These 17 papers result from a 1983 conference held to honor Professor Mahlon Marsh Day upon his retirement from the University of Illinois. Each of the main speakers was invited to take some aspect ...of Day's pioneering work as a starting point: he was the first American mathematician to study normed spaces from a geometric standpoint and, for a number of years, pioneered American research on the structure of Banach spaces. The material is aimed at researchers and graduate students in functional analysis. Many of the articles are expository and are written for the reader with only a basic background in the theory of normed linear spaces.
Objectives To assess variation in feeding practice at hospital discharge after the Norwood procedure, factors associated with tube feeding, and associations among site, feeding mode, and growth ...before stage II. Study design From May 2005 to July 2008, 555 subjects from 15 centers were enrolled in the Pediatric Heart Network Single Ventricle Reconstruction Trial; 432 survivors with feeding data at hospital discharge after the Norwood procedure were analyzed. Results Demographic and clinical variables were compared among 4 feeding modes: oral only (n = 140), oral/tube (n = 195), nasogastric tube (N-tube) only (n = 40), and gastrostomy tube (G-tube) only (n = 57). There was significant variation in feeding mode among sites (oral only 0%-81% and G-tube only 0%-56%, P < .01). After adjusting for site, multivariable modeling showed G-tube feeding at discharge was associated with longer hospitalization, and N-tube feeding was associated with greater number of discharge medications ( R2 = 0.65, P < .01). After adjusting for site, mean pre–stage II weight-for-age z -score was significantly higher in the oral-only group (−1.4) vs the N-tube–only (−2.2) and G-tube–only (−2.1) groups ( P = .04 and .02, respectively). Conclusions Feeding mode at hospital discharge after the Norwood procedure varied among sites. Prolonged hospitalization and greater number of medications at the time of discharge were associated with tube feeding. Infants exclusively fed orally had a higher weight-for-age z score pre–stage II than those fed exclusively by tube. Exploring strategies to prevent morbidities and promote oral feeding in this highest risk population is warranted.
The retina is an intricately organized neural tissue built on cone and rod pathways for color and night vision. Genetic mutations that disrupt the proper function of the rod circuit contribute to ...blinding diseases including retinitis pigmentosa and congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB). Down Syndrome cell adhesion molecule like 1 (Dscaml1) is expressed by rods, rod bipolar cells (RBCs), and sub-populations of amacrine cells, and has been linked to a middle age onset of CSNB in humans. However, how Dscaml1 contributes to this visual deficit remains unexplored. Here, we probed Dscaml1's role in the maintenance of the rod-to-RBC synapse using a loss of function mouse model. We used immunohistochemistry to investigate the anatomical formation and maintenance of the rod-to-RBC synapse in the young, adult, and aging retina. We generated 3D reconstructions, using serial electron micrographs, of rod spherules and RBCs to measure the number of invaginating neurites, RBC dendritic tip number, and RBC mitochondrial morphology. We find that while rod-to-RBC synapses form and are maintained, similar to wildtype, that there is an increase in the number of invaginating neurites in rod spherules, a reduction in RBC dendritic tips, and reduced mitochondrial volume and complexity in the Dscaml1 mutant retina compared to controls. We also observed precocious sprouting of RBC dendrites into the outer nuclear layer (ONL) of the Dscaml1 mutant retina compared to controls. These results contribute to our knowledge of Dscaml1's role in rod circuit development and maintenance and give additional insight into possible genetic therapy targets for blinding diseases and disorders like CSNB.
Aerosol time of flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS) was used to analyse the particles emitted during the flaming and smouldering phases of the combustion of samples of hard and soft woods. Eugenol and ...furfural were also burned and using results from previous work of the authors, they have been shown to be useful proxies for initial wood combustion products. The ratios of elementary carbon to total carbon in the particles were similar for both the woods and for eugenol. The ATOFMS spectra of most of the particles were consistent with the presence of soot precursor constituents along with oxygen containing fragments. Most particle diameters were less than 2.5μm, with the greatest concentration of <0.12μm.
•Wood samples were burned under conditions which allowed separation of the flaming and smouldering stages of wood combustion.•Emitted particles were analysed by atmospheric time of flight mass spectrometry.•The decomposition products of proxy compounds were demonstrated to be relevant for improving our understanding of wood combustion.•Implications for health were that the diameters of most of the particles were less than 2.5μm.•The implications for atmospheric chemistry was that the greatest concentration of particles was <0.12μm.
► The formation of PAH in low temperature pyrolysis was investigated for diesel fuel, surrogate diesel fuels and 13C labelled PAH. ► A thermal pyrolysis flow reactor connected to a GCMS was used to ...analyse the products. ► The PAH compounds produced were identified and the routes arising from the thermal decomposition of hexadecane and methyl palmitate were modelled.
A study has been made of the formation of PAH from biodiesel and conventional diesel fuel using a flow cell reactor at temperatures of 600–900°C. The reaction mechanism has been validated by modelling studies using Chemkin. Pyrolysis of 9-13Cmethylphenanthrene was undertaken to investigate the demethylation reaction of methyl-PAH compounds present in the original petroleum diesel. The product profiles obtained are shown to be similar for all fuels studied, pointing to a commonality of mechanism after the decomposition of the parent hydrocarbon. Dealkylation was demonstrated as the main reaction using the 9-13Cmethylphenanthrene, however other 13C labelled species were also formed.
Received wisdom suggests that boundaries are, or should be, important in intimate relationships. In this essay, we focus primarily upon the beliefs and phenomenology relating to a variety of ...boundaries, and provide a discussion of some conceptual issues, in order to understand better the development, facilitation, and maintenance of, as well as restraints upon, intimacy. Although we attend mainly to dyadic relationships, we believe that our observations and suggestions have application to larger groups.
Water logging and groundwater recharge were studied at a site in southwestern Australia characterised by sloping duplex soils in a Mediterranean environment. The specific objectives of the study ...were: (a) to determine the effectiveness of land management systems involving trees, shallow interceptor drains, and perennial pasture in reducing water logging and recharge risk; and (b) to predict water logging risk at the plot and catchment scale. We found that properties inherent in the site (soil hydraulics, topography, surface dams) had a larger control over seasonal water logging than differences in vegetation cover, with large variations in water logging and recharge over a relatively small area. Such variability would be difficult to capture in any detail using a process model of water logging. The tree/drain systems had local effects on water logging control, but this was mostly due to the direct effects of the trees, which provided localised discharge from deeper groundwater systems.
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