A High Resolution Survey of the Galactic Plane at 408 MHz

The interstellar medium is a complex 'ecosystem' with gas constituents in the atomic, molecular, and ionized states, dust, magnetic fields, and relativistic particles. The Canadian Galactic Plane Survey has imaged these constituents with angular resolution of the order of arcminutes. This paper presents radio continuum data at 408 MHz over the area 52 degrees < longitude < 193 degrees, -6.5 degrees < latitude < 8.5 degrees, with an extension to latitude = 21 degrees in the range 97 degrees < longitude < 120 degrees, with angular resolution 2.8' x 2.8' cosec(declination). Observations were made with the Synthesis Telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory as part of the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey. The calibration of the survey using existing radio source catalogs is described. The accuracy of 408-MHz flux densities from the data is 6%. Information on large structures has been incorporated into the data using the single-antenna survey of Haslam (1982). The paper presents the data, describes how it can be accessed electronically, and gives examples of applications of the data to ISM research.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

The impact of neighbourhood crime on mental health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Growing evidence indicates that the residential neighbourhood contributes to the complex aetiology of mental disorders. Although local crime and violence, key neighbourhood stressors, may be linked to mental health through direct and indirect pathways, studies are inconclusive. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthetize the evidence on the association between neighbourhood crime and individual-level mental health problems. Method: We searched 11 electronic databases, grey literature and reference lists to identify relevant studies published before September 14, 2020. Studies were included if they reported confounder-adjusted associations between objective or perceived area-level crime and anxiety, depression, psychosis or psychological distress/internalising symptoms in non-clinical samples. Effect measures were first converted into Fisher's z-s, pooled with three-level random-effects meta-analyses, and then transformed into Pearson's correlation coefficients. Univariate and multivariate mixed-effects models were used to explore between-study heterogeneity. Results: We identified 63 studies reporting associations between neighbourhood crime and residents’ mental health. Pooled associations were significant for depression (r = 0.04, 95% CI 0.03–0.06), psychological distress (r = 0.04, 95% CI 0.02–0.06), anxiety (r = 0.05, 95% CI 0.01–0.10), and psychosis (r = 0.04, 95% CI 0.01–0.07). Moderator analysis for depression and psychological distress identified stronger associations with perceived crime measurement and weaker in studies adjusted for area-level deprivation. Importantly, even after accounting for study characteristics, neighbourhood crime remained significantly linked to depression and psychological distress. Findings on anxiety and psychosis were limited due to low number of included studies. Conclusions: Neighbourhood crime is an important contextual predictor of mental health with implications for prevention and policy. Area-based crime interventions targeting the determinants of crime, prevention and service allocation to high crime neighbourhoods may have public mental health benefits. Future research should investigate the causal pathways between crime exposure and mental health, identify vulnerably groups and explore policy opportunities for buffering against the detrimental effect of neighbourhood stressors.Fil: Baranyi, Gergö. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Di Marco, Martín Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; ArgentinaFil: Russ, Tom C.. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Dibben, Chris. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Pearce, Jamie. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unid

Оценка управляемости и наблюдаемости линейных автоматических систем методом переменных состояния

Abstract Background Approximately half of 7-year-old children do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations. Interventions targeting primary school children’s afterschool discretionary time could increase PA. Teaching assistants (TAs) are a school resource and could be trained to deliver after-school PA programmes. Building on earlier work, this paper describes the protocol for a cluster randomised feasibility study of a teaching assistant-led after-school intervention aimed at increasing PA levels of year 4 and 5 children (8–10 years old). Methods Phase 1—pre-baseline: 12 schools will be recruited. In all schools, self-reported PA will be measured in all consenting year 3 and 4 children. In four schools, pupils will additionally wear a waist-worn Actigraph accelerometer for 7 days. Phase 2—baseline: schools will be randomised to one of two enhanced recruitment strategies being tested for children: (1) a club briefing and (2) the briefing plus a taster Action 3:30 session. Up to 30 children per school will be able to attend Action 3:30 sessions and will provide baseline data on height, weight, psychosocial variables and accelerometer-measured PA. Phase 3—intervention and follow-up: Schools randomised into intervention or control arm. Intervention schools (n = 6) will receive a 15-week after-school programme when children are in years 4 and 5, run by TAs who have attended a 25-h Action 3:30 training programme. Control schools (n = 6) will continue with normal practice. Follow-up measures will be a repeat of baseline measures at the end of the 15-week intervention. Phase 4—process evaluation: session attendance, perceived enjoyment and perceived exertion will be assessed during the intervention, as well as the economic impact on schools. Post-study qualitative assessments with TAs, school contacts and pupils will identify how the programme could be refined. Accelerometer-determined minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day will be calculated as this is likely to be the primary outcome in a future definitive trial. Discussion The Action 3:30 cluster randomised feasibility trial will assess the public health potential of this intervention approach and provide the information necessary to progress to a definitive cluster randomised controlled trial. Trial registration ISRCTN34001941 . Registered 01/12/2016

Intensive Rotational Grazing of Steers on Highly Erodible Land at the Adams County CRP Project

Grazing yearling steers is one way to utilize the forages required for participation in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) after CRP contracts expire. In 1995, a stocker-steer intensive-rotational grazing study was conducted at the CRP Research and Demonstration Project near Corning, Iowa. A similar study was carried out in 1994. Seventy-five yearling crossbred steers grazed a 65- acre pasture that had been divided into 27 paddocks using electric fencing from May 4, 1995 to September 14, 1995. During this period, the 65-acre pasture system produced 9,975 animal-days of grazing and 11,403 pounds of gain. On a per-acre basis, this translates to 153.5 animal-days of grazing and 175.4 pounds of gain. The stocking rate was constant for the entire 133- day grazing season at 1.15 steers per acre. On May 4, 1995, the beginning of the grazing season, the average weight of the steers was 495.7 pounds. By the end of the grazing trial on September 14, 1995, the average weight of the steers had increased to 647.7 pounds. The average gain per steer during the 133-day grazing period was 152 pounds, and the average daily gain per steer was 1.14 pounds. The average bodyweight of the steers during the entire grazing season was 571.7 pounds

Managed Activity Graded Exercise iN Teenagers and pre-Adolescents (MAGENTA) feasibility randomised controlled trial:study protocol

INTRODUCTION: Paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is a relatively common and disabling condition, yet there is a limited evidence base for treatment. There is good evidence that graded exercise therapy is moderately effective in adults with CFS/ME, but there is little evidence for the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, acceptability or best method of delivery for paediatric CFS/ME. This study aims to investigate the acceptability and feasibility of carrying out a multicentre randomised controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of graded exercise therapy compared with activity management for children/teenagers who are mildly or moderately affected with CFS/ME. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: 100 paediatric patients (8–17 years) with CFS/ME will be recruited from 3 specialist UK National Health Service (NHS) CFS/ME services (Bath, Cambridge and Newcastle). Patients will be randomised (1:1) to receive either graded exercise therapy or activity management. Feasibility analysis will include the number of young people eligible, approached and consented to the trial; attrition rate and treatment adherence; questionnaire and accelerometer completion rates. Integrated qualitative methods will ascertain perceptions of feasibility and acceptability of recruitment, randomisation and the interventions. All adverse events will be monitored to assess the safety of the trial. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The trial has received ethical approval from the National Research Ethics Service (South West—Frenchay 15/SW/0124). TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN23962803; Pre-results

Comparing Iowa 4-H Beef Carcass Programs with the 2016 National Beef Quality Audit Carcasses

While the Iowa 4-H & FFA carcass contest cattle are not completely representative of all Iowa cattle, they can indicate trends for the Iowa cattle industry and represent the calves locally available for projects. With nearly 60% of these cattle receiving an $8/cwt premium, cattle feeders have the potential to improve net revenues by marketing cattle into a grid market

Rotation Grazing Demonstrations With Beef Cows on HEL - Adams County Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Project

Two grazing systems were demonstrated on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land in southwestern Iowa near Corning in the summers of 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995. This report summarizes the 1995 data and compares them to results from the four previous years. The systems, a 13-paddock intensive-rotational grazing system and a 4-paddock more traditional rotation, both established in 1991, are aimed at showing economically sustainable grass alternatives for steeply sloping (9-14% slope), highly erodible land (HEL) once the 10-year CRP ends. In a 147-day grazing season in 1995, nursing crossbred calves with no creep gained 2.36 pounds and 2.38 pounds per day on the 13- and 4-paddock systems, respectively. The rotations were stocked at 1.65 acres per cow-calf pair on the 13-paddock system and 1.72 acres per pair on the 4-paddock system. This produced 210.2 pounds of calf gain per acre on the 13-paddock system and 203.2 pounds of calf gain per acre on the 4- paddock system.. Similar calves gained 2.37 pounds and 2.50 pounds per day for 155 days, yielding a total gain per acre of 222.7 pounds on the 13-paddock system and 224.9 pounds on the 4-paddock system in 1994. Results for 1992 remain the highest from both systems in the five years of grazing, with calf gain per head per day at 2.45 for 155 days netting 241.9 pounds per acre on the 13- paddock system and calf gain per head per day at 2.38 for 154 days on the 4-paddock system yielding 263.6 pounds per acre. Cows maintained both their weight and condition scores in both systems again in 1995. A third system, the 18-paddock intensive-rotational grazing system, was stocked with stocker steers in 1995, and the results are reported in a second article in the 1996 ISU Beef Research Report entitled “Intensive- Rotational Grazing Steers on Highly Erodible Land at the Adams County CRP Project.” Concerning grazing management, paddocks were grazed four, five, or six times in the 13-paddock intensive- rotational grazing system during the 147-day grazing season of 1995. This number of times grazed per paddock was nearly equal to times grazed per paddock in 1994. However, several paddocks were subdivided temporarily to equalize paddock size and increase grazing uniformity. This increased the total number of cattle moves in the 13-paddock system from 78 in 1994 to 109 in 1995. The average length of stay on each paddock or subdivision of a paddock per grazing time was 1 to 2.2 days. This was less than in any of the other four grazing years in this project. The principle of not grazing more than half the standing forage during any one grazing period was closely followed in 1995. All paddocks in the 13-paddock system were also rested approximately the recommended 30 days between each grazing cycle in 1995