Promise of Confidentiality in Mediation: Practitioners\u27 Perceptions, The

In response to these articles, we sought to determine the perceptions of mediation practitioners in our own region, the Seattle/King County area, regarding mediation confidentiality and privilege. This paper presents our finding and addresses the following: (1) the scope of confidentiality and privilege under Washington law; (2) recent Washington case law addressing evidence of mediation communications; (3) a review of Florida\u27s recent legislation - significantly different from Washington law, and unique among state mediation statutes - which provides for sanctions in the event confidentiality is breached; and (4) the perceptions of mediators, attorneys, and judges from the greater Seattle area regarding the frequency with which mediation communications are admitted into evidence, or otherwise disclosed; and the opinions of the same group regarding the need for legislation, similar to that found in Florida, that would sanction misuse of mediation communications

Charged Particle Dynamics in the Magnetic Field of a Long Straight Current-Carrying Wire

The article discusses the concept behind motion of a charged particle in a non-uniform filed of a wire carrying current. Topics discussed include possible types of motion in a current carrying field, vector analysis of velocity and magnetic field of the particle and Coupled differential equations

The adolescent transition under energetic stress: Body composition tradeoffs among adolescent women in The Gambia

Background and objectives: Life history theory predicts a shift in energy allocation from growth to reproductive function as a consequence of puberty. During adolescence, linear growth tapers off and, in females, ovarian steroid production increases. In this model, acquisition of lean mass is associated with growth while investment in adiposity is associated with reproduction. This study examines the chronological and developmental predictors of energy allocation patterns among adolescent women under conditions of energy constraint. Methodology: Fifty post-menarcheal adolescent women between 14 and 20 years old were sampled for weight and body composition at the beginning and end of 1 month in an energy-adequate season and 1 month in the subsequent energy-constrained season in a rural province of The Gambia. Results: Chronologically and developmentally younger adolescent girls gain weight in the form of lean mass in both energy-adequate and energy-constrained seasons, whereas older adolescents lose lean mass under conditions of energetic stress (generalized estimating equation (GEE) Wald chi-square comparing youngest tertile with older two tertiles 9.750, P = 0.002; GEE Wald chi-square comparing fast- with slow-growing individuals for growth rate 19.806, P < 0.001). When energy is limited, younger adolescents lose and older adolescents maintain fat (GEE Wald chi-square for interaction of age and season 6.568, P = 0.010; GEE Wald chi-square comparing fast- with slow-growing individuals for interaction of growth rate and season 7.807, P = 0.005). Conclusions and implications: When energy is constrained, the physiology of younger adolescents invests in growth while that of older adolescent females privileges reproductively valuable adipose tissue

An analysis of the acoustic cavitation noise spectrum: The role of periodic shock waves

Research on applications of acoustic cavitation is often reported in terms of the features within the spectrum of the emissions gathered during cavitation occurrence. There is, however, limited understanding as to the contribution of specific bubble activity to spectral features, beyond a binary interpretation of stable versus inertial cavitation. In this work, laser-nucleation is used to initiate cavitation within a few millimeters of the tip of a needle hydrophone, calibrated for magnitude and phase from 125 kHz to 20 MHz. The bubble activity, acoustically driven at f0 = 692 kHz, is resolved with high-speed shadowgraphic imaging at 5 × 106 frames per second. A synthetic spectrum is constructed from component signals based on the hydrophone data, deconvolved within the calibration bandwidth, in the time domain. Cross correlation coefficients between the experimental and synthetic spectra of 0.97 for the f 0/2 and f 0/3 regimes indicate that periodic shock waves and scattered driving field predominantly account for all spectral features, including the sub-harmonics and their over-harmonics, and harmonics of f 0

A COMPARISON OF BALL-AND-RACQUET IMPACT FORCE BETWEEN TWO TENNIS BACKHAND STROKE TECHNIQUES

The purpose of this study is to compare the peak contact force between one-handed backhand stroke with a long backward swing in preparation and one-handed backhand stroke with a short backward swing in preparation. Five advanced and five beginning tennis players participated in this study. Three-dimensional coordinates of critical body and racquet landmarks were obtained. A mathematical model was developed to estimate the contact duration and peak contact force in a stroke. The estimated peak contact forces were reproducible and comparable to those reported in the literature from direct measurements. A one-handed backhand stroke with a short backward swing in preparation had significant shorter contact duration and greater peak contact force than that with a long backward swing in preparation

Responses of leaf traits to climatic gradients: adaptive variation versus compositional shifts

Dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) typically rely on plant functional types (PFTs), which are assigned distinct environmental tolerances and replace one another progressively along environmental gradients. Fixed values of traits are assigned to each PFT; modelled trait variation along gradients is thus driven by PFT replacement. But empirical studies have revealed "universal" scaling relationships (quantitative trait variations with climate that are similar within and between species, PFTs and communities); and continuous, adaptive trait variation has been proposed to replace PFTs as the basis for next-generation DGVMs. Here we analyse quantitative leaf-trait variation on long temperature and moisture gradients in China with a view to understanding the relative importance of PFT replacement vs. continuous adaptive variation within PFTs. Leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and nitrogen content of dry matter were measured on all species at 80 sites ranging from temperate to tropical climates and from dense forests to deserts. Chlorophyll fluorescence traits and carbon, phosphorus and potassium contents were measured at 47 sites. Generalized linear models were used to relate log-transformed trait values to growing-season temperature and moisture indices, with or without PFT identity as a predictor, and to test for differences in trait responses among PFTs. Continuous trait variation was found to be ubiquitous. Responses to moisture availability were generally similar within and between PFTs, but biophysical traits (LA, SLA and LDMC) of forbs and grasses responded differently from woody plants. SLA and LDMC responses to temperature were dominated by the prevalence of evergreen PFTs with thick, dense leaves at the warm end of the gradient. Nutrient (N, P and K) responses to climate gradients were generally similar within all PFTs. Area-based nutrients generally declined with moisture; Narea and Karea declined with temperature, but Parea increased with temperature. Although the adaptive nature of many of these trait-climate relationships is understood qualitatively, a key challenge for modelling is to predict them quantitatively. Models must take into account that community-level responses to climatic gradients can be influenced by shifts in PFT composition, such as the replacement of deciduous by evergreen trees, which may run either parallel or counter to trait variation within PFTs. The importance of PFT shifts varies among traits, being important for biophysical traits but less so for physiological and chemical traits. Finally, models should take account of the diversity of trait values that is found in all sites and PFTs, representing the "pool" of variation that is locally available for the natural adaptation of ecosystem function to environmental change

Improving pressure ulcer management in Australian nursing homes: results of the PRIME Trial organisational study

Pressure ulcers are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the aged care population with prevalence rates reported to be as high as 43% in some aged care facilities. The PRIME Trial was designed to investigate the effectiveness of an integrated pressure ulcer management system in reducing pressure ulcer prevalence and incidence in nursing homes. A total of 1956 residents from 23 nursing homes in NSW, Vic, SA and WA were enrolled in this Commonwealth funded study.This paper presents the results from phase 1 of the trial and indicates that the prevalence of pressure ulcers in the cohort of 1956 residents was 25.9%. Significant associations between the development of a pressure ulcer and comorbidity level (Charlson Index) (p=0.01), risk assessment level (Braden Scale) (p=0.00) and the lack of appropriate equipment (p=0.00) were detected. Residents who developed a pressure ulcer whilst in an acute hospital showed a trend to develop more than one ulcer and ulcers that were of higher severity than those developed in a nursing home.The results from phase 1 of the PRIME Trial suggest that emphasis needs to be given to appropriate risk assessment of the elderly nursing home resident that should include comorbitity status and the provision of suitable pressure relieving equipment