Culture Techniques for Rearing Soil Anthropods

Excerpt: Interest in soil biology has been prompted by recent investigations into the action of insecticides on plants and animals. Observations in the field must be supplemented by laboratory investigations conducted under controlled conditions. Consequently, it becomes necessary to rear and handle soil animals under artificial situations for bio-assay and life cycle studies. When large numbers of individuals are required, special problems in maintenance and manipulation arise. Relatively inexpensive and simple methods for such projects are essential and this paper describes some of those techniques which we have found expedient

Observations of attenuation at 20.6, 31.65 and 90.0 GHz: Preliminary results from Wallops Island, VA

Ground based radiometric observations of atmospheric attenuation at 20.6, 31.65, and 90.0 GHz were made at Wallops Island, Virginia during April and May 1989. Early results from the analysis of the data set are compared with previous observations from California and Colorado. The relative attenuation ratios observed at each frequency during clear, cloudy, and rainy conditions are shown. Plans for complete analysis of the data are described

Multidimensional measurement within adult protective services: design and initial testing of the tool for risk, interventions, and outcomes.

This study describes the development, field utility, reliability, and validity of the multidimensional Tool for Risk, Interventions, and Outcomes (TRIO) for use in Adult Protective Services (APS). The TRIO is designed to facilitate consistent APS practice and collect data related to multiple dimensions of typical interactions with APS clients, including the investigation and assessment of risks, the provision of APS interventions, and associated health and safety outcomes. Initial tests of the TRIO indicated high field utility, social worker "relevance and buy-in," and inter-rater reliability. TRIO concurrent validity was demonstrated via appropriate patterns of TRIO item differentiation based on the type of observed confirmed abuse or neglect; and predictive validity was demonstrated by prediction of the risk of actual APS recurrence. The TRIO is a promising new tool that can help meet the challenges of providing and documenting effective APS practices and identifying those at high risk for future APS recurrence

Examining the Impact of Treatment Fidelity on Client Outcomes in a Statewide Implementation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

Clinician treatment fidelity, consisting of treatment adherence and clinician competence, is commonly assessed during the implementation of evidence-based treatments to ensure that clinicians are delivering care according to an intended service model. Although resources are often expended in fidelity measurement, associations between fidelity and client outcomes has not been well established in the psychotherapy literature. The relationship between clinician fidelity and treatment outcomes was investigated in a longitudinal sample of clinicians (n = 17) and parent-child dyads (n = 32) following a statewide implementation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Observer-rated measures of adherence and coaching competence collected from early treatment sessions were used to predict intake levels and growth trajectories of parent-reported behavior problems and positive parenting skills. Hierarchical linear modeling results indicated that higher levels of coaching competence were associated with greater behavior problem frequency at intake. Neither early session adherence nor early session competence, as they were measured in the current study, predicted changes in treatment outcomes over time. These results suggest that additional variables should be modeled alongside early treatment fidelity to predict treatment outcome change. Possible explanations for these findings, limitations of the current study, and directions for future research are discussed

Success Strategies for Small Financial Planning Firms

Small Business Administration statistics indicate that 20% of small businesses fail within the first 2 years and 50% fail within 5 years. The purpose of this case study was to explore the success factors and strategies of 12 small business owners of independent financial planning firms who achieved profitability beyond 5 years. The conceptual framework was entrepreneurship theory and Porter’s five forces model of competitive strategy. The data gathering method included semistructured interviews and analysis of business artifacts such as websites and newsletters. Initial coding of the responses preceded an analysis of recurring patterns and themes. The major themes identified were: technical training is necessary but not sufficient for success; planners need training in business creation, operations, and marketing; differentiation is important and is achieved by specialization. Developing internet websites proved to be the most effective approach to attract new clients. These results provide information to people considering starting or maintaining a small business, providers of professional education and training, and business leaders seeking to improve recruitment and retention of financial planning employee retention. Implications for positive social change include providing information to policymakers who seek to support small businesses to mitigate small business failure rates, expand job creation, and provide sources for financial guidance for American employees

Detection of Gravitational Redshift on the Solar Disk by Using Iodine-Cell Technique

With an aim to examine whether the predicted solar gravitational redshift can be observationally confirmed under the influence of the convective Doppler shift due to granular motions, we attempted measuring the absolute spectral line-shifts on a large number of points over the solar disk based on an extensive set of 5188-5212A region spectra taken through an iodine-cell with the Solar Domeless Telescope at Hida Observatory. The resulting heliocentric line shifts at the meridian line (where no rotational shift exists), which were derived by finding the best-fit parameterized model spectrum with the observed spectrum and corrected for the earth's motion, turned out to be weakly position-dependent as ~ +400 m/s near the disk center and increasing toward the limb up to ~ +600 m/s (both with a standard deviation of sigma ~ 100 m/s). Interestingly, this trend tends to disappear when the convectiveshift due to granular motions (~-300 m/s at the disk center and increasing toward the limb; simulated based on the two-component model along with the empirical center-to-limb variation) is subtracted, finally resulting in the averaged shift of 698 m/s (sigma = 113 m/s). Considering the ambiguities involved in the absolute wavelength calibration or in the correction due to convective Doppler shifts (at least several tens m/s, or more likely up to <~100 m/s), we may regard that this value is well consistent with the expected gravitational redshift of 633 m/s.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures, electronic materials as ancillary data (table3, table 4, ReadMe); accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Transient interference of transmission and incidence

Due to a transient quantum interference during a wavepacket collision with a potential barrier, a particular momentum, that depends on the potential parameters but is close to the initial average momentum, becomes suppressed. The hole left pushes the momentum distribution outwards leading to a significant constructive enhancement of lower and higher momenta. This is explained in the momentum complex-plane language in terms of a saddle point and two contiguous ``structural'' poles, which are not associated with resonances but with incident and transmitted components of the wavefunction.Comment: 4 pages of text, 6 postscript figures, revte

Patient Portals in Pharmacist-run Ambulatory Care Clinics: Is There “Meaningful Use”?

Objective The purpose of this study is to describe patient portal utilization within pharmacist-managed clinics at an academic medical center from the perspectives of the institution, healthcare team, and patient. This study measures the progress toward meeting requirements for meaningful use per the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Methods The study included patients in pharmacist-managed clinics and consisted of a retrospective chart review and patient survey. Primary endpoints consisted of: 1) report progress toward meeting CMS criteria for meaningful use in subset of patients seen in the pharmacy-managed clinics, 2) describe utilization of patient portal across the healthcare team in patients of the pharmacist-managed clinics and 3) describe the usefulness of the patient portal from the patient’s perspective. Results The pharmacist-managed clinics met and exceeded meaningful use requirements. Seventy one percent of patients had been offered portal access and more than 10% of unique patients initiated a message. The healthcare team utilized the patient portal for a variety of clinical and non-clinical purposes. Per patient survey, of those who used the patient portal, 80% reported at least monthly use and 96% reported that the portal was either somewhat or very useful. Conclusions Pharmacist-managed clinics met and exceeded CMS meaningful use criteria. Patients reported that the patient portal is a useful tool that improves access to healthcare providers and increases efficiency. Pharmacists play a valuable role in assuring hospitals meet required CMS meaningful use objectives in order to qualify for the financial incentives

Transcatheter Atrial Septal Defect Closure: Preliminary Experience with the Rashkind Occluder Device

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72836/1/j.1540-8183.1989.tb00751.x.pd