Playing for an Active Community: Sports Participation and Civic Engagement

Research on civic engagement in associations posits benefits at various levels in society. Critical perspective holds that sports may alternately teach positive social behaviors while reinforcing discriminatory stereotypes in its participants. The research question becomes, does participation in youth sports actually lead to civic engagement later in life? Using a longitudinal data set, I find that after controlling for other factors, there still is an indirect positive correlation between team sports participation and volunteering as a young adult. Analysis indicates that sports participation as an adolescent significantly accounts for sports participation as a young adult which in turn, influences volunteering

Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology: Cosmic Laboratories for New Physics (Summary of the Snowmass 2001 P4 Working Group)

The past few years have seen dramatic breakthroughs and spectacular and puzzling discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology. In many cases, the new observations can only be explained with the introduction of new fundamental physics. Here we summarize some of these recent advances. We then describe several problem in astrophysics and cosmology, ripe for major advances, whose resolution will likely require new physics.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figure

Letter from the Ritz-Carlton to Robert Goelet

https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/goelet-personal-expenses/1232/thumbnail.jp

A simple reactive-transport model of calcite precipitation in soils and other porous media

Calcite formation in soils and other porous media generally occurs around a localised source of reactants, such as a plant root or soil macro-pore, and the rate depends on the transport of reactants to and from the precipitation zone as well as the kinetics of the precipitation reaction itself. However most studies are made in well mixed systems, in which such transport limitations are largely removed. We developed a mathematical model of calcite precipitation near a source of base in soil, allowing for transport limitations and precipitation kinetics. We tested the model against experimentally-determined rates of calcite precipitation and reactant concentration–distance profiles in columns of soil in contact with a layer of HCO3−-saturated exchange resin. The model parameter values were determined independently. The agreement between observed and predicted results was satisfactory given experimental limitations, indicating that the model correctly describes the important processes. A sensitivity analysis showed that all model parameters are important, indicating a simpler treatment would be inadequate. The sensitivity analysis showed that the amount of calcite precipitated and the spread of the precipitation zone were sensitive to parameters controlling rates of reactant transport (soil moisture content, salt content, pH, pH buffer power and CO2 pressure), as well as to the precipitation rate constant. We illustrate practical applications of the model with two examples: pH changes and CaCO3 precipitation in the soil around a plant root, and around a soil macro-pore containing a source of base such as urea

Vaskulärer Zugang in der Kindernotfallanästhesie

Zusammenfassung: Zum Thema des schwierigen intervenösen Zugangs bei pädiatrischen Notfallsituationen existieren erstaunlich wenige Angaben in der Literatur. "Wie machen es die Anderen?" war die Motivationsgrundlage für eine Umfrage bei in Kinderanästhesie erfahrenen Anästhesisten. Insgesamt 89Fragebögen wurden an die Leiter der Weiterbildungsstätten für Anästhesie in der Schweiz und an alle Mitglieder der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Kinderanästhesie verschickt. Anhand von 2Fallbeispielen (FallA: nicht nüchternes Kleinkind mit einer Radiusfraktur, FallB: Säugling mit hohem Ileus) wurde das weitere Vorgehen nach 2-3 erfolglosen peripheren Punktionsversuchen erfragt. Die Beantwortung ergab, dass die meisten der Befragten in beiden Situationen zunächst weitere periphere Venenpunktionen vornehmen werden. Falls diese Versuche erfolglos bleiben, wird beim Kleinkind mit der Radiusfraktur eine intramuskuläre oder inhalative Anästhesieeinleitung befürwortet. Bei dem Säugling mit Ileus wird versucht, für die Anästhesieeinleitung einen intraossären oder zentralvenösen Zugang (V.femoralis) zu legen. Aufgrund der Resultate der Umfrage und einer Literaturrecherche wird eine Prioritätenliste zu den wichtigsten vaskulären Zugängen und alternativen Anästhesieeinleitungsmethoden in der pädiatrischen Notfallsituation vorgeschlage

A practical approach to estimate resting energy expenditure in frail elderly people

Objectives: Some prediction equations of resting energy expenditure (REE) are available and can be used in clinical wards to determine energy requirements of patients. The aim of the present study was to assess the accuracy of those equations in sick elderly patients, using the Bland & Altman methods with our database of 187 REE measurements.Design: The 3 equations tested were Harris & Benedict equation of 1919, WHO/FAO/UNU equation of 1985 and Fredrix et al. equation of 1990. In addition, three models developed from the present data were tested.Results: The present study shows that the Fredrix et al equation gave an accurate prediction of REE without significant bias along the whole range of REE. It also shows that under-weight sick elderly patients (BMI ≤ 21 kg/m2) had a greater weight-adjusted REE than their normal weight counterparts.Conclusion: A simple formula using a factor multiplying body weight, i.e. 22 kcal/kg/d in under-weight and 19 kcal/kg/d in normal weight sick elderly was accurate to predicting REE and bias was not influenced by the level of REE. This model included half of the group in the range of ±10% of the difference between predicted REE and measured REE, but the confidence interval of the bias was ±400 kcal/d. Conversely, the Harris & Benedict and WHO formulae did accurately predict REE

Common Genetic Variant Association with Altered HLA Expression, Synergy with Pyrethroid Exposure, and Risk for Parkinson's Disease: An Observational and Case-Control Study.

Background/objectivesThe common non-coding single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3129882 in HLA-DRA is associated with risk for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). The location of the SNP in the major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) locus implicates regulation of antigen presentation as a potential mechanism by which immune responses link genetic susceptibility to environmental factors in conferring lifetime risk for PD.MethodsFor immunophenotyping, blood cells from 81 subjects were analyzed by qRT-PCR and flow cytometry. A case-control study was performed on a separate cohort of 962 subjects to determine association of pesticide exposure and the SNP with risk of PD.ResultsHomozygosity for G at this SNP was associated with heightened baseline expression and inducibility of MHC class II molecules in B cells and monocytes from peripheral blood of healthy controls and PD patients. In addition, exposure to a commonly used class of insecticide, pyrethroids, synergized with the risk conferred by this SNP (OR = 2.48, p = 0.007), thereby identifying a novel gene-environment interaction that promotes risk for PD via alterations in immune responses.ConclusionsIn sum, these novel findings suggest that the MHC-II locus may increase susceptibility to PD through presentation of pathogenic, immunodominant antigens and/or a shift toward a more pro-inflammatory CD4+ T cell response in response to specific environmental exposures, such as pyrethroid exposure through genetic or epigenetic mechanisms that modulate MHC-II gene expression