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ABSTRACT After a contextualizing introduction, the following interview with the Nigerian writer Elnathan John explores the relation of his work to some key themes of this essay cluster: religious belief, [...]

Advances in structural glass have enabled a new paradigm in expressive and transparent architecture. Cast glass can further extend the possibilities of structural glass by allowing for more complex and sophisticated shapes than the current planar geometries of structural float glass. However, the use of cast glass is currently limited because of the lengthy annealing process, making massive component sizes impractical to fabricate. Topology optimization (TO) has been proposed as a solution to this problem, as it is known to generate structurally efficient designs with a low volume of material. If tailored appropriately, TO can reduce component sizes and thereby diminish the total annealing time needed while intelligently placing material in the areas where it will be utilized effectively. For TO of glass to be successful, algorithms must properly capture glass’s intricate material behavior. This research proposes a suite of TO algorithmic frameworks that design specifically for structural glass. These algorithms are demonstrated in a 2D design space, and the resulting geometries are fabricated using cut float glass and tested for experimental comparison on a 4-point bending load case. The results of these experiments inform which TO strategies have most promise for future research in TO of cast glass structures.

Abstract Background To overcome the daunting technical and economic barriers of algal biofuels, we evaluated whether seawater can be a viable medium for economically producing filamentous Spirulina subsalsa as feedstock, using monosodium glutamate residue (MSGR) produced by the glutamate extraction process as an inexpensive nutrient source. Results Spirulina subsalsa cannot grow in pure seawater, but exhibited faster biomass accumulation in seawater supplemented with MSGR than in freshwater medium (modified Zarrouk medium). Introducing seawater into media ensured this cyanobacterium obtained high lipid productivity (120 mg/L/day) and suffered limited bacterial infections during growth. Moreover, the yields of protein, carotenoids and phytols were also improved in seawater mixed with MSGR. S. subsalsa exhibited high biomass and lipid productivity in bag bioreactors with 5- and 10-L medium, demonstrating the potential of this cultivation method for scaling up. Moreover, seawater can produce more biomass through medium reuse. Reused seawater medium yielded 72% of lipid content compared to pristine medium. The reason that S. subsalsa grew well in seawater with MSGR is its proficient adaptation to salinity, which included elongation and desaturation of fatty acids, accumulation of lysine and methionine, and secretion of sodium. The nutrients provided by MSGR, like organic materials, played an important role in these responses. Conclusion Spirulina subsalsa has an efficient system to adapt to saline ambiance in seawater. When supplemented with MSGR, seawater is a great potential medium to produce S. subsalsa in large scale as biofuel feedstock. Meanwhile, value-added products can be derived from the ample protein and pigments that can broaden the range of biomass application and improve this biorefinery economics.

Purpose: The well-known decline in the use of African American English (AAE) features by groups of school-aged AAE-speaking children was reexamined for patterns of overt-, zero-, and mixed-marking for individual features and individual speakers. Methods: Seven hundred twenty-nine typically developing children between the ages of 4 and 12-511 AAE-speakers learning General American English (GAE) as a second dialect, and 218 GAE-speaking controls-were administered the morphosyntax subtest of the Dialect Sensitive Language Test (Seymour, Roeper, & de Villiers, 2000). Responses to 33 items probing 10 target features were coded for overt marking, zero marking, or neither. A feature-by-feature marking profile for each child allowed us to track how many children at each age were characterized by 100% overt, zero, or mixed marking for different combinations of features. Results/Conclusions: Findings suggest that no feature was overtly marked for all AAE-first children at any age, and the 'mixed' pattern of usage was the most common trend across individual speakers even at age 12 years. Exclusive use of zero marking beyond age 8 years was rare and may serve as a diagnostic indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The unabated rise in medication costs particularly affects older persons with chronic conditions that require long-term medication use, but how prescription benefits affect medication adherence for such persons has received limited study.Objective: We sought to study the relationship among prescription benefit status, health, and medication acquisition in a sample of elderly HMO enrollees with 1 or more common, chronic conditions.Research Design: We implemented a cross-sectional cohort study using primary survey data collected in 2000 and administrative data from the previous 2 years.Subjects: Subjects were aged 67 years of age and older, continuously enrolled in a Medicare + Choice program for at least 2 years, and diagnosed with 1 or more of hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease (n = 3073).Measures: Outcomes were the mean daily number of essential therapeutic drug classes and refill adherence.Results: In multivariate models, persons without a prescription benefit acquired medications in 0.15 fewer therapeutic classes daily and experienced lower refill adherence (approximately 7 fewer days of necessary medications during the course of 2 years) than those with a prescription benefit. A significant interaction revealed that, among those without a benefit, persons in poor health acquired medications in 0.73 more therapeutic classes daily than persons in excellent health; health status did not significantly influence medication acquisition for those with a benefit.Conclusions: Coverage of prescription drugs is important for improving access to essential medications for persons with the studied chronic conditions. A Medicare drug benefit that provides unimpeded access to medications needed to treat such conditions may improve medication acquisition and, ultimately, health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Katjang goat is the only indigenous domestic goat breed in Malaysia. Following a national baseline survey from 2001 to 2002, this breed was reported to the FAO as being at risk of extinction. In this study, 36 microsatellite markers were screened, and 25 polymorphic markers were used to analyze the genetic structure of the Katjang goat breed in Peninsular Malaysia. A sample set of data derived from another 10 populations from three published research studies was used as an outgroup for an inter-population genetic study. The analysis showed that the mean value of the observed heterozygosity was 0.29 ± 0.14, and the expected heterozygosity was 0.72 ± 0.14, which indicated low genetic diversity. The inbreeding coefficient, FIS, was high, at 0.46. Significant (p < 0.01) deviations from the Hardy Weinberg equilibrium were noted for all loci. The bottleneck analysis using the Wilcoxon Rank test under the two-phase model of mutation was significant (p < 0.01) for heterozygosity excess, which suggested that the Katjang breed had undergone significant population reduction in the past. Through combined analysis of data from publicly available research, almost the entire population of Katjang goats represent the centroid and are grouped together on a multidimensional scaling plot, except for the Terengganu population. Network analysis revealed that the goat population from Pahang formed the centrality of the network.

Introducción: La utilización de las guías de manejo clínicas, protocolos y manuales se constituyen en un elemento fundamental para la prestación de servicios de salud con calidad. El protocolo de registros clínicos es una herramienta que orienta al personal de enfermería en los lineamientos claves que se deben tener en cuenta en cada uno de los cuidados que se brindan. Materiales y Métodos: Se realizó un estudio cuantitativo de tipo descriptivo de corte transversal. La muestra estuvo conformada por 105 auxiliares de enfermería y 15 profesionales de enfermería que laboran en una institución de salud de IV nivel de complejidad, para la recolección de la información se utilizó una lista de chequeo y un test de conocimientos basado en el protocolo de registros de la institución. Resultados: El nivel de conocimientos del personal profesional y auxiliar de enfermería sobre el protocolo es bueno con un 61%, le sigue un nivel de conocimientos regular con 29%. La aplicabilidad es buena en un 14% y un 54% del personal profesional y auxiliar de enfermería tiene mala aplicabilidad al protocolo, encontrándose que no se diligencian completamente los formatos que se incluyen en la historia clínica. El nivel de adherencia es bueno para el 30% del personal profesional y auxiliar de enfermería. Discusión y Conclusiones: Se encontró que el personal profesional y auxiliar de enfermería tienen un buen nivel conocimientos solo en los registros clínicos que usan frecuentemente; sin embargo el personal profesional y auxiliar de enfermería no aplican estos conocimientos en su práctica diaria, evidenciado por un 54% de mala aplicabilidad. Cómo citar este artículo: Bautista LM, Vejar LY, Pabón MR, Moreno JJ, Fuentes L, León KY, et al. Grado de adherencia al protocolo de registros clínicos de enfermería. Rev Cuid. 2016; 7(1): 1195-203. http://dx.doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.v7i1.237

Crotaline snakebites (Protobothrops mucrosquamatus and Trimeresurus stejnegeri) are a common medical emergency in Taiwan that can be effectively treated by a bivalent F(ab')2 antivenom. We investigated the differences in the clinical outcomes of patients who received different therapeutic regimens of antivenom in a medical center where clinical toxicologists followed the poison control center (PCC) guidelines (medical group) and surgeons did not (surgical group). The medical records of inpatients with crotaline snakebites between 1991 and 2005 were reviewed and information on demographics, treatments, adverse effects of antivenom, and complications was abstracted and analyzed. A total of 179 patients (90 medical, 89 surgical) were eligible for study. There was no significant intergroup difference in baseline characteristics except that the dose of antivenom and the probability of antibiotic use were both higher in the surgical group (5.9 ± 4.2 vials vs. 2.7 ± 1.6 vials; 93% vs. 60%). Multiple logistic regression adjusting for age, gender, calendar year of envenomation, severity of envenomation, and antibiotic use did not disclose evidence of any difference in various clinical outcomes between medical and surgical patients. The lower dose of antivenom recommended by the PCC may be as effective and safe as the higher dose used in the surgical group for the treatment of crotaline snakebites.

A genome-wide association scan of type 1 diabetic patients from the GoKinD collections previously identified four novel diabetic nephropathy susceptibility loci that have subsequently been shown to be associated with diabetic nephropathy in unrelated patients with type 2 diabetes. To expand these findings, we examined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at these susceptibility loci were associated with diabetic nephropathy in patients from the Joslin Study of Genetics of Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetes Family Collection. Six SNPs across the four loci identified in the GoKinD collections and 7 haplotype tagging SNPs, were genotyped in 66 extended families of European ancestry. Pedigrees from this collection contained an average of 18.5 members, including 2 to 14 members with type 2 diabetes. Among diabetic family members, the 9q21.32 locus approached statistical significance with advanced diabetic nephropathy (P = 0.037 [adjusted P = 0.222]). When we expanded our definition of diabetic nephropathy to include individuals with high microalbuminuria, the strength of this association improved significantly (P = 1.42×10(-3) [adjusted P = 0.009]). This same locus also trended toward statistical significance with variation in urinary albumin excretion in family members with type 2 diabetes (P = 0.032 [adjusted P = 0.192]) and in analyses expanded to include all relatives (P = 0.019 [adjusted P = 0.114]). These data increase support that SNPs identified in the GoKinD collections on chromosome 9q21.32 are true diabetic nephropathy susceptibility loci.