"Visual analysis of multiple baseline across participants graphs when change is delayed": Correction to Lieberman et al. (2010).

Reports an error in "Visual analysis of multiple baseline across participants graphs when change is delayed" by Rebecca G. Lieberman, Paul J. Yoder, Brian Reichow and Mark Wolery (School Psychology Quarterly, 2010[Mar], Vol 25[1], 28-44). There were several errors in the text. The corrected text is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2010-05458-003.) A within-subjects group experimental design was used to test whether three manipulated characteristics of multiple baseline across participants (MBL-P) data showing at least a month delayed change in slope affected experts’ inference of a functional relation and agreement on this judgment. Thirty-six experts completed a survey composed of 16 MBL-P graphs. Graphs with steep slopes, once change began, were far more likely to be judged as showing a functional relation. Generally, experts disagreed with each other regarding functional relation judgments. Implications for the types of dependent variables that fit the requirements of MBL-P are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Isolation and identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria from foods as possible exposure sources

A variety of foods collected from local supermarkets and produce stands were examined as possible sources of nontuberculous mycobacterial exposure. Food samples were combined with sterile ultrapure water and manually shaken. To remove large particles, the suspensions were filtered through a sterile strainer, centrifuged, and the supernatants were discarded. The food pellets were stored at -75 degrees C. The pellets were treated with either oxalic acid or sodium hydroxide-sodium citrate solutions to reduce contamination by nonmycobacterial organisms. Decontaminated pellets were cultured on both Middlebrook 7H10C agar and Middlebrook 7H10C agar with supplemental malachite green. Plates were observed for growth at 2 and 8 weeks. Isolates demonstrating acid-fastness were identified to species using polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme analysis. Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) were recovered from 25 of 121 foods. Six different species of NTM were isolated, the most predominant being Mycobacterium avium.     

Volume of blood required to detect common neonatal pathogens

OBJECTIVE: To determine the minimum volume of blood and the absolute number of organisms required for detection of bacteremia and fungemia by an automated colorimetric blood culture system (BacT/Alert, Organon Teknika). DESIGN: Common neonatal pathogens, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus (GBS): one American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) strain and one clinical isolate), Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Candida albicans, were seeded into blood to produce bacteremia or fungemia with low colony counts (1 to 3 colony-forming units (CFU) per milliliter) and ultra-low colony counts (<1 CFU/ml). For each organism, 96 culture bottles were inoculated with either 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, or 4.0 ml of the two seeded blood concentrations. Blood culture bottles were incubated in the BacT/Alert device for 5 days, and time to positivity was noted when applicable. All bottles were subcultured on plated media. DATA ANALYSIS: The Poisson statistic was used to calculate the probability of finding at least one viable CFU per inoculated culture bottle. The fraction of culture bottles with positive findings per group was divided by the probability of one or more organisms present to give the positivity index. RESULTS: Plated subculture identified no growth of organisms not detected by the colorimetric detection system. The false-positive rate for the automated device was less than 1%. The positivity index for the GBS clinical isolate was 1.13, for the GBS ATCC isolate 0.96, for S. epidermidis 0.94, for C. albicans 0.97, and for E. coli 0.95. There was a statistically significant difference with time to positivity and inocula volume (p <0.01), but the difference was not clinically important. CONCLUSIONS: If one or two viable colony-forming units are in the blood inoculated into culture media, the BacT/Alert system will detect growth rapidly. Because there appears to be a sizable subset of neonates who are at risk of sepsis with a colony count less than 4 CFU/ml, then a 0.5 ml inoculum of blood into the culture media is inadequate for sensitive and timely detection of bacteremia. One to two milliliters of blood should increase microorganism recovery in the face of low-colony-count sepsis.     

Impact of wide bandgap microwave devices on DoD systems

Radiofrequency (RF) semiconductor electronics enable military systems that operate in the microwave and millimeter wave frequency bands of 1-100 GHz. The performance of numerous electromagnetic systems could be enhanced by the inclusion of wide bandgap (WBG) microwave and millimeter wave devices, either as power amplifier or receiver elements. The demonstrated power performance has generally been six to ten times that of equivalent gallium arsenide or indium phosphide devices up through 20 GHz, with enhanced dynamic range and improved impedance matching. These characteristics provide an opportunity to significantly reduce the number of modules required for many active aperture antenna systems, hence, cost, while enabling new capabilities for shared apertures. Prior to realization of any WBG system deployment, however considerable development and maturation of WBG materials, devices, and circuits must yet ensue.     

Iron,nickel, copper,zinc and cadmium content of two cultivars of white yam (Dioscorea rotundata) and their source soils

The determination by atomic absorption spectroscopy of the iron, nickel, copper, zinc and cadmium content of two cultivars of white yam (Dioscorea rotundata Pair) and their source soil from three farms, and also of random samples of the cultivars from five geographical areas in Kaduna and Plateau states of Nigeria, is reported. The analyses show all the metals except Fe to be in trace amounts in the tissues of both cultivars; the barks contain two to four times more. The iron content was found to be about 20 times higher in the bark than in the tissue. Less than 0.7% of the metals present in the soil could be extracted with NH₄NO₃ solution. Yam bark, which contains reasonable amounts of the above metals, could be useful as cattle feed. Yam tissue, having a high content of Zn compared with Cd, could be recommended for the diet of hypertensive patients.     

The Engage Program: Implementing and Assessing a New First Year Experience at the University of Tennessee

The Engage initiative at the University of Tennessee addresses the needs of entering engineering students through a new first year curriculum. The program integrates the engineering subject matter of the freshman year, teaches problem solving and design by application, and seeks to address the increased retention and graduation of engineering students. Noteworthy curriculum features of the Engage program include a hands‐on laboratory where students do physical homework to practice the concepts introduced in lectures, placing all freshman engineering students in a year‐long team design curriculum, and a team training course where engineering upperclassmen are trained in team facilitation techniques and placed as facilitators with the freshman design teams. The Engage program was piloted during the 1997–98 academic year with 60 students. In 1998–99, the program was scaled up to 150 students, and fully implemented with the entire freshman class of 465 students during the 1999–2000 academic year. Engage students have shown a significant increase in academic performance compared to students following a more traditional curriculum. Graduation statistics show the positive long‐term results of this effort.     

Transforming the curriculum while serving the community: strategies for developing community-based sites

AIM: To investigate the distribution of Laminin in experimental microvascular surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Autografts (4 mm) of the left common carotid artery in 20 Wistar rats were harvested after 4 weeks. The specimens were investigated immunohistochemically for the demonstration and distribution of Laminin. RESULTS: The demonstration and distribution pattern of Laminin was a function of the accuracy of each single suture. In the intima, the organisation and amount of Laminin was directed to the lumen and dependent from the distance and vitality of the vessel segments' cells. The media had in its axis direction the lowest reparative potency to regenerate the continuity break. The adventitia formed a thick cuff around the anastomosis, which was circularly grown through with Laminin-positive vasa vasorum. The marked myointimal hyperplasia in the area around the anastomosis and in the entire autograft was constituted of Laminin-positive extracellular matrix. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the demand for a careful and atraumatic suture technique in microvascular surgery.     

Comparison of next-generation portable pollution monitors to measure exposure to PM2.5 from household air pollution in Puno,Peru

Assessment of personal exposure to PM_2.5 is critical for understanding intervention effectiveness and exposure-response relationships in household air pollution studies. In this pilot study, we compared PM_2.5 concentrations obtained from two next-generation personal exposure monitors (the Enhanced Children MicroPEM or ECM; and the Ultrasonic Personal Air Sampler or UPAS) to those obtained with a traditional Triplex Cyclone and SKC Air Pump (a gravimetric cyclone/pump sampler). We co-located cyclone/pumps with an ECM and UPAS to obtain 24-hour kitchen concentrations and personal exposure measurements. We measured Spearmen correlations and evaluated agreement using the Bland-Altman method. We obtained 215 filters from 72 ECM and 71 UPAS co-locations. Overall, the ECM and the UPAS had similar correlation (ECM ρ = 0.91 vs UPAS ρ = 0.88) and agreement (ECM mean difference of 121.7 µg/m³ vs UPAS mean difference of 93.9 µg/m³) with overlapping confidence intervals when compared against the cyclone/pump. When adjusted for the limit of detection, agreement between the devices and the cyclone/pump was also similar for all samples (ECM mean difference of 68.8 µg/m³ vs UPAS mean difference of 65.4 µg/m³) and personal exposure samples (ECM mean difference of −3.8 µg/m³ vs UPAS mean difference of −12.9 µg/m³). Both the ECM and UPAS produced comparable measurements when compared against a cyclone/pump setup.