66 research outputs found
The Development of Dual and Multiple Relationships for Social Workers in Rural Communities
Mental health professionals who work in small, rural communities often have to contend with dual and multiple relationships. The more integrated service providers are within the community, the more likely they will encounter overlapping personal and professional relationships with clients. Although there is extensive literature on the potential risks of dual and multiple relationships, little empirical evidence exists which addresses the contextual factors that specifically lead to these relationships in rural social work practice. This qualitative study explored the experiences of twelve social workers or social service workers practicing in northern and northwestern Ontario. Findings provide some insight into the complexity and dynamics of dual and multiple relationships in small towns, as well as worker perspectives on the specific contextual circumstances that result in mental health workers encountering these relationships. The unique contribution of this paper to the literature is to highlight factors that increase the likelihood of dual and multiple relationships when they are not as obvious as a clear and immediate conflict of interest. Greater clarity about such precipitating factors will contribute to supervision, training, and sound policy development informed by contextual sensitivity
Developmental Validation of Short Tandem Repeat Reagent Kit for Forensic DNA Profiling of Canine Biological Material
Aim To develop a reagent kit that enables multiplex polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 18 short tandem
repeats (STR) and the canine sex-determining Zinc
Finger marker.
Methods Validation studies to determine the robustness
and reliability in forensic DNA typing of this multiplex
assay included sensitivity testing, reproducibility studies,
intra- and inter-locus color balance studies, annealing
temperature and cycle number studies, peak height
ratio determination, characterization of artifacts such as
stutter percentages and dye blobs, mixture analyses, species-
specificity, case type samples analyses and population
studies.
Results The kit robustly amplified domesticated dog samples
and consistently generated full 19-locus profiles from
as little as 125 pg of dog DNA. In addition, wolf DNA samples
could be analyzed with the kit.
Conclusion The kit, which produces robust, reliable, and
reproducible results, will be made available for the forensic
research community after modifications based on this
studyâs evaluation to comply with the quality standards expected
for forensic casework
Developmental Validation of Short Tandem Repeat Reagent Kit for Forensic DNA Profiling of Canine Biological Material
Aim To develop a reagent kit that enables multiplex polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 18 short tandem
repeats (STR) and the canine sex-determining Zinc
Finger marker.
Methods Validation studies to determine the robustness
and reliability in forensic DNA typing of this multiplex
assay included sensitivity testing, reproducibility studies,
intra- and inter-locus color balance studies, annealing
temperature and cycle number studies, peak height
ratio determination, characterization of artifacts such as
stutter percentages and dye blobs, mixture analyses, species-
specificity, case type samples analyses and population
studies.
Results The kit robustly amplified domesticated dog samples
and consistently generated full 19-locus profiles from
as little as 125 pg of dog DNA. In addition, wolf DNA samples
could be analyzed with the kit.
Conclusion The kit, which produces robust, reliable, and
reproducible results, will be made available for the forensic
research community after modifications based on this
studyâs evaluation to comply with the quality standards expected
for forensic casework
Progress in Interferometry for LISA at JPL
Recent advances at JPL in experimentation and design for LISA interferometry
include the demonstration of Time Delay Interferometry using electronically
separated end stations, a new arm-locking design with improved gain and
stability, and progress in flight readiness of digital and analog electronics
for phase measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, LISA 8 Symposium, Stanford University, 201
Status of CMB Polarization Measurements from DASI and Other Experiments
We review the current status and future plans for polarization measurements
of the cosmic microwave background radiation, as well as the cosmology these
measurements will address. After a long period of increasingly sensitive upper
limits, the DASI experiment has detected the E-mode polarization and both the
DASI and WMAP experiments have detected the TE correlation. These detections
provide confirmation of the standard model of adiabatic primordial density
fluctuations consistent with inflationary models. The WMAP TE correlation on
large angular scales provides direct evidence of significant reionization at
higher redshifts than had previously been supposed. These detections mark the
beginning of a new era in CMB measurements and the rich cosmology that can be
gleaned from them.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures; To be published in the proceedings of "The
Cosmic Microwave Background and its Polarization", New Astronomy Reviews,
(eds. S. Hanany and K.A. Olive
AB Toxins: A Paradigm Switch from Deadly to Desirable
To ensure their survival, a number of bacterial and plant species have evolved a common strategy to capture energy from other biological systems. Being imperfect pathogens, organisms synthesizing multi-subunit AB toxins are responsible for the mortality of millions of people and animals annually. Vaccination against these organisms and their toxins has proved rather ineffective in providing long-term protection from disease. In response to the debilitating effects of AB toxins on epithelial cells of the digestive mucosa, mechanisms underlying toxin immunomodulation of immune responses have become the focus of increasing experimentation. The results of these studies reveal that AB toxins may have a beneficial application as adjuvants for the enhancement of immune protection against infection and autoimmunity. Here, we examine similarities and differences in the structure and function of bacterial and plant AB toxins that underlie their toxicity and their exceptional properties as immunomodulators for stimulating immune responses against infectious disease and for immune suppression of organ-specific autoimmunity
A Meta-analysis of Multiple Myeloma Risk Regions in African and European Ancestry Populations Identifies Putatively Functional Loci
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in European populations have identified genetic risk variants associated with multiple myeloma (MM)
CMB-S4: Forecasting Constraints on Primordial Gravitational Waves
CMB-S4---the next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB)
experiment---is set to significantly advance the sensitivity of CMB
measurements and enhance our understanding of the origin and evolution of the
Universe, from the highest energies at the dawn of time through the growth of
structure to the present day. Among the science cases pursued with CMB-S4, the
quest for detecting primordial gravitational waves is a central driver of the
experimental design. This work details the development of a forecasting
framework that includes a power-spectrum-based semi-analytic projection tool,
targeted explicitly towards optimizing constraints on the tensor-to-scalar
ratio, , in the presence of Galactic foregrounds and gravitational lensing
of the CMB. This framework is unique in its direct use of information from the
achieved performance of current Stage 2--3 CMB experiments to robustly forecast
the science reach of upcoming CMB-polarization endeavors. The methodology
allows for rapid iteration over experimental configurations and offers a
flexible way to optimize the design of future experiments given a desired
scientific goal. To form a closed-loop process, we couple this semi-analytic
tool with map-based validation studies, which allow for the injection of
additional complexity and verification of our forecasts with several
independent analysis methods. We document multiple rounds of forecasts for
CMB-S4 using this process and the resulting establishment of the current
reference design of the primordial gravitational-wave component of the Stage-4
experiment, optimized to achieve our science goals of detecting primordial
gravitational waves for at greater than , or, in the
absence of a detection, of reaching an upper limit of at CL.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, 9 tables, submitted to ApJ. arXiv admin note:
text overlap with arXiv:1907.0447
CMB-S4: Forecasting Constraints on Primordial Gravitational Waves
Abstract: CMB-S4âthe next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experimentâis set to significantly advance the sensitivity of CMB measurements and enhance our understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe. Among the science cases pursued with CMB-S4, the quest for detecting primordial gravitational waves is a central driver of the experimental design. This work details the development of a forecasting framework that includes a power-spectrum-based semianalytic projection tool, targeted explicitly toward optimizing constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r, in the presence of Galactic foregrounds and gravitational lensing of the CMB. This framework is unique in its direct use of information from the achieved performance of current Stage 2â3 CMB experiments to robustly forecast the science reach of upcoming CMB-polarization endeavors. The methodology allows for rapid iteration over experimental configurations and offers a flexible way to optimize the design of future experiments, given a desired scientific goal. To form a closed-loop process, we couple this semianalytic tool with map-based validation studies, which allow for the injection of additional complexity and verification of our forecasts with several independent analysis methods. We document multiple rounds of forecasts for CMB-S4 using this process and the resulting establishment of the current reference design of the primordial gravitational-wave component of the Stage-4 experiment, optimized to achieve our science goals of detecting primordial gravitational waves for r > 0.003 at greater than 5Ï, or in the absence of a detection, of reaching an upper limit of r < 0.001 at 95% CL
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