Mission Statement Content And Prevalence Among Local Police Departments And Sheriffs\u27 Offices

This descriptive study uses grounded theory approach to investigate the prevalence and content of mission statements among United States local police departments and sheriffs\u27 offices that employ less than 25 sworn personnel. Mixed method research analysis identified the prevalence of mission statements as well as the content and characteristics of mission statement. Mission statements were analyzed with no a priori assumptions, standards, or coding schema. From this study it was found that 80 (37.21%) of the study\u27s sample law enforcement agencies (N = 215) have mission statements that were located through this study\u27s web search and agency participation. The analysis revealed that the prevalence of mission statements and mission content varied among sample subgroups

Social worker experiences in disaster management: Case studies from Aotearoa New Zealand

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A Lack of "Environmental Earth Data" at the Microhabitat Scale Impacts Efforts to Control Invasive Arthropods That Vector Pathogens

We currently live in an era of major global change that has led to the introduction and range expansion of numerous invasive species worldwide. In addition to the ecological and economic consequences associated with most invasive species, invasive arthropods that vector pathogens (IAVPs) to humans and animals pose substantial health risks. Species distribution models that are informed using environmental Earth data are frequently employed to predict the distribution of invasive species, and to advise targeted mitigation strategies. However, there are currently substantial mismatches in the temporal and spatial resolution of these data and the environmental contexts which affect IAVPs. Consequently, targeted actions to control invasive species or to prepare the population for possible disease outbreaks may lack efficacy. Here, we identify and discuss how the currently available environmental Earth data are lacking with respect to their applications in species distribution modeling, particularly when predicting the potential distribution of IAVPs at meaningful space-time scales. For example, we examine the issues related to interpolation of weather station data and the lack of microclimatic data relevant to the environment experienced by IAVPs. In addition, we suggest how these data gaps can be filled, including through the possible development of a dedicated open access database, where data from both remotely- and proximally-sensed sources can be stored, shared, and accessed

Parents\u27 Perception of their Children\u27s Asthma, 2002-2008: A Community-Based Study

Childhood asthma is a chronic health condition that is one of the leading causes of hospitalizations and missed school days for children. It also affects the lives of both asthmatic children and their families

Monitoring of Nesting Songbirds Detects Established Population of Blacklegged Ticks and Associated Lyme Disease Endemic Area in Canada.

This study provides a novel method of documenting established populations of bird-feeding ticks. Single populations of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, and the rabbit tick, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, were revealed in southwestern Québec, Canada. Blacklegged tick nymphs and, similarly, larval and nymphal rabbit ticks were tested for the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl), using PCR and the flagellin (flaB) gene, and 14 (42%) of 33 of blacklegged tick nymphs tested were positive. In contrast, larval and nymphal H. leporsipalustris ticks were negative for Bbsl. The occurrence of Bbsl in I. scapularis nymphs brings to light the presence of a Lyme disease endemic area at this songbird nesting locality. Because our findings denote that this area is a Lyme disease endemic area, and I. scapularis is a human-biting tick, local residents and outdoor workers must take preventive measures to avoid tick bites. Furthermore, local healthcare practitioners must include Lyme disease in their differential diagnosis

The development of an accreditation scheme for accredited exercise physiologists

Background: Accredited Exercise Physiologists provide exercise services for people living with chronic disease, disability or injury and are recognised in Australia as Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEP) under a national certification system administered by Exercise and Sport Science Australia (ESSA). A major breakthrough occurred for the AEP in 2006 when the Australian Department of Health and Ageing approved the AEP to deliver clinical exercise services for people with chronic medical conditions under the taxpayer-funded national health scheme, Medicare Australia. Aims: In light of these developments, the authors recognised the need for new accreditation criteria, and our report summarises the work that we did on behalf of the profession and ESSA in restructuring the accreditation system. Methods and Outcomes: We first performed a background study that defined the scope of practice of the AEP and benchmarked the AEP against other allied health professions in Australia and Clinical Exercise Physiologists internationally. We then constructed a new set of accreditation criteria comprising sets of pathologyspecific knowledge and experiences, together with a set of generic standards including communication, professional behaviour and risk management. All participating Australian universities (18 out of 27 responded) and 29 practitioner experts were then invited to provide comment and input into the draft guidelines. There was strong support for the new system that was implemented nationally on 1 January 2008 and is now administered by ESSA. Conclusions: This work has stimulated an unprecedented level of activity in the Australian university sector in developing new curricula in clinical exercise science and practice, and is intended to lead to improved standards of clinical exercise practice.<br /

Predicting the northward expansion of tropical lineage Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato ticks in the United States and its implications for medical and veterinary health

The tropical lineage within the Rhipicephalus sanguineus species complex is cause for growing concern in the U.S. based on its prominent role in creating and perpetuating multiple recently identified outbreaks of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. This lineage is undergoing a northward range expansion in the United States, necessitating the need for enhanced surveillance for Rh. sanguineus. To inform more focused surveillance efforts we use species distribution models (SDMs) to predict current (2015–2019) and future (2021–2040) habitat for the tropical lineage. Models using the MaxEnt algorithm were informed using geolocations of ticks genetically confirmed to be of the tropical lineage, for which data on 23 climatic and ecological variables were extracted. Models predicted that suitability was optimal where temperatures are relatively warm and stable, and there is minimal precipitation. This translated into habitat being predicted along much of the coast of southern states including California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Although the endophilic nature of tropical Rh. sanguineus somewhat violates the assumptions of SDMs, our models correctly predicted known locations of this tick and provide a starting point for increased surveillance efforts. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of using molecular methods to distinguish between ticks in the Rh. sanguineus species complex.EEA RafaelaFil: Pascoe, Emily L. University of California. School of Veterinary Medicine. Department of Medicine and Epidemiology; Estados UnidosFil: Pascoe, Emily L. Wageningen University & Research. Laboratory of Entomology; Países BajosFil: Nava, Santiago. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. Instituto de Investigación de la Cadena Láctea (IDICAL); ArgentinaFil: Nava, Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigación de la Cadena Láctea (IDICAL); ArgentinaFil: Labruna, Marcelo. Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia. Departamento de Medicina Veterinaria Preventiva e Saude Animal; BrasilFil: Paddock, Christopher D. United States Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Vector-Borne Diseases. Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Levin, Michael L. United States Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Vector-Borne Diseases. Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Marcantonio, Matteo. Université Catholique de Louvain. Earth & Life Institute. Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics Group; BélgicaFil: Foley, Janet E. University of California. School of Veterinary Medicine. Department of Medicine and Epidemiology; Estados Unido

The self-perceived knowledge, skills and attitudes of Australian practice nurses in providing nutrition care to patients with chronic disease

Background. Nutrition is important for the management of chronic diseases. While practice nurses have numerous roles in primary care, the expectations on practice nurses to provide nutrition care for chronic disease management are increasing. The self-perceived knowledge, skills and attitudes of practice nurses in providing nutrition care has not been widely investigated

Seismology of Standing Kink Oscillations of Solar Prominence Fine Structures

We investigate standing kink magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) oscillations in a prominence fine structure modeled as a straight and cylindrical magnetic tube only partially filled with the prominence material, and with its ends fixed at two rigid walls representing the solar photosphere. The prominence plasma is partially ionized and a transverse inhomogeneous transitional layer is included between the prominence thread and the coronal medium. Thus, ion-neutral collisions and resonant absorption are the considered damping mechanisms. Approximate analytical expressions of the period, the damping time, and their ratio are derived for the fundamental mode in the thin tube and thin boundary approximations. We find that the dominant damping mechanism is resonant absorption, which provides damping ratios in agreement with the observations, whereas ion-neutral collisions are irrelevant for the damping. The values of the damping ratio are independent of both the prominence thread length and its position within the magnetic tube, and coincide with the values for a tube fully filled with the prominence plasma. The implications of our results in the context of the MHD seismology technique are discussed, pointing out that the reported short-period (2 - 10 min) and short-wavelength (700 - 8,000 km) thread oscillations may not be consistent with a standing mode interpretation and could be related to propagating waves. Finally, we show that the inversion of some prominence physical parameters, e.g., Alfv\'en speed, magnetic field strength, transverse inhomogeneity length-scale, etc., is possible using observationally determined values of the period and damping time of the oscillations along with the analytical approximations of these quantities.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap