The New Aviation Meteorology Specialization in the Graduate Aeronautics Program at Embry-Riddle

The next 12 months will be an exciting time of growth in graduate aviation studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University\u27s Daytona Beach, FL campus. Beginning in Fall Semester 2009, a new Area of Concentration (AOC) in Aviation Meteorology will be added to the Master of Science in Aeronautics (MSA) program, and the new Doctoral program in Aviation will be starting in January 2010. The Aviation Meteorology AOC adds a crucial specialty to the existing MSA options in Air Traffic Management, Aviation/Aerospace Education Technology, Aviation/Aerospace Management, Aviation/Aerospace Operations, and Aviation/Aerospace Safety Systems. The Aviation Meteorology AOC is designed to be a cross-disciplinary program that will be very important as we enter the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) era. In order to make the transition from today\u27s operations in which critical functions such as weather and air traffic control are largely separate, to the NextGen era with its collaborative decision-making and probabilistic decision assistance tools, people are needed who can be equally conversant and comfortable across multiple functional areas—precisely the types of individuals we are aiming to produce with this program. The NextGen concepts of Weather/Air Traffic Management Integration, Weather Technology in the Cockpit, Trajectory Based Operations, and Collaborative Decision-making will require professionals trained to think outside of traditional “stove-piped” functions. The market for individuals with cross-disciplinary graduate training in both meteorology and aviation will expand as the Federal Government, industry, and academia build the NextGen system over the next 15 years. The AOC in Aviation Meteorology revolves around a four-course sequence consisting of a graduate survey course in meteorology, an advanced aviation meteorology course, a research seminar that focuses on special topics, and a choice of dual-credit 400-level courses in applied meteorology such as statistical applications. Additionally, students will have the option of a six-credit M.S. thesis, which will allow them to work alongside graduate faculty and industry partners who are doing cutting-edge research, so that a graduate from this AOC could have as many as half of his/her credits in advanced aviation meteorology by the time the program is completed. Initial response from the student body has been enthusiastic, as evidenced by an experimental graduate seminar in Weather and Air Traffic Integration this summer that drew students with backgrounds in commercial and private aviation, applied meteorology, and engineering physics

First archaeological evidence for ginger consumption as a potential medicinal ingredient in a late medieval leprosarium at St Leonard, Peterborough, England

Leprosy was one of the most outwardly visible diseases in the European Middle Ages, a period during which leprosaria were founded to provide space for the sick. The extant documentary evidence for leprosy hospitals, especially in relation to diet, therapeutic, and medical care, is limited. However, human dental calculus stands to be an important source of information as it provides insight into the substances people were exposed to and accumulated in their bodies during their lives. In the present study, microremains and DNA were analysed from the calculus of individuals buried in the late medieval cemetery of St Leonard, a leprosarium located in Peterborough, England. The results show the presence of ginger (Zingiber officinale), a culinary and medicinal ingredient, as well as evidence of consumption of cereals and legumes. This research suggests that affected individuals consumed ingredients mentioned in medieval medical textbooks that were used to treat regions of the body typically impacted by leprosy. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study which has identified Zingiber officinale in human dental calculus in England or on the wider European continent

Physiological response to reward and extinction predicts alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use two years later

Physiological responses to reward and extinction are believed to represent the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) and Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) constructs of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory and underlie externalizing behaviors, including substance use. However, little research has examined these relations directly

Physiological response to reward and extinction predicts alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use two years later

Physiological responses to reward and extinction are believed to represent the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) and Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) constructs of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory and underlie externalizing behaviors, including substance use. However, little research has examined these relations directly

Nitrative and Oxidative Stress in Toxicology and Disease

Persistent inflammation and the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species play pivotal roles in tissue injury during disease pathogenesis and as a reaction to toxicant exposures. The associated oxidative and nitrative stress promote diverse pathologic reactions including neurodegenerative disorders, atherosclerosis, chronic inflammation, cancer, and premature labor and stillbirth. These effects occur via sustained inflammation, cellular proliferation and cytotoxicity and via induction of a proangiogenic environment. For example, exposure to the ubiquitous air pollutant ozone leads to generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in lung macrophages that play a key role in subsequent tissue damage. Similarly, studies indicate that genes involved in regulating oxidative stress are altered by anesthetic treatment resulting in brain injury, most notable during development. In addition to a role in tissue injury in the brain, inflammation, and oxidative stress are implicated in Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of dopamine neurons. Recent data suggest a mechanistic link between oxidative stress and elevated levels of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde, a neurotoxin endogenous to dopamine neurons. These findings have significant implications for development of therapeutics and identification of novel biomarkers for Parkinson's disease pathogenesis. Oxidative and nitrative stress is also thought to play a role in creating the proinflammatory microenvironment associated with the aggressive phenotype of inflammatory breast cancer. An understanding of fundamental concepts of oxidative and nitrative stress can underpin a rational plan of treatment for diseases and toxicities associated with excessive production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species

Exploring the Perceptions of College Students on the Use of Technology: What Do They Really Think?

Technology is an essential component of learning in the 21st century

Oral Treatment with CuII(atsm) Increases Mutant SOD1 In Vivo but Protects Motor Neurons and Improves the Phenotype of a Transgenic Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Mutations in the metallo-protein Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in humans and an expression level-dependent phenotype in transgenic rodents. We show that oral treatment with the therapeutic agent diacetyl-bis(4-methylthiosemicarbazonato)copperII [CuII(atsm)] increased the concentration of mutant SOD1 (SOD1G37R) in ALS model mice, but paradoxically improved locomotor function and survival of the mice. To determine why the mice with increased levels of mutant SOD1 had an improved phenotype, we analyzed tissues by mass spectrometry. These analyses revealed most SOD1 in the spinal cord tissue of the SOD1G37R mice was Cu deficient. Treating with CuII(atsm) decreased the pool of Cu-deficient SOD1 and increased the pool of fully metallated (holo) SOD1. Tracking isotopically enriched 65CuII(atsm) confirmed the increase in holo-SOD1 involved transfer of Cu from CuII(atsm) to SOD1, suggesting the improved locomotor function and survival of the CuII(atsm)-treated SOD1G37R mice involved, at least in part, the ability of the compound to improve the Cu content of the mutant SOD1. This was supported by improved survival of SOD1G37R mice that expressed the human gene for the Cu uptake protein CTR1. Improving the metal content of mutant SOD1 in vivo with CuII(atsm) did not decrease levels of misfolded SOD1. These outcomes indicate the metal content of SOD1 may be a greater determinant of the toxicity of the protein in mutant SOD1-associated forms of ALS than the mutations themselves. Improving the metal content of SOD1 therefore represents a valid therapeutic strategy for treating ALS caused by SOD1

Burden of injury along the development spectrum: Associations between the socio-demographic Index and disability-adjusted life year estimates from the global burden of disease study 2017

Background: The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases replacing infectious diseases as the main contributors to disease burden has been well documented in global health literature. Less focus, however, has been given to the relationship between sociodemographic changes and injury. The aim of this study was to examine the association between disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from injury for 195 countries and territories at different levels along the development spectrum between 1990 and 2017 based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 estimates.Methods: Injury mortality was estimated using the GBD mortality database, corrections for garbage coding and CODEm-the cause of death ensemble modelling tool. Morbidity estimation was based on surveys and inpatient and outpatient data sets for 30 cause-of-injury with 47 nature-of-injury categories each. The Socio-demographic Index (SDI) is a composite indicator that includes lagged income per capita, average educational attainment over age 15 years and total fertility rate.Results: For many causes of injury, age-standardised DALY rates declined with increasing SDI, although road injury, interpersonal violence and self-harm did not follow this pattern. Particularly for self-harm opposing patterns were observed in regions with similar SDI levels. For road injuries, this effect was less pronounced.Conclusions: The overall global pattern is that of declining injury burden with increasing SDI. However, not all injuries follow this pattern, which suggests multiple underlying mechanisms influencing injury DALYs. There is a need for a detailed understanding of these patterns to help to inform national and global efforts to address injury-related health outcomes across the development spectrum

Comparison of Methods for Modeling Fractional Cover Using Simulated Satellite Hyperspectral Imager Spectra

Remotely sensed data can be used to model the fractional cover of green vegetation (GV), non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV), and soil in natural and agricultural ecosystems. NPV and soil cover are difficult to estimate accurately since absorption by lignin, cellulose, and other organic molecules cannot be resolved by broadband multispectral data. A new generation of satellite hyperspectral imagers will provide contiguous narrowband coverage, enabling new, more accurate, and potentially global fractional cover products. We used six field spectroscopy datasets collected in prior experiments from sites with partial crop, grass, shrub, and low-stature resprouting tree cover to simulate satellite hyperspectral data, including sensor noise and atmospheric correction artifacts. The combined dataset was used to compare hyperspectral index-based and spectroscopic methods for estimating GV, NPV, and soil fractional cover. GV fractional cover was estimated most accurately. NPV and soil fractions were more difficult to estimate, with spectroscopic methods like partial least squares (PLS) regression, spectral feature analysis (SFA), and multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) typically outperforming hyperspectral indices. Using an independent validation dataset, the lowest root mean squared error (RMSE) values were 0.115 for GV using either normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) or SFA, 0.164 for NPV using PLS, and 0.126 for soil using PLS. PLS also had the lowest RMSE averaged across all three cover types. This work highlights the need for more extensive and diverse fine spatial scale measurements of fractional cover, to improve methodologies for estimating cover in preparation for future hyperspectral global monitoring missions

A dual-center cohort study on the association between early deep sedation and clinical outcomes in mechanically ventilated patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: The COVID-SED study

BACKGROUND: Mechanically ventilated patients have experienced greater periods of prolonged deep sedation during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Multiple studies from the pre-COVID era demonstrate that early deep sedation is associated with worse outcome. Despite this, there is a lack of data on sedation depth and its impact on outcome for mechanically ventilated patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to characterize the emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU) sedation practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to determine if early deep sedation was associated with worse clinical outcomes. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Dual-center, retrospective cohort study conducted over 6 months (March-August, 2020), involving consecutive, mechanically ventilated adults. All sedation-related data during the first 48 h were collected. Deep sedation was defined as Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale of - 3 to - 5 or Riker Sedation-Agitation Scale of 1-3. To examine impact of early sedation depth on hospital mortality (primary outcome), we used a multivariable logistic regression model. Secondary outcomes included ventilator-, ICU-, and hospital-free days. RESULTS: 391 patients were studied, and 283 (72.4%) experienced early deep sedation. Deeply sedated patients received higher cumulative doses of fentanyl, propofol, midazolam, and ketamine when compared to light sedation. Deep sedation patients experienced fewer ventilator-, ICU-, and hospital-free days, and greater mortality (30.4% versus 11.1%) when compared to light sedation (p \u3c 0.01 for all). After adjusting for confounders, early deep sedation remained significantly associated with higher mortality (adjusted OR 3.44; 95% CI 1.65-7.17; p \u3c 0.01). These results were stable in the subgroup of patients with COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: The management of sedation for mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU has changed during the COVID pandemic. Early deep sedation is common and independently associated with worse clinical outcomes. A protocol-driven approach to sedation, targeting light sedation as early as possible, should continue to remain the default approach