Learning from Other Communities

This paper reflects a synopsis of the work in person/family-centered planning representative of its implementation across a variety of disability service systems, including prisons, schools, community-based service agencies and institutional settings. The authors who have contributed to this paper have direct experience in the field working with individuals who have disability labels of severe and persistent mental illness, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, and learning disabilities. It is their hope that this paper will serve to guide the emerging best practice in the design and delivery of person-centered service delivery systems

Birth spacing and child mortality: an analysis of prospective data from the Nairobi urban health and demographic surveillance system.

The majority of studies of the birth spacing-child survival relationship rely on retrospective data, which are vulnerable to errors that might bias results. The relationship is re-assessed using prospective data on 13,502 children born in two Nairobi slums between 2003 and 2009. Nearly 48% were first births. Among the remainder, short preceding intervals are common: 20% of second and higher order births were delivered within 24 months of an elder sibling, including 9% with a very short preceding interval of less than 18 months. After adjustment for potential confounders, the length of the preceding birth interval is a major determinant of infant and early childhood mortality. In infancy, a preceding birth interval of less than 18 months is associated with a two-fold increase in mortality risks (compared with lengthened intervals of 36 months or longer), while an interval of 18-23 months is associated with an increase of 18%. During the early childhood period, children born within 18 months of an elder sibling are more than twice as likely to die as those born after an interval of 36 months or more. Only 592 children experienced the birth of a younger sibling within 20 months; their second-year mortality was about twice as high as that of other children. These results support the findings based on retrospective data

1,1′-Fc(4-C6H4CO2Et)2and its unusual salt derivative withZ′ = 5,catena-[Na+]2[1,1′-Fc(4-C6H4CO2−)2]·0.6H2O [1,1′-Fc = (η5-(C5H4)2Fe]

The neutral diethyl 4,4'-(ferrocene-1,1'-diyl)dibenzoate, Fe[[eta]5-(C5H4)(4-C6H4CO2Et)]2 (I), yields (II) (following base hydrolysis) as the unusual complex salt poly[disodium bis[diethyl 4,4'-(ferrocene-1,1'-diyl)dibenzoate] 0.6-hydrate] or [Na+]2[Fe{[eta]5-(C5H4)-4-C6H4CO_2^-}2]·0.6H2O with Z' = 5. Compound (I) crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P\bar 1, with two molecules having similar geometry in the asymmetric unit (Z' = 2). The salt complex (II) crystallizes in the orthorhombic system, space group Pbca, with the asymmetric unit comprising poly[decasodium pentakis[diethyl 4,4'-(ferrocene-1,1'-diyl)dibenzoate] trihydrate] or [Na+]10[Fe{[eta]5-(C5H4)-4-C6H4CO_2^-}2]5·3H2O. The five independent 1,1'-Fc[(4-C6H4CO2)-]2 dianions stack in an offset ladder (stepped) arrangement with the ten benzoates mutually oriented cisoid towards and bonded to a central layer comprising the ten Na+ ions and three water molecules [1,1'-Fc = [eta]5-(C5H4)2Fe]. The five dianions differ in the cisoid orientations of their pendant benzoate groups, with four having their -C6H4- groups mutually oriented at interplanar angles from 0.6 (3) to 3.2 (3)° (as [pi]...[pi] stacked C6 rings) and interacting principally with Na+ ions. The fifth dianion is distorted and opens up to an unprecedented -C6H4- interplanar angle of 18.6 (3)° through bending of the two 4-C6H4CO2 groups and with several ionic interactions involving the three water molecules (arranged as one-dimensional zigzag chains in the lattice). Overall packing comprises two-dimensional layers of Na+ cations coordinated mainly by the carboxylate O atoms, and one-dimensional water chains. The non-polar Fc(C6H4)2 groups are arranged perpendicular to the layers and mutually interlock through a series of efficient C-H...[pi] stacking contacts in a herringbone fashion to produce an overall segregation of polar and non-polar entities

Law and the Supernatural: A Transition of Modernity in Britain, 1650-1850

When studying the supernatural in British history, the focus tends to be guided toward what and why the people in a society believed. This is for good reason, as understanding both what and why people believed in the supernatural is done in an attempt to understand the historical perspective of that given period. One concept that is narrowly discussed, however, is using British law to guide this discovery. As is in many cases, law is oftentimes a reflection of a societies norms and desires, and the courts are meant to uphold these beliefs. The supernatural is no different, yet this is commonly looked over and forgotten. Much of this is due to the fact that law is seen as only “dealing with things essentially tangible” as Alfred Fellows put it, and thus having little interest with the Supernatural. My textual analysis, however, shows that the evolution of legal jurisprudence regarding the supernatural can be used to reflect ever-shifting ideologies of the citizenry of Britain. From hardships and the reformation to the industrial revolution, legal decisions continued to represent not only the what of supernatural history, but the why. The goal of this analysis is two-fold. Firstly, to show the intricate, and frankly fascinating, relation of law and supernatural belief. Secondly, the uses of studying history from a legal perspective. Though this research was difficult due to their being little work done in this regard before, it is an incredibly rewarding practice that I believe historians could benefit from

Supramolecular assemblies involving metal organic ring interactions: Heterometallic Cu(II)-Ln(III) two dimensional coordination polymers

Three isostructural two-dimensional coordination polymers of the general formula [Ln2(CuL)3(H2O)9]$5.5H2O, where Ln is La (1), Nd (2), and Gd (3), have been synthesized and isolated from aqueous solutions and their single-crystal structures determined by X-ray diffraction. The supramolecular interaction between the non-aromatic metallorings plays an important role in stabilizing the structure of these compounds. The thermal stability, reversible solvent uptake, electronic properties and magnetic studies of these compounds are also reported

Increased autophagy in EphrinB2-deficient osteocytes is associated with elevated secondary mineralization and brittle bone

Mineralized bone forms when collagen-containing osteoid accrues mineral crystals. This is initiated rapidly (primary mineralization), and continues slowly (secondary mineralization) until bone is remodeled. The interconnected osteocyte network within the bone matrix differentiates from bone-forming osteoblasts; although osteoblast differentiation requires EphrinB2, osteocytes retain its expression. Here we report brittle bones in mice with osteocyte-targeted EphrinB2 deletion. This is not caused by low bone mass, but by defective bone material. While osteoid mineralization is initiated at normal rate, mineral accrual is accelerated, indicating that EphrinB2 in osteocytes limits mineral accumulation. No known regulators of mineralization are modified in the brittle cortical bone but a cluster of autophagy-associated genes are dysregulated. EphrinB2-deficient osteocytes displayed more autophagosomes in vivo and in vitro, and EphrinB2-Fc treatment suppresses autophagy in a RhoA-ROCK dependent manner. We conclude that secondary mineralization involves EphrinB2-RhoA-limited autophagy in osteocytes, and disruption leads to a bone fragility independent of bone mass.Mineralized bone forms when collagen-containing osteoid accrues mineral crystals. This is initiated rapidly (primary mineralization), and continues slowly (secondary mineralization) until bone is remodeled. The interconnected osteocyte network within the bone matrix differentiates from bone-forming osteoblasts; although osteoblast differentiation requires EphrinB2, osteocytes retain its expression. Here we report brittle bones in mice with osteocyte-targeted EphrinB2 deletion. This is not caused by low bone mass, but by defective bone material. While osteoid mineralization is initiated at normal rate, mineral accrual is accelerated, indicating that EphrinB2 in osteocytes limits mineral accumulation. No known regulators of mineralization are modified in the brittle cortical bone but a cluster of autophagy-associated genes are dysregulated. EphrinB2-deficient osteocytes displayed more autophagosomes in vivo and in vitro, and EphrinB2-Fc treatment suppresses autophagy in a RhoA-ROCK dependent manner. We conclude that secondary mineralization involves EphrinB2-RhoA-limited autophagy in osteocytes, and disruption leads to a bone fragility independent of bone mass

The Strength Characterisation of Concrete Made with Alumina Waste Filler

This study covers an in-depth investigation into the properties and practicality of the utilization of up to 40% Alumina Waste Filler (AWF) as a partial Portland Cement (PC) replacement material. AWF is a by-product from the recycling of aluminium, produced when salt slag is smelted and cleaned. Its use in concrete will lessen the landfill requirements for AWF disposal, and reduce the strain of the growing requirements and cost of PC. The results obtained from this study showed that the addition of AWF to the concrete mix caused a reduction in the compressive and tensile splitting strength values, and a less-workable concrete was achieved for every increase in the quantity of AWF added to each mix. The addition of AWF influenced the hydration reaction process and reduced the cumulative production of the heat of hydration over time, whilst the permeability of the concrete decreased

Strength and Swell Performance of High-sulphate Kaolinite Clay Soil

Expansion of soils has been found to produce significant negative economic and environmental impact on various civil engineering infrastructure. This impact is more deleterious in soils containing sulphates, when treated with calcium-based stabilizers such as Lime and/or Portland cement (PC). The reported study investigated the strength and swell characteristics of Kaolinite clay artificially induced with high levels of Gypsum (sulphate) contents after stabilization with CEM I (PC), which is a calcium-based stabilizer. An optimum stabilizer content/Gypsum dosage, aimed at investigating the maximum magnitude of expansion possible using high levels of 10, 15 and 20% Gypsum contents (4.7, 7 and 9.3 wt.% sulphate) stabilized with calcium-based content of 7, 8, 9 and 10 wt.%. This was expected to provide further understanding on the mechanisms behind high sulphate-bearing clay soils, and the impact of sulphate and calcium content on strength and swell characteristics. The research outcomes showed that the introduction of sulphate to a Kaolinite clay soil reduces the compressive strength of the stabilised product by a factor range of 6–47% at 28 days curing age, while the swell behaviour is mainly dependent on both the sulphate content and curing age. Furthermore, the observed result suggests an 8 wt.% binder content to produce maximum magnitude of expansion (swell) with a high Gypsum content of 10% by weight. This finding is of economic importance, as it is expected to serve as a benchmark for further research on the stabilized clay systems, at high sulphate levels using sustainable binder materials

Optimization of MgO-GGBS Cementitious Systems Using Thermo-Chemical Approaches

The current study investigated the development of a sustainable thermo-chemical approach to effectively optimize MgO-waste activated GGBS formulations, using four types of magnesium oxide (MgO) waste materials with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) to develop binary cementitious systems (MgO-GGBS). This stems from the expected complexity of cementitious binder optimization outcomes into a simpler analytic form, enhancing the rapid delivery of optimization results and contributing to the global awareness of sustainable approaches and use of industrial wastes. Three levels of Portland cement by weight (90, 80, and 70 wt.%) was replaced with MgO wastes including an industrial by-product (GGBS) to develop an experimental regime. Investigation was carried out by employing an experiment-based optimisation technique (thermo-chemical approach), which involved the design of an experimental regime and application of experimental tests (pH measurements, thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric analysis—TG/DTG and isothermal calorimetry), establishment of design variable/parameters, measurement of the design performance of the identified design parameters, and review of the relationship between the independent (control) and dependent variables (MgO wastes and their compositions). The experimental test results successfully optimised the binder compositions, established the best performing binder system (MG1), and provided an in-depth insight into the thermal stability and hydration kinetics of the investigated binder systems