Building Partnerships to Address Challenging Social Problems

A parent in prison creates disruption and stress for the entire family system. In order to provide family programming to this high-risk population, a partnership was created among the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Cooperative Extension, UNH Department of Family Studies, and New Hampshire\u27s Department of Corrections. This partnership is called The Family Connection Project. Programming objectives are to strengthen at-risk families and improve the healthy development of children with incarcerated parents through a family-centered, strength-based approach. The acquisition of positive parenting/relationship skills is expected to increase protective factors and decrease risk factors in families with an incarcerated parent

Supporting Direct Breastfeeding in a Tracheostomy-Dependent Neonate: A Case Report

Objectives: There are numerous well-described benefits to breastfeeding to both infant and mother. Even in healthy children with an uncomplicated perinatal course, there may be significant struggles maintaining a breastfeeding relationship. Infants with a complicated clinical course have been shown to benefit even more from the provision of breastmilk, however they are seldom encouraged to feed directly at the breast. There are no reports of successful direct breastfeeding in an infant with a tracheostomy. Methods and Results: We present the case of a breastfeeding dyad including a trach-dependent infant with congenital idiopathic bilateral vocal fold immobility who successfully initiated and maintained an inclusive breastfeeding relationship. Conclusion: This case illustrates that successful direct breastfeeding can be achieved in an infant with a tracheostomy. If a patient is felt to be capable of oral feeding via bottle, there is no reason that there should not be a trial of direct feeding at the breast, for the benefit of both members of the breastfeeding dyad

Building Partnerships to Address Challenging Social Problems

A parent in prison creates disruption and stress for the entire family system. In order to provide family programming to this high-risk population, a partnership was created among the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Cooperative Extension, UNH Department of Family Studies, and New Hampshire\u27s Department of Corrections. This partnership is called The Family Connection Project. Programming objectives are to strengthen at-risk families and improve the healthy development of children with incarcerated parents through a family-centered, strength-based approach. The acquisition of positive parenting/relationship skills is expected to increase protective factors and decrease risk factors in families with an incarcerated parent

The importance of understanding Indigenous employment in the Indigenous business sector

Indigenous employment has been the subject of numerous policies in Australia, with governments aiming to increase the workforce participation rate amongst Indigenous people in recent years. Indigenous-owned businesses, formally defined as businesses that are at least 50% Indigenous-owned, have been demonstrated in previous research to maintain substantially higher levels of proportional Indigenous employment than non-Indigenous businesses. This suggests that Indigenous-owned businesses maintain work environments that are more supportive of and conducive to Indigenous employment, meriting the influence of Indigenous-owned businesses' workplace practices in future Indigenous employment policy design. Using administrative data from two Indigenous business registries (Black Business Finder and Supply Nation), this paper provides an updated empirical analysis of the Indigenous business sector. This paper demonstrates that Indigenous-owned businesses of all sizes, industries, locations and profit statuses consistently average proportional Indigenous employment rates higher than the Indigenous proportional population. Of all the people employed in Supply Nation-listed businesses, over 35% are Indigenous. The potential impact of the Indigenous Procurement Policy is illustrated by differentials in the size of businesses and their capacity to employ Indigenous staff. This paper provides analysis of the Indigenous business sector that can inform future policy direction for both Indigenous employment and Indigenous business policies. © 2023 The Authors. Australian Journal of Social Issues published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Social Policy Association

Immunopathology of Postprimary Tuberculosis: Increased T-Regulatory Cells and DEC-205-Positive Foamy Macrophages in Cavitary Lesions

Postprimary tuberculosis occurs in immunocompetent people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is restricted to the lung and accounts for 80% of cases and nearly 100% of transmission. Little is known about the immunopathology of postprimary tuberculosis due to limited availability of specimens. Tissues from 30 autopsy cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were located. Sections of characteristic lesions of caseating granulomas, lipid pneumonia, and cavitary stages of postprimary disease were selected for immunohistochemical studies of macrophages, lymphocytes, endothelial cells, and mycobacterial antigens. A higher percentage of cells in lipid pneumonia (36.1%) and cavitary lesions (27.8%) were positive for the dendritic cell marker DEC-205, compared to granulomas (9.0%, P < .05). Cavities contained significantly more T-regulatory cells (14.8%) than found in lipid pneumonia (5.2%) or granulomas (4.8%). Distribution of the immune cell types may contribute to the inability of the immune system to eradicate tuberculosis

An Overview of Legal Instruments and Other Measures to Aid in the Protection and Valuation of Indigenous Knowledge

This paper outlines the legal instruments and other measures used to support the protection of Indigenous Knowledge (IK), with a view to attributing market value to IK. These instruments are categorised as either enforceable instruments or voluntary protocols, standards and guides. Enforceable instruments have a clear connection to market value, typically being tradeable with a cost incurred to protect their attributable IK. While legal costs, patent prices and licence fees are private, it may be possible to gain access to summarised and de-identified data. Non-enforceable rights such as protocols, codes of conduct and certification may involve compensation or payments designed to protect IK. Price premiums may help to capture the market value of attributable IK, but require careful methodological consideration. A diverse range of instruments helps to provide choice to Indigenous Peoples and creates a system that may support the development of social and market norms that encourage the recognition and protection of IK

Parasitic wasp responses to symbiont-based defense in aphids

BACKGROUND: Recent findings indicate that several insect lineages receive protection against particular natural enemies through infection with heritable symbionts, but little is yet known about whether enemies are able to discriminate and respond to symbiont-based defense. The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, receives protection against the parasitic wasp, Aphidius ervi, when infected with the bacterial symbiont Hamiltonella defensa and its associated bacteriophage APSE (Acyrthosiphon pisum secondary endosymbiont). Internally developing parasitoid wasps, such as A. ervi, use maternal and embryonic factors to create an environment suitable for developing wasps. If more than one parasitoid egg is deposited into a single aphid host (superparasitism), then additional complements of these factors may contribute to the successful development of the single parasitoid that emerges. RESULTS: We performed experiments to determine if superparasitism is a tactic allowing wasps to overcome symbiont-mediated defense. We found that the deposition of two eggs into symbiont-protected aphids significantly increased rates of successful parasitism relative to singly parasitized aphids. We then conducted behavioral assays to determine whether A. ervi selectively superparasitizes H. defensa-infected aphids. In choice tests, we found that A. ervi tends to deposit a single egg in uninfected aphids, but two or more eggs in H. defensa-infected aphids, indicating that oviposition choices may be largely determined by infection status. Finally, we identified differences in the quantity of the trans-β-farnesene, the major component of aphid alarm pheromone, between H. defensa-infected and uninfected aphids, which may form the basis for discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: Here we show that the parasitic wasp A. ervi discriminates among symbiont-infected and uninfected aphids, and changes its oviposition behavior in a way that increases the likelihood of overcoming symbiont-based defense. More generally, our results indicate that natural enemies are not passive victims of defensive symbionts, and that an evolutionary arms race between A. pisum and the parasitoid A. ervi may be mediated by a bacterial symbiosis

Developing the use of explicitation techniques in team games as a pedagogical tool for coaching practice

lived experience of players. However, to date, explicitation techniques have not been used within actual coaching sessions to enable the coach to gain greater insight into players’ decision-making experiences. The aim of the study was to develop the use of explicitation techniques as a pedagogical tool within coaching sessions. As the coach, I (the first author) was one of the participants in the study. I recruited five Korfball players (M =2, F=3, aged between 21 and 26 years) as participants to develop my use of explicitation techniques with. The study used an Action Research (AR) approach and data collection methods included audio recordings of the explicitation techniques, fieldnotes, analytic memos and focus groups. Thematic data analysis was used to identify trends and patterns and make sense of the multiple sources of data. The findings were focused on the pedagogical strategies and adaptations used to develop the use of the explicitation techniques in coaching practice. These revealed that facilitating an evocative state through questioning requires practice and experience but is beneficial for coaching practice to understand players’ lived experiences. The approach enabled me to gain greater insight into the players’ reactive decision-making processes and a better understanding of what they were seeing and feeling in decision-making moments. It is anticipated that in turn, this will enable myself and other coaches to design and facilitate better coaching session

How are patients with rare diseases and their carers in the UK impacted by the way care is coordinated? An exploratory qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND: Care coordination is considered important for patients with rare conditions, yet research addressing the impact of care coordination is limited. This study aimed to explore how care coordination (or lack of) impacts on patients and carers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 patients and carers/parents in the UK, representing a range of rare conditions (including undiagnosed conditions). Transcripts were analysed thematically in an iterative process. RESULTS: Participants described a range of experiences and views in relation to care coordination. Reports of uncoordinated care emerged: appointments were uncoordinated, communication between key stakeholders was ineffective, patients and carers were required to coordinate their own care, and care was not coordinated to meet the changing needs of patients in different scenarios. As a result, participants experienced an additional burden and barriers/delays to accessing care. The impacts described by patients and carers, either attributed to or exacerbated by uncoordinated care, included: impact on physical health (including fatigue), financial impact (including loss of earnings and travel costs), and psychosocial impact (including disruption to school, work and emotional burden). Overall data highlight the importance of flexible care, which meets individual needs throughout patients'/carers' journeys. Specifically, study participants suggested that the impacts may be addressed by: having support from a professional to coordinate care, changing the approach of clinics and appointments (where they take place, which professionals/services are available and how they are scheduled), and improving communication through the use of technology, care plans, accessible points of contact and multi-disciplinary team working. CONCLUSION: This study provides further evidence of impacts of uncoordinated care; these may be complex and influenced by a number of factors. Approaches to coordination which improve access to care and lessen the time and burden placed on patients and carers may be particularly beneficial. Findings should influence future service developments (and the evaluation of such developments). This will be achieved, in the first instance, by informing the CONCORD Study in the UK

Access to Clean Energy Jobs: Expanding Opportunities

Significant growth in clean energy jobs is expected from the energy transition, especially given recent climate-centered federal policies. Meeting this job demand will require a strong, strategic, well-resourced workforce development ecosystem and a focus on creating equitable, high-road job opportunities that people of color and women can plentifully access. To better understand these needs, Barr's Climate Program commissioned an analysis from Emerald City Collaborative—with partners Browning the Green Space, nomada Consulting, and Ponder Analytics—and BW Research.Through this research, Barr seeks to provide data to inform a field-wide conversation and to engage other foundations on this topic. We hope that the resulting report helps foster constructive dialogue between clean energy and workforce leaders, and that it inspires additional philanthropy in our region. For additional supporting materials from the research project, please visit: barrfoundation.org/ceworkforcede