Seasonal Abundance, Movement and Diversity of Fishes in an Ozark Stream

Seasonal fluctuations in fish abundance in Mud Creek occurred throughout the year at all sampling stations. At the two upper stations abundance was high and unstable during winter and early spring and decreased after heavy rainfall in mid-April. Abundance was low throughout the summer months, increasing in the fall due to large numbers of young-of-the-year. However, a different seasonal cycle occurred at the lower station which included deeper pools. Numbers were low and stable throughout the winter and early spring but high and unstable during the summer. Bigeye shiners (Notropis boops) and bluntnose minnows (Pimephales notatus) were the most mobile species marked. Populations of brook silversides (Labidesthes sicculus) remained fairly isolated, stable, and showed little mobility. Mean species diversity fluctuated during the winter, spring, and fall; diversity values were highest and most stable during summer months when high and relatively stable numbers were collected. The main difference in mean species diversity between stations was the greater stability throughout the year at the upper station

Fragile States, Robust Structures: Illegal Police Protection in Buenos Aires

Weakness is a quality frequently ascribed to Latin American states. This diagnosis proves faulty since it is possible to find resistant structures inside those states that perpetuate such weaknesses. This article shows that this is the case in regards to the police force of the province of Buenos Aires. Here, I will demonstrate that the police have specialized in selling a service available to criminals and criminal organizations: illegal protection. With information taken from in-depth interviews and official documents, I will show that this protection – contrary to the views of Charles Tilly and Diego Gambetta – is characterized by a temporary suspension of the rule of law.police, protection, politics, organised crime, Buenos Aires

Prognostic value of the myocardial salvage index measured by T2-weighted and T1-weighted late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis

In all patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, risk stratification should be performed before discharge. The measurement of therapy efficiency with magnetic resonance imaging has been proposed as part of the risk assessment, but it has not been adopted widely. This meta-analysis was conducted to summarize published data on the prognostic value of the proportion of salvaged myocardium inside previously ischemic myocardium (myocardial salvage index) measured by T2-weighted and T1-weighted late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Random and mixed effects models were used for analyzing the data of 10 studies with 2,697 patients. The pooled myocardial salvage index, calculated as the proportion of non-necrotic myocardium inside edematous myocardium measured by T2-weighted and T1-weighted late gadolinium enhancement MRI, was 43.0% (95% confidence interval: 37.4, 48.6). The pooled length of follow-up was 12.3 months (95% confidence interval: 7.0, 17.6). The pooled incidence of major cardiac events during follow-up, defined as cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or admission for heart failure, was 10.6% (95% confidence interval: 5.7, 15.5). The applied mixed effects model showed an absolute decrease of 1.7% in the incidence of major cardiac events during follow-up (95% confidence interval: 1.6, 1.9) with every 1% of increase in the myocardial salvage index. The heterogeneity between studies was considerable (τ = 21.3). Analysis of aggregated follow-up data after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction suggests that the myocardial salvage index measured by T2-weighted and T1-weighted late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging provides prognostic information on the risk of major cardiac events, but considerable heterogeneity exists between studies

The Bionic Radiologist: avoiding blurry pictures and providing greater insights

Radiology images and reports have long been digitalized. However, the potential of the more than 3.6 billion radiology examinations performed annually worldwide has largely gone unused in the effort to digitally transform health care. The Bionic Radiologist is a concept that combines humanity and digitalization for better health care integration of radiology. At a practical level, this concept will achieve critical goals: (1) testing decisions being made scientifically on the basis of disease probabilities and patient preferences; (2) image analysis done consistently at any time and at any site; and (3) treatment suggestions that are closely linked to imaging results and are seamlessly integrated with other information. The Bionic Radiologist will thus help avoiding missed care opportunities, will provide continuous learning in the work process, and will also allow more time for radiologists’ primary roles: interacting with patients and referring physicians. To achieve that potential, one has to cope with many implementation barriers at both the individual and institutional levels. These include: reluctance to delegate decision making, a possible decrease in image interpretation knowledge and the perception that patient safety and trust are at stake. To facilitate implementation of the Bionic Radiologist the following will be helpful: uncertainty quantifications for suggestions, shared decision making, changes in organizational culture and leadership style, maintained expertise through continuous learning systems for training, and role development of the involved experts. With the support of the Bionic Radiologist, disparities are reduced and the delivery of care is provided in a humane and personalized fashion

Nonprofit Mergers: An Assessment of Nonprofits' Experiences with the Merger Process

An increasing number of nonprofit organizations are exploring mergers -- the process by which at least two nonprofit corporations join to form one legal entity. Yet, little is known about nonprofits' experiences with the merger process. What leads nonprofits to explore a merger and what outcomes do they expect to achieve as a result? Who within the organization is typically involved in facilitating the merger? How long do mergers take to complete, what do they cost and, above all, what are the results? Drawing on the experiences of 22 nonprofit organizations in Allegheny County that explored, attempted or completed a merger, combined with a comprehensive literature review, this report seeks to answer those questions and provide recommendations that nonprofits and funders can use to inform their conversations about the merger process

Evaluation of an Algorithm for the Automatic Detection of Salient Frequencies in Individual tracks of Multi-track Musical Recording

This paper evaluates the performance of a salient frequency detection algorithm. The algorithm calculates each FFT bin maximum as the maximum value of that bin across an audio region and identifies the FFT bin maximum peaks with the highest five deemed to be the most salient frequencies. To determine the algorithm’s efficacy test subjects were asked to identify the salient frequencies in eighteen audio tracks. These results were compared against the algorithm’s results. The algorithm was successful with electric guitars but struggled with other instruments and in detecting secondary salient frequencies. In a second experiment subjects equalised the same audio tracks using the detected peaks as fixed centre frequencies. Subjects were more satisfied than expected when using these frequencie

An investigation into the efficacy of methods commonly employed by mix engineers to reduce frequency masking in the mixing of multitrack musical recordings

Studio engineers use a variety of techniques to reduce frequency masking between instruments when mixing multi-track musical recordings. This study evaluates the efficacy of three techniques, namely mirrored equalization, frequency spectrum sharing and stereo panning, against their variations to confirm the veracity of accepted practice. Mirrored equalisation involves boosting one instrument and cutting the other at the same frequency. Frequency spectrum sharing involves low pass filtering one instrument and high pass filtering the other. Panning involves placing two competing instruments at different pan positions. Test subjects used eight tools comprising a single unlabeled slider to reduce frequency masking in several two instrument scenarios. Satisfaction values were recorded. Results indicate subjects preferred using tools that panned both audio tracks

Lipid-based nutrient supplements: how can they combat child malnutrition?

Kathryn Dewey and Mary Arimond discuss new research in PLOS Medicine that assesses the effect of blanket provision of ready-to-use supplementary food to children at high risk of malnutrition in Chad, and highlight some of the challenges of investigating the efficacy of supplementary foods for malnourished children