Status of Social Economy Provision of Wind Electric Energy in Alberta

This is one of three reports arising from BALTA research project B6 - Prospects for Socializing the Green Economy: The Case of Renewable Energy. It examines the current status of involvement in wind power generation by co-operatives and other social economy organizations in Alberta, as well as opportunities and constraints for increasing that involvement.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC

Best Practices in Social Economy and Community Wind

This is one of three reports arising from BALTA research project B6 - Prospects for Socializing the Green Economy: The Case of Renewable Energy. It examines the context for wind energy production and involvement by social economy organizations in wind generation, then examines several best practice cases in Canada and internationally.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC

Alberta Social Economy Wind Projects Next Steps Strategy

This is one of three reports arising from BALTA research project B6 - Prospects for Socializing the Green Economy: The Case of Renewable Energy. It builds upon the background research conducted for the other two papers and reports upon the results of a strategy workshop conducted in Red Deer, Alberta, in April 2010.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC

Predictive Factors of Successful Outcomes for Occupational Therapy Students

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which pre-admission factors and program grades predict FWII performance and first time pass status on the NBCOT exam for occupational therapy students at the University of Puget Sound. Method: The sample included 242 students from cohorts 2002 to 2011. Multiple regression was used to predict FWII performance. Logistical regression predicted first time (P1) or second time pass (P2) on the NBCOT. One-sample t-test mean comparisons were calculated between students who passed or failed FWII, and between P1 and P2 students. Results: Prediction of FWII scores was not statistically significant. In contrast, GRE and program grades may predict P1 students. Logistical regression identified 26% of P2 students and 99.1% of P1 students. Pre-admission factors and program grades yielded numerous statistically significant differences in means between P1 and P2 students. Conclusion: Identifying P2 students may be beneficial during the selection process, and for faculty members during the program so they may intervene to assist students at risk

Transition Inequity: gendered employment trends in New Zealand’s energy industries

Energy industries are experiencing a period of rapid and sustained change as nations seek to meet climate policy targets. In Aotearoa New Zealand a gap in both information about and attention to the gendered dimensions of the proposed low-emissions transition has emerged. This silence has implications for the distributive impacts of any transition. We present data illustrating the sub-sector variation in women’s employment, pay, tenure and executive representation in both the electricity and fossil fuel industries. Recommendations are presented for more sustained policy attention to how an energy transition, given current gendered employment trends, is unlikely to be inclusive or just

Qualitative exploration of women’s experiences of intramuscular pethidine or remifentanil patient-controlled analgesia for labour pain

ObjectivesTo explore women’s experiences of remifentanil or pethidine for labour pain and infant feeding behaviours at 6weeks post partum.DesignQualitative postnatal sub-study to the randomised controlled trial of remifentanil intravenous patient controlled analgesia (PCA) versus intramuscular pethidine for pain relief in labour (RESPITE). Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted at 6 weeks post partum, and thematic analysis was undertaken.SettingWomen recruited to the RESPITE trial from seven UK hospitals.ParticipantsEighty women consented and 49 (30 remifentanil group and 19 pethidine group) completed the interview.ResultsEight themes emerged which encompassed women’s antenatal plans for pain management (Birth Expectations) through to their future preferences for pain relief (Reflections for Future Choices). Many women who used remifentanil felt it provided effective pain relief (Effectiveness of Pain Relief), whereas women in the pethidine group expressed more mixed views. Both groups described side effects, with women using pethidine frequently reporting nausea (Negative Physiological Responses) and women using remifentanil describing more cognitive effects (Cognitive Effects). Some women who used remifentanil reported restricted movements due to technical aspects of drug administration and fear of analgesia running out (Issues with Drug Administration). Women described how remifentanil enabled them to maintain their ability to stay focused during the birth (Enabling a Sense of Control). There was little difference in reported breastfeeding initiation and continuation between pethidine and remifentanil groups (Impact on Infant Behaviour and Breastfeeding).ConclusionsQualitative insights from a follow-up study to a trial which explored experiences of intravenous remifentanil PCA with intramuscular pethidine injection found that remifentanil appeared to provide effective pain relief while allowing women to remain alert and focused during labour, although as with pethidine, some side effects were noted. Overall, there was little difference in reported breastfeeding initiation and duration between the two groups.Trial registration numberISRCTN29654603

Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery for Indeterminate Pulmonary Nodules

The approach to patients with indeterminate pulmonary nodules is poorly defined. Should every pulmonary nodule be biopsied, is needle biopsy adequate, and other questions are challenges. Video assisted thoracic surgery or thoracoscopy has added a new diagnostic possibility which is evaluated in this paper. Fifty-five patients underwent thoracoscopy for diagnosis of a solitary pulmonary nodule. There were few complications and mortality was zero. A definitive diagnosis was obtained in all patients, although one required a second thoracoscopic wedge resection and 10 required conversion to an open thoracotomy

Routine delivery of artemisinin-based combination treatment at fixed health facilities reduces malaria prevalence in Tanzania: an observational study

BACKGROUND Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been promoted as a means to reduce malaria transmission due to their ability to kill both asexual blood stages of malaria parasites, which sustain infections over long periods and the immature derived sexual stages responsible for infecting mosquitoes and onward transmission. Early studies reported a temporal association between ACT introduction and reduced malaria transmission in a number of ecological settings. However, these reports have come from areas with low to moderate malaria transmission, been confounded by the presence of other interventions or environmental changes that may have reduced malaria transmission, and have not included a comparison group without ACT. This report presents results from the first large-scale observational study to assess the impact of case management with ACT on population-level measures of malaria endemicity in an area with intense transmission where the benefits of effective infection clearance might be compromised by frequent and repeated re-infection. METHODS A pre-post observational study with a non-randomized comparison group was conducted at two sites in Tanzania. Both sites used sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) monotherapy as a first-line anti-malarial from mid-2001 through 2002. In 2003, the ACT, artesunate (AS) co-administered with SP (AS + SP), was introduced in all fixed health facilities in the intervention site, including both public and registered non-governmental facilities. Population-level prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum asexual parasitaemia and gametocytaemia were assessed using light microscopy from samples collected during representative household surveys in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. FINDINGS Among 37,309 observations included in the analysis, annual asexual parasitaemia prevalence in persons of all ages ranged from 11% to 28% and gametocytaemia prevalence ranged from <1% to 2% between the two sites and across the five survey years. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to adjust for age, socioeconomic status, bed net use and rainfall. In the presence of consistently high coverage and efficacy of SP monotherapy and AS + SP in the comparison and intervention areas, the introduction of ACT in the intervention site was associated with a modest reduction in the adjusted asexual parasitaemia prevalence of 5 percentage-points or 23% (p < 0.0001) relative to the comparison site. Gametocytaemia prevalence did not differ significantly (p = 0.30). INTERPRETATION The introduction of ACT at fixed health facilities only modestly reduced asexual parasitaemia prevalence. ACT is effective for treatment of uncomplicated malaria and should have substantial public health impact on morbidity and mortality, but is unlikely to reduce malaria transmission substantially in much of sub-Saharan Africa where individuals are rapidly re-infected.Financial support for IMPACT-Tz came primarily from CDC, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Wellcome Trust