MicroCredit-NH boosts north country economy

Mill closings in New Hampshire’s northernmost county spurred local leaders and MicroCredit-NH to improve self-employment opportunities by offering hands-on training. The Coos County Entrepreneurial Program’s success is now creating increased demand.Small business - New Hampshire ; Self-employed - New Hampshire

Influential Article Review - Globalization of Highly Digitized Companies

This paper examines technology. We present insights from a highly influential paper. Here are the highlights from this paper: Highly digitized organizations can potentially grow faster internationally, relatively to more traditional organizations. They can do so by providing a platform, and by fostering an ecosystem of complementary third party developers, some of which are foreign. This paper proposes a theoretical link between International Business theory and the literature related to the platform-ecosystem organizational form. It emphasizes implications for psychic distance, liability of foreignness, and speed and pattern of internationalization. For our overseas readers, we then present the insights from this paper in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German

Estratégias para atrair e reter educadores: O que a evidência diz?

A highly competent teacher workforce is a necessary foundation for improving children’s educational outcomes, especially for those who rely most on schools for their success. Yet in the United States, shortages in the teaching force have been growing across the country, reaching crisis proportions in some teaching fields— such as mathematics, science, and special education—and in locations where wages and working conditions are least attractive. We analyzed recent research and representative survey data to identify the drivers of teacher recruitment and retention. We also reviewed the policy literature to identify district, state, and federal policy strategies that have been effective at addressing the factors influencing teachers’ professional decisions. These policies include increasing their compensation and improving their preparation, professional support, and working conditions, as well as improving district and school management practices that otherwise create obstacles to recruitment and retention. La fuerza laboral docente que es muy competente es una base necesaria para mejorar los resultados educativos de los niños, especialmente para aquellos que dependen más de las escuelas para su éxito. Sin embargo, en los Estados Unidos, la escasez en la fuerza docente ha aumentado en todo el país, alcanzando proporciones de crisis en algunos campos de la enseñanza, como matemáticas, ciencias y educación especial, y en lugares donde los salarios y las condiciones de trabajo son menos atractivos. Analizamos investigaciones recientes y datos de encuestas representativas para identificar los impulsores del reclutamiento y la retención de docentes. También revisamos la literatura sobre políticas para identificar estrategias de políticas del distrito, estatales y federales que han sido efectivas para abordar los factores que influyen en las decisiones profesionales de los maestros. Estas políticas incluyen aumentar su compensación y mejorar su preparación, apoyo profesional y condiciones de trabajo, así como mejorar las prácticas de gestión escolar y del distrito que de otra manera crean obstáculos para el reclutamiento y la retención. La fuerza laboral docente que es muy competente es una base necesaria para mejorar los resultados educativos de los niños, especialmente para aquellos que dependen más de las escuelas para su éxito. Sin embargo, en los Estados Unidos, la escasez en la fuerza docente ha aumentado en todo el país, alcanzando proporciones de crisis en algunos campos de la enseñanza, como matemáticas, ciencias y educación especial, y en lugares donde los salarios y las condiciones de trabajo son menos atractivos. Analizamos investigaciones recientes y datos de encuestas representativas para identificar los impulsores del reclutamiento y la retención de docentes. También revisamos la literatura sobre políticas para identificar estrategias de políticas del distrito, estatales y federales que han sido efectivas para abordar los factores que influyen en las decisiones profesionales de los maestros. Estas políticas incluyen aumentar su compensación y mejorar su preparación, apoyo profesional y condiciones de trabajo, así como mejorar las prácticas de gestión escolar y del distrito que de otra manera crean obstáculos para el reclutamiento y la retención.

The Effect of Charge Display on Cost of Care and Physician Practice Behaviors: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: While studies have been published in the last 30 years that examine the effect of charge display during physician decision-making, no analysis or synthesis of these studies has been conducted. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the type and quality of charge display studies that have been published; to synthesize this information in the form of a literature review. METHODS: English-language articles published between 1982 and 2013 were identified using MEDLINE, Web of Knowledge, ABI-Inform, and Academic Search Premier. Article titles, abstracts, and text were reviewed for relevancy by two authors. Data were then extracted and subsequently synthesized and analyzed. RESULTS: Seventeen articles were identified that fell into two topic categories: the effect of charge display on radiology and laboratory test ordering versus on medication choice. Seven articles were randomized controlled trials, eight were pre-intervention vs. post-intervention studies, and two interventions had a concurrent control and intervention groups, but were not randomized. Twelve studies were conducted in a clinical environment, whereas five were survey studies. Of the nine clinically based interventions that examined test ordering, seven had statistically significant reductions in cost and/or the number of tests ordered. Two of the three clinical studies looking at medication expenditures found significant reductions in cost. In the survey studies, physicians consistently chose fewer tests or lower cost options in the theoretical scenarios presented. CONCLUSIONS: In the majority of studies, charge information changed ordering and prescribing behavior

Using Remote Sensing and Detection of Early Season Invasives (DESI) to Analyze the Temporal Dynamics of Invasive Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum)

The invasion of exotic annual grasses during the last century has transformed plant habitats and communities worldwide. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is a winter annual grass that has invaded over 100 million acres of the western United States (Pellant and Hall, 1994. Pellant, 1996). Cheatgrass quickly utilizes available resources especially after a disturbance to the landscape. A major impact of invasion is the increased frequency in fires (D’Antonio and Vitousek, 1992). As cheatgrass is highly successful at invading open and disturbed landscapes at a rapid pace it increases the frequency and severity of fires in arid landscapes (Brooks, 2005). Cheatgrass’ prolific seed production and flammability allows it to competitively exclude native plant species (Seabloom et al., 2003). The successful life strategy of cheatgrass gives a unique spectral image reflectance that can allow the use of remote sensing platforms to track and locate invasions

Using Hotspot Analysis and Detection of Early Season Invasives (DESI) to analyze the temporal and spatial dynamics of invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum).

The invasion of exotic annual grasses during the last century has transformed plant habitats and communities worldwide. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is a winter annual grass that has invaded over 100 million acres of the western United States (Pellant and Hall, 1994. Pellant, 1996). Cheatgrass quickly utilizes available resources especially after a disturbance to the landscape. A major impact of invasion is the increased frequency in fires (D’Antonio and Vitousek, 1992). As cheatgrass is highly successful at invading open and disturbed landscapes at a rapid pace it increases the frequency and severity of fires in arid landscapes (Brooks, 2005). Cheatgrass’ prolific seed production and flammability allows it to competitively exclude native plant species (Seabloom et al., 2003). The successful life strategy of cheatgrass gives a unique spectral image reflectance that can allow the use of remote sensing platforms to track and locate invasions

The influence of α-actinin-3 deficiency on bone remodelling markers in young men

There is a large individual variation in the bone remodelling markers (BRMs) osteocalcin (OC), procollagen 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP) and β-isomerized C-terminal telopeptide (β-CTx), as well as undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC), at rest and in response to exercise. α-actinin-3 (ACTN3), a sarcomeric protein, is expressed in skeletal muscle and osteoblasts and may influence BRM levels and the cross-talk between muscle and bone. We tested the levels of serum BRMs in α-actinin-3 deficient humans (ACTN3 XX) at baseline, and following a single bout of exercise. Forty-three healthy Caucasian individuals were divided into three groups (ACTN3 XX, n = 13; ACTN3 RX, n = 16; ACTN3 RR, n = 14). Participants completed a single session of High Intensity Interval Exercise (HIIE) on a cycle ergometer (8 × 2-min intervals at 85% of maximal power). Blood samples were taken before, immediately after, and three hours post exercise to identify the peak changes in serum BRMs. There was a stepwise increase in resting serum BRMs across the ACTN3 genotypes (XX \u3e RX \u3e RR) with significantly higher levels of tOC ~ 26%, P1NP ~ 34%, and β-CTX (~ 33%) in those with ACTN3 XX compared to ACTN3 RR. Following exercise BRMs and ucOC were higher in all three ACTN3 genotypes, with no significant differences between groups. Serum levels of tOC, P1NP and β-CTX are higher in men with ACTN3 XX genotype (α-actinin-3 deficiency) compared to RR and RX. It appears that the response of BRMs and ucOC to exercise is not explained by the ACTN3 genotype

High prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults with Crohn's disease: associations with disease and lifestyle factors.

peer-reviewedObesity and overweight are major public health issues. Although traditionally associated with weight loss, there is now evidence that increasing Body Mass Index (BMI) and overweight are emerging features of Crohn's disease (CD) and may be associated with more severe disease course. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in patients with CD compared with matched healthy controls and to identify disease-specific and generic factors associated with current BMI in this group.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe

Underwater Gliders at Memorial University: Summary of Deployments and Collected Data 2006 - 2020

Memorial University has over the past 15 years been involved in various ocean glider activities with deployments focused primarily on the Newfoundland Shelf and the Labrador Sea. For example, there are four deployments with glider data in the Labrador Sea. Partnerships with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Ocean Gliders Canada have also resulted in deployments of Memorial's gliders in the Pacific. The data contain 14’663 mission kms, 620 deployment days and 25’108 individual glider profiles. L1 NETCDF files for every deployment archived on the Memorial University’s Glider Data server are made available publicly for scientific research. Deployments vary in duration and region. All files were processed with the SOCIB glider toolbox (Troupin et al., 2015), modified by Nicolai von Oppeln-Bronikowski, 2019 for MUN glider deployments

“Still good life”: On the value of reuse and distributive labor in “depleted” rural Maine

This article explores the production of wealth through distributive labor in Maine\u27s secondhand economy. While reuse is often associated with economic disadvantage, our research complicates that perspective. The labor required to reclaim, repair, redistribute, and reuse secondhand goods provides much more than a means of living in places left behind by international capitalism, but the value generated by this work is persistently discounted by dominant economic logics. On the basis of semistructured interviews, participant observation, and statewide surveys with reuse market participants in Maine, we find that the relational value of reuse, produced through caring, flexible, distributive labor, is especially significant. We argue that paying attention to the practices, politics, and value of distribution is critical for understanding wealth in communities perceived to have been left behind by global capitalist systems, particularly as wage labor opportunities and natural resources grow increasingly scarce