Preschoolers\u27 Perceptions of Their Alternative Care Environments

The purpose of this study was to examine children\u27s perceptions of their alternative child care environment without constraining thought processes or suggesting appropriate answers. The Child Care Game Assessment (CCGA) was developed to meet these goals. The CCGA is a role-plating, game-like assessment for preschool children. It uses a model of the child\u27s alternative care environment and allows children to act out portions of a typical day. The CCGA was administered to 57 four- and five-year-old children attending non-parental child care. Twenty-one children (11 boys and 10 girls) attended Utah State University\u27s Child Development Laboratory, a 10-hour-per-week preschool. Twenty-one children (10 boys and 11 girls) participated in a full day child care centers, and fifteen children (12 boys and 3 girls) attended state-licensed, full-day home care settings. The CCGA provided a factor score that reflected each child\u27s perceptions regarding several areas of child care. These factors yielded a contentment score that measured how children liked attending their alternative child care environment. Results suggested that children generally liked attending alternative child care. They viewed care providers as an important element contributing to their contentment. Children are the primary consumers of alternative care and their perceptions concerning child care were imperative. They furnished convergent data regarding their preferences at child care and gave important information regarding child care practices. The CCGA appears to provide useful information regarding children\u27s perceptions of alternative child care. Parents and child care providers can use this information to provide children with better alternative environments by noting interactions and providing child-centered activities

Testing the robustness of transmission network models to predict ectoparasite loads. One lizard, two ticks and four years

Open access under CC BY-NC-SA licenseAbstract We investigated transmission pathways for two tick species, Bothriocroton hydrosauri and Amblyomma limbatum, among their sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) hosts in a natural population in South Australia. Our aim was to determine whether a transmission network model continued to predict parasite load patterns effectively under varying ecological conditions. Using GPS loggers we identified the refuge sites used by each lizard on each day. We estimated infectious time windows for ticks that detached from a lizard in a refuge. Time windows were from the time when a detached tick molted and become infective, until the time it died from desiccation while waiting for a new host. Previous research has shown that A. limbatum molts earlier and survives longer than B. hydrosauri. We developed two transmission network models based on these differences in infective time windows for the two tick species. Directed edges were generated in the network if one lizard used a refuge that had previously been used by another lizard within the infectious time window. We used those models to generate values of network node in-strength for each lizard, a measure of how strongly connected an individual is to other lizards in the transmission network, and a prediction of infection risk for each host. The consistent correlations over time between B. hydrosauri infection intensity and network derived infection risk suggest that network models can be robust to environmental variation among years. However, the contrasting lack of consistent correlation in A. limbatum suggests that the utility of the same network models may depend on the specific biology of a parasite species

Geographical interdependence, international trade and economic dynamics: the Chinese and German solar energy industries

The trajectories of the German and Chinese photovoltaic industries differ significantly yet are strongly interdependent. Germany has seen a rapid growth in market demand and a strong increase in production, especially in the less developed eastern half of the country. Chinese growth has been export driven. These contrasting trajectories reflect the roles of market creation, investment and credit and the drivers of innovation and competitiveness. Consequent differences in competiveness have generated major trade disputes

Dissociation cross sections of ground-state and excited charmonia with light mesons in the quark model

We present numerical results for the dissociation cross sections of ground-state, orbitally- and radially-excited charmonia in collisions with light mesons. Our results are derived using the nonrelativistic quark model, so all parameters are determined by fits to the experimental meson spectrum. Examples of dissociation into both exclusive and inclusive final states are considered. The dissociation cross sections of several C=(+) charmonia may be of considerable importance for the study of heavy ion collisions, since these states are expected to be produced more copiously than the J/psi. The relative importance of the productions of ground-state and orbitally-excited charmed mesons in a pion-charmonium collision is demonstrated through the $\sqrt {s}$-dependent charmonium dissociation cross sections.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

A Novel Two-Step Approach for Retrieval of an Impacted Biliary Extraction Basket

Biliary extraction baskets are a commonly used instrument for the removal of choledocholithiasis in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Impaction of the extraction basket is a recognized complication of ERCP, and is usually the result of discrepancy between the size of bile duct stone and the diameter of the distal bile duct. Whilst mechanical lithotriptors can be used to crush the stone or break the wires of the basket to allow its release, failure of the lithotriptor device can occur. We describe the case of a 59-year-old gentleman who had an ERCP performed for choledocholithiasis. Basket impaction was encountered, and the mechanical lithotriptor failed to dislodge the stone/basket complex. A two-step technique involving balloon dilatation and forceps manipulation of the basket was applied to successfully dislodge the impacted basket. We believe this simple and safe technique should be adopted to rescue impacted biliary extraction baskets to avoid the need for potential surgical removal

Hadron Spectroscopy: Theory and Experiment

Many new results on hadron spectra have been appearing in the past few years thanks to improved experimental techniques and searches in new channels. New theoretical techniques including refined methods of lattice QCD have kept pace with these developments. Much has been learned about states made of both light (u, d, and s) and heavy (c, b) quarks. The present review treats light-quark mesons, glueballs, hybrids, particles with a single c or b quark, charmonium, and bottomonium states. Some prospects for further study are noted.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Journal of Physics G. Further updating of reference

Excited Charmed Mesons: Observations, Analyses and Puzzles

We review the status of recently observed positive parity charmed resonances, both in the non-strange and in the strange sector. We describe the experimental findings, the main theoretical analyses and the open problems deserving further investigations.Comment: LaTeX, 25 pages, 5 figures. Invited revie

Patient and caregiver perspectives on managing pain in advanced cancer: A qualitative longitudinal study

Background: Despite advances in treatment of pain in advanced cancer, it remains a major source of suffering with adverse effects on patients’ life quality. There is increasing understanding of its multi-dimensional nature and the variable responsiveness of medication to complex pain. Less clear is how patients and their caregivers respond to and manage pain complexity. Aim: To explore patients’ and carers’ experiences of advanced cancer pain and the processes that they engage in to manage pain. Design: Qualitative study employing face-to-face interviews at two time points and audio diaries. Data were analysed using grounded theory strategies. Setting/participants: Purposive sample of 21 advanced cancer patients and 16 carers from oncology outpatients in a tertiary cancer centre and a hospice. Results: Three distinct patterns of pain were discerned in patients’ accounts, distinguishable in terms of complexity, severity, transiency and degree of perceived control over pain. Pain was dynamic reflecting changes in the disease process, access to and effectiveness of pain relief. For patients and carers, neither pain relief nor expertise in pain management is secured once and for all. The main drivers of help-seeking and action by patients to manage pain were the sensory experiences of pain and meaning attached to it, not beliefs about analgesia. Conclusion: The complex and dynamic nature of pain and how it was understood shaped help-seeking and pain management. Variable effectiveness of pain relief for different pain types were challenging for patients and professionals in achieving relief