UA3/3/1 Analysis of the Demand for Married Student Housing at WKU, 1966-1967

The purpose of this study is to bring forth relevant information needed to determine the feasibility of an investment project for a married student housing complex on the campus of Western Kentucky University. Only the demand side of the market is analyzed; a potential investor will have the construction and land costs for such an enterprise at his disposal. With the information presented in this study it is hoped that a decision to construct a housing complex will be forthcoming. The study group attempted to present information that will allow a potential investor to make an intelligent decision as to the profitability of the investment. It is hoped that the critical questions concerning the investment have been answered by this study. The time period in which the study was carried out was January, 1967 to June, 1967, i.e., the second semester of the 1966-67 school year. The information presented was obtained from a single sample of the married population. Seventy married family units (8.4 percent of the population) were stratified according to class standing (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, and Graduate) and then picked randomly within the class stratifications. A more desirable method would have been a sequential sampling method, but the time and expense of the method did not allow its use. Future studies can be carried out in order to substantiate the data presented at this time. The estimated size of the investment would seem to warrant at least one more comprehensive examination of the market in order that a more exact market character can be determined. The study group contacted state institutions that have married housing units in order to see if any useful information could be obtained from their experience in the determination of market character and size of their married students. None of the schools contacted had conducted a market study prior to the construction of such a housing unit. Discovering this factor did not disturb the study group. It was assumed that the market character at the various educational institutions would be significantly different with reference to income, rent, family size, etc., that no useful comparison could be made. The reason for this assumption rests on the fact that the educational institutions differ in such things as type and size of the graduate program and community size and industrial development. These factors have a direct influence on the family unit\u27s income, numbers, and the rate of growth of the married student body. The purpose of contacting the various institutions was to examine the methodology used in the study of the market for married student housing

Antibiotic use and stewardship indicators in the first- and 2 second-level hospitals in Zambia : findings and implications 3 for the future

There are increasing concerns with growing rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across Africa including Zambia, enhanced by inappropriate utilization of antibiotics across the sectors. There is a need in hospitals to document current prescribing patterns via point prevalence surveys (PPS) alongside recognized indicators to improve future use. The findings can subsequently be used to develop and instigate appropriate antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) to improve the quality of future antimicrobial prescribing across Zambia. This includes encouraging the pre-scribing of 'Access' over 'Watch' and 'Reserve’ antibiotics where pertinent. Methods: A PPS was undertaken using the WHO methodology among ten first- and second-level public hospitals across the ten provinces of Zambia. A sampling process was used to select the hospitals. Results: The prevalence of antibiotic use among the in-patients was 307/520 (59.0%), with a high rate of empiric prescribing of ceftriaxone at 36.1% of all antibiotics prescribed (193/534). The reason for antibiotic use was recorded in only 15.7% of occasions and directed treatment prescribed in only 3.0% of occasions. Compliance with national Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) was also low at only 27.0% of occasions. Conclusion: High empiric prescribing, limited documentation of the rationale behind antibiotic prescribing, high use of ‘Watch’ antibiotics, and limited compliance to STGs among surveyed hospitals require the urgent instigation of ASPs across Zambia to improve future prescribing

On the abundance of non-cometary HCN on Jupiter

Using one-dimensional thermochemical/photochemical kinetics and transport models, we examine the chemistry of nitrogen-bearing species in the Jovian troposphere in an attempt to explain the low observational upper limit for HCN. We track the dominant mechanisms for interconversion of N2-NH3 and HCN-NH3 in the deep, hightemperature troposphere and predict the rate-limiting step for the quenching of HCN at cooler tropospheric altitudes. Consistent with other investigations that were based solely on time-scale arguments, our models suggest that transport-induced quenching of thermochemically derived HCN leads to very small predicted mole fractions of hydrogen cyanide in Jupiter's upper troposphere. By the same token, photochemical production of HCN is ineffective in Jupiter's troposphere: CH4-NH3 coupling is inhibited by the physical separation of the CH4 photolysis region in the upper stratosphere from the NH3 photolysis and condensation region in the troposphere, and C2H2-NH3 coupling is inhibited by the low tropospheric abundance of C2H2. The upper limits from infrared and submillimeter observations can be used to place constraints on the production of HCN and other species from lightning and thundershock sources.Comment: 56 pages, 0 tables, 6 figures. Submitted to Faraday Discussions [in press

Annotation of the Drosophila melanogaster euchromatic genome: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The recent completion of the Drosophila melanogaster genomic sequence to high quality and the availability of a greatly expanded set of Drosophila cDNA sequences, aligning to 78% of the predicted euchromatic genes, afforded FlyBase the opportunity to significantly improve genomic annotations. We made the annotation process more rigorous by inspecting each gene visually, utilizing a comprehensive set of curation rules, requiring traceable evidence for each gene model, and comparing each predicted peptide to SWISS-PROT and TrEMBL sequences. RESULTS: Although the number of predicted protein-coding genes in Drosophila remains essentially unchanged, the revised annotation significantly improves gene models, resulting in structural changes to 85% of the transcripts and 45% of the predicted proteins. We annotated transposable elements and non-protein-coding RNAs as new features, and extended the annotation of untranslated (UTR) sequences and alternative transcripts to include more than 70% and 20% of genes, respectively. Finally, cDNA sequence provided evidence for dicistronic transcripts, neighboring genes with overlapping UTRs on the same DNA sequence strand, alternatively spliced genes that encode distinct, non-overlapping peptides, and numerous nested genes. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of so many unusual gene models not only suggests that some mechanisms for gene regulation are more prevalent than previously believed, but also underscores the complex challenges of eukaryotic gene prediction. At present, experimental data and human curation remain essential to generate high-quality genome annotations

The effect of a curriculum-based physical activity intervention on accelerometer-assessed physical activity in schoolchildren: a non-randomised mixed methods controlled before-and-after study

Classroom-based physical activity (PA) interventions offer the opportunity to increase PA without disrupting the curriculum. We aimed to explore the feasibility and potential effectiveness of a classroom-based intervention on moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and total PA. The secondary aim was to assess the acceptability and sustainability of the intervention. In a mixed-methods, non-randomised, exploratory controlled before-and-after study, 152 children (10 ± 0.7 years) were recruited from five schools; two intervention (n = 72) and three control (n = 80) schools. School teachers delivered an 8-week classroom-based intervention, comprising of 10 minutes daily MVPA integrated into the curriculum. The control schools maintained their usual school routine. Mean daily MVPA (min), total PA (mean cpm), physical fitness, and health-related quality of life measurements were taken at baseline, end of intervention, and 4-weeks post-intervention (follow-up). Data were analysed using a constrained baseline longitudinal analysis model accounting for the hierarchical data structure. For the primary outcomes (MVPA and total PA) the posterior mean difference and 95% compatibility interval were derived using a semi-Bayesian approach with an explicit prior. The acceptability and sustainability of the intervention was explored via thematic content analysis of focus group discussions with teachers (n = 5) and children (n = 50). The difference in mean daily MVPA (intervention-control) was 2.8 (-12.5 to 18.0) min/day at 8 weeks and 7.0 (-8.8 to 22.8) min/day at follow-up. For total PA, the differences were -2 (-127 to 124) cpm at 8-weeks and 11 (-121 to 143) cpm at follow-up. The interval estimates indicate that meaningful mean effects (both positive and negative) as well as trivial effects are reasonably compatible with the data and design. The intervention was received positively with continuation reported by the teachers and children. Classroom-based PA could hold promise for increasing average daily MVPA, but a large cluster randomised controlled trial is required

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome