Mental health clients confirm the value of occupation in building competence and self-identity

Engagement in occupation is proposed to enhance health and wellbeing. To date, few studies have demonstrated this in relation to people with mental health problems. This study aimed to evaluate occupational therapy’s beliefs in the restorative powers of occupation from the perspective of people with enduring mental health problems living in the community. Qualitative research methods were used in two mental health day service settings: a workshop, where woodwork was provided as a medium for creative therapy, and a drop-in facility. Participant observation was undertaken over 10 sessions and, during six in-depth interviews, the clients were asked about their occupational experiences and whether they had perceived any benefits from engagement in occupation. Content and inductive analysis as well as concept mapping of the data resulted in emergent themes and subthemes. Occupation was identified both as a means for building competence through the acquisition of skills, coping with challenges and achieving success and as a medium for developing self-identity through the drive to create, feelings of usefulness and engendering a sense of self. These themes help to support the need for an increase in the provision of meaningful occupation for people with enduring mental health problems. However, further research is required to develop and corroborate the findings

Entrepreneurial Inclination Among Business Students: a Malaysian Study

Entrepreneurship has been the fundamental topics of discussion among the politicians, economists, and academics. Business creation is especially critical in developing countries to stimulate economic growth. The present study attempts to examine entrepreneurial inclination among students who are a potential source of entrepreneurs. The fi ndings of the present research study indicate that majority of our business students are not entrepreneurial-inclined. They do not seem to possess strong entrepreneurial characteristics and entrepreneurial skills, and they are not keen in starting a new business. The roles of higher institutes of education and the government in promoting entrepreneurship are discussed

Risk factors associated with lambing traits

peer-reviewedThis article was first published in Animal (2016), 10:1, pp 89–95, © The Animal Consortium 2015The objective of this study was to establish the risk factors associated with both lambing difficulty and lamb mortality in the Irish sheep multibreed population. A total of 135 470 lambing events from 42 675 ewes in 839 Irish crossbred and purebred flocks were available. Risk factors associated with producer-scored ewe lambing difficulty score (scale of one (no difficulty) to four (severe difficulty)) were determined using linear mixed models. Risk factors associated with the logit of the probability of lamb mortality at birth (i.e. binary trait) were determined using generalised estimating equations. For each dependent variable, a series of simple regression models were developed as well as a multiple regression model. In the simple regression models, greater lambing difficulty was associated with quadruplet bearing, younger ewes, of terminal breed origin, lambing in February; for example, first parity ewes experienced greater (P7.0 kg) birth weights, quadruplet born lambs and lambs that experienced a more difficult lambing (predicted probability of death for lambs that required severe and veterinary assistance of 0.15 and 0.32, respectively); lambs from dual-purpose breeds and born to younger ewes were also at greater risk of mortality. In the multiple regression model, the association between ewe parity, age at first lambing, year of lambing and lamb mortality no longer persisted. The trend in solutions of the levels of each fixed effect that remained associated with lamb mortality in the multiple regression model, did not differ from the trends observed in the simple regression models although the differential in relative risk between the different lambing difficulty scores was greater in the multiple regression model. Results from this study show that many common flock- and animal-level factors are associated with both lambing difficulty and lamb mortality and management of different risk category groups (e.g. scanned litter sizes, ewe age groups) can be used to appropriately manage the flock at lambing to reduce their incidence

High resolution identity testing of inactivated poliovirus vaccines

AbstractBackgroundDefinitive identification of poliovirus strains in vaccines is essential for quality control, particularly where multiple wild-type and Sabin strains are produced in the same facility. Sequence-based identification provides the ultimate in identity testing and would offer several advantages over serological methods.MethodsWe employed random RT-PCR and high throughput sequencing to recover full-length genome sequences from monovalent and trivalent poliovirus vaccine products at various stages of the manufacturing process.ResultsAll expected strains were detected in previously characterised products and the method permitted identification of strains comprising as little as 0.1% of sequence reads. Highly similar Mahoney and Sabin 1 strains were readily discriminated on the basis of specific variant positions. Analysis of a product known to contain incorrect strains demonstrated that the method correctly identified the contaminants.ConclusionRandom RT-PCR and shotgun sequencing provided high resolution identification of vaccine components. In addition to the recovery of full-length genome sequences, the method could also be easily adapted to the characterisation of minor variant frequencies and distinction of closely related products on the basis of distinguishing consensus and low frequency polymorphisms

Identification of Alternaria alternata as a Causal Agent for Leaf Blight in Syringa Species

While many isolates of Alternaria alternata are common saprophytes on trees and shrubs, this study clearly demonstrated that A. alternata is a primary pathogen in lilac (Syringa sp.), causing a leaf-blight that affects different Syringa species. Isolates of Alternaria sp. were collected from leaf blight samples of lilacs in the field. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and morphological characterization were used to identify lilac blight pathogen. Based on 100% ITS nucleotide sequence identities to the Alternaria genus in the GenBank and morphological features, these isolates were identified as A. alternata. Disease symptoms were reproduced in lilac plants inoculated with A. alternata mycelial plugs and sprayed with a fungus-free culture filtrate, indicating that pathogenesis in lilac involves secondary metabolites or toxins. Diagnostic primers were developed to detect Alternaria sp. and A. alternata in lilac leaf blight based on ITS region and four known genes associated with pathogenesis in A. alternata: mixed-linked glucanase precursor, endopolygalacturonase, hsp70, and histone genes. The results from our study indicated A. alternata is a primary pathogen in lilac leaf blight, and these diagnostic primers can be used as a tool for the fast detection of A. alternata associated with lilac leaf blight

Genetic diversity in the env V1-V2 region of proviral quasispecies from long-term controller MHC-typed cynomolgus macaques infected with SHIVSF162P4cy

Intra-host evolution of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) has been shown by viral RNA analysis in subjects who naturally suppress plasma viremia to low levels, known as controllers. However, little is known about the variability of proviral DNA and the inter-relationships among contained systemic viremia, rate of reservoir reseeding and specific major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genotypes, in controllers. Here, we analysed the proviral DNA quasispecies of the env V1-V2 region, in PBMCs and in anatomical compartments of 13 long-term controller monkeys after 3.2 years of infection with simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)SF162P4cy. A considerable variation in the genetic diversity of proviral quasispecies was present among animals. Seven monkeys exhibited env V1-V2 proviral populations composed of both clusters of identical ancestral sequences and new variants, whereas the other six monkeys displayed relatively high env V1-V2 genetic diversity with a large proportion of diverse novel sequences. Our results demonstrate that in SHIVSF162P4cy-infected monkeys there exists a disparate pattern of intra-host viral diversity and that reseeding of the proviral reservoir occurs in some animals. Moreover, even though no particular association has been observed between MHC haplotypes and the long-term control of infection, a remarkably similar pattern of intra-host viral diversity and divergence was found within animals carrying the M3 haplotype. This suggests that in animals bearing the same MHC haplotype and infected with the same virus, viral diversity follows a similar pattern with similar outcomes and control of infection

Fatigue Strength Improvement of Welded Structures Using New Low Transformation Temperature Filler Materials

AbstractThe results reported in this research study are part of a larger EU RFCS (Research Fund for Coal and Steel) project where the aim is to study the fatigue behavior of improved welds in high strength steels by utilizing different improvement techniques. In this particular study LTT (Low Transformation Temperature) weld filler material have been investigated and their possibility to improve the fatigue strength. The characteristic of these filler material is that they undergo phase transformation at temperature close to room temperature which will reduce the tensile residual stress in the weld and in some cases result in compressive residual stresses. Two different LTT alloy compositions have been developed, with different Ms (Martensite Start) temperatures in order to study the amount of tensile/compressive residual stresses produced by these wires. Welding residual stress measurements were carried out by X-ray diffraction technique. Plates with welded longitudinal attachments were fabricated in 700MPa and 960MPa steel grades using different LTT filler materials. These specimens were fatigue tested in constant and variable amplitude loading and the fatigue test results were compared with results from specimen welded with conventional weld filler material

Temperature-dependent photoluminescence of Ge/Si and Ge 1-ySn y/Si, indicating possible indirect-to-direct bandgap transition at lower Sn content

Temperature (T)-dependent photoluminescence (PL) has been investigated for both p-Ge and n-Ge1-ySny films grown on Si substrates. For the p-Ge, strong direct bandgap (ED) along with weak indirect bandgap related (EID) PL at low temperatures (LTs) and strong ED PL at room temperature (RT) were observed. In contrast, for the n-Ge1-ySny, very strong dominant EID PL at LT and strong ED PL were observed at RT. This T-dependent PL study indicates that the indirect-to-direct bandgap transitions of Ge1-ySny might take place at much lower Sn contents than the theory predicts, suggesting that these Ge1-ySny could become very promising direct bandgap semiconductors