Progamotaenia capricorniensis sp nov (Cestoda : Anoplocephalidae) from wallabies (Marsupialia : Macropodidae) from Queensland, Australia

Progamotaenia capricorniensis sp. nov. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) is described from the wallabies Macropus dorsalis (Gray, 1837] and Petrogale assimilis Ramsay, 1877 from Queensland, Australia. The new species is characterised by a fimbriated velum composed of 26-32 digitiform to triangular projections on each side of the proglottis, paired uteri and 140-190 testes distributed in a single band across the medulla. Minor variation occurs in the distribution of the testes. The above characters distinguish the new species from its most closely related congeners P. lagorchestis (Lewis, 1914), P. proterogyna (Fuhrmann, 1932), P. spearei Beveridge, 1980 and P. villosa (Lewis, 1914). P. capricorniensis appears to exhibit a highly disjunct distribution within its usual host, M. dorsalis

Aquaculture: a rapidly growing and significant source of sustainable food? Status, transitions and potential

The status and potential of aquaculture is considered as part of a broader food landscape of wild aquatic and terrestrial food sources. The rationale and resource base required for the development of aquaculture are considered in the context of broader societal development, cultural preferences and human needs. Attention is drawn to the uneven development and current importance of aquaculture globally as well as its considerable heterogeneity of form and function compared with established terrestrial livestock production. The recent drivers of growth in demand and production are examined and the persistent linkages between exploitation of wild stocks, full life cycle culture and the various intermediate forms explored. An emergent trend for sourcing aquaculture feeds from alternatives to marine ingredients is described and the implications for the sector with rapidly growing feed needs discussed. The rise of non-conventional and innovative feed ingredients, often shared with terrestrial livestock, are considered, including aquaculture itself becoming a major source of marine ingredients. The implications for the continued expected growth of aquaculture are set in the context of sustainable intensification, with the challenges that conventional intensification and emergent integration within, and between, value chains explored. The review concludes with a consideration of the implications for dependent livelihoods and projections for various futures based on limited resources but growing demand

Mortality Differences Between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage: A Risk-Adjusted Assessment Using Claims Data.

Medicare Advantage (MA) has grown rapidly since the Affordable Care Act; nearly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries now choose MA. An assessment of the comparative value of the 2 options is confounded by an apparent selection bias favoring MA, as reflected in mortality differences. Previous assessments have been hampered by lack of access to claims diagnosis data for the MA population. An indirect comparison of mortality as an outcome variable was conducted by modeling mortality on a traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare data set, applying the model to an MA data set, and then evaluating the ratio of actual-to-predicted mortality in the MA data set. The mortality model adjusted for clinical conditions and demographic factors. Model development considered the effect of potentially greater coding intensity in the MA population. Further analysis calculated ratios for subpopulations. Predicted, risk-adjusted mortality was lower in the MA population than in FFS Medicare. However, the ratio of actual-to-predicted mortality (0.80) suggested that the individuals in the MA data set were less likely to die than would be predicted had those individuals been enrolled in FFS Medicare. Differences between actual and predicted mortality were particularly pronounced in low income (dual eligibility), nonwhite race, high morbidity, and Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) subgroups. After controlling for baseline clinical risk as represented by claims diagnosis data, mortality differences favoring MA over FFS Medicare persisted, particularly in vulnerable subgroups and HMO plans. These findings suggest that differences in morbidity do not fully explain differences in mortality between the 2 programs

A Survey of High School Seniors\u27 Career Choices: Implications for Allied Health

This paper describes a research study conducted using a survey instrument to determine what factors influence high school seniors when making decisions related to future careers and college education. Students were asked to indicate what careers they intended to pursue, what people and factors influenced their careers choices, and their familiarity with and impressions of the allied health professions. The majority indicated that personal satisfaction, employment opportunities, and income were the most important factors influencing their career choices. Although 76.5% of the respondents had a favorable impression of allied health, only 15% indicated that they were very familiar with the allied health professions. The results here and in other studies point to lack of knowledge rather than lack of interest as the leading cause of enrollment vacancies in allied health curricula

An Exploratory Study of the Electronic Distribution of Hotel Rooms in Europe

Hotels sell a great deal of their inventory by means of third party distribution through the use of technology and marketing intermediaries. More recently the Internet along with other emerging technologies has offered the potential to disrupt enduring distribution arrangements. The question of strategic change is important as the low-cost, multi-channel possibilities offer considerable potential benefits to hotels, but these are also linked to considerable risks. The focus of the study is on the drivers behind the choice of distribution intermediaries by hotel groups. A research questionnaire designed to establish the factors influencing hotels’ choice of intermediaries, was developed from the extant literature. Subsequently principal component analysis uncovered an overriding factor, (referred to here as ‘risk preference’) which is shown to influence heavily channel strategy choice. This indicates the concern by hoteliers over the impact of negative direct or intermediary-related performance on hotel brand image and reputation. The results of this study further support the theory that the hotel industry has yet to define a strategic direction that will leverage the capabilities of the Internet

"Responsible drinkers create all the atmosphere of a mortuary" : policy implementation of responsible drinking in Scotland

The purpose of this paper is to explore the reaction of customer facing staff and their attitude to the introduction of high profile corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes; in particular their level of awareness and willingness to implement them. Conducted using a series of site visits and interviews with managers working within the licensed trade, this was followed up with structured interviews of "front line" staff. Despite high levels of awareness of both the social problems relating to alcohol consumption and the legislative changes, engagement with operational CSR was limited and often disinterested. Legal and societal expectations regarding drunkenness are of little concern. This paper is concerned with nascent legislation, the full impact and success of which has not yet emerged. Reviewing this study in five years would add to the strength of the results. Limited to Scotland due to its devolved licensing laws, however, it clearly highlights lack of employee engagement with CSR. Despite placing CSR issues at the forefront of day to day operations within the licensed trade there is little empirical evidence around customer facing staff engagement. CSR is a dynamic process that relies on the involvement of employees for its successful implementation. A new CSR implementation matrix is presented which allows hospitality businesses to be positioned according to levels of both management and employee engagement with CSR policies

The evolution of aquaculture feed supply systems

First paragraph: As any fish farmer knows, feed is usually the most important variable production cost. A simple objective is therefore to minimize waste from uneaten food, which has the added benefit of reducing the risk of environmental degradation. However, decreasing feed level risks reducing growth rate, leadìng to a rise in other costs per unit of production. The optimum biological feeding rate is thus rarely the same as the optimum economic rate. In practice, these calculations are complicated as feed requirement and efficiency of conversion varies with changing environmental conditions including water temperature, oxygen concentration, water quality, current speed, light intensity and day length. Feed utilisation also varies with diet quality and physiological factors such as age/size, life-stage, stress level and endogenous rhythms. lt is therefore not surprising that these factors contrìbute towards an element of uncertaìnty regarding the amount of feed required, often leading to under or over feeding of stock and resultant under performance of the system

The structure and dynamics of a bright point as seen with Hinode, SoHO and TRACE

Our aim is to determine the plasma properties of a coronal bright point and compare its magnetic topology extrapolated from magnetogram data with its appearance in X-ray images. We analyse spectroscopic data obtained with EIS/Hinode, Ca II H and G-band images from SOT/Hinode, UV images from TRACE, X-ray images from XRT/Hinode and high-resolution/high-cadence magnetogram data from MDI/SoHO. The BP comprises several coronal loops as seen in the X-ray images, while the chromospheric structure consists of tens of small bright points as seen in Ca II H. An excellent correlation exists between the Ca II BPs and increases in the magnetic field, implying that the Ca II H passband is a good indicator for the concentration of magnetic flux. Doppler velocities between 6 and 15 km/s are derived from the Fe XII and Fe XIII lines for the BP region, while for Fe XIV and Si VII they are in the range from -15 to +15 km/s. The coronal electron density is 3.7x10^9 cm^-3. An excellent correlation is found between the positive magnetic flux and the X-ray light-curves. The remarkable agreement between the extrapolated magnetic field configuration and some of the loops composing the BP as seen in the X-ray images suggests that a large fraction of the magnetic field in the bright point is close to potential. The close correlation between the positive magnetic flux and the X-ray emission suggests that energy released by magnetic reconnection is stimulated by flux emergence or cancellation.Comment: 10 pages with 11 figures. Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysic

The (Parental) Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: A Multifactorial Model of Parent Factors in Pediatric Chronic Pain

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International LicenseParents play a critical role in children's experience of, and recovery from, chronic pain. Although several parental factors have been linked to child pain and functioning, these factors are typically examined in isolation or as moderators or mediators. Structural equation modeling affords the opportunity to examine the extent to which parental factors are interrelated, and if there are differential associations among parental factors and child outcomes. Based on extant literature, a unified model of parental factors, including chronic pain status, physical functioning, responses to child pain, and psychological factors, and their effect on child pain and functioning, was conceptualized. This model was evaluated using structural equation modeling based on data from 146 dyads recruited from a multidisciplinary pain clinic. Modifications to model iterations were made based on theoretical and statistical justification. The final model revealed associations among all parental factors, with significant loadings on child pain and functioning. Findings indicated the conceptual model was supported, with the exception of parent responses to child pain. Findings support the inclusion of parent chronic pain status and physical and psychological functioning as part of a comprehensive assessment of youth with chronic pain and may inform new parental intervention targets to improve child outcomes