Assessment of Texas Medical Providers Concerning Rabies Vaccines

Rabies is an important zoonotic disease in Texas and thousands of people each year either request or require rabies prophylaxis because they have ‘high risk’ jobs or are exposed to the disease. After experiencing difficulty in receiving rabies prophylaxis from physicians, we conducted a survey of Texas medical providers to assess their knowledge of rabies vaccine procedures and their experience with rabies vaccines. Most providers in Texas (>95% of 297) rarely saw patients for rabies prophylaxis; therefore, providers have minimal, if any, experience with the procedures of acquiring and administering the vaccine. Providers varied greatly in their responses to our questions of where to acquire the vaccine, how and where to administer the vaccine, and where to acquire information about the vaccine. State and local health departments should target medical clinics and physician associations as outlets to disseminate information regarding rabies, rabies prophylaxis, and treatment.

A Land-Use and Water-Quality History of White Rock Lake Reservoir, Dallas, Texas, Based on Paleolimnological Analyses

White Rock Lake reservoir in Dallas, Texas contains a 150-cm sediment record of silty clay that documents land-use changes since its construction in 1912. Pollen analysis corroborates historical evidence that between 1912 and 1950 the watershed was primarily agricultural. Land disturbance by plowing coupled with strong and variable spring precipitation caused large amounts of sediment to enter the lake during this period. Diatoms were not preserved at this time probably because of low productivity compared to diatom dissolution by warm, alkaline water prior to burial in the sediments. After 1956, the watershed became progressively urbanized. Erosion decreased, land stabilized, and pollen of riparian trees increased as the lake water became somewhat less turbid. By 1986 the sediment record indicates that diatom productivity had increased beyond rates of diatom destruction. Neither increased nutrients nor reduced pesticides can account for increased diatom productivity, but grain size studies imply that before 1986 diatoms were light limited by high levels of turbidity. This study documents how reservoirs may relate to land-use practices and how watershed management could extend reservoir life and improve water quality.

Turbulence driven particle transport in Texas Helimak

We analyze the turbulence driven particle transport in Texas Helimak [K. W. Gentle and H. He, Plasma Sci. Technol. 10, 284 (2008)], a toroidal plasma device with a one-dimensional equilibrium with magnetic curvature and shear. Alterations on the radial electric field, through an external voltage bias, change the spectral plasma characteristics inducing a dominant frequency for negative bias values and a broad band frequency spectrum for positive bias values. When applying a negative bias, the transport is high where the waves propagate with phase velocities near the plasma flow velocity, an indication that the transport is strongly affected by a wave particle resonant interaction. On the other hand, for positive bias values, the plasma has a reversed shear flow, and we observe that the transport is almost zero in the shearless radial region, an evidence of a transport barrier in this region. (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3676607]

Analysis of Electrostatic Turbulence Drive in Texas Helimak.

Plasma turbulence and particle transport in Texas Helimak change with the radial electric field profile modified by an external voltage bias. When the bias is positive, the turbulence shows enhanced level and broadband spectra with extreme events, similar to the turbulence in tokamak scrape-‐off layer. However, negative bias reduces the turbulence level and decreases the spectrum widths. Moreover, for negative biased shots, the particle transport is strongly affected by a wave particle resonant interaction. On the other hand, for positive bias values, the plasma presents a transport barrier in the reversed shear flow region.

Desarrollo de una aplicación que facilita la enseñanza y el estudio del póker en su variante Texas Hold'em

[ES] PokerTrainer es una aplicación para dispósitivos móviles con Android como sistema operativo. Está dirigida a aquellos jugadores de póker en su variante Texas Hold'em que quieran aprender ciertos conceptos básicos que les van a ayudar a mejorar su juego. Se basa en la gamificación mediante un sistema de quiz de contenidos teóricos referidos al póker.

Los refuerzos visuales en la educación bilingüe. Experiencias en una escuela de Texas

[ES]Este trabajo presenta tres actividades didácticas y una propuesta de evaluación para mejorar el aprendizaje del vocabulario científico en contextos de educación bilingüe. El presente estudio se basa en la observación realizada en clase por parte de un profesor de Ciencias Naturales y Biología en un programa especial bilingüe para niños mejicanos en una escuela secundaria pública de Texas. [EN] The purpose of this article is to present three teaching activities and an evaluation proposal, in order to enhance science vocabulary learning in bilingual education contexts.The present study is based on the classroom observation made by a Science and Biology teacher in a special bilingual program for Mexican children in a public school in Texas (7th to 9th grade).

Evaluating the usefulness of soil moisture (forecasts) in streamflow prediction for central Texas

The past decade has brought significant advancements in seasonal climate forecasting. However, water resources decision support and management continues to be based almost entirely on historical observations and does not take advantage of climate forecasts. This study builds on previous work that conditioned streamflow ensemble forecasts on observable climate indicators, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) for use in a decision support model for the Highland Lakes multi-reservoir system in central Texas operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). In the current study, seasonal soil moisture is explored as a climate indicator and predictor of annual streamflow for the LCRA region. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the correlation of fractional soil moisture with streamflow using the 1950-2000 Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) Retrospective Land Surface Data Set over the LCRA region. Correlations were determined by examining different annual and seasonal combinations of VIC modeled fractional soil moisture and observed streamflow. The applicability of the VIC Retrospective Land Surface Data Set as a data source for this study is tested along with establishing and analyzing patterns of climatology for the watershed study area using the selected data source (VIC model) and historical data. Correlation results showed potential for the use of soil moisture as a predictor of streamflow over the LCRA region. This was evident by the good correlations found between seasonal soil moisture and seasonal streamflow during coincident seasons as well as between seasonal and annual soil moisture with annual streamflow during coincident years. With the findings of good correlation between seasonal soil moisture from the VIC Retrospective Land Surface Data Set with observed annual streamflow presented in this study, future research would evaluate the application of NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) forecasts of soil moisture in predicting annual streamflow for use in the decision support model for the LCRA.

Use of hydroclimatic forecasts for improved water management in central Texas

Accurate seasonal to interannual streamflow forecasts based on climate information are critical for optimal management and operation of water resources systems. Considering most water supply systems are multipurpose, operating these systems to meet increasing demand under the growing stresses of climate variability and climate change, population and economic growth, and environmental concerns could be very challenging. This study was to investigate improvement in water resources systems management through the use of seasonal climate forecasts. Hydrological persistence (streamflow and precipitation) and large-scale recurrent oceanic-atmospheric patterns such as the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), the Pacific North American (PNA), and customized sea surface temperature (SST) indices were investigated for their potential to improve streamflow forecast accuracy and increase forecast lead-time in a river basin in central Texas. First, an ordinal polytomous logistic regression approach is proposed as a means of incorporating multiple predictor variables into a probabilistic forecast model. Forecast performance is assessed through a cross-validation procedure, using distributions-oriented metrics, and implications for decision making are discussed. Results indicate that, of the predictors evaluated, only hydrologic persistence and Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature patterns associated with ENSO and PDO provide forecasts which are statistically better than climatology. Secondly, a class of data mining techniques, known as tree-structured models, is investigated to address the nonlinear dynamics of climate teleconnections and screen promising probabilistic streamflow forecast models for river-reservoir systems. Results show that the tree-structured models can effectively capture the nonlinear features hidden in the data. Skill scores of probabilistic forecasts generated by both classification trees and logistic regression trees indicate that seasonal inflows throughout the system can be predicted with sufficient accuracy to improve water management, especially in the winter and spring seasons in central Texas. Lastly, a simplified two-stage stochastic economic-optimization model was proposed to investigate improvement in water use efficiency and the potential value of using seasonal forecasts, under the assumption of optimal decision making under uncertainty. Model results demonstrate that incorporating the probabilistic inflow forecasts into the optimization model can provide a significant improvement in seasonal water contract benefits over climatology, with lower average deficits (increased reliability) for a given average contract amount, or improved mean contract benefits for a given level of reliability compared to climatology. The results also illustrate the trade-off between the expected contract amount and reliability, i.e., larger contracts can be signed at greater risk.

Smart Classrooms: Guidelines for Educational Technology in Classroom Facility in The University of Texas System

Problem Statement: Classroom facilities developed as new construction or renovation projects for UT System institutions tend to be developed as individual, ad hoc project. There are significant opportunities for process improvement is establishing standard business processes for developing Smart Classroom, establishing design standards and referring to prototype facilities developed at other institutions. [See PDF for complete abstract]

The Houston Academy of Medicine--Texas Medical Center Library management information system.

A management information system (MIS) provides a means for collecting, reporting, and analyzing data from all segments of an organization. Such systems are common in business but rare in libraries. The Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library developed an MIS that operates on a system of networked IBM PCs and Paradox, a commercial database software package. The data collected in the system include monthly reports, client profile information, and data collected at the time of service requests. The MIS assists with enforcement of library policies, ensures that correct information is recorded, and provides reports for library managers. It also can be used to help answer a variety of ad hoc questions. Future plans call for the development of an MIS that could be adapted to other libraries' needs, and a decision-support interface that would facilitate access to the data contained in the MIS databases.

Detecting spatiotemporal clusters of accidental poisoning mortality among Texas counties, U.S., 1980 – 2001

Background Accidental poisoning is one of the leading causes of injury in the United States, second only to motor vehicle accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rates of accidental poisoning mortality have been increasing in the past fourteen years nationally. In Texas, mortality rates from accidental poisoning have mirrored national trends, increasing linearly from 1981 to 2001. The purpose of this study was to determine if there are spatiotemporal clusters of accidental poisoning mortality among Texas counties, and if so, whether there are variations in clustering and risk according to gender and race/ethnicity. The Spatial Scan Statistic in combination with GIS software was used to identify potential clusters between 1980 and 2001 among Texas counties, and Poisson regression was used to evaluate risk differences. Results Several significant (p < 0.05) accidental poisoning mortality clusters were identified in different regions of Texas. The geographic and temporal persistence of clusters was found to vary by racial group, gender, and race/gender combinations, and most of the clusters persisted into the present decade. Poisson regression revealed significant differences in risk according to race and gender. The Black population was found to be at greatest risk of accidental poisoning mortality relative to other race/ethnic groups (Relative Risk (RR) = 1.25, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.24 – 1.27), and the male population was found to be at elevated risk (RR = 2.47, 95% CI = 2.45 – 2.50) when the female population was used as a reference. Conclusion The findings of the present study provide evidence for the existence of accidental poisoning mortality clusters in Texas, demonstrate the persistence of these clusters into the present decade, and show the spatiotemporal variations in risk and clustering of accidental poisoning deaths by gender and race/ethnicity. By quantifying disparities in accidental poisoning mortality by place, time and person, this study demonstrates the utility of the spatial scan statistic combined with GIS and regression methods in identifying priority areas for public health planning and resource allocation.