trapped

This villanelle describes the feeling of being trapped in a body that does not feel like your own; the repetition of the form embodies the haunting thoughts of mental illness or other paralyzing fear

trapped

This villanelle describes the feeling of being trapped in a body that does not feel like your own; the repetition of the form embodies the haunting thoughts of mental illness or other paralyzing fear

"Are you accepting new patients?" A pilot field experiment on telephone-based gatekeeping and Black patients' access to pediatric care.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine whether name and accent cues that the caller is Black shape physician offices' responses to telephone-based requests for well-child visits. METHOD AND DATA: In this pilot study, we employed a quasi-experimental audit design and examined a stratified national sample of pediatric and family practice offices. Our final data include information from 205 audits (410 completed phone calls). Qualitative data were blind-coded into binary variables. Our case-control comparisons using McNemar's tests focused on acceptance of patients, withholding information, shaping conversations, and misattributions. FINDINGS: Compared to the control group, "Black" auditors were less likely to be told an office was accepting new patients and were more likely to experience both withholding behaviors and misattributions about public insurance. The strength of associations varied according to whether the cue was based on name or accent. Additionally, the likelihood and ways office personnel communicated that they were not accepting patients varied by region. CONCLUSIONS: Linguistic profiling over the telephone is an aspect of structural racism that should be further studied and perhaps integrated into efforts to promote equitable access to care. Future research should look reactions to both name and accent, taking practice characteristics and regional differences into consideration

Interpreting students' explanations of fraction tasks, and their connections to length and area knowledge

Much research on fractions has concentrated on the sub-constructs of measure, quotient, operator and ratio from Kieren's model of coordinated fraction knowledge (Kieren, 1980). In the primary school, partitioning, equivalence and unit-forming also can be used to describe children's approaches to fraction tasks (Kieren 1988, 1992, 1993, 1995). Given the approaches used to teaching fractions, other areas of the curriculum such as multiplicative thinking, measurement and spatial knowledge could affect students' understanding of fractions. In one-to-one interviews, 88 Grade 6 students were asked 65 questions designed to ascertain their understanding of fraction, measurement, geometry and/or visualisation, and multiplication concepts. The students' answers and explanations were recorded on a record sheet at the time of interview and audio- and video-recording enabled later detailed analysis. The associations between four categories based on Lehrer's key concepts (2003) for spatial measurement (attribute, additivity, units, and proportionality) and the measure sub-construct of fractions were analysed. The measure sub-construct was assessed using number lines, fraction comparison tasks, and length and area diagrams. From detailed examination of students' explanations, insights into misconceptions were gained. Gap thinking in fraction pair size comparisons was discovered to be triggered at the same time as equivalence understanding began. The limitations of a part-whole double count approach to fractional area diagrams was noted. Further, Kieren's four-three-four model (1988, 1992, 1993, 1995) describing coordinated fraction knowledge for analysing students' fraction understanding at the upper primary school level was evaluated. Use of the model enabled descriptions of students' responses to tasks to be placed in a framework of understanding which connected these three underlying concepts and the four sub-constructs

The effect of biochar on the growth of agricultural weed species

Biochar, a carbon-rich residue similar to charcoal, has been proposed as a soil amendment to improve soil quality and increase crop yields while simultaneously mitigating climate change by the sequestration of carbon. The beneficial effect of biochar on crops may extend to weed species and, although it is well known that weeds reduce crop yields, there is little published research on the effect of biochar on agricultural weed species. In a series of greenhouse and growth chamber experiments, three questions were addressed. First, how does nitrogen interact with biochar produced from a single feedstock to affect weeds? Second, how do differences in biochar feedstock affect root growth and root system architecture? Finally, how do differences in biochar feedstocks affect weed and crop growth? In the first experiment, three common weed species, barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli L. Beauv.), large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis L. Scop.), and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), were grown to maturity under greenhouse conditions using a factorial design with biochar (0 and 2% of the soil dry weight) and nitrogen (0 and 14 g N m-2) treatments. Nitrogen increased barnyardgrass and redroot pigweed total dry weight and large crabgrass panicle dry weight. Biochar increased barnyardgrass height by 22% and total dry weight by 47% but did not affect root : shoot biomass partitioning. Biochar reduced redroot pigweed height by 30% but increased branch dry weight by 95%. Finally, biochar increased large crabgrass shoot dry weight by 34% but reduced root dry weight 30% suggesting that biochar allowed large crabgrass to partition more biomass to shoots than roots. In the second experiment, we examined the effects of two types of biochar on large crabgrass root system architecture using a rhizobox mesocosm. Root growth of large crabgrass varied with the type of biochar used; however, biochar did not affect total plant dry weight. The high-nutrient biochar increased above-ground dry weight and the low-nutrient biochar increased below-ground dry weight when compared to plants grown in the unamended soil. When given a choice between unamended and biochar-amended soil, large crabgrass roots grew preferentially in the biochar-amended soil, regardless of biochar type. In the final experiment, we examined the effect of two types of biochar on the growth of two crop and two weed species grown to maturity under greenhouse conditions. Biochar increased the growth of both crop species suggesting that the incorporation of biochar, especially high-nutrient biochar, into temperate agricultural soils may increase crop yields. However, biochar also increased the growth of both weed species, which may complicate current weed management practices. Overall, this research suggests that biochar has the potential to alter root system architecture and to increase the growth of common weed species. Biochar may therefore exacerbate weed problems in agricultural systems

Human metapneumovirus: Investigation of epidemiology strain diversity and human immune response

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a newly described respiratory virus belonging to the Paramyxoviridae family, first identified in respiratory samples of children with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI). Since its discovery hMPV has been associated with ARTI worldwide, however, important questions remain as to the contribution of hMPV to respiratory illness, and its impact on public health. Extensive surveillance of hMPV within different populations of the United Kingdom (UK) demonstrates it is an important cause of ARTI in the elderly, and influenza like illness (ILI) in people of all ages in the community. Furthermore it is a frequent cause of hospitalisation in young children. Recombinant baculovirus expressed hMPV nucleocapsid protein (N) proved to be a useful source of antigen for the development of an hMPV specific ELISA. Analysis of age stratified sera from the UK indicates that a majority of children are infected by the age of 6 years with primary infections occurring throughout infancy. Virtually all adults have detectable levels of hMPV antibody; however, reinfection with hMPV is common, raising questions concerning acquisition and duration of immunity. Sequence analysis of the attachment glycoprotein (G), shows a high degree of nucleotide and amino acid variation and extensive glycosylation. Frequent nucleotide insertions or deletions result in frame shift mutations which can drastically alter the appearance of the protein and often results in premature termination. Antibody recognition of hMPV G is likely to be highly strain specific and dependent on the extent of glycosylation, suggesting an involvement of G in immune evasion. Phylogenetic analysis of hMPV G gene sequence shows that whilst a large degree of variation exists within this gene, strains circulating within the UK are genetically similar to strains circulating elsewhere in the world, and similar strains circulate throughout different years and populations within the UK

Vendor Liability for Advertising in Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail, 22 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 137 (2003)

This article discusses whether vendors should be held liable for spam. Vendors are those companies whose products or services are being peddled in spam advertising. Yet, vendors disclaim responsibility for the issuance of spam because they were not the ones who actually sent the spam in the first place. This article takes the stance that because vendors contribute and or benefit from the wrongful acts of the actual spammers, vendors should not be able to escape liability by blaming the primary actors, the spammers. Further, if vendors were to be held liable for spam, they would be an easier entity to pinpoint to bring suit against as opposed to the actual spammers who are very mobile and difficult to locate

From blues to rainbows: the mental health and well-being of gender diverse and transgender young people in Australia

This study of gender diverse and transgender young people reveals high rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety. Introduction This report is the culmination of many months of engagement across Australia with young people aged between 14 and 25 who have shared their thoughts, understandings, experiences, hopes and dreams with us through an online survey and online interviews. Their narratives are insightful, touching, and hopeful. Young voices have told us how they care for themselves as well as shining a light on how health services, schools, government and policy makers can better serve their needs. This research was designed to expand on findings from previous Australian research with young people that found that gender-questioning and transgender young people not only experienced higher rates of self-harm and suicidal thoughts, but were also more likely to be involved in activism than their cisgender and same-sex attracted peers. This later finding is a potentially positive one and points to the need for research to not only explore the mental health needs of these young people but also the ways in which they advocate and care for themselves in the face of discrimination and abuse

5th national survey of Australian secondary students and sexual health 2013

Results of the fifth National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health provide a picture of teenagers demonstrating similar sexual behaviours to those in previous surveys, with individuals generally acting responsibly and being mostly happy about the choices they make. The survey has been carried out by La Trobe researchers at regular intervals since 1992 and is the most comprehensive of its kind into the sexual behaviour, attitudes and health of young people at secondary school.  It involved more than 2,000 students in years 10, 11 and 12 at Government, Catholic and Independent schools in all states and territories. 50% of young people expressed significant dissatisfaction with sex education at schools, citing irrelevance to their real experiences, lack of relationship advice and lack of discussion of same-sex issues as problems. 36% of students commonly asked their mother about sex, 41% asked a female friend. 86% of teenagers said the last time they\u27d had sex they\u27d used a condom if one was available. 23% of sexually active students had sex with three or more people in the past year. 25% of sexually active students reported an experience of unwanted sex of some kind. 50% of those who had not had intercourse felt good about this decision, with religion, culture and pressure from parents being less important than personal decision making. Overall low numbers reported frequent cyber bullying