Prognostic variables and scores identifying the last year of life in COPD: a systematic review protocol

Introduction People living with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) suffer from significant morbidity, reduced quality of life and high mortality, and are likely to benefit from many aspects of a palliative care approach. Prognostic estimates are a meaningful part of decision-making and better evidence for such estimates would facilitate advance care planning. We aim to provide quality evidence on known prognostic variables and scores which predict a prognosis in COPD of <12 months for use in the community. Methods and analysis We will conduct a systematic review of randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials, prospective and retrospective longitudinal cohort and case–control studies on prognostic variables, multivariate scores or models for COPD. The search will cover the period up to April 2016. Study selection will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, with data extraction using fields from the Critical Appraisal and Data Extraction for Systematic Reviews of Prediction Modelling Studies (CHARMS) checklist for multivariate models, and study quality will be assessed using a modified version of the Quality In Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool. Ethics and dissemination The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and national and international conference presentations

Comparison of sulfuric and oxalic acid anodizing for preparation of thermal control coatings for spacecraft

The development of thermal control surfaces, which maintain stable solar absorptivity and infrared emissivity over long periods, is challenging due to severe conditions in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Some candidate coatings are second-surface silver-coated Teflon; second-surface, silvered optical solar reflectors made of glass or quartz; and anodized aluminum. Sulfuric acid anodized and oxalic acid anodized aluminum was evaluated under simulated LEO conditions. Oxalic acid anodizing shows promise of greater stability in LEO over long missions, such as the 30 years planned for the Space Station. However, sulfuric acid anodizing shows lower solar absorptivity

Representation theory of partial relation extensions

Let C be a finite dimensional algebra of global dimension at most two. A partial relation extension is any trivial extension of C by a direct summand of its relation C-C-bimodule. When C is a tilted algebra, this construction provides an intermediate class of algebras between tilted and cluster tilted algebras. The text investigates the representation theory of partial relation extensions. When C is tilted, any complete slice in the Auslander-Reiten quiver of C embeds as a local slice in the Auslander-Reiten quiver of the partial relation extension; Moreover, a systematic way of producing partial relation extensions is introduced by considering direct sum decompositions of the potential arising from a minimal system of relations of C

Diurnal Oviposition of Blow Flies in Different Aged Carrion

Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are among the first insects to oviposit (lay eggs) on carrion. The timing of blow fly oviposition is critical for determining a postmortem interval (PMI) estimation, which is the time that has passed between death and corpse discovery. The objective of this investigation is to gain more information about the timing of blow fly oviposition in relation to sunrise. Past research in our lab has shown that blow fly oviposition occurs an average of 4.75 hours after sunrise. This year’s research expanded on previous studies by placing six piglets of different ages, in a remote, wooded area one hour after sunrise. To see if there was a difference in the timing of oviposition related to the age of the carrion, three of the piglets had been thawed for 15 hours (new pigs), and the other three had been thawed for approximately 55 hours (old pigs). The piglets were checked once an hour until oviposition occurred, and it was recorded whether flies and eggs were present each hour. Egg masses were collected and reared to the third larval instar stage for identification using taxonomic keys. The timing of oviposition, in hours after sunrise, was compared between treatments and there was no significant difference found (P=.441). The research was repeated five times in the fall of 2017. The most common flies found ovipositing were Diptera: Calliphoridae, Phormia regina (Meigen) and Diptera: Calliphoridae, Lucilia coeruleiviridis (Macquart). This research has importance in both the scientific and forensic communities, as a more accurate PMI can strengthen the validity of a forensic investigation

Creating Wealth from Waste: Resource Use Efficiency in Climate-Smart Agriculture

This brief provides an assessment of the economic and ecological benefits associated with vermiculture as a climate-smart practice. Using data from interviews with farmers in My Loi, Vietnam, this article highlights the productivity and adaptation benefits which can result from vermiculture practice. An economic analysis showcases significant anticipated returns for farmers in the initial year of vermiculture establishment. This assessment evaluates initial labor and materials, maintenance, system inputs, worm sales, and worms as a supplemental protein source for poultry. Qualitative metrics are also included for soil and productivity, with vermiculture linked to improvements in crop health, soil fertility and moisture levels. Because the initial investment and space requirements are minimal, vermiculture is ideal for broader adoption in diverse farm systems

Chemical sensitivity to the ratio of the cosmic-ray ionization rates of He and H2 in dense clouds

Aim: To determine whether or not gas-phase chemical models with homogeneous and time-independent physical conditions explain the many observed molecular abundances in astrophysical sources, it is crucial to estimate the uncertainties in the calculated abundances and compare them with the observed abundances and their uncertainties. Non linear amplification of the error and bifurcation may limit the applicability of chemical models. Here we study such effects on dense cloud chemistry. Method: Using a previously studied approach to uncertainties based on the representation of rate coefficient errors as log normal distributions, we attempted to apply our approach using as input a variety of different elemental abundances from those studied previously. In this approach, all rate coefficients are varied randomly within their log normal (Gaussian) distribution, and the time-dependent chemistry calculated anew many times so as to obtain good statistics for the uncertainties in the calculated abundances. Results: Starting with so-called ``high-metal'' elemental abundances, we found bimodal rather than Gaussian like distributions for the abundances of many species and traced these strange distributions to an extreme sensitivity of the system to changes in the ratio of the cosmic ray ionization rate zeta\_He for He and that for molecular hydrogen zeta\_H2. The sensitivity can be so extreme as to cause a region of bistability, which was subsequently found to be more extensive for another choice of elemental abundances. To the best of our knowledge, the bistable solutions found in this way are the same as found previously by other authors, but it is best to think of the ratio zeta\_He/zeta\_H2 as a control parameter perpendicular to the ''standard'' control parameter zeta/n\_H.Comment: Accepted for publicatio