An incident at sea: The historic combat between U.S. Navy Blimp K-74 and U-Boat 134

This thesis studies the historic encounter between United States Navy airship K-74 and Nazi submarine U-134 in World War II. The Battle of the Atlantic is examined through case study of this one U-boat and its voyage. In all things except her fight with the American blimp, the patrol was perfectly typical. Looked at from start to finish, both her reports and the reports of the Allies encountered, many realities of the war can be studied. U-134 sailed to attack shipping between Florida and Cuba. She was challenged by the attack of United States Navy airship K-74 over the Florida Straits. It is the only documented instance of battle between two such combatants in history. That merits attention. Thesis finding disprove historian William Eliot Morison’s contention that the K-74 airship bombs were not dropped and did not damage the U-boat. Study of this U-boat and its antagonist broadens our understanding of the Battle of the Atlantic. It is a contribution to our knowledge of military, naval, aviation, and local history.

The relationship between chronic disease self-efficacy and nutritional status, functional ability and quality of life in older adults at risk of hospital readmission

Background and significance: Older adults with chronic diseases are at increasing risk of hospital admission and readmission. Approximately 75% of adults have at least one chronic condition, and the odds of developing a chronic condition increases with age. Chronic diseases consume about 70% of the total Australian health expenditure, and about 59% of hospital events for chronic conditions are potentially preventable. These figures have brought to light the importance of the management of chronic disease among the growing older population. Many studies have endeavoured to develop effective chronic disease management programs by applying social cognitive theory. However, limited studies have focused on chronic disease self-management in older adults at high risk of hospital readmission. Moreover, although the majority of studies have covered wide and valuable outcome measures, there is scant evidence on examining the fundamental health outcomes such as nutritional status, functional status and health-related quality of life. Aim: The aim of this research was to test social cognitive theory in relation to self-efficacy in managing chronic disease and three health outcomes, namely nutritional status, functional status, and health-related quality of life, in older adults at high risk of hospital readmission. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed for this research. Three studies were undertaken. Study One examined the nutritional status and validation of a nutritional screening tool; Study Two explored the relationships between participants. characteristics, self-efficacy beliefs, and health outcomes based on the study.s hypothesized model; Study Three tested a theoretical model based on social cognitive theory, which examines potential mechanisms of the mediation effects of social support and self-efficacy beliefs. One hundred and fifty-seven patients aged 65 years and older with a medical admission and at least one risk factor for readmission were recruited. Data were collected from medical records on demographics, medical history, and from self-report questionnaires. The nutrition data were collected by two registered nurses. For Study One, a contingency table and the kappa statistic was used to determine the validity of the Malnutrition Screening Tool. In Study Two, standard multiple regression, hierarchical multiple regression and logistic regression were undertaken to determine the significant influential predictors for the three health outcome measures. For Study Three, a structural equation modelling approach was taken to test the hypothesized self-efficacy model. Results: The findings of Study One suggested that a high prevalence of malnutrition continues to be a concern in older adults as the prevalence of malnutrition was 20.6% according to the Subjective Global Assessment. Additionally, the findings confirmed that the Malnutrition Screening Tool is a valid nutritional screening tool for hospitalized older adults at risk of readmission when compared to the Subjective Global Assessment with high sensitivity (94%), and specificity (89%) and substantial agreement between these two methods (k = .74, p < .001; 95% CI .62-.86). Analysis data for Study Two found that depressive symptoms and perceived social support were the two strongest influential factors for self-efficacy in managing chronic disease in a hierarchical multiple regression. Results of multivariable regression models suggested advancing age, depressive symptoms and less tangible support were three important predictors for malnutrition. In terms of functional status, a standard regression model found that social support was the strongest predictor for the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, followed by self-efficacy in managing chronic disease. The results of standard multiple regression revealed that the number of hospital readmission risk factors adversely affected the physical component score, while depressive symptoms and self-efficacy beliefs were two significant predictors for the mental component score. In Study Three, the results of the structural equation modelling found that self-efficacy partially mediated the effect of health characteristics and depression on health-related quality of life. The health characteristics had strong direct effects on functional status and body mass index. The results also indicated that social support partially mediated the relationship between health characteristics and functional status. With regard to the joint effects of social support and self-efficacy, social support fully mediated the effect of health characteristics on self-efficacy, and self-efficacy partially mediated the effect of social support on functional status and health-related quality of life. The results also demonstrated that the models fitted the data well with relative high variance explained by the models, implying the hypothesized constructs under discussion were highly relevant, and hence the application for social cognitive theory in this context was supported. Conclusion: This thesis highlights the applicability of social cognitive theory on chronic disease self-management in older adults at risk of hospital readmission. Further studies are recommended to validate and continue to extend the development of social cognitive theory on chronic disease self-management in older adults to improve their nutritional and functional status, and health-related quality of life.

Book review: "English for telecoms and information technology" by T. Ricca and M. Duckworth; "English for legal professionals" by A. Frost; "English for the pharmaceutical industry" by M. Buchler, K. Jaehnig, G. Matzig, and T. Weindler; "English for cabin crews" by S. Ellis and L. Lansford; and "English for negotiating" by C. Lafond, S. Vine, and B. Welch.

This review examines five books in the Oxford Business English Express Series, including "English for telecoms and information technology" by T. Ricca and M. Duckworth; "English for legal professionals" by A. Frost; "English for the pharmaceutical industry" by M. Buchler, K. Jaehnig, G. Matzig, and T. Weindler; "English for cabin crews" by S. Ellis and L. Lansford; and "English for negotiating" by C. Lafond, S. Vine, and B. Welch.

A vibrational spectroscopic study of the silicate mineral harmotome – (Ba,Na,K)1-2(Si,Al)8O16⋅6H2O – A natural zeolite

The mineral harmotome (Ba,Na,K)1-2(Si,Al)8O16⋅6H2O is a crystalline sodium calcium silicate which has the potential to be used in plaster boards and other industrial applications. It is a natural zeolite with catalytic potential. Raman bands at 1020 and 1102 cm−1 are assigned to the SiO stretching vibrations of three dimensional siloxane units. Raman bands at 428, 470 and 491 cm−1 are assigned to OSiO bending modes. The broad Raman bands at around 699, 728, 768 cm−1 are attributed to water librational modes. Intense Raman bands in the 3100 to 3800 cm−1 spectral range are assigned to OH stretching vibrations of water in harmotome. Infrared spectra are in harmony with the Raman spectra. A sharp infrared band at 3731 cm−1 is assigned to the OH stretching vibration of SiOH units. Raman spectroscopy with complimentary infrared spectroscopy enables the characterization of the silicate mineral harmotome.

Metal-Nucleotide Interactions: Crystal Structures of Alkali (Li+, Na+, K+) and Alkaline Earth (Ca2+, Mg2+) Metal Complexes of Adenosine 2'-Monophosphate

Crystal structures of lithium, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium salts of adenosine 2'-monophosphate (2'-AMP) have been obtained at atomic resolution by X-ray crystallographic methods. 2'-AMP.Li belongs to the monoclinic space group P21 with a = 7.472(3)Å, b = 26.853(6) Å, c = 9.184(1)Å, b = 113.36(1)Å and Z= 4. 2'-AMP.Na and 2'-AMP.K crystallize in the trigonal space groups P31 and P3121 with a = 8.762(1)Å, c = 34.630(5)Å, Z= 6 and a = 8.931(4), Åc = 34.852(9)Å and Z= 6 respectively while 2'-AMP.Ca and 2'-AMP.Mg belong to space groups P6522 and P21 with cell parameters a = 9.487(2), c = 74.622(13), Z = 12 and a = 4.973(1), b = 10.023(2), c = 16.506(2), beta = 91.1(0) and Z = 2 respectively. All the structures were solved by direct methods and refined by full matrix least-squares to final R factors of 0.033, 0.028, 0.075, 0.069 and 0.030 for 2'-AMP.Li, 2'-AMP.Na, 2'- AMP.K, 2'-AMP.Ca and 2'-AMP.Mg, respectively. The neutral adenine bases in all the structures are in syn conformation stabilized by the O5'-N3 intramolecular hydrogen bond as in free acid and ammonium complex reported earlier. In striking contrast, the adenine base is in the anti geometry (cCN = -156.4(2)°) in 2'-AMP.Mg. Ribose moieties adopt C2'-endo puckering in 2'-AMP.Li and 2'-AMP.Ca, C2'-endo-C3'-exo twist puckering in 2'-AMP.Na and 2'-AMP.K and a C3'-endo-C2'-exo twist puckering in 2'-AMP.Mg structure. The conformation about the exocyclic C4'-C5' bond is the commonly observed gauche-gauche (g+) in all the structures except the gauche- trans (g-) conformation observed in 2'-AMP.Mg structure. Lithium ions coordinate with water, ribose and phosphate oxygens at distances 1.88 to 1.99Å. Na+ ions and K+ ions interact with phosphate and ribose oxygens directly and with N7 indirectly through a water oxygen. A distinct feature of 2'-AMP.Na and 2'-AMP.K structures is the involvement of ribose O4' in metal coordination. The calcium ion situated on a two-fold axis coordinates directly with three oxygens OW1, OW2 and O2 and their symmetry mates at distances 2.18 to 2.42Å forming an octahedron. A classic example of an exception to the existence of the O5'-N3 intramolecular hydorgen bond is the 2'-AMP.Mg strucure. Magnesium ion forms an octahedral coordination with three water and three phosphate oxygens at distances ranging from 2.02 to 2.11Å. A noteworthy feature of its coordination is the indirect link with N3 through OW3 oxygen resulting in macrochelation between the base and the phosphate group. Greater affnity of metal clays towards 5' compared to 2' and 3' nucleotides (J. Lawless, E. Edelson, and L. Manring, Am. Chem. Soc. Northwest Region Meeting, Seattle. 1978) due to macrochelation infered from solution studies (S. S. Massoud, H. Sigel, Eur. J. Biochem. 179, 451-458 (1989)) and interligand hydrogen bonding induced by metals postulated from metal-nucleotide structures in solid state (V. Swaminathan and M. Sundaralingam, CRC. Crit. Rev. Biochem. 6, 245-336 (1979)) are borne out by our structures also. The stacking patterns of adenine bases of both 2'-AMP.Na and 2'-AMP.K structures resemble the 2'-AMP.NH4 structure reported in the previous article. 2'-AMP.Li, 2'-AMP.Ca and 2'-AMP.Mg structures display base-ribose O4' stacking. An overview of interaction of monovalent and divalent cations with 2' and 5'-nucleotides has been presented.

Activity–Composition Relations in the Nickel Oxide–Magnesium Oxide System at 1300 K by the Solid-State Galvanic Cell Technique

The activity of NiO in NiO-MgO rock salt solid solution has been measured at 1300 K by employing a solid-state galvanic cell: Pt,Ni+ NiO||(CaO)ZrO2||Ni + (Nix,Mgl-x)O, Pt. A high-density tube of Zr02-15 mol% CaO has been used as the solid electrolyte for the emf measurements. The activities of the component oxides in the rock salt solid solution exhibit negative deviation from ideality at the temperature of investigation. The solid solution obeys regular solution behavior at 1300 K. The value of the regular solution parameter is found to be -12000 ((l000) J mol-1. The composition dependence of ΔGEx obtained in this study agrees reasonably well with the calorimetric data reported in the literature for NiO-MgO solid solution.

Rendimiento agroindustrial de la variedad L 68-40 (Saccharum sp.), en respuesta a las aplicaciones de N, P y K, cultivada en un suelo negro en caña planta

El presente trabajo se desarrolló en el Ingenio AGROINSA, de enero de 1995 al mes de marzo de 1996. Se evaluó el rendimiento agro-industrial de la variedad L 68-40 de caña de azúcar (Saccharum sp.), en respuesta a aplicaciones de nitrógeno, fósforo y potasio, cultivada en un suelo negro vertisol, serie Malacatoya (MY). El ensayo se monto de acuerdo a un diseño factorial incompleto en un Bloque Completamente al Azar (BCA), las variables analizadas fueron: Brotación, ahijamiento, diámetro, población, altura, peso promedio de tallo, rendimientos agrícola, industrial y agro-industrial. Los resultados se sometieron a un análisis de varianza y de regresión, además de realizarse una separación de media según la prueba de Cunean al 5 % de margen de error. En todas las variables evaluadas se observó diferencia significativa a excepción del diámetro, peso promedio de tallo y rendimiento industrial, siendo el nitrógeno el elemento que presentó mayor influencia significativa provocando una respuesta directamente proporcional a sus aplicaciones, sin embargo el fósforo y el potasio no influenciaron en la respuesta de las mismas. Las mayores dosis de nitrógeno para producir el 90 % rendimiento agrícola y agro-industrial máximo, obtenida a través del modelo lineal discontinuo fueron de 72.39 y 74.63 kg/ha de nitrógeno respectivamente

Is screening for Factor V Leiden and Prothrombin G20210A Mutations in Renal Transplantation worthwhile? Results of a large single-center U.K. study

This single center study is the largest series of renal transplant recipients and donors screened for the commonest prothrombotic genotypes. A total of 562 transplant recipients and 457 kidney donors were genotyped for the factor V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A mutations. The prevalence of heterozygous factor V Leiden was 3.4% and 2.6% and prothrombin G20210A was 2.0% and 1.1% in recipients and donors, respectively, similar frequencies to that of the general U.K. population. The 30-day and 1-year graft survival rates in recipients with thrombophilic mutations were 93% and 93%, compared with 88% and 82% in patients without these mutations (log-rank P =0.34). Thrombophilia in recipients (odds ratio 0.55; confidence interval 0.06-2.29; P =0.56) or in donors (odds ratio 1.53; confidence interval 0.27-5.74; P =0.46) did not correlate with graft loss at 30 days after transplantation. In contrast to recent reports, this study did not demonstrate an association between thrombophilia and renal allograft loss, and routine screening is not recommended.

CaII K interstellar observations towards early-type disc and halo stars

We present high-resolution (R = lambda/Deltalambda similar to 40 000) Ca II K interstellar observations (lambda(air) = 3933.66Angstrom) towards 88 mainly B-type stars, of which 74 are taken from the Edinburgh-Cape or Palomar-Green surveys, and 81 have > 25degrees. The majority of the data come from previously existing spectroscopy, although also included are 18 new observations of stars with echelle spectra taken with UVES on the Very Large Telescope UT2 (Kueyen). Some 49 of the sample stars have distance estimates above the Galactic plane (z) greater than or equal to 1 kpc, and are thus good probes of the halo interstellar medium. Of the 362 interstellar Ca K components that we detect, 75 (21 per cent) have absolute values of their LSR velocity values exceeding 40 km s(-1). In terms of the deviation velocity for the sightlines with distance estimates, 46/273 (17 per cent) of components have velocity values exceeding those predicted by standard Galactic rotation by more than 40 km s(-1). Combining this data set with previous observations, we find that the median value of the reduced equivalent width (REW) of stars with z greater than or equal to 1 kpc (EW x sin ) is similar to 115 mAngstrom (n = 80), similar to that observed in extragalactic sightlines by Bowen. Using data of all z distances, the REW at infinity is found to be similar to 130 mAngstrom, with the scaleheight (1) of the Ca II K column density distribution being;z 800 pc (n = 196) and reduced column density at infinity of log[N(Ca II K) cm(-2)] similar to 12.24. This implies that similar to30 per cent of Ca II K absorption occurs at distances exceeding similar to1 kpc. For nine sightlines, with distance exceeding 1 kpc and with a companion object within 5degrees, we find that all but two have values of Ca II reduced equivalent width the same to within similar to20 per cent, when the REW of the nearest object is extrapolated to the distance of the further of the pair, and assuming 1 = 800 pc. For 29 of our sightlines with z greater than or equal to 1 kpc and a H I detection from the Leiden-Dwingeloo survey (beamsize of 0.5degrees), we find log(N(Ca II K)IN(H I)) ranging from -7.4 to - 8.4. Values of the Ca II K abundance relative to neutral hydrogen (log[N(Ca II K) cm(-2)] - log[N(H I) cm(-2)]) are found to be more than similar to0.5 dex higher in stars with distances exceeding approximate to100 pc, when compared with the (log[N(Ca II K) cm(-2)] -log[N(H-tot) cm(-2)]) values found in nearby sightlines such as those in Wakker & Mathis (2000). Finally, stellar Ca II K equivalent widths of the sample are determined for 26 objects.