Freedom

Non-fiction by Richard Clutte

Total stem and merchantable volume equations of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) growing on former farmland in Sweden

An equation was constructed to estimate the stem volume of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) in 145 stands growing on former farmland in Sweden (Latitude 56-63 degrees N). The mean total age was 40 +/- 13 (range 17-91) years, the mean diameter at breast height (ob) was 15 +/- 4 (range 5-27) cm and the mean density was 1621 +/- 902 (range 100-7600) stems ha(-1). The equation which fits the data best used the diameter at breast height and total stem height as predictive variables. Merchantable volume equations for the estimation of commercial volume for any top diameter and bole length were developed. Soil types in the stands were sediments (coarse sand, fine sand and silt and heavy, medium and light clay), tills (sandy, fine sandy and silty) and peat. The standing volume was calculated; the mean was 253 +/- 103 (range 26-507) m(3) ha(-1) with a MAI (mean annual increment) of 6.9 +/- 3.5 (range 1.3-16.7) m(3) ha(-1) year(-1). There were statistically significant differences between MAI and coarse sand, sand and silt, light clay, peat and silty till soils. Spruce stands growing on silty tills had the lowest MAI (4.94 +/- 2.27 m(3) ha(-1) year(-1)) and light clay, fine sand and silt and peat the highest (7.62 +/- 4.24, 7.46 +/- 3.33 and 8.67 +/- 2.83 m(3) ha(-1) year(-1))

Bastard Brand Civility

This investigation springs from a simultaneous interest in two parallel trends int he contemporary city: 1. The loss of the primacy of architectural and urban form in lieu of economic, market driven understandings of the city... 2. The related necessity of the city to adapt to this move towards the economic, and subsequently market itself as a commodity attractive to the consumer... My contention, instead, is that we must embrace market forces and sell the city as a spectacle

The therapeutic potential of the filarial nematode-derived immunodulator, ES-62 in inflammatory disease

The dramatic recent rise in the incidence of allergic or autoimmune inflammatory diseases in the West has been proposed to reflect the lack of appropriate priming of the immune response by infectious agents such as parasitic worms during childhood. Consistent with this, there is increasing evidence supporting an inverse relationship between worm infection and T helper type 1/17 (Th1/17)-based inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Perhaps more surprisingly, given that such worms often induce strong Th2-type immune responses, there also appears to be an inverse correlation between parasite load and atopy. These findings therefore suggest that the co-evolution of helminths with hosts, which has resulted in the ability of worms to modulate inflammatory responses to promote parasite survival, has also produced the benefit of protecting the host from pathological lesions arising from aggressive proinflammatory responses to infection or, indeed, aberrant inflammatory responses underlying autoimmune and allergic disorders. By focusing upon the properties of the filarial nematode-derived immunomodulatory molecule, ES-62, in this review we shall discuss the potential of exploiting the immunomodulatory products of parasitic worms to identify and develop novel therapeutics for inflammation

Search for VH and Technicolor Production in the qqbb Final State Using the RunII D0 Detector

A search for dijet resonance production in a four-jet all-hadronic final state from the DO detector at Fermilab's Tevatron is presented. The data set, acquired at a ppbar center-of-mass energy of sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV, contains primarily multijet events and represents approximately 1 fb-1 of data. The cross section limits for associated Higgs production and Technicolor processes are determined through a background subtraction method using data to estimate the background. This four-jet channel is potentially very powerful, but is extremely challenging due to the large multijet background from QCD processes. Background rejection is performed by utilizing b-tagging, pre-selection cuts, a multi-variate boosted decision tree discriminant, and the correlated information contained in the M(bb) and M(jj) dijet invariant masses. The search for VH (WH+ZH) processes yields a 95% confidence level observed upper limit of 20.4 pb on the VH cross section for a Higgs mass of 115 GeV/c2. Additionally, a 95% confidence level observed upper limit of 16.7 pb was set for a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV/c2 and 24.6 pb was set for a Higgs boson mass of 135 GeV/c2. The same data set was used to place limits on the Technicolor process ρTC→ WπTC where the technirho mass was fixed to 240 GeV/c2. For a technipion mass of 115 GeV/c2 we find a 95% confidence level observed upper limit on the cross section of 49 pb. The technipion masses of 125 GeV/c2 and 140 GeV/c2, the 95% confidence level observed upper limits are 57 pb and 71 pb, respectively

The effects of an educational intervention on nurse -physician collaboration and compliance rates with quality indicators for cardiac patients in critical care settings

Purpose. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of an educational intervention on knowledge, nurse-perceived nurse-physician collaboration, and compliance with quality indicators and to assess the relationship between collaboration and compliance. This study also investigated the difference in collaboration and knowledge between and within nurses from intensive care (ICU) and intermediate care (IMCU) settings.;Research questions. Six research questions guided this study. The questions compared knowledge, collaboration scores, and compliance with quality indicators between and within intermediate and intensive care unit nurses before and after an educational intervention. Questions also addressed the relationship between collaboration scores and compliance with discharge quality indicators.;Background. Nurses have knowledge of individual patients\u27 acceptance of and reaction to health concerns. Nurses are also the central point of coordination for the interdisciplinary care team. Collaboration between nurses and physicians provides a process for discipline-specific information to be shared and team members to work together for better patient outcomes. Episodes of less than optimal collaboration between healthcare professionals lead to miscommunication and medical errors.;Method. A pretest-posttest design was used with a convenience sample of 88 registered nurses from critical care settings. Knowledge was measured by a criterion-based, investigator-developed test. Collaboration was measured using the Collaboration and Satisfaction about Care Decisions instrument. Compliance with quality indicators was determined by comparing the number of met versus expected indicators. Major limitations were a non-representative convenience sample, use of self-report instruments, assumption of complete and accurate documentation, and low power for some analyses.;Conclusions. The educational intervention was effective in improving knowledge about collaboration as well as expected quality outcomes for cardiac patients among critical care nurses. The increased knowledge resulted in improved perceptions of collaboration by IMCU nurses but not ICU nurses. This increased knowledge did not result in improved compliance with discharge quality indicators in either group of nurses. There was no relationship identified between collaboration and compliance rates.;Significance. Improvements in perceived collaboration between healthcare providers may lead to fewer episodes of miscommunication and medical errors. Participation in an educational intervention can improve perceptions of collaboration. This information may be beneficial to nurse educators as they individualize education for critical care nurses

Me and pa in Florida.

Humorous travelogue written in dialect describing a trip through Florida from Jacksonville to Key West.https://stars.library.ucf.edu/floridaheritage/1128/thumbnail.jp

Improving the Care of Infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome by Implementing Rooming In

Background: Opioid use and drug abuse has led to an increase in fetal exposure to illicit drugs in the United States, putting these infants at risk for developing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Parental involvement in the care of these infants during their hospitalization has become an essential part of the treatment process Purpose: The purpose of this project is to implement rooming in for infants with in utero exposure to opioids as a quality improvement practice change. Methods: A literature search relating to improving the care of infants with NAS was conducted. Educational handouts were provided to staff regarding the practice change, and to the parents that described NAS and the process of rooming in. Rooming in was then initiated and data was collected relating to hospital length of stay (LOS), pharmacologic treatment, and breastfeeding. Feedback for this practice change was conducted with a staff survey. Results: Data was collected on 19 infants over a 90-day period. This data was compared to hospital averages previously collected. LOS decreased from an average of 14.4 days in the comparison group to 6.11 days in the study group (P= 0.0004). Pharmacological utilization to treat infants with NAS, decreased from 62% in the comparison group to 5.3% in the study group (P \u3c 0.0001). Breastfeeding rates at discharge increased from 14.1% in the comparison group to 26.3% in the study group (P =0.1891). Discussion: The change in LOS and pharmacological treatment was found to be statistically and clinically significant. It is predicted that LOS and use of pharmacological treatment will continue at this current trend if rooming in continues. Breast feeding rates were found to be clinically but not statistically significant

Chemotherapy disrupts bone marrow stromal cell function

A variety of bone marrow microenvironment derived signals influence steady state hematopoiesis as well as hematopoietic recovery following bone marrow transplantation. Bone marrow stromal cells found in this unique anatomical niche influence hematopoiesis, in pail, through production of soluble cytokines and chemokines. Developmental signals are also initiated by physical interaction of hematopoietic progenitor cells with stromal cells which are mediated by binding of their integrins to receptors on the stromal cell surface. Finally, the extracellular matrix, including many components produced by stromal cells, provides structure as well as a scaffold on which hematopoietic growth factors can be concentrated and stabilized in the marrow. Efficient hematopoietic recovery following transplantation of stem or immature progenitor cells requires sustained function of these components of the bone marrow during dose escalated chemotherapy.;In the current study we investigated the effects of the chemotherapeutic agent etoposide (VP-16) on bone marrow stromal cell function. We have previously demonstrated that stromal cells chronically exposed to VP-16 display diminished extra-cellular levels of SDF-1 resulting in disrupted support of pro-B cell chemotaxis. We have also determined that bone marrow stromal cell MMP-2 protein is diminished following exposure to VP-16. Regulation of MMP-2 is required for release of SDF-1 from stromal cell surfaces and ultimately required for optimal support of chemotaxis. Additionally, VP-16 treatment results in alterations of pathways that regulate protein translation, consistent with diminished translation of MAP-2 protein in treated stromal cells. We also determined that following acute VP-16 exposure, MMP-2 activation was transiently increased. Increased MMP-2 activity resulted in activation of TGF-beta, which resulted in diminished stromal cell support of pro-B cell adhesion and survival. Collectively, these data contribute to our understanding of the global impact of chemotherapy on the bone marrow microenvironment