Rapid diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis by nested PCR assay of sputum

Coccidioidomycosis is a deep infection caused by two dimorphic fungi, Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii. Diagnosis of the disease requires culture of suspicious clinical samples on mycological media. However, as these species are virulent pathogens, handling of their cultures is a high-risk activity, and is limited to Biosafety Level 3 laboratories. This study describes the direct detection of C. posadasii DNA in an inappropriate sputum sample by PCR amplification of the highly specific Ag2/PRA antigen gene. the results obtained suggest that direct detection of the Ag2/PRA sequence in sputum is an excellent method for rapid and specific diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis.Fed Univ Ceara, Med Mycol Specialized Ctr, Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilFed Univ Ceara, Postgrad Program Med Sci, Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilState Univ Ceara, Postgrad Program Vet Sci, Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilState Univ Ceara, Dept Sci Biol, Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Film Review

This is a film review of the 2004 documentary, Some Kind of Monster, which provides an in-depth portrait of the heavy metal band, Metallica, during the making of their St. Anger album. It addresses issues of mental health, depression, group dynamics and the pressures that successful artists face in maintaining their internal and external relationships while still trying to create new music

The Causes and Effects of Teacher Attrition Amongst Secondary Educators

Abstract This paper will examine the research on teacher attrition rates across schools in the United States and around the world. This project examines three themes in the literature on teacher attrition in middle and high school: teacher age and inexperience, workload, and high levels of teacher burnout. Working conditions affect the likelihood of teacher attrition, and without addressing issues in the working environment, more and more teachers will leave the profession. This paper goes on to examine specific causes and effects of teacher attrition by examining data and studies from countries around the world like Chile, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and the United States. The data from the research also has the potential to explore implications for future research and transform practices regarding the prevention of teacher attrition

The Role of Commitment in Relationship Marketing in Consumer Services:an Airline Perspective

This study proposes a relationship marketing model, which identifies the antecedents of commitment in the context of consumer services. The literature review initially considers relationship marketing (RM) and the concept of commitment from the context of the marketing and social psychology literature. Commitment is a key element of RM. If parties to a relationship are not committed, the relationship risks dissolution. In this study, commitment is conceptualised as having two distinct dimension i.e. affective and calculative commitment. Affective commitment represents a positive motivation for relationship continuance, whereas calculative commitment represents a negative motivation. Many studies consider commitment to be a unidimensional, global construct. However, using a global measure of commitment without considering the differing motivations could lead to problems in understanding why relationships are maintained. The proposed relationship marketing model identifies the antecedents and one consequence of commitment in the context of consumer services. A conceptual framework graphically represents the various relationships between the variables in the model. The relationships between the variables have been taken from empirical results of other commitment models from the various literatures. There is a lack of research that models the nature of commitment in consumer services and this research aims to address this issue. Depending on the dimension, the antecedents of commitment differ. The affective antecedents that are being considered in this study include affect, satisfaction, freedom to choose and trust, while the calculative commitment antecedents include dependence, size of investment, availability of alternatives, and value. Finally, the behavioural outcome that is considered in this study if ‘intention to continue’. The context of the study relates to a consumer service model of commitment tested on passengers of the airline industry. The research objectives are (1) to develop measurement instrument with good psychometric properties which will test the model, (2) to test the hypothesised relationships of the model and (3) to compare sub-groups within the respondent population. The research was designed to be quantitative in nature. The constructs of the model were measured using summated rating scales and consisted of established measures as well as measures developed specifically for this study. The sample consisted of 243 passengers intercepted at Dublin airport. The sampling technique involved non-probability sampling, by means of quota sampling. The final section of the study concerns the analysis and findings of the research. The analysis was carried out in three main stages in accordance with the three objectives of the study. The first part of the analysis deals with objective one, i.e. a measurement instrument with good psychometric properties. The scales of the final instrument demonstrated good reliability, as was evidence by high Cronbach alphas and demonstrated good unidimensionality, as shown by factor analysis. The second part of the analysis involves testing the conceptual model and the hypotheses relating to it by means of regression analysis (in line with objective two). Thirteen of the seventeen hypothesised relationships are supported by the regression analysis. The third and final part of the analysis concerns objective three of the research and involves comparing the subgroups within the respondent population. T-tests and ANOVA are used to determine whether the subgroups differ in terms of the variables in the conceptual model such as affective and calculative commitment

Silicate weathering and carbon cycle controls on the Oligocene-Miocene transition glaciation

Changes in both silicate weathering rates and organic carbon burial have been proposed as drivers of the transient “Mi-1” glaciation event at the Oligocene-Miocene transition (OMT; ~23 Ma). However detailed geochemical proxy data are required to test these hypotheses. Here we present records of Li/Ca, Mg/Ca, Cd/Ca, U/Ca, δ18O, δ13C, and shell weight in planktonic foraminifera from marine sediments spanning the OMT in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Li/Ca values increase by 1 μmol/mol across this interval. We interpret this to indicate a ~20% increase in silicate weathering rates, which would have lowered atmospheric CO2, potentially forcing the Antarctic glaciation circa 23 Ma. δ13C of thermocline dwelling planktonic foraminifera track the global increase in seawater δ13C across the OMT and during the Mi-1 event, hence supporting a hypothesized global increase in organic carbon burial rates. High δ13C previously measured in epipelagic planktonic foraminifera and high Cd/Ca ratios during Mi-1 are interpreted to represent locally enhanced primary productivity, stimulated by increased nutrients supply to surface waters. The fingerprint of high export production and associated organic carbon burial at this site is found in reduced bottom water oxygenation (inferred from high foraminiferal U/Ca), and enhanced respiratory dissolution of carbonates, characterised by reduced foraminiferal shell weight. Replication of our results elsewhere would strengthen the case that weathering-induced CO2 sequestration preconditioned climate for Antarctic ice sheet growth across the OMT and increased burial of organic carbon acted as a feedback that intensified cooling at this time

Can the catastrophizing interview technique be used to develop understanding of childhood worry?

Background: The current research-base into childhood worry is extremely limited, in part owing to the lack of appropriately validated measures of worry suitable for use with children. Although some adult measures of worry have successfully been adapted for use with children, as of yet no measure suitable for use within an experimental paradigm has been developed, meaning that the majority of the existing research is based on correlational designs and therefore does not allow exploration of causative relationships between childhood worry and other factors. Aim: This thesis aimed to explore the use of the catastrophizing interview technique with children, with the goal of validating this technique as an experimental measure of childhood worry. Method: A mixed methodology was employed, using both single group correlation and between group comparisons. Additionally, a qualitative aspect to the design allowed greater exploration of the interview responses given by participants. The data from 88 participants aged 9 – 11 was used for the analysis. Participants completed a number of interviewer-assisted measures of worry, verbal reasoning, verbal fluency and tendency to respond in a socially desirable manner, before completing two catastrophizing tasks. Results: Limited evidence was found for a relationship between the catastrophizing interview responses and tendency to worry. However, when confounding variables such as verbal ability were controlled, a relationship between the number of steps generated using the interview and tendency to worry was found. Additionally, high worriers were more likely to respond in an extreme or circular manner, than low worriers. Discussion: Although this study found limited support for using the catastrophizing interview technique with children, there were a number of methodological issues with the study design that may have affected results. Given the need for a greater understanding of the processes of childhood worry, further exploration of using the catastrophizing interview technique is warranted

The Complex Topology of Chemical Plants

We show that flowsheets of oil refineries can be associated to complex network topologies that are scale-free, display small-world effect and possess hierarchical organization. The emergence of these properties from such man-made networks is explained as a consequence of the currently used principles for process design, which include heuristics as well as algorithmic techniques. We expect these results to be valid for chemical plants of different types and capacities.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures and 1 tabl

Mathematical modelling of zika virus in Brazil

In this paper we study some deterministic mathematical models that seek to explain the expansion of zika virus, as a viral epidemic, using published data for Brazil. SIR type models are proposed and validated using the epidemic data found, considering several aspects in the spread of the disease. Finally, we confirmed that the crucial epidemic parameter such as $R_0$ is consistent with those previously reported in the literature for other areas. We also explored variations of the parameters within Brazil for different federal entities. We concluded that a parsimonious model that includes both human and vector populations best describe the epidemic parameters

Spatial urban restructuring for economic growth with distribution: The case of Ceara (Brazil)

One of the most important challenges of economic policy is the combination between economic growth and the reduction of inequality and poverty. The change of the regime in Brazil can be seen as a reaction to the failure of economic policy in this field. We focus on the case of one of Brazil's states in the Northeast, Ceara, that experienced a rapid macro economic growth in the last decade, but with no reduction of poverty and inequality. Established economic theory shows that economic growth generally implies a changing economic structure (relatively less agriculture, and more industry and later services), and a process of urbanization. Our hypothesis is that in addition to industrialization and urbanization, a component of spatial urban restructuring is necessary for the achievement of a more equalitarian economic growth. The persistence of inequalities and high levels of poverty in spite of the macro economic growth can be explained by the continuing high level of urban concentration, and the insufficient growth of urban centers outside the metropolis. We test this using data of economic growth in Ceara, compared with trends of urbanization and its concentration level, changing economic structures (distribution between agriculture, industry and services) in the regions outside the metropolis and levels of productivity. Results lead to the conclusion that economic policy measures should consider a spatial reallocation of public expenditures for physical and human infrastructures, leading to a spatial urban restructuring.