293 research outputs found
Fulfilling Lives: Supporting people with multiple needs, Evaluation Report, Year 1
This report is prepared for the Big Lottery Fund (the Fund) by the national evaluationteam and provides emerging findings and lessons learned from the first year of thenational evaluation of the Fulfilling Lives: Supporting people with multiple needsinitiative hereafter referred to as Fulfilling Lives (multiple needs).The national evaluation has been designed to determine the degree to which the initiativeis successfully achieving its aims and how they are being achieved. The evaluation will beboth formative and summative in nature, in that, it will inform the ongoing design and delivery of Fulfilling Lives (multiple needs) and its component projects as well as assessoverall achievements and value for money to inform future decision and policy making.Within this context, the evaluation has a number of objectives:— To track and assess the achievements of the initiative and to estimate the extent to whichthese are attributable to the projects and interventions delivered.— To calculate the costs of the projects and the corresponding value of benefits to theexchequer and wider society. This will enable an assessment of value for money of theprogramme and for individual interventions.— To identify what interventions and approaches work well, for which people, families andcommunities and in which circumstances and contexts.— To assess the extent to which the Big Lottery Fund's principles are incorporated into projectdesign and delivery and to determine the degree to which these principles affect successfuldelivery and outcomes.— To explore project implementation, understand problems faced and to facilitate theidentification of solutions and lessons learned
Chiropractic Physicians\u27 Knowledge of Pediatric Concussions
Recent legislation in the state of Ohio now allows chiropractic physicians who possess certain credentials to both diagnose and clear young patients who have sustained concussions. Unfortunately, little if any existing research examines the knowledge and abilities of chiropractic physicians regarding the management of this condition. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to provide a general overview of chiropractic physicians’ knowledge regarding the diagnosis and management of pediatric concussions. A survey was emailed to 1,344 chiropractors in the state of Ohio. Of those who were contacted, 71 completed the survey. The survey included questions regarding demographics, patient scenarios, and concussion management. Although 66.7% of chiropractors qualified to care for concussions reported the utilization of guidelines, the rate dropped to 35.2% when all respondents were included. There were statistically significant differences concerning familiarity with the Graded Symptom Checklist (p=0.001) and the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (p=0.007). In addition, the results of a question regarding the implementation of graduated return-to-play protocols were found to be borderline significant (p=0.06).The results of the study indicated that chiropractors who possess the credentials required by law are more knowledgeable regarding concussion diagnosis and management than those who do not
More than Grants: How Funders Can Use Their Influence for Good
Trusts and foundations are increasingly looking to become agents of social change themselves as well as funders of it—asking themselves whether providing more than direct services might make more of a difference. Two common ways that funders do this are through providing support to help organisations develop their capacity, and by using a funder's influence to advocate for change. Here we focus on the latter, looking at influencing practices of funders from around the world—exploring the methods that these take, the evidence for whether it works and how funders can approach impact measurement
The early Quaternary North Sea Basin
The onset of the Quaternary (2.58 Ma) corresponds to significant paleo-environmental events, such as the intensification and southward extension of Northern Hemisphere glaciation. In the North Sea Basin a significant late Cenozoic succession has been identified as a high-resolution archive of paleo-environmental changes during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. However, the identification of the base of the Quaternary has been a long-standing issue owing to lack of stratigraphic calibration. This study incorporates continuous, regional 3D seismic data with high-quality chronostratigraphic markers to map the base-Quaternary surface at high resolution across the entire North Sea. Depth conversion, backstripping, seismic geomorphology and sedimentation rate calculations are integrated to analyse the paleogeographical evolution of the North Sea Basin and its infill of c. 83 × 103 km3 of northward prograding marine to deltaic sediments. The basin is 600 km long from SSE to NNW and largely localized above residual topography of the Mesozoic graben system. During the earliest Quaternary (2.58 – 2.35 Ma) paleo-water depths were c. 300 ± 50 m and solid sedimentation rates (calculated from 0% porosity) c. 32 km3 ka−1. The base-Quaternary provides an important marker for further studies of the changing environment of the Quaternary of NW Europe as well as resource and shallow geohazard analysis.
Supplementary material: A base Quaternary two-way travel time structure map is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.390034
Nanoresolution real-time 3D orbital tracking for studying mitochondrial trafficking in vertebrate axons in vivo
We present the development and in vivo application of a feedback-based tracking microscope to follow individual mitochondria in sensory neurons of zebrafish larvae with nanometer precision and millisecond temporal resolution. By combining various technical improvements, we tracked individual mitochondria with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution over distances of >100 mu m. Using these nanoscopic trajectory data, we discriminated five motional states: a fast and a slow directional motion state in both the anterograde and retrograde directions and a stationary state. The transition pattern revealed that, after a pause, mitochondria predominantly persist in the original direction of travel, while transient changes of direction often exhibited longer pauses. Moreover, mitochondria in the vicinity of a second, stationary mitochondria displayed an increased probability to pause. The capability of following and optically manipulating a single organelle with high spatiotemporal resolution in a living organism offers a new approach to elucidating their function in its complete physiological context
Sex Differences in Behavior and Molecular Pathology in the 5XFAD Model
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project included funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2/EFPIA, European Quality in Preclinical Data (EQIPD) consortium under grant agreement number 777364. The authors thank Dr. Heather Buchanan and Dr. Claire Hull for their valuable help with the molecular techniques and Jack Bray for his assistance with tissue collection. We would also like to acknowledge the staff of the Medical Research Facility for their support with animal care, handling and behavioural experiments and the qPCR Core Facility at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen for use of their qPCR systems.Peer reviewedPostprin
Using Spatial Data to Improve Recovery Under the Endangered Species Act
Many species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) are making slow and
insufficient progress towards long-term recovery. Various studies have examined the recovery
planning process in order to identify related challenges and suggest improvements to science and
management efforts. In 2002, Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) published a
comprehensive study that provided 15 diverse recommendations for improving recovery plan
quality, implementation and overall effectiveness. To increase the probability of wide-scale
incorporation, these recommendations were targeted at NOAA National Marine Fisheries
Service’s “Interim Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Planning Guidance” (Interim
Guidance). However, notably absent in both the SCB study and the Interim Guidance is any
discussion of spatial data collection and its use for creating multi-layered maps. This is of
particular concern because spatial data has increasingly been recognized for its unique potential
to assist in long-term species recovery.
In order to fully assess the potential use and inclusion of spatial data within the recovery
planning process, we identified three research objectives. The first objective was to assess how
well SCB recommendations have been incorporated into both the Interim Guidance and
individual recovery plans. This evaluation would allow us to determine the relationship between
the two documents and how well recovery plans follow the Interim Guidance. The second
objective was to determine the feasibility of creating a spatial tool for all species listed under the
ESA given available data types and formats. While maps can aid management decisions, known
data deficiencies for many species are expected to make the creation of such maps challenging.
By assessing a taxonomically representative subset of species recovery plans, we could evaluate
the relative availability of spatial data across different groups of species. Our third objective was
to create a single-species proof-of-concept map for the development of a large-scale, online
mapping tool. This process would allow us to evaluate how useful a spatial tool and online
Google mapping platform could be to those interested in improving species recovery.
As a result of our analysis we conclude that the more fully a recommendation is
incorporated within the Interim Guidance, the better it will be expressed within individual
recovery plans. Therefore, if the Interim Guidance explicitly requires spatial data collection,
more specific-specific spatial data will likely become available. Through our feasibility study we
found large data gaps for all species and only 20% or less of all applicable data layers for
amphibians, clams, and snails in particular. Additionally, while we found biological data most
frequently, threats, recovery actions, and ESA legal requirements were largely absent in any
spatial format. In order to create a diverse multi-layered map for all species, spatial data
collection must be prioritized among all data categories and for low-profile species. Our proof-of-
concept map for the Utah prairie dog, demonstrates that multi-layered maps can currently be
created for select species after expansive data searching and mode rate use of geo-spatial
programs such as ArcGIS. These maps can directly support Defender’s own internal purposes as
well as uniquely support USFWS and NMFS’s ongoing efforts in spatial tool development.Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology Program; Defenders of Wildlif
Re-Gendering the Libertine; or, The Taming of the Rake: Lucy Vestris as Don Giovanni on the Early Nineteenth-Century London Stage
When Luigi Bassi entered the stage of the Prague National Theatre in 1787 to create the title role of Mozart and Da Ponte's Don Giovanni, he could have drawn inspiration from a rich tradition of theatrical, pantomimic and marionette representations of the legendary Don Juan, to which this new opera was the latest contribution. Previous incarnations had been shaped by the likes of Tirso de Molina, Molière, Shadwell, Purcell and Gluck; yet it is Mozart and Da Ponte's version that has for us become the definitive: the Don as paradox; an uncomfortable blend of the despicable and the admirable, hero and anti-hero. Lecher, rapist, liar, cheat, murderer, he is the brutal epitome of macho striving for power and domination, yet clothed with a seductive panache, conviction and bravado — the reckless-heroic libertine phallocrat who would rather face the fires of eternal damnation than curb his appetites
- …