La comédie humaine of Honoré de Balzac;

"Ed. grand format. Limited to five hundred numbered sets of which this is no. 133."

Report of cases determined by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Imprint varies.

Development of a semimechanistic model to describe the pharmacokinetics of gentamicin in patients receiving Hemodialysis

The aim of this study was to ascertain the most suitable dosing schedule for gentamicin in patients receiving hemodialysis. We developed a model to describe the concentrationtime course of gentamicin in patients receiving hemodialysis. Using the model, an optimal dosing schedule was evaluated. Various dosing regimens were compared in their ability to achieve maximum concentration (C-max, >= 8 mg/L) and area under the concentration time-curve (AUC >= 70 mg(.)h/L and <= 120 mg(.)h/L per 24 hours). The model was evaluated by comparing model predictions against real data collected retrospectively. Simulations from the model confirmed the benefits of predialysis dosing. The mean optimal dose was 230 mg administered immediately before dialysis. The model was found to have good predictive performance when simulated data were compared to data observed in real patients. In summary, a model was developed that describes gentamicin pharmacokinetics in patients receiving hemodialysis. Predialysis dosing provided a superior pharmacokinetic profile than did postdialysis dosing.

Oscar Asche's Modernisms: Flesh, Colour and Light

The article examines the early 20th century Australian actor, theater director, and writer Oscar Asche and how various aspects of his work are expressive of an aesthetic modernism. His theatrical productions with his wife Lily Brayton are discussed, as well as his solo projects like the highly acclaimed musical "Chu Chin Chow." Asche is described as a "vitalist."

Dosing of gentamicin in patients with end-stage renal disease receiving hemodialysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate dosing schedules of gentamicin in patients with end-stage renal disease and receiving hemodialysis. Forty-six patients were recruited who received gentamicin while on hemodialysis. Each patient provided approximately 4 blood samples at various times before and after dialysis for analysis of plasma gentamicin concentrations. A population pharmacokinetic model was constructed using NONMEM (version 5). The clearance of gentamicin during dialysis was 4.69 L/h and between dialysis was 0.453 L/h. The clearance between dialysis was best described by residual creatinine clearance (as calculated using the Cockcroft and Gault equation), which probably reflects both lean mass and residual clearance mechanisms. Simulation from the final population model showed that predialysis dosing has a higher probability of achieving target maximum concentration (C-max) concentrations (> 8 mg/L) within acceptable exposure limits (area under the concentration-time curve [AUC] values > 70 and < 120 mg.h/L per 24 hours) than postdialysis dosing.

A nested Petri net framework for modeling and analyzing multi-agent systems

In the past two decades, multi-agent systems (MAS) have emerged as a new paradigm for conceptualizing large and complex distributed software systems. A multi-agent system view provides a natural abstraction for both the structure and the behavior of modern-day software systems. Although there were many conceptual frameworks for using multi-agent systems, there was no well established and widely accepted method for modeling multi-agent systems. This dissertation research addressed the representation and analysis of multi-agent systems based on model-oriented formal methods. The objective was to provide a systematic approach for studying MAS at an early stage of system development to ensure the quality of design. ^ Given that there was no well-defined formal model directly supporting agent-oriented modeling, this study was centered on three main topics: (1) adapting a well-known formal model, predicate transition nets (PrT nets), to support MAS modeling; (2) formulating a modeling methodology to ease the construction of formal MAS models; and (3) developing a technique to support machine analysis of formal MAS models using model checking technology. PrT nets were extended to include the notions of dynamic structure, agent communication and coordination to support agent-oriented modeling. An aspect-oriented technique was developed to address the modularity of agent models and compositionality of incremental analysis. A set of translation rules were defined to systematically translate formal MAS models to concrete models that can be verified through the model checker SPIN (Simple Promela Interpreter). ^ This dissertation presents the framework developed for modeling and analyzing MAS, including a well-defined process model based on nested PrT nets, and a comprehensive methodology to guide the construction and analysis of formal MAS models.^

Experimental determination of effects of water depth on Nymphaea odorata growth, morphology and biomass allocation

Growth, morphology and biomass allocation in response to water depth was studied in white water lily,Nymphaea odorata Aiton. Plants were grown for 13 months in 30, 60 and 90 cm water in outdoor mesocosms in southern Florida. Water lily plant growth was distinctly seasonal with plants at all water levels producing more and larger leaves and more flowers in the warmer months. Plants in 30 cm water produced more but smaller and shorter-lived leaves than plants at 60 cm and 90 cm water levels. Although plants did not differ significantly in total biomass at harvest, plants in deeper water had significantly greater biomass allocated to leaves and roots, while plants in 30 cm water had significantly greater biomass allocated to rhizomes. Although lamina area and petiole length increased significantly with water level, lamina specific weight did not differ among water levels. Petiole specific weight increased significantly with increasing water level, implying a greater cost to tethering the larger laminae in deeper water. Lamina length and width scaled similarly at different water levels and modeled lamina area (LA) accurately (LAmodeled = 0.98LAmeasured + 3.96, R2 = 0.99). Lamina area was highly correlated with lamina weight (LW = 8.43LA − 66.78, R2 = 0.93), so simple linear measurements can predict water lily lamina area and lamina weight. These relationships were used to calculate monthly lamina surface area in the mesocosms. Plants in 30 cm water had lower total photosynthetic surface area than plants in 60 cm and 90 cm water levels throughout, and in the summer plants in 90 cm water showed a great increase in photosynthetic surface area as compared to plants in shallower water. These results support setting Everglades restoration water depth targets for sloughs at depths ≥45 cm and suggest that in the summer optimal growth for white water lilies occurs at depths ≥75 cm.

Boardwalk at SR-6

http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/fce_lter_photos/1275/thumbnail.jpg

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Street Children in LMICs

Background: Worldwide, it is estimated that there are up to 150 million street children. Street children are an understudied, vulnerable population. While many studies have characterized street children’s physical health, few have addressed the circumstances and barriers to their utilization of health services.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to understand the barriers and facilitators that street children face when accessing healthcare in low and middle income countries. Six databases were used to search for peer review literature and one database and Google Search engine were used to find grey literature (theses, dissertations, reports, etc.). There were no exclusions based on study design. Studies were eligible for inclusion if the study population included street children, the study location was a low and middle income country defined by the World Bank, AND whose subject pertained to healthcare.

In addition, a cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2015 and August 2015 with the goal of understanding knowledge, attitudes, and health seeking practices of street children residing in Battambang, Cambodia. Time location and purposive sampling were used to recruit community (control) and street children. Both boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18 were recruited. Data was collected through a verbally administered survey. The knowledge, attitudes and health seeking practices of community and street children were compared to determine potential differences in healthcare utilization.

Results: Of the 2933 abstracts screened for inclusion in the systematic literature review, eleven articles met all the inclusion criteria and were found to be relevant. Cost and perceived stigma appeared to be the largest barriers street children faced when attempting to seek care. Street children preferred to receive care from a hospital. However, negative experiences and mistreatment by health providers deterred children from going there. Instead, street children would often self treat and/or purchase medicine from a pharmacy or drug vendor. Family and peer support were found to be important for facilitating treatment.

The survey found similar results to the systematic review. Forty one community and thirty four street children were included in the analysis. Both community and street children reported the hospital as their top choice for care. When asked if someone went with them to seek care, both community and street children reported that family members, usually mothers, accompanied them. Community and street children both reported perceived stigma. All children had good knowledge of preventative care.

Conclusions: While most current services lack the proper accommodations for street children, there is a great potential to adapt them to better address street children’s needs. Street children need health services that are sensitive to their situation. Subsidies in health service costs or provision of credit may be ways to reduce constraints street children face when deciding to seek healthcare. Health worker education and interventions to reduce stigma are needed to create a positive environment in which street children are admitted and treated for health concerns.

Fossil associations from the middle and upper Eocene strata of the Pamplona Basin and surrounding areas (Navarre, western Pyrenees)

Fossil associations from the middle and upper Eocene (Bartonian and Priabonian) sedimentary succession of the Pamplona Basin are described. This succession was accumulated in the western part of the South Pyrenean peripheral foreland basin and extends from deep-marine turbiditic (Ezkaba Sandstone Formation) to deltaic (Pamplona Marl, Ardanatz Sandstone and Ilundain Marl formations) and marginal marine deposits (Gendulain Formation). The micropalaeontological content is high. It is dominated by foraminifera, and common ostracods and other microfossils are also present. The fossil ichnoasssemblages include at least 23 ichnogenera and 28 ichnospecies indicative of Nereites, Cruziana, Glossifungites and ?Scoyenia-Mermia ichnofacies. Body macrofossils of 78 taxa corresponding to macroforaminifera, sponges, corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, annelids, molluscs, arthropods, echinoderms and vertebrates have been identified. Both the number of ichnotaxa and of species (e. g. bryozoans, molluscs and condrichthyans) may be considerably higher. Body fossil assemblages are comparable to those from the Eocene of the Nord Pyrenean area (Basque Coast), and also to those from the Eocene of the west-central and eastern part of South Pyrenean area (Aragon and Catalonia). At the European scale, the molluscs assemblages seem endemic from the Pyrenean area, although several Tethyan (Italy and Alps) and Northern elements (Paris basin and Normandy) have been recorded. Palaeontological data of studied sedimentary units fit well with the shallowing process that throughout the middle and late Eocene occurs in the area, according to the sedimentological and stratigraphical data.

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioral, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990–2015 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Water quality assessments in the Opeta-Bisina wetland systems and Mburo-Nakivale wetland systems

It is located in eastern Uganda, the wetland system is characterized by open water that is clear with some emergent vegetation mainly of sedges and floating vegetation dominated by the day water lily Nymphaea sp and submerged water weeds. Some patches of Cyperus papyrus exist in areas with minimal agricultural encroachment. The main inflow into the Opeta system is through River Sironko.

Trajetos cênicos do grupo parafolclórico da UFRN:que dança é essa?

This paper aims at studying UFRN Parafolclórico Group, whose aesthetic formation is subjected to our analysis, specially at its two last performances, that is, Flor do Lírio (Lily Flower), 2004, and Debaixo do Barro do Chão (Under the Mud of the Ground), 2008. Three targets are envisaged here: to analyze the aesthetic ideas backing Parafolclórico Group exhibitions; to evaluate how their many folk elements interact with different artist languages in order to compose a certain choreography; and finally, to identify the aesthetic conformation placed behind the two different choreographs of the last performances, their trends and innermost features that differentiate them. In accordance with the Analysis of Contents (BARDIN, 2006), interviews have been made with the choreographers and the staff of the spectacles, resulting in elucidating answers to the understanding of their thematic axis. On the first chapter we called attention to motivating subjects as recollection, personal experiences, bibliography research, research in loco regarded as propelling forces of the creative works. Herein, folk culture is depicted as a dynamic process opening a frank dialogue with contemporary events and reinforcing their continuity. On the second chapter, we approached the aesthetic conformation and the scenic elements (costumes, light, scenario, make-up), integrating the studied spectacles and disseminating folk songs in various ways. As what concerns the subjects discourse, we have obtained support in authors like Robatto (1994); Lobo; Navas (2008); Burke (1989); Canclini (2006); Dufrenne (2005); Medeiros (2005); Pavis (2005); Silva (2005), among others. Those authors have provided us with an indispensable theoretic support which, added to the interviews, convinced us that the Parafolclórico Group s aesthetic conception tends to identify itself with the artist languages and other techniques of that Group. It also made sure that the Group s course aims at an aesthetic conception which is not limited to popular culture manifestations, like dance, but admits to play with other media in order to communicate its art. In view of this situation, we arrived to two conclusions: first: the group s interchanges emphasize the dynamic character of popular culture which, by establishing contacts with different realities, receives influences capable of extending its own continuity; second: the contemporary state of arts also improves multiple interchanges opening way, so, for many accomplishments in their field. Therefore, UFRN Parafolclórico Group inserts itself in the contemporary scenery by performing new evaluations of the popular dances as long as it puts them in contact with different technical, aesthetic, artist and culture combinations

THE ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL ANHEDONIA WITH ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP PROCESSES

Social anhedonia is a deficiency in the capacity to experience pleasure from social interactions. This study examined the implications of social anhedonia for romantic relationship functioning, including the association of social anhedonia with sentiments towards romantic partners that are central to relationship functioning (satisfaction, commitment, regard, and care), analogous perceptions of the partner’s sentiments, hostile behavior during relationship conflict, and perception of the partner’s hostile behavior. Data were collected from 281 participants who were involved in romantic relationships. Support was found for social anhedonia’s hypothesized negative association with satisfaction, regard, and care, as well as all four perceived partner sentiments. These associations were independent of attachment anxiety and avoidance. Additionally, attachment avoidance mediated social anhedonia’s relationship with commitment. However, no support was found for social anhedonia’s hypothesized positive association with actual and perceived partner hostile behavior. Results suggest that social anhedonia may undermine the functioning of interpersonal relationships.

Relations among Topic Knowledge, Individual Interest, and Relational Reasoning, and Critical Thinking in Maternity Nursing

Critical thinking in learners is a goal of educators and professional organizations in nursing as well as other professions. However, few studies in nursing have examined the role of the important individual difference factors topic knowledge, individual interest, and general relational reasoning strategies in predicting critical thinking. In addition, most previous studies have used domain-general, standardized measures, with inconsistent results. Moreover, few studies have investigated critical thinking across multiple levels of experience. The major purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which topic knowledge, individual interest, and relational reasoning predict critical thinking in maternity nurses. For this study, 182 maternity nurses were recruited from national nursing listservs explicitly chosen to capture multiple levels of experience from prelicensure to very experienced nurses. The three independent measures included a domain-specific Topic Knowledge Assessment (TKA), consisting of 24 short-answer questions, a Professed and Engaged Interest Measure (PEIM), with 20 questions indicating level of interest and engagement in maternity nursing topics and activities, and the Test of Relational Reasoning (TORR), a graphical selected response measure with 32 items organized in scales corresponding to four forms of relational reasoning: analogy, anomaly, antithesis, and antinomy. The dependent measure was the Critical Thinking Task in Maternity Nursing (CT2MN), composed of a clinical case study providing cues with follow-up questions relating to nursing care. These questions align with the cognitive processes identified in a commonly-used definition of critical thinking in nursing. Reliable coding schemes for the measures were developed for this study. Key findings included a significant correlation between topic knowledge and individual interest. Further, the three individual difference factors explained a significant proportion of the variance in critical thinking with a large effect size. While topic knowledge was the strongest predictor of critical thinking performance, individual interest had a moderate significant effect, and relational reasoning had a small but significant effect. The findings suggest that these individual difference factors should be included in future studies of critical thinking in nursing. Implications for nursing education, research, and practice are discussed.