Computer program for calculation of oxygen uptake

A description and operational precedures are presented for a computer program, written in Super Basic, that calculates oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide production, and related ventilation parameters. Program features include: (1) the option of entering slope and intercept values of calibration curves for the O2 and CO2 and analyzers; (2) calculation of expired water vapor pressure; and (3) the option of entering inspured O2 and CO2 concentrations. The program is easily adaptable for programmable laboratory calculators

Light airplane crash tests at three roll angles

Three similar twin engine general aviation airplanes were crash tested at the Langley impact dynamics research facility at 27 m/sec and at nominal roll angles of 0 deg, -15 deg, and -30 deg. Other flight parameters were held constant. The test facility, instrumentation, test specimens, and test method are briefly described. Structural damage and accelerometer data for each of the three impact conditions are presented and discussed

Light airplane crash tests at three flight-path angles

Three similar twin engine general aviation airplane specimens were crash tested at Langley impact dynamics research facility at 27 m/sec and at flight-path angles of -15 deg, -30 deg, and -45 deg. Other flight parameters were held constant. The test facility, instrumentation, test specimens, and test method are briefly described. Structural damage and accelerometer data for each of the three impact conditions are presented and discussed

Intra-household differentials in women's status : household function and focus as determinants of children's illness management and care in rural Mali

In West Africa, health-seeking behaviour can be better understood by assessing how women differ from each other, rather than how they differ from men, in terms of their socioeconomic and political power within the domestic environment. Anthropological and demographic data were collected among rural Malian Fulani and Dogon populations who possess similar health beliefs and who live in the same ecological area. However, real differences between the two ethnic groups were reflected in variations in maternal status defined according to women’s support and/or autonomy in their households. When a child becomes sick, status obligations result in limited degrees of co-operation between marital female relatives. By contrast, on a day-to-day basis such assistance is rarely forthcoming and women rely on their own unmarried daughters or on external kin networks for surrogate child care. It is concluded that variations in health behaviour and mortality outcomes within these populations reflect not simply ‘ethnic’ differences in beliefs or culture, but rather real differences in mothers’ social positions within their family environments and in their access to household resources for children’s treatment and care

Crash tests of three identical low-wing single-engine airplane

Three identical four place, low wing single engine airplane specimens with nominal masses of 1043 kg were crash tested under controlled free flight conditions. The tests were conducted at the same nominal velocity of 25 m/sec along the flight path. Two airplanes were crashed on a concrete surface (at 10 and 30 deg pitch angles), and one was crashed on soil (at a -30 deg pitch angle). The three tests revealed that the specimen in the -30 deg test on soil sustained massive structural damage in the engine compartment and fire wall. Also, the highest longitudinal cabin floor accelerations occurred in this test. Severe damage, but of lesser magnitude, occurred in the -30 deg test on concrete. The highest normal cabin floor accelerations occurred in this test. The least structural damage and lowest accelerations occurred in the 10 deg test on concrete

Body water compartments during bed rest: Evaluation of analytical methods

Nine healthy young men were studied to determine the reproducibility and interchangeability of the use of radio-iodinated human serum albumin and Evans Blue dye for estimating plasma volume, sodium bromide for extracellular fluid volume, and deuterium oxide for total body water volume. All subjects were tested in a semibasal condition and allowed to rest for at least 30 min. after arriving at the laboratory. The results indicate that there was uniform distribution of I131 and Evans Blue dye 10 min. after injection and of NaBr and D2O 3 hours after oral ingestion; the buildup of residual tracer did not interfere appreciably with the measurement of either or Evans Blue spaces when they are administered at equal intervals, and the buildup of background tracer after ingestion of NaBr and D2O once per week for three consecutive weeks did not affect the accuracy of the measurement. It was found that I131 and Evans Blue may be used interchangeably for estimating plasma volume; for estimating bromide and D2O spaces, one 3-hour equilibrium blood sample gives results similar to the extrapolation of multiple samples

Character, distribution, and ecological significance of storm wave-induced scour in Rhode Island Sound, USA

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Geo-Marine Letters 35 (2015): 135-144, doi:10.1007/s00367-014-0392-0.Multibeam bathymetry, collected during NOAA hydrographic surveys in 2008 and 2009, is coupled with USGS data from sampling and photographic stations to map the seabed morphology and composition of Rhode Island Sound along the US Atlantic coast, and to provide information on sediment transport and benthic habitats. Patchworks of scour depressions cover large areas on seaward-facing slopes and bathymetric highs in the sound. These depressions average 0.5–0.8 m deep and occur in water depths reaching as much as 42 m. They have relatively steep well-defined sides and coarser-grained floors, and vary strongly in shape, size, and configuration. Some individual scour depressions have apparently expanded to combine with adjacent depressions, forming larger eroded areas that commonly contain outliers of the original seafloor sediments. Where cobbles and scattered boulders are present on the depression floors, the muddy Holocene sands have been completely removed and the winnowed relict Pleistocene deposits exposed. Low tidal-current velocities and the lack of obstacle marks suggest that bidirectional tidal currents alone are not capable of forming these features. These depressions are formed and maintained under high-energy shelf conditions owing to repetitive cyclic loading imposed by high-amplitude, long-period, storm-driven waves that reduce the effective shear strength of the sediment, cause resuspension, and expose the suspended sediments to erosion by wind-driven and tidal currents. Because epifauna dominate on gravel floors of the depressions and infauna are prevalent in the finer-grained Holocene deposits, it is concluded that the resultant close juxtaposition of silty sand-, sand-, and gravel-dependent communities promotes regional faunal complexity. These findings expand on earlier interpretations, documenting how storm wave-induced scour produces sorted bedforms that control much of the benthic geologic and biologic diversity in Rhode Island Sound.This work was supported by the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Atlantic Hydrographic Branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

MEDICATION USE AND FALLS IN OLDER ADULTS: A PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGIC APPROACH

More than one-third of community-dwelling older adults fall each year. Falling is classified as a geriatric syndrome which has multiple contributing factors and an interaction between chronic predisposing diseases and impairments and acute precipitating insults. One potentially modifiable risk factor is medication use. While previous research has been conducted on medication-related falls, there are several gaps remaining in the literature, including the lack evidence on dose-response relationships across wide ranges of medication classes and falls as well as the frequent inability to address confounding by indication. Therefore, the overall purpose of this project was to determine—in a large, representative sample of community-dwelling older adults—associations between antihypertensive, anticholinergic, and antidepressant use and recurrent falls. First, we found no increased risk of recurrent falls in antihypertensive users compared to non-users, or those taking higher doses or for longer durations. Only those using a loop diuretic were found to have a modest increased risk of recurrent falls. In conclusion, antihypertensive use overall was not associated with recurrent falls after adjusting for important confounders. Loop diuretic use may be associated with recurrent falls and needs further study. Second, we found no statistically significant increased risk of recurrent falls in anticholinergic users, or those taking higher doses or for longer durations. In conclusion, increased point estimates suggest an association of anticholinergic use with recurrent falls, but the associations did not reach statistical significance. Future studies are needed to examine other measures of anticholinergic burden, and their associations with other outcomes such as cognitive function. Third, we found a statistically significant increased risk of recurrent falls in antidepressant users. An increased risk was also seen among those taking SSRIs, those with short duration of use, and those taking moderate doses. Among those with a history of falls/fracture at baseline, we found an increase in risk for any antidepressant use, but no increased risk was found in those without a history of falls/fracture. Taken together, the findings from this proposal will provide clinicians and researchers with clinically-relevant information on potential harmful outcomes associated with chronic medication therapy among older adults

In-flight absolute radiometric calibration of the thematic mapper

In order to determine temporal changes of the absolute radiometric calibration of the entire TM system in flight spectroradiometric measurements of the ground and the atmosphere were made simultaneously with TM image collections over the White Sands, New Mexico area. By entering the measured values in an atmospheric radiative transfer program, the radiance levels in four of the spectral bands of the TM were determined, band 1:0.45 to 0.52 micrometers, band 2:0.53 to 0.61 micrometers band 3:0.62 to 0.70 micrometers and 4:0.78 to 0.91 micrometers. These levels were compared to the output digital counts from the detectors that sampled the radiometrically measured ground area, thus providing an absolute radiometric calibration of the entire TM system utilizing those detectors