Effects of Prehospital vs. In Hospital Therapeutic Hypothermia on Neurological Status after Cardiac Arrest

Objective: To conduct an analysis of literature that examines whether the use of prehospital therapeutic hypothermia (TH) results in significant changes in neurologic outcomes that are in adults that experienced out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Methods: Systematic searches were conducted through PubMed at the James Madison University Library. The inclusion criteria included human adults who experienced out of hospital cardiac arrest and were treated by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with and/or without prehospital TH by means of intravenous cold fluids and surface cooling. Results: Three studies involving 2180 cases were included. This review indicated that prehospital TH after cardiac arrest had similar effects on neurological outcome when compared to in-hospital therapeutic hypothermia. The only effect noted was that prehospital cooling decreased the amount of time to reach a targeted temperature while in hospital. Conclusion: A statistically significant difference was not found between the use of prehospital TH versus in hospital TH

Painting Analysis Using Wavelets and Probabilistic Topic Models

In this paper, computer-based techniques for stylistic analysis of paintings are applied to the five panels of the 14th century Peruzzi Altarpiece by Giotto di Bondone. Features are extracted by combining a dual-tree complex wavelet transform with a hidden Markov tree (HMT) model. Hierarchical clustering is used to identify stylistic keywords in image patches, and keyword frequencies are calculated for sub-images that each contains many patches. A generative hierarchical Bayesian model learns stylistic patterns of keywords; these patterns are then used to characterize the styles of the sub-images; this in turn, permits to discriminate between paintings. Results suggest that such unsupervised probabilistic topic models can be useful to distill characteristic elements of style.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, ICIP 201

Session C, 2015 Third Place: Tardigrada Prevalence in Moss Cushion Growth Forms Among Habitats at Cranberry Lake

Tardigrades (phylum Tardigrada) are most durable animals due to their ability to enter a state of cryptobiosis during extreme conditions. Tardigrades are often found living in mosses due to the mosses’ ability to retain moisture, but can be found in moss in dry habitats due to their ability to survive desiccation. This study assessed the abundance of Tardigrades in moss cushion life forms of marsh, brook, lake shore, and forest habitats. Relative abundance of Tardigrades among sites was quantified, soil pH was measured at each site, and percent moisture at each site was collected. ANOVA and Tukey’s Test were used to analyze variance of Tardigrades among the four sites. It was hypothesized that there would be more Tardigrades per gram of moss in the marsh habitat than the brook, lake shore, and forest habitats. There was no significant difference found in abundance of tardigrades among different habitats. In conclusion, the habitat in which the moss was located did not affect the amount of Tardigrades in the moss. A study looking at specific species of moss among or at habitats with greater differences in moisture content is recommended

Effect of Vocabulary Test Preparation on Low-Income Black Middle School Students’ Reading Scores

Black middle school students in the United States continue to perform poorly on standardized reading achievement tests in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups. The purpose of this research study was to examine the effectiveness of a vocabulary-focused test preparation program for Black middle school students. The theoretical framework consisted of Thorndike’s concept of test-wiseness, a test-taking capacity. Teachers at the research site were trained on Larry Bell’s 12 Powerful Words strategy that aims to make students test-wise, that is, to familiarize them with key vocabulary terms related to tests. An intact-group comparison was conducted, involving a total of N = 679 Black students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 with 370 girls and 309 boys. An analysis of covariance showed significant effects for Grade 6, marginally significant effects for Grade 7, and nonsignificant effects for Grade 8. These findings suggest that the 12 Powerful Words are effective and that their effect decreases with students’ age. As a practical consequence, instructional leaders will be able to make more informed decisions regarding test preparation and potentially reduce the number of underperforming students in classrooms

Deposit Accounts Under the New World Order

The new world is upon us. Repent. Revised Article 9 is the law in every state. Commercial deposit accounts are now available as original collateral. Bringing commercial deposit accounts into the Article 9 fold significantly complicates the planning of an Article 9 secured transaction. Attorneys for banks, non-bank creditors and debtors need to understand the new world order and the risks it poses to their clients. They need to develop strategies to minimize those risks so as to protect their clients\u27 positions. Part II of this article describes the new legal framework and some of the risks it creates. Part III explores ways to manage those risks. Appendix A contains an annotated deposit account control agreement form that tries to balance the needs of a secured party holding a security interest in a deposit account with the rights of the bank maintaining the deposit account

Interannual Southern California Precipitation Variability During the Common Era and the ENSO Teleconnection

Southern California’s Mediterranean‐type hydroclimate is highly variable on interannual time scales due to teleconnected climate forcings such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Here we present subannually resolved scanning X‐ray fluorescence Ti counts from deep‐sea cores in Santa Barbara Basin, California, recording 2,000 years of hydroclimate variability. The reconstructed Southern California precipitation record contains interannual variability in the 2‐ to 7‐year band that could be driven by changes in tropical Pacific ENSO variability and/or the strength of the ENSO teleconnection modulated by extratropical pressure systems. Observed interannual precipitation variance increased and was associated with longer periodicities (5–7 years) when the Intertropical Convergence Zone migrated southward (1370–1540 CE) and the Aleutian Low strengthened creating a robust ENSO teleconnection. Weak interannual precipitation variance with shorter periodicity (2–3 years) was observed when the Intertropical Convergence Zone shifted northward (700–900 CE) and/or the Aleutian Low was weak (1540–1680 CE).Plain Language SummaryEl Niños occur when the rising branch of atmospheric circulation in the tropical Pacific shifts eastward, driving changes in air temperature and rainfall around the globe. Rainfall in Southern California often increases during El Niño events causing rivers to carry extra sediment to the ocean. We reconstructed Southern California rainfall for every year of the last 2,000 years using the elemental signature of river sediment deposited in Santa Barbara Basin. We found that after ~1350 CE, when the Aleutian Low was strong, interannual rainfall in Southern California varied more and with longer cycles (5 to 7 years). During this time, the region of rising air at the equator was further south and storms over the North Pacific Ocean were stronger and occurred further east. Both of these changes in atmospheric circulation increased the Southern California rainfall response to El Niño events in the tropical Pacific Ocean.Key PointsThe interannual (2‐ to 7‐year band) precipitation in Southern California is closely related to ENSO variance originating from the tropical PacificExtratropical pressure systems modulate the interannual precipitation changes in Southern California by influencing the ENSO teleconnectionThe magnitude and frequency of interannual precipitation variance in Southern California changes throughout the past 2,000 yearsPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153690/1/grl60057_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153690/2/grl60057.pd

X-ray Variability and Evidence for Pulsations from the Unique Radio Pulsar/X-ray Binary Transition Object FIRST J102347.6+003841

We report on observations of the unusual neutron-star binary system FIRST J102347.6+003841 carried out using the XMM-Newton satellite. This system consists of a radio millisecond pulsar in an 0.198-day orbit with a ~0.2 solar-mass Roche-lobe-filling companion, and appears to have had an accretion disk in 2001. We observe a hard power-law spectrum (\Gamma = 1.26(4)) with a possible thermal component, and orbital variability in X-ray flux and possibly hardness of the X-rays. We also detect probable pulsations at the pulsar period (single-trial significance ~4.5 sigma from an 11(2)% modulation), which would make this the first system in which both orbital and rotational X-ray pulsations are detected. We interpret the emission as a combination of X-rays from the pulsar itself and from a shock where material overflowing the companion meets the pulsar wind. The similarity of this X-ray emission to that seen from other millisecond pulsar binary systems, in particular 47 Tuc W (PSR J0024-7204W) and PSR J1740-5340, suggests that they may also undergo disk episodes similar to that seen in J1023 in 2001.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 1 table; accepted to Ap