Father inclusive practice in a parenting and early childhood organisation: The development and analysis of a staff survey

Aim: The successful embedding of father inclusive practice (FIP) in parenting and early childhood organisations is relatively new and therefore challenging to assess. The purpose of this study was to describe the process of adapting an existing tool, the Knowledge about fatherhood checklist (KAFC), to suit the parenting service context and apply the modified survey to establish a baseline of attitudes and practice of all staff at an established parenting and early childhood service in Western Australia, Ngala. Method: Following the application of the KAFC at Ngala in 2016, feedback provided by the staff led to a reflective and iterative process of review to adapt the KAFC. In 2018, all staff were asked to complete the adapted survey – the 23-item Father inclusive practice survey (FIP survey) – in order to assess the attitudes and behaviours of everyone in the organisation. The FIP survey covers aspects of competency as well as knowledge and attitudes in relation to fatherhood or father engagement. Results: Results indicated generally high levels of appreciation of the fathering role by Ngala staff. However, a number of areas for improvement in staff knowledge and attitudes were identified, including the benefit of reflecting on personal experiences of fathering, the awareness of the gendered stereotyped view of men, and the importance of the influence fathers can make in the context of attachment and breastfeeding. Conclusions: The implementation of this FIP survey informs improvements to staff orientation and training in FIP, and provides insights into staff attitudes, beliefs and practice regarding acknowledgement of the important contribution fathers make to the development and wellbeing of their children

The impact of protocluster environments at z = 1.6

We investigate the effects of dense environments on galaxy evolution by examining how the properties of galaxies in the z = 1.6 protocluster Cl 0218.3−0510 depend on their location. We determine galaxy properties using spectral energy distribution fitting to 14-band photometry, including data at three wavelengths that tightly bracket the Balmer and 4000 Å breaks of the protocluster galaxies. We find that two-thirds of the protocluster galaxies, which lie between several compact groups, are indistinguishable from field galaxies. The other third, which reside within the groups, differ significantly from the intergroup galaxies in both colour and specific star formation rate. We find that the fraction of red galaxies within the massive protocluster groups is twice that of the intergroup region. These excess red galaxies are due to enhanced fractions of both passive galaxies (1.7 times that of the intergroup region) and dusty star-forming galaxies (3 times that of the intergroup region). We infer that some protocluster galaxies are processed in the groups before the cluster collapses. These processes act to suppress star formation and change the mode of star formation from unobscured to obscured

Diffusion coefficient measurement using a temperature‐controlled fluid for quality control in multicenter studies

Purpose: To present the use of a quality control ice‐water phantom for diffusion‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW‐MRI). DW‐MRI has emerged as an important cancer imaging biomarker candidate for diagnosis and early treatment response assessment. Validating imaging biomarkers through multicenter trials requires calibration and performance testing across sites. Materials and Methods: The phantom consisted of a center tube filled with distilled water surrounded by ice water. Following preparation of the phantom, ≈30 minutes was allowed to reach thermal equilibrium. DW‐MRI data were collected at seven institutions, 20 MRI scanners from three vendors, and two field strengths (1.5 and 3T). The phantom was also scanned on a single system on 16 different days over a 25‐day period. All data were transferred to a central processing site at the University of Michigan for analysis. Results: Results revealed that the variation of measured apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values between all systems tested was ±5%, indicating excellent agreement between systems. Reproducibility of a single system over a 25‐day period was also found to be within ±5% ADC values. Overall, the use of an ice‐water phantom for assessment of ADC was found to be a reasonable candidate for use in multicenter trials. Conclusion: The ice‐water phantom described here is a practical and universal approach to validate the accuracy of ADC measurements with ever changing MRI sequence and hardware design and can be readily implemented in multicenter clinical trial designs. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87048/1/22363_ftp.pd

The structure and evolution of a forming galaxy cluster at z = 1.62

We present a comprehensive picture of the Cl 0218.3−0510 protocluster at z = 1.623 across 10 comoving Mpc. Using filters that tightly bracket the Balmer and 4000 Å breaks of the protocluster galaxies we obtain precise photometric redshifts resulting in a protocluster galaxy sample that is 89 ± 5 per cent complete and has a contamination of only 12 ± 5 per cent. Both star-forming and quiescent protocluster galaxies are located, which allows us to map the structure of the forming cluster for the first time. The protocluster contains six galaxy groups, the largest of which is the nascent cluster. Only a small minority of the protocluster galaxies are in the nascent cluster (11 per cent) or in the other galaxy groups (22 per cent), as most protocluster galaxies reside between the groups. Unobscured star-forming galaxies predominantly reside between the protocluster’s groups, whereas red galaxies make up a large fraction of the groups’ galactic content, so observing the protocluster through only one of these types of galaxies results in a biased view of the protocluster’s structure. The structure of the protocluster reveals how much mass is available for the future growth of the cluster and we use the Millennium Simulation, scaled to a Planck cosmology, to predict that Cl 0218.3−0510 will evolve into a 2.7+3.9 −1.7 × 1014M cluster by the present day

An early block in the replication of the atypical bluetongue virus serotype 26 in culicoides cells is determined by its capsid proteins

Arboviruses such as bluetongue virus (BTV) replicate in arthropod vectors involved in their transmission between susceptible vertebrate-hosts. The “classical” BTV strains infect and replicate effectively in cells of their insect-vectors (Culicoides biting-midges), as well as in those of their mammalian-hosts (ruminants). However, in the last decade, some “atypical” BTV strains, belonging to additional serotypes (e.g., BTV-26), have been found to replicate efficiently only in mammalian cells, while their replication is severely restricted in Culicoides cells. Importantly, there is evidence that these atypical BTV are transmitted by direct-contact between their mammalian hosts. Here, the viral determinants and mechanisms restricting viral replication in Culicoides were investigated using a classical BTV-1, an “atypical” BTV-26 and a BTV-1/BTV-26 reassortant virus, derived by reverse genetics. Viruses containing the capsid of BTV-26 showed a reduced ability to attach to Culicoides cells, blocking early steps of the replication cycle, while attachment and replication in mammalian cells was not restricted. The replication of BTV-26 was also severely reduced in other arthropod cells, derived from mosquitoes or ticks. The data presented identifies mechanisms and potential barriers to infection and transmission by the newly emerged “atypical” BTV strains in Culicoides.</p

Competition between Fusion and Quasi-fission in the Formation of Super-heavy Elements

Quasifission is a non-equilibrium dynamical process resulting in rapid separation of the dinuclear system initially formed after capture and sticking of two colliding heavy nuclei. This can inhibit fusion by many orders of magnitude, thus suppressing the cross section for formation of superheavy elements. Measurements with projectiles from C to Ni, made at the Australian National University Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility, have mapped out quasifission characteristics and systematics using mass-angle distributions (MAD) - the fission mass-split as a function of centre-of-mass angle. These provide information on quasifission dynamics in the least model-dependent way. Quasifission time-scale information in the MAD has been compared with TDHF calculations of the collisions, with good agreement being found. Most significantly, the nuclear structure of the two colliding nuclei has a dramatic effect on quasifission probabilities and characteristics in gentle collisions at near-barrier energies. The effect of static deformation alignment, closed shells and N/Z matching can completely change reaction outcomes. The realization of this strong dependence makes modelling quasifission and superheavy element formation a challenging task, but should ultimately allow more reliable prediction of superheavy element formation cross sections