Improving the Quality of Child Care in the Rural South

A collaborative of six social service agencies and a state university determined that the single most pressing need of families in a 14-county, rural area was child care. The Training Resource Center, developed through a W K. Kellogg Foundation grant, worked with day care licensing and early childhood professional groups to develop a plan to address the systemic nature of the problem of how to improve the quality of child care. Programs developed included training, mentoring, NAEYC accreditation, and a resource library. After 15 months, some programs show the possibility of sustainability

Mutations in HPV18 E1^E4 Impact Virus Capsid Assembly, Infectivity Competence, and Maturation.

The most highly expressed protein during the productive phase of the human papillomavirus (HPV) life cycle is E1^E4. Its full role during infection remains to be established. HPV E1^E4 is expressed during both the early and late stages of the virus life cycle and contributes to viral genome amplification. In an attempt to further outline the functions of E1^E4, and determine whether it plays a role in viral capsid assembly and viral infectivity, we examined wild-type E1^E4 as well as four E1^E4 truncation mutants. Our study revealed that HPV18 genomes containing the shortest truncated form of E1^E4, the 17/18 mutant, produced viral titers that were similar to wild-type virus and significantly higher compared to virions containing the three longer E1^E4 mutants. Additionally, the infectivity of virus containing the shortest E1^E4 mutation was equivalent to wild-type and significantly higher than the other three mutants. In contrast, infectivity was completely abrogated for virus containing the longer E1^E4 mutants, regardless of virion maturity. Taken together, our results indicate for the first time that HPV18 E1^E4 impacts capsid assembly and viral infectivity as well as virus maturation

Development of a rapid and quantitative lateral flow assay for the simultaneous measurement of serum κ and λ immunoglobulin free light chains (FLC):inception of a new near-patient FLC screening tool

Item does not contain fulltextBACKGROUND: Serum free light chains (FLC) are sensitive biomarkers used for the diagnosis and management of plasma cell dyscrasias, such as multiple myeloma (MM), and are central to clinical screening algorithms and therapy response criteria. We have developed a portable, near-patient, lateral-flow test (Seralite(R)) that quantitates serum FLC in 10 min, and is designed to eliminate sample processing delays and accelerate decision-making in the clinic. METHODS: Assay interference, imprecision, lot-to-lot variability, linearity, and the utility of a competitive-inhibition design for the elimination of antigen-excess ('hook effect') were assessed. Reference ranges were calculated from 91 healthy donor sera. Preliminary clinical validation was conducted by retrospective analysis of sera from 329 patients. Quantitative and diagnostic results were compared to Freelite(R). RESULTS: Seralite(R) gave a broad competitive-inhibition calibration curve from below 2.5 mg/L to above 200 mg/L, provided good assay linearity (between 1.6 and 208.7 mg/L for kappa FLC and between 3.5 and 249.7 mg/L for lambda FLC) and sensitivity (1.4 mg/L for kappa FLC and 1.7 mg/L for lambda FLC), and eliminated anomalous results from antigen-excess. Seralite(R) gave good diagnostic concordance with Freelite(R) (Roche Hitachi Cobas C501) identifying an abnormal FLC ratio and FLC difference in 209 patients with newly diagnosed MM and differentiating these patients from normal healthy donors with polyclonal FLC. CONCLUSIONS: Seralite(R) sensitively quantitates FLC and rapidly identifies clinical conditions where FLC are abnormal, including MM

Evaluation of the Impact of the Trivedi Effect® -Energy of Consciousness on the Structure and Isotopic Abundance Ratio of Magnesium Gluconate Using LC-MS and NMR Spectroscopy

Magnesium gluconate is a classical pharmaceutical/nutraceutical compound used as a magnesium ion source for the prevention and treatment of hypomagnesemia. The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of The Trivedi Effect® - Energy of Consciousness Healing Treatment (Biofield Energy Healing Treatment) on magnesium gluconate for the change in the structural properties and isotopic abundance ratio (PM+1/PM and PM+2/PM) using LC-MS and NMR spectroscopy. Magnesium gluconate was divided into two parts – one part was control, and another part was treated with The Trivedi Effect® - Biofield Energy Healing Treatment remotely by twenty renowned Biofield Energy Healers and defined as The Trivedi Effect® Treated sample. The LC-MS analysis of both the control and treated samples indicated the presence of mass of the protonated magnesium gluconate at m/z 415 at the retention time of 1.52 min and fragmentation pattern of the both sample were almost similar. The relative peak intensities of the fragment ions were significantly changed in the treated sample compared with the control sample. The proton and carbon signals for CH, CH2 and CO groups in the proton and carbon NMR spectra were observed almost similar for the control and the treated samples. The percentage change in the isotopic abundance ratio of PM+1/PM (2H/1H or 13C/12C or 17O/16O or 25Mg/24Mg) was significantly decreased in the treated sample by 17.51% compared with the control sample. Consequently, the isotopic abundance ratio of PM+2/PM (18O/16O or 26Mg/24Mg) in the treated sample was significantly increased by 79.44% compared to the control sample. Briefly, 13C, 2H, 17O, and 25Mg contributions from (C12H23MgO14)+ to m/z 416; 18O and 26Mg contributions from (C12H23MgO14)+ to m/z 417 in treated sample were significantly altered compared with the control sample. Thus, The Trivedi Effect® Treated magnesium gluconate might be supportive to design the novel potent enzyme inhibitors using its kinetic isotope effects. Consequently, The Trivedi Effect® Treated magnesium gluconate would be valuable for designing better pharmaceutical and/or nutraceutical formulations through its changed physicochemical and thermal properties, which might be providing better therapeutic response against various diseases such as diabetes mellitus, allergy, aging, inflammatory diseases, immunological disorders, and other chronic infections. Source: https://www.trivedieffect.com/science/evaluation-of-the-impact-of-the-trivedi-effect-energy-of-consciousness-on-the-structure-and-isotopic-abundance-ratio-of-magnesium-gluconate-using-lc-ms-and-nmr-spectroscopy http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo?journalid=655&doi=10.11648/j.ajbls.20170501.1

Evaluation of the Physicochemical, Structural, Thermal, and Behavioral Properties of the Energy of Consciousness Healing Treated Zinc Chloride

Zinc chloride is a source of zinc used in various pharmaceutical/nutraceutical formulations. The objective of the current study was to investigate the impact of The Trivedi Effect® - Energy of Consciousness Healing Treatment (Biofield Energy Treatment) on physical, structural, thermal, and behavioral properties of zinc chloride using PXRD, PSD, FT-IR, UV-vis, and DSC analysis. Zinc chloride was divided into two parts – one part was control, while another part was treated with The Trivedi Effect® remotely by twenty renowned Biofield Energy Healers and defined as The Trivedi Effect® Treated sample. A significant alteration of the crystallite size and relative intensities of the PXRD peaks was observed in The Trivedi Effect® treated sample compared with the control sample. The average crystallite size of the treated sample was significantly increased by 23.18% compared with the control sample. The particle size values at d10, d50, and d90 values were significantly decreased by 3.70%, 4.13%, and 6.13%, respectively in the treated sample compared with the control sample. Therefore, the surface area of the treated sample was increased by 4.21% compared with the control sample. The FT-IR spectroscopic analysis revealed that Zn-Cl stretching in the control sample was found at 512 cm-1, whereas it was significantly shifted upward to 520 cm-1 in the treated sample. The UV-vis analysis exhibited that wavelength of the maximum absorbance (λmax) of the control and treated samples were at 197.6 nm and 197.1 nm, respectively. The DSC analysis exhibited that the melting temperature was decreased by 0.22%, while decomposition temperature was increased by 2.56% in the treated sample compared to the control sample. The latent heat of fusion of the treated sample (320.44 J/g) was significantly decreased by 16.70% compared with the control sample (284.67 J/g). Similarly, the enthalpy of decomposition of the treated sample (952.53 J/g) was significantly increased by 122.61% compared with the control sample (427.90 J/g). Thus, the results indicated that the thermal stability of the treated zinc chloride was improved compared with the control sample. The current study anticipated that The Trivedi Effect® - Energy of Consciousness Healing Treatment might lead to produce a thermally stable new polymorphic form of zinc chloride, which would be more soluble and bioavailable compared with the untreated compound. Hence, the treated zinc chloride would be very useful to design better nutraceutical/pharmaceutical formulations that might offer better therapeutic response against inflammatory diseases, immunological disorders, aging, stress, cancer, etc. https://www.trivedieffect.com/science/evaluation-of-the-physicochemical-structural-thermal-and-behavioral-properties-of-the-energy-of-consciousness-healing-treated-zinc-chloride http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo?journalid=217&doi=10.11648/j.bio.20170502.1

Factors contributing to attrition behavior in diabetes self-management programs: A mixed method approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diabetes self-management education is a critical component in diabetes care. Despite worldwide efforts to develop efficacious DSME programs, high attrition rates are often reported in clinical practice. The objective of this study was to examine factors that may contribute to attrition behavior in diabetes self-management programs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted telephone interviews with individuals who had Type 2 diabetes (n = 267) and attended a diabetes education centre. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with attrition behavior. Forty-four percent of participants (n = 118) withdrew prematurely from the program and were asked an open-ended question regarding their discontinuation of services. We used content analysis to code and generate themes, which were then organized under the Behavioral Model of Health Service Utilization.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Working full and part-time, being over 65 years of age, having a regular primary care physician or fewer diabetes symptoms were contributing factors to attrition behaviour in our multivariable logistic regression. The most common reasons given by participants for attrition from the program were conflict between their work schedules and the centre's hours of operation, patients' confidence in their own knowledge and ability when managing their diabetes, apathy towards diabetes education, distance to the centre, forgetfulness, regular physician consultation, low perceived seriousness of diabetes, and lack of familiarity with the centre and its services. There was considerable overlap between our quantitative and qualitative results.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Reducing attrition behaviour requires a range of strategies targeted towards delivering convenient and accessible services, familiarizing individuals with these services, increasing communication between centres and their patients, and creating better partnerships between centres and primary care physicians.</p

Federating structural models and data:Outcomes from a workshop on archiving integrative structures

Structures of biomolecular systems are increasingly computed by integrative modeling. In this approach, a structural model is constructed by combining information from multiple sources, including varied experimental methods and prior models. In 2019, a Workshop was held as a Biophysical Society Satellite Meeting to assess progress and discuss further requirements for archiving integrative structures. The primary goal of the Workshop was to build consensus for addressing the challenges involved in creating common data standards, building methods for federated data exchange, and developing mechanisms for validating integrative structures. The summary of the Workshop and the recommendations that emerged are presented here

Meeting the cultural and service needs of Arabic international students by using QFD

Quality has become an important factor in global competition for many reasons. Intensive global competition and the demand for better quality by customers has led organizations to realize the benefits of providing quality products and services in order to successfully compete and survive. Higher education institutions are one example of these organisations. Higher education institutions work in an intensive competitive environment worldwide driven by increasing demands for learning by local and international students. As a result, the managers of these sectors have realized that improving the quality of services is important for achieving customer satisfaction which can help survival in an internationally competitive market. To do this, it is necessary for organizations to know their customers and identify their requirements. To this end, many higher education institutions have adopted principles of total quality management (TQM) to improve their education quality which leads to better performance through involvement of every department to achieve excellence in business. This chapter considers the importance of measuring quality in order to assist universities to proactively manage the design and improvement of the social and academic experiences of postgraduate international students, and plan management decision-making processes to deliver high-quality services in a globalized business of provision of higher education. Higher education institutions must operate effectively and efficiently and be able to deliver quality programs, by seeking to better understand the needs of their customers to be competitive in this market space

Modern American populism: Analyzing the economics behind the Silent Majority, the Tea Party and Trumpism

This article researches populism, more specifically, Modern American Populism (MAP), constructed of white, rural, and economically oppressed reactionarianism, which was borne out of the political upheaval of the 1960’s Civil Rights movement. The research looks to explain the causes of populism and what leads voters to support populist movements and politicians. The research focuses on economic anxiety as the main cause but also examines an alternative theory of racial resentment. In an effort to answer the question, what causes populist movements and motivations, I apply a research approach that utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods. There is an examination of literature that defines populism, its causes and a detailed discussion of the case studies, including the 1972 election of Richard Nixon; the Tea Party election of 2010; and the 2016 election of Donald Trump. In addition, statistical data analysis was run using American National Election Studies (ANES) surveys associated with each specific case study. These case studies were chosen because they most represent forms of populist movements in modern American history. While ample qualitative evidence suggested support for the hypothesis that economic anxiety is a necessary condition for populist voting patterns that elected Nixon, the Tea Party and Trump, the statistical data only supported the hypothesis in two cases, 2010 and 2016, with 1972 coming back inconclusive. The data also suggested that both economic anxiety and racial resentment played a role in 2010 and 2016, while having no significant effect in 1972 in either case. This suggests that further research needs to be conducted into additional populist case studies, as well as an examination into the role economic anxiety and economic crises play on racial resentment and racially motivated voting behavior

Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination

Wild and managed bees are well documented as effective pollinators of global crops of economic importance. However, the contributions by pollinators other than bees have been little explored despite their potential to contribute to crop production and stability in the face of environmental change. Non-bee pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, and bats, among others. Here we focus on non-bee insects and synthesize 39 field studies from five continents that directly measured the crop pollination services provided by non-bees, honey bees, and other bees to compare the relative contributions of these taxa. Non-bees performed 25–50% of the total number of flower visits. Although non-bees were less effective pollinators than bees per flower visit, they made more visits; thus these two factors compensated for each other, resulting in pollination services rendered by non-bees that were similar to those provided by bees. In the subset of studies that measured fruit set, fruit set increased with non-bee insect visits independently of bee visitation rates, indicating that non-bee insects provide a unique benefit that is not provided by bees. We also show that non-bee insects are not as reliant as bees on the presence of remnant natural or seminatural habitat in the surrounding landscape. These results strongly suggest that non-bee insect pollinators play a significant role in global crop production and respond differently than bees to landscape structure, probably making their crop pollination services more robust to changes in land use. Non-bee insects provide a valuable service and provide potential insurance against bee population declines