The value of outdoor adventure activities as part of the enviro course at Golden Gate Highlands National Park

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Some Phases of Wound Healing in an Insect (Melanoplus differentialis)

A stuck was made of the inflammatory processes and stages of repair following the production of wounds by incision and excision in the fifth abdominal sternite of both nymphs and adults. The following changes may be observed to take place: A clot is formed in the wound aperture, consisting of agglutinated blood cells. Blood serum filters through this structure and hardens by evaporation of water on contact with air, thus sealing the wound. A brown deposit is formed in the clot and in the surrounding zone of injury. Pycnosis takes place in adjacent tissues. A further agglutination of blood cells follows. The hypodermis cells of the adult enlarge and assume a condition comparable to that found normally in the nymph. These cells begin secretion of materials similar to those found in the endocuticula. The blood cells undergo differentiation and elaborate a type of scar tissue in and about the wound area. The cells of the hypodermis proliferate and migrate in between the body wall and the newly fanned connective tissue, thus restoring continuity between the broken layers of epithelium. New endocuticula is then elaborated by these cells at the point where the body wall has been broken. Mechanical injury to the tissues of the body wall of the grasshopper will activate other tissues for some distance from the wound and cause agglutination of blood cells which differentiate and produce scar tissue. The rate of repair, within certain limits, is greater in large wounds than in small wounds

THE VALUE OF SPORT FISHING IN THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN OF CENTRAL IDAHO

The value of sportfishing in the Snake River Basin in Central Idaho was measured using a two-stage/disequilibrium travel model. The two-stage/disequilibrium model does not require monetization of recreationists? travel time as required of traditional equilibrium labor market travel cost models. The model was estimated using Poisson regression, appropriate for count data when over-dispersion is absent, and adjusted for endogenous stratification (self selection bias) . Contrary to expectations that anglers living close to the sites with low values would be over represented in the sample, the endogenous stratification adjustment caused estimated consumers surplus to decline from $42 per person per trip before adjustment for endogenous stratification to$35 after adjustment. The average number of sportfishing trips per year was 6.72, resulting in an average annual willingness-to-pay of $236 per year per angler.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Measuring the Location Value of a Recreation Site

The demand for sport fishing on the Snake River reservoirs was estimated using the travel cost method. A short-run demand model was specified with location value for anglers who have the option to access a follow-on site if fishing conditions are poor. Willingness to pay for a fishing trip to the site was $18.52 for anglers who did not have a follow-on site and$43.48 for anglers who did. A location value of $24.96 accrued only to anglers with a follow-on site. Total annual site value was understated by as much as 40$0.78 million) if location value for anglers with a follow-on site was excluded from the benefit estimate.contingent behavior, count data, endogenous stratification, follow-on site, location value, multiple destination, option value, short-run demand, travel cost method, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Parents' nonstandard work and child wellbeing: a critical review of the existing literature

The rising prevalence of nonstandard work among parents in the era of the 24-hour/7-day economy in developed countries has raised a concern about its possible impacts on children’s health and development. This paper provides a comprehensive and critical review of literature on this topic. To date researchers have examined (a) three developmental outcomes: mental health and behavioral problems, cognitive development, and childhood obesity; (b) family processes: parental time spent with children, parental monitoring, parent-child closeness, and the home environment and (c) other child outcomes: school engagement, extracurricular activities, and sleep patterns. Findings from research that used rigorous methodology show consistent associations between nonstandard work and poor child outcomes. This association is more pronounced in disadvantaged families and magnified when parents work nonstandard hours full-time. A similar association was found between nonstandard work and family processes. The paper discusses the strengths and limitations of existing research and directions for future research

The impact of pediatric emergency department crowding on patient and health care system outcomes: a multicentre cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Emergency department overcrowding has been associated with increased odds of hospital admission and mortality after discharge from the emergency department in predominantly adult cohorts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between crowding and the odds of several adverse outcomes among children seen at a pediatric emergency department. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving all children visiting 8 Canadian pediatric emergency departments across 4 provinces between 2010 and 2014. We analyzed the association between mean departmental length of stay for each index visit and hospital admission within 7 days or death within 14 days of emergency department discharge, as well as hospital admission at index visit and return visits within 7 days, using mixed-effects logistic regression modelling. RESULTS: A total of 1 931 465 index visits occurred across study sites over the 5-year period, with little variation in index visit hospital admission or median length of stay. Hospital admission within 7 days of discharge and 14-day mortality were low across provinces (0.8%-1.5% and \u3c 10 per 100 000 visits, respectively), and their association with mean departmental length of stay varied by triage categories and across sites but was not significant. There were increased odds of hospital admission at the index visit with increasing departmental crowding among visits triaged to Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) score 1-2 (odds ratios [ORs] ranged from 1.01 to 1.08) and return visits among patients with a CTAS score of 4-5 discharged at the index visit at some sites (ORs ranged from 1.00 to 1.06). INTERPRETATION: Emergency department crowding was not significantly associated with hospital admission within 7 days of the emergency department visit or mortality in children. However, it was associated with increased hospital admission at the index visit for the sickest children, and with return visits to the emergency department for those less sick

Watson Brake, A Middle Archaic Mound Complex in Northeast Louisiana

Middle Archaic earthen mound complexes in the lower Mississippi valley are remote antecedents of the famous but much younger Poverty Point earthworks. Watson Brake is the largest and most complex of these early mound sites. Wry extensive coring and stratigraphic studies, aided by 25 radiocarbon dates and six huninescence dates, show that minor earthworks were begun here at ca. 3500 B.C. in association with an oval arrangement of burned rock middens at the edge of a stream terrace. The full extent of the first earthworks is not yet known. Substantial moundraising began ca. 3350 B.C. and continued in stages until some time after 3000 B.C. when the site was abandoned. All 11 mounds and their connecting ridges were occupied between building bursts. Soils,formed on some of these temporary surfaces, while lithics. fire-cracked rock. and,fired clay/loam objects became scattered throughout the mound fills. Faunal and floral remains from a basal midden indicate all-season occupation, supported by broad-spectrum foraging centered on nuts, fish, and deer All the overlying fills are so acidic that organics have not survived. The area enclosed by the mounds was kept clean of debris, suggesting its use as ritual space. The reasons why such elaborate activities first occurred here remain elusive. However some building bursts covary with very well-documented increases in El Nino/Southern Oscillation events. During such rapid increases in ENSO frequencies, rainfall becomes extremely erratic and unpredictable. It may be that early moundraising was a communal response to new stresses of droughts and flooding that created a suddenly more unpredictable food base

A Multi-Parameter, High-Content, High-Throughput Screening Platform to Identify Natural Compounds that Modulate Insulin and Pdx1 Expression

Diabetes is a devastating disease that is ultimately caused by the malfunction or loss of insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells. Drugs capable of inducing the development of new beta-cells or improving the function or survival of existing beta-cells could conceivably cure this disease. We report a novel high-throughput screening platform that exploits multi-parameter high-content analysis to determine the effect of compounds on beta-cell survival, as well as the promoter activity of two key beta-cell genes, insulin and pdx1. Dispersed human pancreatic islets and MIN6 beta-cells were infected with a dual reporter lentivirus containing both eGFP driven by the insulin promoter and mRFP driven by the pdx1 promoter. B-score statistical transformation was used to correct systemic row and column biases. Using this approach and 5 replicate screens, we identified 7 extracts that reproducibly changed insulin and/or pdx1 promoter activity from a library of 1319 marine invertebrate extracts. The ability of compounds purified from these extracts to significantly modulate insulin mRNA levels was confirmed with real-time PCR. Insulin secretion was analyzed by RIA. Follow-up studies focused on two lead compounds, one that stimulates insulin gene expression and one that inhibits insulin gene expression. Thus, we demonstrate that multi-parameter, high-content screening can identify novel regulators of beta-cell gene expression, such as bivittoside D. This work represents an important step towards the development of drugs to increase insulin expression in diabetes and during in vitro differentiation of beta-cell replacements

Implementation of the StandingTall programme to prevent falls in older people:a process evaluation protocol

INTRODUCTION: One in three people aged 65 years and over fall each year. The health, economic and personal impact of falls will grow substantially in the coming years due to population ageing. Developing and implementing cost-effective strategies to prevent falls and mobility problems among older people is therefore an urgent public health challenge. StandingTall is a low-cost, unsupervised, home-based balance exercise programme delivered through a computer or tablet. StandingTall has a simple user-interface that incorporates physical and behavioural elements designed to promote compliance. A large randomised controlled trial in 503 community-dwelling older people has shown that StandingTall is safe, has high adherence rates and is effective in improving balance and reducing falls. The current project targets a major need for older people and will address the final steps needed to scale this innovative technology for widespread use by older people across Australia and internationally. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This project will endeavour to recruit 300 participants across three sites in Australia and 100 participants in the UK. The aim of the study is to evaluate the implementation of StandingTall into the community and health service settings in Australia and the UK. The nested process evaluation will use both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore uptake and acceptability of the StandingTall programme and associated resources. The primary outcome is participant adherence to the StandingTall programme over 6 months. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been obtained from the South East Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC reference 18/288) in Australia and the North West- Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee (IRAS ID: 268954) in the UK. Dissemination will be via publications, conferences, newsletter articles, social media, talks to clinicians and consumers and meetings with health departments/managers. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12619001329156