Broken glass as an injury hazard in the Indigenous community of Cherbourg

The research to identify measures to prevent glass-sourced injury is one target of an injury prevention and safety promotion project in Cherbourg, a 1200 resident community 250 kilometres north-west of Brisbane. Funded by Health Promotion Queensland and the Queensland Injury Prevention Council, the Cherbourg Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Project (CIPSPP) was established in 2008. Five areas were identified for action, one of which was the environment, in which there was a specific interest in broken glass litter. Exact data on glass-sourced injury were poor as records from the public hospital, the Aboriginal Medical Service clinic or school-based laceration clinic did not specify cause or location of injury. However the volume of anecdotal evidence backed by community concerns about glass as a cause of injury has resulted in focused activities to reduce litter and prevent injury. The broken glass project has three principal objectives of determining the extent of the problem, devising workable strategies within the local context and assessing the outcome and impact following implementation of those strategies. Determining the extent of the problem was supported by Photovoice, undertaken by the local school children, community survey and interview with community members, health service providers and other stakeholders. Photovoice, in which the school children captured over 100 photographs of potential injury hazards in the community, identified the principal area of interest, glass litter. Fifty three survey respondents and 20 interviewees revealed the perception of glass litter being an increasing problem which was exacerbated by a number of factors including lack of garbage collection and decline in social responsibility in particular by youth. A number of strategies were designed and implemented that dovetail into the overall safety and injury prevention plan. A Council-driven alcohol management plan has contributed to reducing the amount of glass in the community. This has been supported by a community clean-up campaign and a resumption of a household garbage collection service. Rubbish bins have been purchased and located in high traffic areas. Education is a key component of the strategy and a poster competition was initiated as part of the litter awareness and education campaign. Glass as the cause of injury to humans and animals, the unattractiveness of litter and the benefits of wearing shoes were the foci of the poster competition. The five winning posters were generated into an anti-litter message for the community

Letter to Philander Chase

Bishop Henshaw, who has recently been consecrated as the Bishop of Rhode Island, agrees with Chase that Carey\u27s ordination was a mistake and that the rise of Romanism in the Episcopal Church is frightening.https://digital.kenyon.edu/chase_letters/2198/thumbnail.jp

A study of the coefficient of drag resistance in yarding logs

This study was conducted to examine the coefficient of drag resistance (µ) between a log and bare forest soil during partial suspension yarding. Drag resistance in this study was defined as the resistance due to friction between the soil and the log plus the resistance due to the plowing action of the log in the soil. The coefficient of drag resistance is the ratio of the drag resistance forces parallel to the ground and the normal support force between the log and the ground. Data were collected on four test plots on Paul Dunn and McDonald State Forests located in the foothills of the Coast Range in Oregon. A photographic technique was developed to measure the value of the drag resistance coefficient during yarding. This method used angles measured from a photograph of a yarded log and the logs dimensions to ca1cu1ate µ. The method is based on the equilibrium of the forces on the log at the instant the photographic sample was taken. Data were taken to determine both the static and dynamic drag resistance coefficient for uphill yarding of young growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) logs. Regression equations were developed to predict the static µ as a function of log geometry, ground slope, soil texture, soil moisture, and soil density. These equations suggest that soil moisture and ground slope are the most significant variables in explaining µ, with log geometry, soil texture and soil density playing a less important role. The equations developed were verified using a chi-square test for goodness-of-fit to compare predicted and observed values of µ on additional data. Analysis of the data collected for the dynamic drag resistance coefficient revealed that the assumptions of the measurement method were violated so no regression equations were developed. Suggestions were given on the conditions required for the method to work. A load factor was developed which indicates the increase in log load capacity for a skyline logging system when dragging rather than flying a log load. The calculations for the load factor were based on the results of the study

Shared genes related to aggression, rather than chemical communication, are associated with reproductive dominance in paper wasps (Polistes metricus)

BackgroundIn social groups, dominant individuals may socially inhibit reproduction of subordinates using aggressive interactions or, in the case of highly eusocial insects, pheromonal communication. It has been hypothesized these two modes of reproductive inhibition utilize conserved pathways. Here, we use a comparative framework to investigate the chemical and genomic underpinnings of reproductive dominance in the primitively eusocial wasp Polistes metricus. Our goals were to first characterize transcriptomic and chemical correlates of reproductive dominance and second, to test whether dominance-associated mechanisms in paper wasps overlapped with aggression or pheromone-related gene expression patterns in other species. To explore whether conserved molecular pathways relate to dominance, we compared wasp transcriptomic data to previous studies of gene expression associated with pheromonal communication and queen-worker differences in honey bees, and aggressive behavior in bees, Drosophila, and mice. ResultsBy examining dominant and subordinate females from queen and worker castes in early and late season colonies, we found that cuticular hydrocarbon profiles and genome-wide patterns of brain gene expression were primarily associated with season/social environment rather than dominance status. In contrast, gene expression patterns in the ovaries were associated primarily with caste and ovary activation. Comparative analyses suggest genes identified as differentially expressed in wasp brains are not related to queen pheromonal communication or caste in bees, but were significantly more likely to be associated with aggression in other insects (bees, flies), and even a mammal (mice). ConclusionsThis study provides the first comprehensive chemical and molecular analysis of reproductive dominance in paper wasps. We found little evidence for a chemical basis for reproductive dominance in P. metricus, and our transcriptomic analyses suggest that different pathways regulate dominance in paper wasps and pheromone response in bees. Furthermore, there was a substantial impact of season/social environment on gene expression patterns, indicating the important role of external cues in shaping the molecular processes regulating behavior. Interestingly, genes associated with dominance in wasps were also associated with aggressive behavior in bees, solitary insects and mammals. Thus, genes involved in social regulation of reproduction in Polistes may have conserved functions associated with aggression in insects and other taxa

Engineering standards for trauma and orthopaedic implants worldwide : a systematic review protocol

Introduction Despite multiple scandals in the medical implant sector, premarket testing has been the attention of little published research. Complications related to new devices, such as the DePuy Articular Surface Replacement (ASR, DePuy Synthes, USA), have raised the issue of how designs are tested and whether engineering standards remain up to date with our understanding of implant biomechanics. Despite much work setting up national joint registries to improve implant monitoring, there have been few academic studies examining the premarket engineering standards new implants must meet. Emerging global economies mean that the markets have changed, and it is unknown to what degree engineering standards vary around the world. Governments, industry and independent regulatory bodies all produce engineering standards; therefore, the comparison of surgical implants across different manufacturers and jurisdictions is difficult. In this review, we will systematically collate and compare engineering standards for trauma and orthopaedic implants around the world. This will help inform patient, hospital and surgeon choice and provide an evidence base for future research in this area. Methods and analysis This protocol is based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocol (PRISMA-P) guidelines. We will conduct a systematic review of trauma and orthopaedic engineering standards from four main sources of information as identified in our preliminary scoping searches: governments, industry, independent regulatory bodies and engineering and medical publications. Any current standard relevant to trauma and orthopaedic implants will be included. We will use a predefined search strategy and follow the recommendations of the Cochrane handbook where applicable. We will undertake a narrative synthesis with qualitative evaluation of homogeneity between engineering standards. Ethics and dissemination No ethics approval is required as no primary data are being collected. The results will be made available by peer-reviewed publication and reported according to PRISMA-P guidelines