Measuring Fundamental Galactic Parameters with Stellar Tidal Streams and SIM PlanetQuest

Extended halo tidal streams from disrupting Milky Way satellites offer new opportunities for gauging fundamental Galactic parameters without challenging observations of the Galactic center. In the roughly spherical Galactic potential tidal debris from a satellite system is largely confined to a single plane containing the Galactic center, so accurate distances to stars in the tidal stream can be used to gauge the Galactic center distance, R_0, given reasonable projection of the stream orbital pole on the X_GC axis. Alternatively, a tidal stream with orbital pole near the Y_GC axis, like the Sagittarius stream, can be used to derive the speed of the Local Standard of Rest (\Theta_LSR). Modest improvements in current astrometric catalogues might allow this measurement to be made, but NASA's Space Interferometry Mission (SIM PlanetQuest) can definitively obtain both R_0 and \Theta_LSR using tidal streams.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters (minor text revisions). Version with high resolution figures available at http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~drlaw/Papers/GalaxyParameters.pd

Employment experiences of parents of children with ASD or ADHD: An exploratory study

Parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often hindered by their carer status as they seek to obtain and maintain employment opportunities. These parents can incur financial, social and psychological distress related to their inabilities to commit to the demands of a typical work environment. This paper seeks to identify the course of employment for parents following a child’s diagnosis. This paper also seeks to delineate factors that influence continued employment despite carer status, as well as the factors that prevent continued employment. A sample of 10 parents of children with a primary diagnosis of ASD and a sample of 10 parents of children with a primary diagnosis of ADHD were interviewed concerning their employment experiences before and after the diagnoses of their children. The interviews were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis and produced several discrete themes. Participants identified a desire for normality, as well as financial motivation, as the primary factors determining continued employment. These parents also reported various barriers to employment such as lack of availability of adequate childcare, colleague and manager misunderstanding, inflexible organisational policies, and inaccessibility of opportunity. These findings offer a qualitative overview of the vocational struggles of parents of children with ADHD and ASD while implying the necessity of support and education for this often-overlooked group of carers, as well as those who employ them

Brangus cows have ovarian reserve parameters more like Brahman than Angus cows

Bos indicus females have more surface antral follicles than Bos taurus females; however, histological studies demonstrated no difference in total number of primordial follicles between these two biological types of cattle. Primordial follicle density in the ovary was less in Nelore ovaries compared to Angus ovaries, but no studies have examined the primordial follicle density in Bos indicus cross-bred females. It, therefore, was hypothesized that primordial follicle density in the ovary would decrease as percentage Bos indicus increased. Ovaries were collected from cross-bred Angus (n=32, no Bos indicus influence), Brangus (n=15), or Brahman (n=9) cows and prepared for histological evaluation. There was no difference in total number of primordial follicles per ovary between breeds (P \u3e 0.10). When numbers of primordial follicles were expressed on a per gram of ovarian tissue basis, there were fewer primordial follicles per gram of ovarian tissue in Brangus and Brahman cows than in Angus cows (P \u3c 0.05). Brangus cows did not differ from Brahman cows in primordial follicle density (P \u3e 0.10). Differences in primordial follicle density could indicate differences in capacity of ovarian stroma to produce factors necessary for oogonial proliferation and primordial follicle formation among breeds. Identifying these factors could improve the aprroach for culturing pre-antral follicles of cattle. Furthermore, these results explain why ultrasonographic antral follicle counts may need to be adjusted to a greater threshold to predict size of the ovarian reserve and determine ovarian reserve related reproductive traits in Bos indicus females

Prescribing indicators at primary health care centers within the WHO African region: a systematic analysis (1995-2015)

Abstract Background Rational medicine use is essential to optimize quality of healthcare delivery and resource utilization. We aim to conduct a systematic review of changes in prescribing patterns in the WHO African region and comparison with WHO indicators in two time periods 1995–2005 and 2006–2015. Methods Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of science, Africa-Wide Nipad, Africa Journals Online (AJOL), Google scholar and International Network for Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) Bibliography databases to identify primary studies reporting prescribing indicators at primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in Africa. This was supplemented by a manual search of retrieved references. We assessed the quality of studies using a 14-point scoring system modified from the Downs and Black checklist with inclusions of recommendations in the WHO guidelines. Results Forty-three studies conducted in 11 African countries were included in the overall analysis. These studies presented prescribing indicators based on a total 141,323 patient encounters across 572 primary care facilities. The results of prescribing indicators were determined as follows; average number of medicines prescribed per patient encounter = 3.1 (IQR 2.3–4.8), percentage of medicines prescribed by generic name =68.0 % (IQR 55.4–80.3), Percentage of encounters with antibiotic prescribed =46.8 % (IQR 33.7–62.8), percentage of encounters with injection prescribed =25.0 % (IQR 18.7–39.5) and the percentage of medicines prescribed from essential medicines list =88.0 % (IQR 76.3–94.1). Prescribing indicators were generally worse in private compared with public facilities. Analysis of prescribing across two time points 1995–2005 and 2006–2015 showed no consistent trends. Conclusions Prescribing indicators for the African region deviate significantly from the WHO reference targets. Increased collaborative efforts are urgently needed to improve medicine prescribing practices in Africa with the aim of enhancing the optimal utilization of scarce resources and averting negative health consequences

The human body at cellular resolution: the NIH Human Biomolecular Atlas Program

Abstract: Transformative technologies are enabling the construction of three-dimensional maps of tissues with unprecedented spatial and molecular resolution. Over the next seven years, the NIH Common Fund Human Biomolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP) intends to develop a widely accessible framework for comprehensively mapping the human body at single-cell resolution by supporting technology development, data acquisition, and detailed spatial mapping. HuBMAP will integrate its efforts with other funding agencies, programs, consortia, and the biomedical research community at large towards the shared vision of a comprehensive, accessible three-dimensional molecular and cellular atlas of the human body, in health and under various disease conditions

2017 Research & Innovation Day Program

A one day showcase of applied research, social innovation, scholarship projects and activities.https://first.fanshawec.ca/cri_cripublications/1004/thumbnail.jp

Causes of Noncompliance with International Law: A Field Experiment on Anonymous Incorporation

20110302 into the Experiments on Governance and Politics Registry once that registry was begun at e-gap.org. Of those interventions registered, we report on the FATF, Premium, Corruption, and Terrorism conditions in this article. All other interventions outlined in the registered document are reported in other work. In our registration, we indicated that we would report results dichotomously as compliant or noncompliant, given a response. We still report response and nonresponse followed by a compliance level, but we expanded the set of possible types of compliance (nonresponse, noncompliance, partial compliance, compliance, and refusal). Presenting the information this way is more precise and is also consistent with the registry document because the fuller set of outcomes contains all information the dichotomized measures capture (se

Best Practices for Elderly Hip Fracture Patients: A Systematic Overview of the Evidence

OBJECTIVES: To determine evidence-based best practices for elderly hip fracture patients from the time of hospital admission to 6 months postfracture. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, PEDro, Ageline, NARIC, and CIRRIE databases were searched for potentially eligible articles published between 1985 and 2004. REVIEW METHODS: Two independent reviewers determined studies appropriate for inclusion using standardized selection criteria, extracted data, evaluated internal validity, and then rated studies according to levels of evidence. Only Level 1 or 2 evidence was included in our summary of clinical recommendations. RESULTS: Spinal anesthesia, pressure-relieving mattresses, perioperative antibiotics, and deep vein thromboses prophylaxes had consistent evidence of benefit. Routine preoperative traction was not associated with any benefits and should be abandoned. Types of surgical management, postoperative wound drainage, and even “multidisciplinary” care, lacked sufficient evidence to determine either benefit or harm. There was little evidence to either determine best subacute rehabilitation practices or to direct ongoing medical issues (e.g., nutrition). Studies conducted during the subacute recovery period were heterogeneous in terms of treatment settings, interventions, and outcomes studied and had no clear evidence for best treatment practices. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence for perioperative practices is relatively robust and evidence-based perioperative treatment guidelines can be easily established. Conversely, more evidence is required to better guide the care of elderly patients with hip fracture during the subacute recovery period and convalescence