year DFS and OS rates related to TRG were 64 and 62 per cent respectively for 25 good responders versus 8·0 and 8·6 per cent for 127 poor responders (P < 0·001). Conclusion: The prescription of NAC to all patients with OAC risks delay in effective treatment of patients who are relatively chemoresistant, given the variability in pathological response. Identification of patients with OAC who may derive the most benefit from NAC should be the focus

Ozone and alkyl nitrate formation from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill atmospheric emissions

Ozone (O3), alkyl nitrates (RONO2), and other photochemical products were formed in the atmosphere downwind from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill by photochemical reactions of evaporating hydrocarbons with NOx (=NO+NO2) emissions from spill response activities. Reactive nitrogen species and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured from an instrumented aircraft during daytime flights in the marine boundary layer downwind from the area of surfacing oil. A unique VOC mixture, where alkanes dominated the hydroxyl radical (OH) loss rate, was emitted into a clean marine environment, enabling a focused examination of O3 and RONO 2 formation processes. In the atmospheric plume from DWH, the OH loss rate, an indicator of potential O3 formation, was large and dominated by alkanes with between 5 and 10 carbons per molecule (C 5-C10). Observations showed that NOx was oxidized very rapidly with a 0.8h lifetime, producing primarily C6-C10 RONO2 that accounted for 78% of the reactive nitrogen enhancements in the atmospheric plume 2.5h downwind from DWH. Both observations and calculations of RONO2 and O3 production rates show that alkane oxidation dominated O3 formation chemistry in the plume. Rapid and nearly complete oxidation of NOx to RONO2 effectively terminated O3 production, with O3 formation yields of 6.0±0.5 ppbv O3 per ppbv of NOx oxidized. VOC mixing ratios were in large excess of NOx, and additional NOx would have formed additional O3 in this plume. Analysis of measurements of VOCs, O3, and reactive nitrogen species and calculations of O3 and RONO2 production rates demonstrate that NOx-VOC chemistry in the DWH plume is explained by known mechanisms. Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union