It's time for Canadian community early warning systems for illicit drug overdoses

Although fatal and non-fatal overdoses represent a significant source of morbidity and mortality, current systems of surveillance and communication in Canada provide inadequate measurement of drug trends and lack a timely response to drug-related hazards. In order for an effective early warning system for illicit drug overdoses to become a reality, a number of elements will be required: real-time epidemiologic surveillance systems for illicit drug trends and overdoses, inter-agency networks for gathering data and disseminating alerts, and mechanisms for effectively and respectfully engaging with members of drug using communities. An overdose warning system in an urban area like Vancouver would ideally be imbedded within a system that monitors drug trends and overdoses by incorporating qualitative and quantitative information obtained from multiple sources. Valuable information may be collected and disseminated through community organizations and services associated with public health, emergency health services, law enforcement, medical laboratories, emergency departments, community-based organizations, research institutions and people with addiction themselves. The present paper outlines considerations and conceptual elements required to guide implementation of such systems in Canadian cities such as Vancouver

Low temperature/short duration steaming as a sustainable method of soil disinfection

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Soil samples containing resting structures of fungal crop pathogens (Verticillium dahliae, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Sclerotium cepivorum, Pythium ultimum), potato cyst nematodes (Globodera rostochiensis and Globodera pallida) and weeds (Chenopodium album and Agropyron repens) were treated with aerated steam in the laboratory at temperatures ranging from 50–80oC in a specially constructed apparatus. Steaming at 50 or 60oC for three minutes, followed by an eight-minute resting period in the steamed soil and immediate removal from the soil thereafter, resulted in 100% kill of all weeds, fungi and nematodes. Low temperature/ short duration soil steaming could become a sustainable alternative to chemical or high-temperature steam soil disinfestation

Self-organised droplet flow patterns in microchannels

This paper was presented at the 2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2009), which was held at Brunel University, West London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IPEM, the Italian Union of Thermofluid dynamics, the Process Intensification Network, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.In this work, we have investigated the generation and behaviour of self-organised droplet flow patterns in microchannels. The water droplets, which are generated at a T-junction where the carrier is oil, move into an expanded channel and are self reorganised into various flow patterns: single-profile, double-helix-profile, triple-helix-profile, and more. We find that increasing water/oil flow rate ratio and Capillary number lead to more densely packed droplet flow patterns. The channel geometry also plays an essential role where the 300-μm-deep expansion channel can form multiple layers of droplets while only single layer of droplets can be observed in the 200-μm-deep expansion channel

Motivations, expectations, and experiences of expatriate academic staff on an international branch campus in China

This article explores the experiences of non-Chinese academic staff working on an international branch campus in China. The article presents findings from an interview study that explored the expectations of expatriate staff and what motivated them to want to work abroad. The second part of the article reports on whether and how these expectations and motivations were fulfilled. The findings suggest that, although staff found many benefits from working on the international branch campus, they were insufficiently prepared for the structural and cultural differences inherent in working as an academic in China. The authors argue that more of the academics’ initial expectations and motivations could have been realized if better staff induction and ongoing collective professional development had been in place. In particular, university-level discourse communicated through policy and marketing texts, which promoted the vision of one inclusive and diverse international university community, militated against attention being paid to the structural, political, and cultural differences inherent in working as an academic in China. The authors argue that professional development that acknowledges the differences, difficulties, and disjunctions that staff are likely to encounter in their work is important in building successful international branch campuses both at the level of the organization and of the individual

Children's understandings of obesity, a thematic analysis

Childhood obesity is a major concern in today’s society. Research suggests the inclusion of the views and understandings of a target group facilitates strategies that have better efficacy. The objective of this study was to explore the concepts and themes that make up children’s understandings of the causes and consequences of obesity. Participants were selected from Reception (4-5 years old) and Year 6 (10-11 years old), and attended a school in an area of Sunderland, in North East England. Participants were separated according to age and gender, resulting in four focus groups, run across two sessions. A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) identified overarching themes evident across all groups, suggesting the key concepts that contribute to children’s understandings of obesity are ‘‘Knowledge through Education,’’ ‘‘Role Models,’’ ‘‘Fat is Bad,’’ and ‘‘Mixed Messages.’’ The implications of these findings and considerations of the methodology are discussed in full

Not Exactly Dragon\u27s Den: Enterprise Challenges can Enhance Psychological Literacy.

Enterprise challenges are teaching activities that allow students to develop and pitch a creative idea in response to a real-life challenge, usually posed by a charitable organisation. Students work in teams to develop their ideas and draw on their subject knowledge, as well as entrepreneurial processes, to articulate their product or service that addresses the challenge. These activities have the potential to enhance psychological literacy as they provide an opportunity to utilise psychological knowledge and skills in novel and unfamiliar ways and urges students to find creative solutions to societal problems. This article presents the rationale and structure to design an enterprise challenge in psychology teaching and uses two case studies to show diverse ways of delivering these teaching events. Evaluation data from six previous challenges show that students self-rate their perceived psychological literacy and entrepreneurial orientation higher after having participated in an enterprise challenge. These teaching activities present a propitious way of enhancing psychological literacy in the curriculum and supporting students on their journey to develop as global citizens

Enhanced cytotoxicity of silver complexes bearing bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene ligands

A diverse library of cationic silver complexes bearing bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) ligands have been prepared which exhibit cytotoxicity comparable to cisplatin against the adenocarcinomas MCF7 and DLD1. Bidentate ligands show enhanced cytotoxicity over monodentate and macrocyclic ligands

Transition Metal Substitution Effects on Metal-to-Polyoxometalate Charge Transfer

A series of heterobimetallic transition metal substituted polyoxometalates (TMSPs) have been synthesized based on the CoII-centered ligand [CoIIW11O39]10-. The eight complex series, [CoII(MxOHy)W11O39](12-x-y)- (MxOHy = VIVO, CrIII(OH2), MnII(OH2), FeIII(OH2), CoII(OH2), NiII(OH2), CuII(OH2), ZnII(OH2)), of which six are reported for the first time, was synthesized starting from [CoIIIW11O39]9- and studied using spectroscopic, electrochemical, and computational techniques to evaluate the influence of substituted transition metals on the photodynamics of the metal-to-polyoxometalate charge transfer (MPCT) transition. The bimetallic complexes all show higher visible light absorption than the plenary [CoIIW12O40]6- and demonstrate the same MPCT transition as the plenary complex, but have shorter excited state lifetimes (sub-300 ps in aqueous media). The decreased lifetimes are rationalized on the basis of nonradiative relaxation due to coordinating aqua ligands, increased interaction with cations due to increased negative charge, and the energy gap law, with the strongest single factor appearing to be the charge on the anion. The most promising results are from the Cr- and Fe-substituted systems, which retain excited state lifetimes at least 50% of that of [CoIIW12O40]6- while more than tripling the absorbance at 400 nm