Amanda Smith - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Amanda Smith

A combined heat and power (CHP) system is investigated with and without a thermal energy storage ... more A combined heat and power (CHP) system is investigated with and without a thermal energy storage option for eight different commercial building types located in Chicago, IL. The building's electrical and thermal loads are simulated on an hourly basis over one year and a CHP system operating at a constant base load is modeled. The CHP system alone is compared with a CHP system which incorporates thermal storage in varying amounts. In each case, the CHP system reduces operational cost, primary energy consumption (PEC), and carbon dioxide emissions (CDE) with respect to the reference case without a CHP system. For six of the eight buildings, adding thermal storage provides further reductions in operational cost, PEC, and CDE. More thermal increases these benefits. However, the size of the supplemental boiler required by the building to satisfy the thermal load is not reduced except in the case of the large hotel. In addition, the sizing of the CHP system's power generation unit is not significantly affected by the addition of thermal storage. Buildings which require higher ratios of power to heat will be less likely to benefit from the addition of thermal storage to a CHP system.

PsycEXTRA Dataset

AdSense text ads have become a popular method of advertising on the web, specifically within blog... more AdSense text ads have become a popular method of advertising on the web, specifically within blogs when using Blogger. With increasing popularity of blogs, AdSense ads are enticing to bloggers because they offer financial rewards with relatively little effort. The biggest challenge with ...

Volume 4: Energy Systems Analysis, Thermodynamics and Sustainability; Combustion Science and Engineering; Nanoengineering for Energy, Parts A and B, 2011

Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2015

Detecting participants who are positive for amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology is germane in designing prev... more Detecting participants who are positive for amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology is germane in designing prevention trials by enriching for those cases that are more likely to be amyloid positive. Existing brain amyloid measurement techniques, such as the Pittsburgh Compound B-positron emission tomography and cerebrospinal fluid, are not reasonable first-line approaches limited by either feasibility or cost. We aimed to identify simple and cost-effective rules that can predict brain Aβ level by integrating both neuropsychological measurements and blood-based markers. Several decision tree models were built for extracting the predictive rules based on the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort. We successfully extracted predictive rules of Aβ level. For cognitive function variables, cases above the 45th percentile in total cognitive score (TOTALMOD), above the 52nd percentile of delayed word recall, and above the 70th percentile in orientation resulted in a group that was highly ...

Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007), 2015

In a broad range of evolutionary studies, an understanding of intraspecific variation is needed i... more In a broad range of evolutionary studies, an understanding of intraspecific variation is needed in order to contextualize and interpret the meaning of variation between species. However, mechanical analyses of primate crania using experimental or modeling methods typically encounter logistical constraints that force them to rely on data gathered from only one or a few individuals. This results in a lack of knowledge concerning the mechanical significance of intraspecific shape variation that limits our ability to infer the significance of interspecific differences. This study uses geometric morphometric methods (GM) and finite element analysis (FEA) to examine the biomechanical implications of shape variation in chimpanzee crania, thereby providing a comparative context in which to interpret shape-related mechanical variation between hominin species. Six finite element models (FEMs) of chimpanzee crania were constructed from CT scans following shape-space Principal Component Analysi...

International journal of molecular epidemiology and genetics, 2012

Neuroinflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Varia... more Neuroinflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Variations in genes relevant to inflammation may be candidate genes for AD risk. Whole-genome association studies have identified relevant new and known genes. Their combined effects do not explain 100% of the risk, genetic interactions may contribute. We investigated whether genes involved in inflammation, i.e. PPAR-α, interleukins (IL) IL- 1α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 may interact to increase AD risk. The Epistasis Project identifies interactions that affect the risk of AD. Genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in PPARA, IL1A, IL1B, IL6 and IL10 was performed. Possible associations were analyzed by fitting logistic regression models with AD as outcome, controlling for centre, age, sex and presence of apolipoprotein ε4 allele (APOEε4). Adjusted synergy factors were derived from interaction terms…

JAMA neurology, 2014

Because APOE locus variants contribute to risk of late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) and to diff... more Because APOE locus variants contribute to risk of late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) and to differences in age at onset (AAO), it is important to know whether other established LOAD risk loci also affect AAO in affected participants. To investigate the effects of known Alzheimer disease risk loci in modifying AAO and to estimate their cumulative effect on AAO variation using data from genome-wide association studies in the Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium. The Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium comprises 14 case-control, prospective, and family-based data sets with data on 9162 participants of white race/ethnicity with Alzheimer disease occurring after age 60 years who also had complete AAO information, gathered between 1989 and 2011 at multiple sites by participating studies. Data on genotyped or imputed single-nucleotide polymorphisms most significantly associated with risk at 10 confirmed LOAD loci were examined in linear modeling of AAO, and individual data set results ...

The journal of spinal cord medicine, 2013

To describe the relationship of pain and fatigue with physical and psychological functioning in a... more To describe the relationship of pain and fatigue with physical and psychological functioning in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI). Cross-sectional survey. Community-based survey. Convenience sample of individuals with SCI. Not applicable. Physical functioning (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Functioning item bank items), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)), pain severity (0-10 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)), and fatigue (0-10 NRS). Pain and fatigue were independently associated with depression, but only pain was associated with physical functioning. Additionally, depression was more severe among middle-aged participants relative to younger or older participants. Physical functioning declined with increasing age, as well as with higher level of injury. The findings support the need for continued development of effective treatments for both pain and fatigue in order to prevent and mitigate the negative effects these symptoms...

JAMA neurology, Jan 22, 2014

Recently, a rare variant in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) was described in a populatio... more Recently, a rare variant in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) was described in a population from Iceland. This variant, in which alanine is replaced by threonine at position 673 (A673T), appears to protect against late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD). We evaluated the frequency of this variant in AD cases and cognitively normal controls to determine whether this variant will significantly contribute to risk assessment in individuals in the United States. To determine the frequency of the APP A673T variant in a large group of elderly cognitively normal controls and AD cases from the United States and in 2 case-control cohorts from Sweden. Case-control association analysis of variant APP A673T in US and Swedish white individuals comparing AD cases with cognitively intact elderly controls. Participants were ascertained at multiple university-associated medical centers and clinics across the United States and Sweden by study-specific sampling methods. They were from case-control stu...

British Journal of Nursing, 2013

Anecdotally, pancaking is recognised as troublesome within stoma care, leaving many people with o... more Anecdotally, pancaking is recognised as troublesome within stoma care, leaving many people with ostomies feeling exasperated in trying to deal with this difficult problem. Stoma care nurses offer strategies to help alleviate it, but when strategies fail and appliances continue to leak, or require changing owing to risk of leaking, individuals often feel helpless, demoralised and quality of life can be damaged. A postal survey was carried out to try and identify some of the issues relating to pancaking. Eighty two percent of respondents were likely to experience some degree of pancaking and an alarming 58% changed their pouch more often as a management technique. Therefore, as a consequence of pancaking, the health economy is affected because each individual who suffers from pancaking uses a higher number of appliances. This results in increased costs for the NHS. There is currently no published research regarding pancaking, meaning an integrated approach to finding solutions is needed.

Superhumps are a photometric modulation with period a few percent longer than the orbital period,... more Superhumps are a photometric modulation with period a few percent longer than the orbital period, which manifest in extreme mass ratio systems: in short orbital period cataclysmic variables (CVs) and in black hole X-ray transients (BHXRTs). Superhumps are attributed to the interaction of an eccentric, precessing accretion disc with the donor star. The eccentricity is induced by a 3:1 resonance between the donor star and fluid orbits in the disc. We present a comprehensive investigation using high resolution 3D smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulation (SPH), guided by and compared with both theory and observation. We examine the relation between the superhump period excess over the orbital period and system mass ratio. Our work yields a much improved match to observation. Our simulations reveal the emptying of the disc caused by a tidally enhanced dissipation rate at the onset of the eccentric resonance. It is this which empties the disc during superoutbursts of SUUMa stars and BHXRTs.

PsycEXTRA Dataset

ABSTRACT Previous studies have found that using multiple monitors increases productivity, but the... more ABSTRACT Previous studies have found that using multiple monitors increases productivity, but there are also documented drawbacks to increased monitor count and/or size. The purpose of this study was to determine whether increases in productivity hold true with newer technology, like wide flat-screens, in the multitasking context. Sixty participants were asked to complete several tasks commonly completed in an office environment. These tasks were performed on four different monitor configurations: a single and dual 17” monitor(s) and single and dual 22” monitor(s). Participants located information from several documents and compiled this information into a new document. Dependent variables measured included efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. Results indicated a performance benefit for dual monitor usage, regardless of monitor size. Participants most preferred using dual 22” monitors and least preferred a single 17” monitor.

Tuberculosis, 2011

Interferon-γ (IFNγ) plays a major role during host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mt... more Interferon-γ (IFNγ) plays a major role during host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). T cells produce IFNγ in response to IL-12 and IL-18 secreted from Mtb infected macrophages. IFNγ in turn, induces nitric oxide secretion in macrophages that kills Mtb. IFNγ knockout mice are thus hyper-susceptible to tuberculosis. We reported earlier that Complement C5 deficient (C5-/-) congenic mice are more susceptible to tuberculosis and showed reduced IL-12 synthesis in their macrophages. Using C5-/congenic mice that carry a deletion in the C5 gene and the wild type C5 +/+ mice, we demonstrate here that, the C5-/derived CD3 + T cells, have an additional defect in the synthesis of IFNγ. C5-/-T cells produced lower levels of IFNγ upon stimulation by antigen presenting cells (APCs) infected with Mtb or when stimulated directly with a combination of IL-12 and IL-18. The latter was in part due to a reduced phosphorylation of STAT-4 following IL-12/IL-18 stimulation. Addition of C5a peptide to IL-12/IL-18 partially restored STAT4 phosphorylation and IFNγ synthesis in C5-/-T cells indicating that IL-12/IL-18 mediated signaling within CD3 + T cells involves C5a peptide. Finally, C5-/-T cells derived from M.bovis BCG or Mtb infected mice showed a reduced expression of T-bet (T-box expressed in T cells) transcription factor, which correlated well with a reduced T cell secretion of IFNγ. Since Tbet mediated IFNγ synthesis facilitates Th1 expansion, C5-/mouse derived T cells appear to have an intrinsic defect in the production of IFNγ, which is related to C5 deficiency and this may explain their increased susceptibility to infection with Mtb and BCG.

Tuberculosis, 2011

The ΔfbpA candidate vaccine derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv) protects mice better ... more The ΔfbpA candidate vaccine derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv) protects mice better than BCG against tuberculosis, and we investigated the hypothesis that ΔfbpA may induce a stronger Th1 immunity. Since T-bet transcription factor regulates Th1 immunity, mice infected with ΔfbpA, BCG vaccine and related mycobacteria were analyzed for T-bet positive T cells. Mouse dendritic cells (DCs) or macrophages were also pulsed with excretory-secreted antigens (ES; Antigen-85B, ESAT-6 and CFP10) and cocultured with T cells from immunized or naïve mice and tested for in vitro induction of T-bet and IFN-γ. In both models, ΔfbpA mutant induced a stronger response of T-bet + CD4 T cells, which correlated with an increased expansion of IFNγ + CD4 T cells in vivo and in vitro. When DCs pulsed with ES antigens were allowed to stimulate T cells, ESAT-6 and CFP-10 failed to induce a recall expansion of T-bet + IFN-γ + CD4 T cells from BCG vaccinated mice. Thus, deletion of RD1 in BCG seems to reduce its ability to induce T-bet and induce stronger Th1 immunity. Finally, mice were vaccinated with ΔfbpA and BCG and challenged with virulent Mtb for evaluation of protection and T cell expansion. ΔfbpA vaccinated mice showed a rapid and stronger expansion of CD4 + CXCR3 + IFN-γ + T cells in the lungs of Mtb challenged mice, compared to those which had BCG vaccine. ΔfbpA immunized mice also showed a better decline of the Mtb bacterial counts of the lungs. Mtb derived ΔfbpA candidate vaccine therefore induces qualitatively better T-bet dependent Th1 immunity than BCG vaccine.

Tourism Management, 2011

The expedition cruise industry along the remote 3000 km Kimberley coast in Australia's northwest ... more The expedition cruise industry along the remote 3000 km Kimberley coast in Australia's northwest draws on the area's environmental and cultural assets for its tourism product and provides the main means of access for visitors. Cruises involve frequent onshore excursions to attractions including rock pools, rock art and historic sites. This study used visitor observations and stakeholder interviews to examine potential impacts on environmental and cultural site assets, and visitor safety and experience. Visitor management practices varied strongly between operators, with vast room for improvement by some operations. Inconsistent visitor management practices contributed to a high level of avoidable risks in terms of visitor safety and negative cultural and environmental impacts. Findings from this study highlight the central role of tour guides and operational procedures for improving visitor management practices.

Therapy, 2011

Yes, it costs more to do things right. But is our present model of bringing forward medications t... more Yes, it costs more to do things right. But is our present model of bringing forward medications that might not work and testing them at a disease stage when they are unlikely to succeed cost effective?"

The Drama Review: TDR, 1987

... Production Stage Manager Produced by Martha Clarke The Company Richard Peaslee with the aid o... more ... Production Stage Manager Produced by Martha Clarke The Company Richard Peaslee with the aid ofJohann Sebas-tian Bach, Eugene Friesen, and Johann Strauss Charles L. Mee, Jr. ... Page 5. 2. Laura Innes (left) and Lila York. (Photo by Amanda Smith) ...

Synapse, 1991

The relationship between a rat's locomotor response to a novel environment and its behavioral and... more The relationship between a rat's locomotor response to a novel environment and its behavioral and dopaminergic responses to cocaine was examined. Subjects were divided into two groups based on their locomotor response to a novel environment. Subjects who had a novelty response above the median were classified as high responders (HR), while those with a novelty response below the median were classified as low responders (LR). Following administration of cocaine-HC1(0,2.5,5.0,10.0, or 15.0 mgkg), HR rats showed a greater locomotor response than LR rats. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between a subject's locomotor response to the novel environment and the locomotor response to either 10.0 (r = 0.65) or 15.0 (r = 0.92) mgkg cocaine. In a separate experiment, the extracellular concentration of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NACC) was monitored using microdialysis procedures. Following cocaine administration (15.0 mg/kg) HR rats showed a larger NACC dopamine response and greater locomotor activity than LR rats. In addition, there was a threefold greater locomotor activity to dopamine ratio in HR rats than in LR rats. A correlation between a subject's locomotor response to a novel environment and the dopaminergic response to cocaine was also evident. These results suggest that differences in the locomotor response to cocaine can, to some degree, be predicted by a rat's locomotor response to a novel environment, and that variations in dopamine-dependent mechanisms of the NACC may underlie these individual differences.

Synapse, 1991

Rats were treated for 10 days with cocaine (20 mg/kg, i.p.) followed by either 1 or 10 days of ab... more Rats were treated for 10 days with cocaine (20 mg/kg, i.p.) followed by either 1 or 10 days of abstinence. On the test day a microdialysis method was performed in which dopamine (DA) was added to the perfusate at concentrations above and below the expected extracellular concentration (0, 2.5, 5, and 10 nM) to generate a series of points that can be interpolated to determine the concentration of no net flux, which represents the extracellular DA concentration. The slope of the line generated by this method is the in vivo recovery of the dialysis probe. After 1 day of abstinence, there was no significant difference in basal DA levels in the nucleus accumbens (N ACC) between cocaine treated (4.1 ± 0.3 nM; mean ± SEM) and saline‐treated (3.9 ± 0.2 nM) groups. However, there was a significant increase in the slope of the cocaine‐treated group (0.91 ± 0.04 vs. 0.67 ± 0.08; P >0.03). After 10 days of abstinence, there were reduced basal extracellular levels of DA in the N ACC of the coc...

Stress, 2008

Many studies have shown that early life stress may lead to impaired brain development, and may be... more Many studies have shown that early life stress may lead to impaired brain development, and may be a risk factor for developing psychiatric pathologies such as depression. However, few studies have investigated the impact that early life stress might have on the onset and development of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, which is characterized in part by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. The present study subjected rat pups to a maternal separation paradigm that has been shown to model adverse early life events, and investigated the effects that it has on motor deficits induced by a unilateral, intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (12 microg/4 microl). The female rats were assessed for behavioral changes at 28 days post-lesion with a battery of tests that are sensitive to the degree of dopamine loss. The results showed that rats that had been subjected to maternal separation display significantly impaired performance in the vibrissae and single-limb akinesia test when compared to normally reared animals. In addition, there was a significant increase in the loss of tyrosine hydroxylase staining in maternally separated rats. Our results therefore suggest that adverse experiences sustained during early life contribute to making dopamine neurons more susceptible to subsequent insults occurring during more mature stages of life and may therefore play a role in the etiopathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.

A combined heat and power (CHP) system is investigated with and without a thermal energy storage ... more A combined heat and power (CHP) system is investigated with and without a thermal energy storage option for eight different commercial building types located in Chicago, IL. The building's electrical and thermal loads are simulated on an hourly basis over one year and a CHP system operating at a constant base load is modeled. The CHP system alone is compared with a CHP system which incorporates thermal storage in varying amounts. In each case, the CHP system reduces operational cost, primary energy consumption (PEC), and carbon dioxide emissions (CDE) with respect to the reference case without a CHP system. For six of the eight buildings, adding thermal storage provides further reductions in operational cost, PEC, and CDE. More thermal increases these benefits. However, the size of the supplemental boiler required by the building to satisfy the thermal load is not reduced except in the case of the large hotel. In addition, the sizing of the CHP system's power generation unit is not significantly affected by the addition of thermal storage. Buildings which require higher ratios of power to heat will be less likely to benefit from the addition of thermal storage to a CHP system.

PsycEXTRA Dataset

AdSense text ads have become a popular method of advertising on the web, specifically within blog... more AdSense text ads have become a popular method of advertising on the web, specifically within blogs when using Blogger. With increasing popularity of blogs, AdSense ads are enticing to bloggers because they offer financial rewards with relatively little effort. The biggest challenge with ...

Volume 4: Energy Systems Analysis, Thermodynamics and Sustainability; Combustion Science and Engineering; Nanoengineering for Energy, Parts A and B, 2011

Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2015

Detecting participants who are positive for amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology is germane in designing prev... more Detecting participants who are positive for amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology is germane in designing prevention trials by enriching for those cases that are more likely to be amyloid positive. Existing brain amyloid measurement techniques, such as the Pittsburgh Compound B-positron emission tomography and cerebrospinal fluid, are not reasonable first-line approaches limited by either feasibility or cost. We aimed to identify simple and cost-effective rules that can predict brain Aβ level by integrating both neuropsychological measurements and blood-based markers. Several decision tree models were built for extracting the predictive rules based on the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort. We successfully extracted predictive rules of Aβ level. For cognitive function variables, cases above the 45th percentile in total cognitive score (TOTALMOD), above the 52nd percentile of delayed word recall, and above the 70th percentile in orientation resulted in a group that was highly ...

Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007), 2015

In a broad range of evolutionary studies, an understanding of intraspecific variation is needed i... more In a broad range of evolutionary studies, an understanding of intraspecific variation is needed in order to contextualize and interpret the meaning of variation between species. However, mechanical analyses of primate crania using experimental or modeling methods typically encounter logistical constraints that force them to rely on data gathered from only one or a few individuals. This results in a lack of knowledge concerning the mechanical significance of intraspecific shape variation that limits our ability to infer the significance of interspecific differences. This study uses geometric morphometric methods (GM) and finite element analysis (FEA) to examine the biomechanical implications of shape variation in chimpanzee crania, thereby providing a comparative context in which to interpret shape-related mechanical variation between hominin species. Six finite element models (FEMs) of chimpanzee crania were constructed from CT scans following shape-space Principal Component Analysi...

International journal of molecular epidemiology and genetics, 2012

Neuroinflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Varia... more Neuroinflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Variations in genes relevant to inflammation may be candidate genes for AD risk. Whole-genome association studies have identified relevant new and known genes. Their combined effects do not explain 100% of the risk, genetic interactions may contribute. We investigated whether genes involved in inflammation, i.e. PPAR-α, interleukins (IL) IL- 1α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 may interact to increase AD risk. The Epistasis Project identifies interactions that affect the risk of AD. Genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in PPARA, IL1A, IL1B, IL6 and IL10 was performed. Possible associations were analyzed by fitting logistic regression models with AD as outcome, controlling for centre, age, sex and presence of apolipoprotein ε4 allele (APOEε4). Adjusted synergy factors were derived from interaction terms…

JAMA neurology, 2014

Because APOE locus variants contribute to risk of late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) and to diff... more Because APOE locus variants contribute to risk of late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) and to differences in age at onset (AAO), it is important to know whether other established LOAD risk loci also affect AAO in affected participants. To investigate the effects of known Alzheimer disease risk loci in modifying AAO and to estimate their cumulative effect on AAO variation using data from genome-wide association studies in the Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium. The Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium comprises 14 case-control, prospective, and family-based data sets with data on 9162 participants of white race/ethnicity with Alzheimer disease occurring after age 60 years who also had complete AAO information, gathered between 1989 and 2011 at multiple sites by participating studies. Data on genotyped or imputed single-nucleotide polymorphisms most significantly associated with risk at 10 confirmed LOAD loci were examined in linear modeling of AAO, and individual data set results ...

The journal of spinal cord medicine, 2013

To describe the relationship of pain and fatigue with physical and psychological functioning in a... more To describe the relationship of pain and fatigue with physical and psychological functioning in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI). Cross-sectional survey. Community-based survey. Convenience sample of individuals with SCI. Not applicable. Physical functioning (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Functioning item bank items), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)), pain severity (0-10 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)), and fatigue (0-10 NRS). Pain and fatigue were independently associated with depression, but only pain was associated with physical functioning. Additionally, depression was more severe among middle-aged participants relative to younger or older participants. Physical functioning declined with increasing age, as well as with higher level of injury. The findings support the need for continued development of effective treatments for both pain and fatigue in order to prevent and mitigate the negative effects these symptoms...

JAMA neurology, Jan 22, 2014

Recently, a rare variant in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) was described in a populatio... more Recently, a rare variant in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) was described in a population from Iceland. This variant, in which alanine is replaced by threonine at position 673 (A673T), appears to protect against late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD). We evaluated the frequency of this variant in AD cases and cognitively normal controls to determine whether this variant will significantly contribute to risk assessment in individuals in the United States. To determine the frequency of the APP A673T variant in a large group of elderly cognitively normal controls and AD cases from the United States and in 2 case-control cohorts from Sweden. Case-control association analysis of variant APP A673T in US and Swedish white individuals comparing AD cases with cognitively intact elderly controls. Participants were ascertained at multiple university-associated medical centers and clinics across the United States and Sweden by study-specific sampling methods. They were from case-control stu...

British Journal of Nursing, 2013

Anecdotally, pancaking is recognised as troublesome within stoma care, leaving many people with o... more Anecdotally, pancaking is recognised as troublesome within stoma care, leaving many people with ostomies feeling exasperated in trying to deal with this difficult problem. Stoma care nurses offer strategies to help alleviate it, but when strategies fail and appliances continue to leak, or require changing owing to risk of leaking, individuals often feel helpless, demoralised and quality of life can be damaged. A postal survey was carried out to try and identify some of the issues relating to pancaking. Eighty two percent of respondents were likely to experience some degree of pancaking and an alarming 58% changed their pouch more often as a management technique. Therefore, as a consequence of pancaking, the health economy is affected because each individual who suffers from pancaking uses a higher number of appliances. This results in increased costs for the NHS. There is currently no published research regarding pancaking, meaning an integrated approach to finding solutions is needed.

Superhumps are a photometric modulation with period a few percent longer than the orbital period,... more Superhumps are a photometric modulation with period a few percent longer than the orbital period, which manifest in extreme mass ratio systems: in short orbital period cataclysmic variables (CVs) and in black hole X-ray transients (BHXRTs). Superhumps are attributed to the interaction of an eccentric, precessing accretion disc with the donor star. The eccentricity is induced by a 3:1 resonance between the donor star and fluid orbits in the disc. We present a comprehensive investigation using high resolution 3D smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulation (SPH), guided by and compared with both theory and observation. We examine the relation between the superhump period excess over the orbital period and system mass ratio. Our work yields a much improved match to observation. Our simulations reveal the emptying of the disc caused by a tidally enhanced dissipation rate at the onset of the eccentric resonance. It is this which empties the disc during superoutbursts of SUUMa stars and BHXRTs.

PsycEXTRA Dataset

ABSTRACT Previous studies have found that using multiple monitors increases productivity, but the... more ABSTRACT Previous studies have found that using multiple monitors increases productivity, but there are also documented drawbacks to increased monitor count and/or size. The purpose of this study was to determine whether increases in productivity hold true with newer technology, like wide flat-screens, in the multitasking context. Sixty participants were asked to complete several tasks commonly completed in an office environment. These tasks were performed on four different monitor configurations: a single and dual 17” monitor(s) and single and dual 22” monitor(s). Participants located information from several documents and compiled this information into a new document. Dependent variables measured included efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. Results indicated a performance benefit for dual monitor usage, regardless of monitor size. Participants most preferred using dual 22” monitors and least preferred a single 17” monitor.

Tuberculosis, 2011

Interferon-γ (IFNγ) plays a major role during host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mt... more Interferon-γ (IFNγ) plays a major role during host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). T cells produce IFNγ in response to IL-12 and IL-18 secreted from Mtb infected macrophages. IFNγ in turn, induces nitric oxide secretion in macrophages that kills Mtb. IFNγ knockout mice are thus hyper-susceptible to tuberculosis. We reported earlier that Complement C5 deficient (C5-/-) congenic mice are more susceptible to tuberculosis and showed reduced IL-12 synthesis in their macrophages. Using C5-/congenic mice that carry a deletion in the C5 gene and the wild type C5 +/+ mice, we demonstrate here that, the C5-/derived CD3 + T cells, have an additional defect in the synthesis of IFNγ. C5-/-T cells produced lower levels of IFNγ upon stimulation by antigen presenting cells (APCs) infected with Mtb or when stimulated directly with a combination of IL-12 and IL-18. The latter was in part due to a reduced phosphorylation of STAT-4 following IL-12/IL-18 stimulation. Addition of C5a peptide to IL-12/IL-18 partially restored STAT4 phosphorylation and IFNγ synthesis in C5-/-T cells indicating that IL-12/IL-18 mediated signaling within CD3 + T cells involves C5a peptide. Finally, C5-/-T cells derived from M.bovis BCG or Mtb infected mice showed a reduced expression of T-bet (T-box expressed in T cells) transcription factor, which correlated well with a reduced T cell secretion of IFNγ. Since Tbet mediated IFNγ synthesis facilitates Th1 expansion, C5-/mouse derived T cells appear to have an intrinsic defect in the production of IFNγ, which is related to C5 deficiency and this may explain their increased susceptibility to infection with Mtb and BCG.

Tuberculosis, 2011

The ΔfbpA candidate vaccine derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv) protects mice better ... more The ΔfbpA candidate vaccine derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv) protects mice better than BCG against tuberculosis, and we investigated the hypothesis that ΔfbpA may induce a stronger Th1 immunity. Since T-bet transcription factor regulates Th1 immunity, mice infected with ΔfbpA, BCG vaccine and related mycobacteria were analyzed for T-bet positive T cells. Mouse dendritic cells (DCs) or macrophages were also pulsed with excretory-secreted antigens (ES; Antigen-85B, ESAT-6 and CFP10) and cocultured with T cells from immunized or naïve mice and tested for in vitro induction of T-bet and IFN-γ. In both models, ΔfbpA mutant induced a stronger response of T-bet + CD4 T cells, which correlated with an increased expansion of IFNγ + CD4 T cells in vivo and in vitro. When DCs pulsed with ES antigens were allowed to stimulate T cells, ESAT-6 and CFP-10 failed to induce a recall expansion of T-bet + IFN-γ + CD4 T cells from BCG vaccinated mice. Thus, deletion of RD1 in BCG seems to reduce its ability to induce T-bet and induce stronger Th1 immunity. Finally, mice were vaccinated with ΔfbpA and BCG and challenged with virulent Mtb for evaluation of protection and T cell expansion. ΔfbpA vaccinated mice showed a rapid and stronger expansion of CD4 + CXCR3 + IFN-γ + T cells in the lungs of Mtb challenged mice, compared to those which had BCG vaccine. ΔfbpA immunized mice also showed a better decline of the Mtb bacterial counts of the lungs. Mtb derived ΔfbpA candidate vaccine therefore induces qualitatively better T-bet dependent Th1 immunity than BCG vaccine.

Tourism Management, 2011

The expedition cruise industry along the remote 3000 km Kimberley coast in Australia's northwest ... more The expedition cruise industry along the remote 3000 km Kimberley coast in Australia's northwest draws on the area's environmental and cultural assets for its tourism product and provides the main means of access for visitors. Cruises involve frequent onshore excursions to attractions including rock pools, rock art and historic sites. This study used visitor observations and stakeholder interviews to examine potential impacts on environmental and cultural site assets, and visitor safety and experience. Visitor management practices varied strongly between operators, with vast room for improvement by some operations. Inconsistent visitor management practices contributed to a high level of avoidable risks in terms of visitor safety and negative cultural and environmental impacts. Findings from this study highlight the central role of tour guides and operational procedures for improving visitor management practices.

Therapy, 2011

Yes, it costs more to do things right. But is our present model of bringing forward medications t... more Yes, it costs more to do things right. But is our present model of bringing forward medications that might not work and testing them at a disease stage when they are unlikely to succeed cost effective?"

The Drama Review: TDR, 1987

... Production Stage Manager Produced by Martha Clarke The Company Richard Peaslee with the aid o... more ... Production Stage Manager Produced by Martha Clarke The Company Richard Peaslee with the aid ofJohann Sebas-tian Bach, Eugene Friesen, and Johann Strauss Charles L. Mee, Jr. ... Page 5. 2. Laura Innes (left) and Lila York. (Photo by Amanda Smith) ...

Synapse, 1991

The relationship between a rat's locomotor response to a novel environment and its behavioral and... more The relationship between a rat's locomotor response to a novel environment and its behavioral and dopaminergic responses to cocaine was examined. Subjects were divided into two groups based on their locomotor response to a novel environment. Subjects who had a novelty response above the median were classified as high responders (HR), while those with a novelty response below the median were classified as low responders (LR). Following administration of cocaine-HC1(0,2.5,5.0,10.0, or 15.0 mgkg), HR rats showed a greater locomotor response than LR rats. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between a subject's locomotor response to the novel environment and the locomotor response to either 10.0 (r = 0.65) or 15.0 (r = 0.92) mgkg cocaine. In a separate experiment, the extracellular concentration of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NACC) was monitored using microdialysis procedures. Following cocaine administration (15.0 mg/kg) HR rats showed a larger NACC dopamine response and greater locomotor activity than LR rats. In addition, there was a threefold greater locomotor activity to dopamine ratio in HR rats than in LR rats. A correlation between a subject's locomotor response to a novel environment and the dopaminergic response to cocaine was also evident. These results suggest that differences in the locomotor response to cocaine can, to some degree, be predicted by a rat's locomotor response to a novel environment, and that variations in dopamine-dependent mechanisms of the NACC may underlie these individual differences.

Synapse, 1991

Rats were treated for 10 days with cocaine (20 mg/kg, i.p.) followed by either 1 or 10 days of ab... more Rats were treated for 10 days with cocaine (20 mg/kg, i.p.) followed by either 1 or 10 days of abstinence. On the test day a microdialysis method was performed in which dopamine (DA) was added to the perfusate at concentrations above and below the expected extracellular concentration (0, 2.5, 5, and 10 nM) to generate a series of points that can be interpolated to determine the concentration of no net flux, which represents the extracellular DA concentration. The slope of the line generated by this method is the in vivo recovery of the dialysis probe. After 1 day of abstinence, there was no significant difference in basal DA levels in the nucleus accumbens (N ACC) between cocaine treated (4.1 ± 0.3 nM; mean ± SEM) and saline‐treated (3.9 ± 0.2 nM) groups. However, there was a significant increase in the slope of the cocaine‐treated group (0.91 ± 0.04 vs. 0.67 ± 0.08; P >0.03). After 10 days of abstinence, there were reduced basal extracellular levels of DA in the N ACC of the coc...

Stress, 2008

Many studies have shown that early life stress may lead to impaired brain development, and may be... more Many studies have shown that early life stress may lead to impaired brain development, and may be a risk factor for developing psychiatric pathologies such as depression. However, few studies have investigated the impact that early life stress might have on the onset and development of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, which is characterized in part by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. The present study subjected rat pups to a maternal separation paradigm that has been shown to model adverse early life events, and investigated the effects that it has on motor deficits induced by a unilateral, intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (12 microg/4 microl). The female rats were assessed for behavioral changes at 28 days post-lesion with a battery of tests that are sensitive to the degree of dopamine loss. The results showed that rats that had been subjected to maternal separation display significantly impaired performance in the vibrissae and single-limb akinesia test when compared to normally reared animals. In addition, there was a significant increase in the loss of tyrosine hydroxylase staining in maternally separated rats. Our results therefore suggest that adverse experiences sustained during early life contribute to making dopamine neurons more susceptible to subsequent insults occurring during more mature stages of life and may therefore play a role in the etiopathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.