Best value and workplace partnership in local government

Purpose – This paper explores employee experiences concerning job security/insecurity, workload, job satisfaction and employee involvement in the aftermath of Best Value reviews in a local authority. Design/methodology/approach – Using a mix of quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques employees’ experiences of Best Value reviews in a local authority are compared and contrasted with council staff employed elsewhere in the authority to establish the extent to which workplace partnership principles have taken hold under a Best Value regime. Findings – Little evidence of positive outcomes was found from partnership at work under a Best Value regime. The constraints imposed by central government, under which managers in the public sector operate, contributed significantly to partnership at work remaining little more than a hollow shell. Originality/value – This paper provides a recent in-depth case study of the experience of workplace partnership, which was developed not discrete from but as part of the Best Value modernisation programme in a local authority

A formal evaluation of data flow path selection criteria

A number of path selection criteria have been proposed throughout the years. Unfortunately, little work has been done on comparing these criteria. To determine what would be an effective path selection criterion for revealing errors in programs, we have undertaken an evaluation of these criteria. This paper reports on the results of our evaluation of path selection criteria based on data flow relationships. We show how these criteria relate to each other, thereby demonstrating some of their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, we suggest minor changes to some criteria that improve their performance. We conclude with a discussion of the major limitations of these criteria and directions for future research

Quantification of active mitochondrial permeability transition pores using GNX-4975 inhibitor titrations provides insights into molecular identity

Inhibition of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) by the novel inhibitor GNX-4975 was characterized. Titration of MPTP activity in de-energized rat liver mitochondria allowed determination of the number of GNX-4975-binding sites and their dissociation constant (Ki). Binding sites increased in number when MPTP opening was activated by increasing [Ca2+], phenylarsine oxide (PAO) or KSCN, and decreased when MPTP opening was inhibited with bongkrekic acid (BKA) or ADP. Values ranged between 9 and 50 pmol/mg of mitochondrial protein, but the Ki remained unchanged at ∼1.8 nM when the inhibitor was added before Ca2+. However, when GNX-4975 was added after Ca2+ it was much less potent with a Ki of ∼140 nM. These data imply that a protein conformational change is required to form the MPTP complex and generate the GNX-4975-binding site. Occupation of the latter with GNX-4975 prevents the Ca2+ binding that triggers pore opening. We also demonstrated that GNX-4975 stabilizes an interaction between the adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT), held in its ‘c’ conformation with carboxyatractyloside (CAT), and the phosphate carrier (PiC) bound to immobilized PAO. No components of the F1Fo-ATP synthase bound significantly to immobilized PAO. Our data are consistent with our previous proposal that the MPTP may form at an interface between the PiC and ANT (or other similar mitochondrial carrier proteins) when they adopt novel conformations induced by factors that sensitize the MPTP to [Ca2+]. We propose that GNX-4975 binds to this interface preventing a calcium-triggered event that opens the interface into a pore

Wireless Solar-Powered Thermal Imaging Camera

Creation of a mounted wireless self-powered thermal imaging camera system

Peak Performance for Student-Athletes

The academic advisors, working with a sport psychologist, selected freshman football players as the target group for their first attempt at reinforcing the use of psycho-educational techniques across the athletic and academic dimensions. Subsequently, the football coaching staff was asked to identify three major psychological constructs they believed would lead to optimal performance in football for the forthcoming season. Based on the coaches' rankings of the perceived importance of specific constructs for athletic success, the prioritized list included goal-setting, stress management, and visualization (imagery), respectively. These constructs were then used as the focal points for a 15-week class designed to demonstrate similarities between concepts used during football practices and games and academic situation. Samples of comparable patterns were game/test, practice/homework, pregame jitters/pretest anxiety, work as a team/study in groups, and review plays in your mind/mentally rehearse important point to remember. It was hoped that academic appeal and enthusiasm could be generated for student-athletes by relying on their high motivation toward athletics. Fifteen freshman football players participated in the project. The group met four days a week for 30 minutes per day prior to a designated study-hall period. Athletic and academic pre-posttest measures were obtained using goal-setting contracts, competitive stress inventories (Sports Competition Anxiety Test-SCAT; Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 with cognitive, somatic, and confidence subscales-CSAI-2), confidence questionnaires (Trait-State Confidence Inventory-TSCI), and self-reports of vividness and controllability during visualization (Vealey, 1986). The same sports tests were used to evaluate academic traits by substituting academic words and phrases for the sport-related terminology. Additionally, grade point averages for fall and spring semesters were obtained. After conducting this year-long exploratory program, two conclusions were reached. First a reduction of anxiety in sport and academic settings occurred for freshman football athletes at the end of two semesters, and secondly, student-athletes preferred personal-social topics over performance-enhancement topics

Industrial Brush Coiler Attachment

Problem Statement: Company initially desired a new machine that would be able to produce external coiled brushes that would help in increasing revenue and project opportunities. The design has shifted to making an attachment to the existing equipment that would help in this effort instead of developing a completely new unit. Rationale: Sealeze sees this as an opportunity of increasing revenue and also taking on the effort of making externally coiled brushes more efficiently. If successful, more clients can be taken in and it would make Sealeze a more versatile company. Approach: The main approach revolved around weekly meetings with Sealeze. E-mail was utilized daily in order to make sure that the desire of the company were met. There were at least three different iterations to the design until one was settled upon. Main design tool used was SolidWorks and the design model was shown to the company frequently. Interim Results and Conclusions: The main problems that were of concern revolved around the amount of force needed to bend the brush and in a circular fashion. Calculations were done to insure that the brush would be bent with the right amount of force when also taking into consideration the motor driven components that were guiding the brush. Anticipated Results and Conclusions: According to the calculations, it is expected that the brush will not buckle while the machine is running and will be able to formed into the desired spiral.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1059/thumbnail.jp

Regulatory Requirements for Staphylococcus aureus Nitric Oxide Resistance

ABSTRACT The ability of Staphylococcus aureus to resist host innate immunity augments the severity and pervasiveness of its pathogenesis. Nitric oxide (NO˙) is an innate immune radical that is critical for the efficient clearance of a wide range of microbial pathogens. Exposure of microbes to NO˙ typically results in growth inhibition and induction of stress regulons. S. aureus , however, induces a metabolic state in response to NO˙ that allows for continued replication and precludes stress regulon induction. The regulatory factors mediating this distinctive response remain largely undefined. Here, we employ a targeted transposon screen and transcriptomics to identify and characterize five regulons essential for NO˙ resistance in S. aureus : three virulence regulons not formerly associated with NO˙ resistance, SarA, CodY, and Rot, as well as two regulons with established roles, Fur and SrrAB. We provide new insights into the contributions of Fur and SrrAB during NO˙ stress and show that the S. aureus Δ sarA mutant, the most sensitive of the newly identified mutants, exhibits metabolic dysfunction and widespread transcriptional dysregulation following NO˙ exposure. Altogether, our results broadly characterize the regulatory requirements for NO˙ resistance in S. aureus and suggest an intriguing overlap between the regulation of NO˙ resistance and virulence in this well-adapted human pathogen. IMPORTANCE The prolific human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is uniquely capable of resisting the antimicrobial radical nitric oxide (NO˙), a crucial component of the innate immune response. However, a complete understanding of how S. aureus regulates an effective response to NO˙ is lacking. Here, we implicate three central virulence regulators, SarA, CodY, and Rot, as major players in the S. aureus NO˙ response. Additionally, we elaborate on the contribution of two regulators, SrrAB and Fur, already known to play a crucial role in S. aureus NO˙ resistance. Our study sheds light on a unique facet of S. aureus pathogenicity and demonstrates that the transcriptional response of S. aureus to NO˙ is highly pleiotropic and intrinsically tied to metabolism and virulence regulation

Performance of externally validated enhanced computer-aided versions of the National Early Warning Score in predicting mortality following an emergency admission to hospital in England: a cross-sectional study

Objectives: In the English National Health Service, the patient’s vital signs are monitored and summarised into a National Early Warning Score (NEWS) to support clinical decision making, but it does not provide an estimate of the patient’s risk of death. We examine the extent to which the accuracy of NEWS for predicting mortality could be improved by enhanced computer versions of NEWS (cNEWS). Design: Logistic regression model development and external validation study. Setting: Two acute hospitals (YH—York Hospital for model development; NH—Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospital for external model validation). Participants: Adult (≥16 years) medical admissions discharged over a 24-month period with electronic NEWS (eNEWS) recorded on admission are used to predict mortality at four time points (in-hospital, 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours) using the first electronically recorded NEWS (model M0) versus a cNEWS model which included age+sex (model M1) +subcomponents of NEWS (including diastolic blood pressure) (model M2). Results: The risk of dying in-hospital following emergency medical admission was 5.8% (YH: 2080/35 807) and 5.4% (NH: 1900/35 161). The c-statistics for model M2 in YH for predicting mortality (in-hospital=0.82, 24 hours=0.91, 48 hours=0.88 and 72 hours=0.88) was higher than model M0 (in-hospital=0.74, 24 hours=0.89, 48 hours=0.86 and 72 hours=0.85) with higher Positive Predictive Value (PPVs) for in-hospital mortality (M2 19.3% and M0 16.6%). Similar findings were seen in NH. Model M2 performed better than M0 in almost all major disease subgroups.Conclusions: An externally validated enhanced computer-aided NEWS model (cNEWS) incrementally improves on the performance of a NEWS only model. Since cNEWS places no additional data collection burden on clinicians and is readily automated, it may now be carefully introduced and evaluated to determine if it can improve care in hospitals that have eNEWS systems

Influence of Northern Bobwhite Nest Site Selection on Nest Survival in an Agricultural Landscape

Working farms provide excellent potential for conserving northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) habitat in agricultural landscapes. Managing for areas of early successional vegetation can increase bobwhite abundance with little reduction in crop production on working farms, but the mechanisms behind the increase is not well known. Our objective was to determine nest site characteristics that may predict nest initiation and survival on agricultural lands to inform future management activities. We radio-collared 241 wild bobwhite on 1 farm with and 2 farms without bobwhite habitat management in southeastern North Carolina. Study sites consisted of a 1,740-ha farm with 9% of property actively managed for early successional cover using areas planted in native vegetation and fallow field borders, a 170-ha farm with 2% of property in early-successional field borders monitored in 2014, and a 395-ha farm with no previous early successional management efforts monitored in 2015. We monitored nests (n = 71) from 15 May to 30 September, 2014 and 2015. We compared vegetation cover between nests and paired reference sites within 250 m of each nest using a generalized linear mixed-effect model. We used measurements of vegetation cover types at nest sites as predictors of nest survival using the Program MARK nest survival model. Bobwhite on the farm with habitat management exhibited higher nest initiation (1 nest/2 marked individuals) than those on unmanaged farms (1 nest/4 marked individuals). On the managed farm, 76% of nests were located in fallow early successional vegetation. Percent forb cover (P = \u3c 0.001) was greater at nest sites on managed (μ = 53.61, SE = 4.32) than unmanaged (μ = 17.01, SE = 2.49) farms. Bobwhite selected nest sites with greater forb cover (β = 1.08, SE = 0.21) than reference sites. Daily nest survival was 0.962 (SE = 0.007) with no covariates that described variation in nest survival rates. Results indicate increasing fallow forb cover on agricultural lands can benefit nest initiation rates by increasing the cover bobwhite select for nesting