Data-informed recommendations for fixed-route public transit in the Greater Susquehanna Valley

Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way (GSVUW) aims to propose a fixed-route bus system across a mostly rural five-county region (Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union counties) in Central Pennsylvania to be operated by River Valley Transit (RVT). Regional needs assessments demonstrate a critical lack of public transit, the implementation of which can increase access to medical care and facilitate workforce development. With input from GSVUW and other stakeholders, this paper aims to provide data-informed recommendations for a bus route, bus stops, and time tables that optimize potential ridership and accessibility. Data from the American Community Survey, a United States Census household survey, and from Rabbit Transit, a local ride request service, are employed to quantify and visualize the distribution of potential demand for public transit within the region. Recommendations produced by such analyses will be used by GSVUW to apply for a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation feasibility grant to pilot the fixed-route bus system. This project was completed in a Solving Industrial Problems course at Bucknell University in conjunction with the PIC Math program. PIC Math is a program of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). Support is provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF grant DMS-1722275). Work was done in collaboration with GSVUW, RVT, and SEDA-COG under the supervision of Professor Nathan Ryan and GIS Specialist Janine Glathar

Post-intervention Status in Patients With Refractory Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab During REGAIN and Its Open-Label Extension

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether eculizumab helps patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) achieve the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) post-intervention status of minimal manifestations (MM), we assessed patients' status throughout REGAIN (Safety and Efficacy of Eculizumab in AChR+ Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis) and its open-label extension. METHODS: Patients who completed the REGAIN randomized controlled trial and continued into the open-label extension were included in this tertiary endpoint analysis. Patients were assessed for the MGFA post-intervention status of improved, unchanged, worse, MM, and pharmacologic remission at defined time points during REGAIN and through week 130 of the open-label study. RESULTS: A total of 117 patients completed REGAIN and continued into the open-label study (eculizumab/eculizumab: 56; placebo/eculizumab: 61). At week 26 of REGAIN, more eculizumab-treated patients than placebo-treated patients achieved a status of improved (60.7% vs 41.7%) or MM (25.0% vs 13.3%; common OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1-4.5). After 130 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 88.0% of patients achieved improved status and 57.3% of patients achieved MM status. The safety profile of eculizumab was consistent with its known profile and no new safety signals were detected. CONCLUSION: Eculizumab led to rapid and sustained achievement of MM in patients with AChR+ refractory gMG. These findings support the use of eculizumab in this previously difficult-to-treat patient population. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: REGAIN, NCT01997229; REGAIN open-label extension, NCT02301624. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that, after 26 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 25.0% of adults with AChR+ refractory gMG achieved MM, compared with 13.3% who received placebo

Minimal Symptom Expression' in Patients With Acetylcholine Receptor Antibody-Positive Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab

The efficacy and tolerability of eculizumab were assessed in REGAIN, a 26-week, phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), and its open-label extension

The Behavioral Cost of Care: Changes in Maintenance Behavior during Equine-Assisted Interventions

This study examined human–animal symbiosis in an animal-assisted intervention through observations of animal maintenance behaviors. The rise of psychotherapy, learning, and recreation incorporating animals warrants exploration of the welfare of the animals involved in these interventions. The analysis of welfare in multispecies engagements can be discussed in terms of symbiosis. Regarding an intervention’s animal provider (e.g., therapy horse) and human recipient (psychotherapy client), the balance of cost and benefit is important. Research describing human and animal interactive behavior during interventions is limited, whether focusing on client outcomes or animal welfare. The present study adapted ethological methods to study humans and animals in an equine-assisted intervention, observing equine maintenance behaviors and equid–human interactive behavior. Maintenance behaviors were recorded before, during, and after equine-assisted (psychosocial) learning sessions with youth, providing 1600 observations. Equine alertness, eating behavior, and ambulation varied significantly before, during, and after the equine-assisted sessions. Such interruptions of typical behavior are an important aspect of welfare and unit of analysis when examining symbiotic relationships. A total of 267 sequences of equid–human approach–response behavior were also recorded, indicating that human–animal interaction was predominantly from humans toward equids. Equids’ dominant response to human approach was no response, followed by avoidance, while humans’ dominant response to equid approach was reciprocation. The findings are discussed in terms of symbiosis and animal welfare

Tunable Structural and Mechanical Properties of Cellulose Nanofiber Substrates in Aqueous Conditions for Stem Cell Culture

Thin cellulose nanofiber (CNF) nanostructured substrates with varying roughness, stiffness (Young’s modulus), porosity, and swelling properties were produced by varying the conditions used during fabrication. It was shown that with increased heat exposure, CNF substrate porosity in an aqueous state decreased while Young’s modulus in a water submerged state increased. In this study, the adhesion and viability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cultured on this CNF substrate will be presented. Viability of D1/BALBc MSCs were assessed for 24 and 48 h, and it was shown that depending on the CNF substrate the viability varied significantly. The adhesion of MSCs after 6 and 24 h was conditional on material mechanical properties and porosity of the CNF in cell culture conditions. These results suggest that material properties of CNF nanostructured substrate within the aqueous state can be easily tuned with curing step without any chemical modification to the CNF and that these changes can affect MSC viability in cell culture

RECOVER: The Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (MLA poster)

The Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER) is a large scale project to create CPR and first aid guidelines for the veterinary profession (https://veccs.org/recover-cpr/). The content on this site pertains to the search strategy performed by information specialists for this project

RECOVER (The REassessment Campaign On VEterinary Resuscitation) Worksheets and Search Strategies 2019-2022

Welcome to the repository of search strategies for the RECOVER project. The RECOVER project is an evidence-based approach to creating veterinary CPR guidelines which involves veterinarians, veterinary technicians and information specialists from around the world. Inside there are the original worksheets from the original [RECOVER project][1] in 2012, A Prisma-S template for the RECOVER search strategy ([based on version 1.0 from June 2019][2]), a workflow for the search strategy development, [PRESS][3] form checklist template and the search strategies developed for at least all the priority one questions in each domain