Synopsis of biological data on the pink shrimp, Pandalus borealis Kroyer, 1838

This synopsis of the literature was designed to summarize the biological and biochemical studies involving Pandalus borealis as well as to provide a summary of the literature regarding the fisheries data published before early 1984. Included are many unpublished observations, drawn from studies at the State of Maine Department of Marine Resources Laboratory in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine. (PDF file contains 63 pages.

Building Your Youth Development Toolkit: A Community Youth Devrlopment Orientation for Pennsylvania 4-H/Youth Programs

Pennsylvania Extension youth and family educators participated in an experiential inservice program that provided research findings, resources, activities, and teaching strategies to enhance positive community youth development programming in their counties. Participant evaluations showed significant gain in knowledge and understanding of community youth development concepts and the desire to apply these concepts in youth programs. Data from the evaluation provide strong evidence of the importance of developing a common framework and language for youth and family educators related to youth development. An inservice model that includes booster information to reinforce concepts after the inservice has application to other program areas

Youth and Adult Perceptions of Their Relationships Within Community-Based Youth Programs

This study examined perceptions and experiences of youth and adults engaged in various types of community-based youth-adult relationships. Involvement and interaction rating scales were completed by 108 participants involved in community groups from 12 communities in 10 states. The rating scale measured three constructs: youth involvement, adult involvement, and youth- adult interaction. Significant gender differences in participants’ perceptions were found on all three constructs, with females being more positive. Rural participants were found to be significantly more positive than urban participants on the construct of youth involvement. Finally, significant differences were found between all participants within categories of the youth-adult relationship continuum. Participants in youth-led collaborations were significantly more positive toward youth involvement than participants in adult-led collaborations. Moreover, adults in youth-adult partnerships were significantly more positive toward youth involvement and youth-adult interaction than those adults in adult-led collaborations

CAYDO: Connecting the Gaps of Community Youth Assessments

Community-based assessments can be strategies that aim to work in partnership with individuals and organizations to empower communities. Often identified as a comparable alternative to needs assessments, Community YouthMapping has been developed to include youth in the community youth development process. However, the authors note significant gaps in Community YouthMapping and offer a new assessment technique that includes an adapted youth mapping process, Comprehensive Assessment of Youth Development Opportunities (CAYDO). This article takes an investigative look at the relevance of including this procedure as a needs assessment tool in the program planning and community development process

In vitro and in vivo effects of salbutamol on neutrophil function in acute lung injury

Background: Intravenous salbutamol (albuterol) reduces lung water in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Experimental data show that it also reduces pulmonary neutrophil accumulation or activation and inflammation in ARDS. Aim: To investigate the effects of salbutamol on neutrophil function. Methods: The in vitro effects of salbutamol on neutrophil function were determined. Blood and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were collected from 35 patients with acute lung injury (ALI)/ARDS, 14 patients at risk from ARDS and 7 ventilated controls at baseline and after 4 days’ treatment with placebo or salbutamol (ALI/ARDS group). Alveolar–capillary permeability was measured in vivo by thermodilution (PiCCO). Neutrophil activation, adhesion molecule expression and inflammatory cytokines were measured. Results: In vitro, physiological concentrations of salbutamol had no effect on neutrophil chemotaxis, viability or apoptosis. Patients with ALI/ARDS showed increased neutrophil activation and adhesion molecule expression compared with at risk-patients and ventilated controls. There were associations between alveolar– capillary permeability and BAL myeloperoxidase (r = 0.4, p = 0.038) and BAL interleukin 8 (r = 0.38, p = 0.033). In patients with ALI/ARDS, salbutamol increased numbers of circulating neutrophils but had no effect on alveolar neutrophils. Conclusion: At the onset of ALI/ARDS, there is increased neutrophil recruitment and activation. Physiological concentrations of salbutamol did not alter neutrophil chemotaxis, viability or apoptosis in vitro. In vivo, salbutamol increased circulating neutrophils, but had no effect on alveolar neutrophils or on neutrophil activation. These data suggest that the beneficial effects of salbutamol in reducing lung water are unrelated to modulation of neutrophil-dependent inflammatory pathways

Determining the Quality of Youth-Adult Relationships Within Community-Based Youth Programs

There is a lack of research on assessing how society views youth voice and participation in youth programs. Youth taking on leadership roles and interacting with adults have shown success in establishing positive youth-adult relationships. This article introduces the Involvement and Interaction Rating Scale, a new measure that assesses the perceptions and experiences of youth and adult participants working together in various community-based efforts. The scale serves as a means to empower participants by enabling them to evaluate their own experiences to determine the quality of these experiences and acknowledge areas that need strengthening

Regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor bioactivity in patients with acute lung injury

Background: Reduced bioactive vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been demonstrated in several inflammatory lung conditions including the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). sVEGFR-1, a soluble form of VEGF-1 receptor, is a potent natural inhibitor of VEGF. We hypothesised that sVEGFR-1 plays an important role in the regulation of the bioactivity of VEGF within the lung in patients with ARDS. Methods: Forty one patients with ARDS, 12 at risk of developing ARDS, and 16 normal controls were studied. Bioactive VEGF, total VEGF, and sVEGFR-1 were measured by ELISA in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for sVEGFR-1 was performed on BAL cells. Results: sVEGFR-1 was detectable in the BAL fluid of 48% (20/41) of patients with early ARDS (1.4– 54.8 ng/ml epithelial lining fluid (ELF)) compared with 8% (1/12) at risk patients (p = 0.017) and none of the normal controls (p = 0.002). By day 4 sVEGFR-1 was detectable in only 2/18 ARDS patients (p = 0.008). Patients with detectable sVEGFR-1 had lower ELF median (IQR) levels of bioactive VEGF than those without detectable sVEGFR-1 (1415.2 (474.9–3192) pg/ml v 4761 (1349–7596.6) pg/ml, median difference 3346 pg/ml (95% CI 305.1 to 14711.9), p = 0.016), but there was no difference in total VEGF levels. BAL cells expressed mRNA for sVEGFR-1 and produced sVEGFR-1 protein which increased following incubation with tumour necrosis factor a. Conclusion: This study shows for the first time the presence of sVEGFR-1 in the BAL fluid of patients with ARDS. This may explain the presence of reduced bioactive VEGF in patients early in the course of ARDS

4-H Youth Development: The Past, the Present, and the Future

The 4-H Program within Cooperative Extension is more than 100 years old. As we celebrate 100 years of Cooperative Extension, the foundation built by the 4-H Program serves as grounds to meet the needs of today\u27s youth. The diversity of the youth who participate continues to grow, families continue to become less traditional, potential volunteers\u27 time continues to shrink, and the growing number of digital devices steal time. These changes demand 4-H adapt and innovate to remain relevant. This commentary examines the role that 4-H Youth Development will play in the next 100 years to face these challenges

Evidence-Based Programming Within Cooperative Extension: How Can We Maintain Program Fidelity While Adapting to Meet Local Needs?

In this article, we describe how the recent movement towards evidence-based programming has impacted Extension. We review how the emphasis on implementing such programs with strict fidelity to an underlying program model may be at odds with Extension\u27s strong history of adapting programming to meet the unique needs of children, youth, families, and communities. We describe several techniques that Extension professionals can use to balance program fidelity and adaptability. We suggest that Extension stakeholders may be best served when we tailor certain aspects of interventions without changing the intervention\u27s core components that are responsible for positive outcomes

The Effects of Age, Gender, and 4-H Involvement on Life Skill Development

The study reported here examined the effects of age, gender, and 4-H involvement in clubs on life skill development of youth ages eight to 18 over a 12-month period. Regression analyses found age, gender, and 4-H involvement significantly influenced life skill development. Results found that females have higher levels of competencies in life skills at the start of the program and were more likely to change in these areas during the year than their male counterparts. This suggests changes in program designs may be needed to better engage, retain, and affect males in life skill development