Heritage Valley Beaver

Detection of bacterial burden within or near surgical wounds is critical to reducing the occurrence of surgical site infection (SSI). A distinct lack of reliable methods to identify postoperative bioburden has forced reliance on clinical signs and symptoms of infection (CSS). As a result, infection management has been reactive, rather than proactive. Fluorescence imaging of bacterial burden (FL) is positioned to potentially flip that paradigm. This post hoc analysis evaluated 58 imaged and biopsied surgical site wounds from the multi‐centre fluorescence imaging assessment and guidance clinical trial. Diagnostic accuracy measures of CSS and FL were evaluated. A reader study investigated the impact of advanced image interpretation experience on imaging sensitivity. Forty‐four of fifty‐eight surgical site wounds (75.8%) had bacterial loads >104 CFU/g (median = 3.11 × 105 CFU/g); however, only 3 of 44 were CSS positive (sensitivity of 6.8%). FL improved sensitivity of bacterial detection by 5.7‐fold compared with CSS alone (P = .0005). Sensitivity improved by 11.3‐fold over CSS among clinicians highly experienced with FL interpretation (P < .0001). Surgical sites that reach the stage of referral to a wound specialist frequently harbour asymptomatic high bacterial loads that delay healing and increase infection risk. Advanced imaging of pathological bacterial burden improves surgical site monitoring and may reduce the rate of SSIs.

Abstract This paper examines the early aesthetic writings of Joseph Margolis from the late 1950s to the mid‐1960s in order to argue for the relevance of these works in understanding Margolis’s later, more well‐known views in the philosophy of art. Specifically, the paper addresses Margolis’s early essays on the definition and ontology of art and aesthetic perception. These essays not only show Margolis engaged in the most significant debates in mid‐century analytic aesthetics but also provide important indications of the limitations of that approach to thinking about the arts that informs the development of Margolis’s later cultural realism.

Operational practices in nuclear power utilities often restrict job assignments for workers with internal contamination due to the difficulty of monitoring for new intakes and strict radioactive material controls. However, restriction of job assignments for an extended period (i.e., months to years) may be too conservative. An industry consensus on guidance in these conditions would be helpful for Radiation Safety Officers (RSOs) to allow long term contaminated workers to have less work restrictions.

During the course of King Henry VIII of England’s nearly thirty-eight-year reign there were ample opportunities to present him with the gift of a book. Be it as a wedding gift, a New Year’s gift, or simply a gift for no occasion, Henry was given many books, several of which were dedicated to him. However, when one reads the dedications to Henry, it becomes apparent that dedicators not only directed dedications to him to seek patronage or in some cases to counsel him, but that several authors also wrote to him to express their loyalty. In a time when Henry was known for having a quick temper, executed two wives, and reformed the English church, many gave books to Henry to support his evangelical changes, yet some men also dedicated books to him to express their loyalty to the crown, so they did not suffer the same fate as those around him who did not remain loyal, namely Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell.

To serve the customers of the City of Hillsboro and Tualatin Valley Water District, collectively over 400,000 customers, a new water supply system is in development in western Oregon, south and west of Portland. To select a route and secure a corridor for the critical new facilities, the team developed a holistic approach for evaluating routes that included evaluation of multiple corridors based on criteria developed for technical, social, economic, environmental, constructability, and cost factors. In addition to the evaluation criteria, the approach involved working closely with the partners’ public involvement, public outreach and property acquisition consultants to engage affected residents and businesses to help identify appropriate routes and get input. This paper outlines the challenges in identifying pipeline alignments that could be secured to enable the new water supply project be constructed and online by its critical need date of 2026.

In a cooperative agreement, the Tualatin Valley Water District (TVWD) and the Oregon cities of Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, and Tualatin have embarked on the development of a new water system. The new water supply system will serve to support the growth and economic viability of the communities and will provide greater redundancy and resiliency, which is particularly important given that the region is seismically active. These communities are located to the west and south of Portland, Oregon, and collectively serve more than 400,000 customers. The new water supply will withdraw water from the Willamette River through the existing Wilsonville intake facility. A new treatment plant will be constructed near the existing Wilsonville Water Treatment Plant and water will be transmitted from the new treatment plant to a terminal reservoir approximately 20 mi north. From the Terminal Reservoir, transmission pipelines will be routed to deliver water to each of the project partners. Critical to the success of the project is identifying and securing a preferred route for the pipelines and siting the terminal reservoir. Much of the area is developed where the pipelines will be routed. The areas that are not developed may be subject to improvement at any time. The location of the terminal reservoir is elevation critical. The desired elevation is in a very narrow band of undeveloped but highly desirable property. With the project not needing to be operational until 2026, the dilemma facing the project partners is how to identify and secure the needed reservoir site and pipeline corridors while not constructing facilities that will not be utilized for several years. To meet their needs, the project partners have embarked on a project to develop a preferred alignment for the pipeline and a site for the terminal reservoir that balances the technical needs of the project with financial concerns, social issues, environmental concerns, and long-term project resiliency. The goal of this initial phase will be to select the most appropriate alignment and sites and secure them for the long term to ensure a viable project. Where necessary, segments of the project may be constructed in advance to work cooperatively with road projects and to comply with permit conditions or as other opportunities to jointly construct a portion of the infrastructure arises. This paper will outline the challenges faced by the project partners and present the innovative and engaging techniques used to help ensure a long-term and reliable water supply to their customers in the Pacific Northwest.

We present a laboratory experiment that introduces high school chemistry students to microfluidics while teaching fundamental properties of acid-base chemistry. The procedure enables students to create microfluidic systems using nonspecialized equipment that is available in high school classrooms and reagents that are safe, inexpensive, and commercially available. The experiment is designed to ignite creativity and confidence about experimental design in a high school chemistry class. This experiment requires a computer program (e.g., PowerPoint), Shrinky Dink film, a readily available silicone polymer, weak acids, bases, and a colorimetric pH indicator. Over the span of five 45-min class periods, teams of students design and prepare devices in which two different pH solutions mix in a predictable way to create five different pH solutions. Initial device designs are instructive but rarely optimal. During two additional half-class periods, students have the opportunity to use their initial observations to redesign their microfluidic systems to optimize the outcome. The experiment exposes students to cutting-edge science and the design process, and solidifies introductory chemistry concepts including laminar flow, neutralization of weak acids-bases, and polymers.