“Putting the baby back in the body”: The re-embodiment of pregnancy to enhance safety in a free-standing birth centre

The general discourse in most countries is that technological surveillance during pregnancy and childbirth is synonymous with safety, while women's individual experiences are less likely regarded as critical. The aim of this ethnographic study at a birth centre in Germany was to describe how midwives and their clients construct risk and safety. The data collection methods included participant observation and semi-structured interviews. ‘Putting the baby back in the body’ was the major theme that emerged, supported by three sub-themes. The women in this study relied on scans at the beginning of pregnancy to make their baby real to them, but became more confident in their capacity to sense their baby after experiencing the first fetal movements. The midwives fostered this confidence by using interactive palpation of the abdomen with the women, thus supporting their individual sensory experience, and, in the midwives’ view, enhancing overall safety during pregnancy and at birth

Faculty Retraining: A Strategic Response to Changing Resources and Technology

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66742/2/10.1177_009155218301100201.pd

Primary Prevention of Lead Exposure—Blood Lead Results at Age Two Years

Objectives: The Philadelphia Lead Safe Homes (LSH) Study was designed to evaluate whether educational and environmental interventions in the first year of life for families of newborns increased knowledge of lead exposure prevention and were associated with less elevation of blood lead levels (BLLs) for these children, when compared to children receiving standard care. Methods: The current study performed descriptive statistics on the second-year BLL data for both groups and compared these using chi-square tests for proportions and unpaired t-tests for means. Results: A BLL result was found for 159 (50.6%) of the 314 LSH cohort children and 331 (52.7%) of the 628 control children (p = 0.1). Mean and standard deviation for age at draw was 23.8 (3.4) months versus 23.6 (3.1) months (P = 0.6). Geometric mean BLLs were 3.7 versus 3.5 µg/dL (P = 0.4). The percentages of the cohort group with a BLL of ≥20, ≥10 and ≥5 μg/dL, respectively, were 0.6%, 5% and 30%; for the controls 1.2%, 6.6%, and 25%. These percentages were not significantly different between groups. Conclusion: A comparison of geometric mean BLLs and percentages above several BLL cut points drawn at age two years in a group of urban newborns benefitting from study interventions versus a group of similar urban children did not yield statistically significant differences. Both groups had relatively lower lead levels when compared to historical cohort groups, which may reflect a continuing downward trend in BLLs in U.S. children. The interventions did result in benefits to the families such as an increase in parental knowledge about lead exposure prevention and in-home wet cleaning activity, and a decrease in lead dust levels in study homes

Mirlyn "Available Online" Label Guerilla Test

The goal of this guerilla test was to determine which of four labels (three alternate labels, in addition to the current “available online” label) denoting online availability is preferred by patrons, taking time to ensure that patrons understand the range of situations currently represented by the "available online" label. We also solicited suggestions for alternate labels from participants.Usability GroupUsability Task Forcehttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106783/1/MirlynGuerillaTest_Feb2011.pd

Mirlyn Search Satisfaction Survey

The primary purpose of this survey was to gather information about how satisfied patrons are with search results in Mirlyn and whether satisfaction levels vary significantly between categories of users (i.e. undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, etc.). The survey was designed to measure satisfaction with searching overall and with two different kinds of searches: known item searches for specific items a patron already knows about and subject searches for items about a particular topic or subject.Usability GroupUsability Task Forcehttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106782/1/MirlynSearchSurvey_Feb2011.pd

Mirlyn Usability Task Force

"Mirlyn Usability Task Force" presentation to library staff, February 10,2011Usability Task ForceUsability Grouphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107034/1/MirlynUTF_debrief_FINAL.pd

i-SNAREs: inhibitory SNAREs that fine-tune the specificity of membrane fusion

A new functional class of SNAREs, designated inhibitory SNAREs (i-SNAREs), is described here. An i-SNARE inhibits fusion by substituting for or binding to a subunit of a fusogenic SNAREpin to form a nonfusogenic complex. Golgi-localized SNAREs were tested for i-SNARE activity by adding them as a fifth SNARE together with four other SNAREs that mediate Golgi fusion reactions. A striking pattern emerges in which certain subunits of the cis-Golgi SNAREpin function as i-SNAREs that inhibit fusion mediated by the trans-Golgi SNAREpin, and vice versa. Although the opposing distributions of the cis- and trans-Golgi SNAREs themselves could provide for a countercurrent fusion pattern in the Golgi stack, the gradients involved would be strongly sharpened by the complementary countercurrent distributions of the i-SNAREs