A comparison of the current anthelmintic protocols used to control gastrointestinal nematodes in UK lowland sheep flocks and associated professional advice provided to farmers.

The overeliance on uninformed anthelmintic use is a concern on the sustainability of control of parasitic gastroenteritis in UK sheep flocks. This pilot study aims to find out how knowledgable UK lowland sheep farmers feel when when considering anthelmintics and their source of guidance. Also to describe current anthelmintic protocols used on farms in breeding ewes and lambs. An online survey was distributed to UK lowland sheep farmers, and 128 responses provisionally analysed. Veterinarians and other suitably-qualified-professionals were popular sources of advice for the farmers, having large influence on their decision making, but sustainable advice was not always adhered to. Macrocyclic lactones in the breeding ewes and the benzimidazoles in the lambs are the most commonly used anthelmintics. Frequently farmers were blanket treating all animals, but many did not consider results of diagnostic tests prior to treatment. This study highlights the importance of regular engagement with farmers to support sustainable control practices for gastrointestinal nematodes in UK lowland sheep flocks. <br/

Single particle strength restoration and nuclear transparency in high Q^2 exclusive (e,e'p) reactions

Quenching of the single particle strength which previously precluded unambiguous measurement of nuclear transparency in quasifree (e,e'p) reactions at high momentum transfer is evaluated from the cross sections of measured processes. We have demonstrated evidence of the single particle strength restoration with increase of the momentum transfer in exclusive (e,e'p) reactions and argue that in practically interesting cases of study the nuclear transparency in these processes quenching is weakly depends on the probability of short range nucleon correlations. It is shown that use of Glauber approximation well describes NE18 and E94-139 (e,e'p) data at the momentum transfers 1 GeV^2 < Q^2 < 3 GeV^2. This gives a further support to our observation that the quenching of nuclear levels strongly depends on the resolution (Q^2)and practically disappears at Q^2>1GeV^2.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures; references added, discussion extende

An exploratory qualitative study of values issues associated with training and practice in pluralistic counselling

Background: A pluralistic model of practice has become increasingly influential in recent years. A distinctive feature of this approach is its explicit grounding within a philosophical and moral perspective.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate issues and challenges that pluralistic counsellors experience in relation to values dilemmas that arise in practice.Methodology: Twelve practitioners, of various experience levels, who identified as pluralistic counsellors, were invited to take part in semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were analysed using a method of thematic analysis.Findings: Participants viewed their personal values to be compatible with the values that they perceived pluralistic counselling to hold, and reported that they chose pluralism as a modality because they found a similarity between their personal values and the values of pluralistic counselling. Core values associated with pluralistic practice included the following: the importance of connection, ‘there is no one right way to be’, equality (not taking an expert role), honesty, and willingness to make use of research evidence. Participants also described value dilemmas, and their use of supervision in dealing with value issues.Implications: The implications of these findings for training, research and practice are discussed

Tunable far infrared studies of molecular parameters in support of stratospheric measurements

Lab studies were made in support of far infrared spectroscopy of the stratosphere using the Tunable Far InfraRed (TuFIR) method of ultrahigh resolution spectroscopy and, more recently, spectroscopic and retrieval calculations performed in support of satellite-based atmospheric measurement programs: the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME), and the SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY)

An evaluation of UniDoodle: a highly effective student response system for the STEM disciplines

Existing student response systems, such as Clickers, have limited input capabilities and lack the necessary features to gather the insightful and necessary information that is relevant in STEM-based disciplines, where the methodology is often more important than the final answer itself. Here, we propose the use of a new student response system, called UniDoodle, which uses tablets and smartphones to deliver a system that captures an extensive range of information in the form of sketches and annotations. Thus, information relating to equation solving, graph sketching, and diagram annotations can now be obtained in large classes in a quick, convenient and user-friendly manner. This information is obtained in real-time allowing for teachers to respond immediately to any issues that may arise in their students’ understanding of material. In this paper, we summarise the key features of the UniDoodle system and we carry out an extensive evaluation of its use in a live classroom environment. The context of the evaluation and the feedback obtained are presented within

Advancing Social Determinants of Health Through Investments in Postsecondary Attainment and Sustaining Employment

In 2018, the Humana Foundation shifted the focus of its work to the social determinants of health, with the key aim of promoting health equity. With this new focus came a recognition that larger, long-term investments would be needed to support strategies addressing upstream determinants of health. The foundation also recognized the need to co-create processes with communities to understand how to provide essential holistic supports. This article explores one area of the foundation’s new efforts, the Strategic Community Investment Program, which focuses in part on postsecondary attainment and sustaining employment. The foundation partnered with the University of Louisville’s Center for Health Organization Transformation to systematically review models in the literature of successful postsecondary attainment strategies to evaluate the results in communities. This article shares key learnings from the literature and coordinated practice in communities that were used to revise the foundation’s strategy, and concludes with suggestions for other foundations interested in addressing postsecondary attainment and other social determinants of health to better meet the challenges and opportunities of the communities they serve

The effect of particle aspect ratio on spatially and angularly resolved vis-NIR spectroscopy of suspensions

The particle characteristics in a suspension affect the performance and quality of the end product of many chemical industries. The shape of the suspended particles can be influenced by changes in the manufacturing process conditions. Thus, there is a need for a robust method for continuous monitoring of particle characteristics through the process. This study investigates the feasibility of using spatially and angularly resolved diffuse reflectance measurements as a method of determining particle shape. A forward calculation was developed using the discrete dipole approximation to estimate optical properties of the single particle and the diffuse approximation for the reflectance of the particle suspension. The method was used to study aqueous suspensions of randomly-oriented polystyrene ellipsoids. Our objectives were to determine and elucidate the contribution of aspect ratio on optical measurement in vis-NIR spectra. The results suggest that the method is suitable for determining particle shape for suspensions where the particle and the solvent have significantly different optical properties. For these systems, the study suggests that diffusion reflectance measurements can be developed into an in-line method for particle shape determinatio

Nuclear Transparency to Intermediate-Energy Protons

Nuclear transparency in the (e,e'p) reaction for 135 < Tp < 800 MeV is investigated using the distorted wave approximation. Calculations using density-dependent effective interactions are compared with phenomenological optical potentials. Nuclear transparency is well correlated with proton absorption and neutron total cross sections. For Tp < 300 MeV there is considerable sensitivity to the choice of optical model, with the empirical effective interaction providing the best agreement with transparency data. For Tp > 300 MeV there is much less difference between optical models, but the calculations substantially underpredict transparency data and the discrepancy increases with A. The differences between Glauber and optical model calculations are related to their respective definitions of the semi-inclusive cross section. By using a more inclusive summation over final states the Glauber model emphasizes nucleon-nucleon inelasticity, whereas with a more restrictive summation the optical model emphasizes nucleon-nucleus inelasticity; experimental definitions of the semi-inclusive cross section lie between these extremes.Comment: uuencoded gz-compressed tar file containing revtex and bbl files and 5 postscript figures, totalling 31 pages. Uses psfi

High-pressure rheological analysis of CO2-induced melting point depression and viscosity reduction of poly(ε-caprolactone)

High-pressure rheology has been used to assess the effects of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) on the melting point (Tm) and viscosity of poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) over a range of temperatures and pressures up to 300 bar over a wide range of shear rates. Plots of the storage and loss moduli against temperature show a significant shift of Tm to lower temperatures in the presence of CO2, indicating that the polymer crystals melt at temperatures much lower than the ambient pressure Tm. Furthermore, a significant decrease in the viscosity of two PCL grades with different molecular weight (Mn ~ 10 kDa and 80 kDa) was also detected upon increasing the CO2 pressure to 300 bar. Experimental viscosity data were fitted to the Carreau model to quantify the extent of the plasticising effects on the zero-shear viscosity and relaxation time under different conditions. Similar analyses were conducted under high-pressure nitrogen, to compare the effects obtained in the presence of a non-plasticising gas

The Holocene retreat dynamics and stability of Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland

Submarine glacial landforms in fjords are imprints of the dynamic behaviour of marine-terminating glaciers and are informative about their most recent retreat phase. Here we use detailed multibeam bathymetry to map glacial landforms in Petermann Fjord and Nares Strait, northwestern Greenland. A large grounding-zone wedge (GZW) demonstrates that Petermann Glacier stabilised at the fjord mouth for a considerable time, likely buttressed by an ice shelf. This stability was followed by successive backstepping of the ice margin down the GZW’s retrograde backslope forming small retreat ridges to 680 m current depth (∼730–800 m palaeodepth). Iceberg ploughmarks occurring somewhat deeper show that thick, grounded ice persisted to these water depths before final breakup occurred. The palaeodepth limit of the recessional moraines is consistent with final collapse driven by marine ice cliff instability (MICI) with retreat to the next stable position located underneath the present Petermann ice tongue, where the seafloor is unmapped