Identifying pathways of exposure to highway pollutants in great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) road mitigation tunnels: Exposure pathways of highway pollutants to Triturus cristatus

Road mitigation tunnels are increasingly deployed for amphibians but very little is known about chemical pollution in such schemes. We assessed pollution pressures associated with road runoff at a major great crested newt mitigation scheme in England. Sediments and waters in the mitigation system were analysed for major physico-chemical parameters, trace metals and total petroleum hydrocarbons and compared to a nearby reference site. Seven out of eight tested metals including copper, zinc, lead and iron were in significantly greater concentrations in the tunnels than at a reference site and at environmentally significant concentrations. Water samples also exhibited elevated concentrations of aluminium and chromium and occasionally extreme alkaline pH associated with leaching of portlandite in tunnel cements. High conductivity values in waters and sediments corresponding with seasonal de-icing salt application were also apparent. The study highlights the potential pollutant pressures for amphibians associated with large-scale urban development and road mitigation schemes

Observation notes for: "Selecting behaviour change priorities for trachoma ‘F’ and ‘E’ interventions: a formative research study in Oromia, Ethiopia"

Unstructured observation notes captured as part of a formative research study of hygiene behaviours. Observations were performed in 10 rural households located in Oromia during the dry and rainy season during Jan and July 2016 (10 households were covered for each season, 13 different HHs in total)

Gaming the Rules: How Big Business Hijacks the Small Business Review Process to Weaken Public Protections (Executive Summary)

Small businesses are heroic and iconic figures in the American story of opportunity. The vast majority of private enterprises in the U.S. today employ fewer than 100 workers, and many workers aspire to own their own business. So when small businesses argued that the federal rulemaking process should pay attention to their special needs, policymakers listened.By law, three federal agencies – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – are required to convene a small business review panel any time they plan to issue a rule that could have a significant economic impact on small businesses.Who participates in the review panel process? Are these panels representing and protecting the interests of small businesses in federal rulemaking? Does this process allow for the creation of needed public protections while mitigating any impacts on small businesses?To answer these questions, staff at the Center for Effective Government examined 20 Small Business Advocacy Review panels convened between 1998 and 2012

A realist process evaluation of Enhanced Triple P for Baby and Mellow Bumps, within a Trial of Healthy Relationship Initiatives for the Very Early years (THRIVE): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: THRIVE is a three-arm randomised controlled trial (RCT) that aims to evaluate whether antenatal and early postnatal interventions, Enhanced Triple B for Baby (ETPB) plus care as usual (CAU) or Mellow Bumps (MB) plus CAU (versus CAU alone), can: 1) improve the mental health and well-being of pregnant women with complex health and social care needs; 2) improve mother-infant bonding and interaction; 3) reduce child maltreatment; and 4) improve child language acquisition. This paper focuses on THRIVE’s realist process evaluation, which is carefully monitoring what is happening in the RCT. Methods: Realistic evaluation provides the theoretical rationale for the process evaluation. We question: 1) how faithfully are MB and ETPB implemented? 2) What are the mechanisms by which they work, if they do, and who do they work for and how? 3) What contextual factors are necessary for the programmes to function, or might prevent them functioning? The mixed-methods design includes quantitative measures, which are pre- and post-training/intervention questionnaires for facilitators and mothers-to-be, and post-session evaluation forms. Qualitative data collection methods include participant observation of facilitator training and the delivery of a series of antenatal sessions in selected intervention groups (n = 3 for ETPB and n = 3 for MB), semi-structured interviews with facilitators, pregnant women, partners, and referring facilitators, and telephone interviews examining the content of the postnatal components of ETPB and MB. Discussion: The findings of this process evaluation will help researchers and decision makers interpret the outcomes of THRIVE. It will provide a greater understanding of: how the interventions work (if they do); the extent and quality of their implementation; contextual factors facilitating and constraining intervention functioning; variations in response within and between subgroups of vulnerable parents; and benefits or unintended consequences of either intervention. Few studies to date have published detailed research protocols illustrating how realist process evaluation is designed and conducted as an integral part of a randomised controlled trial

Book Review: Homoplot: The Coming-Out Story and Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Identity

Review of Homoplot: The Coming-Out Story and Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Identity by Esther Saxe

Reliability of the Arch Height Index Tool as a Foot Measure in Children Ages 1-7 Years

Background/Purpose: An objective and reliable measure is needed to track longitudinal changes in the young child’s foot. The Arch Height Index (AHI) tool measures the arch height of a foot. There is one study investigating the reliability of the AHI tool in children ages 6-12 years. Currently, no studies have determined the reliability of the AHI tool in children younger than 6 years. The purpose of this study was to determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the AHI tool in daycare, preschool and early school-aged children as an objective foot measure. Methods: Thirty-two children (13 males, 19 females), ages 1-7 years, (mean 4.75 years) were included. Two age groups were utilized for data analysis: school-age group (n=15) and preschool/daycare group (n=17). Two investigators, each completed two trials measuring foot length, truncated foot length, and height of the dorsum of the foot at 50% total foot length with the AHI tool for each foot in sitting and standing. AHI was calculated by dividing height of the dorsum of the foot at 50% of foot length by truncated foot length. Results: A two-way random effect intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with absolute agreement and 95% CI was utilized. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability each had an ICC ≥0.804. Reliability statistics were repeated with data in two age groups. Inter and intra-rater reliability in sitting and standing had an ICC≥ 0.706 and ICC ≥ 0.75, respectively. Conclusion: The AHI tool was found to have good to excellent inter and intra-rater reliability in ambulatory children ages 1-7 years in sitting and standing. With the data split into two age groups, the AHI tool has moderate to good inter and intra-rater reliability in sitting and standing, respectively. Clinical relevance: The AHI tool is a reliable foot measure that can be utilized in young children ages 1-7. More research is needed to determine the reliability of the AHI tool with involved patient populations.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/dpt_symposium/1006/thumbnail.jp

Size frequency variation of an emerging fisheries species across its biogeographical range

Kellet\u27s whelk (Kelletia kelletii), a large subtidal gastropod is the basis for an emerging bycatch fishery in California. This commercial fishery has increased dramatically in the past two decades, but there is little biological information available to inform its management. There are currently no size limits and only seasonal restrictions for commercial and recreational fishing for Kellet’s whelk in California with annual total allowable catch at 100,000 pounds. After surveying 28 subtidal rocky reefs across the Kellet’s whelk range, our results indicate large natural variation in size frequencies, specifically between the mainland and island populations. Designing harvesting strategies that would maintain these size frequency distributions – e.g., a larger size limit at the islands and a smaller size limit at the mainland populations -- may generate more sustainable and productive economic and ecological outcomes

Things fall apart

Upon reading Philip Roth’s American Pastoral, another great piece of literature comes to mind. To me there seems to be a large connection between American Pastoral and several lines in the first stanza of William Butler Yeats’ “The Second Coming”