To address the relative importance of shrimp trawling on seabed resuspension and bottom characteristics in shallow estuaries, a series of disturbance and monitoring experiments were conducted at a ...bay bottom mud site (2.5
m depth) in Galveston Bay, Texas in July 1998 and May 1999. Based on pre- and post-trawl sediment profiles of
7Be; pore water dissolved oxygen and sulfide concentration; and bulk sediment properties, it was estimated that the trawl rig, including the net, trawl doors, and “tickler chain,” excavate the seabed to a maximum depth of approximately 1.5
cm, with most areas displaying considerably less disturbance. Water column profile data in the turbid plume left by the trawl in these underconsolidated muds (85–90% porosity; <0.25
kPa undrained shear strength) demonstrate that suspended sediment inventories of up to 85–90
mg/cm
2 are produced immediately behind the trawl net; an order of magnitude higher than pre-trawl inventories and comparable to those observed during a 9–10
m/s wind event at the study site. Plume settling and dispersion caused suspended sediment inventories to return to pre-trawl values about 14
min after trawl passage in two separate experiments, indicating particles re-settle primarily as flocs before they can be widely dispersed by local currents. As a result of the passage of the trawl rig across the seabed, shear strength of the sediment surface showed no significant increase, suggesting that bed armoring is not taking place and the trawled areas will not show an increase in critical shear stress.
In chronic uremia, cardiomyopathy manifests itself as systolic dysfunction, concentric left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, or LV dilatation. To determine the impact of renal transplantation on uremic ...cardiomyopathy, all dialysis patients participating in a long-term cohort study who received a successful renal transplant were followed with echocardiography. The transplanted group comprised 102 of 433 (24%) endstage renal disease (ESRD) patients. They were significantly younger and, on starting ESRD therapy, had significantly less ischemic heart disease and cardiac failure than the overall ESRD cohort. During followup, ischemic heart disease developed in only 1 patient and none experienced cardiac failure. In the 12% (n = 12) of patients with systolic dysfunction before renal transplant, fractional shortening normalized in all patients, increasing from 21.5 +/- 4.6% to 33.5 +/- 5.6% after transplantation. In the 41% (n = 41) with concentric LV hypertrophy before transplantation, the LV mass index improved from 158 +/- 39 g/m2 to 132 +/- 39 g/m2. LV dilatation was present in 32% (n = 32) of patients before transplantation. After transplantation, LV volume fell from 116 +/- 3.1 ml/m2 to 89 +/- 21 ml/m2, and LV mass index in this group fell from 166 +/- 55 g/m2 to 135 +/- 37 g/m2. It was not possible to associate risk factors characteristic of the uremic state with the improvement in cardiac structure and function, although the fall in LV mass was significantly associated with fall in blood pressure. We conclude that correction of the uremic state by renal transplantation leads to normalization of LV contractility in systolic dysfunction, regression of hypertrophy in concentric LV hypertrophy, and improvement of cavity volume in LV dilatation. The degree of improvement suggests that dialysis patients with uremic cardiomyopathy would benefit from renal transplantation.
Understanding the nucleon spin structure in the regime where the strong interaction becomes truly strong poses a challenge to both experiment and theory. At energy scales below the nucleon mass of ...about 1 GeV, the intense interaction among the quarks and gluons inside the nucleon makes them highly correlated. Their coherent behaviour causes the emergence of effective degrees of freedom, requiring the application of non-perturbative techniques such as chiral effective field theory1. Here we present measurements of the neutron’s generalized spin polarizabilities that quantify the neutron’s spin precession under electromagnetic fields at very low energy-momentum transfer squared down to 0.035 GeV2. In this regime, chiral effective field theory calculations2,3,4 are expected to be applicable. Our data, however, show a strong discrepancy with these predictions, presenting a challenge to the current description of the neutron’s spin properties.
The effects of shrimp trawling on sediment oxygen consumption and the sediment–water exchange fluxes of nutrients (ammonium, phosphate and silicate) and trace metals (Mn, Ni, Cu, Cd and Pb) were ...determined for two separate experiments conducted during July 1998 and May 1999. Oxygen microelectrode measurements showed that during the 1998 experiment, the surface sediments were oxic down to depths of approximately 15
mm suggesting that the study area had not been recently trawled. However, after passage of the trawl gear oxygen was present to depths of only 5
mm. This suggests resuspension of the upper 1
cm of sediment and resulted in ammonium and manganese fluxes increasing by a factor of 2–3, which was attributed to a similar mechanism, i.e. a strengthening of the diffusive gradient. The measured fluxes of oxygen, phosphate and the trace metals Ni, Cu and Pb were not affected by trawling, while the flux of Cd was affected.
During the 1999 shrimp trawl experiment, pre- and post-trawl oxygen penetration was limited to the upper 1
mm of sediment suggesting the area had been recently trawled. The diffusive fluxes of oxygen were in agreement with directly measured oxygen fluxes, both prior to and after trawling; further indication that trawling had little to no effect on the exchange of oxygen across the sediment–water interface during this time. Macrofaunal abundance was significantly reduced during 1999 and consistent with sediment oxygen consumption rates, which were also lower during this time. This resulted in the fluxes of oxygen, which were enhanced by biological processes during 1998, becoming diffusion controlled during 1999. This resulted in pre- and post-trawl fluxes of oxygen, ammonium, silicate, Mn, Ni, Cu and Pb, when considering the measurement error, which did not differ significantly. Cd again seemed affected by shrimp trawling activities.
An increase or decrease in a trace metal's turnover time (the time in days required to replenish the water column concentration) can have important implications towards the overall health of an estuary. In Galveston Bay, trace metal turnover times averaged 0.4±0.5, 52±32, 27±15, 22±23 and 5.3±3.0
d for Mn, Ni, Cu, Cd and Pb, respectively. These relatively short turnover times indicate that the sediments can be an important source of trace metals to the overlying water column, especially during low-flow periods of the Trinity River, which can sometimes last more than 1
yr. This, in turn, could possibly lead to the non-conservative mixing behaviors, for both nutrients and trace metals, previously reported for the Trinity Bay region of Galveston Bay, as conservative mixing is observed in the lower estuary.
Our study shows that the effects of shrimp trawling are largely dependent on the prevailing sediment redox conditions due to the shallow penetration depth of both oxygen and the trawl gear. Therefore, it is unlikely that trawling activities adversely affect the overall health of Galveston Bay. However, repeated trawling with removal of the upper oxic sediment layers could trend surface sediments towards anoxia and ultimately lead to changes in benthic–pelagic coupling.
Background The purpose of this study was to analyze whether a recent trend in evidence supporting operative treatment of clavicular fractures is matched with an increase in operative fixation and ...complication rates in the United States. Methods The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery database was reviewed for cases with Current Procedural Terminology (American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, USA) code 23515 (clavicle open reduction internal fixation ORIF) from 1999 to 2010. The procedure rate for each year and the number of procedures for each candidate performing clavicle ORIF were calculated to determine if a change had occurred in the frequency of ORIF for clavicular fractures. Complication and outcome data were also reviewed. Results In 2010 vs, 1999, there were statistically significant increases in the mean number of clavicle ORIF performed among all candidates (0.89 vs. 0.13; P < .0001) and in the mean number of clavicle ORIF per candidate performing clavicle ORIF (2.47 vs. 1.20, P < .0473). The difference in the percentage of part II candidates performing clavicle ORIF from the start to the end of the study (11% vs. 36%) was significant ( P < .0001). There was a significant increase in the clavicle ORIF percentage of total cases (0.11% vs. 0.74%, P < .0001). The most common complication was hardware failure (4%). Conclusion The rate of ORIF of clavicular fractures has increased in candidates taking part II of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, with a low complication rate. The increase in operative fixation during this interval may have been influenced by literature suggesting improved outcomes in patients treated with operative stabilization of their clavicular fracture.
Flip-chip heterogeneously integrated n-p-n InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with integrated thermal management on wide-bandgap AlN substrates followed by GaAs substrate removal ...are demonstrated. Without thermal management, substrate removal after integration significantly aggravates self-heating effects, causing poor I–V characteristics due to excessive device self-heating. An electrothermal codesign scheme is demonstrated that involves simulation (design), thermal characterization, fabrication, and evaluation. Thermoreflectance thermal imaging, electrical-temperature sensitive parameter-based thermometry, and infrared thermography were utilized to assess the junction temperature rise in HBTs under diverse configurations. In order to reduce the thermal resistance of integrated devices, passive cooling schemes assisted by structural modification, i.e., positioning indium bump heat sinks between the devices and the carrier, were employed. By implementing thermal heat sinks in close proximity to the active region of flip-chip integrated HBTs, the junction-to-baseplate thermal resistance was reduced over a factor of two, as revealed by junction temperature measurements and improvement of electrical performance. In conclusion, the suggested heterogeneous integration method accounts for not only electrical but also thermal requirements providing insight into realization of advanced and robust III–V/Si heterogeneously integrated electronics.
Metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs) are becoming increasingly common in commercial products. Release of these materials into the environment raises concerns about the potential risks they pose to ...aquatic life. Predicting these risks requires an understanding of MNPs’ chemical transformations. In this study, arrays of immobilized MNPs fabricated by nanosphere lithography (NSL) were used to investigate environmental transformations of MNPs. Specifically, sulfidation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and dissolution of copper-based nanoparticles (Cu NPs) were investigated. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy were the primary analytical techniques for these investigations. Because the MNPs were immobilized on a solid surface, the samples were field deployable, environmentally relevant metal concentrations were maintained, and the confounding influence of MNP aggregation was eliminated. Ag NP samples were deployed in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant. Sulfidation occurred almost exclusively in anaerobic zones of the WWTP, where the initial sulfidation rate was 11-14 nm of Ag converted to Ag2S per day. Conversion to Ag2S was complete within 7-10 d. Dissolution rates of Cu-based NPs were measured in situ over a range of pH by flow-cell AFM. Based on the measured rates, CuO/Cu(OH)2 NPs dissolve completely within a matter of hours at any pH, metallic Cu NPs persist for a few hours to days, and CuxS NPs do not dissolve significantly over the time scales studied. Field deployment of samples in a freshwater stream confirmed these conclusions for a natural aquatic system. This research demonstrates that environmental transformations of MNPs will be a key factor in determining the ultimate form and concentration of NPs that aquatic organisms will be exposed to.
Metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs) are becoming increasingly common in commercial products. Release of these materials into the environment raises concerns about the potential risks they pose to ...aquatic life. Predicting these risks requires an understanding of MNPs’ chemical transformations. In this study, arrays of immobilized MNPs fabricated by nanosphere lithography (NSL) were used to investigate environmental transformations of MNPs. Specifically, sulfidation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and dissolution of copper-based nanoparticles (Cu NPs) were investigated. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy were the primary analytical techniques for these investigations. Because the MNPs were immobilized on a solid surface, the samples were field deployable, environmentally relevant metal concentrations were maintained, and the confounding influence of MNP aggregation was eliminated. Ag NP samples were deployed in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant. Sulfidation occurred almost exclusively in anaerobic zones of the WWTP, where the initial sulfidation rate was 11-14 nm of Ag converted to Ag2S per day. Conversion to Ag2S was complete within 7-10 d. Dissolution rates of Cu-based NPs were measured in situ over a range of pH by flow-cell AFM. Based on the measured rates, CuO/Cu(OH)2 NPs dissolve completely within a matter of hours at any pH, metallic Cu NPs persist for a few hours to days, and CuxS NPs do not dissolve significantly over the time scales studied. Field deployment of samples in a freshwater stream confirmed these conclusions for a natural aquatic system. This research demonstrates that environmental transformations of MNPs will be a key factor in determining the ultimate form and concentration of NPs that aquatic organisms will be exposed to.
Current status of surgery in dermatology Hanke, C. William, MD; Moy, Ronald L., MD; Roenigk, Randall K., MD ...
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology,
12/2013, Letnik:
69, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
An article titled “Current issues in dermatologic office-based surgery” was published in the JAAD in October 1999 (volume 41, issue 4, pp. 624-634). The article was developed by the Joint American ...Academy of Dermatology/American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Liaison Committee. A number of subjects were addressed in the article including surgical training program requirements for dermatology residents and selected advances in dermatologic surgery that had been pioneered by dermatologists. The article concluded with sections on credentialing, privileging, and accreditation of office-based surgical facilities. Much has changed since 1999, including more stringent requirements for surgical training during dermatology residency, and the establishment of 57 accredited Procedural Dermatology Fellowship Training Programs. All of these changes have been overseen and approved by the Residency Review Committee for Dermatology and the Accreditation Committee for Graduate Medical Education. The fertile academic environment of academic training programs with interaction between established dermatologic surgeons and fellows, as well as the inquisitive nature of many of our colleagues, has led to the numerous major advances in dermatologic surgery, which are described herein. Learning objectives Dermatologists have been responsible for multiple advances and refinements in dermatologic office-based surgery over many decades. Dermatologists receive extensive training in office-based surgical procedures during residency, fellowships, and continuing medical education courses. The last update on this subject appeared in the Journal in 1999. This article will document the multitude of advances that have occurred since 1999.