Microbial Air Contamination in an Intensive Care Unit

Unit layout affects every aspect of intensive care services, including patient safety. A previous study has shown that patients admitted to beds adjacent to the sink and to the door of a large bayroom had the highest number of positive blood cultures and the highest blood culture incidence density, respectively. The present study measures microbial air contamination in a medical intensive care unit of a medical center in central Taiwan. Of the 17 rooms, 8 rooms with distinct physical environmental characteristics were selected. Sampling tests were conducted between December 2013 and February 2014 with a microbial air sampler (MAS-100NT). TSA was used for bacteria collection and DG18 for fungi collection. The overall average bacterial and fungal concentrations were 83CFU/m3 and 69CFU/m3, respectively. The ranges were between 8-354 CFU/m3 and 0-1468 CFU/m3, respectively. A significant difference was found in the bacterial concentration (p=.005) between different room locations. The highest concentration was found in the rooms located at the front end of the circulation (99 CFU/m3), while the lowest was found in the rooms located at the rear end of the circulation (55CFU/m3). Differences in fungal concentrations for different room locations did not reach statistical significance. In addition, differences in bacterial and fungal concentrations for rooms with different sink locations did not reach statistical significance. Even though the microbial concentrations generally complied with standards, the results may help designers and hospital administrators develop a healthier environment for patients

Study of the continuous grinding of steeped endosperm from sorghum grain in the production of starch

Digitized by Kansas State University Librarie

Interdisciplinary intervention decreases cognitive impairment for older Taiwanese with hip fracture: 2‐year follow‐up

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101759/1/gps3945.pd

Effects of interventions on trajectories of health-related quality of life among older patients with hip fracture: a prospective randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been used to assess subjects’ prognosis and recovery following hip fracture. However, evidence is mixed regarding the effectiveness of interventions to improve HRQoL of elders with hip fracture. The purposes of this study were to identify distinct HRQoL trajectories and to evaluate the effects of two care models on these trajectories over 12 months following hip-fracture surgery. Methods For this secondary analysis, data came from a randomized controlled trial of subjects with hip fracture receiving three treatment care models: interdisciplinary care (n = 97), comprehensive care (n = 91), and usual care (n = 93). Interdisciplinary care consisted of geriatric consultation, discharge planning, and 4 months of in-home rehabilitation. Comprehensive care consisted of interdisciplinary care plus management of malnutrition and depressive symptoms, fall prevention, and 12 months of in-home rehabilitation. Usual care included only in-hospital rehabilitation and occasional discharge planning, without geriatric consultation and in-home rehabilitation. Mental and physical HRQoL were measured at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge by the physical component summary scale (PCS) and mental component summary scale (MCS), respectively, of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36, Taiwan version. Latent class growth modeling was used to identify PCS and MCS trajectories and to evaluate how they were affected by the interdisciplinary and comprehensive care models. Results We identified three quadratic PCS trajectories: poor PCS (n = 103, 36.6 %), moderate PCS (n = 96, 34.2 %), and good PCS (n = 82, 29.2 %). In contrast, we found three linear MCS trajectories: poor MCS (n = 39, 13.9 %), moderate MCS (n = 84, 29.9 %), and good MCS (n = 158, 56.2 %). Subjects in the comprehensive care and interdisciplinary care groups were more likely to experience a good PCS trajectory (b = 0.99, odds ratio [OR] = 2.69, confidence interval [CI] = 7.24–1.00, p = 0.049, and b = 1.32, OR = 3.75, CI = 10.53–1.33, p = 0.012, respectively) than those who received usual care. However, neither care model improved MCS. Conclusions The interdisciplinary and comprehensive care models improved recovery from hip fracture by increasing subjects’ odds for following a trajectory of good physical functioning after hospitalization. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT01350557 )http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134528/1/12891_2016_Article_958.pd

Computation of protein geometry and its applications: Packing and function prediction

This chapter discusses geometric models of biomolecules and geometric constructs, including the union of ball model, the weigthed Voronoi diagram, the weighted Delaunay triangulation, and the alpha shapes. These geometric constructs enable fast and analytical computaton of shapes of biomoleculres (including features such as voids and pockets) and metric properties (such as area and volume). The algorithms of Delaunay triangulation, computation of voids and pockets, as well volume/area computation are also described. In addition, applications in packing analysis of protein structures and protein function prediction are also discussed.Comment: 32 pages, 9 figure

Weakly coupled lithospheric extension in southern Tibet

AbstractWest–east extension is a prominent tectonic feature of southern and central Tibet despite ongoing north–south (N–S) convergence between India and Eurasia. Knowledge of deep structure beneath the N–S trending rifts is key to evaluating models proposed for their origin, including gravitational collapse, oblique convergence along the arcuate plate boundary, and mantle upwelling. We model direct S and Moho-reflected SsPmp phases at teleseismic distances to constrain variations in crustal thickness across the major rifts crossed by a ∼900-km long, W–E broadband array in the Lhasa Terrane. Crustal thicknesses are ∼70–80 km. However, Moho depth decreases by ∼10 km within a horizontal distance of 100 km west of the Yadong–Gulu rift (YGR) and Nyainquentanghla mountains (NQTL). This Moho uplift, taken with deep, extensional focal mechanisms and reduced seismic velocity in the upper mantle, suggests that asthenospheric upwelling has significantly contributed to the pattern of extension across the YGR and NQTL. The ∼100-km separation between surface rift and Moho uplift is likely enabled by partial decoupling across a ductile middle crust

Patterning graphene nanostripes in substrate-supported functionalized graphene: A promising route to integrated, robust, and superior transistors

It is promising to apply quantum-mechanically confined graphene systems in field-effect transistors. High stability, superior performance, and large-scale integration are the main challenges facing the practical application of graphene transistors. Our understandings of the adatom-graphene interaction combined with recent progress in the nanofabrication technology indicate that very stable and high-quality graphene nanostripes could be integrated in substrate-supported functionalized (hydrogenated or fluorinated) graphene using electron-beam lithography. We also propose that parallelizing a couple of graphene nanostripes in a transistor should be preferred for practical application, which is also very useful for transistors based on graphene nanoribbon.Comment: Frontiers of Physics (2012) to be publishe

An interdisciplinary intervention for older Taiwanese patients after surgery for hip fracture improves health-related quality of life

Abstract Background The effects of intervention programs on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with hip fracture have not been well studied. We hypothesized that older patients with hip fracture who received our interdisciplinary intervention program would have better HRQOL than those who did not. Methods A randomized experimental design was used. Older patients with hip fracture (N = 162), 60 to 98 years old, from a medical center in northern Taiwan were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 80) or control (n = 82) group. HRQOL was measured by the SF-36 Taiwan version at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge. Results The experimental group had significantly better overall outcomes in bodily pain (β = 9.38, p = 0.002), vitality (β = 9.40, p < 0.001), mental health (β = 8.16, p = 0.004), physical function (β = 16.01, p < 0.001), and role physical (β = 22.66, p < 0.001) than the control group at any time point during the first year after discharge. Physical-related health outcomes (physical functioning, role physical, and vitality) had larger treatment effects than emotional/mental- and social functioning-related health outcomes. Conclusions This interdisciplinary intervention program may improve health outcomes of elders with hip fracture. Our results may provide a reference for health care providers in countries using similar programs with Chinese/Taiwanese immigrant populations. Trial registration NCT01052636http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78259/1/1471-2474-11-225.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78259/2/1471-2474-11-225.pdfPeer Reviewe

Charmless Bs→PP,PV,VVB_s\to PP, PV, VV Decays Based on the six-quark Effective Hamiltonian with Strong Phase Effects II

We provide a systematic study of charmless $B_s \to PP, PV, VV$ decays ($P$ and $V$ denote pseudoscalar and vector mesons, respectively) based on an approximate six-quark operator effective Hamiltonian from QCD. The calculation of the relevant hard-scattering kernels is carried out, the resulting transition form factors are consistent with the results of QCD sum rule calculations. By taking into account important classes of power corrections involving "chirally-enhanced" terms and the vertex corrections as well as weak annihilation contributions with non-trivial strong phase, we present predictions for the branching ratios and CP asymmetries of $B_s$ decays into PP, PV and VV final states, and also for the corresponding polarization observables in VV final states. It is found that the weak annihilation contributions with non-trivial strong phase have remarkable effects on the observables in the color-suppressed and penguin-dominated decay modes. In addition, we discuss the SU(3) flavor symmetry and show that the symmetry relations are generally respected