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The Stop PennEast fieldwork project focuses on teaching students how to apply social fieldwork methods to studying an opposition natural gas pipeline movement, located in northeastern PA and northwestern NJ. The fieldwork was connected to an engaged learning assignment offered as part of an Environmental Politics class at Rider University from 2014 to 2018. Course fieldwork was designed to connect data collection and analysis efforts with existing literature covered in class on social movements, environmental networks, and information diffusion between network actors. Work connected to the project included conducting field surveys, canvassing, participant-observations of movement meetings, a survey of state legislators in NJ and PA (in collaboration with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an environmental advocacy not for profit), and content analysis of public testimony and social media exchanges. This chapter focuses on having students conduct field surveys of Stop PennEast meeting attendees at five public meetings from November 2014 to January 2015.

Our study examines respondents’ perceptions of terrorism and counterterrorism in the USA during the 2016 presidential campaign. It does so by conducting an experiment where a group of respondents were randomly assigned to a vivid example of a terrorist attack and another group did not receive this treatment. The study’s results find opposing individual perceptions of the job government is doing to protect the country from terrorism and on differences among respondents as to the root causes of terrorism. Our research points to one explanation of this difference: Americans feel there is little they can do about terrorism and though the government is working to protect the nation, the public feels the government cannot stop, only prevent, terrorist acts from occurring. This causes the public to shift their perceptions of terrorism away from questions of efficient public policy responses to one of values. The experiment suggests heightened levels of fear among 2016 Trump voters who received the treatment compared to both Republican voters and Clinton supporters, though control and treatment groups also showed variation. Finally, this work highlights a major challenge for counter-terrorism policymakers in dealing with a highly polarized public. Recent electoral campaigns have demonstrated that politicians are actively trying to politicize terrorism. This work provides evidence that these efforts are resonating among the public. The danger of politicizing terrorism is that it blocks efforts to find common ground, between polarized groups in society in keeping the nation safe.

This research conducts an experiment on individuals’ perceptions of natural gas pipeline incidents and the expansion of natural gas pipeline infrastructure in the United States. This work contributes to the literature on natural gas pipeline safety and risk by utilizing Kahneman and Tversky's Prospect Theory. This work is relevant from a public policy perspective because of the recent expansion of the U.S. natural gas pipeline network that has been underway since 2010. It provides policy makers with a better understanding of how the public perceives risks and benefits associated with pipeline expansion. Overall, the study results find that when individuals balanced the benefits and risks of pipeline expansion, a majority of all respondents (53.4 percent) picked safety over monetary gains. Further, a majority of respondents who received at least one treatment were more likely to choose safety and two-thirds of respondents who received a second treatment chose safety over material benefits associated with pipeline expansion. Related Articles Ash, John S. 2010. “New Nuclear Energy, Risk, and Justice: Regulatory Strategies for an Era of Limited Trust.” Politics & Policy 38 (3): 255-284. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00310.x/full Ash, John S. 2011. “Radiation or Riots: Risk Perception in Nuclear Power Decision Making and Deliberative Approaches to Resolving Stakeholder Conflict.” Politics & Policy 39 (2): 317-344. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2010.00237.x/full Neill, Katharine A., and John C. Morris. 2012. “A Tangled Web of Principals and Agents: Examining the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill through a Principal–Agent Lens.” Politics & Policy 40 (4): 629-656. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00371.x/full Related Media Kassab, Beth, and Kevin Spear. 2017. “Gas Pipeline across Central Florida Brings Cheap Energy and Protests.” Orlando Sentinenal. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/environment/os-sabal-trail-pipeline-impact-20170329-story.html Parry, Wayne. 2017. “Hotly Contested New Jersey Pinelands Natural Gas Pipeline Approved.” Associated Press. February 24. http://6abc.com/news/hotly-contested-nj-pinelands-natural-gas-pipeline-approved/1771013/

We report an adult man presenting with sudden-onset epilepsy syndrome with evolution to refractory status epilepticus and an enhancing left frontal MRI lesion. The atypical nature of his presentation resulted in emergent epilepsy surgery. He was eventually diagnosed with NMDA receptor antibody (NMDAR AB) encephalitis based on positive CSF antibodies.

This research focuses on the role of subnational units in the enforcement of interstate regulations of natural gas pipeline safety in the USA. It does so by developing a theoretical model of interstate regulatory enforcement of natural gas pipelines at both the national and subnational units, utilising the Advocacy Coalition Framework developed by Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith (1993). Particular emphasis is placed on the role of public and private actors at the local and state levels in monitoring, enforcing, and correcting issues with pipeline construction and maintenance. This work addresses this problem through an empirical approach that estimates a mixed-effects model of incidence (number of fines issued) and compliance rates (measured as the percent of the number of incidents corrected by the number of incidents reported) at the state and local levels, accounting for intertemporal variation by a geographic, existing infrastructure of natural gas pipelines and socioeconomic, regulatory type, and political factors (Energy Policy 35(1): 650–671, 2007). Moreover, this research addresses whether differences in approaches to enforcement styles (cooperative vs. coercive) of natural gas pipelines at the subnational unit result in increases in compliance and incidence rates among natural gas pipeline operators. Overall findings suggest that enforcement style and the frequency of contacts between regulators and regulated entities significantly increase compliance rates. The results indicate that increased input from subnational actors would further increase pipeline safety rates overall.

Supporters of public campaign funding say it democratizes the election process; detractors say it fails to meet its intended goals and, in fact, has unexpected negative results. Examining data from Arizona and Maine, which have full public funding, and from New Jersey's “Clean Election” pilot program, has enabled us to determine empirically if critics are correct. We conclude that neither advocates of Clean Elections nor its detractors are completely accurate. Rather, public campaign funding enhances trends that already existed where it was implemented without sparking new ones. Related Articles Werfel. 2008. “A Modern Paradigm for Campaign Finance: Economic Markets and Lessons from History.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00353.x/abstract Reid and Moog. 2011. “Voter Information, Voter Participation, and the North Carolina Judicial Election Reforms: The Views of the Voters.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00353.x/abstract Partidarios del financiamiento publico de las campanas sostienen que democratiza el proceso electoral; los detractores sostienen que no cumple con sus metas previstas y que de hecho, tiene resultados negativos inesperados. Al examinar datos de Arizona y Maine, que cuentan con financiamiento publico total, y del programa piloto de New Jersey “Elecciones Limpias,” nos ha permitido determinar empiricamente si los criticos estan en lo correcto. Concluimos que ni los defensores de Elecciones Limpias ni sus detractores son completamente acertados. Mas bien, el financiamiento publico de las campanas mejora tendencias ya existentes donde es implementado, sin crear otras nuevas.

Analysis of the proteomic profile of pressure ulcers over time is a critical step in the identification of biomarkers of healing or nonhealing in pressure ulcers. The wound fluid from 32 subjects with 42 pressure ulcers was evaluated over 6 weeks at 15 time points. Samples specific to both the interior and the periphery of the wound bed were collected. Antibody screening arrays, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation with mass spectrometry and multiplexed microarrays were used to characterize wound fluid and results were correlated with clinical outcome. Twenty-one proteins were found to distinguish between healed and chronic wounds and 19 proteins were differentially expressed between the interior and periphery of wounds. Four proteins, pyruvate kinase isozymes M1/M2, profilin-1, Ig lambda-1 chain C regions, and Ig gamma-1 chain C region, were present in lower levels for periphery samples when compared to interior samples and six proteins, keratin, type II cytoskeletal 6A (KRT6A), keratin, type I cytoskeletal 14, S100 calcium binding proteins A7, alpha-1-antitrypsin precursor, hemoglobin subunit alpha, and hemoglobin subunit beta, were present in higher levels in periphery samples when compared with interior samples. S100 calcium binding protein A6, S100 calcium binding protein A7, and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products had higher levels in the periphery of chronic wounds vs. the interior in planar arrays. A significant temporal trend was noted for monokine induced by gamma interferon (MIG), synonomous with chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 9 (CXCL9), which increased as wounds healed and remained nearly constant for ulcers that were not approaching closure.

Samples of ternary nitride fluorides, Mg3NF3 and Mg2NF have been prepared by solid state reaction of Mg3N2 and MgF2 at 1323–1423K and investigated by powder X-ray and powder neutron diffraction techniques. Mg3NF3 is cubic (space group: Pm3m) and has a structure related to rock-salt MgO, but with one cation site vacant. Mg2NF is tetragonal (space group: I41/amd) and has an anti-LiFeO2 related structure. Both compounds are essentially ionic and form structures in which nitride and fluoride anions are crystallographically ordered. The nitride fluorides show temperature independent paramagnetic behaviour between 5 and 300K.

There is not a general consensus among scholars about whether public campaign funding initiatives increase electoral competitiveness. U.S. focused research has found the effects of Clean Election (CE) funding present mixed outcomes (Mayer and Wood 1995; GAO 2003; Mayer, Werner, and Williams 2004; Werner and Mayer 2007) On the one hand, research has found that Clean Election funding creates more competitive elections (Bardwell 2002; Mayer, Werner, and Williams 2004). While on the other, Clean Election funding scholars have found that public funding of state legislative candidates has not caused elections to become more competitive (Mayer and Wood 1995; GAO 2003). One reason for the difference in the research literature is likely a result of the program being in its early years of implementation in the U.S. This paper provides a new technique for estimating the short-term and long-range effects of the program by experimenting on the New Jersey case which is designed to cope with limited data. It accomplishes this by creating simulated elections that are based on the lessons-learned in Arizona and Maine, as well as on structural constraints present in New Jersey. The experiment‟s results confirm the impact of Clean Elections is mixed: The impact of Clean Election funding increases intra-party competition but does not increase inter-party competition. Nevertheless, while the impact of Clean Elections does show some encouraging signs for proponents of electoral reform, it is unlikely to transform the electoral landscape by making elections more competitive. KEYWORDS: • public campaign funding • clean elections • political parties • elections • New Jersey • United States

This study investigated the factor structure of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) using rigorous exploratory factor analytic and factor extraction procedures. The results of this study indicate that the RIAS is a single factor test. Despite these results, higher order factor analysis using the Schmid—Leiman procedure indicates that all subtests are aligned with their theoretically consistent factors. All analyses in this study, including the minimum average partial test, parallel analysis, the Schmid—Leiman procedure, as well as principal factors with orthogonal and oblique rotation, support interpretation at the composite intelligence index level and suggest caution when moving to interpretation at the verbal and nonverbal index levels. The memory subtests should continue to be separated from the main IQ battery because of poor g-loadings and contribution to cross loadings of the intelligence subtests. Interpretation at the subtest level should be eschewed.

Background Electric stimulation (E-stim) has been found to be an effective treatment in improving wound healing rates. However, the wound healing trajectory and its related predictors for complete wound closure (CWC) have not been reported with E-stim treatment. Materials and methods This was a retrospective study. Data on 159 patients treated at an outpatient wound clinic utilizing combined intervention of E-stim and conventional care were included. The Kaplan–Meier healing curve together with linear regression models depicted the percentage of patients with CWC against time. Results With 100, 112 and 140 days of treatment, the percentages of patients with CWC were 59·12%, 61·01% and 65·41%, respectively. Linear regression models predicted that all patients would achieve CWC by 21·55, 22·26 and 24·80 weeks, respectively. The speed for the increase in the number and percentage of patients with CWC peaked between 50–75 days of treatment. To optimize timely healing, referral to other treatment facilities or change of treatment protocol is warranted around the peak time. With the combined intervention of E-stim and conventional care, positive predictors for CWC included a shorter wound duration at initial evaluation (P = 0·005, OR = 3·10), better compliance with appointments (P = 0·007, OR = 3·38) and the diagnosis of venous leg ulcer (P = 0·001, OR = 3·88). Conclusions This study provided preliminary data on wound healing trajectory and predictors with combined E-stim and conventional care. E-stim seemed to expedite wound healing; however, further research studies are needed.

Although Western medical acupuncture (WMA) is commonly practised in the UK, a particular approach called dry needling (DN) is becoming increasingly popular in other countries. The legitimacy of the use of DN by conventional non-physician healthcare professionals is questioned by acupuncturists. This article describes the ongoing debate over the practice of DN between physical therapists and acupuncturists, with a particular emphasis on the USA. DN and acupuncture share many similarities but may differ in certain aspects. Currently, little information is available from the literature regarding the relationship between the two needling techniques. Through reviewing their origins, theory, and practice, we found that DN and acupuncture overlap in terms of needling technique with solid filiform needles as well as some fundamental theories. Both WMA and DN are based on modern biomedical understandings of the human body, although DN arguably represents only one subcategory of WMA. The increasing volume of research into needling therapy explains its growing popularity in the musculoskeletal field including sports medicine. To resolve the debate over DN practice, we call for the establishment of a regulatory body to accredit DN courses and a formal, comprehensive educational component and training for healthcare professionals who are not physicians or acupuncturists. Because of the close relationship between DN and acupuncture, collaboration rather than dispute between acupuncturists and other healthcare professionals should be encouraged with respect to education, research, and practice for the benefit of patients with musculoskeletal conditions who require needling therapy.

Wound dehiscence is the separation of a wound along surgical sutures. A 57-year-old, otherwise healthy mechanic presented with a large open wound of1 month duration on his left hand. His wound had dehisced after treatment that involved cleansing, surgical sutures, and oral antibiotics. He presented with a 5.0 cmx0.7 cmx0.3 cm lesion through the palmar creases of the hand with edema around the fourth and fifth digits and a callous formation around the distal portion of the wound. The wound had scant serosanguinous drainage and some induration at the periwound area, as well as a moderate foul odor. Tendons were not affected, but function was limited, the hand was painful, and the patient had been unable to work. Treatment was initiated with twice-a-week immersion of the hand in hydrogen peroxide diluted with water subjected to high-voltage pulsed current electric stimulation (HVPC). The wound was dressed with silver-containing dressings secured with stretch gauze and a compression garment. The wound was completely closed after 9 visits (35 days). No functional limitations of the hand or fingers, no cosmetic defect, and no wound recurrence were noted 9 months after healing. Although uncommon, dehisced wounds, especially in certain anatomical locations such as the hand, can be difficult to heal and may cause long-term problems with functioning. The treatment combination facilitated expedient healing of this dehisced hand wound. Research is needed to help elucidate the observations from this case study.

The pathophysiology of the chronicity and non-healing status of wounds remains unknown. This paper presents the following hypothesis: abnormal patterns of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFRs) are the culprits of wound chronicity and non-healing. More specifically, for patients with poor circulation, the decreased VEGFR-2 level is the cause of poor wound healing; for patients with non-compromised circulation, for example, patients with concurrent chronic wounds and active autoimmune diseases, the increased VEGFR-1 level is related to the non-healing status of wounds. The hypothesis is supported by the following facts. VEGFR-1 is the main contributor for inflammation and VEGFR-2 facilitates angiogenesis; soluble VEGFR-1 (sVEGFR-1) inactivates both VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2. Patients with auto-immune disease have abnormally increased VEGFR-1 and decreased sVEGFR. Wounds in patients with active autoimmune diseases have poor response to electric stimulation which facilitates chronic wound healing in patients without active autoimmune diseases via increasing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion. Patients with chronic wounds (including diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers) but no active autoimmune diseases have decreased VEGFR-2 levels. We thus believe that abnormal patterns of VEGFRs are the culprits of wound chronicity and non-healing. For wounds with compromised circulation, VEGFR-2 decrease contributes to its chronicity; whereas for wounds with non-compromised circulation, VEGFR-1 increase is the leading cause of the non-healing status of chronic wounds. Treatments and research in wound care should be tailored to target these changes based on circulation status of wounds. Complete elucidation of changes of VEGFRs in chronic and non-healing wounds will enhance our understandings in tissue healing and thus better our selection of appropriate treatments for chronic and non-healing wounds.

The management of patients with large territory ischemic strokes and the subsequent development of malignant brain edema and increased intracranial pressure is a significant challenge in modern neurology and neurocritical care. These patients are at high risk of subsequent neurologic decline and are best cared for in an intensive care unit or a comprehensive stroke center with access to neurosurgical support. Risks include hemorrhagic conversion, herniation, poor functional outcome, and death. This review discusses recent advances in understanding the pathophysiology of edema formation, identifying patients at risk, current management strategies, and emerging therapies.

Despite playing virtually no interlocutory role in Sartre's published texts, Emmanuel Levinas makes two interesting intrusions into Sartre's intellectual biography, one at the beginning and one at the very end of Sartre's career as a thinker. In the first place, it was Levinas's 1930 dissertation on Husserl that served as Sartre's written introduction to phenomenology and inspired him to travel to Germany to study firsthand the ideas that were to inspire his existentialist theories of consciousness and "human reality."' Five decades later, Levinas surfaces again as an implicit influence behind Sartre's suggestive comments on obligation and the philosophical and political relevance of Judaism in the interviews with Benny Levy published just before Sartre's death in 1980.2 As is well known, however, these final interviews caused something of a scandal among Sartre's closest friends and longtime associates. Perceived as a radical departure from principles central to his existentialism in both its phenomenological and Marxist incarnations, the interviews were dismissed by many (including de Beauvoir) as the unreliable products of a declining mind rendered susceptible to Levy's alleged manipulation by old age and rapidly failing health.3 My intention in the present essay is not to attempt to judge how compatible Sartre's final position might be with the thought of Levinas by entering into the contentious debate over the degree of importance that should be attributed to the 1980 interviews. I merely allude to them, along with the admittedly somewhat coincidental role Levinas played in Sartre's initial foray into phenomenology, as a word of caution against portraying the relationship between the two philosophers as one of nothing but sustained and intractable opposition. Without a doubt, vast divergences with Levinas mark Sartre's existentialism even prior to its turn towards Marxism and away from the Husserlian and Heideggerian inspirations the two thinkers share, as well as after his apparent embrace of certain Levinasian themes in his discussions with Levy. And in fact, many of Levinas's statements about the ethical encounter with the Other, particularly in Totality and Infinity, can be read as fairly direct responses to Sartre's influential description of intersubjectivity in Being and Nothingness.4 Despite the fact that the posthumously published Notebooks for an Ethics make it impossible to maintain that Sartre consistently held interpersonal life to be inescapably conflictual, his notion of the originally allergic relation between Self and Other does indeed stand in marked tension with Levinas's vision of human relations as ultimately rooted in a primordial peace.5 In order to find some common ground between thinkers who can seem sometimes to stand in a relationship of irreducible antagonism, I would thus like to shift the focus of attention away from their fundamentally disparate conceptions of the Other to a less often discussed theme central to some of the earliest texts of both. Specifically, my aim is to explore the remarkable and under-appreciated convergence between Sartre's descriptions of the experience of naked existence or being-in-itself (in one of the senses this equivocal term bears in Sartre's early thought) and the somewhat sketchier analyses of conscious life in its encounter with pure being in Levinas's first original works. His frequent attempts to distance himself from the "philosophy of existence" notwithstanding,6 I will argue that these texts of Levinas are characterized by a markedly existentialist tenor, or more precisely, by an affinity with Sartre's classic analyses of "nausea" in the 1938 novel of that name. Although Sartre after Nausea and Levinas after Time and the Other have relatively little to say about the notion of pure existence, a notion which is, I will argue, philosophically problematic, my contention is that their early analyses of the disgust or horror before naked being remain implicitly in effect in much of their later work, and that the different "solutions" they envision to the problem posed by the confrontation with being can help to explain the divergent paths their mature philosophies end up taking. …

The majority of physical therapists who practice in the United States have been educated in our colleges and universities. As students, they enjoyed the rights and privileges associated with American higher education. The theoretical underpinnings ofAmerican higher education include access, diversity, and excellence. Access to higher education in physical therapy today, along with its structural diversity, offers the student an opportunity unparalleled in the past. However, cultural diversity within physical therapy programs has been, and continues to be, in jeopardy. Deleterious effects associated with the lack of diversity, within both the academy and the profession, challenge our practice and limit our capability to reach out to all members of our society who are in need of our skills. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the benefits associated with cultural diversity within higher education, and specifically physical therapy programs. Current issues that threaten the potential for a diverse, culturally competent physical therapy profession are presented along with suggestions and recommendations that may serve to promote and ensure this critical initiative. The report, Twelfth Report: Minorities in Medicine, by the Council on Graduate Medical Education (1998) emphasizing the need for "culturally competent" practitioners, is discussed. The historical roots of establishing a diverse academy and the present threats to the ideals and principles of diversity are illustrated. Present initiatives and alternatives supporting the efforts relative to establishing and affirming a diverse professional body, such as those initiatives established by the American Physical Therapy Association, are presented. The position that American higher education, including phys ical therapy programs, must support and encourage a diverse academic community to ensure a multicultured professional base to best serve our patients and society is offered. This position supports those theoretical underpinnings as previously mentioned. Without diversity within higher education and our profession, excellence seems, at best, an ideal, not an achievable, goal. PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to discuss the benefits associated with cultural diversity within higher education, and specifically physical therapy programs. Current issues that threaten the potential for a diverse, culturally competent physical therapy profession are presented along with suggestions and recommendations that may serve to promote and ensure this critical initiative. INTRODUCTION Access, diversity, and excellence are concepts that have served as major thematic pillars of higher education in the United States for the past half century. Trow1 reports that American higher education is unique in its size and diversity. Most, if not all, institutions of higher education in the United States include in their mission statements ideals relative to serving society, recognizing and appreciating cultural differences, and preparing men and women to assume roles of responsibility within a society that is shaped by cultural forces. American society continues to develop into an increasingly diverse one. Diversity as an institutional mission serves many needs, one being that it exposes its students to individuals from all races represented in the nation.2 The goals of the physical therapy profession, as expressed by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), recognize the importance of cultural diversity, both to the profession and society in general.3 Evidence demonstrates that diversity in higher education has positive effects in a number of areas related to institutional missions and the needs of society, including health care needs. The work of Astin4 and others indicates how increasing the diversity of higher education programs may facilitate the development of health care professionals who are better able to respond to the needs of culturally diverse clients. …

In East Asian countries, oriental medicine (OM) has been used for thousands of years to manage a wide variety of chronic wounds, but in western countries the role of OM in wound care remains to be established. To summarize current practices and available evidence of OM in the management of chronic wounds, a search of Chinese and English databases was conducted and summarized with an emphasis on randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, and meta-analyses of topical and systemic OM treatments. Hundreds of reports were identified, mostly in the Chinese literature, but few randomized controlled clinical studies have been conducted. Available preclinical and clinical evidence suggests there may be a role for OM modalities, especially herbal medicine, in the management of chronic wounds. Before conducting the needed rigorous clinical studies, wound care experts should agree on and help standardize herbal formulations - a unique challenge for the usually individualized OM approach to care. However, the literature suggests uncovering pathways for future research may help patients all over the world benefit from the thousands of years of documented experience managing chronic wounds with OM.

Analysis of the proteomic profile of pressure ulcers over time is a critical step in the identification of biomarkers of healing or nonhealing in pressure ulcers. The wound fluid from 32 subjects with 42 pressure ulcers was evaluated over 6 weeks at 15 time points. Samples specific to both the interior and the periphery of the wound bed were collected. Antibody screening arrays, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation with mass spectrometry and multiplexed microarrays were used to characterize wound fluid and results were correlated with clinical outcome. Twenty-one proteins were found to distinguish between healed and chronic wounds and 19 proteins were differentially expressed between the interior and periphery of wounds. Four proteins, pyruvate kinase isozymes M1/M2, profilin-1, Ig lambda-1 chain C regions, and Ig gamma-1 chain C region, were present in lower levels for periphery samples when compared to interior samples and six proteins, keratin, type II cytoskeletal 6A (KRT6A), keratin, type I cytoskeletal 14, S100 calcium binding proteins A7, alpha-1-antitrypsin precursor, hemoglobin subunit alpha, and hemoglobin subunit beta, were present in higher levels in periphery samples when compared with interior samples. S100 calcium binding protein A6, S100 calcium binding protein A7, and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products had higher levels in the periphery of chronic wounds vs. the interior in planar arrays. A significant temporal trend was noted for monokine induced by gamma interferon (MIG), synonomous with chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 9 (CXCL9), which increased as wounds healed and remained nearly constant for ulcers that were not approaching closure.

MgNF3 and Mg2NF are synthesized by solid state reaction of stoichiometric mixtures of Mg3N2 and MgF2 (flowing Ar, 1323—1423 K, 5 d).

I compared the sampling properties of two methods for collecting fish larvae over reefs: nighttime collecting with a light trap, and daytime collecting with a small plankton net that could be steered by a diver. Samples were collected in the Gulf of California during summer, 1989 and 1990. The 90 light-trap samples yielded 9406 larvae from 31 families, while the 75 plankton-net samples yielded 17852 larvae from 43 families plus unidentified anguilliforms. Four families were collected only in the light trap, and 16 families plus the anguilliforms were collected only with the plankton net. With one exception, the families that were collected by only one method were rare. Twenty-seven families were collected by both methods, but only 13 were collected at least five times by each. The average catch per sample differed significantly between methods for 9 of these 13 families. In each case, the plankton net yielded more larvae per sample. The distribution of larvae among families was less equitable in light-trap samples than in planktonnet collections, primarily because clupeids were so dominant in the former. However, the taxonomic composition of light-trap and plankton-net collections was broadly similar. Seven families were shared among the ten most abundant families for each method, and the relative abundances of taxa (47 families plus anguilliforms) were strongly correlated between methods. A comparison of larval size-distributions for 12 families indicated that the size structure of catches usually differed between collecting methods. In four families there was little overlap in the size classes collected, in five families the distributions overlapped broadly but had different shapes, and in three families the size distributions were similar. Although the light trap collected larger larvae on average, its catches were not limited to settlement-stage or transition larvae. Larvae of at least ten families were present over reefs in all size classes, but the combination of both sampling methods was usually required to detect this. Based on their abundance and wide size distribution over reefs, at least some larvae from these ten families may remain over reefs throughout development. However, additional data are required to determine the importance of water over reefs as a larval habitat.

The outcome of the 2010 UK general election and the US midterm elections provided an unequivocal reminder of the impact of economic downturns on electoral politics. A vast literature on economic voting confirms that voters typically respond to economic fluctuations; they tend to reward incumbents for a good economy and punish them for a poor one (Lewis-Beck and Stegmeir, 2007). Though the reward–punish hypothesis is a common theme in the economic voting literature, there are limits to its application. It is unable to fully capture the dynamic in which voters select their party’s candidate regardless of economic performance (Campbell et al., 1960; Evans and Anderson, 2006; Gerber and Huber, 2009).

The incidence rate of pressure ulcers in the USA ranges from 0.4% to 38% in acute care settings and from 2.2% to 23.9% in long-term care settings, and their treatment costs are in the billions of dollars yearly. The proteome of wound fluid may contain early indicators or biomarkers associated with healing in pressure ulcers that would enable treatment regimes to be optimised for each individual. Wound fluid was collected from the interior and periphery of 19 chronic pressure ulcers at 15 time points during 42 days for an analysis of protein expression. Proteins were fractionated using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A comparison of the spot distributions indicates a biochemical difference between the interior and the periphery of wounds. Pressure ulcers that healed show a greater number of spots for interior and peripheral locations combined over time when compared with wounds that did not heal. Using this technique, protein S100A9 was identified as a potential biomarker of wound healing. The identification of differences within the proteome of healing versus non healing pressure ulcers could have great significance in the use of current treatments, as well as the development of new therapeutic interventions.

UW Medicine implemented a new policy requiring users to change passwords at least once every 120 days. In the first two password change cycles, many users did not take action upon notification, and their passwords expired, causing high help desk loads. Compliance and support loads improved in subsequent cycles. We conclude that policy changes requiring user behavior modification should be seen as a cultural change, and the implementation strategy should consider socio-technical factors.

Aggressive management of blood glucose reduces future diabetes-related complications, but this is difficult to achieve.This randomized, controlled study tested the effect of using a wireless two-way pager-based automated messaging system to improve diabetes control through facilitated self-management. The system sent health-related messages to patients, with automatic forwarding of urgent patient responses to the health care team.Participants in both the experimental (pager) and the control groups experienced an average hemoglobin A1c decrease of 0.1-0.3%. More patients in the pager group were normotensive, and more felt that their health care was better by the end of the study. A total of 79% of participants enjoyed using the pager, and 68% wanted to continue using the system.Utilizing a wireless, automated messaging system in clinical practice is a feasible, low-cost, interactive way to facilitate diabetes self-management, which is acceptable to patients. While providing a convenient way for patients and providers to communicate, this system can support automated recording and ready retrieval of these real-time interactions.

Onychomycosis, most commonly caused by two species of dermatophyte fungi—Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes—is primarily treated with regimens of topical and systemic antifungal medications. This study was undertaken to evaluate in vitro the efficacy of low-voltage direct current as an antifungal agent for treating onychomycosis. Agar plate cultures of T rubrum and T mentagrophytes were subjected to low-voltage direct current electrostimulation, and antifungal effects were observed as zones in the agar around the electrodes lacking fungal growth. Zones devoid of fungal growth were observed for T rubrum and T mentagrophytes around anodes and cathodes in a dose-dependent manner in the current range of 500 μA to 3 mA. Low-voltage direct current electrostimulation has great clinical potential for the treatment of onychomycosis and perhaps other superficial maladies of fungal etiology. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 94(6): 565–572, 2004)

Single crystals of magnesium diiodide have been grown and the structure solved for the first time from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. This study confirms that MgI(2) is isostructural with CdI(2) (C6 or 2H structure type). The space group is P-3m1 with the Mg atom on a site with 3m symmetry (Wyckoff site 1a) and the I atom on a site with m symmetry (Wyckoff site 2d). Trends in the 2H structures of dihalides are discussed briefly.

Single crystals of magnesium diiodide have been grown and the structure solved for the first time from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. This study confirms that MgI(2) is isostructural with CdI(2) (C6 or 2H structure type). The space group is P-3m1 with the Mg atom on a site with 3m symmetry (Wyckoff site 1a) and the I atom on a site with m symmetry (Wyckoff site 2d). Trends in the 2H structures of dihalides are discussed briefly.

Treatment of chronic wounds involves interventions ranging from dressings to surgery. Modalities gaining popularity in clinical settings include topical hyperbaric oxygen and electrical stimulation. A prospective, uncontrolled study was conducted to obtain preliminary observations and data about the effects of topical hyperbaric oxygen therapy and topical hyperbaric oxygen used with electrical stimulation on the healing of chronic wounds. All subjects were geriatric residents of long-term care facilities with Stage III or Stage IV pressure ulcers. Topical hyperbaric oxygen was applied daily to the wounds of eight subjects; three also received electrical stimulation. Initial wound size ranged from 87.75 cm2 to 7.04 cm2 with an average size of 30.1 +/- 28.5 (mean +/- sd) cm2. Healing times ranged from 8 to 49 weeks. After 4 weeks of treatment with topical hyperbaric oxygen, wound size decreased an average of 34.4% +/- 22.9%. Incidentally, the wounds of five of the eight subjects decreased more than 20%, for an average of 51.8% +/- 17.9%. No significant differences in healing were observed between patients receiving topical hyperbaric oxygen alone and those receiving topical hyperbaric oxygen/electrical stimulation. Preliminary data indicate that topical hyperbaric oxygen facilitates wound healing and full closure for pressure ulcers in patients with and without diabetes mellitus. A multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled study is currently under way.

Background and Purpose. Electrical stimulation (ES) is used in wound management. Concerns, however, have been raised about the possible role ES might play in promoting or exacerbating wound infections, especially bacterial infections. The purpose of this study was to address these concerns by evaluating the efficacy of a method for disinfecting ES electrodes used in wound treatment. Methods. Samples were taken from each wound treated in this study prior to and after ES and from sponges used with the ES electrodes prior to treatment, after treatment, and after 20 minutes of chemical disinfection. The presence and types of bacteria recovered were determined through standard microbiological techniques. Results. In this study of 25 patient samples, large numbers (ie, thousands) of bacteria were recovered from the pretreatment and posttreatment wound samples and from the posttreatment sponges. Following disinfection, however, bacteria were absent from the sponges in 23 of the 25 patient samples. In the remaining 2 samples, no more than two bacterial colonies were recovered after disinfection. Conclusion and Discussion. Immersion of the electrodes and sponges for 20 minutes in the disinfectant resulted in reduction of bacteria to safe, noninfective levels. Disinfection either completely eliminated all bacteria from the sponges (in 92% of the samples) or eliminated nearly all bacteria (in the remaining 8% of the samples), compared with predisinfection samples, which contained very large numbers of bacteria. These results demonstrate that the disinfection method used in this study is efficacious, and it appears to be cost-effective, practical, and safe for clinical use.

New quaternary bimetallic nitride halides and the first examples of quintinary nitride mixed halides have been synthesised in the phase system Ca - Sr - N - Cl - Br. The variation in structure with composition has been investigated by powder X-ray and powder neutron diffraction techniques. All compounds crystallise in the R-3m spacegroup, with the anti-alpha-NaFeO(2) structure. The layered compounds exhibit unprecedented coexistent disorder of both cations and anions in which only nitride solely occupies a discrete crystallographic position. [N(Ca,Sr)(2)](+) layers alternate with halide ions (Cl, Br)(-), which fill the octahedral voids between the positively charged sheets. A dual cationic-anionic substitution approach allows all aspects of the anisotropic structure to be controlled, including the thickness of the ionic layers and the [N(Ca,Sr)(2)](+) interlayer spacing.

Live and prepared cells of the marine pennate diatom Navicula complanatoides Hust. were examined with light and electron microscopy. It has narrowly lanceolate valves (26–55 μm long, 4–5 μm wide) and girdles 10–24 μm in depth. Striae are parallel at the center of the valve (24–28 in 10 μm), becoming slightly convergent toward the apices. Electron microscopy revealed that the external valve surface presents a longitudinally ribbed appearance (20–28 parallel ribs at its maximum width), whereas internally, rectangular areolae are occluded by ricae. The raphe slit lies in a narrow axial area, and one side of the raphe sternum is deeper and folds over the other, obscuring the internal opening. Internally, the central virga on one side of the raphe and two virgae on the other are somewhat broader. A conspicuous pore (stigma) is present between the two broadened virgae. The girdle consists of valvocopulae, copulae, and pleurae. There are 16–20 bands per cingulum. The valvocopulae and copulae are hollow tube-like structures, with inner and outer portions contrsting in morphology. They decrease in diameter in an abvalvar direction. There are four pleurae. These are flat bands which facilitate overlap of the epicingulum and hypocingulum. Fundamental features of the valve and girdle reveal the distinctness of this species within Navicula. The areolae, external longitudinal ribs, and raphe structure suggest affinities with Pleurosigma, Gyrosigma, and Haslea. It is hypothesized that they share a derived state which indicates a recent common ancestor for these taxa. N. complanatoides and related species of the Naviculae microstigmatacae are distinctive enough to merit their own genus within the Naviculaceae.