Families and Flexibility: Building the 21st Century Workplace

This report details the findings of a survey of working New Yorkers -- conducted by the Comptroller's Office, in partnership with A Better Balance -- designed to provide policymakers with insight into how flexible work arrangements are, or are not, being used by individuals and businesses throughout the city. It is intended to gauge the need for workplace reforms, including but not limited to, legislation establishing the "right to request" FWA's, paid family leave, and advance notification of schedules. The survey, while non-scientific, yielded over 1,100 responses from residents of all five boroughs working in a range of industries, from professional services and education, to health care, retail, and construction between June and August 2015. The results suggest that New Yorkers from all walks of life face an untenable tension between their professional and personal responsibilities, and that a new model of work is needed to ensure that parents can remain in the workforce, families have the flexibility to care for loved ones of all ages, and workers of every stripe have the opportunity to succeed

Biofilm-forming capability of highly virulent, multidrug-resistant Candida auris

The emerging multidrug-resistant yeast pathogen Candida auris has attracted considerable attention as a source of healthcare–associated infections. We report that this highly virulent yeast has the capacity to form antifungal resistant biofilms sensitive to the disinfectant chlorhexidine in vitro

Developing Student Leaders in Campus Outdoor Recreation Programs: An Appreciative Inquiry

Campus outdoor recreation programs can play an integral role in developing student leaders. In this study, we sought a better understanding of the shared positive elements exemplary outdoor programs are using to develop their student leaders. The study was designed using a collec­tive case study methodology and the theoretical lens of the Leadership Identity Development (LID) model. Representatives from five exemplary outdoor programs were interviewed with an appreciative inquiry approach. Five common themes emerged from the data: (a) Institutional Support, (b) Transformative Experiences, (c) Meaningful Culture, (d) Facilitative Structures, and (e) the Keys to the Castle: Authentic Leadership Opportunities. Themes were interrelated and contributed to an overall understanding of the environment that allows for successful leadership development in campus outdoor programs

Using Light Charged Particles to Probe the Asymmetry Dependence of the Nuclear Caloric Curve

Recently, we observed a clear dependence of the nuclear caloric curve on neutron-proton asymmetry $\frac{N-Z}{A}$ through examination of fully reconstructed equilibrated quasi-projectile sources produced in heavy ion collisions at E/A = 35 MeV. In the present work, we extend our analysis using multiple light charged particle probes of the temperature. Temperatures are extracted with five distinct probes using a kinetic thermometer approach. Additionally, temperatures are extracted using two probes within a chemical thermometer approach (Albergo method). All seven measurements show a significant linear dependence of the source temperature on the source asymmetry. For the kinetic thermometer, the strength of the asymmetry dependence varies with the probe particle species in a way which is consistent with an average emission-time ordering.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Morphological Biosignatures and the Search for Life on Mars

This report provides a rationale for the advances in instrumentation and understanding needed to assess claims of ancient and extraterrestrial life made on the basis of morphological biosignatures. Morphological biosignatures consist of bona fide microbial fossils as well as microbially influenced sedimentary structures. To be recognized as evidence of life, microbial fossils must contain chemical and structural attributes uniquely indicative of microbial cells or cellular or extracellular processes. When combined with various research strategies, high-resolution instruments can reveal such attributes and elucidate how morphological fossils form and become altered, thereby improving the ability to recognize them in the geological record on Earth or other planets. Also, before fossilized microbially influenced sedimentary structures can provide evidence of life, criteria to distinguish their biogenic from non-biogenic attributes must be established. This topic can be advanced by developing process-based models. A database of images and spectroscopic data that distinguish the suite of bona fide morphological biosignatures from their abiotic mimics will avoid detection of false-positives for life. The use of high-resolution imaging and spectroscopic instruments, in conjunction with an improved knowledge base of the attributes that demonstrate life, will maximize our ability to recognize and assess the biogenicity of extraterrestrial and ancient terrestrial life

Genes coding for virulence determinants of Campylobacter jejuni in human clinical and cattle isolates from Alberta, Canada, and their potential role in colonization of poultry

Forty nine Campylobacter jejuni isolates from cattle feces collected from Alberta feedlots and 50 clinical C. jejuni isolates from people in Alberta were tested for the presence of 14 genes encoding putative virulence factors by PCR. These included genes implicated in adherence and colonization (flaC, cadF, docC, racR, jlpA, peb1, and dnaJ), invasion (virB11, ciaB, pldA, and iamA) and protection against harsh conditions (htrA, cbrA, and sodB). The genes examined were widely distributed in both the cattle fecal isolates and the human isolates. Of the isolates tested, 67% contained all of the genes except virB11. The cadF gene was found in 100% of the isolates tested. The presence or absence of virulence-associated genes was not associated with the ability of the organism to colonize birds. All of the C. jejuni isolates used to challenge birds were able to colonize the animals regardless of virulence gene profile. While some diversity in the profile of the occurrence of virulence-associated genes in C. jejuni exists, the distribution of these putative virulence-associated genes isolates from feedlotcattle feces and humans in Alberta was similar. In addition it was not possible to predict the ability of the selected isolates tocolonize young chicks based on the presence of these genes coding for virulence determinants. [Int Microbiol 2011; 14(1):25-32