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Analyzing and Designing an Arduino Controlled System to Study the Effect of Changing Water Levels on Water Flow Through Sediments
Full text linkThe hyporheic zone is the region of sediment under a stream where water from the stream flows before returning to the stream itself. Many studies focus on steady water flow through this region, however, in natural systems, water levels and water flow rates change due to storms, tides, dams, or melting snow. To investigate flow under unsteady conditions, we built a system that allows us to control the water level and thus the flow rates. We used a pressure sensor that is connected to an Arduino board to measure the water level. The Arduino board uses the measured pressure value to control a water pump. When the water level is lower than desired, the pump will turn on and when it is higher than desired, it will turn off. This allowed us to hold the water level constant or tell it to oscillate. We then evaluated our system by comparing our desired water level functions to those measured with our pressure sensor, those measured by a pressure transducer connected to a separate Arduino, and those we extracted from videos of our system
Exploring the Effectiveness of Anicare as an Intervention for Animal Cruelty
No full textThe existing interventions for animal cruelty are lacking outcome data on decreasing animal cruelty behaviors. The purpose of this study was to further explore an intervention model for adults who engage in violent animal cruelty behaviors. The AniCare Model of Treatment for Animal Abuse is the first published intervention for adults that engage in animal cruelty. AniCare was administered to one older adult that was court-mandated for treatment. The study used a single subject design ABA design to explore the effectiveness of AniCare in decreasing animal cruelty behaviors. The measures used included the AniCare Questionnaire Pre-Treatment, AniCare Questionnaire Post-Treatment, and AniCare Factors Questionnaire. The trend of data on the AniCare Questionnaire Pre-Treatment and Post-Treatment suggested a decrease in animal cruelty behaviors. There are several additional factors that may have contributed to the outcome of the study that included: being court-mandated to treatment, reduced stress and agitation over time, benefits from engaging in therapy, and gaps during the study where no data were collected. There is a need for more research on the prevalence, assessment measures, and interventions related to animal cruelty
Diagonal Earlobe Crease: A Warning Sign of Stroke
Full text linkAbstract
Background: The diagonal earlobe crease (DELC), commonly referred to as “Frank’s sign”, was first described in 1973 by an American physician as a crease in the earlobe that originates at the tragus and runs diagonally towards the outer, lower edge. Over the past half-century, research on this dermatologic finding has found a significant correlation between the presence of a DELC and coronary artery disease (CAD). Additionally, DELC has also been associated with other risk factors associated with both CAD and stroke, which include hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus (DM), and age. Despite this, skepticism has led to this physical exam finding being overlooked as a predictive marker. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the association between the DELC and stroke risk.
Methods: An exhaustive search of available medical literature was conducted in MEDLINE-PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar, using the search terms diagonal earlobe, Frank’s sign, stroke, cerebrovascular, and cerebral. References from relevant articles were also searched. Articles were included only after screening for relevance and if eligibility criteria were met. An assessment of quality was performed using the GRADE system.
Results: The initial literature search yielded 40 articles for review. After eliminating duplicates and screening for relevant articles, a total of 2 qualifying case-control studies remained. The quality of those studies was low, however the results of both studies were consistent. These studies support a positive correlation between the presence of DELC and stroke risk.
Conclusion: This systematic review determined there was a correlation between the presence of a DELC and an increased stroke risk. Based on the findings, visual examination of patients’ earlobes should be incorporated into routine physical evaluations and clinical assessments. Doing so may provide a clinician with an additional tool to recognize and provide earlier interventions, decreasing a patient’s risk of future cerebrovascular events
Prophylactic Use of Permethrin in Tick Infested Areas
Full text linkBackground: The prevalence of tick-borne diseases in the U.S. continues to escalate causing a major public health concern. Due to challenges that providers are faced with when diagnosing and treating tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme Disease, preventative methods are critical. This is a systematic review on the EPA-approved use of permethrin-treated clothing and its efficacy in the reduction of tick bites.
Methods: An exhaustive medical literature review was conducted utilizing PubMed-MEDLINE, Web of Science, and CINAHL using keywords: permethrin and tick bites.
Results: The search produced 44 studies with 4 pertaining to the clinical question. One study was excluded, due to its completion in a clinical setting versus the outdoors. Two of three studies revealed a statistical difference between the treatment and control groups and were considered to be of moderate quality.
Conclusion: Statistically significant findings between groups, who wore permethrin-treated clothing, and those who did not, indicates that permethrin is an efficacious preventative method for tick bite reduction.
Keywords: Permethrin, permethrin-treated clothing, tick bites, vector-borne diseases, tick-borne diseases, Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Feve
Propranolol’s effects on memory reconsolidation in patients with PTSD
Full text linkBackground: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder affecting millions of the US population. Symptoms and comorbidities of the disorder can dramatically affect the lives the sufferers. First-line treatment has been either antidepressants, psychotherapy, or a combination of both. However, success rates are lacking. Recently, the beta blocker propranolol has been shown to have effects on disrupting memory reconsolidation in humans through inhibitory actions on protein synthesis and norepinephrine. This could potentially translate to disrupting the traumatic memories in PTSD and becoming an adequate treatment for the condition.
Methods: An exhaustive literature search of MEDLINE-Ovid, MEDLINE-Pubmed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science with the terms PTSD, Posttraumatic stress disorder, reconsolidation, and propranolol was conducted. Bibliographies were also searched for relevant studies. The studies were evaluated using GRADE criteria.
Results: A search of currently available research yielded 232 articles, 3 of which met inclusion criteria. One of the studies was a meta-analysis from 2013, one study was a continuation from a previous study included in the meta-analysis, and one study was a randomized control trial. Decreases in psychophysiological response (heart rate and skin conductance) to traumatic imagery with propranolol-treated subjects was observed and considered statistically significant. A follow-up study also showed these results lasted over 4 months. Clinician-administered PTSD scale (CAPS) scores and PTSD Checklist (PCL) scores were found to be significantly lower in propranolol-treated PTSD subjects when compared to placebo after memory reconsolidation and at follow-up.
Conclusion: Both early and recent studies have shown promising results of propranolol blocking memory reconsolidation in PTSD patients to reduce symptoms, but its routine use in practice would be premature. Study limitations and uncertainties warrant the need for extension and replication in larger samples of the population. If further studies can duplicate the findings, propranolol use in conjunction with memory reactivation exercises may be an effective, safe, and affordable treatment for PTSD
Them’s Flyting Words: The Boundaries of Acceptable Affronts in Medieval Poetry
Full text linkThe boundaries between verbal arguments and physical retribution are complicated and difficult to directly identify. This paper examines the points at which verbal sparring, conventionally dubbed “flyting,” turns to physical altercations. In identifying these points in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, I find that rhetoric turns to violence after affronts to particular morality-based identities. In my reading of Sir Gawain, I posit that the eponyms’ flyte and subsequent fight in the fourth fitt represent an attack on both the institution of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table and on Sir Gawain’s personhood. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath,” I suggest a reading wherein the violence between Allison and Janekin represents a fight against the rhetoric of oppression. Throughout the essay, I show how physical retribution is, in these texts, an excusable method of defense against language, particularly when personal and political senses of honor are verbally attacked
Transportation Planning for Automated Vehicles—Or Automated Vehicles for Transportation Planning?
No full textIn recent years, philosophical examinations of automated vehicles have progressed far beyond initial concerns over the ethical decisions that pertain to programming in the event of a crash. In turn, this paper moves in that direction, focusing on the motivations behind efforts to implement driverless vehicles into urban settings. The author argues that the many perceived benefits of these technologies yield a received view of automated vehicles. This position holds that driverless vehicles can solve most if not all urban mobility issues. However, the problem with such an outlook is that it lends itself to transportation planning for automated vehicles, rather than using them as part of planning efforts that could serve urban mobility. Due to this condition, present efforts aimed at improving transportation systems should resist dogmatic thinking. Instead, they should focus on goals that keep topics such a human flourishing, sustainability, and transportation justice firmly in view