Stories as personal coaching philosophy

The importance of coaches developing and articulating a personal coaching philosophy which encapsulates their values and beliefs is widely recognised. Yet it is also acknowledged that many coaches resist what appears an abstract task or find it to be of limited use in their day-to-day practice. In this paper we explore the potential of an alternative approach to developing and articulating a personal coaching philosophy: storytelling. Following a discussion of the potential of stories, we present a story written by one coach which expresses her personal philosophy in a way that is firmly rooted in her coaching practice. Storytelling approaches, we suggest, can reveal the connections between abstract/general philosophy and the personal embodied experience of coaching. We reflect on the possibilities and problems of using stories as philosophy and offer some suggestions for how coaches may be supported in developing their coaching philosophy through storytelling

Factors affecting sperm recovery rates and survival after centrifugation of equine semen

Conventional centrifugation protocols result in important sperm losses during removal of the supernatant. In this study, the effect of centrifugation force (400 or 900 × g), duration (5 or 10 min), and column height (20 or 40 mL; Experiment 1); sperm concentration (25, 50, and 100 × 10[superscript 6]/mL; Experiment 2), and centrifugation medium (EZ-Mixin CST [Animal Reproduction Systems, Chino, CA, USA], INRA96 [IMV Technologies, Maple Grove, MN, USA], or VMDZ [Partnar Animal Health, Port Huron, MI, USA]; Experiment 3) on sperm recovery and survival after centrifugation and cooling and storage were evaluated. Overall, sperm survival was not affected by the combination of centrifugation protocol and cooling. Total sperm yield was highest after centrifugation for 10 min at 400 × g in 20-mL columns (95.6 ± 5%, mean ± SD) or 900 × g in 20-mL (99.2 ± 0.8%) or 40-mL (91.4 ± 4.5%) columns, and at 900 × g for 5 min in 20-mL columns (93.8 ± 8.9%; P < 0.0001). Total (TMY) and progressively motile sperm yield followed a similar pattern (P < 0.0001). Sperm yields were not significantly different among samples centrifuged at various sperm concentrations. However, centrifugation at 100 × 10[superscript 6]/mL resulted in significantly lower total sperm yield (83.8 ± 10.7%) and TMY (81.7 ± 6.8%) compared with noncentrifuged semen. Centrifugation in VMDZ resulted in significantly lower TMY (69.3 ± 22.6%), progressively motile sperm yield (63.5 ± 18.2%), viable yield (60.9 ± 36.5%), and survival of progressively motile sperm after cooling (21 ± 10.8%) compared with noncentrifuged semen. In conclusion, centrifuging volumes of ≤ 20 mL minimized sperm losses with conventional protocols. With 40-mL columns, it may be recommended to increase the centrifugal force to 900 × g for 10 min and dilute the semen to a sperm concentration of 25 to 50 × 10[superscript 6]/mL in a milk- or fractionated milk-based medium. The semen extender VMDZ did not seem well suited for centrifugation of equine semen

Managing the environmental impact of research

The environmental impact of research increasingly needs to be taken into account in design and execution. This makes good financial sense. However, it is especially in the research world as one of the key reasons for doing health research is to improve our knowledge to improve health. Specifically, doing research in a more sustainable way allows us to generate more knowledge with the same resource. Research not only needs to be done increasingly sustainably, but the content of the research needs to direct how we promote health and deliver healthcare in more sustainable ways

Translating employee-driven innovation in healthcare: Bricolage and the mobilization of scarce resources

With top-down models of innovation failing to address the entrenched problems of healthcare, policy-makers have proposed that staff working on the frontline might be better placed to innovate solutions. Drawing on a study of employee-driven innovation in UK public healthcare, the authors explore the process through which staff innovate without the resources that support policy implementation, showing how the translation of ideas from problematization to practice is underpinned by ‘bricolage’—the appropriation and repurposing of resources ‘at hand’. IMPACT This paper clarifies how staff innovate services on the ground when resources are scarce. The authors suggest that, where employees—clinicians and practitioners—are driving innovation, they engage in a creative process to mobilize resources; appropriating and repurposing local funding, available space, delivery models and even the labour of staff at all levels. This bricolage provides necessary support to the contingent, and often lengthy translation of employees’ innovation ideas into practice. These insights become more critical in a post-pandemic context that demands innovative solutions to new service delivery challenges

Ohio Economic Insects and Related Anthropods

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'The difference in determinants of Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium in a sample of young Australian women.'

BACKGROUND Differences in the determinants of Chlamydia trachomatis ('chlamydia') and Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) genital infection in women are not well understood. METHODS A cohort study of 16 to 25 year old Australian women recruited from primary health care clinics, aimed to determine chlamydia and MG prevalence and incidence. Vaginal swabs collected at recruitment were used to measure chlamydia and MG prevalence, organism-load and chlamydia-serovar a cross-sectional analysis undertaken on the baseline results is presented here. RESULTS Of 1116 participants, chlamydia prevalence was 4.9% (95% CI: 2.9, 7.0) (n = 55) and MG prevalence was 2.4% (95% CI: 1.5, 3.3) (n = 27). Differences in the determinants were found - chlamydia not MG, was associated with younger age [AOR:0.9 (95% CI: 0.8, 1.0)] and recent antibiotic use [AOR:0.4 (95% CI: 0.2, 1.0)], and MG not chlamydia was associated with symptoms [AOR:2.1 (95% CI: 1.1, 4.0)]. Having two or more partners in last 12 months was more strongly associated with chlamydia [AOR:6.4 (95% CI: 3.6, 11.3)] than MG [AOR:2.2 (95% CI: 1.0, 4.6)] but unprotected sex with three or more partners was less strongly associated with chlamydia [AOR:3.1 (95%CI: 1.0, 9.5)] than MG [AOR:16.6 (95%CI: 2.0, 138.0)]. Median organism load for MG was 100 times lower (5.7 × 104/swab) than chlamydia (5.6 × 10⁶/swab) (p < 0.01) and not associated with age or symptoms for chlamydia or MG. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate significant chlamydia and MG prevalence in Australian women, and suggest that the differences in strengths of association between numbers of sexual partners and unprotected sex and chlamydia and MG might be due to differences in the transmission dynamics between these infections.This project was funded by the Commonwealth of Australia, as part of a National Chlamydia Pilot program that is currently running to test the effectiveness of a number of models for chlamydia testing in Australia. This project will assist in developing possible recommendations for a National Chlamydia Program. The analysis of MG was funded by the National Health and Research Council (research grant number 509144)

Effects of chemical treatments of barley straw on leaching, and digestibility by rumen fluid and cellulolytic bacteria

Effects of chemical treatments on in sacco and in vitro digestibility of barley straw by rumen fluid and pure cultures of celluloytic bacteria were studied to evaluate the pretreatment and to improve the poor quality feed. Chemicals were applied by dissolving them in water equivalent to 40% of the weight of the straw (dry matter basis). Pretreatment with 5% NaOH yielded the largest increase in sacco digestion followed by pretreatment with 2% (NH4)2SO3, 2.6% NH4OH, 1.6% NaHSO3 and untreated straw (control). In sacco dry matter digestibility of straw treated with NaOH and (NH4)2SO3 continued to increase as the concentration of chemical increased (1 to 7.5%), as it was the in vitro dry matter loss by leaching. Treatment of barley straw with 5% NaOH enhanced significantly (p<0.01) in vitro digestibility by rumen fluid, Fibrobacter succinogenes and Ruminococcus albus though the fermentation products by celluloytic bacteria were low, whereas the treatment with 5% (NH4)2SO3 inhibited in vitro digestibility by F. succinogenes and R. albus together with lower fermentation products. Dry matter loss by leaching and bacterial digestion from barley straw treated with NaOH and (NH4)2SO3 suggested the effect of pretreatment with these chemicals were based on leaching, and the celluloytic bacteria had little to do with digestion

Retinoic acid-independent expression of Meis2 during autopod patterning in the developing bat and mouse limb

BackgroundThe bat has strikingly divergent forelimbs (long digits supporting wing membranes) and hindlimbs (short, typically free digits) due to the distinct requirements of both aerial and terrestrial locomotion. During embryonic development, the morphology of the bat forelimb deviates dramatically from the mouse and chick, offering an alternative paradigm for identifying genes that play an important role in limb patterning.ResultsUsing transcriptome analysis of developing Natal long-fingered bat (Miniopterus natalensis) fore- and hindlimbs, we demonstrate that the transcription factor Meis2 has a significantly higher expression in bat forelimb autopods compared to hindlimbs. Validation by reverse transcriptase and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and whole mount in situ hybridisation shows that Meis2, conventionally known as a marker of the early proximal limb bud, is upregulated in the bat forelimb autopod from CS16. Meis2 expression is localised to the expanding interdigital webbing and the membranes linking the wing to the hindlimb and tail. In mice, Meis2 is also expressed in the interdigital region prior to tissue regression. This interdigital Meis2 expression is not activated by retinoic acid (RA) signalling as it is present in the retained interdigital tissue of Rdh10trex/trex mice, which lack RA. Additionally, genes encoding RA-synthesising enzymes, Rdh10 and Aldh1a2, and the RA nuclear receptor Rarβ are robustly expressed in bat fore- and hindlimb interdigital tissues indicating that the mechanism that retains interdigital tissue in bats also occurs independently of RA signalling.ConclusionsMammalian interdigital Meis2 expression, and upregulation in the interdigital webbing of bat wings, suggests an important role for Meis2 in autopod development. Interdigital Meis2 expression is RA-independent, and retention of interdigital webbing in bat wings is not due to the suppression of RA-induced cell death. Rather, RA signalling may play a role in the thinning (rather than complete loss) of the interdigital tissue in the bat forelimb, while Meis2 may interact with other factors during both bat and mouse autopod development to maintain a pool of interdigital cells that contribute to digit patterning and growth.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13227-015-0001-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users