Health and the Economy : a statement of concern

The relationship between health and the economy is an intimate and complex one. The economy of health and the apportioning of funds to different medical services and health care programs are issues that depend on the health profile of a given community as well as the expectations of its members. Decisions ultimately depend on available resources and political priorities. Health and the economy cannot be isolated and contrasted, as the integrity of a given economic system clearly depends on the state of health of the community both at an individual level as well as at a population level.peer-reviewe

The 'Rock ‘n’ Fossil Road Show:' An Enduring Earth Science Educational Outreach Initiative in Calgary, Alberta

Since 2004, the Calgary office of the Geological Survey of Canada has been holding ‘Rock ‘n’ Fossil Road Shows’ at Calgary Public Library branches, in partnership with the Alberta Science Network and the Alberta Palaeontological Society. These now-annual earth science education outreach events have given more than 3700 people of all ages the opportunity to view, examine, and learn about GSC-Calgary’s collection of rocks, minerals, and fossils (including many museum quality pieces), have their own samples and collections identified by experts, and gain a better understanding of local and regional geology. This article describes what goes into organizing these events, reviews their evolution, and discusses reasons for their enduring success. The ‘Road Show’ approach can be viable in a range of settings and may be a good educational outreach option for research institutes with collections of interesting geological specimens and a critical mass of interested staff.RÉSUMÉDepuis 2004, le bureau de Calgary de la Commission géologique du Canada tient des représentations de son spectacle itinérant « Roche et fossiles » dans les succursales de la bibliothèque publique de Calgary, en partenariat avec l’Alberta Science Network et l’Alberta Palaeontological Society. Ces activités de rayonnement en sciences de la Terre, maintenant annuels, ont déjà offert à plus de 3700 personnes de tous âges la possibilité de voir, d'examiner et d'apprendre à partir de la collection de roches, de minéraux et de fossiles de la CGC-Calgary (certaines pièces de qualité muséale), et de voir leurs propres échantillons et collections identifiés par des experts, et ainsi obtenir une meilleure compréhension de la géologie locale et régionale. Le présent article décrit les détails de l'organisation de ces événements, retrace leur évolution et revoit les raisons de leur succès durable. L'approche du « spectacle itinérant » peut être viable dans différents contextes et peut être une bonne option de sensibilisation éducative pour les instituts de recherche disposant de collections de spécimens géologiques intéressants et d’une masse critique d’employés intéressés

Referral patterns of children with glaucoma and their caretakers in Northern Tanzania.

AIM: To describe the referral patterns of children with primary childhood glaucoma (PCG) or secondary childhood glaucoma (SCG) and their presenting symptoms in Northern Tanzania. METHODS: A retrospective observational study of children 0.48, better eye). Most of the children (60%) and their caretakers presented on their own initiative, while 24% were sent by different general health cadres and 16% by eye care professionals. Buphthalmos was the main symptom mentioned as a trigger for presentation. CONCLUSION: The study shows that most of the children presented late resulting in advanced stages of glaucoma at the time of initiation of treatment. The majority attended the referral eye department on their own initiative with buphthalmos being the most commonly described symptom. Awareness creation among caretakers of children, general health and eye care providers, ideally embedded in general child health promotion activities, is needed to increase and accelerate referrals

Strong Decays of Strange Charmed P-Wave Mesons

Goldstone boson decays of P-wave $D_s^{**}$ mesons are studied within the framework of Heavy Hadron Chiral Perturbation Theory. We first analyze the simplest single kaon decays of these strange charmed mesons. We derive a model independent prediction for the width of $D_{s2}$ and use experimental information on $D_{s1}$ to constrain the S-wave contribution to $D_1^0$ decay. Single and double pion decay modes are then discussed and shown to be significantly restricted by isospin conservation. We conclude that the pion channels may offer the best hope for detecting one strange member of an otherwise invisible P-wave flavor multiplet.Comment: 16 pages, 2 updated figures not included but available upon request, CALT-68-1902. (Revised estimates for error on $D_{s2}$ width and for isospin violating neutral pion decay of $D'_{s1}$.

Measuring the jet power of flat spectrum radio quasars

We use frequency-dependent position shifts of flat spectrum radio cores to estimate the kinetic power of AGN jets. We find a correlation between the derived jet powers and AGN narrow-line luminosity, consistent with the well-known relation for radio galaxies and steep spectrum quasars. This technique can be applied to intrinsically weak jets even at high redshift.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. ApJ in pres

Human cardiomyocyte calcium handling and transverse tubules in mid-stage of post-myocardial-infarction heart failure

Aims: Cellular processes in the heart rely mainly on studies from experimental animal models or explanted hearts from patients with terminal end-stage heart failure (HF). To address this limitation, we provide data on excitation contraction coupling, cardiomyocyte contraction and relaxation, and Ca2+ handling in post-myocardial-infarction (MI) patients at mid-stage of HF. Methods and results: Nine MI patients and eight control patients without MI (non-MI) were included. Biopsies were taken from the left ventricular myocardium and processed for further measurements with epifluorescence and confocal microscopy. Cardiomyocyte function was progressively impaired in MI cardiomyocytes compared with non-MI cardiomyocytes when increasing electrical stimulation towards frequencies that simulate heart rates during physical activity (2 Hz); at 3 Hz, we observed almost total breakdown of function in MI. Concurrently, we observed impaired Ca2+ handling with more spontaneous Ca2+ release events, increased diastolic Ca2+, lower Ca2+ amplitude, and prolonged time to diastolic Ca2+ removal in MI (P < 0.01). Significantly reduced transverse-tubule density (−35%, P < 0.01) and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ adenosine triphosphatase 2a (SERCA2a) function (−26%, P < 0.01) in MI cardiomyocytes may explain the findings. Reduced protein phosphorylation of phospholamban (PLB) serine-16 and threonine-17 in MI provides further mechanisms to the reduced function. Conclusions: Depressed cardiomyocyte contraction and relaxation were associated with impaired intracellular Ca2+ handling due to impaired SERCA2a activity caused by a combination of alteration in the PLB/SERCA2a ratio and chronic dephosphorylation of PLB as well as loss of transverse tubules, which disrupts normal intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and handling. This is the first study that presents these mechanisms from viable and intact cardiomyocytes isolated from the left ventricle of human hearts at mid-stage of post-MI HF

Duality and ontology

A ‘duality’ is a formal mapping between the spaces of solutions of two empirically equivalent theories. In recent times, dualities have been found to be pervasive in string theory and quantum field theory. Naïvely interpreted, duality-related theories appear to make very different ontological claims about the world—differing in e.g. space-time structure, fundamental ontology, and mereological structure. In light of this, duality-related theories raise questions familiar from discussions of underdetermination in the philosophy of science: in the presence of dual theories, what is one to say about the ontology of the world? In this paper, we undertake a comprehensive and non-technical survey of the landscape of possible ontological interpretations of duality-related theories. We provide a significantly enriched and clarified taxonomy of options—several of which are novel to the literature

ANALYSIS OF TEACHING SKILLS POSSESSED BY TEACHERS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated the teaching skills possessed by senior secondary school teachers in Imo State Nigeria. The study was carried out in secondary schools in two local Government areas of the state. Based on the objectives of the study, two research questions and a hypothesis guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted in carrying out the study. A sample of 387 teachers from 16 Government owned secondary schools from the area was selected for the study through purposive sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a researchers’ made rating scale with reliability coefficient of 0.81 determined using Cronbach’s alpha formula. Data generated from the study was analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer research questions while the hypothesis was analyzed using t-test statistical tool tested at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study revealed that, the teaching skills possessed by teachers in these areas include; set induction skills, closure skills, use of examples and illustration skills and questioning skills. Based on the result of the study it was recommended that secondary school teachers should be trained and retrained periodically on teaching skills that will enhance their effectiveness.  Article visualizations