Free-fall drops, tosses and impacts measured in the small parcel international overnight air distribution environment

This study investigated the frequency and magnitude of free-fall drops, tosses and impacts encountered by a small package during overnight air transportation between Memphis, Tennessee and Gennevilliers, France. It was assumed that the package would experience similar hazards during each trip through this distribution environment. It was also assumed that the hazards the package encountered between the United States and France would be similar to the hazards it encountered between France and the United States. The package was instrumented with a data recorder to measure and record the events experienced by the package. The largest drop occurred from a height of 51 inches and the largest toss occurred from a height of 75 inches. The largest impact was 128 in/sec. The events recorded were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. This test uses ranks to evaluate whether samples have been taken from populations with equal means. It uses the chi-square sampling distribution to describe chance variability. With the exception of the drop heights for the free-fall drops and tosses recorded during the last of the four trips, there is no evidence that the population means are not all equal. In the fourth trip, the test value for the drop heights calculated using the Kruskal-Wallis test may suggest that the population means are not all equal. However, it was demonstrated that this test value could be due to chance variability. Three things were concluded from this study. First, it was concluded that the package experiences similar hazards during each trip through the distribution environment. Second, the hazards the package experiences between the United States and France are similar to the hazards it experiences between France and the United States. Third, the majority of hazards encountered by the package occurred during ground handling operations

Measuring the stars and observing the less visible: Australia’s participation in the Astrographic Catalogue and Carte du Ciel

Australia’s 1887 decision to participate in a major international astronomical project to produce an Astrographic (Star) Catalogue and Carte du Ciel (Chart of the Sky) ultimately involved Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth observatories. Participation in this project promised to bring international recognition of Australia’s capability in astronomy and access to the latest photographic technology and methods, within a network comprised of leading astronomers and observatories from around the globe. This was not a straightforward process; obtaining the resources required to successfully participate was fraught in terms of seeking support from governments that did not necessarily understand the significance of the projects, the lack of an appropriately trained workforce, and the sheer volume of work to catalogue the star-rich sky of the Southern Hemisphere. The challenges of participating in major and extensive international projects, during a period when astronomy within Australia wavered between state and federal control, were enormous. The techniques and technologies were not consolidated and often difficult to obtain, due to the impact of two world wars. Recessions and a major depression, along with colonial attitudes to science, made the resources required for progress at times unaffordable within meagre State Observatory budgets. The participating observatories have been examined through archival research to reveal not only the significance of this star catalogue to the development of astronomy in Australia, but the momentous and unacknowledged contribution made by women in its production. I have investigated the participation of seven women in the projects through in-depth interviews and primary sources, including log books of star positions and magnitudes and observation log books not previously recognised as their work. This thesis reveals the Astrographic Catalogue as pivotal to the introduction of women into paid astronomical work in Australia.«br /» The Astrographic Catalogue and Carte du Ciel are interrogated as products of colonialist ambitions to chart territory. Actor–network theory, centres of calculation and circulation models developed by sociology of science theorists, including Bruno Latour and Michel Callon, have been applied to analyse the control over the participating state observatories by colonial astronomy networks. My research has uncovered evidence of the interference of the Colonial Secretaries and Astronomers Royal, and the sometimes catastrophic impact of economic, social and political upheavals. This thesis argues that modernist ideals of automation and global standardisation provided momentum for the techniques of observation to change, and the eye of the astronomer was replaced by the eye of the human star measurer, predominantly women, who became the new point of contention at which individual variation occurred. I reveal that the involvement of women in Australia on the Astrographic Catalogue and Carte du Ciel was of greater significance than previously recognised; in addition, whilst they were restricted due to their gender, these women had agency in the scientific practice, workplace behaviour and employment conditions within the observatory. Furthermore, the creation of sex-specific roles in astronomy developed through the labour requirements of the large data sets for the Astrographic Catalogue, and the historical invisibility of women’s work in science, have had contemporary consequences for the status and participation of women in astronomy

Nova Scotia Museum Furniture Collections

Several major Canadian institutions were invited to describe their furniture collections for this thematic issue. The reports received are published below

An Assessment of Stream Health Through Use of Macroinvertebrates as Bio-­‐Indicators

The Stoney Creek Off--‐Channel Habitat Improvement Project aimed to restore a stream section in Burnaby, BC. The species assemblages of macroinvertebrate bioindicators were analyzed with reference to stream health of the restored ecosystem. Using a region specific B-IBI, species assemblages were characterized according to their tolerance to pollution. Samples where collected from a previously restored upstream site and recently restored downstream site and individually from riffle and pool zones within each site. Frequency distributions and relative abundances were used to measure actual and relative representation of categories. Overall, pollution tolerant species showed the highest representation over both sites when compared to pollution intolerant and somewhat tolerant species. Riffles exhibited a higher presence of pollution intolerant species then pools. These results indicate relatively low stream quality. Results of the WQI did not support the stream quality data provided by macroinvertebrates. Further study needs to be undertaken to involve baseline data and address additional determinants for species assemblages

PhD Research in an Entrepreneurial Environment: The Innovation Realization Lab

This paper describes a new graduate education initiative entitled the Innovation Realization Laboratory that is funded by the National Science Foundation through the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program. The overall objective of the initiative is to have management students and Ph.D. students in science and engineering team to explore issues related to the commercialization of the Ph.D. students\u27 research results. This provides the MBA students with a real world opportunity to apply their business education in a high technology entrepreneurial situation, while providing the Ph.D. students an exposure to all of the complex issues associated with moving research findings to the marketplace. It represents an experiment to determine whether a significant enhancement of the educational experience can be acquired without placing an undue burden on either member of such a student team (or on the major professors). This program has been in operation for two years and has proven quite successful. The paper will describe the program structure, relate some of the lessons learned, and present an assessment of the program based on faculty observations and student feedback

The time-course of a scrapie outbreak

BACKGROUND: Because the incubation period of scrapie has a strong host genetic component and a dose-response relationship, it is possible that changes will occur during an outbreak, especially in the genotypes of cases, age-at-onset of disease and, perhaps, the clinical signs displayed. We investigated these factors for a large outbreak of natural scrapie, which yielded sufficient data to detect temporal trends. RESULTS: Cases occurred mostly in two genotypes, VRQ/VRQ and VRQ/ARQ, with those early in the outbreak more likely to be of the VRQ/VRQ genotype. As the epidemic progressed, the age-at-onset of disease increased, which reflected changes in the genotypes of cases rather than changes in the age-at-onset within genotypes. Clinical signs of cases changed over the course of the outbreak. As the epidemic progressed VRQ/VRQ and VRQ/ARQ sheep were more likely to be reported with behavioural changes, while VRQ/VRQ sheep only were less likely to be reported with loss of condition. CONCLUSION: This study of one of the largest scrapie outbreaks in the UK allowed investigation of the effect of PrP genotype on other epidemiological parameters. Our analysis indicated that, although age-at-onset and clinical signs changed over time, the observed changes were largely, but not exclusively, driven by the time course of the PrP genotypes of cases

Making sense of not making sense: Novice English language teacher talk

This qualitative study critically examines the intelligibility of the teacher talk of novice native speaker English language teachers. It focuses on difficulties teachers face in adjusting their own English so that their learners can understand them. The paper uses two data sources: learners’ perceptions of recorded teacher talk and analysis of the teacher talk itself. For the teacher talk analysis, the study develops an integrated framework based on key concepts from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). This analysis showed the complex interplay between different levels of meaning, as well as the roles played by both the immediate situational context and the broader cultural context. In particular, the analysis illustrated the crucial roles that both textual meaning (i.e. coherence and cohesion) and context play in the intelligibility of teacher talk. The broader implications of the study for research and teaching relating to intercultural discourse both inside and outside the classroom are discussed

Genetic background influences tumour development in heterozygous Men1 knockout mice

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), an autosomal dominant disorder caused by MEN1 germline mutations, is characterised by parathyroid, pancreatic and pituitary tumours. MEN1 mutations also cause familial isolated primary hyperparathyroidism (FIHP), a milder condition causing hyperparathyroidism only. Identical mutations can cause either MEN1 or FIHP in different families, thereby implicating a role for genetic modifiers in altering phenotypic expression of tumours. We therefore investigated the effects of genetic background and potential for genetic modifiers on tumour development in adult Men1+/- mice, which develop tumours of the parathyroids, pancreatic islets, anterior pituitary, adrenal cortex and gonads, that had been backcrossed to generate C57BL/6 and 129S6/SvEv congenic strains. A total of 275 Men1+/- mice, aged 5–26 months were macroscopically studied, and this revealed that genetic background significantly influenced the development of pituitary, adrenal and ovarian tumours, which occurred in mice over 12 months of age and more frequently in C57BL/6 females, 129S6/SvEv males and 129S6/SvEv females, respectively. Moreover, pituitary and adrenal tumours developed earlier, in C57BL/6 males and 129S6/SvEv females, respectively, and pancreatic and testicular tumours developed earlier in 129S6/SvEv males. Furthermore, glucagon-positive staining pancreatic tumours occurred more frequently in 129S6/SvEv Men1+/- mice. Whole genome sequence analysis of 129S6/SvEv and C57BL/6 Men1+/- mice revealed >54,000 different variants in >300 genes. These included, Coq7, Dmpk, Ccne2, Kras, Wnt2b, Il3ra and Tnfrsf10a, and qRT-PCR analysis revealed that Kras was significantly higher in pituitaries of male 129S6/SvEv mice. Thus, our results demonstrate that Kras and other genes could represent possible genetic modifiers of Men1

Uncomfortable yet Necessary: The Impact of PPE on Communication in Emergency Medicine

Background: The efficacy of pre-hospital emergency services is heavily dependent on the effective communication of care providers. This effective communication occurs between providers as part of a team, but also among providers interacting with family members and patients. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a number of communication challenges to emergency care, which are primarily linked to the increased use of PPE. Methods: We sought to analyze the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on Emergency Medical Service (EMS) workers and pre-hospital care delivery. We conducted focus groups and one-on-one interviews with fire-EMS first responders between Sept 2021 and 2022. Interviews included questions about job related stress, EMS skills, work experiences and changes during Covid-19. Interviews were recorded, independently dual coded, and analyzed for themes. Results: 223 first responders participated in 40 focus groups and 40 lead paramedics participated in individual interviews. We found that additional use of personal protective-equipment (PPE) was reported to have significantly impaired efficiency and perceptions of quality of care—among EMS team members and also between EMS workers and patients. EMS personnel also experienced on scene hostility on arrival (from both families and other agencies). Use of extensive PPE muffles voices, obscures facial expressions, and can cause team members to have difficulty recognizing and communicating with one another and can be a barrier to showing empathy and connecting with patients. Creative solutions such as putting a hand on someone’s shoulder, wearing name tags on suits, and explaining rationale for perceived delays were mentioned as methods to transcend these barriers. The appearance of providers in heavy PPE can be unsettling and create barriers to human connection, particularly for pediatric patients. Conclusion: Human connection is an important element of health care delivery and healing. These findings shed light on new skills that are needed to initiate and maintain human connection in these times of PPE use, especially full body PPE. Awareness of the communication and empathy barriers posed by PPE is the first step to improving provider-patient interactions in pre-hospital EMS. Additionally, ‘communication-friendly’ adaptations of PPE equipment may be an important area for future research and development in manufacturing and the healthcare industry

DNA-based Diagnosis of Uncharacterized Inherited Macrothrombocytopenias Using Next-generation Sequencing Technology with a Candidate Gene Array

Inherited macrothrombocytopenias comprise a heterogeneous group of inherited platelet disorders that are characterized by large platelets, thrombocytopenia and bleeding tendencies in affected individuals. Diagnostic platforms have traditionally involved a battery of complex phenotypic tests that often fail to reach a diagnosis. Next-generation sequencing lacks the pre-analytical and analytical shortcoming of these tests and provides an attractive alternate diagnostic approach. Our group has developed a candidate gene array targeting genes known to affect platelet function and tested it in a large cohort of Australasian patients with presumed platelet function disorders, particularly macrothrombocytopenia. This array identified causative variants in a significant portion of patients with uncharacterized platelet disorders, including transcription factor mutations that cannot easily be diagnosed with standard platelet phenotyping procedures. We propose that targeted genotypic screening can identify the genetic basis of platelet function defects and has the potential to be developed into a powerful clinical platform to help clinicians diagnose these rare disorders